Dozens of action figures. Seven distinct action figure stands. One stage. This is Battle of the Stands!

Entertainment Earth Stands

First up, the Entertainment Earth stands. These are available in clear, gray, white, black, and tan. I only purchased a package of the clear version.

A package of 25 stands is $9.99 plus shipping. There is no discount for ordering stands in bulk.

The packaging claims they stands fit “most 3 3/4-inch Hasbro Star Wars (1995-present), Hasbro Indiana Jones (2008), Hasbro G.I. Joe (2007-present), Hasbro Marvel (2009-present), and Playmates Star Trek (2009-present) action figures.” I did not see a version of this stand for vintage figures.

I tested the stands on modern Star Wars figures and modern G.I. Joe figures. The majority of the figures fit perfectly on the stands, although I noted certain modern Star Wars figures, such as the Rebel Trooper, did not fit on the Entertainment Earth stands. I tested the figure on other stands that were included as pack-ins with other modern Star Wars figures, as well as the rest of the stands in this comparison, and the foot hole for the Rebel Trooper did not fit with any of them. So there is at least one modern Star Wars peg hole for figures that is not compatible with any stands that I know of.

Quality is excellent on these stands. They are only barely flexible. The pegs seem very difficult to break off. The Entertainment Earth logo is molded onto the stands, with some information printed in black on the underside.

ProTech Modern Stands

These stands are available in clear and black.

The stands start at $0.44 each when ordered in quantities up to 49, and are discounted the more stands you order. Ordering 500 or more brings the price down to $0.33 each. Shipping is not included in these prices.

The Collecting Warehouse website claims these stands fit “Star Wars figures from 1995 to present, vintage Indiana Jones figures, GI Joe 25th Anniversary figures, Glamour Gals and more.” I tested them with modern Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures and they fit well.

The ProTech stands are slightly smaller than the Entertainment Earth stands. In comparing clear versions of both stands, the ProTech stands are almost completely clear, while the Entertainment Earth stands are more of a frosted clear. As a result, scratches are easier to see on the ProTech stands.

Quality is excellent on the ProTech stands. They are not flexible at all. The pegs are very strong. As expected, smudges and fingerprints appear more easily on the black version of the stands than on the clear stands.

The Earth Modern Stands

These stands are available in black and gray. They are sold in pairs, two stands being for one figure.

Small quantities of stands are $0.35 for each pair, plus shipping. The more stands that are ordered, the lower the price of the stands, with 500 or more stands costing $0.27 for a pair.

These stands did not work very well for me. I tried several pegs in several different foot holes, and found that in certain foot holes the pegs were either too loose or too tight. These stands could be useful for figures with wide stances, but the tall and narrow peg shape on these stands is hit or miss when it comes to compatibility. The figures can also look a bit silly with these stands, almost like they are wearing snow shoes. A clear version, which is not available, might alleviate this issue.

The quality of the stands is excellent. The stands do not flex at all, and the peg is very strong. Although the stands are consistently made, they are often not compatible with foot holes. “The Earth” is molded to the bottom of the stands.

SmallJoes Modern Stands

These stands are available in clear and black.

Stands cost $4.29 for a pack of 20, $18.99 for a pack of 100, or $84.99 for a pack of 500.

They fit well with modern Star Wars and G.I. Joe action figures. The stands are larger than the circular ProTech and Entertainment Earth Stands and feature four pegs on the stands, rather than two. The stands also feature an alternating peg design, distributed in almost equal amounts among the stands I received.

The quality of the stands is excellent. They are slightly more flexible than the other stands, with strong pegs. The clear stands are more similar to the clear ProTech stands than the clear but slightly frosted Entertainment Earth stands. There is a very small rough spot on the shorter side of these stands. The SmallJoes web address is molded to the underside.

ProTech Vintage Stands

Theses stands are available in clear and black.

The are the same stands as the ProTech modern stands, with a slightly wider peg for vintage figures. They are priced the same as the modern stands, starting at $0.44 with discounted prices ranging down to $0.33.

The Collecting Warehouse claims these figures fit “Star Wars figures from 1977-1985, Playmates Star Trek figures, Kenner Batman, Aliens, Ghostbusters & Predator figures, and more.” I tested these stands with vintage Star Wars, Aliens, Predator, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 figures and they fit well (with the exception of my Alan Grant figure for some reason). The stands were not compatible with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Exosquad or vintage G.I. Joe figures. They also did not work with my vintage Masters of the Universe figures, which have no foot holes!

The Earth Vintage Stands

These stands are available in black and gray.

Price is the same as the Earth modern stands, with prices ranging from $0.35 all the way down to $0.27 when ordered in quantities of 500 or more.

The Collecting Warehouse states that “These rectangular action figure stands come in two widths to accommodate the varied stance width of vintage Star Wars figures and other action figures. For every 6 stands you purchase, you will receive 5 that are 1 5/8″ wide and 1 that is 1 3/4″ wide.” I tested these stands with vintage Star Wars, Aliens, Predator, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 figures and they fit well (again, with the exception of my Alan Grant figure). Like the ProTech stands, they were not compatible with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Exosquad, or vintage G.I. Joe figures.

The quality of these stands is excellent. They are not very flexible at all, with strong foot pegs. “The Earth” is molded to the bottom of these stands. Because these are smaller than the ProTech stands, I had to use two stands for several of the figures, while I only used two ProTech stands for one figure, the Predator shown in the photos. The wider 1 3/4″ stand is a benefit for some of the larger figures, but their limited distribution (one out of every six stands purchased is the wider version) makes them less relevant. Some of the stands have a small rough spot present on the shorter side.

SmallJoes Vintage Stands

These stands are available in clear and black.

Packs of 25 are $4.49, with larger quantities available, ranging from 50 all the way up to 500 stands for $69.99.

The SmallJoes website states these work with vintage G.I. Joe figures (1982 – 2006) as well as “other similar action figure lines such as Lanard Corps!, Bronze Bombers, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Hellboy, and several others.” I tested these stands on vintage G.I. Joe figures, and they worked well. They did not work with any other figure lines that I tested, although I did not have the other action figure lines listed on the SmallJoes website.

The quality of the stands is excellent, with very strong pegs. They are not flexible. The stands are not completely flat. They have four very short small feet, maybe only a couple of millimeters thick. They also have small indentations on the short side of the stand. The SmallJoes web address is molded to the underside.

Price Comparison

Let’s do a price comparison for modern stands in larger quantities, when price is more important (shipping not included in prices):

• 500 Entertainment Earth modern stands: $199.80
• 500 ProTech modern stands: $165.00
• 500 The Earth modern stands: $135.00
• 500 SmallJoes modern stands: $84.99

For vintage stands:

• 500 ProTech vintage stands: $165.00
• 500 The Earth vintage stands: $135.00

Finally, for SmallJoes vintage stands, which are the only stand that fit vintage G.I. Joe figures:

• 500 SmallJoes vintage stands: $69.99

So who wins the Battle of the Stands?

For modern figure stands, I did not care for The Earth stands. They were often not compatible with action figures from modern lines. I prefer the ProTech stands over the Entertainment Earth stands, as they cost less in larger quantities. The ProTech stands are also slightly smaller without sacrificing figures’ abilities to not tip over. The Entertainment Earth stands, with the logo being molded into the piece, as well as the black writing on the underside, do not let the stands blend in as well as the ProTech stands. The SmallJoes stands are by far the cheapest in larger quantities, but the larger size means less stands (and figures) can fit in a space where figures are place directly next to each other.

For vintage stands, I prefer the ProTech stands over The Earth stands, as the larger size worked better with larger action figures and I felt the peg stand quality was slightly better and fit more consistently. Still, there are some figure lines that The Earth stands will work perfectly well for, provided the black or gray color works for the display.

For vintage (1982 – 2006) G.I Joe figures, there is literally only one choice: SmallJoes. They are the only stand that fits vintage G.I. Joe figures. They are available in quantities of 20 all the way up to 500. The price is reasonable and they come recommended.

I’m definitely planning on buying more ProTech modern stands. They will work well with displays where figures are placed right next to each other. For displays where the size of the stands doesn’t matter as much, the SmallJoes stands will work well. I’ll also be buying more ProTech vintage stands for various toy lines. And the SmallJoes vintage stands will work well for my vintage G.I Joes.

None of the stands I tested worked on my Ninja Turtle action figures. The same can be said of my Exosquad figures. Perhaps there is a stand that works exclusively on Playmates action figures?

Stands were hit or miss with my 7″ action figures. Vintage action figure stands from The Earth and ProTech worked on my Hasbro Alien Resurrection action figure and my McFarlane Robocop figure, but did not work on my McFarlane Terminator 3 figure. NECA does have a set of stands listed on their website. I’m not sure if these are compatible with McFarlane or other 7″ action figures.

I do not know of a display option for holding up Masters of the Universe action figures, as they have no foot pegs.

I would not say there is a definitive winner among the Battle of the Stands. For different displays or figure lines, certain stands will work better based on color, size, or purpose (or simply cost less). And for certain action figures, no stands seem to work.

The stands were purchased at the following websites:

• Entertainment Earth stands: EntertainmentEarth.com
• ProTech and The Earth stands: CollectingWarehouse.com
• SmallJoes stands: SmallJoes.com

All of my orders were shipped quickly and correctly.

And if someone knows of a stand that fits my stubborn Alan Grant figure, please let me know.

You can read all of my action figure stands reviews by using the Battle of the Stands tag.