[Wheeljack]

I'm all for articulation. In fact for me it's a major point in deciding what figures I wanna buy. More articulation lets me put the figures in more poses.

But something I didn't really think about before is when is it too much articulation? I think it's too much if it ends up severely downplaying the details on the figure.

[Harbinger]

I think the gi joe classified figs. I mean its good to have artic but they have one too many and that causes instability in the figs.

[jwyss234]

There are three instances that I can think of where a figure can have too much articulation.

The first is useless joints. The ToyBiz Marvel Legend figures that used the original Phoenix mold all had two bicep swivels and two thigh swivels. Why? Who knows. There are also some old Neca figures that were basically statues but would have a boot swivel but lacked any other leg articulation.

The second is multiple joints with a limited range of movement. The Spiderman 2 Ultra/Super Poseable Spiderman figure's torso is a good example of this. He had a diaphragm joint, ab crunch, and waist swivel. The waist swivel performed as you would expect but the ab crunch was limited while the diaphragm joint barely did more than swivel. There are less articulated Spiderman 2 figures that perform better than the Ultra Poseable Spiderman.

The third, and worst, is articulation points that work against the figure. Toe joints that are loose which will cause the figure to fall over. Articulated fingers and won't securely hold a weapon or accessory. Thankfully most companies have switched to multiple pairs of hands with only wrist articulation and have mostly eliminated toe joints.

[WallySparks]

Star Wars Vintage Collection action figures while great, there are times when they have too much articulation such as ball jointed hips and swivel thighs and ball jointed wrists or ankles.

a Luke in Wing gear figure really doesnt need all that articulation since he's a pilot. Do you see him doing the splits etc? No but Hasbro goes and gives the action figure ball jointed hips and everything

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WallySparks

Star Wars Vintage Collection action figures while great, there are times when they have too much articulation such as ball jointed hips and swivel thighs and ball jointed wrists or ankles.

a Luke in Wing gear figure really doesnt need all that articulation since he's a pilot. Do you see him doing the splits etc? No but Hasbro goes and gives the action figure ball jointed hips and everything

Hey ya never know when ya might slip on an errant hydraulic fluid spot and having that extra bit is the difference between a slight slip and a groin injuring split. haha

[WallySparks]

X-Wing Luke figure all you can do with him is put him in an X-Wing and thats it.

Even the Bespin Han figure from Vintage Collection, it has ball jointed hips so whats he really going to do anyway? Do ballet splits or break dancing? nope.

Chirrut i get it since he's a blind guard monk who thinks he's got the force, but X-Wing Luke with ball jointed hips etc is a bit too much

[Thor Laserpunch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwyss234

There are three instances that I can think of where a figure can have too much articulation.

The first is useless joints. The ToyBiz Marvel Legend figures that used the original Phoenix mold all had two bicep swivels and two thigh swivels. Why? Who knows. There are also some old Neca figures that were basically statues but would have a boot swivel but lacked any other leg articulation.

The second is multiple joints with a limited range of movement. The Spiderman 2 Ultra/Super Poseable Spiderman figure's torso is a good example of this. He had a diaphragm joint, ab crunch, and waist swivel. The waist swivel performed as you would expect but the ab crunch was limited while the diaphragm joint barely did more than swivel. There are less articulated Spiderman 2 figures that perform better than the Ultra Poseable Spiderman.

The third, and worst, is articulation points that work against the figure. Toe joints that are loose which will cause the figure to fall over. Articulated fingers and won't securely hold a weapon or accessory. Thankfully most companies have switched to multiple pairs of hands with only wrist articulation and have mostly eliminated toe joints.

These are all the most atrocious offenders and aside from McFarlane occasionally plonking out a random uselessly articulated statue here and there, those days are mostly in the past. Some lines like Silent Screamers and some of the SOTA and crazier McF stuff still holds up just from an artistic perspective though, despite that wack construction.

I don’t see replacing my TB Green Goblin any time soon either. Beautiful fig, again despite those unsightly hand hinges and loosey goosey toes. A few other old skool figs such as Blackheart that I think are still pretty good and hold up well, but then again the rest of the Toy Biz stuff I have has just not been redone satisfactorily yet. Please give me a Havok with the head dealies so I can get rid of this emaciated mime figure.

[warmachine6]

I'd say im all for articulation

Best ones I have seen is the toy biz spider-man 2 line they did, hell even the fantastic 4 movie wave, that sue storm had double jointed elbows! X-men 2 Figures

But those are a thing of the past...

Then I guess hasbro with the sunfire body mould being able to have joints in the pectoral muscle area. Also using sculpted swappable posed hands is a better option in the long run espically for spider-man.

The best today, despite their price is, Medicom's Mafex. I still love Batman from both The Dark Knight Triology V.3, Batman (Hush), and JL: Wonder Woman. They fit into a nice scale with my hasbro marvel legends.

I'd probably eventually buy a Todd McFarlane figure, but some of the joints look bad. Also it seems the majority of his DC multi-verse line is primarly Batman focused. You could argue that Mafex do the same but never thought mafex would make characters like mera, black manta, comic superman etc I won't go on as this would be a long read otherwise.

[deecee4]

When the articulation overrides the aesthetics of the figure is when it's too much i.e. early 2000s Toybiz and the earlier Amazing Yamaguchi figures. Some of those are just an ugly, gangly, fragmented mess of a figure.

[Wheeljack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbinger

I think the gi joe classified figs. I mean its good to have artic but they have one too many and that causes instability in the figs.

Like toe joints?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwyss234

There are three instances that I can think of where a figure can have too much articulation.

The first is useless joints. The ToyBiz Marvel Legend figures that used the original Phoenix mold all had two bicep swivels and two thigh swivels. Why? Who knows. There are also some old Neca figures that were basically statues but would have a boot swivel but lacked any other leg articulation.

The second is multiple joints with a limited range of movement. The Spiderman 2 Ultra/Super Poseable Spiderman figure's torso is a good example of this. He had a diaphragm joint, ab crunch, and waist swivel. The waist swivel performed as you would expect but the ab crunch was limited while the diaphragm joint barely did more than swivel. There are less articulated Spiderman 2 figures that perform better than the Ultra Poseable Spiderman.

The third, and worst, is articulation points that work against the figure. Toe joints that are loose which will cause the figure to fall over. Articulated fingers and won't securely hold a weapon or accessory. Thankfully most companies have switched to multiple pairs of hands with only wrist articulation and have mostly eliminated toe joints.

Do you think that's one of the reasons action figure stands were invented?

Quote:

Originally Posted by WallySparks

Star Wars Vintage Collection action figures while great, there are times when they have too much articulation such as ball jointed hips and swivel thighs and ball jointed wrists or ankles.

a Luke in Wing gear figure really doesnt need all that articulation since he's a pilot. Do you see him doing the splits etc? No but Hasbro goes and gives the action figure ball jointed hips and everything

But what if you wanna take him out of the ship and have him take out Storm Troopers on foot?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbinger

Hey ya never know when ya might slip on an errant hydraulic fluid spot and having that extra bit is the difference between a slight slip and a groin injuring split. haha

Yeah. XD