Editing Action figure (section)

=== Precursors ===
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|image1 = Durero---Maniquí-20181002.jpg
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|footer = '''(Left)''': A clay mannequin created by [[Albrecht Dürer]], circa 1525. '''(Right)''': advertisement for the ''Humpy Dumpty Circus'' set of 1904
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Articulated [[doll]]s go back to at least 200 BCE, with articulated clay and wooden dolls of ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greece]] and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]]. Many types of articulated figures date to the [[early modern period]], including the artists' [[mannequin]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Mannequins: A Tool of the Artist's Workshop|author=Marjorie Shelley|language=en|date=21 April 2016|website=Metropolitan Museum of Art|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2016/mannequins-as-tool-of-the-artist-workshop/}}</ref> and the Japanese ''ichimatsu'' doll. The modern [[ball-jointed doll]] was first created in Western Europe in the late 19th century. From the late 19th century through the early 20th century [[France|French]] and [[Germany|German]] manufacturers made [[bisque doll]]s with strung bodies articulated with ball-joints made of [[Composition doll|composition]]: a mix of pulp, sawdust, glue and similar materials.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollcollectingglossary/g/composition.htm?rd=1|title=Glossary of Doll Collecting Terms -- Composition|access-date=26 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216001057/http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollcollectingglossary/g/composition.htm?rd=1|archive-date=16 December 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref> These dolls could measure between {{convert|15|and|100|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} and are now collectible antiques.

Besides the articulated doll, another important precursor to the action figure is the [[toy soldier]]. Military figures have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and have appeared in many cultures and eras. [[Tin soldier]]s were produced in Germany as early as the 1730s, by molding the metal between two pieces of slate. As industry and demand advanced, so did production methods, with [[hollow casting]] first being utilized in the 1890s<ref>[http://www.hants.gov.uk/museum/toys/history/toy_soldiers.html Hampshire Museums Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614232918/http://www.hants.gov.uk/museum/toys/history/toy_soldiers.html |date=14 June 2007 }} Retrieved on August 25th, 2008.</ref> and [[polyethylene]] figures becoming common by the 1950s.<ref>Sheil, T., and Sheil, A., eds. [http://www.thortrains.net/armymen/armymen3.htm Army Men]. Retrieved on August 25, 2008.</ref> The toy soldier market, ubiquitous thanks to its history and mass-production methods, would therefore become a natural home for the military-themed action figure.

One of the earliest toys to bear resemblance to modern action figures is [[Schoenhut doll|Albert Schoenhut]]'s "Humpy Dumpty Circus", released in 1904,<ref>[https://thecavenderdiary.com/2015/02/01/humpty-dumpty-circus/ Humpty Dumpty Circus] at thecavenderdiary.com, 1 Feb 2015</ref> which featured articulated wooden figures interacting with various devices.<ref>[[Scott Neitlich]]. ''Birth of the Action Figure, Playset AND Stop Motion Toy Animation (i.e. "Robot Chicken")!'' Spector Creative, April 19, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsFCMviSocg</ref>