Marvel Legends Maximum Series

This is all somewhat related to Max Series because I thought sticking with butterfly joints was a huge letdown.
I received a Max Spidey yesterday (held off but saw a good deal, so I buckled). The shoulders are what keeps it from being a great figure, IMO. After collecting a lot of MAFEX this year, I've been spoiled with the vertical ROM of the shoulders that give those figures a more natural look.
 
So today after much mental back and forth and watching reviews for several weeks I decided to cancel my Gamestop preorder for Maximum Spider-Man. I just really love the Retro Spidey and he is my favorite Spider-Man version. He looks like the Spider-Man of my childhood in the'70s body wise. His butterfly shoulder range is waaay better going back and he hits the poses I need him too. I just don't need all the accessories and there is so much stuff coming out I want that I don't want to spend the $50.00. It doesn't help that Gamestop has no idea when it's coming in.
 
I might have settled on the Renew Your Vows or even the retro, if not for that barbell neck set up that leaves a massive gap making it look like the head is hanging by a thread to the body. Maximum fixed that.
 
I might have settled on the Renew Your Vows or even the retro, if not for that barbell neck set up that leaves a massive gap making it look like the head is hanging by a thread to the body. Maximum fixed that.
It's baffling that that was something that needed to be fixed in the first place. Someone in charge looked at that neck set up and said, "This is good enough".

ML is still trying to figure out double ball pegs to this day.
 
Looking at some good pose pics of Maximum Hulk makes me want to pick him up, but I just can't do it at $60. If he drops to $40 I'll take the plunge, or look for him loose/used someday.

I think I'm one of the few people who loves all the heads, even the big teeth goonish looking one. It's creepy and monstrous in a certain way—how I want him if he's fighting my MAFEX Wolvie or Spidey.

I don't have a Hulk in the collection, so the redundancy of parts doesn't bother me as much, but the range on some of those joints is rough. I wonder if MAFEX is gonna showcase a Hulk this summer. Mezco's will likely be at SDCC, I think. I'm suspicious that Maximum Hulk may have been a rush job to get it out before the premium companies make definitive versions of the character. They'll be more for sure, but if you bought a MAFEX, you'd likely not bother with a Maximum, unless you have money to burn.
 
If I didn't have a Hulk already in my collection this would be an easy pick-up for me, honestly. I just don't want him because he feels redundant with the ML 20th anniversary figure I already have.
 
I might have settled on the Renew Your Vows or even the retro, if not for that barbell neck set up that leaves a massive gap making it look like the head is hanging by a thread to the body. Maximum fixed that.

That barbell and floating head ruined the figure for me from day one. Flipped it at a price that covered my Maximum and then some

And when the guy came to pick it up and we got to talking as usually happens, he was baffled that I could ever give this figure up. Then I showed him the floating head. You could see him rethink things but I had already pocketed the money.
 
ML is still trying to figure out double ball pegs to this day.
If you look at an import like say Mafex Spider-Man the peg in the neck is much thinner and seated much higher in the neck. Hasbro sinks theirs so low into the neck, the opening at the neck is so small, and the peg is much thicker.. I think it's a safety standard issue first and foremost.
 
If it's a safety standard then it's an internal mandate. The little hands and such they include with figures are just as small, if not smaller, than the joint and already are a choking hazard. I think they just sink it so low in the sculpt to keep it from coming out with the head creating a QC issue they don't want to deal with when people can't properly swap the heads. Plenty of companies are able to figure that part out though, they just don't want to spend the time and money on doing it since it's not likely something that impacts their bottom line.
 
Plenty of companies are able to figure that part out though, they just don't want to spend the time and money on doing it since it's not likely something that impacts their bottom line.
You got it.
It's not a safety issue. There's labels for choking hazards. Swapable fists are standard and can be choked on. On GI Joes, half of them have weapons with removable ammo clips and barrels.
 
I keep waiting for Best Buy to cancel my Hulk order. It's currently "delayed". I got in on the $50 deal before they price corrected, and I don't think they're going to honor it.
 
If it's a safety standard then it's an internal mandate. The little hands and such they include with figures are just as small, if not smaller, than the joint and already are a choking hazard. I think they just sink it so low in the sculpt to keep it from coming out with the head creating a QC issue they don't want to deal with when people can't properly swap the heads. Plenty of companies are able to figure that part out though, they just don't want to spend the time and money on doing it since it's not likely something that impacts their bottom line.

Which other companies that market to kids have figured it out? Jada has, but I've seen the others struggle with it as well. Does McFarlane do any better? All the swappable heads I'm seen from them barely move, but I haven't bought much of that line.

I don't really see the safety issue either, but I'm not an engineer. I've heard Ryan or Dan say in interviews that it's their safety QC standards that make the neck ball joint difficult to design well, but they didn't appear to know the specific reason for it either. Dwight probably knows since he talks to the engineers, but I've never heard him discuss neck ball joint design yet.
 
I keep waiting for Best Buy to cancel my Hulk order. It's currently "delayed". I got in on the $50 deal before they price corrected, and I don't think they're going to honor it.
I'm in the same boat. I have one sitting in my Pile of Loot at BBTS just in case, but $10 is $10. If I don't get the Best Buy deal, I might just walk away from the figure. I already have the Toy Biz 20th anniversary tribute Hulk and might just end up sticking with that.
 
I'm in the same boat. I have one sitting in my Pile of Loot at BBTS just in case, but $10 is $10. If I don't get the Best Buy deal, I might just walk away from the figure. I already have the Toy Biz 20th anniversary tribute Hulk and might just end up sticking with that.

Deep Discount has him for $54, plus don't they always have 10% discount promos on top of that? That's a backup if Best Buy falls through. Mine is on order there, but they don't have him in stock yet.

 
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