I've been thinking about this subject for the past week or so, just never got around to posting about it.
Mainly, my problem with Sideshow figures is with the females.
Female problem areas:
1) They need an hour glass shape.
The main problem is in the thighs, they are too thin and stick figure like.
They also need a larger upper torso. there's nothing wrong with the bust, just the thickness of the rib cage area.
2) They need thicker thighs.
This is a part of the whole hour glass shape thing. But they need to be a little thicker in most dimensions.
3) Thin spindly arms (they look like sticks)
The upper portion of the arm needs to be slightly thicker with a bit more shape to them. The lower arm could also use some help in the same way, they're too straight as it is now.
4) They need a But!
The lower back portion of the body is too flat, it just needs a little more junk in the trunk to look more realistic.
5) No more Boot Feet!
The main problem here is that boot feet often cause the ankles to be weaker then they would be with shoes. the softer boot material would also help them stand better and prevent them from sliding on surfaces. they also really don't help in customizing the female Sideshow body.
6) They need to be an average female height in 1:6 scale.
often times, Sideshow bodies are too tall to look like the average woman.
7) Joints need to be tighter.
They don't need to be immovable, they just need to be stiff enough to hold the figure's own wight.
8.) They need to be a little lighter.
Sideshow male and female bodies as they are, are too heavy. And when a figure has a sold plastic head, this makes them very heavy. I wouldn't want the head to be lighter because that means they would lose detail, so the body must be a bit lighter.
9.) The Ball jointed head needs more movement.
This is a problem that occurs on quite a few of them, looking up and down is essential to conveying character. But I wouldn't want a joint at the base of the neck, that would leave an ugly seam with plunging necklines, just a better designed ball joint at the top of the neck would suffice.
10) The legs need to be able to come closer together in the center.
I've noticed on newer Sideshow females that the legs leave a huge gap in the middle and don't meet at the knees. This is also part of the thigh problem.
11) More shape to the upper back.
I've noticed that my Sideshow females lack any real definition in the back area. This does not mean they need to look like body builders, just that they need some shoulder blades.
12) Better jointed ankles.
This joint has the most stress and weakens the quickest. It needs to be designed better. I like the movement you get on Blue Box Generation 3.5 ankles, maybe looking at them would help better this joint.
13) tighter Joints in the upper thigh twist joint.
I've noticed this joint on both male and Sideshow figures has a tendency to be very lose. Maybe by using a rubber gasket or a softer plastic would help prevent this joint from loosening up?
The following are just more like areas that would benefit from some advancements. Not that they are absolutely necessary to make the female figure perfect, but that they could possibly perfect the Sideshow body if done right.
-----Fewer joints.
Joints are an eye sore, but they are inevitable. The main problem is the extra joint at the waist. It's maybe a little unnecessary. They still need to bend forward, backward, side to side, and twist, just that the articulation line and gaps don't need to be visible. I like the way the joint at the upper torso on Female figures looks, just not the lower joint at the waist.
----Better designed hip articulation.
This is the biggest problem with female figures in general, not just Sideshow's females but the Takara (CY-Girls), Dragon, BBI (perfect body), Hot Toys, etc.. female figures. They need full articulation, but don't need any type of gap or joint line. I'm not suggesting that a soft cast type skin needs to be used to cover the gap, that stuff can breakdown over time. Just some type of innovation needs to be used. I like the perfect body type hips, but they have a ugly gap in between the legs. maybe using a similar type joint, but with something covering the gap in between the legs would work? I'm sure the people at Sideshow could perfect it. If not, just use the standard hip joint but perhaps with less of a gap showing where the leg meets the hip.
----Less opaque color.
I've noticed that the slight transparency of the plastic on CY-Girls figures causes the joints to be less visible by allowing light to inter the joint area and defuse the shadow there. They don't need to be completely transparent, they need some color.
I'll chime in later about my thoughts on the Sideshow male body.....
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I just looked over the Sideshow male body this weekend. here are 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 of a 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 range of movement, 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.
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 real human being. Also, this is a spot that has quite a bit of stress and actually bows the 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" joint pieces from the front of the joints on the arms and the back of the knees. This needs to be more streamlined. I shouldn't be able to see the "elbow piece" 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 I guess it's unavoidable.
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 aspect.
7) Needs slightly 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.
(Note: This was written way before Sideshow got the Star Wars license)
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 incredibly 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 specifically 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.
(that needed to be super glued/lit with a lighter to plump it up so it can stick in/taped/whatever to get that arm to stay in)
