Size, scale, and compatibility of the many assorted Mega Man toylines: a dissertation (that no one asked for) by Prof. Jixie
Miniature scales should be a lot less complicated than you think. 1:12 is the simplest to wrap your head around. 12" = 1" (or 1' = 1" if you prefer) so if it's one foot in real life, then it's one inch in miniature. 1:6 or "playscale" is not bad either! 6" = 1" (or twice as big as 1:12). Barbie and Hot toys are 1:6 scale.
Where things get dicey is that manufacturers don't stick to consistent scale, "superhero size creep", or justā¦ not understanding what scale means in the first place and then advertising some stupid bullshit like """7 inch scale""" no, Todd, that's not how it works. Japanese manufacturers tend to be better about this but even Kotobukiya advertised their recent Rockman 11 kit as 1:12.
Rock is officially 4' 4", so a 1:12 Rockman should be a smidge over 4".
Tragically, Rockman/Mega Man has been licensed by a lot of different companies over the years and for whatever reason, few made a Proto Man and even less did Bass, and only Kotobukiya and Nedoroid have made Classic Roll. It's ended up in a situation whereā¦
Why are all the lines different sizes!?
Source: figurefix
The Kotobukiya kits are all 5" [13cm] at 1:10 scale, making them larger than any other commercial figures (outside of Jazwares). Their Rockman 11 model is a little larger at 5.3" [13.5cm] slightly over 1:10. Kotobukiya (1:10): Mega Man, Proto Man, Roll; no Bass
Bandai D-Arts [10.5cm], Sentinel 4Inch Nel [10cm], and ThreeZero MDLX Mega Man [10.2cm] are all approximately 4" at slightly under 1:12 scale, D-Arts Bass is around 4.5" [11.5cm] (honestly-- he is exactly 1:12 but since the various Rockmen are technically short, he ends up a smidge too tall compared to them, that said D-Arts is also the tallest Mega Man of the three lines). ThreeZero has a Proto Man release dropping soon and Bass announced for the future. They are made with metal which I have mixed feelings about. Sentinel 4Inch Nel (~1:12): Mega Man; no Bass, Proto Man, Roll Bandai D-Arts (~1:12): Mega Man, Bass; no Proto Man, Roll ThreeZero MDLX (~1:12): Mega Man, Proto Man (pending), Bass (pending); no Roll
Jada Toys is doing a knockout job with the most variety of Robot Masters anyone's done so far. The only player character out yet is Mega Man, but there's a Proto Man lined up for a future release. They are 4.5" a little over 1:12 scale, but the proportions are different from other lines, a bit chibi or superdeformed, they do not mix well with others. They seem pretty dedicated to the concept so hopefully we'll eventually get a Bass and/or Roll, if they can keep it going. Jada Toys (1:12 chibi): Mega Man, Proto Man (pending); no Bass, Roll
Funko's action figure line likewise has chibi proportions, their Mega Man is 4.4" [11cm] which is exact 1:12. They made a decent Dr. Wily action figure, but he ends up with very odd proportions compared to other lines, he's very broad with a cartoonishly large head. Wily is 12.5cm, just shy of 5", which does make him taller than Mega Man and Bass. He looks great with the Jada line though! They never made any other characters for this line. Funko (1:12 chibi): Mega Man, Dr. Wily
Jazwaresā¦ well. Their scales are not in the same sphere as any other lines. Jazwares gets points for actually having the three player characters though (and on the MMX side of things, the only company that made an Axl figure, at least until Kotobukiya released a model kit last year.) Unfortunately they are all 6". Too big! Larger than 1:10? Maybe 1:8 scale? They appear more "grown adult" than the other lines, more Ruby Spears Mega, less Ikehara Rockman. But definitely not 1:12, because not even taller Ruby Spears Megs was 6' tall. They do not have a Roll figure either. They do have a Dr. Wily, but his creepy long arms are, just, IDK why are is arms so long? But he IS 4.7" [12cm], which is pretty darn great in terms of scale with everyone else. Jazwares also had a line of smaller 3" figures, and the chibi style 6" Retro Roto line. Jazwares large (1:??): Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass; no Roll (1:12): Dr. Wily Jazwares Retro Roto (1:9 chibi): Mega Man, Proto Man; no Bass, Roll Jazwares mini (1:18): Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass; no Roll
The Bandai "Iron Buster" model kits, the ones that shoot little steel bearings, are a smaller scale than everyone else, they come in at 3.5" [9cm], scaled somewhere between 1:14 and 1:15. At any rate they don't work with any of the other lines. On the plus size, they have the main playable characters AND DUO (who is larger than the others at 4.7" [12cm] but technically not tall enough to be to scale). No Roll though. Bandai Iron Buster (~1:15): Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass, Duo; no Roll
Comparison of Jazwares v2 Bass, Jazwares v1 Bass, Funko Wily, D-Arts Bass, Jazwares Wily. You can see how different Funko Wily's proportions are despite being around the same height as Jazwares Wily. Source: @quietlydiabolic
Uhhh, who else?
There are TWO garage kit companies-- that I know of-- who sold compatible sized figures. These are models that need to be built. They don't need to be painted, but require special parts and tools, like ball joints and drill tap, to complete them. Dimension Diver has Mega Man and Roll in [11cm] 4.3", Atelier-Sai have Mega Man at [10cm] 4" and Bass at [11cm] 4.3". Which gives you a better sized Bass and a Roll to go with Mega from Bandai D-Arts, 4Inch Nel, ThreeZero, or DD and AS kits. But still! No! Proto Man! (There was also a gorgeous Duo kit that I can't find much information on, I believe he's made by Atelier-Sai and probably a statue instead of a posable action figure, but he's huge and looks to be scale.) Garage Kits (~1:12): Mega Man, Bass, Roll, Duo; no Proto Man
The old 1995 Bandai Ruby-Spears cartoon based figures include a Mega Man and a Proto Man at 5", too large and the Ruby-Spears style doesn't fit in with any of the other figures. No Roll, despite her prominence in the show. And no Bass of course.
Nendoroid (hands down the most adorable figures) ~4" has Mega Man and Roll, but no Proto Man or Bass. Their kawaii superdeformed style makes it so they can't fit in with any standard figures. They're too big headed even to mix and match with Jada or Funko.
The Loyal Subjects, likewise, is a smaller chibi figure that don't mix with anyone else (and at 3.25" are too small to fit in with Nendoroid). They did manage all three player characters, Mega Man, Bass, and Proto Man, but no Roll.
I will mention in passing the Bandai "Power Buster" [8cm] 3.15" mini figures, since they are technically articulated. These have Mega Man, Bass, Proto Man, and Duo, although Duo is the same size as the rest and not to scale, no Roll.
(Honorable mention to the Bandai Tamashii Trading Super Model Spirit figurines, which are not articulated and therefore out of the scope of this article, but I believe are the only line that gave us a proper Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass, and Roll. For highly stylized and tiny figurines, there's Funko Pint Size Heroes, and rubber keshigomu / M.U.S.C.L.E.)
Lastly, quick shout out to Bandai's old Rockin' Action figures and their more current SMP Kit Makes Pose models for Battle Network. They are 1:12 and scale beautifully with the various Classics lines, if you wanted to do a "what is this, a crossover episode?" Rockin' Action (1:12): Megaman.exe, Protoman.exe, Forte.exe SMP Kit Makes (1:12): Megaman.exe, Roll.exe
Lines that mix well:
Regular 1:12-ish scale: Bandai D-Arts, Sentinel 4Inch Nel, ThreeZero MDLX, Dimension Diver and Atelier-Sai garage kits (+ Bandai's Rockin' Action figures and SMP Kit Makes) -Mega Man: D-Arts, 4Inch Nel, ThreeZero, Dimension Diver, Atelier-Sai -Proto Man: ThreeZero (pending release Q2 2026) -Bass: D-Arts, ThreeZero (pending release date unknown) -Roll: Dimension Diver (good luck!) -Duo: ???
Chibi style: Jada Toys, Funko action figures, and hybrid Kotobukiya (headswapped onto a Jada body ends up with the same proportions)
Kotobukiya (1:10) and SMP Kit (1:12) Rockman.exe nicely illustrating the importance of scale. Source: Rockman Corner
Bonus - Pets: Rush: D-Arts, Jada (pending), Jazwares large, Bandai Iron Buster, Bandai Ruby Spears, The Loyal Subjects Treble: D-Arts, The Loyal Subjects Beat: Jazwares, Funko Pint Size Heroes
Fun fact! Dimension Diver is also known as Daibadi Productions, makers of the often salacious Polynian robot figure line. Some of their figures include the suspiciously Rockman shaped Legnat or Pisukurei. Their other "St Peace Clay" robots, Olivier and Lena / Emil look like they could've stepped out of a MMZ game.
