Hello Everyone!

[Toron-Togosh]

Hi everyone!

I’m new here and I'm thinking about starting up a mego action figure customizing hobby.

I’ve seen some really nice stuff here that’s very impressive. You are all so talented. I hear that there are some very friendly and helpful friends here, and that’s good, because I’m sure I’ll need lots of help and I’ll have lots of questions.

I guess the first question I have is: What is considered to be the correct scale of 8 inch mego figures?

[darklord1967]

Hi Toron-Togosh (Nice name! From one STAR WARS fan to another, I LOVE the reference!)

Welcome to the Mego boards!

Pull up a chair and get comfortable. I’m sure you’re really going to like it here.

The hobby you are about to embark upon is a lot of fun. Admittedly at times, it is hard work, very frustrating, increasingly expensive, and emotionally draining.

But when it’s good… it’s GOOD!

Unfortunately, I’m about to give you your first taste of “frustrating”, because the question you have asked has no real simple answer.

The correct scale of MEGO figures is actually open to interpretation, and it is based on so many different factors that it can get really confusing and downright... well… frustrating!

And now you’ve got ME… one of the longest-winded members of this forum… attempting to answer this question for you.

Geez. I hope I don’t scare you off by confusing you all the more. I’ll try not to.

Here goes:

Before that question can be answered it is important to understand a few things:

1) 8 Inch MEGO figures are designed to appear anatomically correct really only when they are dressed. As nude figures their bodily proportions tend to look a bit off (Re: large looking heads, small waists, barrel chests, etc.)

2) MEGO action figures DO NOT stand at a true 8 inches when nude. 8 inches is the average height of a MEGO figure typically when they are dressed and wearing their footwear. Adult Male MEGO characters actually stand at 7.75 inches when nude.

3) The MEGO Corporation virtually ignored inter-character scale when creating the various characters for their various lines. This only adds to the confusion. For example, in the World’s Greatest Super Heroes line, virtually all of the male heroes and villains measure the same height… even though in the world of comics, their established heights vary considerably.

The Incredible Hulk is one of the shorter male Super Heroes that MEGO produced as an action figure. Yet we know from the comics that as a 7 foot tall behemoth, he should actually TOWER over the other “average-heighted” characters.

4) Female characters were created by MEGO to stand at the same 8 inches as their male counterparts. Scale-wise, that makes for some freakishly tall women (with big-hair, no less!). In the real world, that would equate to Superman standing at say, 6’ 4”, and a woman (say Supergirl) standing at that same height! My skin crawls just thinkin’ about it. Women are typically almost always physically smaller / shorter than men in the real world… and in the world of comics.


Nope. There’s just no getting around it. If you try to assign a single scale to the entire line of 8 inch MEGO action figures, you’re going to hit your head repeatedly on a brick wall. The fact is, every time your stated scale works with one character, it is wildly out of whack for another.

That’s the truth.

So let’s look at this mathematically:

Assuming that “MEGO scale” was established at its inception with the release of their first few hero characters back in 1972 – 1973 (Action Jackson, Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Robin), and assuming that all of these characters are roughly the same real-life height (about 6’ 2”) then that would put MEGO scale at 9.5 scale: 7.75 (nude Mego) inches X 9.5 scale = (real life height of) 74 inches (6’ 2”))

But, uh… the trouble is Robin The BOY Wonder was never 6’ 2” tall. As a (roughly) 12 year old boy, he was under 5’ tall… to say nothing of Spiderman, Mr. Myxzylptlk, The Penguin, The Hulk, The Thing, etc… NONE of them stood 6’ 2” tall either.

As a matter of fact, the way MEGO worked it out, Robin actually stood taller than The Incredible Hulk!

If we calculate Robin’s height (let’s say 4’ 10”), for correct scale, then it works out to 7.5 scale: 7.75” (nude Mego) inches X 7.5 scale = (real life height of) 58 inches (4 feet 10 inches)

Of course at THAT scale, the rest of the adult male MEGO heroes are all midgets!

Now to their credit, MEGO did try to address their scale discrepancy issues later on by introducing the 7 inch Lion Rock Body (for the Teen Titians line), and the 6 inch bodies for their “Our Gang” line.

But by then, the scale accuracy problem was already so prevalent… especially with the inclusion of so many 8 inch tall female characters in their various lines.

So in conclusion (Gosh, I feel like a lawyer!), I would say to you that in the world of MEGO action figure customizing, the “correct” scale for your MEGO figure will need to be determined by YOU. Unless you are willing to establish all-new bodies for your various characters that all stand at different heights, a SINGLE scale cannot be established. Scale will have to be based on your character’s purported “real life” height measured against the height of your final figure.

I hope that helps.

[ctc]

>I’m new here and I'm thinking about starting up a mego action figure customizing hobby.

RUN!!! RUN WHILE YOU CAN!!!!! DON'T LOOK BACK!!!!!

....er.... that is; cool!

>I hear that there are some very friendly and helpful friends here,

....there ARE....?

I mean.... yeah.... real friendly-like....

Actually; a LOT of folks here will offer suggestions, find stuff and occasionally make parts on request. Customizers are a lot like the Borg: driven towards the same ends, and willing to work together towards that end.
and that’s good, because I’m sure I’ll need lots of help and I’ll have lots of questions.

>What is considered to be the correct scale of 8 inch mego figures?

Short answer: 1/9. Long answer:

>Before that question can be answered it is important to understand a few things:....

THAT is an INCREDIBLY thorough explanation, but it's got everything you need.

>Scale will have to be based on your character’s purported “real life” height measured against the height of your final figure.

Yeah. Mego made several different bodies, each an approximation of a ceretain height/size. Your best bet is to assume the standard 8" body is an average person. There's a 7" body that works for short people and younger people. (It's the one they used for the Titans.) The 7" female body isn't very good though. I made a new one for myself.

There's a 5" (or so) body that works for kids and really short characters. The 12" body works for really tall characters, and there's a fat guy body; although it's not real good either. For an excellent show of how to fix that, go here:

Building a better body for THE PENGUIN!!! - Mego Talk

And you can monkey with the existing bods for more characters. I've done repro calves with extenders in them to make taller characters.

So your best bet is to take whatever character you're doing, and base them on the body that's closest. When looking for parts/heads/accessories, you'll have to make an educated guess. Some companies have looser definitions of scale than others. (Even though MATHMATICLY 1/9 translates to a very specific size ratio....)

Don C.

[Meule]

Welcome aboard. Looks like your scale question is answered, but feel free to ask more questions, we are here to help

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Welcome, I'm sure you will have lots of fun here.

[AJ Collector]

Welcome..... You have questions this is the place for answers!

[Blackkryptonite]

Welcome aboard! Strange and marvelous things await!

[BlackKnight]

Whats Up.... You still Here, after the 1st 2 replies in your thread ?
Welcome. 8 Inches,.. is well,.. 8 Inches Bro. It's just like it sounds.

[toys2cool]

Hello and welcome

[vulcan2074]

Hello and welcome to The Museum. This Place Totally rocks
Sammy