STIKFAS are 3.25 inch model assembly figures/toys made by Stikfas Pte. Ltd is based in Singapore. Once built they can be customized with stickers (packaged as Stikers) and different pieces. The design principle behind a STIKFAS is that all of the joints are ball/socket, and offer exceptional poseability, interchangeability, and articulation.

Stikfas are sold as "kits" that include accessories, and Stikers, and additional models (dragon, dog, cat, bike, horse, octopus...) to accentuate the "theme" of each kit.

STIKFAS company history

The debut of STIKFAS was through a successful co-branding in 2001 with the computer game publisher, Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

. This collaboration provided a proof of concept and Stikfas Pte. Ltd. was incorporated in August. Work began on the first mass production model of the STIKFAS Action Figure Kit, which was made available to public through online sales at www.stikfas.com in December 2001.

From 2002 to 2004, STIKFAS was licensed to international toy giant Hasbro

Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

 Inc and this move saw a significant increase in its product range, distribution network as well as market recognition. During this period, STIKFAS was awarded the title of "Best Original Concept" in "Best of the Best 2002" by Wizard's Toyfare magazine, the industry's leading publication. That year, STIKFAS came in second for "Most Fun and Innovative Toy" in a consumer's poll by Toyshop Magazine, a revolutionary achievement for a simple plastic toy to earn its place in a category dominated by high tech electronic toy items.

STIKFAS debuted in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in the fall of 2003 under the distribution of Tomy

TOMY

is a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies:  Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...

 Direct Co., Ltd. In February 2005, the first comprehensive fan book about STIKFAS, its products and the people in the company, was published by Hobby Japan

Hobby Japan

HobbyJAPAN CO. is a Japanese hobby magazine and publishing company, specializing in roleplaying, war, and tabletop games, as well as action figures, toys, and artbooks for successful anime, manga and light novel franchises.- Role-playing games :...

, the nation's leading hobby magazine since 1969. This publication reinforced the cult status that STIKFAS had in Japan.

As of 2009, the company appears to have closed. As of June 2011, the company website has not been updated since November 2008. No specific announcement was made about the company's status.

STIKFAS kits

As of June 2006, a plethora of different kits have been released, including Recolors (where only the colors of the parts have changed). Also, numerous different blisters, consisting of a single figure and no accessories, have been released.

The Kits, organized by type:

Mega

• G2 Alpha Male with Dune Buggy
• Mixed Body Type Assault Pack
• Dome Robot Walker w/ G2 Alpha Male
• The Stikers Band w/ mixed body types
• Emergency Response Team w/ mixed body types

Deluxe

• Alpha Male Diver w/ Octopus
• Alpha Male w/ Motorcycle (Two different color schemes)
• Omega Armored Knight w/ stallion (Two different color schemes)
• Beta Female Warrior w/ dragon (Three different color schemes)
• Alpha Male Samurai w/ stallion (Two different color schemes)

Regular

• Beta Female Demoness
• G2 Alpha Male Master Assassin
• Alpha Male Archangel
• G2 Sigma Male Egyptian
• G2 Alpha Male Outdoor Adventurer
• Gamma G2 Male Viking
• Omega Male Mobster
• Delta Boy Extreme Bicycle
• Tyrannosaurus Dinosaur (Special Type - see below)
• Triceratops Dinosaur (Special Type - see below)
• Stegosaurus Dinosaur (Special Type - see below)
• Pterodactyl Dinosaur (Special Type - see below)
• Alpha Male Rock Star
• Beta Female Pop Star
• Beta Female Windsurfer
• Alpha Male Phantom (Two different color schemes)
• Omega Male Military (Two different color schemes)
• Omega Male Super Hero (Two different color schemes)
• Omega Male Super Villain (Two different color schemes)
• Beta Female Nurse
• G2 Alpha Male Monk (Two different color schemes)
• Beta Female Safari With Jungle Cat (Two different color schemes)
• Alpha Male Firefighter (Two different color schemes)
• Delta Boy Extreme (Two different color schemes)
• Beta Female Fairy
• Mechana Segmented Robot (Two different color schemes)
• Alpha Male Samurai (Three different color schemes)
• Alpha Male Pirate with Skeleton
• Alpha Male Policeman With Dog(Two different color schemes)
• Alpha Male Legionnaire
• Alpha Male Spaceman
• Alpha Male Military (3 different color schemes)

Blister

• (Body Type and Color)
• Beta Female (available in Pastel Pink, Pastel Blue and Tan)
• Alpha Male (Available in White, Black, Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Royal Blue and Tan)
• G2 Alpha Male (available in Bright Yellow, Neon Green and dark red)

Themed Blister

• Black Ops (Black Alpha Male figure w/ Alpha Male Military or Omega Male Military accessories)
  • Red Eye
  • Paradox
  • Rhino
  • Sparrow
  • Gunner
  • Phoenix

• 1627 (Alpha Male figure w/ Alpha Male Musketeer accessories)
  • Grenadier (green)
  • Duelist (blue)
  • Conquistador (yellow)
  • Beefeater (red)

• Dark Lands (Skeleton figure w/ Alpha Male Pirate or Gamma Male Viking accessories)
  • Bone Jones (glow-in-the-dark)
  • Rickety Rick (green)
  • Scrawny Johnny (red)
  • Slim Jim (white)

STIKFAS body styles

The basic STIKFAS style is called the Alpha Male. This is a male-style figure, standing 3 1/4" tall. The earliest STIKFAS used slightly different foot, upper arm, and torso parts than the current model, a style now known as the Classic Alpha Male; the standard Alpha Male is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "Classic" by contrast with the G2 Alpha Male.

The Omega Male is slightly taller and bulkier throughout.

The Beta Female has a feminine shape, is shorter than the Alpha male, and has a different style waist.

The Delta Boy is shorter still. It resembles a child-sized Alpha male.

In 2004, STIKFAS introduced the Generation Two (or G2) Alpha Male. It has additional points of articulation in the knees and elbows.

In December 2005 a new G2 was released. The Gamma G2 Male is larger than the 'Omega', and has the same extraposable knee and elbow joints as the G2 Alpha. The Gamma also has a wider and thicker chest than the Omega. The chest consists of two separate halves that snap together.

In 2006 yet another new body style was introduced, the G2 Sigma Male, which is a tall, slender figure with an elongated upper torso as well as G2-style knee and elbow joints, making it the tallest Stikfas human body yet.

The Mechana Robot is the largest body type, and represents a large mecha

Mecha

A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...

-style robot. It has a wide waist with an even wider torso, and a smallish head. Its arms are segmented, allowing for a wide range of flexibility. Its legs, however, are normal with wide feet.

STIKFAS still produces all of these models, and all of their hands ("C-clips"), joints, and pegged parts fit into other STIKFAS products.

For pictures of Stikfas and instructions on assembling please go here: How to Assemble a Stikfas

The STIKFAS construction and design style was licensed by Hasbro and modified to create the Xevoz line of action figures.

Animals

Stikfas has come out with a number of animals that come with a few sets, namely Deluxe and Basic. Each animal only has one body type. So far, all the animals are:

K9/Dog (Basic, comes with Police Officer. 2 decos.)

Jungle Cat (Basic, comes with Female Adventurer. 2 decos.)

Triceratops (Skeleton, Basic.)

Stegosaurus (Skeleton, Basic.)

Tyrannosaurus (Skeleton, Basic.)

Pterosaur (Skeleton, Basic. Two of them, one is glow-in-the-dark. Swappable heads.)

Stallion/Horse (Deluxe, comes with Knight, as well as Samurai 2 decos.)

Dragon (Deluxe, comes with Female Warrior. 3 decos.)

STIKFAS Webcomics

The poseability and customizability of STIKFAS action figures has attracted the attention of the online webcomic community. Several artists use out-of-the-box or customized STIKFAS as characters in continued webcomic adventures. The exceptional articulation enables nearly boundless expressions through body-language, while the blank slate faces provide unlimited facial options using Stikers, clay, paint, and/or digital tools. Within these webcomics, customizations to the blank STIKFAS include the addition of hair, facial features, and clothing. Clay, cloth, yarn, thread, and paper are the most common customizing materials. The comics also frequently include unique sets and props, often created by the artist or merely commandeered from other toy lines (Playmobil, Lego blocks, Megabloks, and so on).

A few of the more notable webcomics using STIKFAS action figures include:

• Perils of the Bold – This humorous spoof of medieval and high-fantasy storylines uses customized STIKFAS figures and Shockini block figures to depict a band of misadventuring heroes delving into deep dungeons and fighting a variety of monsters. PotB, created by Erik Kjerland, was the first STIKFAS webcomic to digitally add facial expressions to the figures in post-production.
• Depth Of Field – A slice-of-life themed comic created by Lauren Tozer-Kilts that uses lightly customized or stock STIKFAS. This comic follows the often supernatural adventures of four friends and roomies. Instead of providing facial expressions on the STIKFAS, Lauren uses emoticon-type faces in speech balloons.
• Stuck – This comic pits the various weapon-themed figures in constant and humorous combat on an abstract battlefield. While no faces are included on the blank STIKFAS, the action poses express the belligerence and skill of the combatants.
• Sigmartyr – A dark science fiction action comic created by Nick Davis, that is set in a gritty world devastated by a constant conflict between the League Alliance and the Omega Coalition. This comic primarily uses regular and customized STIKFAS figures, along with various GI Joe & Corps vehicle props to tell the story of Sigmartyr. This comic has a mature theme and is presented in an old school grainy Black & White style, with visual effects added in post-production.

Stop Motion Animation

Because of the "ultra pose-ability" of the Stikfas figures they have also been widely used to create independent stop motion animation films. Stop motion film examples:

• Stikfas: Pirates vs. Ninjas by Jacob Talkington
• Plastic: A Biography by Jacob Kramer
• Fight: A short Kung Fu stikfas animation

The Stikfas company is also hosting yearly stop motion contests at the Comic-Con Convention. The first took place in 2007 and some of the judges included Marc Spess from popular stop motion web site http://www.animateclay.com, and Lionel Orozco from http://www.stopmotionworks.com.

Stikfas also have small square notches on their bodies which allow for rare earth magnets to be inserted. These notches can be found on the upper legs, feet and upper body section. The curved U shaped hands are also the same diameter as the notches. Once inserted into any of these areas, the magnets allow the Stikfas to be posed while adhered to a magnetic surface so they won't fall over.

Stikfas glue

Stikfas had been used as a product name before, completely unrelated to the current toy figures. Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

 helped to develop a glue based on tapioca, which he sold under the name Stikfas in Japanese-occupied Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Lee Kuan Yew would later serve as the Prime Minister of Singapore for more than three decades.