Post by deskjet on Dec 31, 2009 23:22:42 GMT -5
well, initially i wasnt sold on Mattel, then I started seeing other WF members getting them and became excited to get my hands on them. Score Evan Bourne. As with all of the Mattlels I own, great sculpts, likeness, design, deco. near perfection by Mattel. When it came to playability I knew we were gonna get the RA style legs with little mobility and I was fine with that as long as it was an improvement, and it was. Enter Elite series Punk. Really lookin forward to this as my big want from that series. Again, great design, deco, likeness, sculpt, and of course much improved playbility.
Where Mattel went wrong.
1. First of all, the pads. Absolutely inhibits playability on all figures, even the Elites.
2. No wing hip joints. Although it is an improvement from jakks RA's, The basics desparately need that extra hing in the hip that Mattel is known for to make this a perfect figure. My pet peeve is that the articulation shoulda been on one figure instead of spread over two different figures As seen here:
With the inhibition of the knee pads guys like kofi and Batista( whom I scored tonight at Target and Walmart respectively) are practically robotic. And poor cena. What can the guy do when his legs are that close together. I applaud mattlel going with the extra swivel for the lower legs but would have much prefered the hip. Speaking of mobility, the Elite;s have the same arm mobility as there basic counterparts. No flex jointed elbows which were sorely missing in DA's, but at least it' on the knees when you can move them without the pads gettin in the way
Personally, the sculpts, size, deco is better than Jakks, but Mattel fails in the playability department. Mattels joint are a tad stiff and requires work to move them around and are not a poseable as Jakks DA's...This was a similar problem with Marvel's TNA line, but Mattel is not quite as bad.
SO i tried something that i used to do with RA's that helped with playablitiy/poseability
1. Take a cup of water and heat it in the microwave for about 3 minutes
2. Stick the part of your figure in that you want to work with( the legs in this case) in the water for about 3 minutes
3. Wedge something in between the legs to hold it apart and leave it like that for a few minutes after you take the fig outta the hot water.
4. The result is a wider stance for your figure
5. Which makes for better playability imo:
**be careful though you may get some loose legs
So I did this to maximize the playability of these basics, otherwise I woulda been highly disappointed. It's a shame i have to do this, so hopefully Mattel adresses some of these issues like joint stiffness, the pads, and lack of mobility in the legs. I know that's what Elite's are for but seriously, I should be able to get playability out of any figure I choose to buy.
Also, the hot water help to loosen up the pads a bit and takes that grainy feel off the figures a bit as well. And of course, keep working with the figures so it's not so tight.
The verdict: With my modifications, some of the basics are worth my purchase. Good playability but a high price tag for Elite's is also worth SOME of my purchase. Still not full in yet, but it's early ;D
So what's everyone elses take?
Where Mattel went wrong.
1. First of all, the pads. Absolutely inhibits playability on all figures, even the Elites.
2. No wing hip joints. Although it is an improvement from jakks RA's, The basics desparately need that extra hing in the hip that Mattel is known for to make this a perfect figure. My pet peeve is that the articulation shoulda been on one figure instead of spread over two different figures As seen here:
With the inhibition of the knee pads guys like kofi and Batista( whom I scored tonight at Target and Walmart respectively) are practically robotic. And poor cena. What can the guy do when his legs are that close together. I applaud mattlel going with the extra swivel for the lower legs but would have much prefered the hip. Speaking of mobility, the Elite;s have the same arm mobility as there basic counterparts. No flex jointed elbows which were sorely missing in DA's, but at least it' on the knees when you can move them without the pads gettin in the way
Personally, the sculpts, size, deco is better than Jakks, but Mattel fails in the playability department. Mattels joint are a tad stiff and requires work to move them around and are not a poseable as Jakks DA's...This was a similar problem with Marvel's TNA line, but Mattel is not quite as bad.
SO i tried something that i used to do with RA's that helped with playablitiy/poseability
1. Take a cup of water and heat it in the microwave for about 3 minutes
2. Stick the part of your figure in that you want to work with( the legs in this case) in the water for about 3 minutes
3. Wedge something in between the legs to hold it apart and leave it like that for a few minutes after you take the fig outta the hot water.
4. The result is a wider stance for your figure
5. Which makes for better playability imo:
**be careful though you may get some loose legs
So I did this to maximize the playability of these basics, otherwise I woulda been highly disappointed. It's a shame i have to do this, so hopefully Mattel adresses some of these issues like joint stiffness, the pads, and lack of mobility in the legs. I know that's what Elite's are for but seriously, I should be able to get playability out of any figure I choose to buy.
Also, the hot water help to loosen up the pads a bit and takes that grainy feel off the figures a bit as well. And of course, keep working with the figures so it's not so tight.
The verdict: With my modifications, some of the basics are worth my purchase. Good playability but a high price tag for Elite's is also worth SOME of my purchase. Still not full in yet, but it's early ;D
So what's everyone elses take?
