NoisyDVL5 of ItsAllTrue.net has posted an interesting update to his DCUC ball-joint neck post, showing that the double barbell peg used for earlier waves has been replaced by a triple barbell peg that’s anchored in the chest. This appears to be the cause of the disappearing DCUC ball joint neck. I’m going to post about it here, but all credit goes to Noisy for chasing this story, and you should be sure to read his post.

I’m not entirely clear on why this is limiting the neck articulation–how does the number of barbells make a difference? Isn’t the head just supposed to slide around on the top ball? If that’s the case, the problem should be too little distance between the top of the neck and the bottom of the head (due either to the peg being too low, the bottom of the head being too tight around the peg hole, or the peg hole being drilled too deep into the head).

Whatever the reason, it appears Mr. Terrific’s head works fine on Robotman’s body, so NoisyDVL5 may be on to something here.

The most worrying part of all of this is that not only is it showing up more and more on DCUC figures, but Mattel seems to not only be aware of the issue, but possibly doing it intentionally. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get on board with those very cynical collectors who believe Mattel is deliberately trying to scuttle DCUC, but weird, disappointing problems like the amazing disappearing ball-jointed necks are just inexcusable in a $14 action figure.