We talk about ratios often, and for those who've been collecting blind
boxed and bagged items for a while, this is nothing new. For those new to
collecting this should hopefully provide an iota of insight into the dark and
often frustrating world you dare to enter.
Companies like Kidrobot, Titans, and the Loyal Subjects seem to strive
for unobtainable or nearly unobtainable ratios. The Loyal Subjects have quickly
become the worst with this and will only release one of a particular character
or variant in an entire run, not to mention the Club 28 variants which are on
par with trying to find hens teeth.
Although Kidrobot have higher ratios in some series, they aren't always ludicrously
out of reach, making them the least hostile of this bunch. But there is always
that internal voice that insists you need, and I stress NEED them all. After all blind
boxes are like Pokémon...
 |
| Masters of the Universe Walmart exclusive Gold He-Man (one for the entire run) |
 |
| Thunder Cats Toys R Us exclusive case Club 28 Henchman (ratios unknown) |
Titans have a tendency to not include all the available characters
on the on-box checklist making it harder to know whether or not you're in for
an emotional roller coaster of doubles and dispair.
 |
| Silver Archer (which is 1/288 figures = one in every 4th case) and “Ultra Rare” Gold Archer (1/576 = one in every 16th case) |
 |
| Kidrobot Arcane Divinations The Devil (?/?? ratio) |
Funko started their Mystery Minis blind boxed line with cases of 24 boxes and 1/144 ratio characters and although some of
those characters were extremely rare, it did make them seem somehow obtainable. It wasn't
until they started releasing cases of 12 with multiple 1/6 ratio characters that
things started getting rueful and expensive.
 |
| Funko Horror Classics series one case of 24 |
We'll use the Funko series two Sci-Fi classics mystery minis as
the benchmark here for the following reasons:
- I know the ratios
- I know the series
- I know there was only one exclusive case
- I collect/ed the series (I'm missing one)
 |
| Funko Science Fiction Classics series two standard case |
This series truly introduced us to multiple 1/6 ratio characters in a
single case (of 12), the lamentable cry of pain heard around the globe as
another Bender was unboxed was almost deafening. So with guaranteed ratios mapped out for a case purchase:
2x 1/6 Ratio (= 4)
5x 1/12 Ratio (= 5)
= 9 characters accounted for in each case
With 9 already expected, this left 7 characters unaccounted
for, which (in theory) saw them fill the remaining 3 slots. Suffice to say the
1/24 characters will always be the more likely, with 1/36 characters hoped for,
but 1/72 characters the (sometimes seemingly) unobtainable dream.
So in
graphical terms:
 |
| 72 single boxes still doesn't guarantee a 1/72 ratio character |
 |
| 6 sealed cases of 12 has a better chance of obtaining a 1/72 ratio character |
We haven't even reached the Hot Topic exclusive case for this series!! And at this point, I wonder if this is making any sense; as it is a nonsensical, insanely mind numbing game of Russian roulette... well financially at least.
 |
| Funko Science Fiction series two Hot Topic exclusive case |
The Science fiction Classics series Two had just the one store exclusive case, and being an earlier series that case didn't make it to New Zealand. Those looking to complete found they were missing three characters. Zoidberg (1/6), Leeloo with multi-pass (1/12), and a Gold Bender (1/72). Gold Bender was immediately improbable, but the other two were of a sufficiently low ratio that eBay prices made them potentially obtainable, although not really that cheap when the fluctuations in currency exchange rates and shipping costs are taken into account. But HEY! At least no Bender multiples!
 |
| The bane of Series two Sci-fi classics |
There was a period of time when case layouts worked. The case layout
ratios were posted and certain box positions within a case were slowly
confirmed as particular characters or particular ratio location (within the case), so an untapped
case would see people avoid certain boxes within a case, and funnily enough
these did work for a time. But there was never a guarantee unless it was a
newly opened case which wasn't shuffled (yes, some stores shuffled the boxes
when they found out).
The more I go on, the more confusing this could and will get. So this is probably a good place to stop. We still buy blind boxes with that hope something special is inside, something rare, but most importantly, something we don't already have multiples of! And in a way it's like a lottery, although you still walk away with a vinyl figure at the end of the experience.
Have you ever had any luck with the higher ratios? Has this put you off collecting? You have nothing but questions now? Comment below!
 |
| Cases were case assortments A, B, C, D etc... The above only shows case assortments A and B |
The more I go on, the more confusing this could and will get. So this is probably a good place to stop. We still buy blind boxes with that hope something special is inside, something rare, but most importantly, something we don't already have multiples of! And in a way it's like a lottery, although you still walk away with a vinyl figure at the end of the experience.
Have you ever had any luck with the higher ratios? Has this put you off collecting? You have nothing but questions now? Comment below!
Comments
Post a Comment