Captain Toy Picks...
The Top Ten Horror Sixth Scale Figures

Introduction

Last week, I put together my top ten for best horror action figures, but I stuck with smaller (and larger) scales, avoiding the entire sixth scale realm. I felt there was enough good choices out there in that one scale to make a separate list well worth the effort - that's tonight's list.

Before we begin, a little about my definition of 'horror'. I tried to avoid science fiction, which I love and hold dear as an independent art form. Yes, it can be terrifying at times, but films like Terminator are not horror, but rather science fiction, and as such have been left off the list.

Of course, trying to define a genre is an imperfect endeavor at best, and there will be at least one or two on this list that you'll disagree with me on the categorization. I waffled around myself, but I feel good about the final result.

I also tried to not overload the list with any one company, or any one license.  There have been a million Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, and Leatherface figures, but few of them really were good enough to make a top ten. Likewise, Hot Toys has been killing it for years with their Predator figures, but I chose not to over populate the list with variations.

Here we go!

10 - Michonne's Pet Walkers, Threezero, 2014
Zombies, zombies, everywhere.  Once upon a time, there were NO zombies.  Sixth scale zombies were scarcer than hen's teeth, but in the mid aughts Sideshow brought us their great "The Dead" series with a ton of interesting undead variations. Since then, the number of sixth scale zombies - and zombie killers - has skyrocketed.  I wanted at least one on the list, but what to choose? I reviewed a bunch, and while I'm still not completely sold on the Walking Dead line from Threezero, I have to say their first release is my favorite.  Michonne's Pet Walkers have such a unique look, and Threezero did such a great job on the costuming, that they take my spot for favorite zombies.

9 - Invasion of the Saucer Men, Amoktime, 2008
Another area that was once a hot bed of sixth scale activity was the quirky horror of the 50's and 60's. Companies like Amok Time produced a wide variety of weird monsters, and one of my favorites is the three pack of the Saucer Men. Classic big headed aliens, they even wore footy pajamas. With extra eyeballs on the back of their hands, you can't go wrong.  One of the things I particularly like is that they gave us three, because smaller, army building type figures like this aren't nearly as impressive with just one on the shelf.

8 - Return of the Fly, Majestic Studios, 2003
The Fly was an amazing 80's remake of a pretty damn good 50's horror film. While the figure was actually based on the not so great sequel, the character remained pretty much unchanged. And as guys in a monster suit go, the original Fly design was pretty gruesome. Majestic Studios produced a nice version, with a sculpted head, hand, and foot that still look great by today's standards.

7 - Michael Jackson "Thriller", Hot Toys, 2010
Ah, yes. Perhaps this one is a stretch - perhaps not.  Let's be honest, the music video was all horror, and the voice over by Vincent Price remains a classic. Hot Toys did a fantastic job on the sculpt and damaged coat, and this is one of those rare figures where the alternate zombie look is the only way to go.

6 - Dallas, Aliens, Hot Toys, 2008
Another license that had to be represented on the list somewhere was Alien. The movie monsters have been done in this scale by a couple companies, but none as well as Hot Toys. That being said, their Aliens have left me a bit cold. Don't get me wrong - I bought several of them, and they look great on the shelf. The very first photo above is their latest Warrior Alien.  But none of them are good enough to be on the list, at least not for me.

Ah, but the two humans they produced for Aliens - Dallas and Kane - remain two of my all time favorites.  They look great inside the space suits, and the light up feature is terrific. I went with Dallas because the overall likeness is better, but you really can't go wrong with either one. Now if we can finally get a great Ripley.

5 - Jason, Freddy vs Jason, 2007
Jason has been done to death of course, especially by Sideshow.  Freddy too. But out of all those versions, there really haven't been any that knocked my socks off, other than the Jason from the rather weak movie Freddy vs Jason. He's still not perfect, and I'm sure purists will have their issues, but he's my favorite out of the herd of Jasons. BTW, the Freddy out of that set is a great release as well.

4 - Sweeney Todd, Hot Toys, 2011
I can hear it now - "But he's not a horror figure...". Hey, the dude is a serial killer.  He got his start in a penny dreadful. To me, he's horror.

And Hot Toys did him up right.  While there's a couple Jack Sparrow figures that are probably their best Johnny Depp work, I have to say that this one is right up there. Add in a ton of great accessories, and you have a terrific release of a monstrous character.

3 - Eye of the Beholder, Twilight Zone, Sideshow, 2002
Sideshow did a large number of really nice Twilight Zone and Outer Limits figures back in their early days of licensed releases. Some missed the list because they are more science fiction than horror - the Kanamit for example - and still others, while great for the time, don't hold up as well by today's standards.

But the Nurse and Doctor from Eye of the Beholder has neither of those issues.  They remain two of my favorite figures from the time period, and the sculpts stand up well even today.  Sure, the bodies leave something to be desired, but that's fixable. A favorite episode received a great plastic representation - that's a perfect combo.

2 - Mars Attacks, Hot Toys, 2010 
Sometimes horror works best when it's quirky and weird - and that's definitely Mars Attacks. I've had the opportunity to see the actual maquettes of the martians used for the film (they were on display at the Warner Brothers on site museum) and I feel Hot Toys did an excellent job capturing them with their release. Any Mars Attacks merchandise is welcome, but when it's done this well, it gets to sit down at the dinner table.

1 - Berserker Predator, Hot Toys, 2010
You knew there had to be a Hot Toys Predator on this list someplace.  They've done a ton of them, and the overall quality has varied quite a bit release to release. Your choice of personal favorite will be affected by which film it comes from, as well as how good the final execution was.

I have no idea how surprising it will be that the Berserker Predator is my personal favorite. I'm not a huge fan of Predators, although I do think it's better than most of the sequels. The design, especially with the face and mask, is what draws me to this particular version, and sells me on him overall.

In Closing...
Both last week's list and this week's list tend to favor older releases. There's a really good reason for that - other than Aliens and Predators (and of course, zombies), we haven't seen a lot of sixth scale horror figures in recent years. Thankfully, that appears to be changing, with new figures from Sideshow, Threezero, and some other smaller companies making it to market in the next year.

One odd thing jumped out at me once I had the list complete: two of the ten figures come from Tim Burton movies, someone I don't think of as a 'horror' director. Hmm.

So what's your list look like?

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