Articulation

[Qui-Long Gone]

Hasbro has been very good to us....sometimes:

1. After the success of the VOTC series, OTC Jedi Luke, ROTS Dooku, Super-articulated clone tropper and Red Leader Obi-Wan, why haven't all figures enjoyed super-articulation?

2. Is it just my loose figures or do the KNEES of many of these super-articulated figs (Sith Dooku, Secura and OTC Luke) suck? I can't get some of these figs to stand without buckling forward....

3. Will we ever see the type of articulation in future figures again? The new Naboo Obi-Wan seems to be a big dissapointment of potential (and besides Evolutions Anakin, will we ever have a chosen-one who can bend his freaking knees?).

4. If you could rate the top three articulated figures (including VOTC, Evolutions, OTC, etc.) What would they be? Here's my list (shoulders are a big plus):
1. OBI WAN ROTS RED-LEADER
2. (tie) VOTC STORMTROOPER and BIKER SCOUT
3. ROTS CLONE TROOPER

5. If you could rate the top 3 recent let-downs, what would they be?
1. NEW OBI WAN NABOO (thanks for the rehash with soft good cloak Hasbro)
2. NEW LUKE SKYWALKER ESCAPE MOS EISLEY (finally a potentially exciting NEW HOPE Luke who doesn't scare children but is stiffer than Hayden and Portman's 'love scenes' acting....)
3. Every recent MACE WINDU, EMPEROR, and the Battle of Hoth SNOWTROOPER....

[Slicker]

Yet ANOTHER SA argument.

I'm gonna let this be know from the beginning. This little rant has NOTHING to do with you GLG.

I am utterly sick of this damn "why can't EVERY figure be SA BS". Hasbro made the biggest mistake of there life by introducing the SA Clone in the Clone Wars line. Now every damn figure just HAS to be SA.

Let me ask a question to all of the SA proponents.

Do you play with said SA figures everyday? Do you put them in a different pose everyday? If you don't then you don't need every figure to have SA. I remember that I made a Dengar figure into a pose that I wanted (from ESB with him holding his rifle) for a specific scene. If you don't get the "SA figure of your dreams" just make him.

People constantly complain about Hasbros high prices yet they want EVERY figure to be SA. You've gotta make a comprimise somewhere people. Look back in the day in the POTF2 days. We had a whopping 6 POA and we were happy. So just be happy with what you've got for now and just remember that Hasbro has got the liscense for another 12 years so you'll no doubts get every figure in SA that you've ever wanted so JUST BE PATIENT.!!!

[TheCivilCollector]

Personally, I don't like too much articulation. If the figs were a more rigid plastic like 3 3/4 Joes, it wouldn't be an issue, but SA makes Star Wars figs feel too flimsy. I like a "semi-action" pose for figs, and a neutral pose for pilots and the like so they fit into vehicles.

Knee bends are cool for some figs, but I thought some of the ROTS line went over the top. Aayla Secula can hardly stand up. I WAAAAYYYYY prefer the first version, even though the legs are spread a bit too wide (nothing pervy intended).

I don't care much for soft good cloaks, either. It makes sense for figures so they can fit better in vehicles, but that's it. On a display shelf, molded capes look so much nicer. I hate the flimsy fabric they're giving us with the new Vaders.

[plasticfetish]

Do you play with said SA figures everyday? Do you put them in a different pose everyday? If you don't then you don't need every figure to have SA.

You know, if your point is that people need to be reasonable when they're being critical of a figure, then you're right. Some figures don't need to be and probably can't be "super articulated." On the other hand, if we're looking at a figure and we're debating it's quality, then something we're bound to talk about is the articulation. It's part of the overall design and it effects the play value... which is what toys are all about. It's not that every figure "has to be" SA, it's just that if the option is there and it'll help to make for a better toy, then you kind of need to ask, why not?

People constantly complain about Hasbro's high prices yet they want EVERY figure to be SA. You've gotta make a compromise somewhere people.

Balancing cost, design and quality is obviously the big challenge for Hasbro. It's not crazy for us to discuss whether or not they've done their best, and if we're getting the most for our money. It's pretty well known that Hasbro will try to cut corners whenever they can in order to make a bigger profit. There's nothing wrong with that, but there are smart ways to do it and dumb ways. I happen to think the reworked Battle of Hoth Snowtrooper that Qui-Long Gone mentioned wasn't terrible, but for the money, I'd sure have liked something better. (They tried to make up for past mistakes by making some new ones, which really messed it up.)

Look back in the day in the POTF2 days. We had a whopping 6 POA and we were happy. So just be happy with what you've got for now and just remember that Hasbro has got the license for another 12 years so...

...so all the more reason to let them know when we do or don't like something. I don't know that I'd say I was "happy" with a lot of the POTF2 stuff (mostly it sucked I think), but we didn't have anything other than the vintage stuff to compare it to. So yeah, Hasbro has raised their own bar by showing us that they're now capable of producing a really great looking, well built and fun to play with (possibly highly articulated) figure for a decent price. If they do otherwise, it's no surprise that they're gonna take some heat for either cutting corners or making bad choices.

If the figs were a more rigid plastic like 3 3/4 Joes, it wouldn't be an issue, but SA makes Star Wars figs feel too flimsy.

That's always my biggest beef with these figures, and mostly it's that the plastic quality seems to fluctuate pretty wildly. I was just playing around with the Hem Dazon figure -- thinking about how bendy the plastic is and how other than that (and the crummy little blaster), I don't have much of a problem with it. He's got some really smart articulation I think, but again, looking at the figure as a whole he's not perfect.

I don't know that I expect "perfection" from Hasbro though. If they can manage to squeak out a few really good figures every year for the next 10 years or so, then they'll have done just fine by me.

[Darth Cruel]

I want super articulation. And I have not seen one articulation opponent come up with a good argument for the figures' not having it. Yes, I play with mine...no not every day...but I do like to set them up in different ways VERY frequently. You anti-articulation collectors have every right to not care about having the articulation. And we proponents have every right to want it. But I wonder about the necessity for posting such angry messages in articulation threads. I don't care what it costs. If I want statues...I'll buy statues. I want ACTION figures. ACTION, to me, equals articulation.

I do understand how some people feel about things they don't find to be important. I don't care about things like the figure looking like Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher...they are just actors, not the characters. So, to me, Hasbro could also save money by not needing to buy the actors' likenesses and they could still do the character justice. I also don't want the pack-ins that I have no use for like "holo" figuines, coins, and stands. But I am glad I don't get angry and attack the opponents of my opinion.

[El Chuxter]

If you want to shut Slicker up, just insert the words "Slicker's mom" into any bad joke you can come up with.

[dindae]

The only arguement againt articulation is money. It cost money to mold and assemble a figure. Every time there is a point of articulation that is another seperate piece that has to be manufactered seprately, painteed seperately and put together when the figure is finished. So when Hasbro is making a wave of figure they look at the wave and budget from there (they stated as much in one of the Q&A). So they have 12 figures in a case and have a set price they sell it for. So like a salary cap in football they have to figure where they are going to spend their money. If they include a SA clone thats 25 pieces of plastic that have to be made seperately, they save a little money on the mold since they already made one but it takes a lot of room/manpower/cost on the factory floor. So how do you balance that, you throw in a Holo Ki Adi Mundi but instead of the newer mold use the Episode one mold because he is after all a hologram and it isn't that important of a figure and it only has 9 pieces to make. And because I know its coming "But Marvel Legends can do it". Yes they do do it but they don't have as limited of runs as Hasbro does so they have more time to recoup the cost. They get in an average of 3 waves of figures a year. Hasbro passes that in April. But that's just my take on things any resemblance to reality is merely coincidental.

[TheCivilCollector]

I don't care about things like the figure looking like Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher...they are just actors, not the characters. So, to me, Hasbro could also save money by not needing to buy the actors' likenesses and they could still do the character justice.

Blasphemy!!!

[Qui-Long Gone]

[quote=Slicker]Yet ANOTHER SA argument.

I'm gonna let this be know from the beginning. This little rant has NOTHING to do with you GLG.

I am utterly sick of this damn "why can't EVERY figure be SA BS". Hasbro made the biggest mistake of there life by introducing the SA Clone in the Clone Wars line. Now every damn figure just HAS to be SA.


Chill bro....just answer the freaking questions, especially 2, 4 and 5 (see original thread).

Let me ask a question to all of the SA proponents.

Do you play with said SA figures everyday? Do you put them in a different pose everyday?

Answer: Yes, except on Weekends...again, just answer the freaking questions, see 2, 4, and 5 of orignal thread..

People constantly complain about Hasbros high prices yet they want EVERY figure to be SA. You've gotta make a comprimise somewhere people. Look back in the day in the POTF2 days. We had a whopping 6 POA and we were happy. So just be happy with what you've got for now and just remember that Hasbro has got the liscense for another 12 years so you'll no doubts get every figure in SA that you've ever wanted so JUST BE PATIENT.!!!

Of course we were happy with POTF2 days and Vintage days, but if we can make a kung-fu kicking Tatooine Ambush Anakin and other 'gimmick' figures, surely we can afford SA for all figs?

[COMMANDERCODY2795]

i hated the rots mace and anakain. they should have taken the red leader obi-wan and added anakain and mace heads then repaint the robes. voila, you have 3 super articulated jedi, the standard obi-wan, anakain, and mace. all are reaady for some droid killin' action.