History Main / EnvironmentSpecificActionFigure

* Pretty much the entire second series of ''WesternAnimation/StoneProtectors'' figures.

* An unusual variant comes from ''WesternAnimation/Codename KidsNextDoor'' -- the trope is applied to ''stuffed animals'', with the numerous [[MyLittlePhony Rainbow Monkey]] variants that appear, typically pulled out or referenced by Numbah 3 that correlate to the plot at hand.

* Mocked thoroughly in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. Night Owl (who is a both a GadgeteerGenius and a complete and total dork with a costume fetish) is shown to have a closet full of different-themed Owl costumes, and is thus [[CrazyPrepared prepared for anything]]. Like underwater work or protection from radiation. Like having to visit the Arctic circle, for which he has a snow owl outfit and matching snow scooters. He even has a set of PoweredArmor (which never actually worked). The big joke is that, as Dan himself notes, none of it was [[AwesomeButImpractical really necessary]] to fight street-level crimes.

** Even while the cartoon was on the air, there were some definite head-scratchers being put out, such as Wolverine's clawed motorcycle.

** The "one minifig per character" thing has become less common since Lego started making licensed sets based off Marvel and DC productions. This means that they're now making multiple variations of the same characters to tie into the various comics, cartoons, and movies. For instance, they had lines for both the ''Film/AvengersAssemble'' cartoon and the ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' movie, as well as their ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' line, which was launched in addition to their existing comic-based Batman and Superman stuff.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Seven Sirens'', where Armor Baron promises to make Shantae and Sky custom armor. He makes them {{Chainmail Bikini}}s that they can't even move around in, and then while they're immobile he packages them as life-sized "Battle Armor" variant figures and sells them off to a gullible collector.

* A "night ops" version where the character becomes a StealthExpert who wears either a SpyCatsuit or a darkly-colored PaletteSwap of their regular outfit.

* A "night ops" version where the character becomes a StealthExpert who wears a SpyCatsuit, or a darkly-colored PaletteSwap of their regular outfit.

* [[{{Thememobile}} Vehicles]] for every superhero popular enough to have their own toyline, even - no, ''especially'' ones that have no need for one. [[RunningGag Fires missiles.]] The vehicles themselves may also have [[MechaExpansionPack additional parts sold separately]] to tailor them for various environments.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' was at first relatively restrained; all of the designs in the toyline were in fact in the show, and [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy show accurate to boot]] (since the producers preferred the designs Creator/PlaymatesToys had come up with, crazy colors and all, to their in-house concepts, which they felt looked too generic). But as the toyline went on, all sorts of oddities cropped up, including an "[[TransformingMecha exo-converting]]" E-frame for TheLeader J.T. Marsh (which turned into [[https://exo-squad.fandom.com/wiki/J.T._Marsh_with_Exo-converting_E-frame a half-assed looking motorcycle]]), the "[[https://exo-squad.fandom.com/wiki/CyberView_Series Cyberview]]" series (where giant periscope-like sights were mounted over the tops of the E-frames to help kids aim the missiles), and bizarre designs such as a [[{{Vaporware}} prototype]] "[[https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=actionfigure&id=6780 Gridiron Command]]" E-frame that was inexplicably football-themed, and another E-frame that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyx7ywPvHbs shaped like a gorilla]]! There was even a line of re-released ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' toys!

* This was intended to be done with the action figure tie-in with the WesternAnimation/MegaMan animated series. The second season of the show put Mega Man in an assortment of suits and vehicles with the intent of introducing them into the toy line. However, a falling out between Capcom and Bandai led to the TV series and the toy line being cancelled, so this never saw the light of day.

** ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' provide an in-universe example, strangely enough. One issue involved Sonic racing across the world with a chaos emerald in order to reverse a time paradox. At first Sonic goes into his usual super forms, but he starts changing based on what environment he's in, with Solar Sonic for deserts, Eco Sonic for forests, and Polar Sonic for the arctic. Sadly we don't get to see what any of them can do.

* [=ToyBiz=]'s ''Comicbook/XMen'' lines are somewhat notorious for this.

They ''did'' do the research... ''[[SubvertedTrope market research]]''. (And, ''sometimes'', environmental research.)

* The line for the 2000s ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' series was laden with these. In the show's entire run, with about eight waves and dozens of figures, only four characters outside of the original seven Leaguers were made (Darkseid, Aquaman, Lex Luthor, and the Ultra-Humanite), and all were in multipacks. Thankfully, they lightened up on this quite a bit for ''Unlimited'', and even managed to put out a figure of pretty much every member of the Justice League's [[HeroesUnlimited extended roster]] ([[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters which is quite an accomplishment]])

* ''[[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSeedAstray Gundam SEED Astray]]'' is an amusing example of this trope occurring within canon. The Astray series Gundams of the title have, between the 6 or so of them, literally dozens of {{Midseason Upgrade}}s, {{Mecha Expansion Pack}}s & MetaMecha. This is justified by saying that Blue Frame's computer contained the blueprints for all this gear and its [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenary]] owner recognized how valuable they were. As for Red Frame, well, its owner is an [[{{Keet}} overly energetic and creative]] GadgeteerGenius who'll take any opportunity to build something new and cool.
** Heck, ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' in general has this in spades, especially in the Universal Century. They even have a term for it: "Mobile Suit Variation" is a model line specifically for environment- or mission-specific variants and {{Super Prototype}}s that don't appear in the series, such as "Aqua GM", "Desert Zaku", "Gelgoog High Mobility". Many of them even become {{Canon Immigrant}}s and appear in a sequel.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Seven Sirens'' which at one point shows "battle armor Shantae" and "battle armor Sky" blister packs.

The reason for this is essentially a mixture of retailer demand and cutting costs. Large retailers don't tend to be [[SmallReferencePools too familiar with the franchise in question]], so they're naturally going to favor toys of Batman over toys of, say, Scarecrow or Poison Ivy, even if fans disagree. Additionally, most of the cost when making a toy goes into producing the steel mold, meaning that molding one or two accessories and [[PaletteSwap changing the color of the plastic]] is a relative pittance next to creating the molds necessary to design an entire new character. This also serves to keep "main characters" on the shelves longer; after all, if a fan gets into the line a few months later, it wouldn't do for them to find they can't buy the protagonist anymore, and it also wouldn't do to keep shipping identical figures to the toy shop for months or years on end (which would create the impression that the toys aren't selling). Paradoxically, this can create an effect where the character's "standard" outfit is much harder to find than the variants; it almost always comes first, and will usually be in the highest demand.

The reason for this is essentially a mixture of retailer demand and cutting costs. Large retailers don't tend to be [[SmallReferencePools too familiar with the franchise in question]], so they're naturally going to favor toys of Batman over toys of, say, Scarecrow or Poison Ivy, even if fans disagree. Additionally, most of the cost when making a toy goes into producing the steel mold, meaning that molding one or two accessories and [[PaletteSwap changing the color of the plastic]] is a relative pittance next to creating the molds necessary to design an entire new character.

* While the original ''[[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 He-Man]]'' toyline mostly didn't indulge in this too much (it compensated by reusing He-Man's body design for about 85% of the cast), [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002 the 2002 reboot]] positively exulted in it. We're talking Mega-Punch He-Man, Ice Armor He-Man, Shield Strike He-Man, Battle Armor He-Man, Wolf Armor He-Man, Snake Armor Skeletor, Battle Armor Skeletor, and Fire Armor Skeletor in the ''same wave.'' It's widely believed to have been a reason the line didn't last, as store shelves were so crowded with He-Man and Skeletor variants that it made it impossible to find anything else, as invariably any other character ended up being shortpacked.

The reason for this is essentially a mixture of retailer demand and cutting costs. Large retailers don't tend to be [[SmallReferencePools too familiar with the franchise in question]], so they're naturally going to favor toys of Batman over toys of, say, Scarecrow or Poison Ivy, even if fans disagree. Additionally, most of the cost when making a toy goes into producing the steel mold, meaning that molding one or two accessories and [[PaletteSwap changing the color of the plastic]] is a relative pittance next to needing to create the molds necessary to design an entire new character.

* [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0959.html Played for laughs]] by Haley in ''WebComic/

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where, as part of the preparations for the party's venture beyond the Dwarven Lands in the [[GrimUpNorth frozen north]], the topic of changing from their desert outfits into more environmentally-appropriate attire comes up. Figures of her wearing outfits from previous volumes of the series are featured behind her as she discusses this trope as a possible source of income.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'' which at one point shows "battle armor Shantae" and "battle armor Sky" blister packs.