Re: Better Sideshow male body.
I just looked over the Sideshow male body this weekend. I have found several major problems that need to be remedied.
Sideshow male body problems:
1) Very ugly hip joints.
these are the worst hip joints I have seen. there is waaaay to much gap between top of the thigh and the pelvis. This needs to be fixed badly. I've noticed that my Sideshow figure's hips are also looser because of this joint. And fixing it doesn't mean it loses movement range, Dragon's basic body has quite a bit of a range of movement, and still looks more aesthetically pleasing.
2) Clunky joint articulation.
On most of the joints, specifically the shoulder joint at the upper torso, and thorax joint, they are very clunky and awkward. the range of movement is stifled because I have to force the joint to move which clunks around until it's in the right position. Also, the waist joint is severely limited from twisting left and right.This needs to be fixed pronto.
3) The knees are smaller in thickness then the elbows!
This is very weird but the knees on Sideshow figures are too thin in thickness, the elbows are thicker about the right thickness. The knees are always thicker then the elbows on a human being. also, this is a spot that has quite a bit of stress and actually bowl legs from the wight of the figure. Make the knees thicker then the elbows in all dimensions and you have a winner.
4) Needs smoother, No gap, better designed knee and elbow joints.
I've noticed that the Sideshow elbow and knee joints have a big gap showing the kneecap/"elbow cap" from the front of the arm and the back of the knee. this needs to be more streamlined. I shouldn't be able to see the "elbow cap" of the double jointed elbow joint from the front of the arm. This needs to be re-sculpted/designed so it just has a bit of a seam between the upper arm and lower arm at the joint. also, the forms of these joints should flow into one another more seamlessly, if Dragon can have smother looking elbows so can Sideshow.
5) Ugly second joint in forearm.
This joint needs to be someplace else, preferably closer to the wrist. getting rid of it all together would mean a new type of wrist joint. If a better wrist joint could be made similar to the wrist joints on Blue Box G3.5 wrists, and still have the same great Sideshow hand sculpting, then do it. If the hand sculpting would suffer, then keep it.
6) Better ball jointed head.
When I looked at the Blue Box G3.5 heads range of movement, it had far superior range of movement and could convey a great deal of expression. The lower neck joint at the base of the neck on the Blue Box G3.5 bodies is ugly, so don't copy that one.
7) Needs thicker calves.
the calves on Sideshow figures is just a little too thin. When you fix the thickness of the knee joints, the calves will just need to be made a little thicker then they are now.
8.) Ugly sculpted abdominal muscles!
What were you thinking Sideshow? these look ridiculous. They need to be re-sculpted smother with less definition. It would also be better to even out the asymmetry you have going on right now with these abdominal muscles while your at it. I don't have any problems with the muscles on the chest, they look great to me, just those ugly abs on the stomach. Also, while your at it, there are some lines on the back of the abdominal piece, directly opposite of the ugly abs that need to be smoothed out as well.
9) Needs more seamless wrists.
The wrists look too ugly as they are. they need to be smother and less unsightly. I love the hand sculpts Sideshow does and wouldn't want the redesign to interfere with Sideshow's great looking hand sculpts, or the artists inability to sculpt new ones because of a new wrist joint.
10) Needs better designed wrist pins.
The Pins that hold the hands on have to be redesigned so they aren't as flimsy and breakable. The way they are now makes it difficult to switch out hands, so they need a better more sturdy design.
11) Better designed torso articulation (the shoulder joint on the upper torso, waist, and mid thorax joints).
Besides the chunkiness of the joint that I mentioned before, these joints don't have a very good range of movement. I like the shoulder cups that allow the arms to move further forward and backward, but they are difficult to move. they need to have a smoother, easer range of motion. whatever you do, DO NOT copy the shoulder joint on the Blue Box G3.5 body, that one is uber ugly! For the mid thorax articulation, I would like a joint similar to DC Direct's mid thorax joint. It's the one Marvel developed for their Marvel Legends figures. Using that joint with a better ball jointed waist joint would be perfect! Because the way they are now, Sideshow males can't bend forward at the waist! The Waist joint does need a better ball type joint with a greater range of movement.
12) Make the body lighter!
The body is too heavy as it is, make the body lighter and it would make everything better.
13) A better sculpted butt.
The butt on males is too flat, and the cheeks need to be just a little bigger.
- Just a suggestion that isn't a necessity, how about making the plastic slightly less opaque to allow light into the joint to defuse the shadows?
That's all the problems I could find on the Sideshow male this weekend. I might have some more I'll post here latter. I really hope Sideshow is listening and I'm not just wasting my time!
