[Crazy Jetty]

First off, this is not a Marvel Toys vs DC Toys thread, or a Hasbro vs Mattel thread. And it's not even about articulation.
It's about this:

In this time of rising costs, where 4" figures are now borderline $10, is there still a place in the world for the 6" market?

More and more collectors are starting to prefer collecting figures that are the same scale as Star Wars, and GI Joe, for various reasons (Including space and cost), and grow increasingly upset when a new 4" line does not meet their expectations.
This trend is quite frankly the reverse of what lead us to the 6" collector's market in the first place. In the eighties and early ninties, most toys were 3.3/4"-5". It wasn't until the market started drifting towards the collectors when marvel toys and Star Trek toys, and many others bumped up to 6" or more.
And by the 2000s, the smaller scale figures were almost never produced by anyone. Even transformers had shifted away from smaller basics, and made deluxes and voyagers their backbone (With a heavy helping of ultras and leaders).

But here and now, rising resource costs have made such large figures financially impractical for consumers, as well as collector desire for things that take up less space.

But, there are still a lot of companies that are collector orented, that have never produced a 3" figure (Thinking of Marvel Select, and DC Direct/Collectables, as well as others), and as a result, their figures continue to get more and more expensive, like their retail Mattel/Hasbro counterparts (DCUC and ML).

So, my question is this. As these figures continue to grow more unpopular for various reasons, is there still a market for them? Or have they gone the way of the dinosaur, and the companies just haven't realized it yet?

My personal feeling is basically... almost. I enjoy my DCUC collection greately, but the only reason I collect them anymore, is I don't feel there's really a viable alternative for them in the smaller scale. (While I don't feel DCIH deserves the trashing it continually gets, it never lived up to it's potential. And it's a dead line anyway, so that's not a viable alternative).
I think the smaller scale allows greater possibility for truer scale between characetrs, as well as opens up the potential for vehicles and playsets (Even if the potential is untapped).
A DCUC batmobile that could fit two figures would be unreasonably huge, and ungodly expensive.
if Mattel or DCD offered a decent 3.3/4" scaled line (Like those GL convention twopacks) that was practical to collect (Unlike those GL convention twopacks), I have to say I'd give up collecting the 6" DCUC line almost altogether.
What say you, fellow arkers?
Are the 6" figures dinosaurs and the 3.3/4" the new mammals? Or do the 6" lines still fill a niche?

[cobracobra]

Interesting question. Both are still very valid ways in producing a toy line. MOTUC was created the same time as the 4" boom and is very successful even proving to create a $250 dollar castle. Seeing the return of Marvel Legends makes me question the 4 inch treatment entirely.

Most of my collection consists of GI JOE and Star Wars, and not until MOTUC came out. I was a 4 inch scale only guy. But between that and seeing the new Marvel Legends figures return I see the value of the larger scaled figure line. I kinda frown upon my Marvel Universe collection. So many small heads and generic looking bodies painted one way or another. Seeing what Toy Biz did with Marvel Legends is out of control.

[decepticon_mark]

While I've collected both especially growing in both the 70s{Mego heroes} and the 80s{GI Joe Star Wars MOTU, etc.} But I've always preferred the 3 3/4 scale. In the 80s it was more of the fact that you could intermingle the lines since most were 3 3/4.Also there has always been more playsets or vechicles for the smaller scale for the most part. Now for me its about the space in my house for my collection as well as the memories from childhood. Also it amazes me when a line can put such great detail in such a small scale as MU and GI Joe have done.

[trebleshot]

I agree that both are still equally viable at retail, if handled correctly by all parties involved.

My personal choice is 3.75"/4" scale, mostly because I was raised on a healthy diet of Kenner's Star Wars and Hasbro's G.I.Joe:ARAH. And now that I'm older and have a family, cost and space constraints have only reinforced this decision.

That doesn't mean that I am one of those collectors who feel that, to paraphrase Connor Macleod, "there can be only one". At one time, I was a heavy collector of the original Marvel Legends. There were other lines in similar scales that I would cherry pick from as well, but ML was the main one.

In fact, I still cherry pick 6" figures from the recent ROML (Avengers Hulk) and movie sublines (IM2 Mk IV and WM), as well as the occasional DCUC figure (which is just Batman and AzBats, right now. Would've also included DCUC Gentleman Ghost, if I had ever found the elusive bastard at retail). If I had the funds, I'd have even gone whole hog into MOTUC.

So yeah, collect whatever you like. Both have their pros and cons and it all really boils down to personal preference. Any other rationalizations for choosing one over the other can be mitigated one way or another.

[Tarooster]

I think the 4 inch scale is more conducive to collecting because of size to save space and the scale itself allows for better dios and group shots. But the 6 inch scale figures are generally better made and really show off the detail and sculpt of each figure. I collect both but have realized financially I have to pick one or the other and for now my pick is MU but if one line ends I'll start right back with the other lol.

[Th0r4z1n3]

I prefer 3 3/4" figures for a ton of reasons, but mostly because when I got into collecting figures other than TFs the 25th Joe line is what grabbed me. The whole nostalgia thing got me because when I was a kid Joes were all 3 3/4", and they were like updated versions of the toys I had as a kid.

That just kinda spiraled into collecting 3 3/4" figures from all kinds of lines because I like being able to have characters from different continuities interact with each other and be in scale. I think it's awesome because I don't remember too many of my other toys being in scale with my Joes as a kid, and now I can have them all in a standard size... not to mention with a butt-ton of articulation and detail in them compared to the toys of the 80's.

I know the "hard-core" collectors would go ape shit, but I would love to see MOTU get the 4" treatment.

[uberlad]

I saw the writing on the wall when Hasbro stopped making Sigma 6 8 inch figures, honestly. They were sold in elaborate packaging with a multi-articulated 8 inch figure for $15. Then after one of the many oil shortage/gas spikes, they stopped coming.

I'm surprised the 6 inch figures have continued to hover around the 15 dollar mark, even while the 4 inchers continue to go up to and past $10.

[Crazy Jetty]

These are some nice and thoughtful responces, and a lot of great points!