Women Who Collect Sixth Scale Figures: Four Collector Perspectives

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Banner reading Inside the Mind of Female One Sixth Scale Figure Collectors, with a woman beside a Hulk figure and the Hot Toys logo.

Women who collect sixth scale action figures bring a wide range of interests to the hobby: favorite film characters, miniature costumes, posing, photography and the friendships built around a collection. There is no single reason to start collecting, and no single kind of figure that every woman wants.

In One Sixth Society’s original community discussion, Karen, Kristine, Myla and Pam answered eight questions about their collections. Their responses reveal both shared interests and different priorities, from realistic likenesses and rooted hair to affordability, character choice and how collectors treat one another.

Four collectors, four perspectives

Karen describes the appeal of recognizable movie characters. Kristine recalls discovering the detail of Hot Toys at Frank & Son. Myla emphasizes art and creativity, while Pam brings experience making clothes and styling ball-jointed dolls. These are individual accounts from our original discussion, not a survey of all women or a current product-availability guide.

Illustration of five dark male pictograms grouped together and one separate white female pictogram on a lime-green background.

The original illustration represents a perceived imbalance in participation; it does not establish a measured ratio of men to women in the hobby.

The answers below retain the original participants’ words and attribution. They were edited for clarity in the original article. Collection sizes, prices and product wish lists describe their experiences at the time of that conversation.

Quote graphic attributed to Gal Gadot, with a portrait and a statement that women are strong and can care for themselves using their intelligence and power.

1. What inspired/motivated you to collect sixth scale figures?

Karen

I’ve collected Barbie dolls and STAR WARS dolls since I was a little girl. What really got me interested in the official 1:6 figures was the AVENGERS line of figures by HOT TOYS. The Black Widow figure in particular as she was one of the first female figures I had seen that really nailed likeness and also was a believable sized body.

Kristine

Since the age of 14 I’ve always collected toys and figures from different toy companies. It wasn’t till 2009 that I discovered the world of 1:6. My husband and I were at a collectible warehouse called Frank & Sons. While browsing around I came across a Hot Toys figure and immediately stopped. I couldn’t believe how life like the figure looked, I was instantly hooked. We now own nearly 200 1:6 figures.

Myla

I’m inspired and motivated by arts and movies.

Pam

I’ve been a doll collector for a long time. I sew doll clothes and paint Asian ball jointed doll (BJD) heads as a second job. I recreate movie and TV costumes in one third (1:3) scale. I’m obsessed with getting as realistic a pose and costume as possible. I was highly impressed with the amount of detail in the 1:6 scale figures. It’s probably the posing that draws me to the 1:6 scale and I do like that I can have three times as many figures in the same space (compared to a 1:3 scale BJD)! There are a lot of props available as well and I am all about the accessories.

2. What do you specifically enjoy/like about the sixth scale hobby?

Karen

I’ve always been fascinated with figures that capture a particular person’s likeness. So I love to be able to collect 1:6 representations of my favorite movie characters. I love that you can either buy a really well made figure or play Dr. Frankenstein and assemble your own from quality parts. I also love how helpful the community is and how you can meet people that like the same characters and give great advice!

Kristine

The main and most important thing I enjoy about the sixth scale hobby is all the amazing people I’ve gotten to know. Meeting collectors from all over the world too right down the next city. Being able to share and exchange photos, ideas, and projects with everyone is truly amazing.

Myla

I enjoy the creativity.

Pam

I like the diversity of figures. It’s not just movie stars and super heroes. The multitude of military and historical figures is numerous. There seems to be something for everyone.

3. What don’t you like about the sixth scale hobby?

Karen

The expense of the figures is increasing at a rather steady rate. I also worry about how long pieces in my collection will stay in good shape. I have 35 year old Barbie dolls that are in excellent condition, so it puzzles me that I hear reports of Hot Toys figures deteriorating in just a few years. That hasn’t happened to me yet and I hope it doesn’t any time soon. I also don’t like how some members of the community can be so negative and express really unpleasant opinions on posts where people are just trying to share something they’re proud of.

Kristine

I dislike how competitive this hobby can be. Whether you have 500 figures or just five, we should all be treated equally. I also dislike the collectors who feels it’s okay to steal another artist work by recasting their art and selling it at a lower cost. These figures are not cheap and we should appreciate and respect the art.

Myla

I like 1/6 hobby because it’s just fun for me.

Pam

I understand the difficulty in keeping female characters from looking clunky and hiding the joints. I’d love to see a WWII and a 70’s version Diana Prince and more Amazons, Queen Cleopatra, more female Xmen, and a realistic line of Geisha. Omg those would be insanely fun to pose, wig and dress.

4. Do you find it awkward when discussing/engaged in the sixth scale hobby that is predominantly male orientated?

Karen

No, it doesn’t bother me at all.

Kristine

It definitely can be awkward at times because as women we are underestimated in this male dominated hobby. Being treated like well, “A girl who doesn’t know anything.” There’s a very small group of us females who collect and I feel sometime we are judged more on our looks rather than having a discussion about the hobby.

Myla

No, I don’t feel awkward that it’s predominantly men.

Pam

No. I treat all collectors the same. I have a pretty wicked sense of humor and having worked in fandom for a while. I engage with male collectors in lots of different areas. Every obsession is personal. Every collection is driven by personal likes and personality. I actually love to hear men talk about dolls. Call them action figures if you like, but it’s all clothing, shoes and accessory talk. Like telling your best friend where you got that awesome purse!

5. What are your general overall thoughts on sixth scale female figures?

Karen

There aren’t enough of them. I’d love to see more versions of popular female characters. If they can make 20 different versions of a Stormtrooper, they surely can make a few more versions of Princess Leia or even Padme.

Kristine

I feel female figures are improving slowly. I’ve noticed the different throughout the years on the facial details. The paint application as well as the rooted hair is much improved.

Myla

I think 1:6 female figures are just as good as male 1:6 figures.

Pam

I like the smooth one piece bodies as long as they are realistic, but having collected Asian ball jointed dolls for so long I am not offended by a visible joint.  If possible, I truly wish the makers would use real rooted hair please! I really dislike plastic rooted hair even on the male figures. I have dozens of wigs for my ball jointed dolls and change them often. It keeps the hobby fresh. I prefer a realistic body so Barbie never appealed to me.  I don’t have a problem with a sexy figure but vulgarity is not attractive to me.  I get that women come in many shapes and sizes. Being busty and curvy myself, I don’t have a problem with large bust lines on figures IF that is how the figure has been depicted in its media. I like a curvy figure because I have one.  It’s just a piece of plastic after all.

6. What do you not like about sixth scale female figures?

Karen

Some of the photos I’ve seen of the Phicen figures are kind of creepy. I prefer a realistically proportioned female figure and not Jessica Rabbit, but then I am a girl. Also, throughout the years many companies give the female characters much less thought than their male counterparts. I remember purchasing a Sideshow Princess Leia a few years ago and she had this large pumpkin head. Is it really that hard to scale a female character correctly?

Kristine

The facial expression on the female figures is something I highly dislike. Y ou can notice a pattern with them all. They tend to have the “DUH” look on them. I feel as have they been giving slight different facial expressions, they would look better. A nother is th repetitive female characters being mass produced. Give us more female characters and not just the same ones over and over.

Myla

It doesn’t really matter if it’s male or female as long as I like it.

Pam

I don’t like visible joints, but I can deal with them though. It’s about camera angles and clothing placement to hide them. I’ve been doing it for years with ball jointed dolls. In my experience, feminine hands are not the norm in 1:6 though there has been progress there. I’d love some more casual/relaxed hand poses and something other than holding a gun or hanging limp. I think many female figures need better articulation in the wrists for more feminine posing. I do wish manufacturers would include bare high heeled feet and bare flat feet with female figures. I like to redress my figures and would like to put heels on them sometimes. Matching vinyl feet from the same casting would be awesome.

7. What do you believe will encourage more engagement/participation by female sixth scale collectors into the hobby?

Karen

I think creating more figures that women can relate to would help. It would be nice if the clothing for figures and even the hair could be stepped up a notch. I always look at the hair when collecting a figure. Let’s face it. HOT TOYS has big hair issues. I’ve never understood how a $35.00 Barbie doll can have better hair than a $225.00 Black Widow figure.

Kristine

I feel as if more female collectors spoke out and showed their collections, that it may encourage others to get involved. Maybe introducing ourselves on a thread and getting more involved in discussions, may work? If men didn’t pose their dolls naked and in weird sexual positions, I believe it wouldn’t scare off a lot of female collectors. That is extremely creepy and may cause women to think twice about getting involved in this community. I’d love to see more women voice their opinions on topics regarding interesting threads and manufactured defects.

Myla

I don’t really know. Perhaps, different strokes for different folk?

Pam

Seriously, I believe more marketing to young girls is needed because they have been bombarded for years with fashion dolls and cartoon figures. DC Super Hero Girls is a good start and might be something that could be built upon to move them from play dolls to figure collector. There is a point as a girl where we move from leaving dolls laying around half dressed to getting them perfect and setting them on a shelf. Identifying that moment and marketing to it would be worth exploring. Price point is important because ‘tween girls don’t have their own income and the parents are in charge of purchases. Some sort of family collector dynamic might work.

8. Do you believe that some offerings from sixth scale brands/manufacturers need to be catered for female collectors? If yes, then why and if no, then why?

Karen

Yes, I think it would be nice to make characters that appeal more to females. I love my Captain America collection but would like to see a brand like Hot Toys learn how to create quality clothing and more becoming female bodies so they could do something like a Queen Amidala or even Marilyn Monroe.

Kristine

I don’t believe any brands need to cater to female collectors. Companies like Cotswold Collectibles (Elite Brigade) have plenty of merchandise that caters to female figures. You can find plenty of 1:6 accessories to fit your need regardless of gender.

Myla

No, I don’t believe so.

Pam

No, not really.  Make good products and we will buy them. I’m attracted to 1:6 figures for all the same reasons men are attracted.  I love Superman too! Though knowing what figures appeal to women is important. Who do they talk about?  Who do they aspire to be? Who do they respect? Who did they want to be as little girls? Isn’t that what the markets use for the decisions they make?  I personally don’t want to be treated differently than male collectors. I do think the places to market might do with some rethinking. We aren’t looking in the same places as men. There are some fine doll magazines online that would be a good start.

A collecting community with room for different tastes

The responses do not point to a single formula for attracting women to collecting. Some participants wanted a wider choice of characters or improvements to hair and clothing; others simply wanted well-made figures and equal treatment. Listening to those differences is more useful than assuming that everyone collects in the same way.

Explore our sculpted versus rooted hair guide for one of the design choices discussed here, or visit the Hot Toys hub for articles, reviews and videos. Our display-case guide and figure-care guide cover practical ways to look after a collection.

Thank you to Karen, Kristine, Myla and Pam for sharing their experiences with One Sixth Society.

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