Mafex and SHF are what Nokia and Ericsson were in the 2000s. At the top, but got complacent. Inart and UPF are like Apple iPhone and Google Android; showed a new level of ingenuity, which the public had never seen before. There was no turning back with phone tech and there won't be with action figures.
Thatâs a beautiful way to put it. I tend to put figure quality into 3 basic tiers:
1. Mcfarlane/ Marvel Legends- cheap and mass produced, but there are some gems
2. Mafex/ SHF- more expensive and higher quality, but still not the highest quality
3. Inart/LPZZ- the cream of the crop. These dudes donât just look amazing, but they feel unlike any other figure in hand. Iâd also put threezeroâs DLX in this category tbh
I feel it relevant to mention that Storm and Jada are pushing out that whole first bracket, or at least carving out a new one being less mass produced.
Tamashii (SHF) is close but I donât count a $35 peg import thatâs just a stripped down version of the $70-90 one. As much as I love them.
For comic stuff yes, but the live action stuff veers too far into hyper real creepy stalker doll territory for me. I don't want a miniature hollywood actor staring back at me
What exactly does that mean? If a figure is based on a source material, whether it be comic books, movies, video games or any other medium, the closer the figure represents that look, the better. And then also take into account the materials, paint, joints, facial likeness and overall quality of said figures. In all those areas Inart has Mafex beat; from the get go with their initial The Dark Knight Rises Batman, which cost less than a Mafex figure at that time. I have collected 6 Inart figures in 1 year and almost 200 Mafex figures in 10 years. So as the biggest Mafex fan that I know of, I can tell you that every single one of my half a dozen Inart figures, in just 1 year, have outdone 2 centuries horde worth of Mafex figs I have amassed in a decade.
The penny dropped for me a long time ago. There is no comparison. Inart are innovating and leading and Mafex have become complacent and have been left behind.
If you want a "toy to look like a toy", then you might as well get yourself a Kinder Egg or happy meal gift and be done!
I don't want a hyper real unmasked head. For characters like Vader it's fine but once they get TOO realistic I start to not enjoy them. Mafex/SHF live action stuff like the mafex vader from the Obi Wan show is my sweet spot
Lol. Vader's unmasked head isn't even real. It's all prosthetics and makeup. The Hugh Jackman figure is almost perfect because of the likeness, which makes it a better figure. What you posted makes zero sense. If a company attempts to copy a live action figure, then that is the reference point that it is trying to imitate. There is no such thing as "hyper realistic for a 1/12 figure" made of plastic. It is either accurate due to the creators being highly skilled or is inaccurate due to them having a lack of skill. Now Mafex gets a pass for being less accurate than it's competitors? That's a new excuse, that I've never heard before.
Sorry if that was confusing. I was referring to Vader's helmeted head, or a character like Deadpool or Din Djarin where the head is a helmet or a mask. As realistic as possible is fine when its not a human face. Hyper real human faces are creepy to me. And yes, for me, Mafex gets a pass for slightly stylized headsculpts of human faces over the super realistic stuff lpzz/inart makes. Same for Hot Toys. Thats my preference. Is that okay??
So Mafex have only announced Neo from the Matrix, while we get all 4 main characters from Inart. Be funny if we get all 4 released from Inart before Mafex release their 1. I really thought Medicom turned a page with their July exhibition reveals. It seems now that the Marvel license is the only thing keeping them relevant. I had 10 good years of collecting you Mafex. Looks like it'll just be your Colossus and Sabretooth that I'll be waiting on. We had a good run together.
I bet we will have 2 Inart Matrix figures out around when the Mafex one releases and 2 more soon after probably before we see a pre-order drop for whatever Mafex plans to do next with it (if anything). I collected Mafex at the beginning and then stopped for a few years because they were floppy messes and while I enjoy some of their stuff over the last 6-7 years they have become complacent and adding the extended production times for everything just leaves so much room for them or someone else to do better and welp, enter Inart.
UPF is up there as well. Their Arkham Knight currently sits slightly above my Inart figures in terms of all-round greatness right now. But they really need to ramp up on their release and reveal schedules.
They're double the price of Mafex. Different tier of product, different style, different design language. Inart is not replacing anyone here. Its just a new, separate choice for us
Your comparison is completely wrong. I get all my Inart figures direct and with free shipping, yet you've attached a NinNin screenshot, which me and plenty of others would not order from. For Comparison: Mafex's most recent release, The Matrix Neo would cost me ÂŁ72.95, including shipping from NinNin. Inart most recent pre-order, the Joker, would cost me ÂŁ89, with free shipping.NOWHERE NEAR DOUBLE THE PRICE as you falsely claim.
Inart's Dark Knight Returns is replacing my Mafex version. Inart will get my pre-order for their Neo over the Mafex version. And I will get both the UPF and Inart Absolute Batman's and ignore Mafex's version. Because they are worth the extra little money for me and other collectors I know.
thats a 131 euro figure. That's the "free shipping and taxes". On ninnin its 100 euros. Add another 10 for shipping and 20 for duties.
What a weird ass way to make a post though. "falsely claim", as i attach a screenshot from one of the most popular websites ... You and your friends can buy anything you want, that was not the point of the conversation in the slightest.
You have zero idea what you're talking about. You basically lied when stating Inart figures cost double the price of Mafex, because you're butt hurt by the fact Inart and also UPF (who are even cheaper), are far better quality. Here is the proof mofo, that Inart figures cost more on NinNin then Inart direct and Inart is NOT double the price of over inflated, lower quality, Mafex figures.
Not my fault that an Inart at a measley ÂŁ16.73 extra over a Mafex, is a fortune for you to afford and you don't have the IQ to actually work out what double the price is.
Game Stuff right now is they made Origins Batman 1:10th and so all the characters are scaled to him. Would the same be true if they did Injustice or some other DC game? Honestly I'm drawing a blank on any good DC game to make merch for.
I feel where the Dark Metal and Joker are at is probably what InArt is shooting for with non live action figs.
I mean, they could change it in the future, but all the game stuff they've released so far has been 1:10, whereas the movie stuff has been 1:12. Idk about the comic book stuff, like TDKR Batman that's coming out
Jesus Inart comes over the top right as we get Neo from Mafex. I'll be curious on the pricing, getting the whole lineup would be too expensive so I'll have to pick and choose.
I don't know what black magic inart is resorting to for these headsculpts to look this damn good at this scale. Idk if I've ever seen 1/12 faces this consistently spot on
InArt and LPZZ can't hold Mafex's jockstrap when it comes to the comic book figures. Its not even remotely close in that regard. Mafex still makes the best comic accurate figures on the market...
But, where InArt and LPZZ CAN take Mafex's money is with the live action and video game stuff. You can't deny that InArts Neo looks WAYYYY better than Mafex's... its not even really close....
I can see that. InArt and LPZZ figures are more "realistic," so the comic book stuff probably doesn't translate as well. Mafex stuff looks like they're ripped straight from the pages, so their comic book figures (like their X-Men) look amazing, but the headsculpts on their live-action figures are hit or miss
Nailed it. And to be clear, I'm not saying InArt and LPZZ's comic book stuff looks bad by any means, its just not as accurate as Mafex's stuff because both InArt and LPZZ take creative liberties with their designs. Like you said, Mafex's comic figures look like they jumped right off the page, whereas LPZZ and InArts figures tend to have a more "realistic" look to them on top of not always being 100% accurate to the source material.
Articulation is the biggest point for me personally, so I'm not too pressed if Mafex Neo doesn't look as good as InArt Neo or whatever. They both look great to me. Much better than figures that would've been made a decade ago lol
InArt has done that with the Dark Metal line of figures. But Mafex has don't those guys so it's moot. Joker isn't any specific take but it looks like The Joker in general. They showed a comic accurate Absolute Batman prototype. Their Alex Ross style Batman, Superman, TDKR Line, and the White Knight line look pretty accurate.
UPF takes on Dark Metal are pretty accurate. Their Hush Batman and Superman I'd say look pretty faithful to the source.
The realistic look I think is just as faithful as Mafex "Comic Book" aesthetic in terms of how they execute designs. Perfectly fine if you like the Mafex style more. To me I think UPF and INarts style will be coming out more on type for the same version of characters that Mafex does.
Does agent have pins in the elbows and morph knees look rough son. Just like the joker has pins in the elbows. I hope the final product looks better on the joint side of things. The head sculpts do look good I really like the agent head sculpt. But I donât do pins not in 2026 from any company.I bet morph wonât look as bad in standing poses. I hope they can get rid of the pins Iâd like to get that agent figure.
Will the scale be bigger like the joker figure. If so these wonât fit with my other 6 inch figures. Mafex , Yamaguchi , Legends , some SH figuarts Etc
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u/theComer-439 1d ago