Size (and announcing it)
 

Hi,

I'm still fairly new to collecting action figures, and I'm wondering how collectors cope with the problem of determining the size of a figure based on its picture if not seen in person? I personally am interested in only 3.75 inch / 1:18 scale figures, but the problem must come up for anyone who prefers only one size.

1) why do manufacturers or retailers often seem to hide the size/scale? I've recently avoided making some purchases because I've gotten burned, buying without confirming the size: from just an online picture, its impossible to tell the size for certain. With the same brand making different sizes, it feels a bit like a maze.

2) Is there a chart somewhere of which characters/figures are in which sizes, or is there another tool that can be used to cope with this problem?

I guess that means I have three questions.

:)

On many sites that do reviews they often give comparison shots of the figures with some established brands to give readers an idea of what they are looking at and if it will fit into thier collections. When I do a review I try to make sure to do this to ensure everyone kind of knows what is what.

The major problem now is 3 & 3/4/1;18th scale is kind of iffy on definition. Marvel, Gi Joe 25th ect are taller (almost 4 inches in some cases) while some seem to get smaller like Playmates (whose Star Trek and Terminator lines last year danced around the 3-1/2 mark).

Star Wars seems to have remained somewhat conistant but many argue the figs are becoming too short, in actuality many times we forget Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamil were never that tall to begin with though. Only now is the line trying to compinsate for that.

When you add in lines like WWE build N brawl the confusion deepens since they work great with traditional 1:18th scale lines Like ARAH GI Joe but when set beside the 25th GI Joes they look short. Then you have the ROC addition which kind of split the difference between 3 & 3/4 inch and 4 inch and of course tossed the whole thing into a worse mess than before. Oh and in all of that is incedental stuff like DC Infinate Heroes, Avatar, Iron man, Ben-10 ect who kind of fit thier own scale but call it 1:18th scale.

The site One-18TH.com|Because Size Matters does have some good comparison shots (Heh I put a few on thier myself so I know) in some of thier reviews, However admittidly we are slow to review new things.

Anyway I have been collecting this scale since 1975 (Dispite the claims of some the scale has only been around since Star Wars, there were a few instances Like adventure People before that but I digress). Anyway if you have anymore questions just feel free to ask.

That's really helpful, Zedhatch.

First, I wasn't aware of the extent of the 3 1/2 to 4 inch range problem, though I guess I've sort of noticed it in some ways; like that my new *Trek fig is a bit smaller than my Joes.


Second, I also will definitely check out the one-18th site. As a new, but commited to 1:18 fan, its great to know about.

Oh, the Fisher Price adventure people! I keep hoping they'll re-release them. One of them, the only one I kept, was "my" first custom. I was young enough that an adult did most of the painting, but it was my idea and my design. Good memories.

I buy pretty much exclusively 1:18 myself. I've loved that scale my whole life. If you ever have a question about size, just ask here! Somebody should be able to help out more often than not.

No problem at all, been at it a long time and love talking about the scale.

I doubt we will see re-releases of adventure people, Ficsher price redid the line but did them closer to what Hasbro's "Hero" lines.

On source for comparisons of the various 1:18th lines that I failed to mention was myself cause I didn't want to get into seeming self promotion, but my comic is mostly 1:18th scale and has tons of lines featured (ie Star Trek, Star Wars, Joe, MU, DCIH, and some very obscure figs as well). I tend to mix it up with all these guys in attempts to make some funnies but feel free to check it out (The current background pic is a great example of mixed lines, which is why I did it the way I did). Anyway didn't want to come of as "Look at me" but at the same time it really does accomplish that goal. Just click the image on my sig if you like.

Anyway I know exactly what you mean about joes and the Trek figs, My explaination has been elite army guys are probably taller than geeky scientists, but thats me.

Scale across multiple lines can be a bear to reconcile, so I try not to think about it too much. If every toy in a particular line is roughly in scale with the others in the line, then I'm good.

Of course, my one exception to this rule is Transformers. If proper scaling is a requirement for you, stay away from TFs. They will only bring you nightmares. :)

You could always pull a "Multiverse" explanation and say the Trekkies are from another planet.

...wait.

I was just thinking aren't vulcans already from another planet anyway.

Truth is since I primarly stick to ARAH the size difference isn't that bad. I have some 25ths, but those are primarly those that probably should be bigger dudes in the first place (ie Roadblock, Rock N Roll, Bazooka) of course the MU figs are also a bit tall (and lanky too I have noticed, getting better though)

With MU it seems the line doesn't know what scale it is, Spider-man works great in ARAH but Wolverine is just too darned tall. However the Wolverine Origins Wovlies are pretty decent to ARAH, again its like no one there can make up thier minds what scale they are producing.

Well, a lot of the scale issues with MU and such are due to reusing parts - basically what Joes have done for years. That in itself isn't that bad, since we essentially get new figures that aren't simple paint swaps and it helps Hasbro keep costs down. (If Hasbro did all-new molds all the time, the toys would be ridiculously expensive.)

The problem with reusing parts in MU is that most characters in Marvel have unique characteristics that set them apart from the others in MU (Wolverine is short, Colossus is tall, Juggernaut is wide, etc.). And let's face it - the Marvel Universe is huge! But it's these features that make it hard to reuse parts.

With Joes, nearly all of the characters are human (or a close approximation) with millitary backgrounds, so it's easier to get away with parts reuse for the toys and accessories.

Of course (which has been argued time and again) is that if what you say is true then why do MU cost so much more than GI Joes and Star Wars. Some argue licenceing but Hasbro has told us for years that Licencing is why Star Wars is always more expensive than GI Joes (saying that Lucasarts licencing fees are "exorberant") I doubt Marvel's fees were more (Or if they were Hasbro made a bad business desision).

Also GI Joe part reuse is a fairly recent phenominon. While there was some parts recycling in the orignal 12 year run (Specificly 1982 which was a test year for the brand that no one thought would succeed at all). Look over the years of 1983-1994 and you see very little reuse of parts (mostly in exclusives and mail aways, and even then the usages made more sence than what we get now).

The 1997-2001 series were all repaints but also were labeled as such. Its not until the 2002 JVC relaunch that we see the assinine level of repaints that still hurt that line today (Although more recently they are getting more creative with it like in the case of ROC Karmakura). Also another great way to keep the costs down is to not put out a wave a month, but no one wants to believe that.

Point is we've heard the stories before but when pressed (especially) Hasbro won't reveil what it is that drives the costs up and down, but it is obviously something different that the old story of sculting parts since A mostly repaint line is costing more than when that same line is useing unreusable parts (Colossus, Juggernaught, ect).