Top 10 Action Figures of 2019
Top 10 Action Figures of 2019!
Here’s my top 10 Action Figures (Domestic and Import) for 2019! There are a ton of amazing releases that came out this year that I would have loved to check out. This list is based on my own personal items that I have purchased this year, as such some of your favorite releases may not be in the list. Let me know what you liked in the comment section at the bottom of the page! Additionally I tried to keep the list to releases from 2019, but there are a few older pieces that I acquired this year that I felt deserved recognition.
This list is entirely based on my own tastes and opinions. Hopefully you enjoy my thoughts on these awesome figures!
Runners-Up
Figma Izuku Midoriya (Reissue)
This was a long time coming for me. I’ve been after Figma Deku since launch and just could not stomach the $300+ aftermarket price people were asking; even more if you wanted the masked version! He’s a few years old at this point so I couldn’t justify giving him a full spot on this years list, but I also wanted to make sure to feature him and tell y’all how excited I am to finally have a figure of the best boy of anime. Looking forward to Figma fleshing out this line, as well as the Amazing Yamaguchi options coming soon!
Star Wars Black Series - Clone Commander Obi Wan Kenobi
This one stings a bit. I wanted to put him in my proper top 10 of the year but this figure is just not up to par. He’s basically got a runner up spot due to my affinity for the character, an absolutely incredible head sculpt, and decent implementation of soft goods for a main-stream figure brand. The base body is dated and hard to pose with limited articulation. The re-use of the Clone Trooper hands is particularly egregious as the trigger hand can’t even hold his saber without dropping it! For a premium price they could have at least included some force hands or something. On top of that, I had to buy 2 figures due to factory defects! The first copy I purchased had a defective foot, and had his right arm shear off the first time I tried to move it. I purchased a second just because I am dumb and feel obligated to keep a representation of this version of Kenobi on my shelf. I plan to use the head sculpt from the broken version for an upcoming custom project, so at least it wasn’t a complete waste.
Marvel Legends - Storm (Retro Wave)
In a similar vein as Kenobi, I really wanted to put Storm on the list proper. We’ve been waiting for a new version of this design for so long; to finally have an updated figure of one of the most important X-Men characters should be joyous occasion. Unfortunately she’s got similar issues due to a body buck that feels out of date, loose ankles, bendy joints, poor accessories (no head or hand options) and unlike Kenobi, very poor implementation of soft goods. Her cape bits are made of a scratchy, plastic material that holds onto creases and folds in a way that makes it hard to look natural. Happy to have her in my X-Men team but I do wish some things had been done differently.
Top 10
#10 - Marvel Legends - Stealth Suit Spider-Man (Far From Home)
I still haven’t seen the movie but I love this design. I bought a couple to use as covert agents, since they don’t feature any Spider-Man logos on the actual suit at all. Incredible articulation, swap out hands and even an alternate head. What’s not to like? If you can get them for $20 without BAF pieces even better! I still plan to add a couple more to my collection if I can find some good deals.
#09 - NECA - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Live Action Ver.)
NECA knocked it out of the park on these designs. The likeness to the live action movie is uncanny. Deluxe sets including swap out eye mask tails, weapons, multiple hands, and pizza accessories make these very worthy pickups. I’ve scored them a bit lower than initially intended on the list as I’ve started to run into some of the usual NECA troubles that I tend to have; they can be incredibly stiff and posing them sometimes can risk breakage. I unfortunately damaged 2 of the swap out hands already. Best advise is to make sure these guys are really warm when you’re handling them. I would have also liked to see them use fabric or elastic of some kind to hold the knee and elbow pads, as the thick plastic used severely limits the double joints they designed into the figures. Ultimately I’m still very happy with these guys, very satisfied with my purchase, and would love to pick up the Shredder and Splinter to go with them if they get single releases! Pick these guys up if you haven’t already!
#08 - Bring Arts - Lea / Axel (KH3)
Damn near perfection. Comes with alternate heads and weapons to make Organization XIII Axel, or KH3 Lea. His body is fairly well articulated considering the limitations of the cloak and the paint job is exceptional especially on the twin chakram and Flame Liberator keyblade. Can’t wait to complete the trio with Roxas and Xion scheduled for release in 2020.
#07 - Figma - 433 Skull (Ryuji Sakamoto)
Ryuji is my favorite character from Persona 5. Persona 5 is one of my favorite games of all time. So, naturally, Ryuji’s existence on this list was practically guaranteed. Assembling the Phantom Thieves of Hearts has been an enjoyable experience and in my opinion Ryuji is one of the best in this set. His layered costume fits into Figma’s area of expertise perfectly and they really nailed the look. His articulation is stellar, accessories are on point, and paint job is quite exceptional. He’s also got regular shoes! That may sound like a silly thing to be excited about but after dealing with heels on everyone including Joker causing stability issues, it’s nice to have a figure that can hold a dynamic pose, even on one foot, without giving me a migraine.
#06 - Bring Arts - Cloud / Sephiroth (Another Form Variants)
The Bring Arts Kingdom Hearts line makes another appearance on this list. Well, 2 more technically. These figures look amazing and are super fun to pose and play with. A great improvement over the old, fragile, Play Arts versions. My only nitpick would be the lack of swap out face plates, and they could use a little more articulation in the head/neck area. Sort that out and these would be absolute top tier figures. As is though the paint is superb, the accessories are great, and their overall presence is outstanding. The should and elbow joints are also strong enough to hold up their gigantic swords which is a big plus!
#05- Figma - 424 Goblin Slayer
When there’s something green, in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Goblin Slayer! This bad-ass merc won’t be going on any killing sprees in my house since I own 0 goblins… well… that’s not entirely true. There’s one that lives in my bathroom. I see him every morning when I’m brushing my teeth. He’s brushing his teeth too… Anyways… the usual Figma spread, lots of hands, on-topic accessories, and great paint and articulation. Scores lower on my list than I expected due to the omission of a flaming eye head swap. Seriously Figma… that’s like… his signature look. That would be like releasing Tracer without a zip effect, or Midoriya without any swap out arms… waitaminute-
#04 - Power Rangers Lightning Collection - Line-Wide
The most surprising and impressive release of 2019 for me has to be the Power Rangers Lightning Collection. Nicely articulated 6” Rangers, with plentiful accessories, cleverly executed hand swaps (shareable between characters of the same series) battle effects, and even unmasked heads that are disturbingly accurate to their actors likenesses! They’ve also been bucking the “heroes only” trend by incorporating villains into the line since wave 1! Typically there has been one villain per wave, we’re only on wave 3 in my city and we’ve already got Lord Zedd, Goldar, Putties, and Lord Drakkon! Just need a Rita Repulsa to complete my Saturday morning squad! I’m considering the entire line for this position in the list as they are all pretty much on par with each other. If I had to pick out specific shining stars I would say the MMPR White, MMPR Pink, Shadow Ranger, and Zeo Gold have been particularly satisfying. I hope we see a single release Putty at some point, maybe with some different accessories or even the armor Lord Zedd bestowed them as a power up.
#03- Bring Arts - KH3 Sora (Pirates of the Caribbean)
THEY DID IT! WE GOT A HAPPY SORA! I’ve been vocal about my disappointment with previous Sora figures for not including a smiling face for the lovable little clown-shoed dork. We finally got it! I loved the pirate level of KH3. Sora was so unbelievably happy. He was finally able to fulfill his original dream he had all the way back on Destiny Island before the first game even started. His happiness was infectious and carried me through the entire area of the game without any of the usual boredom that might occur during a special “vehicle mission” in an otherwise action RPG oriented game. This figure captured his excitement and intensity perfectly to me. Playing with it, photographing, and displaying the figure let me relive the same excitement I had while playing the game. Hell I found myself thinking about ordering a pirate ship just for this figure to hang out on! The paint job is fantastic, particularly on the face sculpts. Sora looks alive with glossy bright blue eyes and a few smudges of dirt on his cheeks. The layered pirate outfit is very well done, and articulation is nearly perfect. If I had to nitpick anything it would be the same limited neck articulation I experienced with Cloud and Sephiroth. If they could install a second ball at the base of the neck I think it would make a huge difference.
#02 - S.H.Figuarts - Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Kiva
#JusticeForKamenRider (search it on Instagram for some awesome Kamen Rider content)
I’m still a sad Kamen Rider casual. I mainly know the characters by their designs and I haven’t had a chance to watch nearly enough of the series. I ordered Kiva for the same reason as Zombie Gamer Level X, because I absolutely adore his design. I don’t regret it one bit. Kiva is one of the most well designed and super articulated figures I’ve ever played with. Everything is smooth and easy to use. The paint is absolutely phenomenal especially on his metallic red armor, the chained leg, and the honeycomb eye pieces. The depth on the eyes of the Kamen Rider Figuarts always blows me away and Kiva’s brilliant yellow, bat-shaped helmet is absolutely mesmerizing. His included Kivat-Bat companion has some cool options including a special bracket to display him floating beside Kiva, and an opening mouth for Kiva to insert his various Fuestles. The Fuestles are all individual pieces that can be slotted into the belt pouches on his side, held in his hand, and even inserted into the Kivat-Bat while his mouth is open to simulate Kiva activating his various powers. This year I’m hoping I can track down the options set for him that includes his Violin, Chair, and Motorcycle. I think this is going to be my main interest in the series for a bit. I’m going to track down the series and check it all out and immerse myself in this character because of this awesome toy.
#01 - 1000Toys - Hellboy (Dark Horse Exlusive)
1000Toys is well known to import collectors as one of the absolute best in the business when it comes to engineering, and phenomenal designs. When I heard they were doing a comic art accurate version of Hellboy I nearly lost my damn mind. The exclusive version was an absolute b- to try and get in Canada, but luckily my friend Eric of Madhaus Collectibles was able to hook me up despite the near ransom levels of shipping fees to get this direct from Darkhorse. Once the financial damage was done and my wallet stopped screaming, I was left with one of the coolest pieces in my entire collection. 1000Toys was able to replicate the design, and strange proportions of Mignola’s artwork to a T. The figure is even sculpted in a way that picks up the same kind of harsh shadows that Mike incorporates into his work. The rubberized chest and bicep covers allow an incredible range of articulation without sacrificing sculpt. I am a little bit nervous about the longevity of the material, but fingers crossed it will hold up for a long time if taken care of. Hellboy’s Right Hand of Doom is beautifully sculpted with little cracks and wear marks all over. The hand has almost as many pieces in it as the rest of the figure combined! You can get the fingers into almost any pose you can think of, the hand can even hold the entire figure up by placing the palm flat on the table. While a swap out fist with various poses would have been a viable option, the fully articulated hand adds so much personality to the figure. The exclusive version included the full horns, as well as the Excalibur sword accessory. While they weren’t necessary they did greatly increase my enjoyment of the figure. This figure is pretty much perfect. If I could think of any critique, maybe a few more accessories for the price? A cigar, a B.P.R.D. shirt, some of his various occult items, or even his flaming crown as an accessory would have been the icing on an already delicious cake.
Thanks for joining me on this ride through 2019! Here’s hoping 2020 is just as amazing! Let me know what you think of these figures, and if you would have picked different figures for your top of 2019 let me know what they are!
Until next time!
-Josh
