A wide range of plastic posable action figures in suitable scales for modern dolls house and model scenes are available from various collectible action figure ranges. The less expensive figures are usually slightly out of scale, but with care posing or arranging them you can trick the viewer's eye and use them effectively in many miniature scenes. Entry range action figures are made from hard plastic, with painted on or soft plastic modelled clothes and pin and socket joint assemblies. More expensive versions are usually modelled to represent famous individuals and come with highly detailed, realistic clothing and accessories, often offering interchangeable hands with various grips.
The majority of posable action figures represent movie or television characters, action heros, military or comic book characters. Many of these come in dress suitable for modern scenes. Prices range widely, from under $5 to several hundred dollars.
Advantages of Posable Action Figures For Model and Dolls House Scenes
- Made from hard plastic or resin, wear fairly well if carefully used and can be used for many scenes if clothing and features fit.
- Good range of joint movement and articulation, check the figures to make sure they will fit the pose you want. Many are not jointed at the waist or in the hip in ways that make them fit in sitting poses. Some have soft plastic clothing which may hide their articulated hips or knees. Some newer more expensive figures have soft vinyl covered joints so bare arms or legs appear as a unit, rather than jointed in the middle.
- Can be inexpensive, especially if purchased second hand or from yard sales.
- Mainly in modern dress
- Many come with useful scale accessories.
Common Problems with Posable Action Figures for Scale Scenes
- Style of dress may be unsuitable for proposed use and requires reworking if plastic.
- Heads can be noticeably small and out of scale, or too large.
- Many female figures have out of scale busts.
- Hair is usually moulded plastic. If removed from the head it can leave an incomplete head shape which must be filled before a more suitable wig or hair can be applied.
- Many have clothing detail moulded onto arms. Even if the main clothing is removable, the arms or legs will still have folded material lines, cuffs and other details which may need to be sanded off or painted over before the costume can be changed.
- Six inch figures are almost all exactly 6 inches high, crowd scenes look odd as everyone is the same height. You can get around this by posing some figures bent over, kneeling or sitting, or by modifying suitable figures to be shorter or taller. There are some five inch figure ranges (Dr. Who) where some figures may fit in as smaller height members of a scene.
- Joints may be worn or broken (especially in second hand figures) repairs may be needed to help a figure hold its pose.
- Nature of joint rotation may mean a figure can pose in certain positions but not others.
Common Action Figure Scales And Ranges Useable for Scale Model and Dolls House Scenes
- 1:6 scale – Mainly 12 inch tall action figures, GI Joe, Action Man, Barbie and Ken, Johnny West, Military figures from Dragon Models, Movie characters from Hot Toys, Military figures from DID (Dragon in Dream), Military figures from Soldier Story. Many are military or action movie figures, most are close to 12 inches (men and woman ) rather than being in scale for a particular figure's height. There is no accurate height depiction or natural height variations in these figures. Many historically famous military figures are available, as well as some famous individuals, including Barack Obama.
- 1:12 Scale – Five - Six inch high action figures. Not as popular now as they were in the 90's a wide range of these are available from ebay, collectors stores, and yard sales. Lines include Moore Creations Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with both male and female figures, mainly depicted in their 20's. Some quirky collectible items in five - six inch action figures are also available, from Accoutrements / Archie McPhee including the lunch lady, an older woman in cafeteria dress with a food cart, Alexander the Great, Annie Oakley, Vincent Van Gogh, Mozart, Freud, Sherlock Homes, Houdini, and others. A slightly less quirky line of six inch figures with a range of accessories are the Happy worker action figures - super mom (available in Caucasian, Asian and African models), geekman, and moneyman. Most of these six inch figures are available for between $5 and $15, many from the yard sale or collectible sale market.
