Here we take a look at some of the most common scales used for action figures.
1:1 Scale (life-size)
Life size figures are very rare and also very expensive, although there were many life size figures produced for advertising products in shop displays, very few of them ever come on the market. One of the most common life size models to be found for sale in the UK is the Dalek from Dr Who.
1:4 Scale (approx. 18″)
This scale is one of the largest scales for action figures and is mainly used for dolls. One example of this format can be found in the superhero dolls made by Tonner.
1:6 Scale (approx. 12″)
This was the original size of the very first action figure to be produced in the USA, G.I. Joe, later to become Action Man in the UK. This became a standard scale for the larger action figures including the 12″ Star Wars dolls from Kenner in the late ’70s and Mego’s 12″ line of superheroes.
1:8 Scale (approx 10″)
This size became very popular in the 80’s, some of the figures produced in this scale include the HM Armed Forces Range
1:9 Scale (approx. 8″)
This scale is pretty much exclusive to the Mego toy company’s World’s Greatest Heroes line of eight-inch 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 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 (approx. 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 Legends 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 seven-inch scale. This size tends to be more popular with adult collectors than with children looking for play value. NECA also produced a Lone Ranger 7″ Deluxe Two Action Figure Set.
1:12 Scale (approx. 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 five and six inches 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.
1:18 Scale (approx. 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.
1:48 Scale (approx. 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 two-inch-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 honourable mention here.