Do you want Realism or Toyism in your faces?

[TrueDave]

Sideshow head sculpts etc
VS

Playmates, MEGO, Kenner, etc.

On 8 " MEGOesque Action Figures.

[torgospizza]

There's a lot of variety in there, Dave. Mego's Kirk is closer to Sideshow quality than it is Mego's Tarzan, IMHO. I think I prefer "toyism" for stuff like Venture Brothers, but I'm thrilled about the realism Zica's new Buck Rogers Figures have. I guess when it comes to TV and movie characters, the better the likeness, the better I like it.

[garagesale]

I love the balance Mego always brought to realism vs. toyism. Sometimes too realistic stuff turns me off (translating into price), whereas too toyish (like Kubrick) makes me just shrug my head and pass on by.

JamesD

[Type3Toys]

Real is the way to go IMO. When I was a kid, mego seemed "real" to me. It only seems "toy-like" now because the current stuff has improved so much.

[MIB41]

That comparison broad strokes the idea a little bit more than how I see the final product. You can have a really good sculpt that is reduced extensively by a generic paint job. The most recent example I can point to is the Universal monsters. When I altered the paint job, a lot of folks suddenly saw the figures in an entirely different light. So while the sculpt is one aspect, paint has to be there too. I don't think we'll ever have a day when 8 inch figures have Hot Toy paint schemes. That's a lot of work for one figure. But I do think the STANDARD should be in place to always make a sculpt that truly looks like the character and some thought is given to the paint that gets applied. Both must compliment one another.

[The Bat]

There's a lot of variety in there, Dave. Mego's Kirk is closer to Sideshow quality than it is Mego's Tarzan, IMHO. I think I prefer "toyism" for stuff like Venture Brothers, but I'm thrilled about the realism Zica's new Buck Rogers Figures have. I guess when it comes to TV and movie characters, the better the likeness, the better I like it.

Well said Brother...I 2nd that!

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I have to say I am more partial to realism.

[BlackKnight]

I want that stuff to look like where it came from, and not like a Knock OFF , when I collect. I shoot for the Best Representation of a character for my collection. ....

[TrueDave]

You want the outfit , hands/gloves , to be like the 1/6th guys do to in terms of costuming? I've seen REAL button holes and glove that go over bendy fingers.

Do you want Bendy 1/9 fingers?

No more silk screening uniforms?

[HardyGirl]

I guess for me it would be somewhere in between. Sure I want it to look like a representation of what it's patterned after, but not so real that it looks like a statue. I think Mego joined realism and toyism quite nicely.

[The Bat]

For me the most important aspect of a Mego-like Figure...is the Head Sculpt. If you're going to do a Figure based on a certain Era...the Head Sculpt should reflect the Artists of that time.

[jasonmego1277]

I agree with others. I like maybe a little in between the two. Somehow it just works well on these. When start get to realistic you start getting mini statues like Mcfarlane's figures. They are supposed to be toys .......so I like toyism in them.

[GoldBlade6]

I don't know if anyone has the original Mego Dorothy, Fonzi or Boss Hogg, but those are some excellent balances of real faces made into toys. Outstanding heads.

[Tothiro]

Space: 1999, Trek, really much of the TV stuff like Waltons, Burke and Verdon... Starsky & Hutch... They were all really excellent and true to likeness sculpts.

If anything I would argue that the WGSH and non-license lines were the "Venture Brothers" figures of their time - not the base standard like a lot of people seem to think when they use terms like "mego-ish." At the least I guess an argument could be made for 50/50. Even WGSH started to get more detailed likenesses at the end.

There's a certain kind of elegance that the T2 body and many of the headsculpts have - which is missed on a lot of the other 1:9 lines. Wrists become too long. Someone please explain that to me. Why are so many of non mego hand sculpts made so that the point of articulation is somewhere in the lower third of the forearm in relation to the actual anatomy? Flatt Dracula did that, a lot of companies have done that.
I'm also not a fan of metal parts. I mean, a stamped metal belt buckle like the duke boys is one thing, sure... but when you make metal guns, etc - you've lost my interest.

I do like toys to look like toys. I just want them to be thoughtfully designed and well executed toys.

[wonderfan32]

Call me crazy but I like the figures to have more realism. I felt this way even as a child when these were first around. I don't like the figures to look cartoony I didn't even like the cartoons to look that way ala early Superfriends and then later on with the whole look of the Batman animated adventures and all the shows that followed in that format (I have to admit I became used to it though and bought shows like Justice League). Anyways, I remember buying a magazine featuring customized Megos in the 90's. Needless to say, I salivated when I saw Charlie's customs.

Having said that, I think the balance has been struck with exception of Green Lantern. His face is definitely too generic. I actually didn't have a problem with Aquaman's likeness though.