Statues or Action Figures...or both?

Hey there!

I'm pretty new here. Got interested when I visited a LOTR exhibition with lots of cool statues and dioramas. I instantly knew I need some figures for my home. After some reading on the net, I went on to get my first statue: Weta Sauron. Was definately an excellent buy and I love it!

A few weeks later and I know I want to do a villains theme, because LOTR only wasn't for me. But now, here is the thing: I can't decide if I should go for premium statues only (and save a bit longer) or if I could be satisifed with good action figures too.
Atm Iam looking at mythos Vader compared to SS ROTJ Vader and also if I should go for the Asmus Toys stuff (which looks pretty cool) instead of polystone versions of figures like morgul lord, ringwraith or saruman.

Every time I want to buy an "action figure" my finger stops moving and my brain goes: waaaaiit. Why not go for a statue instead? Especially since I don't plan to get 50 different ones...just maybe around 10-15.


So how do you do it? Just buy what you like or do you prefer one over the other?
Are the high prices (yes, yes, always the same topic) for action figures ok compared to statues? I'm unsure...maybe some insight or simple thoughts from you would help me with my decisions on my future path of collecting villains.

Just buy what you like

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Just buy what you like

Just buy what you like.

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk 2

Just buy what you like

Ermmmm...

Just buy what you like

Ok, i'm gonna give you a breakdown since everyone else is useless

Things to consider are space, money, and what lines you want to collect. If you are only going for 10-15 pieces, have lots of room, and a pretty hefty amount of liquid income, go for statues. I, personally go for statues since I prefer less congestion in my display. If you like multiple lines of characters, or want a smaller display, go for figures or hot toys. Prices are going up across the board so money will be high regardless. Of course 10-15 statues will run you a lot higher than 10-15 figures. Another thing to consider are the boxes. Most of us collectors keep the boxes and brown shippers and statue boxes take up significantly more space than hot toys boxes.

Oh we're being helpful now?

Seriously...buy what YOU like.

For me personally, statues all the way.

OK, helpful it is:

Statues = awesome dynamic poses that will never be achieved in an action figure. But the paint apps on polystone are rarely, if ever, up to the same photorealistic standard as high-end action figures.

Action figures = offers more customisation options and greater variety of switch out accessories. But the relatively small scale means tailoring can be crude in mass production. Hence some custom-made 1/6 suits, for example, can easily cost as much as getting it done at 1:1, but some folks will pay it 'cause they're more convincing at that scale than what comes out of the box. And because they're a bit weird.

Statues = heavy quite often. Depending where you live, shipping can be a killer.

Statues - according to many statue collectors - are manly, the contemporary equivalent of the statue of David. Action figures - according to many statue collectors - are a stone's throw away from being a Barbie and girls will ridicule you for owning them.

Statues = quite often larger in scale they can have more 'shelf presence' - though 1/4 scale action figures are a good option where scale matters. Not too many 1/4 figures around though, especially if you're not into Batman or Terminator.

Other members can add to this list, or challenge some of my points.

At the end of the day it's apples and oranges. I collect action figures over statues because I appreciate the photorealistic aspect, the play value that comes from posing them and because space is a commodity where I live. But really... just buy what you like.

Statues are WYSIWYG. You plop it on the shelf and you're done. Admire, dust, rinse, repeat. Action figures are more open to possibilities with all the poses and accessories you can hang on the thing. Just look at what people have done with their Babydoll and Black Widow.

Action figures are great obviously due to the reposing, but be prepared to spend hours getting the perfect pose! It can be addicting and very fun.

Statues I like to think of as "point and shoot." As Mr. Iggyrox stated, all you do is unpack, display, and that's it. Maybe switch out an accessory or two if applicable, or maybe tilt it a little bit to a certain side.


I personally have begun to prefer statues are they tend to be more widely available in larger scales, and you can sometimes get a more dynamic pose out of them without having to worry about a joint showing, certain parts of the body not looking right with the pose, mixed media fitting better (usually), etc. Of course, if you don't like the pose to begin with, then you're kind of screwed!

Thanks for the opinions guys. Even the BWYL crowd

I think I slightly prefer statues because of the size (1/4 scale) which makes them special BUT as someone mentioned, there aren't too many good ones out there. Also, the size can be strange when you want to add some smaller ones too. If they all have a similar size, it could be more pleasuring to the eyes.

My main point for action figures is customization! I'm a hobby photographer myself and creating scenes for the figures is a big plus. IF I ever want to shoot some scenes that is...
I like the photorealistic view, but I think I always fear they look a bit too much like kids toys (even when I know they are of much better quality). Maybe I need to get my hands on one to make my own opinion.

You mean you haven't seen a high end 1/6 figure in hand? Get to your local toy store. Photographs rarely do them justice, though there are some good photography examples on this board. Search for OMG's pics as an obvious starting point.

Antarion said:

Thanks for the opinions guys. Even the BWYL crowd

I think I slightly prefer statues because of the size (1/4 scale) which makes them special BUT as someone mentioned, there aren't too many good ones out there. Also, the size can be strange when you want to add some smaller ones too. If they all have a similar size, it could be more pleasuring to the eyes.

My main point for action figures is customization! I'm a hobby photographer myself and creating scenes for the figures is a big plus. IF I ever want to shoot some scenes that is...
I like the photorealistic view, but I think I always fear they look a bit too much like kids toys (even when I know they are of much better quality). Maybe I need to get my hands on one to make my own opinion.

Click to expand...

1/4 scale is great, but unfortunately not everything gets the quarter scale treatment.

In my opinion it doesn't really matter if its a figure or statue, as long as it looks good and has great quality. I have a 12" Marcus Fenix and a 12" Kratos from NECA. Technically they are figures, but the superb way that they are sculpted and painted make them look like statues.

The other obvious point is visible joints on action figures. They don't bother me on clothed figures as they remain hidden for the most part - but some figures I've passed on because I think they look ridiculous. Hulk and Jake Sully, I just can't unsee those bigass joints...

Statues are great if you wanna do nothing but take it out of the box and stare at it. Open. Display. Done.

1/6 figures are great if you are a "hands on" type of person. You wanna futz, customize, pose, whatever. There is a ton of "replay" value in 1/6 figures.

If you can anser which one of those you better fall into, then thats what you should focus on.

Personally I find statues kind of boring. One pose and usually not many accessories or display options. Whereas with action figures you can pose them how you want and usually get some type of accessories and possibly option for a different look. I do like some statues but it really just depends on what the "scene" for the statue is. In the end though yeah just decide what you like more.

1/6 Action Figures > Stiff things

Buy what you like. A good statue comes up, that meets your standards and you like the pose? Buy it. 1/6 figure comes up that looks great? Buy it.

Don't impose an arbitrary binary limit on yourself.

Who said statues are 'kind of boring'?!