How Do You Feel About Assigning a Rating/ Grade to Action Figures? Necessary, Meaningless, Arbitrary? Let me know!

 

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   Lately I've been thinking about how I assign ratings at the end of my reviews. I've gone back and forth over the years, initially using the scale that was created for The Epic Review when I started writing my action figure reviews over there. Eventually I modified that scale for toys and action figures and began using the descriptions you see at the link above. Over the years I began implementing a behind the scenes (invisible dice rolls!) scoring system that factored in different weights for the Positives, the Negatives, and other factors. Then I began factoring price into my reviews as well. I don't dislike the review scale and method I've come up with but I do think that it might be a little long in the tooth at this point. Lately I've been thinking about changing it up a bit by just allowing my summary and thoughts to serve as the conclusion rather than worry about including a rating or grade. What do you think?  Do you care at all that there is a final grade or verdict summed up in one word? Is it really meaningful in any way? If you're reading this then you're likely a regular reader and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I do have a few scattered thoughts about this after the break that might add some context to my question and give you a bit of insight into my process, but it's mostly just me prattling on. Read it if you'd like...


Why do I review action figures?

   Why do I review action figures? Simple...because I enjoy it! I'm rather confident that I received my first action figure in 1986 and, since I was rather young at the time (likely only 3 years old or so), that means that action figure collecting has been a hobby for me for the past 40 years. I've always enjoyed and appreciated not just playing with action figures but the entire medium. It's interesting to me how they're designed, how they're packaged, how they're released, and how they change and adapt over time. I don't make any money off of this venture and rarely does anyone send me something for free; I do this as a way to explore the figures I buy, convey my thoughts to fellow fans of the hobby, and provide a resource for folks exploring a toyline, looking for information, attempting to complete an action figure, and now to help bolster results for folks using Google lens and other similar programs. "Reviews" help me to enjoy the hobby more, spend some time reflecting on each figure, and get more out of my collection.

Why are your reviews mostly positive? 

   I've had some folks ask why my reviews are mostly positive on the site and I think the simple answer is that I'm not really doing this "professionally" or anything (though I do try to take it seriously); instead, I am just reviewing the action figures I purchase. Since they're toys that I purchased, that typically means that I believe that I'll like them. Sometimes I buy something that has QC issues or that I have faults with, sure, but overall I don't go out of my way to pick up something that I'm planning to just hate on. Action figures aren't usually something like a film, a book, or a videogame where you have to experience it to really understand if you'll appreciate it or not. I mean, sure, you can open a figure and be disappointed by a quality control issue, poor articulation, or a flimsy accessory, but most of the time you have a pretty good idea about things like sculpt, accessory loadout, and paintwork in advance, so it's not that often where I'm surprised by the negative points of a figure in a fairly significant way. 

What's the point of an action figure review?

   Good question. I'm not really seeing myself as an arbiter of how anyone spends their money or what is "good" and "bad" in the toy world. Instead, I see the following benefits to an action figure/ toy review: 

* Entertain- We like toys and it's fun to talk about them, read about them, and look at them. Taking the pictures, studying the figure, and writing about it entertains me and I hope reading the review entertains you a bit. I'm not a sports guy and can't for the life of me understand the appeal of watching most sports and reading about them but I'll read about action figures all day long. 

* Inform- It's sometimes tough to find information about action figures. I like the written format as it serves as a nice record of details for folks who are using Google and Google Lens or who may be trying to complete a loose figure (or at least remember what parts go with what figure). It's also a bit of a record of when certain items were released, how much they costed, and how they were perceived at a specific time.

* Illuminate- I'm not an expert on every figure I review but I hope that with toys based on some of the properties I really love, I can bring to light a few details that others may have missed. I certainly like to read (and sometimes listen or watch) the work of other reviewers and I love when they point out some obscure detail about an accessory or Easter egg on an action figure.

* Expose- I review many figures that most collectors are aware of but it's fun to review something that some collectors might not know exists. I love reviewers who stray outside of the mainstream. I don't stray out as often as I'd like but I hope that I at least once in awhile bring to your attention an action figure that you didn't know existed.

So... In light of all of that: Is a Rating or Grade still needed at the end of each review or would you rather see something different? Let me know in the comments below!