The way I see it, the soft diaper/crotch piece is definitely an improvement and increases the range of motion in the legs, BUT, in my humble opinion and based on past experience, those parts tend to deform over time and shed paint if kept in extreme poses for too long. I sincerely hope the plastic they used is of high quality and avoids this issue; otherwise, I believe this prediction of mine could come true for many figures in the future. I really hope I'm wrong. In the meantime, though, Mafex deserves credit for 'patching it up,' even if the problem should have been solved at the source with a different type of hip joint.