A small selection of questions, if I may?

Hi all,

First real post after much reading and eventual confusion setting in.  I fell into this hobby by accident when I got shown the BBTS website during a YouTube livestream and realised I could probably make more interesting things in 1/6 than in 28mm (and by purchasing less, save money).  I did a fair amount of research and have started off small (for now)...
I'm currently kitbashing a trio of characters for my novel (I like the visual reminder of what they look like) but I've hit a couple of stumbling blocks in my research (a lot of forum reading and such is beginning to get overwhelming) and I'm hoping the much more experienced members of this forum will be able to answer a couple of questions?

1. Those with the FS73029 'Red Alert' girl - is the shorter jacket black or dark green?  I've seen various pictures and assumed it was black, but a couple made it look green.

2. Also, will this short jacket fit a taller body?  My heroine uses a TBL/PH S28A, and her nemesis (who'd be wearing the Red Alert jacket) is meant to be a much taller elf.  For an idea, my heroine is meant to be 5', with her nemesis being in the region of 5'10"-6'.  Also, if anyone has an idea for a body (it doesn't have to be TBL/PH - she'll be entirely covered so no worries about joints showing) then I'm all ears!

3. Could anyone recommend a decent head sculpt for the S28A?  I bought one I liked the look of, but it's a bit smaller than expected and doesn't seem proportional on the body (it's a YMT026).  Ideally one with long brown/dark blonde hair that can be styled into a bun.

4. Does anyone have a recommendation for a 'generic bloke' body that's taller than the S28A (I suspect most of them are)?  Again, doesn't have to be TBL/PH as it's for my heroine's batman/executioner and he's wearing army uniform, so joints and such aren't an issue.  I've been reading GubernatorFan's posts on the Male TBL/PH bodies, but that's a bit pricey at the moment!  He's going to be in a combination of US WW2 airborne trousers and British Denison smock, if that helps at all (I got them for her, but they're far too big to look sensible).

5.  Finally, is it my imagination, or is it nigh on impossible to get a range of 'normal' clothes for female figures compared to males?  Currently my heroine is wearing a black shirt & grey tie for a male figure as I can't seem to find one for a female figure.  I was looking for the AL100026 black shirt and grey tie (the female Afrika Korps officer set), but they seem to be either sold as complete sets, or the shirt & tie is not available from the part seller.  I tried looking for a generic black shirt, but they don't seem to exist either.  Plenty of white shirts or see-through shirts, but no 'normal' black shirts.

Thanks for any replies,

Tim

3. I use a Super Duck SDH-018A head on an S28A body, and the size appears compatible:


Super Duck SDH-018B has long blonde hair. SDH-018C has long dark brown hair.

In my experience, most of the Super Duck head sculpts are the same size, so any of the "pale" models should work with the S28A body.

4. "Generic Bloke" body – I've used this one to good effect when joints do not matter:

ZYToys B001 Narrow Shoulder Male Action Figure - https://www.ebay.com/itm/274632255118

The body looks hideous when unclad, but it takes clothing well, and it is definitely taller than an S28A body:

Welcome again, Tim.

I just posted a comparison review of six new-ish bodies, easy to obtain (well, except the bulky one), that should help. I have used ZY male bodies (like the one Dave suggested) before and they do get the job done, but the joints may be frustratingly loose (not necessarily always the case). World Box has a line of various male bodies from slim to bulky, even some with interchangeable seamless arms; they tend to be very sturdy and hefty, and usually pretty good -- unless one happens to have a weak ankle joint, and then it all goes awry.

I find the TBLeague pale bodies too pale for my purposes, so I cannot really suggest a head for your S28A, since I neither own it nor many likely heads for it. Dave has been obsessed with this Super Duck head and, to each his own, to me it seems overused and overhyped, unless it really happens to fit the character. But unless that is an innocent-looking schoolgirl (that happens to be a platinum blonde), it usually does not. Super Duck does have some more recent more realistic heads that are excellent (you can browse the Head Sculpt catalog, even if it isn't very extensive yet), but I don't know if any of them are pale (and how much of a difference it would make) -- assuming they are right for your character in the first place. They do work well on S29B (the "suntan" version of S28A). For the body (one of my favorites) and clothing, see some posts in the Clothing Seamless Bodies topic (and various others of my topics, I suppose, including in tutorials); there are many more female clothing options (mostly from vintage dolls) in the Fashion Dolls Clothing topic.

Edited to add: if you want your heroine to be 5 ft (which translates to about 10 inches in sixth scale), perhaps you should be looking at the petite bodies S24A (pale), S25B (suntan) or the even more petite S26A (pale) and S27B (suntan). Then you can have an S46-47 body for your tall elf. Remember, "suntan" is actually quite pale, and has been for years.

Thanks for the replies guys!

I saw that review of yours GF, and it's given me a bunch of info to look into. I thought about an S24A/S25B but I was a bit worried about getting clothes that'd fit, particularly as I was planning on using some male clothes as stand-ins (you can't get a female variant of the WW2 Airborne Denison smock for example) and didn't want it to be too outlandish. As it is, the S28A is a too small for the Denison I currently have (it honestly looks ridiculous), so I've been looking at other options. I'm looking at something similar to the S46/47 for my nemesis, hence the question about the Red Alert jacket, as it fits the character completely, but I'm not sure it'll fit the body.

Thanks for the tip about the head and male body Dave, I've got the body on order. His current look is more or less ready for him, so the joints will definitely be hidden!

Tim

Yes, with the petite bodies, regular sixth scale options become harder to use, but some Barbie clothing (especially the kind designed for the curvier dolls) becomes more doable. That does not sound like what you are after.

Timberley wrote: I thought about an S24A/S25B but I was a bit worried about getting clothes that'd fit, particularly as I was planning on using some male clothes as stand-ins (you can't get a female variant of the WW2 Airborne Denison smock for example) and didn't want it to be too outlandish.  As it is, the S28A is a too small for the Denison I currently have (it honestly looks ridiculous), so I've been looking at other options.  I'm looking at something similar to the S46/47 for my nemesis, hence the question about the Red Alert jacket, as it fits the character completely, but I'm not sure it'll fit the body.

Most of the tbleague bodies I own are the smaller ones (s25b and s27b), and I've been able to find clothing that fits them by branching out into doll clothing. Obviously, some doll clothing is more realistic than others, but if you look around at some of the doll boutiques on Etsy, there is a surprisingly wide array to choose from. You were mentioning that it is hard to find 'normal' clothing for female figures, and oddly enough, there is a lot more variety in the doll clothing range than in the action figure range for female figures. I guess this is because --- unfortunately, from my perspective -- a lot of the 1/6 action figure clothing you'll find on ebay is catering to a very specific demographic of male collectors who just want 'sexy' female figures.

The types of doll clothing I search for on Etsy are: Made-to-move Barbie (regular MTM tops and skirts can fit s24/s25), curvy Made-to-Move barbie (curvy MTM skirts can fit s28/s29), Pullip and Blythe (these are quite small but certain items will fit s26/s27), Obitsu (some skirts and leggings for Obitsu 27 doll fit s24/s25), and certain Fashion Royalty/Poppy Parker fashion dolls. I can't remember exactly all of the various tbleague bodies that fit into the PP and FR clothing, but I do have a skirt intended for one of those that fits my s25b.

As for finding a head for your s28a, a lot of Super Duck heads seem to be on the pale side, so you can at least search those to start out with.

Good luck, and don't worry if it's a bit confusing, it sometimes takes a bit of trial and error when getting started in this  hobby. : )

GubernatorFan wrote:Yes, with the petite bodies, regular sixth scale options become harder to use, but some Barbie clothing (especially the kind designed for the curvier dolls) becomes more doable. That does not sound like what you are after.

It depends what's available to be honest. I tend to lean towards realism with my characters, and this character is meant to be a paratrooper WW2 Jedi, for want of a better expression. So, I'm looking at the likes of Denison smocks, US Airborne uniforms, webbing, jump boots, etc. The nemesis is an elven dragon rider (WW2 Sith pilot), and so she's more looking at things like flying jackets (hence the Red Alert jacket - it's similar to von Richthofen's jacket from WW1), tall boots, long fur cloaks (but with an 'expensive' look - she's part of an elite) for the long rides across the world, etc. This is one of those where I can imagine everything in my head, but if there's a "close enough" option out there, I'll go with that.

I'm learning as I go here, so I'm all ears when it comes to suggestions!

My 'Phoenix Peacekeeper' has come along nicely, but she's based on the 'Tracy' body from VTS' Dark Zone model, and there's lots of modern kit out there (pics coming soon, once I get an appropriate back drop and her final bits arrive).

Thanks skywalkersaga for the Etsy suggestion! I'll have a look on there for stuff.

Tim