First off let me say i mean no disrespect to those of us Joe fans that still collect and enjoy the DTC / new sculpt era figures. To each their own. Everyone else seems to get the awesomeness of the modern figures except me so , trust me, i am not judging you.

With that said ..i personally look at the DTC figures and find myself challenged with regard to identifying any..usefulness...outside of being a source for t-hooks , screws, o-rings and in some select cases bicep swivel joints (the elbow and bicep itself).

I'm curious...what have you customizers been using these for if you still own them?

check Xhairs stuff on here... like viewtopic.php?f=14&t=34999 for example.. he uses a LOT of the New Sculpt

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I still use them for the bases for all of my customs. I see the modern stuff as overpriced donors for only legs, weapons, and gear.

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I haven't used any of the parts in a while, but I'm holding onto the heads, waist, thighs, and maybe feet. The arms and torsos aren't helpful to me, as they really aren't compatible with RAH.

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I have a ton of fodder I've gotten from various sources. Some of it is useful, while other parts are just bad.

I have taken a few of the JOE camo legs/waist and used a long ARAH torso to make taller characters (think basketball player physique).

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I kept several heads and used a few skirts, arms and web gear, but the rest of the fodder has either been sold or given away or still sits in my Body Shoppe.

I have created ME versions of several of those new sculpt characters, though.

I've used some heads and kept some parts, but mostly I sold a few and give a large chunk to xhairs that was linked to above.

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I can see using some of the heads. I keep looking at the chest and torso thinking about how to glue up the waist and cut the chest for the added joint. I still haven't come up with a perfect way to fix the hips so the t-bar will stay the way I want it without the O ring. The big shoulders are another issue. Beyond those points, the rest of the figure parts would be ok left as is. They won't have double elbow or knee joints, but then some of the new movie ones don't and fit in fine.

Really over all the biggest problems that New Sculpt figures had were some of the chest had too wide of a sculpt. Most of the shoulders were way too large. Then there were some that are not able to be saved due to the squat look from the torso to the waist and then extended legs to make up for the sculpt mistake. Those are just trash to me unless the arms and heads are able to be used. I guess part can be cut off like feet, pouches, and holsters.

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I try to make every 3rd or 4th custom using New Sculpt and/or Indiana Jones figures just to chew through fodder. Forcing myself to use these poorly sculpted pieces (mostly the short NS torsos- most IJ parts are decent) can be a challenge. However, anytime you make something out of junk there's a strange sense of satisfaction.

And, yes, xhairs has done some amazing work salvaging the NS figures by correcting the proportions of the torsos.

I just finished a custom a few days ago where I converted a DTC figure into an ME figure that used every part. I modified a lot by grafting bits from an ME figure onto the DTC parts. There were some complications and at one point I had to strip the paint off the legs to further modify them and repaint them. I think the torso ended up being a little longer than it should be but I'm happy with the way it came out.

Crotches (for broken) and heads are best for my ARAH sculpts. The rest really depends on the figure. I do use a lot of new sculpts. But for most, the arms, torsos and legs are too misshapen/disproportioned.

I used almost all of my new sculpt figures to make $1 each at Canadian Joe Con a couple years ago.

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Never used the DTC figures. I had gotten some for X-mas when they were available, and held onto them for a while. About a year ago I ebayed them all.

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What i find interesting after reading through the replies in this thread and then reading through the replies in another is...

The 2006 Low Light seems as though he is the perfect GI Joe figure compromise (he or Barrell Roll).

He has the o-ring, correct proportions, a torso that isnt broken up by a swivel in the middle, injection molded shoulders that are not bulbous and he is the same height as an ARAH figure (or extremely close).

The fact that one line can produce what i think is almost the perfect Joe body yet produce unusable figures throughout the remainder of the line is very odd to me. Especially considering it was made by Hasbro.

That Low-Light was definitely a highlight of the New Sculpt era. Good gear, solid fig, and decent price made it a winner.

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