Why bendy hands are an important accessory. Please consider, Sideshow.

[JustinLuck]

I think we all pretty much agree that Sideshow produces the most detailed, sculpted hands in the 1/6 market. They got even better when they made them from a slightly softer material, starting with Jedi Luke.

But even with these great hands, I'm sure that all of us, at one time or another, have wished for a 'left grip' hand (ala Kit Fisto) or another hand gesture that didn't come in the box. Or maybe the hand did have the certain gesture, but the finger placement just wasn't quite right to hold the accessory properly. That is where importance of bendy hands comes into play.

Sure, bendy hands don't have quite as much detail. But they more than make up for that in their versatility. Even if Sideshow sold two or three pairs of sculpted hands with their figures, they would never satisfy all possible posing situations. With bendy hands, Sideshow can stick with producing one or two pairs of hands, and let bendy hands do the rest. Another nice feature of bendy hands is that they feel slightly rubbery, so they naturally grib objects very nicely.

I know some of you have had bad experiences with bendy hands, and I'd love to read your opinions on them. For me, they don't seem them fragile or look too fake. They serve their purpose well for what they are.

In fact, in some respects, I think they can look better than sculpted hands, because the fingers can conform around the objects and still look natural if positioned properly.

Sideshow please consider bendy hands as an extra accessory with your figures. I'd love to hear Sideshow artists' thoughts on these. And Andy, you are always welcome to comment!

Here are just a few examples of bendy hands in action:

 

[pixletwin]

Those hands look pretty terrible.. sort of like Mickey Mouse hands.

 

[Shai]

Yuck..I dont want bendy hands..its looks goofy..besides who wants to make his figures flip the finger...

 

[JustinLuck]

That is only because they have no paint on them. No paint, no detail, hence they will look a bit shiny and cartoonish. A very thin coat of paint can fix that anyway. But they certainly don't look oversized if that is what you're implying. Detail isn't even that necessary. For one thing, Sideshow production paint jobs already have a cartoonish look to them. Also, from any normal distance, the bendy hands look natural.

Personally, I've never been too impressed with Sideshow's production paint job on the hands. I always thought Skinners hands looked more fitting on a zombie figure than a 40-something FBI agent.

 

[JustinLuck]

Yuck..I dont want bendy hands..its looks goofy..besides who wants to make his figures flip the finger...

Shai, that's not what this is about. It's about having choices. Personally, I think it's goofy that Skinner always has to have strange looking grip hands. Or how Luke only has a gloved grip and can never show his hand in a relaxed state.

 

[EVILFACE]

Mickey Mouse hands

What happens when the wire breaks and you have a pinky sticking out all the time

 

[dekadentdave]

Yuck..I dont want bendy hands..its looks goofy..besides who wants to make his figures flip the finger...

or The Finger of Doom!

 

[King Darkness]

I have never been a fan of "bendy hands". They are almost always to large for the body and look odd. Unless they are on a large body like the HT Predators they look strange. If SS could get "bendy hands" down to the size of thier current hands then maybe, but the current ones on the market are far to large.

 

[screamingmetal]

Hot Toys does give you a choice between bendy and regular pre-posed hands, and every time I chuck the bendy hands into the parts bin. They never look as good as pre-posed hands.

 

[JustinLuck]

How easily do the wires break?

 

[galactiboy]

I guess I wouldn't mind if they were offered as an additional set, but I would not want them instead of additional posed hands and certainly wouldn't pay more for them. At one time I preferred them for the poseability options, but they almost always look akward since they curl instead of bend at a joint and paint doesn't work since the bending would cause flaking. Also bendy hands are not good at holding heavier objects. I have a few figures with metal and wood accessories and the bendy hands don't hold poses when something is heavier than plastic.

I'm good with Sideshows hands since the poses are typically pretty versatile and I'm very happy that they have begun adding swappable hands with more of their figures!

 

[JustinLuck]

Bendy hands give realism in a way sculpted hands can't. They can conform to objects.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Nope, not interested. The detailed hand sculpts is one area where SSC is superior to all the other companies. The bendy hands don't hold paint and look far less realistic. I'd rather have multiple sets of hands like we're getting with the SW figures.

 

[JustinLuck]

I have never been a fan of "bendy hands". They are almost always to large for the body and look odd. Unless they are on a large body like the HT Predators they look strange. If SS could get "bendy hands" down to the size of thier current hands then maybe, but the current ones on the market are far to large.

The HT bendy hands are actually slightly smaller than Sideshow sculpted hands.

 

[EVILFACE]

And SS looks realistic.

Justin, I think you just need to start your own toy company and make your own figures.

 

[Sachiel]

Sideshow's have been fine as long as they give the right amount for the right poses. The problem is they're oversized (like the heads). And they're pretty detailed.

 

[King Darkness]

The HT bendy hands are actually slightly smaller than Sideshow sculpted hands.

They are slightly smaller in length, but they are thick and pudgy. They look swollen.

 

[creecher]

Pass on the bendy hands. They spoil any possible realism a figure has. Sideshow rools. If there's a way to make them look real, I hope Sideshow finds it first.

 

[dekadentdave]

If this thread had included a poll, I think an overwhelming majority would be oppossed to bendy hands.

 

[JustinLuck]

How many here actually own bendy hands?