[TomsToyChest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by usagent27

i keep hearing the joints are weak on these...is it really that bad?

It's been hit and miss with me, more hit than miss. The Predators that I've gotten from series 4 and series 5 don't seem to have major joint issues. There is an occasional stiff joint but it's never been anything major and has been easily remedied.

The Elder Predator is the first one that I've gotten that had a broken joint. Other reviews on Youtube have clearly shown that the Elder Predator and the masked Classic Predator (both from series 3) have had issues with joints in various spots, notably the elbows and left knee. The Elder Predator I received had a broken right elbow joint. It's also worth noting that the hoses on the arms also break, but that can be fixed with crazy glue.

The series 3 masked Classic Predator I got from Urban Collector easily has the stiffest joints I've ever seen on a figure in any scale; even the wrist blades and plasma caster joint were stuck when I got him out of packaging. The articulation points are starting to loosen up a bit now but you have to exercise extreme caution with the earlier Predator figures when breaking in the joints. If it doesn't want to move, back away from it or else it will probably snap like a twig. Even on this masked Classic Predator I'm still gun-shy about trying to pose this figure because I don't want the joints to break.

Allegedly NECA had the earlier Predators (series 1-3) manufactured in a different factory than the one they're currently using. That's what they claim led to the joint breaking issues IIRC.

If I were in NECA's shoes, I would be giving some serious thought to re-releasing the older Predators with improved joints. This problem with frozen joints is ridiculous, especially when you're paying $20+ for one of them. With the price point that Toys R Us and other online websites charge they'd likely make their money back easily and then some if they re-released them.

As it is, I've had to re-consider getting earlier Predator figures due to what I've recently run into with these ultra stiff joints on this masked Classic Predator. It's a shame because there are some out there that I would like to get like the unmasked Berserker Predator from series 2.