An answer to some Fan email

We had someone send in an email to us and we thought it was a pretty important question that he was answering and not only did he deserve an answer but that answer should be provided to everyone as else as well.

Fernando Flores writes to us as asks:

“I have a question about your seekers. They look quite nice, but I am a bit concerned about the joints and stability… How many of the joints are ratchets?! I usually favor rachet joints over friction due to strength and durability. Thank you.”

A response was provided to Fernando and that response is also provided here for others to read as well.

“Thank you for your message and your concerns.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to using ratchets in joints and we have been looking at all the positives and the negatives of each variation.

While ratchets do give you that super nice click feel when manipulating them and offers the feeling of quality, the biggest problem with ratchets is that over time the teeth of the ratchet will wear out and that is even more prevalent when you have a joint that requires regular manipulation due to transformation. If you wear a ratchet to the point of taking out the teeth then there is usually nothing left to keep the figure in certain positions as ratchets are designed to have very little friction to the ABS plastic sounding the joint structure. This means that long term play may not be recommended with certain styles of ratchet joints and since MAAS really is all about the play value we really need to be conscious and aware of these decisions.

Friction joints, when designed properly do have a very long shelf life and have a lot of play value as well. Using a ball joint or a universal joint on a figure allows for a much larger range of articulation and thereby giving the figure an even larger range of emotions available as you are not hindered by the ‘clicks’ of the ratchet and then maybe limited to straight leg or A-Stance positions when trying to pose and play with a figure. A ratchet joint also means that for transformation the ratchet must be in the exact correct position when transforming or certain parts and pieces may not align properly and can lead to breakage a lot easier.

Friction joints when designed properly use not just ABS plastic but a harder material they call POM. When you combine a joint with ABS and POM it has a much longer wear time to the joint due to the strength of the POM material. You can also line joints with a more rubbery type of plastic like a Polyurethane. This will give the joints a good tight fit and allow you to keep a tightness over a long period of time as the pressure from the surrounding plastic presses the part into the polyurethane and since this does not cause wear, the joint will stay tight for a good long time.

There are many different types of joints on the Renegade figure as we are currently discussing options and viability with the factory for different types of joints and what are the best options for good tight joints combined with a long lasting wear factor.

We hope this answers your question at this time. Once we have confirmed certain directions we may need to redo some of the 3d model to accommodate different joint structures before we go right into the molding process. Continue to watch our Facebook and our page www.maastoys.com for further updates regarding our Renegade production.”

We hope this answers that question to the best of our ability at this time and helps to be clear everything that goes into creating a figure that not only looks good on a shelf but has the construction to last the test of time as well.

Remember, if anyone does have any questions regarding this or any of our items they are more than welcome to contact us at info@maastoys.com or use the contact us page here on our site. Even if we don’t answer right away, your questions and concerns are important to us and we will do our utmost best to get you the answers you are seeking.