shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Mar 28, 2016 15:12:34 GMT -5
There is so much choice in regard to toys these days. Some toys tend to emphasize articulation, sometimes to the point that it's downright complicated to move an arm or a figure has a massive hinge in the middle of its stomach, while others emphasize appearance and are, therefore, lacking in articulation and sometimes even stuck in a specific pose that they cannot be moved out of. There are also figures that try to strike a balance between looking reasonably good and having a reasonable amount of articulation, but generally emphasize functionality for play over these other qualities.
As I am someone who unapologetically plays with my toys, I'm a fan of the third camp. Justice League Unlimited was one of my favorite action figure toy lines ever because they looked reasonably good and had some articulation, but were not complex or overly intricate. If I wanted Martian Manhunter to move his arm at the speed of my imagination, it was no problem.
If you're a fan of robot toys or Transformers, this becomes an even more significant issue, as some toys are praised for their close resemblance to the cartoon or for their intricate transformations, but can take twenty minutes to transform, and some are so detailed that they're downright brittle. I prefer the ones that you can transform in the span of about a minute and a half and just have fun with.
So where do you stand on these factors and what toy lines do you prefer/avoid as a result?
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Post by justicefreak on Mar 28, 2016 17:17:38 GMT -5
Well I think first and foremost it they have to look good(if talking about super heroes like DC or Marvel...they should look like the characters). I believe that too much articulation is a bad thing. I like a slightly simpler figure with articulation added to the right points for the character(good example would be for Green arrow in the DCUC line being given the wrist swivels), but over all I prefer less more standard articulation....neck,shoulders, elbows thigh, knees. I kind of wish they would do a smaller scale line with good sculpting maybe based on the Jose Luis Garicia-Lopez looks of the bronze age, to me those are some of the most classic iconic looks for the characters(Never will happen but one can dream)
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Mar 28, 2016 18:11:55 GMT -5
I kind of wish they would do a smaller scale line with good sculpting maybe based on the Jose Luis Garicia-Lopez looks of the bronze age, to me those are some of the most classic iconic looks for the characters(Never will happen but one can dream) I'd definitely consider buying that. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2016 18:26:12 GMT -5
for me, I guess it goes to appearance.
tho if they DO have a lot of articulation, then I'll take them out to play/pose.
but great looking figures, like the Babylon 5 line, were basically just plastic statues. . so those I left in the packaging, and just hung on the wall with push pins.
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Post by lobsterjohnson on Mar 28, 2016 19:16:55 GMT -5
It depends. One of my favorite figures, Gotham by Gaslight Batman, has pretty limited articulation. However, the appearance more than makes up for that, as it is one of the most detailed figures I own, and it perfectly captures the art of the comic book.
I like to take photos of my action figures (I really should start an Instagram or something to post those on). Articulation is very important for many of the pictures I take. I rarely photograph the ones that have little articulation, as I can do so much more with the better ones. I use the Marvel Legends Superior Spider Man figure a lot, not because it's one of my favorite figures (although it is pretty cool), but because it can have much more dynamic poses than most of the other ones. I hardly ever use most DC New 52 figures because, while they have decent arm articulation, they can only move their legs forward and backward, not sideways. It's almost impossible to pose them in any way other than standing straight up, so those are some of my least favorite figures.
The best figures are often ones that are very posable while maintaining a cool visual look. I own a Samus Figma from the Metroid game series that a friend gave me. I know very little about the character, and I actually think the design of the power armor suit is a little bit cheesy. However, the figure is one of my favorites. There's a lot of articulation, but the figure still looks really cool. The included stand also allows for jumping or flying poses, which makes it a lot more fun.
I guess the most important aspect for me is fun. Depending on the figure, this can mean a lot of articulation or a cool appearance. I didn't really want a lot of articulation in my Gaslight Batman figure, as the big draw of it for me is how well it captures Mike Mignola's art. With more generic figures that aren't based off of such a specific design, I definitely prefer a wide variety of articulation.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 8:34:37 GMT -5
Appearance, then articulation. I love the Hot Toys line of super hero figures. I like the resemblance between their big screen counterparts, the costuming details, and that they are easily posed and have enough articulation. I am not a fan of the higher price, but they always suck me in with their figures. I guess those figures don't quite qualify as toys, but I do love collecting them.
I did purchase some of the DC Universe characters years ago. While they were very pretty to look at, I didn't like all the articulation points--like the ones in the middle of the abdomen area, joints everywhere. Some of them were so top heavy and with the location of the jointed parts, they couldn't stand on their own.
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Post by lobsterjohnson on Mar 29, 2016 9:30:23 GMT -5
Appearance, then articulation. I love the Hot Toys line of super hero figures. I like the resemblance between their big screen counterparts, the costuming details, and that they are easily posed and have enough articulation. I am not a fan of the higher price, but they always suck me in with their figures. I guess those figures don't quite qualify as toys, but I do love collecting them. I did purchase some of the DC Universe characters years ago. While they were very pretty to look at, I didn't like all the articulation points--like the ones in the middle of the abdomen area, joints everywhere. Some of them were so top heavy and with the location of the jointed parts, they couldn't stand on their own. Have you seen the Mezco One:12 Collective line? I've heard a lot of people compare those to Hot Toys, but they are 6" tall and cheaper. Only two are out now (Batman and Judge Dredd; there are a few versions of each), but Mezco unveiled a bunch more at Toy Fair. You can see pictures of the Batman figure here: Link and here: link. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 10:02:02 GMT -5
Appearance, then articulation. I love the Hot Toys line of super hero figures. I like the resemblance between their big screen counterparts, the costuming details, and that they are easily posed and have enough articulation. I am not a fan of the higher price, but they always suck me in with their figures. I guess those figures don't quite qualify as toys, but I do love collecting them. I did purchase some of the DC Universe characters years ago. While they were very pretty to look at, I didn't like all the articulation points--like the ones in the middle of the abdomen area, joints everywhere. Some of them were so top heavy and with the location of the jointed parts, they couldn't stand on their own. Have you seen the Mezco One:12 Collective line? I've heard a lot of people compare those to Hot Toys, but they are 6" tall and cheaper. Only two are out now (Batman and Judge Dredd; there are a few versions of each), but Mezco unveiled a bunch more at Toy Fair. You can see pictures of the Batman figure here: Link and here: link. Yes! I have seen those and I plan on adding the Mezco Superman and Batman to my collection. Nice looking figures! I want the Shazam! Mezco figure too. I need to win the lottery, haha! |
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Post by lobsterjohnson on Mar 29, 2016 10:42:12 GMT -5
Have you seen the Mezco One:12 Collective line? I've heard a lot of people compare those to Hot Toys, but they are 6" tall and cheaper. Only two are out now (Batman and Judge Dredd; there are a few versions of each), but Mezco unveiled a bunch more at Toy Fair. You can see pictures of the Batman figure here: Link and here: link. Yes! I have seen those and I plan on adding the Mezco Superman and Batman to my collection. Nice looking figures! I want the Shazam! Mezco figure too. I need to win the lottery, haha! Which Batman? The BvS one, or the DKR one? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 10:47:05 GMT -5
Yes! I have seen those and I plan on adding the Mezco Superman and Batman to my collection. Nice looking figures! I want the Shazam! Mezco figure too. I need to win the lottery, haha! Which Batman? The BvS one, or the DKR one? The BvS one. I hope they make a Wonder Woman too. |
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Post by lobsterjohnson on Mar 29, 2016 11:25:03 GMT -5
Which Batman? The BvS one, or the DKR one? The BvS one. I hope they make a Wonder Woman too. I think they are also making a BvS Batmobile in scale with the figures, which sounds pretty neat. The Armored BvS Batman has LED lights in the eyes! I'm not sure which of the figures I'll be saving for. They are all cool, but they're pricey. I like the Captain America and Daredevil ones that went up for pre-order, and the Punisher ones are cool too. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 11:36:37 GMT -5
The BvS one. I hope they make a Wonder Woman too. I think they are also making a BvS Batmobile in scale with the figures, which sounds pretty neat. The Armored BvS Batman has LED lights in the eyes! I'm not sure which of the figures I'll be saving for. They are all cool, but they're pricey. I like the Captain America and Daredevil ones that went up for pre-order, and the Punisher ones are cool too. I would like the batmobile too. It was very cool in the movie! |
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Post by lobsterjohnson on Mar 29, 2016 12:40:46 GMT -5
Which Batman? The BvS one, or the DKR one? The BvS one. I hope they make a Wonder Woman too. Some of the tweets Mezco has made seem to imply they are working on a Wonder Woman figure, although nothing has been announced. If you go to "tweets and replies", you can see that a lot of people are asking if there will be a Wonder Woman one. I would be surprised if they didn't make one at some point. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 15:37:20 GMT -5
The BvS one. I hope they make a Wonder Woman too. Some of the tweets Mezco has made seem to imply they are working on a Wonder Woman figure, although nothing has been announced. If you go to "tweets and replies", you can see that a lot of people are asking if there will be a Wonder Woman one. I would be surprised if they didn't make one at some point. Wonder Woman fans tend to buy her merchandise, so they should make one! I've preordered the Hot Toys Batman V Superman Superman and Wonder Woman figures. Might as well throw Batman in there too, haha! I will keep an eye on Mezco! I'm going to have to add a wing to my house for all my stuff! Running out of room, haha! |
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 29, 2016 23:14:06 GMT -5
When I was a kid, a couple of things would frustrate me about some of the toys I played with: 1) They didn't look quite as cool as they did in the TV show, movie, or even the box artwork. 2) They were stiff and couldn't get in poses that they managed to achieve in the TV show, movie, or box artwork. I had an original Hasbro X-Wing, but I could tell something was off about the proportions, and that it didn't look as sleek as the model they used for the movie. And G1 Transformers... they were fun and decent toys for the time, but let's be honest, most of them were barely-articulate bricks. Ditto for the Matchbox lion Voltron. That thing looked pretty cool, but once in robot mode there wasn't a whole lot you could do with him. Forget about ever getting him in a pose like this:  So given all that, I'm a big fan of the advances in toy design over the past 30 years. I think enhanced articulation is great, so long as the additional joints and seams don't detract from the sculpt (this is more of a problem in action figures than robot toys), and the joints are sturdy enough to handle lots of posing. I don't "play" with my toys, if my "play" you mean smash them up and generally manhandle them like the seven-year-old version of me, but I do like to pose them. And while I don't mind handling things carefully, they shouldn't fall apart with normal handling and posing. I also like the fact that sculpts and detailing have come a long way. I enjoyed Star Wars action figures and have a lot of nostalgia for them, but you have to admit that those old action figures were pretty bare bones. I still like the old vintage toys though. I guess I'm a best of both worlds type of guy -- I like to have the old ones for nostalgia and and sentimental reasons, but I enjoy the modern toys because they look cooler. |
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