The articulated figure seems to be more important than vehicles, play sets, and gear, that the figure should be able to interact with seamlessly. I would think an all encompassing scale toy world of GIJoe would be more fun than a line of heavily jointed figures with re-purposed parts mixed and matched. (I agree with the "standard buck" design approach mentioned several times already)

Does scale matter anymore?

I think its a half and half deal really. I remember when 25th started rolling out and sure enough, they came with added articulation, but also with new problems. One of the largest problems the fans rose was when the repaints started. Firefly from beachhead, stalker, comic hawk, many others from snake eyes, Flint from Duke, that was all I would read. Once Hasbro looked at the problems they made with 25th (restricted articulation, sloppy paint, flawed designs) they actually got something truly great. When they started with PoC we were able to get modern updates of classic designs and fantastic articulationm the trend also continued in the 30th era (as depressed as I was about that short lived) . Is articulation overrated? I don't think so
From a photographers perspective, I love the added articulation of most figures now. I guess its all a matter of your opinion and how you use the figures

I guess in making the transition to parent of a son, my thoughts now more become "Hmm...what won't break?" I mean, my Crimson Guard and other 80's joes got loose with extensive use. If I used a SA stormtrooper or some other figure as much as I did that one, it wouldn't stand at all any more.

And I revived the CG with a new rubber band. That said, I hear newwavepop on this - you can find 80's toys and they are still good playthings to this day. I don't know how well superarticulated stuff is going to last. I bought the Bespin set for a reason - it looks like Luke, Vader and Boba will be durable. Also, some of the earlier and chunkier SW figures may not be fun to look at in some ways, but their helmets don't get lost and you can't pull their hands off.

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Articulation is not over-rated. And I am NOT happy about the cutback in articulation in Star Wars figures, regardless of who the target audience supposedly is. As for those Vintage packs -- that's a matter of PRICE, not articulation.

However, I do believe that articulation can be carried to extremes. The extreme for me is double-jointed elbows and knees. I don't think this is necessary. More often than not, it doesn't look good, and sometimes, it doesn't even work well. I think this is especially true with super-hero figures, where the figure has to reflect a tight-fitting costume, and the articulation cannot be easily hidden in the folds and wrinkles of sculpted clothing. Mid-torso articulation also can be problematic. I think many of the modern-style G.I. Joes are evidence of this. Why drop the waist articulation?

I'm all in favor of a well-articulated action figure, and I do believe that this should include head, arms, elbows, wrists, waist or mid-torso if the figure can get away with the latter, legs, knees, and ankles. I can see dropping the wrists and ankles if it's an especially small figure. Star Wars' recent dropping of knee articulation (at least on a couple of Clone Troopers I was interested in) is pretty inexcusable in my opinion. Rotational swivels should be included whenever possible. Double-jointed elbows and knees is simply not necessary. It cuts up the figure too much, doesn't look good, and doesn't work well.

RAH is the best action figure construction.
Solid, no joints pops out while you play, great size and awesome articulations. You can recreate a fantastic amount of dynamic poses without having to fight with the toy. It moves in fluid motions unlike some modern figures which you have to twist here and unfold there to achieve the poses you want.

I was 4 when I discovered GI Joe and from that day on, all my 5 PoA figures became background fodder.

I enjoy the current Joe articulation level too, but if they wanted to step "backward" to the 12 PoA of RAH, I wouldn't mind.

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I think firmer plastics are called for too.

I think when it comes to super POA, just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. Firm up those figures, make them tough again! I'd rather a busted thumb or crotch rather than every inch of the figure be floppy.

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Yeah, that rubbery plastic has to go.
I don't know if it's because somebody is cheapening out or if it's a safety law, but those rubbery limbs are bumming me out.

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From a customising perspective, the more articulation the better. More articulation generally means that figures give more parts fodder options and are easier to get apart and Franken-Joe. Wrists, heads, ball-jointed knees/elbows/ankles/hips. Even if the parts won't go together straight away, all it usually takes is a little bit of filling and drilling. The rubbery plastic just makes it easier to get the limbs apart.

I agree about photography as well. More articualtion makes for more dynamic poses. 5 POA means that you pose the figure like the manufacturer made it. No imagination required. It also means that figures can be posed in/out of vehicles or on/off horses without having to buy a second 'posed' figure. The recent Captain America with motorcycle springs to mind. Compare that to the German soldier with motorbike or Indiana Jones with horse. The softer plastic helps with this as well.

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Which is another reason I want one!

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Even as a kid, I knew more articulation was better. I don't know how many Micronaut Time Traveler figures I destroyed, trying to turn them into Star Wars characters. And even though I liked SW better, I played with Buck Rogers figures a lot more, just because of the articulation.

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Articulation was what caused me to move to G.I. Joe from Star Wars, when I was a kid.

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While I never collected or wanted Star Wars as a kid, the one Star Wars figure I had was reason enough to pick GI JOEs over them. Articulation was a huge factor.

I dunno, I've gotten both my nephews on GIJoe.

Granted, they spend more time on their iPods and now iPads, but they do love their Joes!

I agree with this. After receiving my first Micronaught as a kid, it changed my mind on having any figure that did not have articulation (Clash of the Titans, Star Wars and others) after that, it was CHiPs, Dukes of Hazzard and Joes as far as vehicles go.

There is a difference between articulation & super articulation. Normal figures need to be played with and posed in most positions that the character would be in. That being said, some characters are believed to be able to move any way (Spider-Man) and as such they need more & MORE articulation. Luckily SM has a costume that is broken up, so its easier to hide the articulation, but Snake Eyes does not and sometimes his articulation is glaringly obvious.

Wow... I may be in the minority, but as an adult collector, I love every bit of the articulation, as well as the removable goodies (knives, walkies, pistols, etc...). I know that there is a place for less of these things, for the sake of little ones, but that being said, I'm not buying figures for children. I love the figures that have the mobility of the POC Wave 3 Snake-Eyes and such. That being said, I would not stop buying figures if they reduced some of the articulation, but if they go back to the 5-point bodies that the new Iron Man 3 figures appear to be going with, I'm not spending a fortune on them (I may purchase figures with superior head sculpts or something like that, which would be for customs only, but otherwise would pass). I think that Hasbro has a good thing going with the multiple lines of Star Wars, of which the Vintage Collection I am pleased with... The other lines (Clone Wars, etc...) have been going in the direction of the child collector/toy, which is fine. I would love to see Joe have multiple lines, to continue the Renegades/toon base character designs, the movie lines, as well as a series of figures based on the '80s and '90s figures. Again, they could make some of these less articulated for the smallest of Joes, while the more articulate ones could be for us "seasoned" Joes. This is just my two cents, and does not represent the views or opinions of JoeCustoms.com...

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