For me, it's both a great and difficult time to be a customizer, depending on which angle you look from. In terms of the variety of 1:18 lines and fodder out there, it's absolutely a golden age: between the smaller companies making customizer-targeted figures and the massive amount of licensed 4" figures made over the past five years or so, it's an embarrassment of riches that we never would have dared to dream of in the late '90s/early 2000s. I got a couple of the Space Force Kickstarter figures a while back, which I bought for their sweet retro space helmets: a removable harness that holds a clear domed helmet? Amazing, and something I've been wanting forever. Even the ReAction figures, for all of their many, many flaws, occasionally have customizing value (or at least the non-human heads and the accessories can). So, in that respect, we're being well-served.

The other side of that, however, is...not bleak, exactly, but just not quite as hopeful: 1:18 lines just aren't thriving in the mainstream, and the scale is becoming more of a niche market. And I feel like niche markets, especially in a hobby context, tend to become more niche over time. So it kind of feels like the future is more "ordering from Marauder/Boss Fight/Acid Rain/whatever" and less "going to Target to check the action figure aisle." And that's not bad; it's just a change from the instant gratification of having a custom idea and rushing out to find a few parts for it. But a lot of my thinking on this is colored by the fact that I got spoiled by the 2008-2013 period where both the Star Wars and modern Joe lines really hit their stride, both in terms of the quality of the sculpts and articulation and the large number of releases, which made finding custom fodder much easier.

I know I don't talk or post much of anything, but love JC. I would say that I post more here than any other forum related to Joes. Customizing in general could be classified as a fad like any interest or hobby. Only the ones that are in the game for the joy of it will be around until their end. I enjoy making/designing things and think I will be here until I'm 6 feet under or until this board closes which ever comes first. Not into the social media thing and don't think I ever will. Don't know the state of the hobby there, but things have really slowed down on forums I have noticed.

1/18 I think is the perfect scale regarding articulation and vehicles. 1/12 might be great for figures, but just like 1/6 stuff vehicles start to take up too much space and not to even bring up price. I would like to say 1/18 will never disappear as Hasbro has been looking anyway to kill it completely for like ever, but not sure what the future holds. Then we have seen many new companies pop up over the years with 1/18 as a focus, despite the price point. I don't branch out into the other scales as even if everything were to dry up in 1/18th would just push me to spend on completing projects than buying something someone else has done. I can say that I haven't bought much of anything first hand in years and have relocated my hobby budget into 3D printing. I really think that will become the future key too many hobbies as time goes on as tech improves. Plus I can say for myself I always get something (figure or vehicle) and after the new feeling is gone, always think of ways I could make it better. Very much the way I look at Legos, as I might build the instruction version once. Then instructions get tossed into a tote and I change it up to make it my own. I would think everyone here has that mindset to some degree. So with my skills and tech improving in time, I could see myself not even caring what a company would make that is in my scope of creation.

Now looking at our hobby from the tech point, I think we can only look forward to growth. I do like to physically have something to work from when I do customize, but have started to see much benefit from working with 3D software. Plus the fact that if you have different visions for something, you can do them both. Where as shortages and price don't kill your creativity.

Conclusion to answer your question on the hobby I guess would be dependent on many different factors. Which ones you find you can live with and others that you don't mind sacrificing on. I really like what I see that is offered from many of the new companies that popped up over the years, but not so much for the price they are wanting. Its hard for me to see a figure that averages $35+ get cut up when I don't even have one in my collection because they are that price, but to someone else it might be nothing. Though I enjoy seeing others visions no matter how it's medium. Most days I'm viewing everything like the glass is half empty, but there are times it looks half full.

Cheers,
momaw nadon

_________________

This is the case for me, too: there are beautiful, well-made figures in many other scales, but my heart belongs to 1:18. Some of that is nostalgia, because the vast majority of my favorite toys as a kid were 3 3/4", but what Momaw Nadon said about the scale's suitability for vehicles, playsets, and displays is a big part of it, too. And if the day comes when 1:18 becomes obsolete, I'll just keep chipping away at the mountain of WIP figure ideas that fill containers in my workroom with the fodder I already have or can find on the secondary market.

I've also been getting into 3D design. I'm currently taking classes in Solidworks and ZBrush, and both of those have applications for customizing. I've already started designing some 1:18 vehicles and playset pieces, and as soon as I learn how to deal with clothing in ZBrush or one of the other character-modeling programs (I know there's one specifically for clothing that I want to learn), I can start trying to produce my own 100%-custom pieces. I took the classes for professional purposes, but I'm loving the possibilities for this hobby, as well.

Like everyone else, I see it as a good time with some aches. There were several customizer websites for Joe stuff a decade ago, now it's mostly whittled down to here and Hisstank- I'm on both and like both, but even they seem like they have less users/traffic. That's just a gut feeling, I could be entirely wrong.

I have tried to learn 3D sculpting/printing, but it's never clicked. But... if enough OTHER people get good at it, it won't be an issue because I could just say, "Hey, couldya make me a such-and-such?" Being someone who works mostly with older and junk parts, it's really helped me find my zone and develop pieces that look recognizable as my work. I don't say this with an abundance of pride, just an acknowledgement that skill really takes time to develop.

The work other guys are doing with the new premium figures? Wow. Incredible. There are guys out there making things that look more like movie props than figures. And there are guys who cobble stuff together from EVERY genre and the creativity there is off the charts.

I'm a bit sad, for lack of a better work, that our hobby is maybe at the start of a down glide. Most of us are just before or just after 50 now, and there aren't many people in their 20's coming into the hobby. Action figures weren't exclusive to our generation, but those who came after us spent their childhoods with gaming systems instead of action figures. That's not a dig; we didn't play with marbles like our grandparents did.

Enjoy it while you can, I guess.

If you’re only going by mass retailers like Walmart and Target, I agree that it’s a desert and has been for a while (for many real world reasons).

While there’s some great 1:18 stuff being produced by the big guys (40th Anniversary ARAH Joe figures, Star Wars 3.75” namely), there are also some awesome indie companies like Joy Toy doing Battle For The Stars, or other toy lines like Acid Rain

Outside of that, there’s a whole market for vintage-style pieces of all types sold via Instagram. TONS of 3.75” figures in many styles. Some toys are 3-D printed, some are 5 POA “bootleg” mash-ups. Lots of custom vinyl figures. Almost anything in any style or scale you’d want is there. You can even hire somebody to make stuff for you.

Toys of all scales (but especially 1:18/3.75”) are alive & well

_________________

paging doctor robert strange been a long time since i've seen you on!

_________________

It’s been a wild few years. Found out I’m epileptic, then had a really bad grand mal seizure, almost died, and was in a coma for about 9 days. For the most part I’m back to normal, but I have a form of amnesia where it takes me a while to form new memories (I remember pre-coma life stuff). Luckily that is improving too.

Fortunately I remember all my toymaking skills and have slowly been dabbling again, mainly commissions for private clients. I have a backlog of customs to post as well. Lots of pre-coma stuff, but also recent non-Joe work.

_________________

man that's a lot to go through. i look forward to seeing what you post ,and i'm glad to hear you are doing better.

_________________

Wow! Well welcome back survivor!

_________________

Firstly, Way to be strong!

I too, haunt the corners of the site, stopping in less frequently as of late. I feel like 1/18th has been more of a scavenger hunt. I have been adding things like The Batman, Batmobile, and the Wal Mart Retro offerings. I too have been skulking the auction websites for vehicles and playsets from 90s lines like Robocop just to find Items close to scale.

I used to want to try to make a figure for every character from the comics, cartoons, and movies but now I am working on documenting what I have put together (As a LBC who chose to focus on the more modern offering and has divested myself out of O-Ring items). So I have started a spreadsheet and placed numbers on each of the items which correspond to my spreadsheet.
It feels like curating museums now more than adding to a toy collection.

I have always been thankful for this community and the steady hand of Beav and co. and now Pluv and co. (I came in before 2007 (I remember the website getting moved from one thing to another or something), having not been a Biovac member) The people have been generally positive in a time and space where trolling runs rampant. Ups and downs in the economy hit hobbies like ours first and hardest.

Time will tell if we are going to be the caretakers of an antiquated format or the stalwarts keeping it alive until the next upswing.

_________________

Another step in the evolution of the hobby - Full color 3D printing


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IkvzMJihuY

That's incredible! I know nothing about 3D printing. Any guesses how long it will take to get consumer-grade printers with this tech?

I would say its closer than we know, there's already affordable 2 and 3 color printers available. This technology is making great advances.

_________________

I would be surprised if , at the latest, consumer grade full color 3D printers weren't available by 2031. With that said i could easily see someone rushing a product to market in the next 36 months as well.

The question is will it be Elegoo or Formlabs? The consumer market might not be lucrative enough for the other players.

It's already out there, sort of. I toyed with getting one of these printers a few years ago but just couldn't justify it. They're no longer available but I've been waiting for one of the other companies, like Elegoo, to release their own version.

I like the thought of a 3D printers with inkjet technology versus the filament mixing that some of the currently available options offer, since they waste a lot of filament and you don't really get full color prints; you just get prints with multiple colors in them. The thing I'd really like to see and have dreamed about for years but can't figure out how to make is a 3D inkjet printer. This way, you could use whatever 3D printer (be it FDM or resin, and any brand) then print the color on -- sort of like the mug printers that are already available. You'd think with LiDAR and other readily available technology, somebody would make at least a primitive one. Just strap your model in, load the print profile into the printer and hit print. Then the printer moves the object or printhead, or both, as it shoots the ink onto the object, similar to what the Mimaki does and the Davinci did, just manufacturer independent.