Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Sci-fi Revoltech Skeleton Army Part 4

Can that be called cheating?

A look at Sci-fi Revoltech Skeleton Army's articulation design after the previous posting. ^^



Suffice it to say, only the mandible and wrist joints on Skeleton Army use no Revoltech joints for their articulation, while the rest of the figure's movable components utilize small-sized Revoltech joints. Instead of leaving just that conclusive remark, I think it would be very interesting to see how the figure handles its joints given its unique hollow design. ^^



Vertical and horizontal tilts can be done very easily.
The neck features two Revoltech joints for the head's movement, and since there's no collar of any sort to restrict the joints' movements, the head's movement is pretty much unrestricted. ^^


Like the half-skeletal figure shown in Part 2, the mandible moves via hinge joints.


Very wide shoulder articulation range since there's zero attachment of any sort on Skeleton Army's shoulders to block such movement. ^^


Very human-like near 90-degree bend for the elbow joint.


Hinge joints allow the default pair of palms on the figure to fold inward/outward.
The weapon type hand units shown in Part 2 have a vertical hinge joints allowing them to bend upward/downward instead.


Much like the neck, the lower spine has two Revoltech joints that connect to the upper spine and pelvis respectively.
Like having separate Revoltech joints embedded inside the chest and waist on other Revoltech figures, the torso will enjoy a wide range of articulation because of the two joints, but that movement is even greater for Skeleton Army, since its abdomen is completely hollow. ^^


Side-to-side movements are too easy and unrestricted.


The lower body is powered by Revoltech joints for all its movable components. ^^


Due to the femur's design at the hip joint, expanding the legs outward is quite limited. There's no problem for the opposite bend though. ^^


Due to the way it's connected to the pelvis, the hip joint allows the femur to swivel slightly backward.


Standard design for the knee's movement range I would say.



Unrestricted Revoltech movement for the ankle joints. ^^




Capitalizing on the freedom of movement provided by all the leg joints, kneeling is a piece of cake when ...


... the figure can be shown sitting with its knees pulled up to its chest and arms folded wrapped around them. ^^



The hollow center of the display base is a perfect sitting spot for the figure. ^^


Even sitting with its legs crossed is mighty easy to adjust for the figure.



Pretty much sums up Skeleton Army's flexibility in its articulation design right there. ^^

Strictly speaking, the articulation design is just normal for Skeleton Army, but due to its "void" of its body and bony (literally) limbs, all the joints have pretty much unlimited movement range. ^^ Such flexibility is limited on other Revoltech figures that have the same joint design, mainly because their movable parts often face restriction from the collars, chest, shoulder armors, skirt armors, ankle guards or whatever design features commonly found on characters, mecha or human alike. In that sense, it's not the joints that make Skeleton Army move well, but its own unique design. ^^

Such flexibility in articulation reminds me of Woody, another entry in the Sci-fi Revoltech line. However, as compared to Woody, Skeleton Army's design is more anatomically correct. XD

Some action poses of Skeleton Army after the introduction on its articulation design:


With support using Soul Stage Act 3 Action Support Clear Type.












Bony limbs may be great for articulation, but poor support from its tiny feet for any pose other than standing straight is a disadvantage of the figure. ^^; It's as expected, but a disadvantage nonetheless. A display stand is absolutely needed to support Skeleton Army's action poses. ^^

More action poses from Sci-fi Revoltech Skeleton Army coming up in the next posting. ^^

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