They were the Forces of Valor figures, weren't they? I know when I got some of them and opened them, expecting some ARAH fodder, I was pleasantly surprised and wondered why we couldn't get that sort of construction in Joes (this was back when FoV first came out, so may have been at the beginning of 25th or end of NS). It has the benefits of the O-ring without the weakness.
Plus, since the upper body doesn't need to accommodate the O-ring, the torso could still be made in two pieces, with the chest swivel.

Yeah! That was it, Forces of Valor. Came in a great 2-Pack. They mesh really well with RAH parts too, as in the pic above with the Lowlight/SureFire top.

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I want to state that I REALLY hate the 25a ROC style of body contruction . Like the other replies that I have read I like the ARAH body style with the good ol screw and o-ring. I also agree that SOME of the 25a ROC designs could be added to allow more possable positions. I to this day have not made a true custom using the new body style. I have done simple head swaps and find that even the heads need some form of fixing to work. I have painted and the paint comes off at the all of the joints ( using apple barrel). Now dont get me wrong I have seen some really awesome customs using the 25a ROC body style but as a customizer since 1983, I just cant seem to get interested in the new body style and personnaly perfer the ARAH body design over all othe figure type contruction. I guess I am just old school.

The only thing I don't like about the modern construction is the lack of screws holding the torso pieces together. I'm glad that the bodies aren't held together by a rubber band, anymore. The mid torso joints on the new figures are not only starting to blend better than than on early 25th figures, but they also seem to be getting more range of motion out of them. It's great for dynamic poses, especially with the lateral movement that was introduced later in the 25th run. The only thing I could really ask for on them, would be some sort of above knee rotational joint. But, I hate to think what that would do the leg construction.

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I agree. I could see the o-ring is better than mid-torso joint argument when we were stuck with 25A Duke bodies, and the horrible moob joints. But now, those joints are near seamless. The lack of a backscrew, however, is near inexcusable. As a customizer, I'd almost go so far as to say I'd pay an extra $1 per fig if they had the back screw, so that cracking the torsos was no longer required. I had great luck getting them to crack with the 25A figs, and horrible luck with the ROC figs.

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I don't mind cracking the torsos, I just want the whole "Shirt" part of the troso to come away from the pants. Sometimes I see the pants I want on one figure, the shirt on another.

I would think They could construct the T bar that holds the legs together as a tight plug for a whole in the lower torso joint so it could pulled away with a good pull or maybe a good twist and pull. Add that and the arm swap out and they could even advertise the customization as a gimmick! "switch heads, upper bodies, arms and pants! make your own perfect solider or fearsome Cobra!" (lame I know but c'mon you'd by it, you know you would)

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