Power Lords Speculation: Why Not 6-Inch Action Figures?
Following the announcement of the new Power Lords toys (posted here) I was a bit surprised to see people upset that the Four Horsemen have announced that the figures will be 3.75-inch scale and use a mix of traditional and Glyos System (Onell Design) joints. One of the more common complaints I’ve seen is that the toys are not going to be 6-inch scale action figures.
It’s All About Money
So why would the Four Horsemen, a team of sculptors with fans following their work on DC Universe Classics and Masters of the Universe Classics, not go with the 6-inch/7-inch scale that fans of those lines seem to want? Basically, as with everything in life, it comes down to money.
If you look at the Four Horsemen’s store and scan through their offerings you’ll notice that they have produced the Glyos-compatible Outer Space Men toys and their own more traditional action figures. Both seem to sell, but if you scan through the toys still available you’ll notice that there are a lot of Scarabus-based action figures still available. That, combined with the Power Lords announcement, tells me that the right financial move for the Four Horsemen is to go with the smaller size and Glyos-compatibility.
- Larger action figures with traditional articulation are expensive. $50,000 and higher can be expected for tooling costs and then you add in the high per-unit manufacturing cost and it becomes difficult to turn a profit. There’s a reason so many companies these days reuse parts as often as possible.
- Smaller figures with less complex articulation (like Glyos toys: the Glyosjoint is cheaper to manufacture than a hinge joint, for example) have lower tooling costs and the smaller size means less raw materials which also keeps costs down.
- The Four Horsemen have produced more unique sculpts for the Outer Space Men series in a shorter amount of time than they have their more traditional action figures. This tells me the lower cost of the Outer Space Men toys is working for them.
Following Success
So what the current offerings at the Four Horsemen’s store and the costs of toy manufacturing tells me is that the decision was to follow the success of the Outer Space Men toys — and the existing Glyos System fan base — when it came time to start planning a new Power Lords action figure series. The characters and aliens in the Power Lords line — see the Power Lords official website — also fit nicely with the Outer Space Men and Glyos toys, giving fans of all three lines compatibility across lines and helping support each separate series.
Vehicles
And, finally, the other significant reason I can think of to go with the smaller size is that it makes vehicles a more realistic option in the future. Masters of the Universe Classics and DC Universe Classics fans know how vehicle-light those lines are, and if the Four Horsemen had chosen 6-inch action figures for the Power Lords line the vehicles would be almost guaranteed to never happen; Mattel, a much larger company, doesn’t get into the vehicle business (much) for that scale so how could we expect an independent toy manufacturer to afford vehicles of that size?
Just like Kenner in 1977 decided on a smaller scale so that vehicles would be a realistic option I have to think that the Four Horsemen were keeping vehicles in mind when making their decisions about the Power Lords line. And if the aliens look as incredible as I expect they will then I hope there’s enough support — and sales! — to encourage the Four Horsemen to move forward and create one or two vehicles for their Power Lords series.
So Give It a Chance
So all I ask is that everyone who jumped up in arms upset that the toys won’t be 6-inch scale action figures at least give the line a chance. The Four Horsemen will no doubt create incredible action figures based on some amazing designs, and if you are really a fan of their work — and not simply a fan of Masters of the Universe and DC who would love anyone sculpting those toys — then give the Four Horsemen the benefit of the doubt and trust them to make cool toys.
At the very least wait until the initial action figure sculpts are shown before insulting the project and the people behind it.
Related articles
- The Power Lords Return – brought to you by the Four Horsemen! (poeghostal.com)
- Glyos System Buildman Concept Art and Mechanicals (battlegrip.com)
- Five Reasons Why Action Figures Cost More Today (battlegrip.com)
I’m just curious – where are you seeing people slagging on Power Lords?
Honestly I would have preferred 6-inch action figures myself, but I understand why they didn’t go that route for all the reasons you laid out above.
@Poe – The Topless Robot post called the scale decision “bad news” and there were a few comments on Twitter and IAT that weren’t all that excited by the scale.
I haven’t seen the negative comments anywhere in my small circle. I won’t be collecting them mostly because I really only collect 6 inch scale at this point, but I’m not upset or angry. I’m really happy the 4H were able to get another property going under their belt.
For similar reasons you listed above ($$), I’ve had to make some very tough choices on my collecting habits. I have over a decade of investment in the 6 inch scale. During that time, my investment in the 3 3/4 inch scale has been almost negligent. There is just no way I could bring myself to change scales at this point.
All that said, most of my love and lifetime investment is in Transformers, which does its own thing for the most part.
The other caveat for 6 inch figures is that they are bigger than 3.75 but not big enough to impress. It’s out of scale with tons of cool stuff but for no impressive reason. It still fits in your pocket. Bigger figures display better and smaller figures play better.
Forget Power Lords (of which I had several), I’d love to see a Sectaurs revival! They were awesome back then and I’d love to see a modern take on them.
Personally, I prefer the 6″ scale — but I completely understand their decision to go with the 3.75″, Glyos/OSM compatible scale. I’m still very much looking forward to seeing what this line offers!
I was a bit surprised to see some people have an almost negative reacion towards the Power Lords. No, people don’t have to lose their shit over every single bit of news concerning toys… and certainly if Power Lords isn’t your thing, but I can’t fathom why people would then need to take the time to express that negativity — don’t they have anything better to to with their lives?
@Jonny – Sectaurs would be a lot of fun. I wonder if anyone would attempt those insane insect puppets again.
@prfkttear I’m 15 feet from some vintage powerlords. Brought to you by instant buyers remourse and 30 years of disinterest. That’s why they’re still here. It’s the same reason I somehow have a crisp, perfect copy of ultra Magnus. One of these looks effin sweet in my detolf the other is in a box of Lego.
The original Power Lords weren’t six-inch scale. Adam was maybe 5 inches tall tops, and Raygoth a lot shorter than that. I’d put the line right smack dab in the middle between 3 3/4 and six inches and six inch scale. The aliens varied considerably in height with Disguyzor being able to change his height due to extending limbs and torso.