Marvel on the Shelf: The Art and Play of Action Figure Display

This post is part of a themed series on toys that asked contributors to think about a toy/toys/toy company and explore how various cultures, groups, audiences, or companies find and make meaning (or money) through such play. The theme is purposefully open-ended, meant to be fun, and published throughout December to coincide with the holiday season.

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You might have heard of the Christmas meme tradition, ‘elf on the shelf,’ now get ready for my rhymeless, less catchy, and all year-round version, ‘Marvel on the shelf’ – or, more playfully, ‘Marvel at the shelf’.

There are many ways that adults enact the practice of action figure collecting: they might be driven by completionism or nostalgia; motivated by a hunt for rarities; alter the design through customization; maintain purchase value by keeping packaging intact; participate in a toy community economy through swapping, reselling, and second-had purchasing; and/or engage in a sense of play and expression through various forms of display. It is the latter of these expressions – the art and play of display – that I want to discuss here, which draws upon my own experience as an action figure collector of Marvel Legends 6-inch action figures by Hasbro (formerly ToyBiz).

In the article “From Displays to Dioramas to Doll Dramas: Adult World Building and World Playing with Toys,” Katriina Heljakka and J. Tuomas Harviainen find that the discourses surrounding adult toy collecting often focus on collecting as the fundamental goal (2019, 353). However, they suggest that it is also of value to “look at what adults do with toys after they have hunted them down and purchased them as ‘collected’ artifacts” (354). As Heljakka and Harviainen further explain:

contrary to common belief, adults, besides collecting, also engage in both manipulative and imaginative play with contemporary character toys, or toys with a face, such as action figures, dolls, and soft toys, in multifaceted ways that involve multiplatform play scapes. (354)

Indeed, the practice of collecting is only part of how adults engage with toys. Collectors who choose to remove action figures from their packaging enjoy a range of activities that constitute forms of play: staging dioramas against backdrops; producing photographs or stop-motion sequences; cataloguing and organizing components (such as alternative heads and hands, or accessories); 3D modelling of alternative components; modification and kitbashing, which involves using components to create new figures, or simply displaying figures in dynamic poses on a shelf – and, yes, adults do also move figures with their hands to stage fights and make sound effects noises. Figure 1 demonstrates some of my modest attempts at staging photos against a television screen saver as backdrop.

figure 1: frog-man attempts to escape from stilt-man against various terrains.

Figures 2-4 below illustrate some of my own kitbash, alterations, and custom action figures: Colleen Wing, Sue Storm, and Diamondback. I created Colleen Wing because I wanted the ‘Daughters of the Dragon’ together on the shelf. Hasbro has produced Misty Knight (seen in Figure 2), but no Colleen Wing. So I kitbased this figure using a range of action figure body parts and accessories I had collected: the body and hair came from two different Black Widow figures, the face is taken from a Psylocke, and the sword is from a Deadpool. This figure required minimal paint work, except for a color touch up to the eyebrows. Figure 2 is a face alteration of Sue Storm (AKA Invisible Woman) from the Fantastic Four. This figure was well-known to have an aesthetically displeasing face design, so I replaced it with a spare head we had from an alternative figure that had the same-sized ball joint. This required warming up the head molds and carefully lifting off both hair pieces, before sculpting the hair back onto the new head (it is not always easy to do this without damaging the hair piece). Figure 3 is a custom creation of Diamondback that I made for my husband. Diamondback is a former member of the Serpent Society and love interest of Captain America, so she moves between being displayed with the Serpent Society or with Cap, depending on shelf room. She adds a nice pink pop to the sea of serpent green.

figure 2: Colleen wing kitbash (to join hasbro’s misty knight and complete the ‘daughters of the dragon’)

figure 3: sue storm (invisible woman) head alteration.

figure 4: diamondback custom

While collecting articulates the process of gathering objects, displaying provides a means to integrate a toy collection into a domestic space and use that space for personal expression and play. However, the dynamic between art and play may seem at odds within the practice of display. According to Harry L. Rinker, “toys are meant to be put into motion” and “displayed on a shelf, they are in an unnatural state” – as such, his advice to toy collectors is to “resist the urge to treat these childhood treasures as objets d’art” (1991, 103). This implies that display is incompatible with play because it hinders toy’s natural state of motion in favor of artistic ornamentation. 

Through my experience as an action figure collector, I am inclined to suggest that the practice of displaying action figures on a shelf is both an expression of art and play. To display an action figure collection can be a form of artistic expression akin to hanging a painting on a wall. It requires a canvas (a shelf or unobstructed space) and a location that is well-lit but also away from direct sunlight to avoid damage. There are a range of possible choices for how to pose action figures on the canvas shelf, depending on the constraints of the space and the points of articulation in the figures. As Heljakka and Harviainen acknowledge, “displaying toys is a highly personal act but the sharing of the results of these manipulative and visual scenarios–whether arranged according to size, color, manufacturer, or aesthetics—is considered rewarding” (2019, 358-59). While the goal is to admire the aesthetic presentation of material composition and color on a shelf, the process requires physical interaction with the material design of the toy’s articulation that also constitutes a form of play.

There is therefore a dependent relationship between personal choice, aesthetic style, materiality of form, and playful practice at the foundation of display. Indeed, it is really through the act of display that I consider myself to meaningfully engage with toy collecting. As an expression of play, my approach to action figure display is shaped by a fundamental commitment to preserve the perception of action in the action figure form. This is how this collecting practice differs from MOC (mint on card) or MIB (mint in box) collecting, which preserves the toy in its box. Perhaps MOC collecting is closer to what Rinker describes as an ‘unnatural state’ for an object designed and manufactured for the purpose of action and movement; this approach to collecting is very different to a display-focused expression of action figure play and, while I admittedly struggle to relate with it, it reflects the multiplicity of ways that adults express collecting practices.

Action figures are not dolls. That is the first principle of action figure appreciation. They are not dolls because the capacity for movement through points of articulation (POA) is essential to their form, function, and enjoyment. Historically, there is also a gendered distinction between the market for action figures and dolls (‘boys’ and ‘girls,’ respectively), but as a woman who collects action figures together with my husband, I do not think gender or age holds up as a determining qualifier of how to formally differentiate action figures from dolls (for more on the distinction between dolls and actions figures beyond gender or age, see Bainbridge 2010). The greater quality and range of movement in the POA of action figures provides more opportunities for poseability that accommodates spatial constraint and narrative signification: if a figure has more range of movement, then it is possible to explore a range of dynamic poses that emulate the character’s abilities, action, and character relationships in tandem with the ‘personal style’ of the collector-displayer. In this context, the action figure form enables the process of display to be both an expression of art and play.

jimmy neutron: boy genius (2001)

points of articulation (POA) in Ultimate Spider-Man (SOURCE https://www.blackactionfigure.com/?p=3932)

figure 5: marvel heores shelf display

My approach to action figure displaying considers a range of dimensions that exist across the material design of each figure: this includes size, shape, and POA. Figure 5 above is an example of some of one of my displays: this display reflects my preference for layers, closely huddled placement, and mid-action poses. While in most cases larger figures are placed at the back to provide additional support to smaller figures and not to obscure the entire display, there are some cases – such as Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery (Figure 6 below) – where larger figures are a feature of the display and should not be relegated to the back; in this case, these characters are prominent villains in the Spider-Verse and their action figures are also aesthetically impressive. Indeed, the idea of not showcasing the Sinister Six seems like an offence, no matter their size or shape.

figure 6: sinister six and spider-man’s rogues’ gallery display shelf

Characterization and narrative consistency are therefore also central to this process of display. While I am not overly driven by source material fidelity in my appreciation of action figures, the comic books inform how our collection is distributed across shelves. For example, our collection is organized based on character team-ups, alliances, factions, organizations, or even brief associations between characters. These relationships help discern placement and groupings across and within shelves, but still raise questions about where to place less-prominent, random, or ‘deep cut’ characters and teams that do not cross paths with other characters (i.e. where does one put Death’s Head, Deathlok, the Squadron Supreme and Alpha Flight?). We frequently look for comic book connections between characters to justify display choices (even if such choices are based on one time characters crossed paths in one single comic book issue). Therefore, the process of display also requires a degree of obscure knowledge of Marvel Comics to shape placement. 

figure 7: galactus, his heralds, fantastic four and other cosmic friends.

The addition of Haslab’s 32-inch Galactus action figure (with over 70 points of articulation – 20 in each hand) provided more opportunity to play with dynamic action poses that take advantage of shelf space and POA (Figure 7). In following the principle of using large figures to support smaller figures, Galactus is so big that other figures – such as the Fantastic Four and his Heralds – can effectively hang off his structure in dynamic action poses. It is perhaps this shelf that exemplifies the capacity to capture the impression of motion in an action figure display. The overall look I wanted to achieve with this shelf was to be reminiscent of a comic book splash page, where the implication of movement is embodied in the display.

I try to achieve a dynamic display with multiple levels and a range of active poses. POA is so important to the process of display because it enables each figure to be effectively shaped into a space. I often reflect on how the activity of display extends the process of material shaping that action figures embody: as material objects they are constituted by molded plastic, but this process is incomplete until the figures are posed and displayed. This reinforces why a display-as-play expression of action figure collecting is so different to MOC collecting.

An action figure shelf display is not static but is continually reshaped and redesigned with the addition or substitution of new or cycled figures. As noted above, the ‘display canvas’ is constrained by the size of a shelf, room, and home; this means that decisions are always made around what figures to showcase, leave off, or use to fill out the background. For myself, redesigning a shelf take significant time, effort, and stylistic thought. I have taken pride in new displays and missed previous displays that I have struggled to re-achieve. An action figure shelf display is ephemeral and in continually process, and so the art of display is also an expression of play.

References

Bainbridge, Jason. 2010. “Fully Articulated: The Rise of the Action Figure and the Changing Face of ‘Children's’ Entertainment.” Continuum, 24 (6): 829-842, DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2010.510592 

Heljakka, Katriina and J. Tuomas Harviainen. 2019. “From Displays to Dioramas to Doll Dramas: Adult World Building and World Playing with Toys.” American Journal of Play 11 (3): 351–378.

Rinker, Harry L. 1991. Collector’s Guide to Toys, Games and Puzzles. Wallace-Homestead Book Company.

Biography

Tara Lomax is the Discipline Lead of Screen Studies at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and has a PhD from The University of Melbourne. She has published on topics such as media franchising, the superhero and horror genres, licensing, transmedia storytelling, storyworld building, and digital effects. Her work can be found in the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Senses of Cinema and Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and various edited collections, including The Supervillain Reader (2020), The Superhero Symbol (2020), and Star Wars and the History of Transmedia Storytelling (2017). She is a member of the Pop Junctions editorial team.