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Okay, had a chance to open up the Megos I got off the website last night and get a good look at them, specifically the new bodies. A bit of a mixed bag, but some moves in a good direction on some counts.
The 8" female body: This one is the most mixed bag; they solved one old problem but created a new one in the process. Said old problem is the heights of the old figures; both male and female were the same height. That meant the minute you put the slightest heel on the female foot, the ladies were taller than the guys. Kelly Garrett in her heels is about dead even with Fonzie, which is a welcome change. The new problem is that they took all of the extra height out of the torso. The result is a noticeably truncated trunk and legs that look overly long. If they are planning to redesign the bodies for post-Target figures, I think they just need to even it out a little; add a little to the torso and chop a little from the legs (probably not much, somewhere around 1/4"). The other problem is the shoulders; the arm sinks into the shoulder socket, giving the figure a weird, round shouldered look. The arms on the Kelly I looked at are actually bowed and curved; if they were straight, the arms would stick out at an angle. A simple change so the arm sits just into the shoulder joint like the old Megos (and most modern action figures) would fix it completely. The changes to the neck, even though you lose some posability, actually look good and more natural; it looks like she actually has a collar bone. Really, if they just fix the truncated trunk and the shoulder joint, the body should be exactly what we need.
The 8" male body: only real problem is that wonky left hip sticking out. The new neck assembly is going to take getting used to, but I honestly think it's a superior construction compared to the originals. With this, there's no torn neck plugs, and no chance that the lip on the bottom of the neck is too thin, making the head fit into the neck hole crooked. Nice heft to them, they feel solid. Knees look a little tricky, but nothing came out broken, so that might not be a problem. So fix the left hip and they're fine.
The 14" female body: Wonder Woman is my example here. Head is a tad big, but not horrendous. The body avoids the problems of the 8" version, but has one major problem in the mid-torso joint. There's a huge gap in there, and, while it's covered by the costume, it's not hidden by the costume. The gap is so pronounced the costume actually gets sucked in, making it very noticeable. That's really the only trouble with the design; it's very close to the old Cy Girls/Cool Girls from the late 90's/early 2000's, and the articulation doesn't make the exposed parts of the figure look like a marionette. That gap is the only flaw I see in the figure.
THe 14" male body: Didn't have a chance to really look at the Zod I picked up; I had to pack him right back up when i realized the right side of his top wasn't stitched together. I did get a good look at the neck and the problem is pretty clear: he has two of them. There's a full neck coming down from the head, and another full neck coming up from the torso. This is what's causing the giraffe appearance. I think the only way to fix it is to re-do the torso and eliminate that neck; it's the only way of shortening the neck without making the whole figure shorter. I was also a little baffled by the...dainty hands. They seem small and I'm not sure what the gesture is supposed to be conveying; it's not a really natural, relaxed pose. I looked at them and thought, "Is Zod getting ready to sit down and play the piano?" Didn't have a chance to glean much more from him before putting him back in the box.
So, it's cool to have Mego back. There are a few glitches, some of which I think can be chalked up to a fast roll-out without as much time to tweak things as they might have liked, but the few major problems are all fixable down the road, and the figures look good. Near perfect is not out of reach.
The 8" female body: This one is the most mixed bag; they solved one old problem but created a new one in the process. Said old problem is the heights of the old figures; both male and female were the same height. That meant the minute you put the slightest heel on the female foot, the ladies were taller than the guys. Kelly Garrett in her heels is about dead even with Fonzie, which is a welcome change. The new problem is that they took all of the extra height out of the torso. The result is a noticeably truncated trunk and legs that look overly long. If they are planning to redesign the bodies for post-Target figures, I think they just need to even it out a little; add a little to the torso and chop a little from the legs (probably not much, somewhere around 1/4"). The other problem is the shoulders; the arm sinks into the shoulder socket, giving the figure a weird, round shouldered look. The arms on the Kelly I looked at are actually bowed and curved; if they were straight, the arms would stick out at an angle. A simple change so the arm sits just into the shoulder joint like the old Megos (and most modern action figures) would fix it completely. The changes to the neck, even though you lose some posability, actually look good and more natural; it looks like she actually has a collar bone. Really, if they just fix the truncated trunk and the shoulder joint, the body should be exactly what we need.
The 8" male body: only real problem is that wonky left hip sticking out. The new neck assembly is going to take getting used to, but I honestly think it's a superior construction compared to the originals. With this, there's no torn neck plugs, and no chance that the lip on the bottom of the neck is too thin, making the head fit into the neck hole crooked. Nice heft to them, they feel solid. Knees look a little tricky, but nothing came out broken, so that might not be a problem. So fix the left hip and they're fine.
The 14" female body: Wonder Woman is my example here. Head is a tad big, but not horrendous. The body avoids the problems of the 8" version, but has one major problem in the mid-torso joint. There's a huge gap in there, and, while it's covered by the costume, it's not hidden by the costume. The gap is so pronounced the costume actually gets sucked in, making it very noticeable. That's really the only trouble with the design; it's very close to the old Cy Girls/Cool Girls from the late 90's/early 2000's, and the articulation doesn't make the exposed parts of the figure look like a marionette. That gap is the only flaw I see in the figure.
THe 14" male body: Didn't have a chance to really look at the Zod I picked up; I had to pack him right back up when i realized the right side of his top wasn't stitched together. I did get a good look at the neck and the problem is pretty clear: he has two of them. There's a full neck coming down from the head, and another full neck coming up from the torso. This is what's causing the giraffe appearance. I think the only way to fix it is to re-do the torso and eliminate that neck; it's the only way of shortening the neck without making the whole figure shorter. I was also a little baffled by the...dainty hands. They seem small and I'm not sure what the gesture is supposed to be conveying; it's not a really natural, relaxed pose. I looked at them and thought, "Is Zod getting ready to sit down and play the piano?" Didn't have a chance to glean much more from him before putting him back in the box.
So, it's cool to have Mego back. There are a few glitches, some of which I think can be chalked up to a fast roll-out without as much time to tweak things as they might have liked, but the few major problems are all fixable down the road, and the figures look good. Near perfect is not out of reach.
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