Question: The Figure Hobby: Toys or Art or Something Else?

The recently announced Kaustik Plastic NOSFERATU 100th ANNIVERSARY figure has started me wondering: what is the figure hobby about for us? How do we look at and think about and describe our collections or accumulations of figures?

The basic figure retails for $359.00. The Deluxe Version with a base and background and accessories retails for $439.00. Shipping is additional, so adding this figure to a collection could easily cost anywhere from $400 USD to $500 USD.

It's not just this figure. Most new complete figures start at a minimum of $200. I am merely using this particular "niche interest" figure as a springboard for the discussion.

Even factoring in inflation, we're not really "collecting toys" at these prices, are we?

So what are we doing?

Are they "art"? Are they "toys"? Are they "curios"?

How do we categorize our... action figures?

I was initially thinking this question would mostly pertain to "complete" figures -- super heroes, movie characters, etcetera -- but many of us purchase base bodies, after-market heads, and then we track down accessories and costume pieces and put considerable time and money in to creating custom figures, both unique characters and "better than store bought" kitbashed licensed characters. Our custom figures can easily end up costing as much or more than an off-the-shelf complete figure.

There is a "hobby" element in the creative process. Like model railroading is a step (an expensive step) above toy trains, customized figures are on a different level than playing with dolls. Hobbies are activities and activities cost money, so I am not directly addressing the costs relative to the activity aspect of the hobby.

Rather, my question is: how do we characterize the figures we've accumulated, the ones that we display on shelves or cabinets (or hide away in storage boxes or lock up in our hobby rooms), the ones in which we have likely invested a not-insignificant sum? How do we think of them in terms of the objects that they are? Are they toys? Are they objets d'art? Are they true art?

I don't have an answer, that's why I'm asking.

If you or I spend five-hundred dollars on a vampire doll (or any other desired figure), what would we consider it to be? And, to an extent, how would we justify it to other people from outside the hobby, should the need arise?

I suspect there will be a wide variety of answers, since everyone's reasons for collecting are very different.

My own approach to this hobby is from a primarily 'fannish' perspective, so my view on this is highly influenced by that. I was already a collector of smaller Star Wars action figures for a number of years prior to finally getting into 1/6 scale figures. My main motivation for collecting has always been my love of specific characters within the Star Wars universe (particularly Prequels and Clone Wars era). Anakin Skywalker is my all-time favourite character and my entire collection revolves around him, so I had no interest in Hot Toys until they finally made an Anakin figure (circa 2017). And once they did, I only wanted to collect that figure if I could also have certain other characters to go with him. Since they had not yet made my other faves, that is how I began my journey into making custom 1/6 figures.

So, I already had a fairly extensive action figure collection prior to starting to collect 1/6 scale, and therefore I view mass-produced, boxed figures like Hot Toys as basically just bigger, more elaborate, and more expensive collectibles. But then, my budget for brand new, boxed figures is pretty strict -- i limit myself to Hot Toys, and I try to keep purchases to under £300. I tend to only buy one or two HT figures per year, and when I do I use a payment plan, so it doesn't 'feel' *as* horribly expensive. So, I would almost never be purchasing a £400 or £500 figure in the first place, it's just way over my self-imposed budget for an 'official' piece of merchandise. The only way I'd spend more than a Hot Toys price on a Star Wars figure is if I was commissioning individual parts for a custom figure and they added up over time to make the total 'cost' of said custom more expensive than an HT one. I am always much more willing to pay extra for a 'one of a kind' piece than I am for something mass-produced, however nice it may be. I am very particular and choosy about how my favourite characters should look, and if anyone saw my recent rants about the Hot Toys Clone Wars Anakin figure, it will be clear that I prefer to have more 'creative control' when it comes to 1/6 scale these days.

Now, none of that really answers your original question, but I felt I had to give some background information. Do I view my Star Wars collection as 'art'? I would have to say both 'yes' and 'no'. That's because my collection comprises of more than just action figures --- it also contains some original 2D artworks and art prints (fan art and professional illustrations). But the collectible items like action figures and figurines are just that... collectibles. However expensive or limited edition they may be, I still don't view them as 'art' in the way I would view a completely one-of-a-kind piece.  The 1/6 scale figures I've customised myself I suppose could be considered art. That said, I tend to classify them in my mind as 'crafts', probably because I still lack confidence in my own skills and abilities. ;p But there are a couple of pieces I've commissioned from professional 1/6 customisers that I would definitely consider to be works of art.  :'D

Interesting topic. While I guess some people might think of these things as “art”, and to an extent they are. For me, I never really thought of them as anything other than really expensive action figures. I’ve been collecting (when I could) toys, statues, art prints, most of my life, and while I find the stuff “cool”, and art, like Sky I don’t consider stuff that is mass produced as “High Art” like a Rembrandt or a Picasso which is a one off. I also don’t think of them necessarily as “toys” either, since most of these are just too damn expensive to “play” with. Now, I do have figures that I’d like to “play” with — like the Western and some of the Star Wars figures that I have. I would actually consider the customs I have as closer to “art” than say, even Hot Toys — like the Logan’s Run, or the kitbashed/custom figures for my wife’s book — since they are “one-offs”. But overall, I guess I still just see this stuff as action figures, dolls, toys, call it what you want. I never really cared one way or another what I’d call them, or what others call them. Aside from my wife and a few others, most will probably never see my collection until after I’m dead, so I don’t really have to “classify” them to outsiders, though I have a couple of times, but then (probably more out of embarrassment that a man pushing 60 is “playing with dolls”) I refer to them as “High End Collectible Action Figures.”

Interesting points, all. And I do feel much the same way Mark does.

Yeah, I think as Stryker says, there's a distinction for me between whatever one classes action figures as, and 'high art'. Perhaps one could call some of these pieces (along with collectible statues and art prints, etc) 'pop art' at most. I see pop art as being similar to fan art in that it's inspired by popular culture, but perhaps created to a much higher standard. For me, many custom 1/6 scale figures would fall into that category.

Stryker2011 wrote: ...I guess I still just see this stuff as action figures, dolls, toys, call it what you want.

I have been thinking about this question since I posted the topic a number of days ago, and I came to the realization that no matter how much a "special figure" might cost, it's still just a toy to me. I don't think of them as being anything else. I play with them (usually in the form of photos or photo-stories), and they amuse me, so they're toys (or dolls or figures), nothing more profound than that.

I mean... if I am willing to take them outside where they are subject to "face plants" off the deck...


... I'm obviously not thinking in terms of them being "art" or even "keepsakes," and certainly not in terms of investment potential. So they're toys to me... and a lot of fun!

Since I'm older now, and have, like, a job and stuff, I can afford more expensive toys than when I was a kid, I guess.

A lot of people spend a LOT more money on their toys: sports cars, boats, motorcycles, fishing rods and reels, off-road vehicles – so relatively speaking, the figure hobby is pretty cheap. No insurance required, for one thing!

[NOTE: figs pictured for illustration purposes are 1/3-scale Culture Japan Smart Dolls, which actually cost about the same as the Nosferatu figure that started me thinking about this. They survived unscathed, by the way, and have been subject to lots more dirt, dust, mud, and unplanned falls since!]

The condition of my earlier toys (G.I. Joe, Six Million Dollar Man and The Lone Ranger) is evidence that I played hard with my toys in the past. I guess that’s the difference with now. These more recent figures in my collection (say over the last 20 years) probably amount to close to $20,000, so I don’t abuse them like I would have several decades ago. I’d probably “play” with them more if I wasn’t terrified of ruining things that are so expensive. I would never, for example, pull a Harrison Ford with any of these things.

I've always considered the 1:6 hobby as part creative expression and part art therapy... a means to decompress and in a manner of speaking, control over a wee part of my personal cosmos.
As someone who has always had a fair bit of social anxiety...both the forum community and their creativity has been a source of inspiration and validation.

So called normies would just call them toys or dolls no different to a children's doll, and if they didn't already think me crazy just for having them they certainly would once they hear how much they cost.
I've had many hobbies before I stumbled onto this and while all gave me some levels of joy, I don't think they ever gave me quite the satisfaction I still have when I get a new figure.
When I got my first one less than a year ago actually, I positively felt giddy when opening it and seeing the level of detail. And it wasn't even a particularly good figure, one of my least favorite purchases thinking about it hindsight.
My other hobbies include R/C kits, and I think those are about the same percent toys as these premium action figures.

I certainly view them as more like decorative art pieces. I buy most of them based on aesthetic value. Meaning I will buy any figure even from franchises that mean nothing to me if I think it looks cool.
Since I'm often sentimental about objects, if anything were to happen to the figures I have I'd be devastated.

none of this stuff is Cheap... but it is Creative, Beautiful Art that is precious to me... and Worth Every Penny;