Max Factory Figures: figma, PLAMAX and Scale Figures

What Max Factory makes

Max Factory makes posable figures, scale figures, chibi figures and plastic model kits. In our data the Max Factory catalog on Amazon US is led by figma, followed by a group of PLAMAX and other kits, a few Nendoroids, 1/7 scale PVC figures and a couple of statues.

Good Smile Company's US site names Max Factory's figma action figures next to Good Smile's own Nendoroid and Pop Up Parade lines. That's why Max Factory and Good Smile Company listings overlap on Amazon: some figma and Nendoroid titles carry one name, some the other. Our research kept them as two brand pages, and the grid above shows the Max Factory listings first.

The licensed lines named on the listings in our data include Fate/stay night, K-ON, Lucky Star, Sword Art Online II, KonoSuba, Persona 5, Laid-Back Camp, Hatsune Miku, Macross, Pacific Rim and others. Here they're listing names only.

Max Factory figma

figma is where most Max Factory listings live in our data: seventeen figma listings, plus a Fate/Grand Order Jeanne d'Arc (Alter) figma filed with the anime figures.

What a figma box holds

figma listings are good about naming the box contents. Here's what our data shows:

• Expressions or face plates: "three expressions" or "three face plates" on most
• Articulated figma stand: named on Tsukasa Hiiragi, Saber Alter, Strength, Kiritsugu Emiya, Scarlet Rain and Caster
• Props and weapons: a guitar on Yui Hirasawa and Azusa Nakano, a sniper rifle on Sinon, two swords and articulated wings on Kirito, a microphone and stand, guitar and wings on Hatsune Miku 2.0
• Alternate parts: alternate hair and a small companion figure on Persona 5 Joker, a damaged-armor upper body on Darkness

Three expressions in one box. That's more moods than my truck has, and my truck has a lot of moods in August.

Heights and scale

Only one figma listing in our data states a height: King Kazma from Summer Wars, 5.5 inches, listed as non-scale and made of ABS and PVC. The rest don't say. figma figures are small. Plan a narrow shelf, not a deep one, and use the listing photos with something for scale in them. A photo with a hand or a coin in it beats any number of studio shots on a white background. If no photo has anything for scale, compare it with a Nendoroid listing from the same series, since those are small too, and work from there. It's not a measurement. It's a best guess, and I'll call it that.

Who figma suits, and who should skip

figma suits someone who wants to change a pose every week and likes a box full of parts. It suits a small shelf too. Who should skip: someone who wants a big figure that fills a shelf, or someone who'd rather never think about a pose. A figma figure with no pose is a figure lying down.

Nendoroid, 1/7 scale and figFIX

Max Factory has a few non-figma figures in our data.

Nendoroid

Nendoroids are small figures with oversized heads and swap parts. Our data lists Elsie and Haqua from The World God Only Knows, and Nadeshiko Kagamihara, Aoi Inuyama and Rin Shima (Deluxe Version) from Laid-Back Camp. The Deluxe Version is the one to read carefully: the word in the title is the only thing in our data that tells it apart, so compare the photos and box list with a standard listing before you pick. For the wider Nendoroid line, see our Good Smile Company page.

1/7 scale PVC figures

These are posed figures at one-seventh scale, made to look at, not to move. Our data has Aoi Sakurai from Rail Wars and Super Sonico (Racing Version), both titled 1:7 PVC Figure. The Super Sonico listing sits in one of the higher price tiers of our Max Factory data. A 1/7 figure is a shelf piece. It needs a front-row spot.

figFIX and statues

figFIX is a posed figure line. Our data has the KanColle Amatsukaze figFIX (Half-Damage Version). The statue group adds the Character Vocal Series 03 Megurine Luka (Tony Version) and a Lineage II Elf PVC Figure.

PLAMAX and other Max Factory kits

PLAMAX is Max Factory's plastic model kit line, and it's the second-biggest group in our data. These are builds, not finished figures.

Character kits at 1:20

Our data has three 1:20 PLAMAX character kits: the MF-20 Minimum Factory Lynn Minmay China Dress Ver. from Macross, and two Military Qty's kits, the MF-28 Colletta and the MF-39 Burney (Makeup Edition). There's also a Plamax Nene model kit. A 1:20 human figure is small but not tiny.

Robot kits: Mashin Hero Wataru and Pacific Rim

Mashin Hero Wataru has the longest run of PLAMAX kits in our data: the MS-02 Ryujinmaru, MS-03 Jyakomaru, MS-04 Black Ryujinmaru & Senjinmaru Set and MS-05 Ryuomaru. The MS-02 and MS-03 sit in the lowest price tier of our Max Factory data, which makes them the entry-level way into a Max Factory kit.

The PLAMAX JG-01 Pacific Rim Cherno Alpha is listed at 1/350.

Ship and combat armor kits

The PLAMAX KC-01 Destroyer Kanmusu Shimakaze is filed with ship kits in our data. Two Fang of the Sun Dougram listings are 1:72 combat armor kits: the Max 08 We211 Maverick and the Max16 Abitate T10B Blockhead.

Marisol looked over this part of the list and saw the scales before she saw the names. "1/20 is a person-sized ratio. 1/350 is a building. Same plastic, different survey," she said. Then she went back to her own kits. She doesn't stay on my side of the garage longer than she has to. The engines are on my side.

Who should skip the kits: anyone who wants the figure on the shelf tonight. Who should look: someone who likes figures and wants to try building one, especially with a robot kit that sits in a low tier.

How to pick a Max Factory figure or kit

My one opinion for this page: for a first figma, pick a listing that names the articulated stand. A posable figure is only as good as the pose it can hold, and in our data only some figma listings state that the stand is in the box. The ones that do save you a separate purchase and a guess.

Then go through this list:

1. Pose, look or build? figma to pose. 1/7 and figFIX to look at. PLAMAX and Dougram to build.
2. Box contents. figma listings name faces, hands, props and stands. Read them.
3. Height or scale. Few listings state either. Use the photos.
4. Version names. Deluxe, 2.0, Half-Damage, Racing, Makeup Edition and China Dress Ver. change the box.
5. Seller. Many Max Factory listings in our data are older ones. Read the seller and the delivery date.

Entry-level picks by tier

If you want a low-risk first Max Factory piece, here's what sits in the lower tiers of our data. The Mashin Hero Wataru MS-02 and MS-03 PLAMAX kits are in the lowest. The Laid-Back Camp Nadeshiko Kagamihara and Aoi Inuyama Nendoroids are one step up. Among figma, the older K-ON, Lucky Star, Black Rock Shooter and Accel World listings sit lower than the newer ones like Persona 5 Joker, KonoSuba or Sword Art Online II.

The 1/7 figures sit higher, and the Super Sonico (Racing Version) sits highest of all our Max Factory listings. That's a second purchase, after you know you like a figure that holds still.

Who Max Factory suits overall

Max Factory suits a collector with a small shelf and a taste for posing. It also suits someone curious about kits who'd like to start small: a PLAMAX robot in a low tier is a gentler start than a large kit from a bigger line.

It's a harder fit for someone who wants a matching row of one size. figma, Nendoroid, 1/7 and 1:20 kits are four different size classes, and few listings state a height. The photos have to do the measuring, and photos are bad at it. I hold my phone next to a figure in a listing photo and try to guess. I'm always wrong by about an inch.

Figures that come back as 2.0

Max Factory sometimes makes a second figma of the same character. Our data has two of them: Hatsune Miku Figma 2.0 and the Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel Saber Alter 2.0, next to an earlier Fate/Stay Night Saber Alter figma. In our data the two Saber Alter listings have different box lists: the earlier one names three expressions and an articulated stand, the 2.0 names three face plates and Excalibur Morgan. If somebody you're buying for already has one, ask which.

Mixing Max Factory with other makers

figma figures are small and posable. They share a shelf well with other small posable lines, like S.H.Figuarts from Bandai. They don't share a shelf well with 1/7 figures, which are bigger and posed. Our anime figures page compares makers by height and scale. For kits, our model kits section explains scales and tools, and Kotobukiya is the other figure brand in our data with a big kit side.

Safety for small parts and kits

Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3. figma faces, hands and stand joints are very small, so keep them on a tray and away from young children.

For PLAMAX and Dougram kits: cut away from your body on a cutting mat, and keep blades away from kids.

Pose it, look at it or build it. Pick one, then pick the character.