Destroy and ReCreate

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Jacks Pacific figure for Romulus custom, Savage Dragon Torso, Kaz-ar Lower body part, AoA Wolverine Head, Grayson Hunt Head, Yellow Stripe Wolverine

Custom Water Tank, Jacks Figures good for Romulus custom, Savage Dragon Torso,Kaz-ar Lower body part, AoA Wolverine Head, Grayson Hunt Head

Yellow Stripe Wolverine

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     Taking good care of your action figure collection is easy. It will help your collection last longer, making for nice displays and maintain their collectible value. Here’s a few simple steps will help keep your action figures looking like new.
 

• Keep your figures displayed in an area where no direct sunlight can reach them. If they're displayed on a bookshelf or display case, make sure they are set in an area of the room farthest from any windows that allow in a lot of sunlight.
• Keep your figures stored or displayed in a room that keeps an average comfortable room temperature. Do not store your figures where excess heat can affect them, such as a garage or an attic. Nobody wants a melted collection!
• If you're storing your figures in boxes, use sturdy plastic storage containers with lids that seal on in order to help keep out excess humidity. Consider sealing each figure in its own zip-lock plastic bag before they're put into the container. Cardboard boxes are not ideal for storage as they let in heat and humidity as well as often contain acids that over time can destroy plastics and discolor paint.
• Fight off dirt and dust build-up by handling your figures carefully. If they do get dirty, most figures can be cleaned by letting them soak in warm soapy water and scrubbing gently with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Dust can be easily removed with a can of air-propelled dust remover like you'd use on computer equipment and keyboards.

• Heat and sunlight can cause the plastic bubble that encases the figure (called a "blister") to become extremely brittle which can lead to cracking. Also, heat and sunlight can cause the glue that holds the blister to the cardboard backing (called the "card") to loosen, making the blister fall right off of the card and now your figures can be considered "loose" whether you like it or not.
• Direct sunlight can wreak havoc on the printing inks on the card, bleaching and fading the graphics in a matter of weeks and destroying its "mint" value.
• Be mindful of the backing card as it's made of inexpensive cardboard that can easily bend, crease or peel apart if handled improperly or dropped. Also, your finger's natural oils can cause the inks on the card to discolor or bleach if handled too often. All of these things will lessen the mint value of your figure, as other collectors look for these problems when buying or grading a "mint on card" action figure.

     Action figures come in all shapes and sizes and although it's easy to break out a ruler and simply measure one of your action figures, that's not really going to help you to understand the scale references often used by toy companies and long-time collectors. Besides, it's way cooler to tell a fellow collector on an action figure forum that you picked up some nice 1:10 scale figures. It's all part of the lingo.

     The term scale refers to the size ratio to a normal sized object. In this case, we're talking about smaller representations of the human figure. For standardization purposes, toy companies refer to the usual ideal human figure as being 6 feet tall (we're usually talking about heroic figures such as Batman or Darth Vader, hence the height). Therefore an action figure that is also 6 feet tall (which I have never seen) would have a 1:1 ratio. A 3 foot tall action figure (again, never seen one) would have a 1:2 ratio and so on.

1:4 Scale (aprox. 18")

     This scale is one of the largest common scales for action figures and is technically reserved for dolls, if we're going by the doll/action figure definition, as they often have "real" hair or cloth clothing. Examples of this format can be found in Sideshow's Premium Format figures and the superhero dolls made by Tonner.

1:6 Scale (aprox. 12")

     This scale holds a special place in action figure history as it was the original size of the very first figure to sport the "action figure" moniker, G.I. Joe. This was the reigning scale for action figures during the first decade or so after G.I. Joe hit the market, and many company's toyed with 12" figures of their own, including the 12" Star Wars dolls from Kenner in the late '70s and Mego's 12" line of superhero dolls, featuring Batman, Superman and a TV tie-in version of Wonder Woman.

1:9 Scale (aprox. 8")

     This scale is pretty much exclusive to the Mego toy company's World's Greatest Heroes line of 8" action figures that ruled the toy aisles in the late '70s and early '80s. Other toy companies were quick to follow, such as Ideal with their famous monsters and Evel Knievel lines. This size became so popular, in fact, that G.I. Joe himself shrunk down to this size (although a petroleum shortage needed to make plastic didn't help, either).

1:10 Scale (aprox. 7")

     For today's collectors, the 1:10 scale seems to be the king of the hill. Several action figure lines are being produced in this format from Mattel's DC Universe to Marvel's Lengends line. Mattel has made an even bigger splash with their Masters of the Universe Classics line that re-imagines the old school fantasy figures in a newer 7" scale. This size tends to be more popular with adult collectors than with children looking for play value.

1:18 Scale (aprox. 3.75" - 4")

     Mego started it with their Pocket Heroes line in the late '70s, followed shortly thereafter by Fisher Price with their Adventure People line, but it would be Kenner's massively popular Star Wars collection that would set the unshakable standard for action figures of this scale for almost 20 years. Figures in this scale were less expensive, easier to fit into vehicles and loads of fun to collect. Toy lines such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero did extremely well in this size as did many movie figures, such as Indiana Jones and Tron and figures based on TV shows, like The Dukes of Hazzard and ChiPs.
Although 3.75" was the standard in this scale, a proper 1:18 scale figure should be 4", and a recent resurgence in popularity of this size has brought us several new figure lines from Marvel, DC Comics, G.I. Joe and Star Wars.

1:32 Scale (aprox. 5" - 6")

     Chances are, if the figure was based on a movie made during the '90s (Last Action Hero, Congo, Jurassic Park, Super Mario Brothers) their action figures were this size. Throughout the 1990s, figures ranging between 5-6" took over the action figure world, pretty much killing the 3.75" figures and setting a new standard. Although not very popular today, figures in this scale will never be forgotten.

1:48 Scale (aprox. 2")

     It should be noted that with the rise in popularity and collectability of figures such as Lego "minifigs" and other miniature, yet fully articulated, figures from other building sets such as Mega Bloks, the 2" tall figure is starting to hold its own and is beginning to command respect in the collectibles world. These figures may very well one day be the reigning scale standard in the not too distant future, so they get an honorable mention here.

Toys Scale reference

Toy Scale reference