To get started, I want to explain something that puzzled me when I first started collecting high-end toys. If you collect Hot Toys, you've most likely noticed that at the end of a products description on their website you'll notice that they list a released date. The dates are always listed as "Late" or "Early" quarters.
Manufacturers of everything from toys to dishes operate under what's called a fiscal year. One of the tools used for a fiscal year is dividing it into four sections called quarters. This helps the manufacturer let the public or distributers have an idea of when the product will be available for purchase. The manufacturs use these quarters as reference points when they're not quite certain exactly when the product can and or will be released. Companies such as Hot Toys use quarter references usually to allow themselves time to work out any kinks in a figures appearance or functionability.
The four quarters of the fiscal year are as followed: January through March is the first quarter, April through June is the second quarter, July through September is the third quarter, and October through December is the fourth and final quarter of the year. Refer to the picture below for a chart of the quarters.
Another commonly asked question would be about the scales of figures. Many people wonder what the actual inches to scale conversion is. To answer that question sounds easy enough, but involves a bit of Math. The way that scaling works is that for every amount of inches equals one unit of the scaled item. For excample a 1/6th figure, for every 6 inches of a human is scaled down to one inch. So a 6 foot man in 1/6th scale would be 12 inches.
Also, contrary to the way numbers accend, scaling is the complete opposite. The smaller the number of the scale the larger the figure. For example, 1/6th scale of a 6 foot man is 12 inches...where as 1/4th scale would be 18 inches.
There are many different scales to choose from in the collectible market. Companies such as Hasbro or Jakks Pacific release many 1:18th scale figures, which usually measure about 3 3/4". Some of the more common scales used by companies such as DC Direct, McFarlane, Neca, or Mezco would be the 1:12th figures. These figures aren't usually known for the scale, most know them by the 7" they measure in at. The scale that seems to offer the most detial and posability would be the 1/6th scale figures like Hot Toys, Sideshow Collectibles, BBI, Dragon, or Medicom. Some of the more high-end collectibles usually are in the 1/4th scale range. These items usually vary depending if they're busts or full standing figures. Examples would be Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format sculptures, or Neca's 18" figure line. After that, comes 1:2 scale and the best of all: the 1:1 scale or what's better known as "life-size".
I hope this clears up some commonly asked questions. Hopefully some newcomers will read this, and have a better understanding starting off in this hobby. I apologize if this was a little much. I get to thinking about all the ins and outs of the hobby and just want to share it with all of you guys. We'll get back to posting more entertaining things to read soon, lesson time is over for awhile. lol Anyway, everyone have a great week.
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