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TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated

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1TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Empty TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:04 am

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Updated with M32 body in Post 9 below

The TBLeague Anubis set advertised last fall was released recently. For all the problems I had with it from a historical/cultural and artistic point of view (and these matter to me), it was still very impressive and I couldn't resist picking up several of the parted out parts. And when I say several, I suppose I really should have just bought the set...

The product -- from what I have to judge -- looks very much like the prototype photos used by the company. It has all the advantages (seamless body, glorious details) and disadvantages (overly fantastical, even when there is plenty of reality to emulate) of being made by TBLeague. The head seems slightly undersized, especially on this neck, although it is very nicely sculpted, in a manner that is at once reminiscent of Egyptian art and more realistic. He suffers from a surfeit of piercings (something markedly un-Egyptian) and the style of his accessories and clothing is streamlined enough to look more at home with Stargate than in ancient Egypt. The body is far too muscular (for an alternative, more "realistic" look see the photo in Post 9 below), and in general the look has more to do with macabre Hollywood notions of Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife (where Anubis could be seen as a tyrannical villain -- there was a sci fi C movie about this not long ago... Pyramid?) than with actual Egyptian mythology. But so far, this is all about design choices; the result is arguably more striking and "cool" than something more accurate might have been, but I wonder whether that is/should be the point -- this ends up being loosely inspired by Egypt but not Egyptian. The only real complaint about quality is the extreme looseness of the foot ball joints inside the feet. With the bulky body, poor Anubis can barely keep standing; and I suspect it is not because he's been sampling liberally from the sacrificial wine offerings...

So here are a couple of in hand photos of the part of the set I got (didn't bother with the most fantasy elements), as part of a simple vignette inspired by some of the symbolic depictions of pharaonic investiture. Ramses (reconstituted from another, less fantastical set) and Amun-Ra-King-of-the-Gods (resin? statue) co-star.

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Tblan010

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Tblan011

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Tblan012

What do you think?

#anubis #egypt #fantasy #god #male #tbleague #tbl #phicen #productreview


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Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
Man. That tiny head is killing this. I don’t mind all the fantasy elements, myself, because I get this isn’t based on any sort of reality, but that tiny head throws off the aesthetic of the entire thing. Double the size of that thing, and it would be perfect.


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Mark

He who dies with the most toys wins!

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated C8485110

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Stryker2011 wrote:Man. That tiny head is killing this. I don’t mind all the fantasy elements, myself, because I get this isn’t based on any sort of reality, but that tiny head throws off the aesthetic of the entire thing. Double the size of that thing, and it would be perfect.

Well, I agree with you partway. The small head is really hurting this, an effect exacerbated by the choice of body and the length of the neck. But while we can fairly confidently say that Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife were not based on reality, Anubis is part of those beliefs, myths, texts, and art canon, so a willful departure from that is a disappointment to me -- if you're not going to get Anubis right, why call him Anubis (of course we are talking about a world of companies that has been going out of its way to get things wrong, what with female Hades and a plethora of other horrors my memory has tried to suppress). Still, as far as fantasy renditions, I agree; given their choices for the rest of the design (bulk of the body, extra Egyptianizing bling, etc), they should have at least made the head bigger.

As far as the Egyptian artistic canon is concerned, the head may not be excessively small; when it comes to animal heads, these are sometimes re-scaled to work aesthetically with the human body, sometimes not. So Anubis' head might stay the size of a real Egyptian wolf/"jackal" or might get blown up a bit. Here are some examples from ancient art...

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Senedjem---version-2_med_hr

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated SS2274697

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated A1698a4f3d2c3899aaa8ad4e1efa6b71

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Tumblr_padxhmxV1p1wna6v8o1_1280

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated E858ace49bba8c272a029a3ae3f836b2

Of course, some "animal-headed" gods need their animal heads blown up drastically... like bird-headed Horus or scarab-headed Khepri (where his head is the entire scarab beetle).

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 30c110892074d123c7e6fc56e75c9bca

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Img_20190203_170407

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 41666389_-YqE8E0Vt159CBSMIgNsQc5TfnD07Kv773e0VjldTsM

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 33942954261_62a8f8a702_b

Of course there is a remarkably easy workaround. It is sometimes pointed out that the ancient Egyptians did not actually imagine (some of) their gods as animal-headed men and women, but that the use of animal heads (or whole bodies) for them in art was symbolic, highlighting some aspect of their nature. So they don't need animal heads at all. But where would be the fun in that? Smile


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Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
Yeah, I agree. When it comes to historical references, the animal heads in Ancient Egyptian art are small. But, then, we also have to remember, that painters of the past were fairly primitive in their skills, so human anatomy often looks weird -- to be expected based on the limitations of the imagination of the time. Amazing that ancient architects and sculptors could make some amazing pieces, but the 2D artists were rather limited in talent -- in pretty much all ancient cultures.

If they had stuck to the proportions of a human head in relation to the body they chose, and made the head that same equivalent, the fantasy aspects of this character would have been better served.


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Mark

He who dies with the most toys wins!

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated C8485110

Ovy

Ovy
Well I like him in a stylizes way, bit goofy cause of the size but ok.
Maybe the smaller head was intended for a female body and then tbleauges underpaid agent for gender equality said: 'Guys, we can't turn another god into a sexy Halloween cosplay!"

Very effective backgrounds, too.

skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Thanks for sharing the pics and your thoughts on the figure, GF! I don't have a horse in this race so to speak, but as for the issue of the head size, when I first saw the figure announced, I actually didn't think it looked too bad when it was just pictured is on its own. But now that I see it standing next to the other figure, it does look a bit off. It's not even the fact that the head itself is'undersized' that is the issue for me personally, since the depictions in the art are also undersized in terms of how it is scaled to the body. Rather, it's more the fact that the m35 body is so hugely muscular that the tiny head ends up looking rather cartoonish on top of it. Maybe if it were just an M32 body it would at least look give an impression that was more evocative of the Egyptian art depictions.


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"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Ovy wrote:Well I like him in a stylizes way, bit goofy cause of the size but ok.
Maybe the smaller head was intended for a female body and then tbleauges underpaid agent for gender equality said: 'Guys, we can't turn another god into a sexy Halloween cosplay!"
Very effective backgrounds, too.

Interesting theory about what happened, though it might be giving them too much credit, on more than one count! Wink And thank you; my bathroom doubled as an extra ancient Egyptian temple (from the early period before they covered everything with images and hieroglyphs)...

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks for sharing the pics and your thoughts on the figure, GF! I don't have a horse in this race so to speak, but as for the issue of the head size, when I first saw the figure announced, I actually didn't think it looked too bad when it was just pictured is on its own. But now that I see it standing next to the other figure, it does look a bit off. It's not even the fact that the head itself is'undersized' that is the issue for me personally, since the depictions in the art are also undersized in terms of how it is scaled to the body. Rather, it's more the fact that the m35 body is so hugely muscular that the tiny head ends up looking rather cartoonish on top of it. Maybe if it were just an M32 body it would at least look give an impression that was more evocative of the Egyptian art depictions.

Welcome and thank you. I think this is very much the case indeed. A smaller body should have diminished the apparent effect, while this bulky one exaggerates it. I will experiment on a smaller body and post the result, stay tuned.


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Stryker2011

Stryker2011
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It’ll be interesting to see how it looks on a thinner body. I’m actually contemplating having someone remake the head larger (or possibly do it myself).


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Mark

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TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated C8485110

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
By popular demand (and common sense), here is the TBL Anubis head (still a tad too fantasy) on a TBL M32 body. I think it is a bit of an improvement, even if it would still benefit from being a little larger and having a construction that shortens the neck a little bit. I tried to make it look more familiarly Egyptian by posing the body halfway between a natural stance and Egyptian artistic convention. Smile

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Tblan013


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Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
That is indeed an improvement. Thanks for doing this.


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TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated C8485110

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Stryker2011 wrote:That is indeed an improvement. Thanks for doing this.

I think so too. And welcome. The things I do for your guys! Wink (Just between us, I was going to do this anyway, so no problem at all...)


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Well, thanks for doing so anyway! I think it looks awesome like that. Pretty much exactly how I was imagining posing it, too. Very Happy


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"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
skywalkersaga wrote:Well, thanks for doing so anyway! I think it looks awesome like that. Pretty much exactly how I was imagining posing it, too. Very Happy

Thank you very much. Glad you like it better this way, seems we all do. As for how to pose him, yes, I think that would be the natural way to go (there are 3D statues of Anubis, but they are far less familiar to us than the 2D depictions). I suppose great minds think alike (and I can say that, 'cause I know your mind is great!) Wink

But wait, no love for my hieroglyphs!? Crying or Very sad

Speaking of 3D Anubis statues, alongside conventional ones like this

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated Hb_38.5 ,

I found this Roman-period horror:

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 1179


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Theboo-bomb

Theboo-bomb
Poor Anubis and his small head, he still looks cool even if not historically accurate. Also I don't know if I'm dreaming it up but didn't a company some years ago produce some 12 inch dog action figures? or was it all just an earthquake induced dream? Cause I remember walking through the toy aisle at a local dollar store and seeing them years ago.


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skywalkersaga

skywalkersaga
Ahh, I see your hieroglyphs now, GF! That's what happens when I look at the forum on my phone. I guess they were so fitting in the corner of the pic that at first glance I thought they were somehow just part of the backdrop/scenery. ;p 

And that last image of the statue.... omfg, is that a Roman version of a 'furry'?   Laughing


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"The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read,
not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man."

Ignoring current 'official' Star Wars content for my own sanity.

Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
I’ve seen that Roman statue before. Yikes!


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Mark

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TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated C8485110

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Theboo-bomb wrote:Poor Anubis and his small head, he still looks cool even if not historically accurate.  Also I don't know if I'm dreaming it up but didn't a company some years ago produce some 12 inch dog action figures? or was it all just an earthquake induced dream? Cause I remember walking through the toy aisle at a local dollar store and seeing them years ago.

I'm not sure. There is Timber Wolf with G.I. Joe, and I know Sideshow did a version, which is articulated, but has a very hard time standing, loose joints and all. You would not have seen that high-end collectible at the local dollar store, though, even if the quality was ultimately poor. But I know versions of this existed in "regular" toy sets, and maybe some were articulated.

skywalkersaga wrote:Ahh, I see your hieroglyphs now, GF! That's what happens when I look at the forum on my phone. I guess they were so fitting in the corner of the pic that at first glance I thought they were somehow just part of the backdrop/scenery. ;p 

And that last image of the statue.... omfg, is that a Roman version of a 'furry'?   Laughing

Thanks, Sky. Smile

Stryker2011 wrote:I’ve seen that Roman statue before. Yikes!

That's what I thought too... I'm starting to think we are a bunch of art snobs... Smile


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I held my 2-cents-worth this morning and I'm glad I did. Anubis' head on the TBL body is such an improvement,
even in the historical sense so much more appropriate, looks excellent (maybe wrist bands and anklets to hide the joints)
congrats on the Making a silk purse out of a sow's ear Award.

any plans for that Anubis body?

Lynkhart

Lynkhart
He definitely looks better on a smaller body!

I’m getting some Assassin’s Creed: Origins vibes from the design - for those who haven’t played it, it’s set in ancient Egypt and is pretty historically accurate for the most part, but there was a questline that involves travelling to the afterlife and some of the enemies looked rather familiar...

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 40542483325_f4a769c828_zAssassin's Creed: Origins by Christine Sutcliffe, on Flickr

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 41437069101_b3d374fd80_zAssassin's Creed: Origins by Christine Sutcliffe, on Flickr

TBLeague - TBL Fantasy Anubis (and friends) updated 40542336765_68beb491b4_zAssassin's Creed: Origins by Christine Sutcliffe, on Flickr


(It’s such a gorgeous game it’s impossible not to take screenshots XD)


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Delanie

Delanie
I'm a little disappointed I was interested in getting this for a fantasy figure.

Tell me though is the head gear removable?

To be honest I was going to ditch all of the 'Egyptian' stuff for no other reason than it gives me the creeps ! I also am not a fan of either the Egyptian or roman periods as I think they have been done to death (pun intended). My feeling is that this is because the left a written record and its easy to write a book about or make a tv programme about.

I was interested in some of the hybrid figure one company produces with animal heads on human bodies but I have never seen them parted out


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