JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Other Toy Lines => Topic started by: Brian on December 8, 2003, 03:27 PM
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I'm not sure if this is the best forum to post this in, so if its not, feel free to move it :). I was just curious, which "scale" of action figures do you feel is the best, or your favorite? Do you prefer the 3 3/4" scale of our beloved Star Wars, or the 6" scale that is more common in many other figure lines? There seems to be advantages of both scales, such as the space/vehicle/playset advantages of 3 3/4", and the added articulation (and in some cases, detail) of the 6" scale. Personally, I really like the 3 3/4" scale, because that is basically what I grew up with between Star Wars and GI Joe, and it allows more vehicle, playset releases, and is easier to display overall I think. I do have some 6 inch-ish scale things, a handful of ML, LOTR, and MOTU figures....as well as some of the Unleashed line...and in the case of Unleashed, it seems that the likenesses are often done a little better, although I think hasbro does a pretty good job overall with the 3 3/4" scale liknesses. Anyways....what scale do you like the best?
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6" is unavoidable, unfortunately.
I got into it big time between Toy Biz's LOTR line and DC Direct's figures. Still, I'd replace them all in a heartbeat with 3 3/4" versions. With the properties I collect, it's as much about the environment as the characters. Star Trek figures need a bridge. Luke's gotta have an X-wing. Maybe someday my Ringwraiths will have their Weathertop and my SuperFriends will have their Hall of Justice, but they'll be some bigass dioramas!
3 3/4" please.
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I really doubt I would have been able to avoid as much of the LOTR figures as I have if they were in the 3 3/4" scale...I would have been all over those I'm guessing :).
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I totally agree. If the LOTR figs were 3 3/4, they would be even more popular than they are now. I remember Toy Biz flirted with the idea before committing to the present scale, but felt the hobbits would be too diminutive in the SW scale. Obviously Play along didn't think so.
I do like the 6" scale, though, and many of the LOTR figs, Marvel Legends, etc., are fantastic.
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I prefer 3 3/4, primarily due to space issues. I also like that vehicles and playsets can be reasonably priced and scaled for these figures.
6" is nice too though. I love the Marvel Legends and the current release of Batman. The articulation sucks on the Batman figs relative to the ML stuff though. And McFarlane sportspicks, aliens, predator are in the quote/unquote 6" scale. The predator figures dwarf the ML stuff, so not quite the same scale. The hockey figs look so much better in that scale and with that detail than did the older stuff.
12" does little for me. I have a few and they look cool on display, but they leave so much opportunity for error and it becomes glaring when it happens (Hoth Han first release). The imperials look nice though, no faces to sculpt.
As with others, thank goodness LOTR didn't do 3 3/4, I would have been in for sure. 6" takes too much room for those.
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I think Star Wars is fine in 3 3/4 figure scale, but i just can't see Lord of the Rings figures being so small, it is just to hard to imagine, but arent they hobbits like Frodo, Bilbo, Pippin , Sam always in the 3 3/4 figure scale, i always thought they were.?
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3 & 3/4" or 1:18-ish is my scale of choice.
Much like the esteemed Lord P of L, I feel environments and vehicles are important for my figure lines I like. Scale's also important to me, as is articulation. The 3.75"-ish scale allows for to-scale vehicles in most instances (Even if Hasbro decides NOT to do things that way) and some decent playsets are possible.
I've found more an outlet for those things through customizing than Hasbro actually doing them. 21st Century Toys and BBI thrive on to-scale vehicles to their military lines though, and the quality/fun shows through in them. I got a P-47D Thunderbolt Fighter from World War 2 (21st Century Toys, at Wal-Mart) just today and it's an impressive toy to say the least. :) Easily can picture it hanging above a D-Day battle scene dropping its bomb on a Tiger Tank.
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I prefer 3 3/4, mostly for vehicles and space issues. The LOTR line would have been even bigger had they been 3 3/4.
Though when it comes to stuff like MOTU and Buffy, the larger scale works better for them. Plus you can dropkick a MOTU figure against a wall and it will come out unharmed.
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Plus you can dropkick a MOTU figure against a wall and it will come out unharmed.
It's true. I do this at TRU all the time.
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I'd like to do that at my local TRU, but they don't have any MOTU figs. ;)
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I agree with HMI. Imagine a 3.75" ultimately articulated LOTR line... You'd have some seriously large army building and diverse character choice going on.
That'd be a darn fun line to collect, and things like the Oliephants wouldn't be absurd to think of in toy form, and a "to-scale" Balrog wouldn't have been out of the question either.
Hell, a Mine's of Moria playset anyone? Yes, I think so! And Helm's Deep Wall sections for the action figures would've been dandy sellers I think.
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I agree, even more so after seeing ROTK this past weekend...I think I would be all over a 3 3/4" scale LOTR line. Toy Biz's stuff can be great, but I personally just don't have enough space for a lot of the 6" figures (I only have 2 actually). If they did it Star Wars-style (size, beasts, etc.), I think you'd see even more hard-core LOTR collectors than there are now.
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I've really enjoyed Playalong's AOME scale (1:24?). It's small, displays well, and takes up little room, plus it allows for scaling up large playsets and environments. Since nothing much happens in the scale though, Ill have ro go with 3 3/4" for my top choice. A LOTR line in this scale would have been spectacular, and a LOT could have been done with it. I've never really been a fan of 12" scale, except for a few figures. I like the 12" Taun Tauns and Speederbikes, and the Gamorrean Guard, but little else...
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I'm partial to 3.75" figures (aka, the Loomis scale). They're big enough to allow for a good likeness yet small enough that a large collection is manageable space-wise. Also, most vehicles can be made to scale.
I know the LOTR figures, as is, appear to be doing well. But had this (and Planet of the Apes) been 3.75"... Oh, mama!
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I agree, I've always thought that too. The LOTR figures look great in the 6" scale and everything, but if they would have been Star Wars-size, I would have bought into these big time. Just helps with display/space issues, and that scale works well for ships/playsets, etc.
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While working at re-arranging, packing away my collection - as well as looking at what is coming up in various toy lines - I got to thinking about the issue of scale again. Although I really have always liked the 3 3/4" scale for its ability to flesh out a line with deluxe, playsets, vehicles, etc. - and also that it is easier to display (and often times cheaper) - it does seem like it is in the minority at retail anymore. Although the smaller Joes are making their way back to TRU stores, and lines like Justice League Unlimited (probably only a year or so left) and the Zizzle POTC line are following suit - aside from Star Wars they are a couple of the few available at retail anymore.
While their seems to be more popularity gaining in larger figures, with many superhero/movie figures being in the 6" scale (or, in Mattel's case, 5") - and the prices staying in line with what we pay for Star Wars figures. There also seems to be more and more attention being paid towards the 12" scale now, with Sideshow getting a lot of hype and acclaim for their Star Wars and Lord of the Rings lines (and probably others I'm not famliar with) - and also now ToyBiz/Marvel joining the fray with the recently released Marvel Icons line (basically 12" sized Legends figures). From what I've read online, retailers were so enthused about the initial Icons figures, they bought into two more assortments right away. Anyways, just curious what some of your thoughts are on scale at this point. What do you think is the most popular scale going forward into the future now - are we moving towards larger figures/smaller assortments? Are the days of a Star Wars section of 10-20 different figures on the pegs a thing of the past?
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I've always been a fan of the 3.75" scale because of a lot of reasons mentioned previously in this thread; the ability to have vehicles, playsets and multiple accessories. Plus I grew up with Fisher Price Adventure People, SW and GI Joe RAH.
Although I still like my 3.75" figures I'm also a fan of 12" because of the cloth outfits and the ability for more detail than at the smaller scale. The Sideshow SW figures are a perfect example. I'm a big 12" Joe fan and have some Action Man, 21st Century, bbi, Dragon and Max Steele items as well as Hasbro SW items.
I'd love to see a 12" scale line with $10 figures and various accessory packs similar to how Joe ran in the '60's and '70's and Barbie does now. It won't really happen though. Even Barbie is hurting these days. Kids, and parents, just want to drop cash on one box and have everything included for that toy (not counting vehicles).
It's a shame, really, that the way kids play today has changed so much since the late '70's/early '80's when a lot of us were growing up. Nobody has an imagination any more.
I may be wrong but just based on what I see in local neighborhoods and the apartment complex where I live, kids don't play with toys any more. When I was a kid on a Saturday you could find me and my friends with SW and/or Joe figures spread out over two or three front lawns. Now I see kids walking around with their iPod in their ears and their PSP in their hands.
Eh...sorry for the rant. Anyway, 3.75" is my favorite scale with 12" running a very close second.
E...
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I was wondering, do you think that oil prices/economic issues will get toy makers (action figures in specific) to look more and more into transitioning towards smaller scales (like 3 3/4"). Does it make a difference to collectors? Looking at the action figure aisle (and into the future), you've got Star Wars, Indy, Joes, etc. sitting in the roughly 3 3/4" scale. The lines like Marvel and DC that have always focused on 6" scale figures, are now starting to explore the smaller scale as well (with Marvel Universe in 2009 and DCIH at retail currently). Plus, you also have price increases across the board (possibly hitting $15 for the 6" scale stuff, and approaching $10 for the smaller scale stuff), with no price breaks in sight anytime soon. Those days of paying $4.99 for Star Wars figures and $6.88 for Marvel Legends seem so long ago now.
On a more personal side of it, I'm starting to look more and more at 3 3/4" lines only with options out there for Marvel and DC. Not only for the pricepoint, but for the display part of things. Don't get me wrong, in the lines I'm interested in that are the larger scale (Marvel/DC), those larger figures are a much higher quality "collector" type figure. I'll probably always buy those in some capacity, but as many of us have said before, it would have been nice if they had started at 3 3/4" in the first place. Many of us are so invested at the larger scale at this point that it doesn't make sense to start from scratch again. If Marvel Legends (although its switching to two packs next year) and DCUC start hitting a $15 per figure pricepoint consistently, I'm really going to have to cut back. Anyways, in a nutshell, do you think that the larger scale stuff will be phasing out eventually because of these reasons?