Toy Talk | What are STIKFAS? | Get em while you can.

Another video in my ridicules series of WHAT IS.....
This episode I talk casually about Stikfas. Lot of fun posing. Not much personality. Could use a franchise.

[@lukedavison961]

This watches like a video from an alternate reality where these are still being made. Unfortunately the company went under somewhere around 2010 give or take. They had been struggling for years to get representation on shelves and were becoming less and less viable as a profitable product. They were mainly sold through online distributors which in turn bought from the manufacturers in Singapore. The problem that is plaguing stikfas you can find today is extreme brittleness among the lighter coloured plastic figures. They were always quite brittle but 12-20ish years of aging has not been kind to the plastics and you are very lucky if you can assemble one without joints cracking or chunks of plastic shearing off. For whatever reason, the black plastic figures have aged much better. Thanks for the video, it was a good trip down memory lane

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

It feels like there is enough New Old Stock of Stikfas out there, that its like they're still in production. Etailers still have them in stock and I keep finding them new-in-pack in thrift stores here in the NW. The samurai in the video broke when I was building it. The foot is now glued into the leg. Thanks for the reply.~mark

[@smiley1722]

these are awesome! i love Stikfas and am starting collecting them because they're just so cool! i wish they still made these.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I'm looking for the demoness stikfa myself.

[@smiley1722]

@@ActionFigureAtorium im looking for the G2 Dome Walker/Stikers Band

[@Mark-eu4tj]

I only ever saw these for sale in comic book stores- one near me has had dead stock at 50% off for probably 15 years now. They were heavily promoted by Toyfare magazine when they came out, and seemed to be targeted towards a collector's market. This might explain why I never saw them in regular department or toy stores, but since they were distributed by Hasbro, it would be strange if they didn't have a wider release, so maybe that was just my experience. Great design and concept, but seemed to be too expensive for what they were- cheap model kits, good for customizers or army-building. This is especially true in light of the production problems the other commenters have brought up. I like that you brought up the vinyl toy movement too, and it makes sense to view these as yet another attempt by companies to capitalize on the opportunities that era presented- virtually identical toys that could me made easily, then sold at a premium. After a decade of attempts like this one, Minimates and Funko Pops seemed to be the only brands that stood victorious.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

wow. great comment. exactly as you stated, they were crafted with an adult customizer/kitbasher in mind but didn't set up or support any 3rd party accessory makers. no community of armor and costume kit makers. They created a great museum gift shop toy. Could be an easy line to revive with help from the 3D print community.

[@Mark-eu4tj]

@@ActionFigureAtorium There was a lot of potential with Stikfas, and still is. I like the gift shop suggestion. I'm not sure if Hasbro just never got the returns they hoped for, and then simply let it die, or if there were issues with the original creators. I would like to see a revival, but won't be holding my breath for that. It was a fun time to be a collector though, thanks for shining some light on these.

[@randombrickfilms1253]

Where is this comic store?

[@Mark-eu4tj]

@@randombrickfilms1253 Another Dimension in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[@JoeEnderman]

I've been trying to redesign Stikfas from scratch. I keep getting it closer, but it just isn't there yet. To the untrained eye, I have completed the alpha g1 and g2. I may just roll with the level of completion I have now, and recreate several more like delta, beta, sigma, gamma, and omega. I may also try to make the horse, dog, and jungle cat. Maybe. I'd like to be able to sell them if I can at least match the originals for quality. To my knowledge this would be legal since the patent expired in 2022 and Stikfas Ltd was delisted as a company in 2017. I'd also like for the original files that I make to be Open-Source though.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

Making outfits and armor kits for the stikfas would be huge too. and its the kind of thing that would be perfect for an online 3D file mart. thanks for the comment amigo and keep me posted on how the work goes to reverse engineer them.

[@JoeEnderman]

@@ActionFigureAtorium I reverse engineered Delta today. What would make a good name if I release them? I came up with OpenSnapfas, but it's not the best name in my opinion. It would be short for Open-Source, Snap-Together Action Figures if I went with that. The main reason for that name being that I am unsure if it is legal to use the original name yet.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

@@JoeEnderman What a great question. I like Snapfas a lot. I think its even better than the original name of Stikfa. The word "open" is really strong marketing word. But OpenSnapfas is too long. I would start by introducing them as Snapfas, the Open Stickfa Project. And then once it becomes a known thing, its assumed that Snapfas are an open source movement. I also think that giving away the main bodies but having a store that deals in accessories and outfits could turn into a real thing. Whether its a file or a print on demand.

[@JoeEnderman]

@@ActionFigureAtorium good point.

[@yocake12]

Any progress on that, Joe?

[@volttherobot]

Like the concept of Stikfas...but the material they're made from...ooof. Crafsman has a great video about making some stronger ones...

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I broke the foot on this one putting the sandals on it. Its fused together with glue now. thanks for the comment. keen observation.

[@doming_films9503]

As someone who isn’t well immersed in stikfas, are the alpha male musketeer figures are new molds or reused sets?

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

Hasbro basically owns them now and I think the line is officially dead but New Old Stock continues to be sold at some online stores. So no new molds will be made. But maybe the toys will get a second life in the 3D print universe as folks print their own kits for the figures.

[@juandmz3363]

@@ActionFigureAtorium that sucks that they use the old molds considering the plastic is very breakable but it does make sense to reuse the unsold toys