Sideshow Collectibles

When I was first asked by Sideshow to put together a short article on the history of action figure collecting, I thought it was because of my witty writing, extensive industry knowledge, and fantastic good looks. When the drugs wore off, I realized it was probably because I was one of the few people they knew that was so old that I remembered when sticks and rocks passed for action figures.

As a child of the sixties, I grew up with the original action figure, G.I. Joe. Starting with the birth of Joe in 1964 and Marx Best of the West very soon after, and until the oil crisis of the mid-70's, sixth scale was king. Later generations would be told that companies used the 3 3/4" scale because it allowed for playsets and vehicles, but us old folks remember our sixth scale ATV's, covered wagons, space capsules, and jeeps. The decade between 1964 and 1974 was the golden age of action figures, but collecting wasn't quite what it is today. Oh, it did exist, and there was a small but dedicated group of folks that even kept their toys mint in the box. You don't see them much anymore - they all bought their own private islands off the sale of their pristine G.I. Joe Nurse figures.

Much like today, many of the early action figure collectors were also into comic books, and the very first San Diego Comic Con was held in 1970. It's started out as a simple get together of a few hundred comic book fans meeting in the basement of a hotel...but it was a start. I'm sure that none of the early organizers ever dreamed it would turn into the huge extravaganza it is today.

The first action figure line to be purchased by collectors in any meaningful way, right off the peg, was Star Wars. Collectors still only made up a few percent of the total market for the original lines, but they were out there, unable to control their geek desires. Now, let's not confuse these folks with the toy collectors that were out there already. The traditional toy collector had been around for several decades, collecting tin windups, banks, dolls, and other goodies from hundreds of years of playthings. The difference with the modern action figure collector was that they were buying right off the peg, newly produced mass market toys, items that made the traditionalist turn up their nose.

As mentioned earlier, the oil crisis of the mid to late 70's crushed the sixth scale market. When Kenner picked up the Star Wars license, they also adopted a new scale that had only had previous release with the Mego Micronauts in the U.S. - 3 3/4". To the consumer, this scale could be advertised as perfect for vehicles and playsets, a critical component to the success of the line. Of course, in reality there were other more pragmatic business reasons, including the cheaper cost to produce.

The line was a smash hit with kids, and older fans of the movies picked up their favorite characters not to 'play' with in a traditional sense, but to collect and display. Some even went so far as to *gasp* keep them in their packages, a practice viewed as almost certifiable at the time. One can only wonder how many of these brave pioneers were institutionalized by their caring friends and relatives. I know that my wife has threatened it on more than one occasion.

During the eighties, the number of lines that drew in adult collectors grew, with the re-introduction of G.I. Joe in the smaller scale, the release of DC Super Powers, and even the birth of He-Man. All of these lines had collectors at the time of their release, but it was still just a very small percentage of the overall buyers. Action figure collecting, even nostalgia collecting of G.I. Joe, was still a fringe activity at best. But these lines did something far more important for the future of action figure collecting - they created a generation of children that loved action figures across multiple genres. This generation was being primed to become the nostalgia collectors of the 1990's, and would fuel the boom of the golden age of collecting.

In 1988, a critical event occurred in the history of action figure collecting. This event was the most important since the introduction of G.I. Joe, and Star Wars, and there has been few events since that have had as major of an effect. This event was the introduction of Kenner's Starting Line Ups.

I know - you think I recently suffered a head injury. Or perhaps the mad cow has taken hold. But I assure you that I'm operating at my full capacity, or at least as full as my capacity has ever been. Unlike any previous line, including Star Wars and G.I. Joe RAH, the SLU's were specifically intended as 'collectible'. And unlike past toys that were marketed just for kids to collect (and trade them with their friends!), these were acceptable for ADULT MEN to collect. What could be manlier than having your very own 6" plastic version of your favorite hairy, virile athlete? Okay, probably best not to go there...

SLU's were important because they were the first step towards the social acceptance - sort of - of what would become the golden age of action figure collecting in the 1990's. In the 1980's, my behavior (and yours, don't try to kid yourself) would have been considered seriously whacked. Today, it's just considered a little weird. And in the history of social attitudes, that's a pretty big step.

By the early 90's, adults collecting action figures became common place enough that it was actually being recognized by toy companies. By 1994, the first Usenet group largely populated by action figure collectors sprung up, rec.toys.misc. Lines like Batman: The Animated Series and Toybiz's successful X-men were catching the eye of fans. And in that same year, two companies that would have a major impact on the industry were born - Sideshow Toys and Mcfarlane Toys.

Mcfarlane Toys had their greatest impact during their early years. Todd Mcfarlane felt that toys could have the kind of design, sculpting and paint that higher end collectibles had, and they could be damn cool if someone just decided to do it. He took action figures to a new level, putting in detail and style that had never existed before. He raised the bar, and for many years all other companies could do was play catch up. His company continues today to be a leader in sculpting and appearance, and their innovative ideas have been copied and applied across the industry. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Todd should be very flattered.

Sideshow started out a little more quietly, first creating figures in an 8" scale sold through mass market retailers before eventually moving to the sixth scale specialty market. More on them later in the discussion, as we get closer to their recent accomplishments in the timeline. One thing to note though - Sideshow switched their name from 'toys' to 'collectibles', a sign of the growing number of action figure collectors during the 90's.

Action figure collecting was now a force, and the golden age boomed. Hasbro re-introduced Star Wars action figures in 1995, and the nostalgia born in the children of the 70's and 80's went nuclear. The new films brought a new generation of kids into the picture, and since collecting was now an acceptable activity, they followed in the adults' footsteps, buying the toys to collect and not just play. Ugly behaviors like scalping grew out of the greed of toy dealers, and many collectors banded together to help each other find the figures that were, as some unfortunate magazines of the period put it, "HOT! HOT! HOT!"

Up to 1997, there were very few ways for toy collectors to obtain their precious. Finding new releases meant hitting retail stores like Children's Palace, Toys R Us, or K-mart on a daily basis. Getting to know your local toy store manager was a mighty good idea, and scalpers would buy up anything and everything that was short packed. Often collectors were forced to turn to these dealers, paying 3 and 4 times retail. Collectors formed clubs and organizations based on the theory of trading figures one for one, or for finding figures for other members at cost. These behaviors, the good and the bad, continue to this day.

For collectors that did care about the packaging, it was even more of a crap shoot. Finding a carded figure that hadn't been mangled had always been difficult, but during this period, some scalpers (and stores and collectors as well) began the nasty practice of bending cardbacks. Stores that did this (or punched holes in them) did it to supposedly curb collectors, a fairly stupid idea if you're trying to sell toys to them. And scalpers and collectors that did it were trying to boost the 'value' of the items they already had.

But in 1997, another way to get toys appeared. The introduction of Ebay had a huge effect on toy collecting, both good and bad. Some people consider it EvilBay, while others worship at the alter of the online auction. In reality, it's someplace in between. For the vintage action figure collector, looking for that rare G.I. Joe from 1982 or that MOMC Yakface, it was a blessing. No longer were they forced to buy from a local dealer or at a once a year toy show. Now they could see what was available from dealers all over the world, and often found items that they would have never seen available for sale otherwise.

Unfortunately, for the collector buying new figures, it was a nightmare. Ebay allowed anyone, anywhere, to sell a shortpacked action figure. That meant that the number of scalpers competing with collectors for new toys on the pegs grew exponentially, as little old ladies from Pasadena started buying and selling.

Ebay has many good attributes. It does provide the remote collector with an avenue to get items from around the world, and being able to get items from countries not previously possible was pretty damn cool. But there have been plenty of pitfalls as well, including no guarantees from the manufacturer, no customer service, and some Ebay dealers that were less than ethical in actually shipping product.

By the late nineties, the specialty market was in full blossom. This market was different than the mass market action figure arena. Companies in this area made action figures specifically for adult collectors, based often on obscure properties (can you say "A Christmas Story"?), and sold them through smaller retailers and online stores. Action figures were just about everywhere, from electronics stores like Gamestop, to Blockbuster, to Gags and Gifts. The sheer number of buying options for the action figure collector was truly amazing, and the number of companies producing specialty market stuff boomed along with it.

But everything has it's time, turn, turn, turn, and all that poetic crap. As we entered the new millennium, the small retailers in America took a beating from the big boys. The number of stores carrying specialty action figures almost completely dried up, leaving us to find them at a handful of brick and mortar locations, and relying more heavily on the Internet dealers. The number of small independent companies making figures has been dropping over the past couple years, and probably hasn't seen bottom yet. Ah, but even with the gloom and doom, all is not yet lost.

In the past, lots of companies flirted with the concept of selling their product directly to customers. The Internet makes it possible, so why not try? But for all that tried, only one has truly succeeded - Sideshow Collectibles. They've been able to provide collectors with a different paradigm for shopping, selling direct to them. This allows them to provide customer support directly to the consumer, and to interact with them more closely. Sideshow has continued to improve on this model, offering options like priority pre-ordering for their newsletter subscribers and focusing on the kind of quality and detail that attracts collectors.

And while some prophets have been claiming the death of action figures for a decade now, the mass market world still seems to be hustling along. It's still common for any action, superhero or animated movie to have an action figure line, and stores like Wal-mart, Target and Toys R Us still have a good chunk of real estate dedicated to our favorite toys.

The perception of the action figure collector has changed drastically as well. In the eighties, they were practically unknown, and when they were known, they were considered one step below Michael Jackson on the eccentric meter. Now, they are featured regularly in movies, television shows, cartoons, and print. Okay, so the stereotype that we're all geeky adults with a stunted social development and bad hygiene is still alive and well, but now they mean it in the nicest possible way. We may not have quite made it into the neighborhood of the 'Normals', but we're not forced to live next door to the Leper family any more either.

So where does the future lie? Well, the number of companies making action figures is likely to still drop a bit. The online retailer is going to be your bosom buddy. And more companies are likely to imitate the success of Sideshow, trying to get your dollars direct. But you know what? That's okay. The boom of the 90's was because action figure collecting was a fad then, and like most fads, it carried an awful lot of craziness and frustration with it. But instead of dying out once the fad appeal disappears, it will simply become another hobby, accepted as such, and with a whole lot less baggage. And one day, action figure collectors will be the ones looking down their noses at the collectors of old video games or Nike sneakers. Or Pez collectors. God, those guys are weirdos.

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