Discussion:MU Articulation
 

Ok so.....a belabored point at best; MU Articulation.

It has had its ups and downs for sure, however I want to ask you all something.

A prime example: Scarlet Spider, new Bullseye/Daredevil, Adam Warlock

All feature, basic articulation with thigh swivels and ankle articulation. These figures are AR-TIC-U-LA-TED to the bone. However, does anyone feel that quality is being sacrificed?

Case and point, my Adam Warlock's (great figure btw) legs are loosey goosey, so is my Scarlet Spider. AW's leg actually falls off a bit.

I guess what I'm saying is, articulation and quality share a curvilinear relationship where too articulation can jeopardize quality

I would def say that you sacrafice some stability with every joint you build in. There needs to be a balance and I Think naturally it can be tricky to find it.
Ive had the first two breakages this month. Commander rogers at the neck joint and the sentinel wolverine at the ankle. to be fair though i was removing commander rogers head when the neck came with it.

crappy hip articulation and loose thigh cuts are my main complaints. the bendy plastic used is not helping the issue either.

I agree that with more articulation comes less stability, but I don't think the legs falling off has much to do with the new thigh swivel being used. A LOT of my series one figures, none of which have that thigh swivel, suffer from random bouts of leg amputation. Black suit Spidey, Electro, Iron Fist, Human Torch, etc have all had their legs pop off pretty frequently. The figures with the new thigh swivel don't always fare much better. My WW Hulk, Scarlet Spidey, and Dr. Strange also like to drop one or both legs sometimes.

I think this problem has more to do with the design of the hip joint and the soft plastic being used. One thing that I've found works well to remedy the problem is to apply a very light coating of super glue over the ball that the thigh snaps onto, then let it dry for a good 12-24 hours before reattaching the leg. This method isn't a 100% cure, but it does help thicken up that ball and make it less likely for the leg to pop off.

The solution is simple: reintroduce Showdown type articulatio into the MU line. I'm very pleased with the few ML Showdowns I have. They are literally 3 3/4 versions of Marvel Legends.

I think since Hasbro has proven they can, they should have ankle swivel, thigh cut, and swivel/balljoint necks on all figures from here out. Really no excuse not to.

NOOOOOOOOOO I hate the Showdown figures SO MUCH. I bought all of them at the time just because of the scale, but I hate everything about the stupid, loose articulation.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with MU articulation. Even the new figures. But as alot of you have pointed out, there are issues. Like Scarlet Spiders legs, X-23 legs, and the early figures like Silver Surfer, Green Goblin, and Electro. If I had my way, Hasbro would start building every one of their 4" figures like the GI Joes. Perfect construction, perfect articulation.

I've heard the horror stories about the showdown figs but honestly, though I've only got 5, they are aces.


So let's go further into the discussion. What is the dream articulation for you? For me it would be the best of Showdown and current MU:

• Neck/head: balljoint on an up/down hinge (MU)
• Torso: ab crunch (Showdown)
• Waist: swivel (MU)
• Shoulders: b all swivel (MU)
• Biceps: swivel (MU)
• Elbows: double hinged (Showdown)
• Forearms: swivel rotation (Showdown)
• Wrists: hinge (Showdown)
• Thighs: ball/swivel (Showdown)
• Knees: double hinged (MU)
• Lower leg: swivel rotation (MU)
• Ankles: swivel/rotation with ankle rocker (MU)
• Feet: toe hinge (Showdown)

That's a dream figure for me.

Im definitly in the minority where i hate the new thigh swivels. I LIKED the old daredevil mold. i have a much easier time, more specifically the legs, in having more dynamic poses. The main issue is where the crotch piece meets the leg. theres not enough space.

Agreed, that's why I like the ball/swivel system like on the IM2 figs. They allow so much more dynamic poses.

you know there should'nt be an issue with articulation vs. quality, the old 3 3/4 joes are in my opinion some of the best looking and most articulated figures ever mass produced, and they certainly have stood up over the years. i never had to worry about the legs falling off or loose joints, problems standing them up, and you could'nt beat the price either. i guess what i'm saying is maybee hasbro should dust off some old blueprints and incorporate some of those features in the marvel universe figures.

heres a comparison pic of a marvel fig rom every sub line(forgot the spidey line...but we all know those problems)trying to do a "dynamic pose". Thor figures are a joke in this scenario, but rogers looks like his gonna fall apart. even the XMO figs pulled it off.


http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/681/dscn0531zh.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

All of Hasbro's figures should have Joe's articulation.

the only thing i'd want the MU to have that's joe based are the metal T bars and more incorporation of the ball hinged wrists. otherwise MU has em beat with rocker ankles, swivel thighs, and the hinged neck. granted the renegades scarlett has the rocker ankles so hopefully that's a sign of things to come.

quality wise, i blame the packaging since it distorts and puts stress on the hips so when you get em out of package, the plastic ends up being warped enough to pop the joints off. most of the time microwave warm water fixes all that by bringing the plastic back to it's original state.

the only figures i had a real problem posing are the black spidey body and the new female body. have to use an x-acto to get em to work better. but with that added thigh swivel on scarlet spidey, i think it fixed the problem the legs normally had.

also, i think the articulation on the new body allows for fairly dynamic poses.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/IMG_6452.jpg

I actually like the newer style of articulation, however I would prefer ab crunch over ball torsos. At this point the only things missing are double jointed elbows.

For me the figures with thigh swivels, and rocker ankles are way more fun to pose than the 2008-09 figures.

I agree with Noodlechow's assessment. I love the new articulation and it does allow for way better poses, especially with the rocker ankles. The packaging can be a b1tch to get through and I'm always extra cautious when taking the figures out. I've tried the super glue on the ball joint but I've never tried microwaving warm water. Do you just microwave/boil warm water then dip the figure in and let it cool afterwards?

Also, with the added articulation, its also a great opportunity for loose joints that will cause the figure to be flimsy. Still though, I'd take the new molds over the old ones.

yeah pretty much. i use a mug of water and zap it for 1 min 30-45ish seconds then teabag the part or whole figure in it. just need to get the plastic to be pliable so no need to leave the figure in there too long. you can press the thigh hole together a bit to form it back into default shape if you need to but hot enough water should do the trick. then yeah, let it cool.

sometimes i can get a loose thigh swivel to tighten up but other times just a lost cause. for the most part though it'll help tighten up those problematic loose thigh joints. also good for popping joints or heads off in case one wanted to mod or customize or for fixing package induced bowleggedness.

Awesome thanks. I'll definitely try that out Noodlechow. I've also been wanting to pop the arms off of my extra Colossus for another custom.

i agree that would be the best.

Just so you know, you can't pop the whole arm off. Just from the bicep down. To get the shoulder detached from the body you have to crack the torso.

First off...WOW I love this freaking picture dude. :D

And secondly, I've always been pretty satisfied with the articulation on Male Marvel Universe figures as it always seems like Hasbro is at least trying out new articulation styles (look no further than comparing MU Blade to the new 2-pack Daredevil...DAYUM) to find the one that works best....

HOWEVER, I could bitch all day and night about the horrible articulation on female Marvel U figures. Seriously, between spindly ankles, and no bicep or thigh swivels its like Hasbro looked at us the "fans" and said "So you want females to be just as poseable as males?"... us "Um, Yeah!?"...Hasbro:"Haha, umm...no..go f*ck yourself".

And I think its all the more frustrating when they constantly pump out well sculpted and well articulated females in the 'Joe lines year to year. Now Scarlet Witch and She-Hulk from next years waves look great, but it really shouldn't have taken this long..... :/

yeah that old female body was pretty meh but if they had just given them swivel elbows, they'd be fine.

the only thing i need them to fix on the new female buck is making the arms a smidge longer to be proportionate to the legs, shaving away at the tops of the hip inlets, and carve away at the top of the thigh holes. the leg stuff lets her be as poseable as the males and the arms would maybe even out the current spider legs feel on x-23.

I think that both styles of articulation work on certain figures while they alos don't work on certain figures. Some characters need a huge range of motion, while others don't. The problem for me, which is outside of this discussion slightly, the that the new X-23 legs make her waaay out of scale. I removed those legs and modded an old set of Ms. Marvel legs to put her back in scale.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you don't like the articulation on a figure mod it to suit your taste.

for the most part I feel most MU figures are too flimsy and not really put together that well.

Yeah, every time I buy a new figure I'm always a little afraid part of it is going to break or be somehow unusable. I never feel that way about a GI Joe.

i agree with u 100% the new molds do allow for some dynamic poses. that namor pose alone makes me wanna go buy one just to open it and pose it like that lol