Action Figures: War of the Scales

I was just thinking about the scale issues that people have when it comes to action figures. When GI Joe released the Classified line back around 2020 (woo hoo, pre-covid!), I wasn't overly excited. I think it had more to do with price point than the increase in product size. At the same time, things weren't looking pretty for the 1:18 Joes; be it 3.75" or 4" or whatever Hasbro felt like making them. I remember trying a few of the figures out near the beginning. A lot of it had to do whether it had the same magic feel as the 8in Sigma 6 figures that Hasbro produced in 2005. Those things were fun and they were different.

I think I started with Snake Eyes, Scarlet, and Roadblock. I liked the updated look. Scarlet and Roadblock were fine. I actually liked the bulkiness of Roadblock. That was one big block of plastic and oddly, I felt it moreso w/ the Classifieds than I ever did with Sigma6. My disappointment was with Snake Eyes. Now, let's get this straight, I've bought this damn figure at least 3x. 1st time, I noticed that the chest piece was loose/wobbly (remember Big Hero6 when Hiro is putting his robot into the fight cage and it just flops around?) and the hands were so frakkin' stiff, I couldn't get the gun or sword in them. The 'use hot water to temporarily loosen them' is a bs solution because as a photographer, I'm not carrying a thermos of hot water with me outside, on a photoshoot, just to loosen up the hands. I love the Snake Eyes design. As a hobby artist who has done fan GI Joe stuff, coming up with a Snake Eyes design that I feel is good, acceptable, or something I can deal with, is incredibly hard cuz he's been made so many times. Thing is, those Classifieds still have hand issues. They also have stiff/locked joint issues too which bewilders me cuz that never happened in the 80s or even the 2000s (Theme Years!!!).

That aside, I realized that with Sima6, I didn't get held back by a scale change. I bought what I liked. I made stories with those 8in figures. I did photos with those 8in figures. I made memories with Kody with those 8in figures (gal's son; it was a common point between the two of us. Music, skateboarding, light sabers, GI Joe toys) because he was pretty much all in it. I'd buy doubles so he could have his own and we could do our thing with them. Eventually, that all went away and to move the story forward, I was at Boeing when I got into imports. In which, scale wasn't an issue cuz I wanted what I wanted. Be it cool-looking, weird, or that's just how things were. I have Kamen Rider figures in 2 different sizes. I bought SH Figuarts Power Rangers (movie outfits) which were awesome and so much better than the junk mass released for the stores.

These days, it feels like there are tons of gourmet toy companies out there. As far as I can tell, they are all good. 6in is the current trend but like 4in, these companies are stretching the sizes. Some seem to doing 6.2in. One is doing 7in. 4in makers are even pushing up, which is really weird to me. I've pretty much made peace with GI Joe Classified. 

I see it like this.

I am not a toy collector. That saves a huge headache right there. I see posts on FB from the collector side of things and their rants towards every lil thing and detail. Some I can understand but others, it's like, "ha! good thing I'm not a hardcore collector!" I prefer that the product I buy has a use. Stimulates the creativity. Never been much of the type to just put on a shelf for dust to gather on it. I'd be far more the type to create dioramas on a shelving unit to show stuff off.

I am not a completionist. This one is tough because it's easy to get into this situation. I don't need all the Classified Dreadnoks to satisfy myself. In this particular case, I've been trying to fight it pretty hard. But I admit, they do look good. It'd be nice to have the Z family and the 3 original noks plus a Thrasher (if they ever make him). I have the family and I kind of fell in that trap. However, I do like Zandar, Zarana, and Zanya in general. Speaking of the GI Joe O-13, that's another matter. The figures look good. It's hard not to want them all and end up with all of them. It's probably a good thing I'm not a hard Warhammer 40k fan and completionist cuz that would suck!

I buy what I think is neat. I buy what makes the Zedd Universe deeper. It's about the creativity and the stories to tell. Therefore, I don't feel I should be held back by scale. It's about fun. People probably forget that.

*Red 5. Unused image from 4 Horsemen: Vignette 3*