I’ve got a poll on the sidebar regarding whether, given the choice of one or the other on a (human) action figure, you would prefer double-jointed elbows or double-jointed knees.
I know which one I’d choose, and I’m going to talk about that in an upcoming post. But I’m curious: why do you prefer the one you chose?
DavetheBrave
It really depends, like most people have said. Arnold figures should always have the ball-elbow joint, to obscure his arm less. Spider-Man should have double-everything. Again, it depends.
CopperZeus
It depends on the character, but I think double elbows add pose-ability and expression to any figure. Double knees are nice for kneeling and crouching, but most of the time I want characters standing. Single knees get in sufficiently low positions for most characters. Double knees also rely on good ankle articulation in order to be useful.
TerminusTypeR
I'm a double knees guy too, generally. I pose my figures in kneeling poses a lot so they won't fall over. If it can't kneel (or doesn't come with a stand), then usually I buy a stand to hold it 'cause I'm paranoid about fragile, hard to replace things falling and smashing.
Agent 86
Elbows. Probably because I do more "posing" with the arms of a figure than I do with the legs.
Also, I like my action figures to be stable and easily able to support their own weight in a standing position and I've generally found that single knees provide a stronger base for "standing" figures.
BUT, I do believe that double knees "look" more natural than double elbows.
Josh
I'd prefer three joints.
Waaait.. Thats not what we're talking about.
Double jointed knees almost always trump double jointed elbows for me. The "kneel" test is something I often try with action figures. Most modern action figures pull off an adequate ninety degree bend with elbow joints. Which seems like plenty compared to a ninety degree knee bend.
DEADPOOLISTHEMAN316
it depends on the character. He-Man would benefit most with double elbows b/c he can then get the proper sword holding pose. As would characters like Hawkeye and Green Arrow. But that would also need double the articulation in the wrists to truly work too. Double knees are necessary for guys like Batman, where they would benefit most for those great crouching poses we want to emulate from the comics. If it came down to one or the other, I'd go with the knees since I'd find it more useful with most characters.
Mark
To get a MOTUC He-Man in a good pose with a sword would also require a less bulky chest piece.
clark
I would say almost always double-jointed knees would be more useful. One reason is because I think they're easier to incorporate into a sculpt than the elbow, another because if you have the double jointed knees you can still get plenty of dynamic poses with single-jointed elbows.
For my purposes, the elbows only come in handy if the character is an archer or something like that.
Dead Man Walking
Elbows–for holding 2-handed weapons, using bows and arrow, and other stuff.
Jay Taylor
I think it's more important on knees than elbows, though in most cases I would like it on both. However, I mainly collect Joes, and for the most part their elbows work great. Though, everything about Joe articulation works great, so that isn't too surprising.
The main reason I like double jointed knees is because I feel they look significantly more natural in different poses than single joint knees, whereas the Hasbro elbows might not give as good a range of motion, but they are good enough when done right, and they look fine.
Compare pretty much any DCUC figure versus an ML and the knees of the DCUC figure will only look decent if the figure's legs are locked. The moment you bend them at all the sculpt is ruined by the kneecap that is split in half. With double jointed knees, the joint actually looks like the human anatomy.
TheBloodyAwfulPoet
If I can't have both, then I vote knees. I realized dbl knees were more important during DCSH's heyday. There're a lot of DCSH that I would've considered definitive versions for me had they just had double knees. I would be perfectly content not to buy another superman ever again had the wave 1 figure had double knees.
slackrguy
Elbows. I've had bad luck with single jointed knees being weak so I'm concerned double-jointed knees would be twice as bad.
pemberto82
Does the character use any double-handed accessories? Double-jointed elbows. Does the character do deep stances? Double-jointed knees. Although, I would say that double-jointed knees are pretty useless without premium ankle-articulation. As much as I love the Hasbro rockers, they don't move forward very well.
ottospooky
Forget that for now… I think He-Man.org is about to go into meltdown…
clark
Hahaha. This is the funniest post I've seen since the announcement:
Great move! I'm about to order 11 subs!
This toy line is gonna make me some $$$$$ next year! Woohoo!!
MOTUC-4LIFE!
Poe Ghostal
Why? Did something new happen? Or is this about the Two-Bad announcement?
I still think the sub will go through.
ridureyu
"He-Man.org is about to go into meltdown" is a very safe prediction. Here are a few predictions with similar levels of certainty:
1. The next presidential election will involve mudslinging.
2. The sky is blue.
3. OAFE will remain very cool.
clark
It's about the two-bad announcement. I also think the sub will go through, you'll see a huge jump in subscriptions on the last day.
Mark
I prefer double jointed as it allows for better poses with weapons….but I prefer having both as long as they do not spoil the sculpt of the figure.
Monte
Both are important, but while I like the option of stepping and crawling poses, it's ultimately more likely that I'll photograph a figure from the waist-up rather than the waist-down, so articulation in the arms is essential.
Rancor84
I think it depends on the character. Since I’m usually posing them in an iconic stance for display, each character had different needs. I would have loved elbows on dutch so he could hold his weapons even better!
Ridureyu
Both are good, but I usually et more use out of double-jointed knees.
Ridureyu
Mostly because you can simulate a realistic human range of movement with single-jointed elbows far more easily than you can with single-jointed knees.
CRAZY POP QUIZ: Have any of you seen toys that have one single-jointed knee and one double-jointed knee?
The_Fun_has_been_Doubled
Depends on the figure. A Character like say, Spider-Man NEEDS double joints on elbows and knees vs someone like say, the Juggernaut
@StrongestMustac
what are the joints neca has on dutch and rambo? are they ball joints? i think i prefer those over double on elbows or knees