Original Bionicle vs CCBS discussion

[JekPorkchops]

Almost every new CCBS joint I receive has an incredibly ridiculous amount of friction. It is so stiff that posing the figures is rather difficult. Sometimes the joints are so stiff that they make white scratch marks onto eachother when connecting or posing them, which makes them completely static afterwards. I’m talking about the normal joints, not even the friction extenders, which obviously make things even worse and I don’t think most sets need them anyway. Does no one else have this problem?

I usually solve it by adding a tiny amount of soap between the joints and then wiping it off again, making them a bit more smooth. I don’t know what effect this will have in the long run as my oldest soap-treated CCBS figures are 2 years old. I hope they don’t become too loose again, but the addition of a drop of water can bring back some friction if necessary.

That being said, while giving every CCBS joint the treatment during the build is incredibly annoying, the joints are still better than the cracking joints of the old system. Visually, I’m undecided. 

Edited December 21, 2017 by JekPorkchops

[Kalhiki]

2 hours ago, JekPorkchops said:

Almost every new CCBS joint I receive has an incredibly ridiculous amount of friction. It is so stiff that posing the figures is rather difficult. Sometimes the joints are so stiff that they make white scratch marks onto eachother when connecting or posing them, which makes them completely static afterwards. I’m talking about the normaal joints, not even the friction extenders, which obviously make things even worse and I don’t think most sets need them anyway. Does no one else have this problem?

I usually solve it by adding a tiny amount of soap between the joints and then wiping it off again, making them a bit more smooth. I don’t know what effect this will have in the long run as my oldest soap-treated CCBS figures are 2 years old. I hope they don’t become too loose again, but the addition of a drop of water can bring back some friction if necessary.

That being said, while giving every CCBS joint the treatment while building is incredibly annoying, the joints are still better than the cracking joints of the old system. Visually, I’m undecided. 

Wow. Never experienced that. I mean, I've had some squeaky joints, but nothing to the severity you're describing.

Usually, a bit of working the joints wears them down to where they don't squeak. Never had to add any sort of lube to them before.

 

[JekPorkchops]

Maybe I need to elaborate this more, as the situation is very weird. I got a few HF sets in 2012 and they were fine. Much stiffer than Bionicle, but still usable. As in, with a Bionicle figure I used to be able to create fluid motions when playing with them back in the day, while a HF figure had to be picked up and carefully posed before continuing, but it was doable and they hold their poses better.

I bought CCBS sets again in 2015, with the launch of Bionicle G2 and later the SW figures. They were also fine, except for the friction extenders, which I purposefully always gave the soap treatment. Then suddenly, at the end of 2015, one of Jango Fett’s shoulders became squeeky when building him. When trying to move it, it became stuck and after I finally managed to tear it off, I used the soap treatment for a regular joint.

Suddenly, this had to be done for every single 2016 joint. Even all of the older HF sets that I collected in 2016 were almost completely static. I now use the treatment for literally every joint without checking. It’s not a lot of fun and the build for even a 2.0 Hero can take hours, but I like the figures a lot so I’m not stopping to collect them.

[ZORK64]

I seem to recall white powdery marks from some of my late Bionicle sets  (Glatorian), but no issues with the recent joints.

[Mitch Henry]

Surprised this topic is still going. 

My biggest gripe with CCBS is the armor add-ons for the shells. There are so few designs period and few colors that I find useful, and the star wars figs often include one solid color, or two printed pieces (or one of each). Overall, the system is wonderful, and I love both of them equally. Though I do think that CCBS works a little better with system texturally.

 For the sake of consistency, let's call both Technic/Bionicle and CCBS large figures.

Of all the large figure series, what are your thoughts on the Ben 10 sets? Personally, I love them. There's a healthy balance of smooth textures and sturdy sockets. the exclusive heads are pretty useless but a lot of the exclusive parts are fun to use and see on MOCs. In retrospect, I'd call the Ben 10 sets the best of the large figures series, if only because they work so well with all the other large figure series'.

[ZORK64]

I got only a few Ben 10 sets relatively late on sale (2 IIRC, Big Chill and Spidermonkey), and while I like the claw piece they came with, I hadn't really gotten around to utilize the other parts of the theme. I remember that I was initially turned off by them due to the limb pieces being one solid piece, as it clashed with the visuals of the then-current Bionicle sets.

To be honest, I often actually forget that I own them in the first place, even though I'm pretty sure I could get some pretty nifty MOCs out of them if I mix them with CCBS.

[Lord-Vorahk]

They're good parts packs. I like the idea of a torso bone with space for four limbs. The claws are nice not counting the inability to hold stuff.