NEW PRODUCT: TBleague s42-s43

The information (and the entertainment value also) conveyed in this thread has been exceptional, thanks to all.

Thank you for picture. Feet is bigger than previous release, I wonder if any shoes/boots will fit .

I'm eager to see the next comparison, with the S16, since I wanted to get this body for quite a while.
I liked the proportions on the S42 a lot, but I'm waiting for a possible detachable feet version, since the boots I got for Morrigan's project aren't hollow.

Thanks a lot for these excellent comparisons Geewillikers! They are super informative and helpful! I do wish they made smaller/regular sized breast versions. I am not confident to do breast reduction surgery on these. I didn't get my 1/6 surgeon's certificate!

Thrilling Finale:

The S42 compared with S18 (same body as S01/02 but with detachable feet)




The18 looks positively freakish next to the 42. Look at those arms! In fact, the whole upper torso looks stretched.

The 42 compared to the S16:




The 42 compared to the S32:




So, the S18 and the s32 are the bodies that nearest approach the 42 in terms of height.

csyeung wrote:Thanks a lot for these excellent comparisons Geewillikers! They are super informative and helpful! I do wish they made smaller/regular sized breast versions. I am not confident to do breast reduction surgery on these. I didn't get my 1/6 surgeon's certificate!

Your best bet for a smaller-busted figure is the S16-17. Still not exactly flat-chested, but the smallest TBL offer at the moment.

GeeWillikers wrote:

csyeung wrote:Thanks a lot for these excellent comparisons Geewillikers! They are super informative and helpful! I do wish they made smaller/regular sized breast versions. I am not confident to do breast reduction surgery on these. I didn't get my 1/6 surgeon's certificate!

Your best bet for a smaller-busted figure is the S16-17. Still not exactly flat-chested, but the smallest TBL offer at the moment.

I agree, I think I have one 16 and one 17 and the rest have been 23's for my more superhero types. I may get a few more 17s and maybe a 25 for future figures.

GeeWillikers wrote:

csyeung wrote:Thanks a lot for these excellent comparisons Geewillikers! They are super informative and helpful! I do wish they made smaller/regular sized breast versions. I am not confident to do breast reduction surgery on these. I didn't get my 1/6 surgeon's certificate!

Your best bet for a smaller-busted figure is the S16-17. Still not exactly flat-chested, but the smallest TBL offer at the moment.

Honestly one of the best bodies they make IMO. The fact though that the 42 towers over it still is nothing short of impressive.

Excellent photos GeeWillikers! Very informative!

csyeung wrote:Thanks a lot for these excellent comparisons Geewillikers! They are super informative and helpful! I do wish they made smaller/regular sized breast versions. I am not confident to do breast reduction surgery on these. I didn't get my 1/6 surgeon's certificate!

I have a bust reduction method, however it is only useful if you plan to keep your figures permanently clothed (or at least keep the bust and upper back area completely covered). Which may not be helpful for some, but if you are making a specific character and intending to leave her that way, it's doable. Granted, I've only tried it on the smaller bodies (s25b and s27b), but it did help make the busts on those look a bit more natural.

The method simply involves using an exacto knife to cut a 'slice' out of the bottom of each breast (leaving the rest intact), and then binding the now 'reduced' area with some plastic wrap. Ideally one would use glue to keep it in place, but I have yet to find a glue that works.

skywalkersaga wrote:
I have a bust reduction method, however it is only useful if you plan to keep your figures permanently clothed (or at least keep the bust and upper back area completely covered). Which may not be helpful for some, but if you are making a specific character and intending to leave her that way, it's doable. Granted, I've only tried it on the smaller bodies (s25b and s27b), but it did help make the busts on those look a bit more natural.

The method simply involves using an exacto knife to cut a 'slice' out of the bottom of each breast (leaving the rest intact), and then binding the now 'reduced' area with some plastic wrap. Ideally one would use glue to keep it in place, but I have yet to find a glue that works.

Interesting method! I did repair a small tear once with gorilla glue and seemed to be ok, but that was a small tear. May be harder when it's to hold a piece that is always trying to spring back.

skywalkersaga wrote:

The method simply involves using an exacto knife to cut a 'slice' out of the bottom of each breast (leaving the rest intact), and then binding the now 'reduced' area with some plastic wrap. Ideally one would use glue to keep it in place, but I have yet to find a glue that works.

I am wondering if this is something for which Sugru might be well suited https://www.amazon.com/Sugru-Mouldable-Glue-Original-Formula/dp/B01BFE0KNQ/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=sugru&qid=1606336935&sr=8-4

csyeung -- lol, indeed, all the glues I had tried could not withstand the spring of the silicone. ;p

MAM - I haven't tried that one yet, will keep it in mind! : )

MeMyself&I wrote:Excellent photos GeeWillikers! Very informative!

I just can't get over how odd the S18 (basically their oldest 'modern' steel model given a tweak) now looks when directly compared to the 42, like an alien Grey reflected in a funhouse mirror. I've never been crazy about that short neck, off-kilter navel and too-prominent groin area, but it's sobering to now realise just how distorted that torso actually is after all these years. The derriere is just about it's best feature. That design needs a total overhaul once TBL are done with their busty/curvy obsession (which may well be never).

On the other hand the 32, which I wasn't crazy about from the start and kind of forgot about, is actually not that badly-designed now I've seen it directly compared with the rest. Still not in love with those stubby arms and fat wrists, but the rest of it is quite nice actually.

GeeWillikers wrote:I just can't get over how odd the S18 (basically their oldest 'modern' steel model given a tweak) now looks when directly compared to the 42, like an alien Grey reflected in a funhouse mirror. I've never been crazy about that short neck, off-kilter navel and too-prominent groin area, but it's sobering to now realise just how distorted that torso actually is after all these years. The derriere is just about it's best feature. That design needs a total overhaul once TBL are done with their busty/curvy obsession (which may well be never).

Interesting, there seems to be a bit of a pattern -- or at the very least they have done this elsewhere, too. I'm thinking about their M31 body, which is in many ways a darker-skinned version of M30, slightly un-muscled but basically stretched out to make it taller and slimmer. The result is neither attractive nor realistic (which is what they claimed they were going for), although, in a strange parallel to what you just described, its "derriere is just about its best feature." Of course there are other reasons to dislike M31 (others have said I loathe it with a passion which is a slight exaggeration), like the spaghetti elbow (at least one of them), the anatomical incompleteness, and above everything else the faulty (especially left) wrist peg clamp (at least in my experience, this may have been corrected in later batches). Its one and only redeeming feature in my book is that it is their easiest male body to clothe (and as I was just clothing it the other day, the damned wrist peg came out with a hand and was a hellish pain to reattach).

Here was my review: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-062916b.htm

Most people reading this thread have probably seen my other thread about converting seamless feet figures into regular figures, but in case not here's a link showing the operation I did on my s43.

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3410-coverting-newer-phicen-seamless-feet-figures-into-regular-figures

This is what she looked like afterward. After giving this gal some real feet, I really really like this figure. She's got the fuller, more natural body of an s28/s29 but more normal looking shoulders. It seems Phicen has "finally" figured out how to not give their figures unusually broad shoulders. If she was a little smaller, and a little less busty, she'd be just about perfect to me. Thinking about getting myself an s42 now, and doing the same operation on her.

skywalkersaga wrote:csyeung -- lol, indeed, all the glues I had tried could not withstand the spring of the silicone. ;p

MAM - I haven't tried that one yet, will keep it in mind! : )

Sugru isn't a glue, it's a silicone putty with adhesive strength that is malleable initially and then cures into a still somewhat flexible silicone/rubber - hence the reason I thought it could be perfect for this task.  If it works, it's unique. I sound like I'm doing a commercial but I haven't actuallly tried it yet.  I bought a cheap set of 3 minitubes but I don't know where I put them -- which isn't good, because the word appears to be that Sugru gets old even in the tubes so you don't want to buy last year's supply on clearance. Somebody please take one for the team and report back...

Excellent work Doctor!

Moonbase Alpha Male wrote:

Sugru isn't a glue, it's a silicone putty with adhesive strength that is malleable initially and then cures into a still somewhat flexible silicone/rubber - hence the reason I thought it could be perfect for this task.  If it works, it's unique. I sound like I'm doing a commercial but I haven't actuallly tried it yet.  I bought a cheap set of 3 minitubes but I don't know where I put them -- which isn't good, because the word appears to be that Sugru gets old even in the tubes so you don't want to buy last year's supply on clearance.  Somebody please take one for the team and report back...

I've only seen this used for statues, to fix and resculpt parts, so I'm interested as well if this would work.

csyeung wrote:

I've only seen this used for statues, to fix and resculpt parts, so I'm interested as well if this would work.

Yeah, as advertised it is supposed to retain some permanent flexibility (like when it is used on headphone cables etc), and it is silicone based itself, so "theoretically" it should be even way better on a silicone body than on a resin statue. But the proof is in the pudding. Sorry I've been too busy (by which I mean, lazy) to experiment with it myself.

Phicen bodies aren't actually made of silicone however, they're technically made of TPE, so I'm not sure how strong the bond would ultimately be.

gooboo wrote:Phicen bodies aren't actually made of silicone however, they're technically made of TPE, so I'm not sure how strong the bond would ultimately be.

That's a good point, but Sugru isn't specifically made for Silicone, nor marketed that way, though it claims itself to be "Advanced Silicone Technology".  Those statues csyeung refers to aren't silicone either. Sugru claims that it "holds up to 4.4 lb (2 kg) on Glass, Ceramics, Wood, Metal, Plaster, most Plastics and Fabrics (and more), indoors and outdoors ."  But, don't believe everything you read.

No, Jiaou bodies are TPE, Phicen/TBLeague bodies are medical-grade silicon of some type. That said, silicone glue can be peeled off them, so silicone working on silicone is not necessarily going to be a permanent solution. I have used Sugru before, just not for this. Keeping the packets in the fridge supposedly extends their life.

GubernatorFan wrote:No, Jiaou bodies are TPE, Phicen/TBLeague bodies are medical-grade silicon of some type. That said, silicone glue can be peeled off them, so silicone working on silicone is not necessarily going to be a permanent solution. I have used Sugru before, just not for this. Keeping the packets in the fridge supposedly extends their life.

Well, not only is that a good functional suggestion, but if I'd put mine in the fridge, I'd know where they are now

Again it sounds like Sugru doesn't particularly care if the attached material is silicone or not, so long as it's under 4.4 lbs of most things. Will be curious about anyone's experience. Then again, I wouldn't totally put it past TBL to eventually make a figure where the breasts are more than 4.4 lbs...

In regards to the silicone/tpe question, this was something someone posted in a facebook group after asking someone at Phicen what materials their figures are made out of-

"Hi Harvey,
Sorry for replying late, busy with other things that I need to finish today, also honestly it's a tricky question.
It's TPE which is environmental and non-toxic, not silicon, but I found our early product introduction says silicon,
I believe that's some mistake we didn't mean to make, but it's a mistake that would and should be taken seriously.
------------------
Best regards
Jenny
PHICEN LIMITED"

Assuming that person didn't make this entire thing up, it sounds like Phicens aren't made with silicone either. At the very least I can say that silicone caulk wasn't permanent when I tried it on one of my figures, although it did a pretty good job sticking to it nonetheless. Just not permanently.

Hmmm... interesting. At least they owned up to contradicting themselves. But it is also not the same exact material (and surface) as the Jiaou Dolls, which are said to be TPE. Of course, there may be different kinds of TPE at play here.

I've never bought a jiaou doll before. Are they more fragile?

Supposedly they rip and tear more easily. I've never had a Jiaou doll myself, but that's what I've read from others online.

csyeung wrote:I've never bought a jiaou doll before. Are they more fragile?

Somewhere I did a couple of comparison reviews (but of their older models), maybe on the old site. I will try to dig them up. In short:
Jiaou dolls are perhaps easier to stain, easier to scratch the surface (for example when painting with oil pastel), harder to pose (because they do not have a continuous metal skeleton, just metal joints, apparently), and can achieve slightly less articulation. The seamless-footed female figures have a hideous bulge at the ankle when you extend the foot down. The female figures come with painted finger- and toe-nails. The male figures come with an ampler and larger assortment of attachable "secret parts," not counting a tiny one that is part of the body's mold. The figures come heavily scented (perhaps it is in the protective powder), something TBLeague seems to have copied with a different scent at some point, but maybe gave up on. An advantage of the Jiaou Doll figures is that they come in several different skin tons, especially for the females (the males just three: pale/normal, wheat/medium tan, black/darker tan).

Here is a comparison photo I did of some Jiaou male and female bodies some time ago (since then they have produced newer models - one or two for female figures, not counting older ones with seamless feet, and two more for the males).

Thanks for the detailed information Gubernator!