An end to balljointed-necks on helmetless figures...please

[Devo]

I'm all for Superarticulation but if theres one area where the compromise on the sculpt (and paint) is just too great its the head. Please, no more.

The case against:

-Balljoint necks ruin the jawline of figures
-They spoil the hairline's of figures (typically hair must be cut short)
-They sometimes spoil paintwork (usually where hair is painted over with skin tones instead of brown etc)
-They sometimes don't even do what they're supposed to
-You can actually lose the head of a figure


The case for:

-Highly effective on some figures for creating scene accurate poses (but primarily figures who also have helmets or whose heads are helmets)


When Balljoints attack!!!!:

Saga padme Lars Homestead - Honestly did this figure need a balljointed neck? What dynamic poses did Padme strike whilst in this particular outfit. In this case the jawline isn't affected in a huge way, however on my figure's right hand side she looks like she's developing some kind of tumour at the base of her skull, or at least losing hair in that area. It could be a case of poor paint app. or it could be a lumpy bit of sculpting as a result of the ball-jointed neck.

Saga Admiral Ozzel - this figure is blighted with really obvious lines from every angle and a neck which appears too long in relation to the straightness of his shoulders. And his hair looks like its receding from the back - it doesn't reach down the back of his neck like a normal person/figure, instead it abruptly stops level with his ears. Thats not natural and its a compromise made as a result of the ball-jointed neck.

Evolutions Anakin (AOTC&ROTS) - the AOTC figure has no jaw. Again, really obvious lines from every angle but the front that detract from an otherwise fine sculpt. And CRIMINALLY the balljoints don't even work. Even with the sculpting compromises the movement offered is minimal at best and is therefore not worthwhile.

VOTC Leia - long neck syndrome

TSC Leia Boushh - no neck syndrome, again minimal movement possible so why bother?

VOTC Han - a long neck which leans oddly far forward, and his hair is too short at the back - necessitated for the added movement but sacrifices film accuracy

When Balljoints go right:

Any figure whose head is a helmet, including VOTC Boba Fett, the SA Clone wars Clone and the recent TSC AT-AT driver. Also the occasional removeable helmet figure such as Saga Lando in Skiff guard outfit.

[Deoxyribonucleic]

The ball jointed necks are for one thing and one thing only!




Strike a pose... VOGUE!


Honestly though, on some cases I agree. I was looking at a comm tech stormie yesterday and thought, that was one of the best ways to give heads motion (the tongue and groove) but the ball joints really make the heads stick out and draw unexpected attention to how they are made and they never really sit right on the neck do they!?

[Kidhuman]

What irks me is sometimes it looks like a removeable helmet and its NOT!!!

[Blue2th]

I agree with you Devo. I noticed this when I opened my Evolutions Anakin to put atop my loose Reek Beast. This would have been a perfect Anakin except for the head. Like you say," what's the point" I see no need for it when it detracts from the character's likeness and it might be good for heads that are helmets, but why do we need super-articulated heads? A head only needs to move a little bit anyways. As long as it turns. Now it might work on a long haired Ep III Anakin, where they could hide the neck joint with sculpted hair, but otherwise I think it's a bad idea and should be used sparingly and only when it's not obvious.

[Devo]

I much prefer the Ep III Evolutions Anakin. It only loses points for the swivel elbows. Sculptwise its with this figure that the ball-joint neck is the least intrusive compared with other figures. But the thing is its also the figure where the ball-joint neck is the least functionally effective. He can't look down at all - to do this I guess they'd have had to hollow out his chin. He can't look up as the long hair at the back prevents this. The only movement its capable of is the same movement he'd have if it was a simple swivel joint hidden below his collar. So its pointless. Where did it all start? Was it Ozzel? They decided that figure needed a bit of a gimmick to replicate his choking death scene and since then every figure has had a balljoint whether it needs it or not (usually not).

[Devo]

So not much hate for ball jointed necks then....

Once again I'm the main respondent to my own thread :D

[Slicker]

If the ball joint doesn't interfer with the overall look of the figure I say keep it. Besides it'll allow for that inquisitive sideways head look.

[DarkArtist]

I have o disagree and say I like the ball Jointed neck feature. True on some of the figures it doesn't work but on figures like clones it's a great addition to the super articulation that alot of people want.
However, one must give a little to get a little.

[Devo]

Well I don't disagree with either of you. When its good its good such as on clones. But when its bad its really bad like on Admiral Ozzel and Evolutions AOTC Anakin and it does interfere with the look of the figure.

I'm not saying never use it again. I'm just saying stop using it when it isn't really called for. We got by just fine on swivel heads for years. No one complained. Fine there was a reason to bring it in for Admiral Ozzel - to mimic a particular scene from the film. But why does Lars Homestead Amidala have a balljoint neck? Why does the new Boushh Leia have one? Why does the Episode III Evolution's Anakin have one (while not terribly interfering with the sculpt in this case it functionally does not work - at all)? Hasbro should be a bit more choosey about what figures they put this feature in.

[Phantom-like Menace]

I've not seen a single ball jointed, naked head I've liked. The result of these heads is the Mighty Jaw Line Suitable Only for Grazing.

I would go so far as to say I don't like ball joints on any unarmored figure. Most notably, it's ball joints that made RoTS Mace Windu look more at home swinging through trees, howling, and hurling feces than leading the Jedi.

Armored figures hide ball joints and immediately enhance their appeal. It kind of makes me wonder why we have umpteen million ball joint-sporting unarmored figures but no super articulated Boba or Jango Fett.

I prefer the cut joints that could be rotated for articulation. Qui-Gon Jinn (Naboo) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Naboo) are still my all time favorite examples of what can be accomplished with these cuts, and I doubt highly these two figures will ever be replaced by later versions of these two characters in my estimation.