Action Figures and Collectible Figures

What this figures section covers

This is the collectible figures section. It covers action figures you pose, figures that come already posed, statues on bases, and soft vinyl figures. It doesn't cover dolls, plush or building-brick minifigures. Those live elsewhere on the site, or nowhere yet.

Every page here is built from Amazon US listings and maker pages. If a listing leaves out the height, the scale or the age, we leave it out too. Nobody on Piñon Loop has opened, posed or shelved the figures on these pages. What you get is what the listing says, read carefully, and what it doesn't say, said out loud.

One more thing before the tour. We don't talk about value here. No "rare", no "investment", no guesses about what a figure is worth next year. A figure is worth having if you like looking at it. That's the whole math.

A tour of the figure kinds

Figures split by what they're made to do. Some are made to move. Some are made to stand still and look sharp doing it. Here's the short tour, in the order I'd walk a neighbor past my shelves.

6-inch action figures

This is the big middle of action figures. A 6-inch line is a height class, not an exact measurement. The maker sells a whole line at roughly that size, so figures from one line stand together. Joints, extra hands and accessories are the point.

The Marvel Legends list is our 6-inch page so far. Every title on it names the line and the 6-inch size. Makers in our data with lots of posable figures include Hasbro, NECA, McFarlane Toys, Mezco, Super7, Hiya Toys, Diamond Select Toys and Boss Fight Studio.

Premium import figures

These are posable figures from Japanese makers, often smaller than 6 inches, often with a box full of extra faces, hands and effect parts. The S.H.Figuarts list covers one line on its own. Other makers in our data in this group include Kaiyodo, Medicom Toy, Max Factory, Good Smile Company and Bandai.

Import figures come with their own shopping homework. More on that below.

1/6 scale figures

A 1/6 figure is one sixth the size of the character. For a character drawn at 6 feet tall, that's about 12 inches. These are the big posable figures, and some come with cloth outfits instead of molded clothes. Makers in our data at this size include threezero, Medicom Toy and Storm Collectibles.

A 1/6 figure needs a shelf of its own. It doesn't share one with 6-inch figures the way you'd hope. The tall one always looks like it's waiting for the short ones to finish their homework.

Anime figures: scale, prize and non-scale

The anime figures page is the biggest one in the section, with 373 listings in our data at last check. Most anime figures hold one pose. Three words do most of the sorting:

• Scale figure: made at a stated fraction of the character's size, like 1/7 or 1/8, usually posed and not movable
• Prize figure: first made as a prize for arcade and crane games in Japan, usually simpler and lower-cost
• Non-scale: posed, but with no stated scale, so the height line is all you get

Makers in our data with anime figures include Kotobukiya, Taito, FuRyu, Good Smile Company, Banpresto, Max Factory, Alter, MegaHouse and SEGA.

Statues

A statue is a figure built to sit on a base and never move. The statues page keeps only listings the maker or the listing calls a statue, tallest first. Material shows up in the data when the listing names it: PVC on one, polystone or resin on another. Statue makers in our data include Iron Studios, First 4 Figures, Beast Kingdom, Kotobukiya and McFarlane Toys.

My tía saw a statue on my shelf and asked which saint it was. I said it came with a base included, per the listing. She said that wasn't an answer. She's not wrong.

Soft vinyl and designer figures

Soft vinyl, or sofubi, is a hollow vinyl figure with few or no joints. The sofubi page lists them tallest first. Several in our data stand 6 inches, and several list ages 4+, which makes them the most kid-friendly corner of this section by the label. Vinyl and designer figure makers in our data include Bandai, MegaHouse, Medicom Toy, Super7, Funko and Diamond Select Toys.

Scale versus height: two different numbers

These two get mixed up more than anything else in figures. Here's the plain version.

Height is how tall the figure stands, in inches. It's the number your shelf cares about.

Scale is a ratio to the character. 1/6 means one sixth of the character's size. 1/10 means one tenth. The bigger the number after the slash, the smaller the figure.

So two figures at the same scale can stand at very different heights. A tall character at 1/10 comes out taller than a short one at 1/10. A base adds height too. Two 1/10 statues in our data show it: one lists 10 inches, the other 7. Same scale, three inches apart. A 1/6 statue in the same data lists 11.3 inches.

And a "6-inch" line is a height class, not a scale. The maker keeps the line close to one size so the figures look right together.

Theo's take, since he teaches middle-school math: "Scale is a fraction. Height is the answer. Don't hand in the fraction when the shelf asked for the answer."

So read both. Scale tells you whether a new figure matches the row you already have. Height tells you whether the shelf can hold it. If a listing gives only one, assume nothing about the other.

Decide whether you'll pose it or look at it

Straight up, this is my one opinion on this page. Decide whether you want a figure you pose or a figure you look at before you pick a line, a maker or a character.

The reason is in the listings. Action figures list joints, extra hands and stands, because moving them is the point. Scale figures, prize figures and statues are made in one pose, often on a base. If you buy a statue hoping to change the pose on Saturday, nothing on the listing will help you. If you buy a posable figure and never touch it, you paid for joints you'll never use.

Here's the table version:

• You like to set up poses: 6-inch lines, premium import figures, 1/6 figures
• You want a finished scene on a shelf: scale figures, statues
• You want one figure for a desk: prize figures, soft vinyl
• You're buying for a kid: check the age label first, then the joints

My middle shelf is all figures on bases. I dust them. That's the whole relationship.

Import listings and sellers

A lot of figures in this section come from Japanese makers. That changes how you read the listing.

Tamashii Nations, Bandai Spirits' figure brand, says on its page for overseas customers that release dates and prices are generally based on Japan. It tells buyers outside Japan to check release timing with local sellers, and it lists distributors by region, the Americas included. So a figure can be out in Japan before it shows up on a US listing.

On the Amazon page, read these lines before you add anything to a cart:

• Ships from and sold by: who's actually sending the box
• Import note: whether the listing says it's an import
• Maker and line name: spelled the way the maker spells it
• Version name: the words in parentheses, which tell one release from another
• Contents: extra hands, faces, stands and effect parts

We list only licensed makers on these pages. Still, the seller line is where you confirm it's the maker's product and not something that looks like it. If the listing title and the maker's own name for the figure don't match, slow down.

Licensed lines, named as the listing names them

Most figures here are licensed: a toy maker makes a figure of a character someone else owns. We treat that as a fact on the listing and nothing more. You'll see the line and the show or movie named exactly as the listing names them. You won't see us talk about the characters or the stories.

The toy maker is the brand on our pages. That's who made the figure, so that's whose page you'll land on. The studio behind the character isn't a brand we write about.

Small parts

Figures come with small parts: spare hands, faces, weapons, stand pegs and effect pieces.

Small parts: Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3.

The CPSC's small parts rule is behind that line. Products for children under 3 can't contain parts that fit inside its small parts test cylinder. Many figures in this section aren't made for kids at all, and some list 15 and up. Keep the spare parts in a closed box, up high, if a little one lives in the house.

Care and display

Dust is the one thing every figure gets for free. Here's what I'd tell a neighbor:

• Dust dry first: a soft brush or short bursts of canned air
• Keep it out of direct sun: the casita's west window gets no figures, only a calendar
• Read before you wash: some cleaners lift paint
• Let it breathe: Good Smile Company's blog says stickiness builds faster in sealed packaging
• Use the stand: a posed figure on one foot is a figure that's going to try gravity

Good Smile's blog explains where stickiness on soft PVC figures comes from: the plasticizer that keeps the material soft slowly works its way to the surface. Its fix is a gentle hand wash with a neutral detergent, covered in the FAQ below. It also warns that erasers and colorless blender markers can take paint with the dirt, so those are for unpainted spots only.

The casita is one room and a closet. The closet holds the boxes. The room holds the figures. I hold whatever's left, mostly the couch.

Where to go from here

Start with the kind. If you want to pose, try the Marvel Legends or S.H.Figuarts lists. If you want a figure that stands still, try anime figures or statues. If you want something chunky for a desk or a kid old enough for the label, try sofubi. The brand catalog has every figure maker we track.

Read the scale, read the height, then clear a shelf.