Glossary Part 3

Here is the third in my ongoing glossary series.

Action Features (aka gimmick)

Action features, more commonly called gimmicks in Japan, are interesting things a figure can do, beyond be posed or equipped with accessories.  Many lines used them extensively, either all sharing one gimmick, such as Transformers, or using a different one on almost every figure, like Masters of the Universe.  I'm only listing one relevant to modern adult collecting here.

"Lifelike" Action Features

Light-Up.  A simple gimmick, a light-up feature is when a switch on the toy "lights up" and electronic light.  This can really add life to a figure, making it seem much more real, despite being inanimate.  My limited edition Robot Damashii Gundam 00 Qan[T] actually has a blacklight emitting base, while the figure itself is blacklight reactive.  This creates quite a spectacular effect.

Sound Effects.  While uncommon in collector toys, some figures emit sounds or sayings when you press a button on the figure.  This breathes life into the figure by making it appear as if the toy was alive enough to speak or make sounds.

Moving part.  Many figures, especially in the 80's and early 90's has part thatmoved automatically under certain conditions.  Squeezing the legs of a Super Powers Batman, for example, would cause his arm to perform an uppercut punch.  Other examples include: being able to fire a spring-loaded missile, using a rip cord to spin around or even walking (often through the use of wind-up techniques).  These types of features usually come at the cost of poseability or realism.

Toys-to-Life.  I touched on this in a previous Glossary, but this is technically an action feature.  This is when a toy can interact with an electronic medium, such as video games, like amiibo.  I suppose old 80's TV-interactive toys, like Captain Power, count as well.

"Technical" Action Features

Transforming.  The aptly named Transformers line of toys pioneered this gimmick, and continue to master it into today.  I don't have any official Transformers, but I really enjoy a transforming toy.  That fact that action figures can be posed in many ways multiplies its appeal (at least, to me) over a static figure.  There's just more ways you can display it.  Transforming gimmicks take this to the next level.  Ultimately, a transforming a toy is just posing it in an extremely different pose.  You get multiple figures in one, increasing the toy's potential while saving shelfspace!

Combining.  These are toys that are initially separate, but can combine into a larger figure.  Combining figures share many of the benefits of transforming toys.  Like transforming toys, they multiply the potential of a figure, giving you many more ways to pose and display them.

Interchanging Parts.  One of my favorite gimmicks, interchanging parts gives you a whole new level of customization and pose potential.  This is when the parts of some figures, for example, the cockpit pods of my ES Gokin Aestivalises, can be switched between multiple figures.  You can take the pod of the ground-type Aestivalis and place it inside the air-type, and visa versa.  With toylines that have multiple ways of interchanging, you can really explode a figures potential for customization.

Where to Buy Part 3: Auctions

Let's complete the "Where to Buy" trilogy with a look at secondhand auction sites.  (Part 1, Part 2.)  If you really can't find what you want online, you might have to resort to a auction site.  Also, as a lot of items are secondhand on these sites, you can find them for much lower than MSRP.

Auction Sites

Mandarake (http://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/) - Mandarake is a chain of used otaku goods stores in Japan.  They also have a online storefront for selling items and running auctions, and they ship internationally.  This is a great place to find old, hard-to-find or obscure otaku good, including figures.  It is difficult to use, if you don't speak Japanese, because, even though the website is translated, the item listings are not.  Unless the word is originally in romaji (such as "figma"), you'll have to copy-paste the Japanese name into the search field.  (Myfigurecollection.net is a great place to copy from.)  When ordering or bidding on items, they ship from the brick-and-mortar stores, so combining shipping depends on where the item is currently stocked, which lsited in the item listing.  I have never used their auction feature, but I understand is similar to eBay.  They also feature live auctions, which are similar to real-life auctions, but online.

eBay (ebay.com) - Chances are you're familiar with eBay, so I will go over some of the non-obvious, figure-realted aspects.  First and foremost: BEWARE COUNTERFEITS (aka bootlegs, fakes, HK versions, etc.)  There is an epidemic of counterfeit figures being sold, and the majority (online, at least) takes place on eBay.  While it is impossible to know beforehand if an item will be counterfeit, there are several actions you can take to minimize the risk.  First, use a seller you trust, that has perfect or near-perfect feedback and/or you have googled.  There are lots of blacklists on the internet for sellers who have delivered fakes.  Secondly, avoid ordering items shipping from Hong Kong or China.  There are a lot, but I avoid them all; I've been burned too many times.  Some are legitimate, but it's too high a chance for me.  Thirdly, check pictures.  If they use stock photos from the manufacturer, ask for a photo of the specific figure you're bidding on.  Check it against other photos online.  Fourth, check around to see if there are bootlegs of the item you're considering.  If there is no record of bootlegs anywhere on the internet (especially myfigurecollection.net), then you should be okay.  Finally, scan the listing, or ask the seller to make sure they say it is 100% legit.  I have had several sellers admit it was an "HK Version" (which just means counterfeit - this is not a "variant") and several swear up-and-down it wasn't a fake - even though it VERY obviously was.  I plan on doing a post about telling if an item you've received is fake in the future.

Yahoo! Auctions Japan (http://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/) - In Japan, Yahoo! Auctions is far more popular than eBay, so this is the site to use if the above two have let you down.  It does not have an English version, so non-Japanses speakers have their work cut out for them.  You can use a friend, google translate, or Buyee (which is linked to, in English, on the landing page for Yahoo! Auctions Japan or go to http://buyee.jp/?lang=en).  I have never used Buyee, but it looks easy to use and fairly priced.  In most other ways, it mimics eBay's system.

Where to Buy Part 2: MIddlemen

Time for Part 2 of my "Where to Buy" series.  Last time, I went over the "Big Three" online Japanese figure stores.  Today, I'll be writing about the mysterious world of middlemen.  These "middlemen" sites are for hard-to-acquire figures.  That, usually, means exclusives.  These figures can be exclusive to manufacturer's online stores, conventions in Japan and/or lottery-style sales.  Here are the top three I use.

Middlemen

Big in Jap (biginjap.com) - This webstore lists exclusives with a preset price in Yen (which includes the manufacturer's price plus a middleman commission).  The upside of this style is it is super easy to search for, find and pre-order figures.  The downside is it can sometimes take time for them to put them up for pre-order.  If they don't list it, you can email them to act as a proxy service and buy it for you, with a commission, of course.  You can pay when you pre-order, or when the item releases.  Using as a proxy is slightly cheaper than Yokatta.

Yokatta Shopping Service (yokattaweb.com) - Yokatta is very simialr to Big in Jap, but requires payment for the figure upfront (fees and shipping when the figure releases).  They also do not have a checkout system.  They simply list their stock and if you want one (or an item they don't have listed), you email them and they get back to you with price and availability.  They will even go to an event to pick up a figure for you.  In my experience, they list less items than Big in Jap, but are faster to list figures.  Yokatta is the only service I know that will bid for you on Japanese auction sites (for a fee, of course).  They also offer a discount when proxying multiple items from one manufacturer.  Between Big in Jap and Yokatta, I'd say a tie.  Check both and go with the lower price.

Rider Proxy (riderproxy.com) - I have never used Rider Proxy, but I have heart okay things about them.  They use a cart/checkout system and are also available to email with items not in their webstore.  Prices seem similar to the above.  Whenever I visit their site, it is very glitchy, which makes me feel uneasy about using them.

Where to Buy Part 1: The Big Three

Continuing on a theme of reviewing websites, here are where I buy Japanese toys and why.  These reviews only take shopping experience into consideration, not the associated blogs, communities, or newsletters.

The "Big Three"

AmiAmi (amiami.com) - By far, this is the site I use the most.  They usually have the lowest price for any given figure.  They are occasionally beat out by HLJ or Hobby Search, but it is rare.  Their shipping tends to be a bit higher, but they are still worth it.  You can save on shipping a little by using their "Combine Orders by Month" feature.  When pre-ordering, you can apply this feature to a figure.  Each month, all figures you pre-ordered in this fashion will ship together, which is usually cheaper than shipping them all separate.  It also requires very little work on the customer's end.  You simply pre-order whatever figures you want, and once a month, they'll send you a shipping payment request, and, once paid, a shipment of everything that released that month.  The biggest problem with AmiAmi is that there are no order cancellations allowed.  I have heard rumors that you can beg for one and they will allow it, but too many times and you will be blacklisted from their site.  Could be true, could be internet gossip.  They are also, in my experience, one of the quickest to sell out of popular figures.  Their mobile site is great, very easy to use.  They accept PayPal, credit cards and, apparently, cash-on-delivery.

Hobby Link Japan (hlj.com) - My second favorite site.  Good prices, and have great clearance sales throughout the year.  Much of the staff is English speaking, so customer service is easier to deal with for non-Japanese speakers and their item descriptions are much easier to read.  They do seem to be writing less detailed descriptions these days, however.  Their method for making shipping easier and cheaper is their "Private Warehouse".  When you are completing an order, you can select (on a per-item basis) if you want it shipped immediately upon release, or placed in your Private Warehouse.  If you choose Private Warehouse, the figure will not be shipped to you until you login and choose to have it sent, or 60 days have passed since it was released, whichever comes first.  When choosing to have it shipped, you may combine all released items in your Private Warehouse into one shipment.  It requires a bit more active care than AmiAmi's "Monthly Combine" feature, but allows you to combine 60 days worth of figures, rather than one calendar month, which ends up being much more useful.  They send email reminders when an item is about to be automatically shipped.  They accept PayPal, credit card, or (and this is what I use) PayPal Billing Agreements.  With this agreement, you connect HLJ to your PayPal account, and when a pre-order of yours comes in, they automatically deduct the total from your PayPal, ensuring you receive your figure as-soon-as-possible.

Hobby Search (1999.co.jp/eng/) - This store is very good, but I rarely use it, unless the above two are out of stock, or Hobby Search has several items releasing around the same time for cheaper.  They can combine orders by month, the same as AmiAmi, but, unlike AmiAmi, cannot also include in-stock items.  They have a useful, but confusing, "Order Recombination" feature, that lets you move around pre-orders into different order numbers, but despite that, they will still only combine orders by calendar month.  Hobby Search uses a loyalty points system.  One point is equal to one yen, and you earn 3% of a figure's cost as points.  So a 1000 yen figure gives 30 points, which you can apply to future orders to reduce the total by 30 yen.  They also have a great mobile site.  They accept PayPal, credit cards and Paypal Billing Agreement.

Action Figure Glossary Part 2: Western Toy Companies

Welcome to the second part of my ongoing Action Figure glossary.  Here's Part 1.  I do these with the hope that a shared vocabulary can foster better discussion.  Like Part 1, this will have a focus on adult collector action figures, not toys in general.  This is by no means comprehensive, but I'll try my best.

Western Toy Companies

DC Collectibles - DC Comics' collectibles division.  Previously known as DC Direct until 2012.  They have numerous collector-quality action figure lines, mostly based off DC comics, video game and TV show characters.

Diamond Select Toys - In 1999, Diamond Comic Distributors, who distributed comics to thousands of brink-and-mortar comic shows, created this company.  Their line of "Select" action figures are most often 7", detailed figures with intricate bases.  They also make the ubiquitous Minimates series and character coin banks.

Funko - Starting with their line of bobbleheads, Wacky Wobblers, Funko has quickly risen from its small beginning in 1998.  They also make the incredibly popular Funko Pop! series and make this action figure-centric list because of their more recent Legacy line, detailed 6" figures from an assortment of IPs.

Gentle Giant Studios - Focused on 3D scanning props and actors to make incredibly accurate statues, they have also dipped their toes in action figures, mainly by scanning nostalgic 6" figures and scaling them up to 12".

Hasbro - Constantly vying for the top spot with Mattel, Hasbro has more successful toys for boys lines, including Transformers, GI Joe, Marvel, Star Wars, Nerf, My Little Pony and tons of others.  Their recent acquisition of the rights to Disney dolls (which Mattel used to have) could be very big for them.  Starting last year, they began a really cool initiative with SuperFanArt (defined below).

Jakks Pacific - Since 1995, Jakks has made children's toys.  Occasionally they make collector-quality figures, such as some of the figures in their new World of Nintendo line.

LEGO - Makes building sets using their iconic LEGO brick.  Recently made headlines for surpassing Mattel and Hasbro, largely due to the success of the LEGO movie.  They have, in the past decade, opened up to much more licensed IPs (after the success of their deal with Star Wars) increasing market share.

Mattel - Usually considered the biggest toy company in the world, Mattel, maker of American doll, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and many others, is actually slipping to LEGO and Hasbro.  Generally considered to more successful with toys for girls.  (I hate gender-labeling toy demographics, but that's how it's done.)  Their action figures include Masters of the Universe, WWE and DC Comics.

McFarlane - Named after popular comic book creator Todd McFarlane, this company rode the popularity of its Spawn comic tie-ins to quickly become a huge innovator in Western toys.  One of the first to make highly detailed action figures with appeal for young and adult collectors.  Started in 1994.

Mezco - Largely focused on their cute designer toys, the Mez-its and their creepy Living Dolls line, they, on occasion, make collector-quality action figures.

NECA - Stands for National Entertainment Collectibles Association.  They specialize in adult collectible action figures, with many characters featured from properties not intended for children (R-Rated films or video games too old for children to remember, for example).

Sideshow - A higher-end collectibles company, they make statues, props and action figures, usually of the highest quality and a matching sticker price.  They now distribute Hot Toys' figures in the US.  Most of their action figures are 1/6 dolls from a huge list of licenses.

SuperFanArt - Hasbro and Shapeways' 3D-print-on-demand fanart licensing initiative.  Basically, fans can upload 3D models they created of specific Hasbro properties (My Little Pony, Transformers, GI Joe and few others) and, pending approval, sell them on Shapeways' website as officially licensed figures.  Possibly the future of figures?

Toynami - Founded in 2000, Toynami is an American toy company focused on producing Japanese properties for Western toy markets.  They occasionally make Western toys, such as their Futurama line.  Mostly stylized statues, they have been known to make action figures.

Action Figure Glossary Part 1: Types, Materials & Joints

Here's the first in a multi-part series of commonly used action figure terms and their definitions.  Please feel free to add suggestions or corrections, as with any lexicon, different people have different definitions.  My hope is this will help foster good discussion on this blog, and there's a lot of terms I want to cover, so here we go!

TYPES OF TOYS

Action Figure - A figure of a character that is poseable through the use of joints and accessories.

Doll - The term "action figure" was invented as a way market dolls to boys.  (The belief at the time was that the word "doll" had feminine connotations that would embarrass young boys.)  Now, a doll, as different from an action figure, usually implies fibrous hair and cloth clothing.  They are also typically a larger scale than action figures.

Model - Kits that can be assembled into a number of different toy types, including action figures.  Sometimes requires glue and/or paint.

Plamo - Short for Plastic Model, usually refers to sci-fi or fantasy action figure models.  Robots from anime and manga are the most common plamos. 

Statue - AKA Inaction figure, staction figure, figurine or miniature.  A figure of a character that is not poseable.  It might have interchangeable parts or a joint-or-two, but for the most part, not poseable.

Toy - Originally intended as a plaything for children, toys have, over time, also been accepted as collectibles (primarily meant for display, not play).

Toys-to-Life - A new type of toy that contains data (that can sometimes be re-written) for a video game.  Buying new toy-to-life toys unlocks new features for its associated game.

MATERIALS

Plastic - The most common type of material used in action figures (and likely all toys for that matter).  Plastic is resilient, holds detail well and can be molded in any color (including clear).  There are many sub-types of plastic, here are some of the more common ones in action figures:

--- ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) - One of the most common plastic types in figures (along with PVC), ABS is hard, shiny, a bit brittle, and can hold a sharp point.  Many action figures are primarily ABS.

--- PA (Polyamide) - Hard plastic that cannot be painted, used for parts that need to take a lot of wear and tear.  Fairly uncommon.

--- PC (Polycarbonate) - A brittle, hard plastic.  Used in clear parts and some joints.

--- PE (Polyethylene) - Rarely used, as far as I know, in action figures, it cannot be glued or painted, and can be made clear.  Common in figure packaging and "polycaps" for plastic models (plamo).

--- POM (Polyoxymethylene) - Very strong, slippery and tough.  Usually only in a few parts that need to move, like joints.

--- PP (Polypropylene) - A soft, less-common, material.  PP is sometimes used for accessories or joints in action figures.

--- PS (Polystyrene) - A very hard, brittle plastic.  Can be quite detailed and hold a sharp point.  Almost all model kits are primarily PS.

--- PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) - PVC is soft, can be made pretty flexible and typically has a matte finish.  Along with ABS, this is one of the most used plastic types in figures.  Figures made completely of PVC are very popular and can look quite beautiful and/or real.

Chogokin - Japanese for "Super Alloy", Chogokin is actually from the story of Mazinger Z.  It's commonly used to denote die-cast features in a figure.  Bandai owns the trademark to "Chogokin", so lots of lines use similar words for die-cast.

Cloth - Some action figures (mostly dolls) use woven cloth for clothing, the same as their real world counterparts.

Die-Cast - "Die-Casting" is actually a technique of injecting molten metal into a mold, but when used to refer to a material, it means a metal part made through that process.  Being a metal, it is hard, heavy and shiny.  It can lend sturdiness to a figure and is common in some robot figures.  It usually raises the price of the figure, so many toys that use it advertise it in the name or on the box.

JOINTS & POINTS OF ARTICULATION (POA)

Ball-Joint - In a ball-joint, one end of the joint ends in a sphere (the "ball") and the other has a socket that matches the diameter of the ball.  The ball, once inside the socket, can then move in several different directions.

Pivot-Joint - AKA Peg or Swivel.  Similar to a ball joint, but the shape of the inserted end only allows for rotation along the axis perpendicular to the connection.

Hinge-Joint - AKA Pin.  Like a door hinge, except instead of a door and the wall, either side of the hinge is a limb of the figure.  There's often a pin connecting the two ends of the hinge.

Point of Articulation - This is the location of a joint in a figure.  It's often used as unit, as in, "That figure has 26 points of articulation."

Revolver Joint - A combination joint that is universal (with color and size variations) to all Revoltech toys, a figure line by Kaiyodo.

Polycap - A polycap can be any kind of joint.  The word refers to the PS joint pieces used in plamo.

That's all for now, more to come in Part 2.