Someone please refresh my memory...the ARAH style comic book 3 pack figures had forearms made of a soft (er) plastic so as to prevent thumb breakage didnt they? Or was that another subset?

Pretty much all of the 2000-on ARAH-style releases had softer plastic. The only exceptions are some of the convention figures (the Black Dragon Troopers and most of the 2008 releases come to mind).

Ahh thank you

Was the plastic simply softer or were the hands completely flexible and able to be bent without breaking?

Most of them bend pretty well without breaking. I just came across a Big Brawler yesterday and realized that he is a very fine example of the difference because you can pull the flashlight off his leg and put it in his hand. It fits in there easily and doesn't break.

The reason that the comic packs caused such controversy is that the little rubber bands holding the guns secure in the package were so tight that the hands were disfigured right out of the package. Some hot water usually cleared it right up though.

Thank you Notpicard for the insight. With all of the 1:18th figures available these days ive come full circle to appreciating the ARAH style (specifically the height) more. It seems the comic packs are almost perfect ARAH style figures considering the forearms / hands are made of a plastic type that is flexible enough to prevent thumbs from snapping. Had the arms used plastic rivets theyd be perfect ARAH figures.

Personally, I'd call it softER plastic, without it being really rubbery. It was mostly intended to allow the fingers and thumb to move a bit to better grip weaponry without the risk of breaking. As stated, it did have the occasional ill side effect of the fact that the tightly-wrapped transparent rubber bands (second only to plastic coated wire twist-ties in the annoyance department) would sometimes leave a permanent impression. However, that might still be regarded as preferable to broken thumbs.

Thanks for the clarification Trekker. In my mind when i say "flexible " or " "rubber like" i think of the arms of the Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 3/4 "Commando" movie action figures from the 1980's .