1:9 Scale - The Sweet Spot Between 1:12 & 1:6

[JustinMP]

I can understand without much discussion why this scale doesn’t seem to get a lot of talk through much of the forum. Though, with 1/6 Scale figs becoming more expensive & 1/12 scale figs just not making the cut for some adult collectors, I’m finding solace in the overlooked outlier scale, 1:9 or 8”.
NECA does amazing sculpt/paintwork and easily takes the cake for being the most successful brand with their 8” Retro Cloth line.
I’ve looked around and Beast Kingdom hopefully will continue improvement with their Dynamic 8ction Heroes line. Their ‘89 Joker is one of the best figures in my collection in any scale.
I hope to find & post some other brave companies attempting figures in the “Goldilocks Zone” of modern adult collecting. Do you ever tread into the 1:9 scale? There have to be other companies I’m missing, do you have a favorite not listed here?
As an aside, 3.75” figures will always have much to offer and are very safe financially for the business & the consumer (though vary in production value) so I’m just excluding them here.
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[JustinMP]

https://beast-kingdom.us/dah-080-batman-tv-series-batman.html
I don’t collect the earlier Batman stuff but when I first saw these go up I thought it was a man in the Batman suit!

 

[JustinMP]

https://beast-kingdom.us/dah-080-batman-tv-series-batman.html
I don’t collect the earlier Batman stuff but when I first saw these go up I thought it was a man in the Batman suit!

 

[JustinMP]

https://beast-kingdom.us/dah-081-batman-tv-series-robin.html

 

[JustinMP]

https://beast-kingdom.us/dah-082-batman-returns-batman.html
It is pretty cool that they’ve done the ‘89 Batman & now they are producing the Returns suit. The ‘89 Batman has its issues but I do like that suit better than the Returns suit personally. I’m not super fond of how BK sculpted the breast plate on this preorder.

 

[JustinMP]

https://beast-kingdom.us/dah-083dx-the-flash-deluxe-version.html
They also not only have the Modern Keaton suit for Batman but Flash figs for preorder. Not my cup of tea, but just since the topic is Batman.

 

[JustinMP]

https://www.toyark.com/2023/07/19/sdcc-2023-beast-kingdom-dc-rick-and-morty-506563#&gid=1&pid=6
Toyark has a great pic of a Sauron figure from the Beast Kingdom SDCC display that hasn’t really been advertised yet. I’d love to see them do more LOTR figures

 

[JustinMP]

https://www.toyark.com/2023/07/20/sdcc-2023-more-beast-kingdom-photos-507155
Great SDCC Display from Toyark of Beast Kingdom. I’m really hoping the company adds more licenses to their brand, even just with a deal with Disney they have tons of possibilities.

 

[JustinMP]

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/177551?o=4
NECA is always going to have the horror end of the 1:9 Scale covered with the Cloth line.
Upcoming figs include Bride of Chucky figs.

 

[JustinMP]

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/227730?o=4
Of course NECA also does some various musical acts in the 1:9 scale as well. New Elton preorders!

 

[JustinMP]

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/235718?o=4
This is definitely a fig I’m going to be picking up, this is an updated re-release of Captain Spaulding!

 

[Mondragon]

Are these the old Mego scale?

 

[JustinMP]

https://trickortreatstudios.com/collections/best-sellers/products/motel-hell-8-inch-figure
Though Trick or Treat Studios 1:9 figures aren’t as articulated or dressed in soft goods like prior mentioned companies, they do offer some supporting characters to a horror collection that is underrepresented in any scale. Such as Motel Hell & Candy Corn

 

[JustinMP]

Are these the old Mego scale?

Yes they were originally based on the classic Mego scale! But NECA ditched the weird proportions (massive Mego heads) & improved the concept in my opinion.

 

[JustinMP]

https://trickortreatstudios.com/collections/figures/products/killer-klowns-fatso-8-inch
Maybe one day we’ll get lucky & get some KKFOS clowns in proper cloth (in any scale!) but these will do until then.

 

[histrionics]

I can understand without much discussion why this scale doesn’t seem to get a lot of talk through much of the forum. Though, with 1/6 Scale figs becoming more expensive & 1/12 scale figs just not making the cut for some adult collectors, I’m finding solace in the overlooked outlier scale, 1:9 or 8”.
NECA does amazing sculpt/paintwork and easily takes the cake for being the most successful brand with their 8” Retro Cloth line.
I’ve looked around and Beast Kingdom hopefully will continue improvement with their Dynamic 8ction Heroes line. Their ‘89 Joker is one of the best figures in my collection in any scale.
I hope to find & post some other brave companies attempting figures in the “Goldilocks Zone” of modern adult collecting. Do you ever tread into the 1:9 scale? There have to be other companies I’m missing, do you have a favorite not listed here?
As an aside, 3.75” figures will always have much to offer and are very safe financially for the business & the consumer (though vary in production value) so I’m just excluding them here.
-

The 1:9 or 1:10 is a nice sweet spot of a scale that I actually preferred at one time. The size had a nicer presence than 1:12, more weight and detail, and was less cumbersome than 1:6, with an overall substantialness that felt just right for action figures. The scale actually has quite a long history that dates well back before our current 1:6 and 1:12 lines. We often mistake it for the Mego figures, but there have been many others in this scale. Sideshow's old Univeral Monsters figures were this size and Mezco made some nice Warriors figures with real cloth and mixed media outfits in a similar scale about 15 years ago. I'd even put the vintage Big Jim figures in this category, although I think those were about 1:8.

I've noticed a lot of new statues, mostly from Sideshow, have been in a similar 1:10 scale. This may not be the place for figures, but the scale seems to resonate well for statues.

I remember Star Ace proposed a bunch of high-end figures in 1:8 scale, like Supergirl and Fantastic Beasts, called the Real Master Series. What ever happened to those figures? Sadly it's a scale that hasn't caught on in our current market so we have little to work with and most 1:9 size figures just have a weird relationship with other 1:6 and 1:12 figures in a collection.

 

[JustinMP]

The 1:9 or 1:10 is a nice sweet spot of a scale that I actually preferred at one time. The size had a nicer presence than 1:12, more weight and detail, and was less cumbersome than 1:6, with an overall substantialness that felt just right for action figures. The scale actually has quite a long history that dates well back before our current 1:6 and 1:12 lines. We often mistake it for the Mego figures, but there have been many others in this scale. Sideshow's old Univeral Monsters figures were this size and Mezco made some nice Warriors figures with real cloth and mixed media outfits in a similar scale about 15 years ago. I'd even put the vintage Big Jim figures in this category, although I think those were about 1:8.

I've noticed a lot of new statues, mostly from Sideshow, have been in a similar 1:10 scale. This may not be the place for figures, but the scale seems to resonate well for statues.

I remember Star Ace proposed a bunch of high-end figures in 1:8 scale, like Supergirl and Fantastic Beasts, called the Real Master Series. What ever happened to those figures? Sadly it's a scale that hasn't caught on in our current market so we have little to work with and most 1:9 size figures just have a weird relationship with other 1:6 and 1:12 figures in a collection.

Thank you for adding something insightful to the conversation! I didn’t know about some of those lines!

 

[JustinMP]

https://www.toyark.com/2023/07/24/neca-scary-xmas-elvira-8-inch-action-figure-510457
NECA is putting out an 8” Cloth Xmas Elvira.
I’ll be honest, I love Elvira. But I’m about Elvira’d to death in terms of NECA. They are milking that sculpt for all it’s worth. I plan on getting her iconic black outfit, but this is 3 of her character in the line. I’d love to see David & Undead Jack make it into the 1/9 NECA line soon.
But I will say a nice addition to this specific Elvira set is the green creature!

 

[JustinMP]

Though I have to admit, I’d probably pick up another Elvira if they put her out in her Rambo-Inspired getup lol I guess a mix between Rambo & Ripley from Alien?

 

[Harlockfan]

Personally, I really like the 1/9 Beast Kingdom figures for the most part. The Dark knight Joker and Batman are really amazing. The 89 Batman, I really liked for a bit until I got the Mezco 89. Which blew the Beast Kingdom out of the water with all the QC issues of the BK 89 Batman. I will be purchasing the 66 Batman and Robin. With my interest more into props and prop replicas, I would rather dedicate space to those than 1/6 figures. I am still buying 1/6th scale figures, but I am just being more selective.