Manufacturers of Action Figures

With the ever-growing popularity of action figures, there are many different manufacturers making these great figures. Some manufacturers create toys as well as action figures, others create bobbleheads too. Then there are some that focus strictly on action figures. Attention to detail seems to separate most of the competition. With most action figures being made in China, the craftsmanship seems to be the same. A list of the some of the bigger manufacturers are listed below as well as a brief description about them.

McFarlane Toys - McFarlane Toys was founded in 1994 by its artist and creator, Todd McFarlane. McFarlane Toys creates a wide aray of action figures from many different forms of media including movies, television shows, music icons, and sports figures. It appears that McFarlane is the only manufacturer that licenses great sports athletes from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL. Some of those licenses include action figures from movies such as: Napoleon Dynamite, Corpse Bride, Beowulf, and Shrek. Some figures from their TV series include: 24, Lost, The Simpsons, and various Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. Recently, McFarlane Toys has sprung into the video game action figure territory, releasing figures from various video games such as the hit games Halo 3, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Metal Gear Solid. Most of McFarlane's action figures are based on a 6" scale.

NECA - the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) is one of the largest action figure manufacturer there is. NECA was founded in 1996 and has over 90 licenses from which it produces. Some of NECA's biggest selling products include figures from such films as: 300 The Movie, Harry Potter, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Alien, and Terminator. One of the newest genres that NECA has manufactured from are video games. Some titles include: Gears of War, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, God of War, and Castlevania. Most of NECA's action figures are based on a 7" scale, however, they do have 18" figures available, as well and include sound. NECA considers their 18" figures to be some of their best sellers.

Mezco Toyz - Mezco Toyz is a toy company that has been manufacturing action figures since 2006. Some of the more popular licenses include: Family Guy, South Park, Hellboy, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and more. Like NECA, most of the Mezco Toyz action figures are the 7" scale.