SmallJoes.com - Figure Stands

Was it really that long ago that figures actually didn't come with their own stands? I still remember being a young G.I. Joe collector and having to actually go out and buy separate stands for my figures...and when Battle Corps was going strong, having to buy black stands specifically because I didn't want my army guys standing on yellow or hot pink battle stands.

These days it's a slightly different story...but only slightly. These days, nearly every G.I. Joe figure comes stocked with its own stand, but in many cases, the stand is useful merely for straight-forward display, and lacks the flexibility to pose and position the figures in interesting, dynamic ways. Heck, when the 25th Anniversary line first came out, the battle stands only had a single peg, and the real estate on the stand itself was so limited, that often a foot or two rested on a small "crest" at the edge of the standing area, which caused figures to lilt, and lacked any real versatility. These days the stands at least have a pair of pegs, but are still woefully limited to how they can be utilized.

Thankfully, SmallJoes.com is here to rescue us from the burden of stubborn and useless figure stands.

Sold in either clear or black these nicely sized figure stands work with any number of modern figures including G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Forces of Valor, and Marvel Universe. I will say up front, the holes in the feet of the Marvel figures are a little bit more snug than all of the others, but I was still able to make it work with the figures I tried.

Unlike the stands included with some of these figures, the SmallJoes stands have four pegs, and they are nicely spaced to allow for more dynamic posing of figures. Rather than just standing there staring straight ahead, you now have some options for how you want your Joes or Clones or Iron Men to be displayed.

Heck the pegs are spaced wide enough apart to even create a little fight scene just using a single stand.

Along with the peg spacing, the stands have a smaller lip and much wider surface area, so there is no risk of the feet hitting that lip and getting off balance or askew. Also, the lip is much smaller, and with an overall rectangular, flat shape, the stands fit much more seamlessly together than the other tiered stands do.

The overall size of these stands are remarkably close to that which we've gotten with Hasbro's released stands, however they feel a bit heavier, which greatly helps any balance issues that you may have had with the default stands released with Hasbro figures. They take up the same amount of space, but are remarkably more functional, and in the long run, I think I will be using a LOT of these stands going forward, even if it means forgoing the nicely applied name tags on the front. I'd rather sacrifice some naming conventions and have a stand that's imminently more flexible and functional.

Of course, one of the coolest applications of these stands, in my opinion, is using the clear ones with the awesome "Apex Action Figure Display Case", also offered by SmallJoes.com. Using these things together, you can create a fantastic looking display without any colored stands distracting from the overall aesthetic look of the figure layout.

So, in short, are these stands worth the price of admission? In my opinion, absolutely. $19 for 100 figure stands is a very reasonable price, and they are so much more functional than what we get out of the box. Not only that, but you can use them with several different modern era toylines, mixing and matching as you see fit.

These are really some great supplies for your action figure needs, and you can find them at SmallJoes.com right here.

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