The Most Common Action Figure Accessory Types
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| don't you mess with my baby!! |
"Accessories" is a broad term that encompasses anything and everything that may be included with an action figure, able to be used in conjunction with an action figure or used to display, store or carry and action figure. Basically, it's everything to do with the action figure except the figure itself.
Once you start collecting figures, it's almost a given that accessories will soon become an important factor in your research, purchase decisions and display choices. In order to better understand the various types of accessories available to the collector, we'll attempt to define a few basic categories and give a few examples as well as discuss the possible importance of each type of accessory within each category.
What's the Big Deal Over Accessories?
The various types of accessories can become collectibles in and of themselves, which is indicative of the importance of accessories even without the actual figure, but include the figure in the equation and many accessories become "must haves." After all, your action figure needs gear to work with and vehicles to drive or else he doesn't possess a whole lot of "action," does he?
As kids, when "play" wins out over "display", accessories are the driving force behind the figure's adventures, such as weapons for heated last stand battles, or spaceships for epic interstellar journeys to new worlds. For older collectors, accessories can become an important factor in determining the worth of a figure, such as whether or not a vintage Darth Vader still has its lightsaber, which greatly increases its collectible market value. Also, larger accessories like vehicles appeal to collectors for their excellent display qualities.
Accessory Categories
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| don't you mess with me mate! |
Weapons & Gear
Most action figures come with at least one weapon, such as the classic Star Wars figures and their signature blasters, and many action figure lines will include various other pieces of gear to add to the "playability" of the figure, like some G.I. Joes that come not only with one weapon, but possibly two or more guns, a knife, a removable backpack and a figure stand.
In the case of most vintage figures, many collectors search out for figures that still have their weapons and gear, thus making the figure complete and therefore more valuable and more enjoyable.
The Weapons & Gear category may include:
• Guns (including rifles, pistols, blasters, etc.)
• Swords (including Star Wars lightsabers)
• Small belts and backpacks
• Small items of removable clothing (such as a coat or vest)
• Work equipment (such as mine sweepers, medical kits, alien detectors, etc.)
Vehicles
As soon as the action figure was invented, vehicles hit the toy shelves along with them. Toy companies were quick to catch on to the idea that in order for kids to buy the figures, those figures needed cars to drive, airplanes to fly and spaceships to break through the atmosphere of strange alien lands.
Vehicles were actually the driving force behind the invention of the popular 3 3/4" sized action figures. Toy companies of the 1970s, such as Mego, Fisher-Price and Kenner learned that smaller figures fit easily into vehicles that matched their size while keeping these vehicles small enough to be affordable, which proved difficult for larger figures like the 12" G.I. Joe, whose Army Jeep was enormous.
The Vehicles category may include:
• Road vehicles (such as G.I. Joe's Jeep, or the Star Wars Landspeeder)
• Flying vehicles (such as jet fighters or space ships)
• Miscellaneous vehicles (motorcycles, ATVs, wind-surfers)
Display Accessories
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| this platform got cool blue beam..nice! |
The most common display accessory is the action figure stand, a small platform, usually with a "foot peg" that helps figures stay standing to attention without constantly falling over. Many classic action figures came with figure stands, while other toy lines offered figure stands as part of "accessory packs" that were sold separately and included various other pieces of weaponry and gear.
Many collectible companies make generic figure stands for collectors to display their figures and are sold in packs. In fact, these collectible accessory makers have made a nice little industry for themselves selling sturdy, visually pleasing displays such as protective clear boxes or shelving systems specifically designed for action figures.
Carrying Cases
Carrying cases for action figures evolved from cases made for the doll industry. Hasbro easily adapted Mattel's Barbie carrying cases to the original G.I. Joe's "foot locker." Later, when smaller action figures became the norm, carrying case came into their own. Smaller figures were less expensive, thus parents were willing to buy more of them. The more figures a kid had, the more a carrying case became a necessity.
Today, vintage action figure carrying cases are highly sought after in the collectible market, and have become quite notable collectibles themselves.
Finding Accessories
As more and more collectors are hunting down vintage action figures, the need to find a particular figure's proper accessories has become big business, with single accessories being sold on eBay every day. If you find a vintage action figure missing some of its parts, a little online research should point you in the direction of which weapons and gear it may be missing, then a little browsing on eBay or other action figure sites could light your way to making that figure complete once again.
Another choice for replacing accessories is using reproduction parts (often referred to as "repros"), which are offered by several manufacturers today. For a collector that is more interested in displaying their completed figures for their own enjoyment over the possible added collectible value by hunting down original parts, this is an excellent option.
The Accessories Make the Figure
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| nice...sword..hee |
Once you begin to pay as much attention to your figure's accessories, including proper maintenance and care, you'll find your enjoyment of your collection growing by leaps and bounds. And it makes them more fun to play with, too!
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