Question about FTC/CTVT Deluxe Muscle Bodies

[TheVintageToyKid]

Hi everyone,

I know the "Deluxe" muscle bodies available at CTVT are advertised in some places as a means of upgrading figures like Hulk, Thing, etc. Now, clearly these bodies have better articulation than the vintage muscle bodies did, but does anyone know for sure if they have added height so these aforementioned figures can actually be on par with their Mego counterparts and not shorter?

I am thinking on upgrading or even customizing, but want to make sure the new bodies are indeed taller.

I have purchased large, muscle bodies from Doctor Mego in the past and they are great. I am just curious if these other deluxe bodies are similar in scale.

Thanks!

[monitor_ep]

Well I have bought a few and they are taller than the Hulk.
Svengoolie presents Valley of the Dragons 02.jpg

[thunderbolt]

Well I have bought a few and they are taller than the Hulk.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]32754[/ATTACH]

Hey where's the dinosaur from? Looks like Titanus Doug from Godzilla VS Kong

[monitor_ep]

The purple dino is from the DC Comics version He-Man. He was Joker beast.

[Mego Milk]

they are taller than the Hulk yes!
I like them.

[TheVintageToyKid]

Thank you!

[scott metzger]

THey are on par with the Doc Mego bodies for height. They do have a few issues with the arms liking to push forward and the wrist and knee joints not looking so great, but they do have the basic Mego articulation the original doesn't.

[KingKickass1983]

I wonder how the Mattel Retro Darkseid head and costume would look on this body...

[ToyBob]

I just got one recently, didn't notice it was taller than the original. CTVT has some quality issues based on my first impressions, fair warning, but that type was one of the better ones I got.
Think I need to file down the wrist parts some and restring the arms since they are pointing in weird directions(Free karate kung fu action lol.) just as fault examples. Other than that a solid figure body.

Although you probably want it in green though unless you want to paint?
https://www.worldsgreatestsuperheroe...-action-figure

[scott metzger]

Yeah, the construction of the figure is wonky. The shoulder holes are too small for the arm's shoulder joints; I think the lack of friction helps create that "kung fu action." Fixing those doesn't completely alleviate the problem, though. I've gotten them to work fairly well by connecting the arms together straight across through the body and then jerry-rigging the leg bands to connect to a wire through the back. It's fine if the figure has a costume to cover the back, but won't work if the back is bare.

[ToyBob]

Yeah, the construction of the figure is wonky. The shoulder holes are too small for the arm's shoulder joints; I think the lack of friction helps create that "kung fu action." Fixing those doesn't completely alleviate the problem, though. I've gotten them to work fairly well by connecting the arms together straight across through the body and then jerry-rigging the leg bands to connect to a wire through the back. It's fine if the figure has a costume to cover the back, but won't work if the back is bare.

Hmm I'll have to try those methods. Mine are pretty wonky, the arms are not parallel at all.

Actually have a lot of banding issues in the CTVT bodies I bought, most seem way too tight, like the bands are short. Most of the defects didn't bother me since I was going to play with the bands anyway and explore bandless modifications. Be a lot easier if everybody used screws instead of glued torsos ijs.

One I had to ask for replacement on was the shorter Teen body they sell, one shoulder dome was recessed from bad molding so the arm wouldn't stay in the socket since the band pulls downwards. They said they'd send a new one in my next order so that's good.

[scott metzger]

I did try something a little different with the muscle body over the weekend. I removed all the metal parts from the shoulder, widened the shoulder holes a bit for a better fit, and then just strung the elastic through the slit in the shoulder around the metal pin going through. Basically connects the arm and opposite leg like usual. but it majorly cuts down on the arms wanting to jut forward. They still move a bit funny up and down, but it's a big improvement. I think the problem is the construction of the metal piece going into the shoulder slit; the fact that it's in an "L" shape rather than a straight piece throws the arm's balance off, combined with the lack of any friction because the shoulder hole in the torso is too small. In the normal hook assembly of a Mego type 2, the center of the hook that holds the arm lines up with where the bottom of the hook attaches to the rubber band; it's all centered nicely. Not the case with the CTVT muscle body.

[ToyBob]

I did try something a little different with the muscle body over the weekend. I removed all the metal parts from the shoulder, widened the shoulder holes a bit for a better fit, and then just strung the elastic through the slit in the shoulder around the metal pin going through. Basically connects the arm and opposite leg like usual. but it majorly cuts down on the arms wanting to jut forward. They still move a bit funny up and down, but it's a big improvement. I think the problem is the construction of the metal piece going into the shoulder slit; the fact that it's in an "L" shape rather than a straight piece throws the arm's balance off, combined with the lack of any friction because the shoulder hole in the torso is too small. In the normal hook assembly of a Mego type 2, the center of the hook that holds the arm lines up with where the bottom of the hook attaches to the rubber band; it's all centered nicely. Not the case with the CTVT muscle body.

Not sure how to remove the metal parts from the shoulder but I see the L-shape matter and I could probably widen the hole, a lot of flash in there anyway. Thinking I might cut the metal end off and drill a new hook hole, or perhaps just flatten it.

Yeah I'm not sure why they reinvent these bodies so often, confusing when it looks like a Type-2 but doesn't operate like one.

[scott metzger]

Not sure how to remove the metal parts from the shoulder but I see the L-shape matter and I could probably widen the hole, a lot of flash in there anyway. Thinking I might cut the metal end off and drill a new hook hole, or perhaps just flatten it.

Yeah I'm not sure why they reinvent these bodies so often, confusing when it looks like a Type-2 but doesn't operate like one.

You can actually push out the metal pin in the shoulder holding the metal piece in place (similar to a Max FX or Mego Flash Gordon). It actually pops out a lot easier than I expected. THe metal piece with the L hook will then just slide right out. Then you loop the elastic into the slot and carefully re-insert the pin (and try not to catch the elastic between the pin and the opposite hole). If the elastic loops around the pin as planned, it allows the arm to not only move up and down, but also out a good bit.