[Primacron]

I reckon Mattel will do a decently articulated 3.75" when they're good and ready, most likely when they've done every character of any significance in 6" scale.

I wonder what ever happened to those Infinite Heroes prototypes we saw a while back - Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, etc.

[Crazy Jetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Primacron

I reckon Mattel will do a decently articulated 3.75" when they're good and ready, most likely when they've done every character of any significance in 6" scale.

No, I reckon they'll probably finally do it when everyone (Toymaker and collector alike) is onto the next big technological engineering advancement, whatever that may be.

(Remember, when Marvel Legends was in it's prime, after it just launched, no one ever dreamed that the 3.3/4" scale would ever be as desired as it is now)

[Boba Fettuccini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerenityInFire

Exactly! I don't know if you've gotten any of the 4" Captain America movie toys, but that WWII Cap is so loaded with articulation, it's unbelievable. The 4" just might be more articulated than the 6" Marvel Legends one!

Oh yeah, I have the WWII Battlefield version (great articulation!) and the version from the movie, and those are both very decent. Why mattel couldn't do that too I don't know. They toys might actually be selling if they had.

[Boba Fettuccini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty

no one ever dreamed that the 3.3/4" scale would ever be as desired as it is now

I think a lot of parents prefer it. I was at a Toys R Us with a mom and child desperately searching for any Marvel War Machine.

"Can I just get the big one mommy?"

"No sweetie... they're expensive, and they're big and hard to store. If we find a little one, we can get it, because those fit in your action figure box better and mommy and daddy don't have to pay as much."

"Ok..."

and then they didn't find one. I was gonna offer to give the lady my contact info so I could hook her up with one but she kinda regarded me as a creeper when I brought it up.

Anyway. That's a seriously only slightly related story. But I agree with her. I can fit more 3 3/4 on a shelf, and they cost less over time.

[Crazy Jetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boba Fettuccini

Anyway. That's a seriously only slightly related story. But I agree with her. I can fit more 3 3/4 on a shelf, and they cost less over time.

I don't disagree.
But at the time that Marvel Legends were at their apex of popularity, the trend was upscaling. Some lines, especially the collector oriented ones were going increasingly larger.
Toybiz started with 4" X-men. They scaled up to 5". And by the time they hit ML, they were on 6". Some companies were working 7" (I think Playmates had jumped from 4" straight to 7") by that point, 8", 9", and even 12" were not rare anymore.

So, like I said, no one back in 1998 would have predicted that 3.3/4 inch would be the mainstream medium by 2010.
So my basic point is, by the time Mattel embraces the fully articulated 3.3/4" figures, we'll likely be on to something else, lol. Just like we were onto this by the time they finally embraced the fully articulated 6" figures.

[thechris]

I know the selling point for me was definitely easy storage.

[Zictor]

I bought a Green Lantern in 3.75" scale because I liked the movie and I was buying Deadpool too and liked the idea of putting the two together with a bit of a Ryan Reynolds joke going on (Check my Avatar) and I was so disappointed with the articulation. I mean he doesn't even have elbow and knee joints... I thought that was pretty standard, but it was so poor. And the great big fist accessory that came with it is too heavy and he just falls over, not ideal for posing at all. His head barely moves either. I want my 8 quid back so I can replace him with a MU character haha!

[KshatriyaNZ666]

Honestly, I'd recommend just staying away from Mattel's 3.75" lines until they go through some kind of epic renaissance. So far I only own Deathstroke (I swear that he's the best IH figure I've come across and that is NOT saying much - at all) & IH Anti-Monitor (the tiny exclusive one). And I bought the GL movie 3.75" Stel concept figure a while back, just 'cause it was Stel - my fave GL. I'm not happy with any of them. I wasted $10 (or more?) on some clearanced-out Black Canary/Green Arrow/Green Lantern IH 3-Pack - and I deeply regret it.

I still have some of ToyBiz's 3.75" to 4" ML Showdown figures - and I still love'em.

[Zictor]

Well I really want to get Green Lantern, Sinestro, Superman, Batman, the Flash and Zoom, but I've got one of those so far and I'm not happy. I mean I don't want full articulation but no elbow or knee joints is a bit crap. Even if a Kid is playing with it. MUM, MY GREEN LANTERN WON'T BEND HIS ARM!

[warmachine6]

shamefully i think that dc figures arent that good unless your going to just display them

[Tarquinius]

Something I've been noticing more and more about 3 3/4; MU/GI Joe actually seems to be the anomaly.

A lot of the 3 3/4 market is dominated by half articulated or minimally articulated toys. Mattel is at the far end of the spectrum which complete enrages us.

But look at Unimax which does Bravo Team/Ages of Actions/Assasin's Creed/Crysis 2 figures.

They feature DECENT articulation but some of what they lack almost borderlines on common sense. For example they don't have ball jointed hips, and there arm articulation is a little bizaare.

The 4 Horsemen's toys (ironically affiliated with Mattel) specifically the Outer Spacemen feature very very very minimal articulation. I'm still not sure if that was part of the design to capture that old toy feel (as it is mimicking an older toy line).

Even some of Hasbro's own toylines have interesting articulation. Some of the Star Wars lines featured minimal articulation (WHY DOES MY JANGO FETT NOT HAVE KNEES!!!). The Indiana Jones figures again have minimal articulation.

So I think truly...the standard for 3 3/4 is minimal. You have your 90 degree leg (back and forth) joint, elbows, shoulders, head and torso. This is what most 3 3/4 toys tend to subscribe to.

The GI Joe line since its 3 3/4 debut I think has almost featured the most articulation you can find anywhere. I don't know if it changed anything, but it raised the bar higher and it challenged others. Now MU is doing the exact same thing.

[Crazy Jetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarquinius

Something I've been noticing more and more about 3 3/4; MU/GI Joe actually seems to be the anomaly.

A lot of the 3 3/4 market is dominated by half articulated or minimally articulated toys. Mattel is at the far end of the spectrum which complete enrages us.

But look at Unimax which does Bravo Team/Ages of Actions/Assasin's Creed/Crysis 2 figures.

They feature DECENT articulation but some of what they lack almost borderlines on common sense. For example they don't have ball jointed hips, and there arm articulation is a little bizaare.

The 4 Horsemen's toys (ironically affiliated with Mattel) specifically the Outer Spacemen feature very very very minimal articulation. I'm still not sure if that was part of the design to capture that old toy feel (as it is mimicking an older toy line).

Even some of Hasbro's own toylines have interesting articulation. Some of the Star Wars lines featured minimal articulation (WHY DOES MY JANGO FETT NOT HAVE KNEES!!!). The Indiana Jones figures again have minimal articulation.

So I think truly...the standard for 3 3/4 is minimal. You have your 90 degree leg (back and forth) joint, elbows, shoulders, head and torso. This is what most 3 3/4 toys tend to subscribe to.

The GI Joe line since its 3 3/4 debut I think has almost featured the most articulation you can find anywhere. I don't know if it changed anything, but it raised the bar higher and it challenged others. Now MU is doing the exact same thing.

Good points, and glad to see someone else take note of this, which always made me wonder why such an extreme reaction towards Mattel, since they're hardly an anomaly.

The advanced articulation you see in Marvel Legends and DCUC (And even Transformers) also stands out from most other figures in their scale. (Heck, from the end of G2, until Marvel Legends launched, Transformers were THE most articulated action figures on the market).
When questioned, I remember McFarlaine Toys (The worst articulated figured on the market) said that articulation is not an issue for them. They believed it was not something toy collectors wanted, and articulation would detract from their sculpts, which they believed is what collectors wanted.

To me, this seems to be the prevailing view amongst higher end toylines. Especially with companies like McFarlaine, and DC Direct. which feature the bare minimum, if any.
Sculpt over articulation, as it appears the designers the designers feel like articulation ruins their sculpts.
And looking at MU, and DCUC, the two lines which fans seem to hold everything else to... the majority of those figures have the absolute barebones when it comes to sculpt. Say what you will about the Green Lantern movie line, almost every figure in that line nocks the typical MU out of the the water when it comes to sculpting.

So it sort of seems to me that from the standpoint of the designers, it's either/or. Very few of them seem to feel that that a happy medium can exist between the two.

Although one explination is killing articulation is one way to kill costs. Less tools have to be machined. Isamot has 9 parts. Kilowog has 11. To give each of them knee and elbow would increase it almost by half. MU and DCUC offsets this by reusing the same scupts add nausium.
But even still. It's a completely different world now, than it was ten years ago. You could get a fully articulated, newly sculpted 6" figure for a reasonable price. Now a minimally sculpted repaint that's been used literally a hundred times before verges on $20.
Which is why Marvel Legends is dead (Dispite Hasbro trying to revive it every so often), and DCUC is on it's last leg. It's not gonna be too long before MU hits the $10 mark, I promise you.
Our hobby as a whole is dying out. As more kids jump off the bandwagon and get into video games earlier and earlier, as well as parents having less and less disposable income, it only makes the costs heavier on us, and raises the prices more as the toy companies have to produce less volume and make more money off a single unit to make it feasable for them.

I honestly think Mattel is doing the best they think they can, while being competatively priced.

[KshatriyaNZ666]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarquinius

Something I've been noticing more and more about 3 3/4; MU/GI Joe actually seems to be the anomaly.

A lot of the 3 3/4 market is dominated by half articulated or minimally articulated toys. Mattel is at the far end of the spectrum which complete enrages us.

But look at Unimax which does Bravo Team/Ages of Actions/Assasin's Creed/Crysis 2 figures.

They feature DECENT articulation but some of what they lack almost borderlines on common sense. For example they don't have ball jointed hips, and there arm articulation is a little bizaare.

The 4 Horsemen's toys (ironically affiliated with Mattel) specifically the Outer Spacemen feature very very very minimal articulation. I'm still not sure if that was part of the design to capture that old toy feel (as it is mimicking an older toy line).

Even some of Hasbro's own toylines have interesting articulation. Some of the Star Wars lines featured minimal articulation (WHY DOES MY JANGO FETT NOT HAVE KNEES!!!). The Indiana Jones figures again have minimal articulation.

So I think truly...the standard for 3 3/4 is minimal. You have your 90 degree leg (back and forth) joint, elbows, shoulders, head and torso. This is what most 3 3/4 toys tend to subscribe to.

The GI Joe line since its 3 3/4 debut I think has almost featured the most articulation you can find anywhere. I don't know if it changed anything, but it raised the bar higher and it challenged others. Now MU is doing the exact same thing.

My Jango Fett has knees - hee hee
Well, that's 'cause he's from the Vintage Collection of course.

I also agree that GI Joe (especially PoC) takes 1st Place in articulation. I'm also extremely pleased in the articulation that the Vintage Star Wars figures are giving us. Can't say enough about Marvel Universe either. And my brother collects the Crysis 2 figures (I don't though) - they look great & have decent articulation in my opinion.

[Tarquinius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KshatriyaNZ666

My Jango Fett has knees - hee hee
Well, that's 'cause he's from the Vintage Collection of course.

I also agree that GI Joe (especially PoC) takes 1st Place in articulation. I'm also extremely pleased in the articulation that the Vintage Star Wars figures are giving us. Can't say enough about Marvel Universe either. And my brother collects the Crysis 2 figures (I don't though) - they look great & have decent articulation in my opinion.

I'm definitely not saying the Unimax (Crysis) toys have bad articulation. They in fact have good articulation!

But I think when you put them against a GI Joe or MU fig, it pales in comparision. I guess my greater point is that the Unimax standard articulation is more of what to expect from a 3.75 fig for articulation.

BTW I just picked up some Thudercats toys! 3.75 of course, and those are freaking sick with articulation. Again, nothing like an MU fig but still very good.

[miketime]

I was just starting to like the DCIH when it fizzled out. The improved sculpt/articulation was just enough to get me interested in DC again. I have a couple but none of the updated ones. The female figs are weak but if you can find them for short money they are great for customizing using the head. There's def a use for those trench coats and capes. It does not seem like a good 4 inch fig will come from Mattel any time soon.

[D00MTR0N]

ummm,they suck?

[Tiberius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miketime

I was just starting to like the DCIH when it fizzled out. The improved sculpt/articulation was just enough to get me interested in DC again. I have a couple but none of the updated ones. The female figs are weak but if you can find them for short money they are great for customizing using the head. There's def a use for those trench coats and capes. It does not seem like a good 4 inch fig will come from Mattel any time soon.

I need pictures, I got a DCIH The Atom, and it makes me sad, but he was like 2 bucks so whatever. I'd love to see these new sculpts.

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiberius

I need pictures, I got a DCIH The Atom, and it makes me sad, but he was like 2 bucks so whatever. I'd love to see these new sculpts.

There aren't that many. Aquaman is one. Ravage, Dr. Arthur Light, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Martian Manhunter, Barry Allen and a couple of others. I have the majority of the set and still like them in spite of their limited articulation. Sometimes you've just got to use your imagination like Heroclix have zero articulation for the most part. Remember Mighty Max? So much fun, but ZERO articulation. Ninja Turtles? 7 Points of Articulation on most figures, but I still think they're awesome and have almost all of them.

[Tiberius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechris

There aren't that many. Aquaman is one. Ravage, Dr. Arthur Light, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Martian Manhunter, Barry Allen and a couple of others. I have the majority of the set and still like them in spite of their limited articulation. Sometimes you've just got to use your imagination like Heroclix have zero articulation for the most part. Remember Mighty Max? So much fun, but ZERO articulation. Ninja Turtles? 7 Points of Articulation on most figures, but I still think they're awesome and have almost all of them.

I still demand pics! pleeeaaasse. Good pics, fighting MU, yea, do it up bro!

[thechris]

Oh and another thing, I kind of liked the whole lumbering ox look of the original figures like Superman and Captain Marvel with the big puffed out chest, huge arms and skinny legs. It actually looks suitable. And yeah, Hawkman's arms are really long, but so are 50%of Marvel Legends figures with their knuckle dragging gorilla arms so whatever.

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiberius

I still demand pics! pleeeaaasse. Good pics, fighting MU, yea, do it up bro!

They're not to scale with MU, unfortunately. They're actually 3 and 3/4 where as MU are more like... 4 and 1/4.

[Tiberius]

Thank you for this, you have saved me a lot of money dude!

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiberius

Thank you for this, you have saved me a lot of money dude!

I'm sure you're not the only one who dreamed about it. LOL.