Your first purchase

Simple question what was your first 1/6 figure? How did you get it, and why? Any regrets?

My first figure was the Sideshow Wonder Woman Comic authentic figure:



After taking a deep breath I plunged into it despite the price which seemed outlandish for a "toy".
This was before the recession and I had some cash left over after not doing much of anything during lockdowns, so it I felt I could afford it even if it is a bust.
But the figure exceeded my expectations, at first I barely dared to handle it, like some invaluable jewel.

In hindsight though it is probably one of my least favorite figures I own, the suit is quite plain, I'm not a fan of the molded hair and the accessories are cheap plastic looking, including the bust part of the outfit. And to top it off it has wobbly legs, so she can't stand up on her own, and came with an ugly plain black plastic stand with zero decoration. But at the time of purchase it seemed like the most amazing collectible toy I've ever seen.

As for the why I got it, I was curious what's all the fuss was about, when I saw a few commentators on youtube talking about and displaying collectibles. I have not even heard about 1/6 collectible figures until a few months before finally pulling the trigger on my first purchase. The anniversary of which is coming up soon in march. And now I have 14 original figures and 13 custom ones displayed. And if someone offered me all the money back I spent on them this past year, I'm not sure I'd take the deal. Or if I did only to purchase different figures.

Your Sideshow Wonder Woman looks fantastic. The strong shoulder sculpting is excellent! I like the sense of "flow" in the molded hair. The face is nicely sculpted and painted, with an intensity in the gaze. It's a very attractive figure.

Prior to getting in to the seamless figures, I was only buying "playline" dolls and figures. As you noted, the price of the "collector figures" seemed outlandish. The first complete collector-type figure I purchased was TBLeague Purgatori:


That was in mid-2019. Back then, Purgatori was lingering in stock at some of the online retailers, so I considered the purchase for a number of months before deciding to go for it. Things have certainly changed in the three years since, with most figures now being offered in extremely limited production runs and pre-ordering being required to assure getting the figure at original retail price.

My first 1/6 figure purchase was the first six CyGirls back in 2001.  I got them online, but I don’t remember where.  They all arrived on the same day.   What made me buy them?   I’ve always loved female characters and action figures, but back then, before the “adult Collector” market had fully formed, they were few and far between.  On top of that, most of them were hideous.  It’s like the toy companies were intentionally trying to make them look homely.  I used to refer to it as “Barbiephobia”:  The irrational fear of making a female action figure that was “too pretty”.  Then, out of nowhere, came these 1/6 female figures with beautiful faces, interesting uniforms and outfits, and armed to the teeth.  I was hooked.

I quit 1/6 for 15-16 years (circa 2005).  I was collecting 1/12 almost exclusively, and the TBLeague Vampirella that came out in 2021 intrigued me.  I picked one up, and really liked her, so over the next couple of months, I gobbled up all of TBLeague’s 1/12 offerings.  That led me here because the TBLeague figures were pretty much shunned by the conventional 1/6 action figure message boards as “sex toys”.  Coming here really opened my eyes to how much was available in 1/6, and I finally caved in and bought the Black and Gold Spartan Commanders.  I bought the black version first, but the gold version beat her here by a couple of days.  I have no regrets.  Unfortunately, over a year removed from a crazy 1/6 binge, they’re among the few purchases that I DON’T regret.

For what’s it’s worth, I think your Sideshow Wonder Woman looks fantastic.

I love that Wonder Woman's stern expression!! Great head I'd say.

I started collecting fashion dolls in 2011 and spread out into action figures in 2016 after getting hooked whilst browsing an action figure shop to find an 1/6 Iron Throne for my fashion ladies... Expensive mistake that was...

My first figure was the first Hot Toys Winter Soldier, which had been pretty much sold out for a while at most shops. I had been totally and utterly crazy about this character back then.

There was an Italian shop still offering him (even at an acceptable rate considering the higher shipping). I got him and was totally shocked when I could not move his left arm. As a complete newbie without any experience with these figures, I did not know what to do. The elbow joint had been stuck. I wrote with the shop to and from and they offered to send him back to fix him and return him to me - all at their cost. They had DPD pick him up, immediately worked on him and got him back to me. Still not that easy to move the arm, but possible. That seems to be the default with him though.
I was very grateful to this shop. That's customer service how it should be.

Still a great figure with tons of accessories - well, weapons *lol*

BUCKY - Winter Soldier by Daniela, auf Flickr

(an old pic from the days I got him)

After all these years, there are a lot more figures on my shelves now and I also got into customising my stuff in 2018.

My first figure was the 101st Airborne in Iraq from Dragon that I bought around 2008 or so if not earlier at a Militaria Store. Then again, I still had 2 Action Man figures left over from my Childhood that are also still sitting on my shelf.

I honestly can’t answer this easily because I guess it would depend on what you consider “true” 1/6th. If we’re just talking 12” figures, I didn’t purchase my first myself. My first would have to be a G.I. Joe Naval figure back when I was probably 3-4 years old (late ‘60s). I guess my real first that I purchased would be Gene Simmons from KISS back in the 70s (I already had Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley), and it took another year of saving my allowance and pay from farm work before I was able to pick up Peter Criss.

Phicen PLMB2013-17 in january 2014.


Around here also known as Lexi. Still my favorite and going strong, after many shoots, although she's now using her 3rd body.



I wish they'd make that skincolor again.

Although I did have an Old Shatterhand figure as a kid.

davidd wrote:Your Sideshow Wonder Woman looks fantastic. The strong shoulder sculpting is excellent! I like the sense of "flow" in the molded hair. The face is nicely sculpted and painted, with an intensity in the gaze. It's a very nice figure.

Prior to getting in to the seamless figures, I was only buying "playline" dolls and figures. As you noted, the price of the "collector figures" seemed outlandish. The first complete collector-type figure I purchased was TBLeague Purgatori:

I don't regret buying the wonder woman figure, especially since I actually hit the jackpot because it uses a phicen body. I did not even know what that was. Only figured it out when the arm of my second figure broke the first time moving it. Now I'm exclusively shopping for figures with seamless bodies, or at least no exposed joints outside of the feet / wrists.

That was in mid-2019. Back then, Purgatori was lingering in stock at some of the online retailers, so I considered the purchase for a number of months before deciding to go for it. Things have certainly changed in the three years since, with most figures now being offered in extremely limited production runs and pre-ordering being required to assure getting the figure at original retail price.

Ah, you know how many times I still do that? Put something into the cart, almost press order only then to go back and empty the cart and maybe wishlist some of the items forgetting the rest?
I don't know if it is the limited production or collecting figures getting more popular, but it is really annoying that you have to pre-order everything almost if you don't want to miss out. I have a few that got away from me this way, but still I try to not get more pre-orders, as the shop I usually pre-order from has a pretty silly policy that you must have the figure shipped to you within 10 days of arrival. It happened to me more than once that one of my preorders arrived and after paying for shipping another one came in a few days later, necessitating to pay for separate shipping.

TravelGuide wrote:Phicen PLMB2013-17 in january 2014.

I wish they'd make that skincolor again.

Although I did have an Old Shatterhand figure as a kid.

I actually have one of the early tan color phicen bodies, that I found at a local sex shop sitting on a shelf, the box all faded and discolored. I paid $15 + shipping for it, the shipping was almost more. I asked if they have more, sadly to me they only had one.

i probably, have a box of 50 painted/fuzz head action men in the loft, which was followed by the reissue of the GI joe figures, and then 21st century / dragon, then DID. one sixth has never really been my main hobby, but has always been there, so i kind of float in and out but mostly keep an eye on whats going on. for about 10 years i spent my money on movie posters and VERY little toys at all. thats now too expensive to feel worthwhile if im honest. plus i have way too many posters to ever display in 100 life times haha. i also opened a toy shop in 91, so basically im old hahaha

For me this is a very simple question to answer..


LOADING: Image(s)

Medicom - RAH Stormtrooper 11.1/2 inches tall (1/6th scale)
I picked up the Stormtrooper long before i knew of the existence of Hot Toys

Kenner - Bossk 10cm is way older than the Stormtrooper, but does not really count, as he is not 1/6th scale.

m76 wrote:

TravelGuide wrote:Phicen PLMB2013-17 in january 2014.

I wish they'd make that skincolor again.

Although I did have an Old Shatterhand figure as a kid.

I actually have one of the early tan color phicen bodies, that I found at a local sex shop sitting on a shelf, the box all faded and discolored. I paid $15 + shipping for it, the shipping was almost more. I asked if they have more, sadly to me they only had one.

I'm a bit confused that you saw it at a local shop sitting on a shelf, but had to pay for shipping. You weren't in the shop?

For me it is difficult to answer -- partly because so much time (and collecting) has passed (although I think all of my sixth-scale figures were purchased well after 2001), partly because I inevitably think in sub-categories. So I had to think about it.

I grew up on the rare Star Wars 3.75-inch action figures my grandmothers were kind enough to send in from abroad. To me they were the only exposure to action figures, so I thought that size and that level of articulation were it (although I also had a vague notion that Kenner had made larger figures, as I had seen them in some of the advertisements in the French children's magasine Pif and they looked more detailed than the ones I got). So, while I still had an incentive to fill out my 3.75-inch collection when I was at the right place and time to do so, it still took me a long while to look at six-inch action figures. G.I. Joes had not been on the radar for me, since I did not grow up with them, and I had no interest in Barbies and the like.

One day, stopping by an out-of-business sale at a local toy store, I noticed an unexpected level of articulation on a Mattel Max Steel Wave Rider figure -- since he wasn't wearing much you could see almost all the joints and realize just how articulated the figure was. Bendable elbows, knees, ankles, outward motion at the shoulders and hips had me sold. So I guess that was my first sixth-scale figure. Much later I realized the body was very much the same as a G. I. Joe ones.

That made me look for comparable female figures. Barbie was still out (too much pink and, at the time, I think still no advanced articulation), but eventually I came across the Triad Toys Otaku figures and picked up some of them. Of course, they had ugly open joints but, worse, a nasty habit of breaking at the biceps swivel.

For all their limitations, Max Steel and Otaku had gotten my interest, and I did not stop looking for improved options. I picked up a Hasbro 12-inch Stormtrooper, which was an improvement of previous issues but was eventually sacked in favor of the Sideshow Stormtrooper ANH version which was so much better, while still suffering from some wrong proportions and a floppy body (it has been long since superseded by Hot Toys ones). I consider the last my first high-end sixth-scale action figure. The expensive addiction to Hot Toys started with their Terminator 2 T-800.

In terms of female base bodies, I graduated from Triad Toys to Phicen's seamless plastic skeleton bodies (with the seemingly inevitable disappointment of a broken biceps), before the infinitely better stainless-steel skeleton bodies appeared and blew everything else out of the water; my first actual Phicen (now TBLeague) set was Arhian Head Huntress.

Since none of them are very handy at the moment, most of the photos of the mentioned products below are not mine, except for Arnie (the Sideshow Stormtrooper is from one of Michael Crawford's reviews) --

TravelGuide wrote:
I'm a bit confused that you saw it at a local shop sitting on a shelf, but had to pay for shipping. You weren't in the shop?

I saw it online, but even if I seen it in person, there is no way I'm walking into an adult toy shop to buy a phicen.
But I wish they brought back that color too, as the new ones look more grey than tan to me.

Excellent question and topic starter!

My first foray into the sixth scale world was the Hot Toys DX-08 Batman 89 Jack Nicholson Joker figure!



I received it from a dear friend as an awesome Christmas present back in 2012. I really wanted the 89 Batman figure next, but they were sold out at the time and the secondhand market never quite cooled down. (On a side note I just preordered the reissue “deluxe” version a couple days ago!!)

Then in 2015 he gifted me the Hot Toys MMS293 Batman Returns figure, which is probably still my favorite figure to date!

My first seamless figure was the TBLeague S29, quickly followed by M34…

It’s all been downhill from there!

I was browsing eBay for Barbie clothes one day in 2015 when I saw this figure. I had no idea such things existed! I had to buy 'Barbarian Barbie' and was hooked soon after.

My first figure was the Spartan Silver Commander ordered from Amazon about a year ago.  A year prior to that I had seen my first 1/6 figures, three WW II soldiers in an associate’s office.  When I asked him about them, he said I could find them on the internet, and they weren’t that expensive (a matter of opinion).  When I finally started checking them out six months later, I became enamored with a couple of VeryCool female shooters, which were being offered at $250 - $350 on eBay plus $50 to $100 shipping from Asia – wow.

I did locate the Spartan Commander on Amazon for a reasonable price and ordered her just to see the quality.  I was amazed at the detail and must say she looks better in person than in the promo pics I’d seen.  She is still one of my favorites and stands proudly on the corner of my desk at home (quick cellphone photo below).




After seeing the TBLeague seamless body, I promptly ordered an S23B from GianToy and was surprised that it only took two weeks to get here, going through customs and all.  Next came a couple of head sculpts, guns and military gear off eBay, and I started kit bashing my own shooters as well as ordering three more from GianToy (two POs and the Damtoys sniper from Lone Survivor) over a period of months.  Although my primary focus is female shooters and modern military, I’ve added the TBL Ghost Soldier and Kier Shadow of Heaven to keep the Spartan company, as well as Super Girl (S22A), Ms. Marvel (S43B) and NieR 2B ver. 2.0 (S46B body).  These things multiply really fast!

I finally realized I have too much gear and not enough bodies, so I've picked up three VeryCool bodies (FX07, FX09 and a smaller one with no hands or feet) at reasonable prices and a few more TBL bodies.  Now my problem is finding the time to put them all together and build some passable backdrops or dioramas for photographing them.  It might help if I didn’t hit the New Product Announcements here every few days, but I really enjoy this board.

I was just meandering the net looking for a Harley Quinn doll, statue, whatever....I saw this version, I had never seen a Phicen before and was immediately dumbstruck by the realism.  Regrets....complete loss of interest in all my bjd dolls which are now collecting dust, thousands upon thousands of dollars on too many bodies I don't need, head sculpts, tons of clothes, and a polarizing obsession.  A hobby I have to hide from friends, who think it's ridiculous to play with dolls.  My husband truly dislikes them and hates if I talk about them.  A blessing and a curse, to be dramatic...but still love them all, posting photos of them, the shopping and searching, and the forums I enjoy...

Melancholic wrote:Regrets....complete loss of interest in all my bjd dolls which are now collecting dust....

BJDs and 1/6-scale action figures are not mutually exclusive hobbies. You simply need to teach your dolls to play nicely together!

Melancholic wrote:A hobby I have to hide from friends, who think it's ridiculous to play with dolls.  My husband truly dislikes them and hates if I talk about them...

Wow. This makes me sad on your behalf.

I dunno...after you see a phicen, all other dolls look clunky and childish in comparison. I'm sure Phicens would be constantly cutting down the poor bjds confidence behind their backs...whispering audibly about their ugly joints, bad hair pieces, hard resin bodies, etc..., you know, being complete Tbsnobs...

I never realized action figures were like people... I mean mean girls.

Stryker2011 wrote:

Melancholic wrote:A hobby I have to hide from friends, who think it's ridiculous to play with dolls.  My husband truly dislikes them and hates if I talk about them...

Wow. This makes me sad on your behalf.

Really? I didn't realize I was alone in this...maybe I need new freinds...not a new husband though, I'm terribly fond of the existing one.

GubernatorFan wrote:I never realized action figures were like people... I mean mean girls.

They aren't. Just in my overactive imagination.

Melancholic wrote:

Stryker2011 wrote:

Melancholic wrote:A hobby I have to hide from friends, who think it's ridiculous to play with dolls.  My husband truly dislikes them and hates if I talk about them...

Wow. This makes me sad on your behalf.

Really?  I didn't realize I was alone in this...maybe I need new freinds...not a new husband though, I'm terribly fond of the existing one.

Well, not entirely alone. I’m sure many of us can relate (or empathize) in one way or another. My wife calls these things (all of 1/6th — not just TBLeague) “really expensive Barbies.” But what she doesn’t do is tell me to stop or discourage me from the hobby; overall, she thinks they are cool looking, if a bit wasteful money-wise, but she also thinks it’s neat that I made mini-me’s of her and I. And I show her stuff all the time. The last “in real life” friend I had said to me “You and I have very different priorities,” when he saw my collection, and just walked away. He passed in 2019, so… yeah…
Thankfully, boards like this exist for like-minded people to share in their enthusiasm for this quirky little hobby.