Phicen / TBLeague Superflexible Seamless Male Body M36 Review (updated with Part 2)

Part I - M36B

(for Part II - M36A, see post 12 below )



TBLeague (formerly Phicen) has followed up its super-muscular M35 body (see HERE) with a leaner, lankier, and much taller body that is available in two versions, one dark-colored, the other lighter-colored (the male version of "suntan"). The darker version, M36B, was released first, and is the subject of the first part of this review. It arrived a few days ago, but I'm still unpacking from a move and only managed to get enough items out for a very basic review last night. It was previewed by Ephiane on this forum (HERE).
Note: Like its immediate predecessor, M36 does not include any garments, and like all of the basic male seamless bodies by TBLeague, it comes without a head.



Packaging: 4/4 stars

M36B comes in the traditional packaging for TBLeague male seamless bodies, complete with the usual color scheme and graphics. Unlike the case with M35, there was no erroneous use of a female design scheme. The box is a little taller than usual, to accommodate the taller body. Everything is safe and collector friendly in its plastic tray and cover. Luckily, the package did not feature any scented packets, just a couple of the usual dessicant packets. You know what these boxes look like, and I have already gotten rid of mine, so no photo.



Sculpting: 4/4 stars

Perhaps because of the rubbery silicone material, the sculpt of TBLeague seamless bodies is always slightly soft, and this is no exception. However, the texture of the surface (and to some extent the protective powder) helps make the details (veins, muscles, curves, etc.) appear sufficiently realistic. M36 is a lean and lanky body characteristic for basketball players (the physique is somewhat reminiscent of M32, but much larger/taller), but rather unusual for more average fit males. By far the tallest TBLeague body (for a comparison with others, see the last photo below), M36 stands about 13.25 inches (33.5 cm) with the head I chose for the photos in this review. Despite a warning about possibly needing modification to use a Hot Toys head, I had no problem using one here.



Paint: 3/4 stars

This is TBLeague's first "black" body, and as such it has been long anticipated by collectors. Of course, as we realized, it is not going to match every relevant head sculpt, just as the physique and stature might not be appropriate for some of the possible characters. I found the Hot Toys Finn head sculpt a good match (especially in hand) and used that for this review. The paint is basic but even and consistent. As usual for the male bodies, there is no attempt to paint details like the nipples. Because of the darker skin tone, dust, lint, etc., may be easier to spot on the body, and the protective powder is more visible than with lighter-colored bodies.



Articulation: 4/4 stars

Belying the old dictum that seamless bodies prioritize look over articulation, M36 has the excellent articulation of its predecessors. In fact, the longer limbs of its lankier physique allow it to assume some iconic poses with greater ease and success than other bodies. Occasionally, a muscle group might not move quite realistically, which is the result of the loose interaction between the rubbery flesh and the internal steel skeleton, but for the most part M36 can achieve realistic poses; most of its few limitations are shared by the real human body.







Accessories: 3/4 stars

This is a base body, and any accessory would be a bonus. In this case the accessories are of the order of alternative parts. M36 comes with the usual detachable feet, two genitals in opaque plastic bags, and three pairs of hands... or rather I should say with six hands. In the package the body is equipped with a right pointing hand and a left fist. The alternative hands are right and left dribbling or basketball-grasping hands, and a right and left hand with non-identical differently-spread fingers. The dribbling hands contain a magnet, intended to work with sixth-scale basketballs which are frequently given magnets to attach to figures' hands. In case you forget, you can see a circular line on the palm of these hands marking the location of the magnets. Something not indicated in the product advertisement, the package includes what appear to be foot pieces for a specific type of not-for-feet footwear.
So why the lower score? Because the selection of hands is overly specific, uneven (no left pointing hand or right fist), and insufficient (what happened to normal relaxed hands and to grip hands?). Moreover, unlike ACI or (in an insufficient way) Jiaou, TBLeague still fails to supply bent-toes feet.



Outfit: n/a

Although TBLeague's male bodies M32, M33, and M34 came with some basic clothing items (primarily shorts), M35 and M36 have reverted to featuring no clothing at all. While disappointing, this is not technically a must for a base body. The length of the limbs and the size of the feet may present difficulties when fitting some of the available sixth-scale clothing on this body.



Fun Factor: 3/4 stars

As a base body, M36 is intended for kitbashing, so technically the sky's the limit of what you might do with it. It is ideal for basketball players, but could work for other real life or film characters, like Bombaata from Conan the Destroyer or Kareem Abdul Jabbar's character from Game of Death (see HERE). That said, the height, specific body type or proportions, and specific and uneven choice of hand sculpts are notable limitations.



Value: 3/4 stars

Retailing anywhere between $67 and $85 in most places, this base body is not a bargain, all the more so as it might be useful for a fairly small set of characters. However, in a business where the price of products has skyrocketed over just a few years, I give credit to TBLeague for remaining fairly consistent and not abusing the consumer.

Things to watch out for

Not much. The feet swap easily, the hands a little less so, and although I encountered no problem, I always recommend heating up the hands before removing or putting on (I prefer using a hairdryer for that purpose). As a tall body, M36 has a higher center of gravity and might tumble a little more readily than others, but it generally can stand well on its own.



Overall: 3.4/4 stars

TBLeague's seamless bodies remain arguably the best action figure bodies on the market, which is not to say that they fulfill all their potential. M36 is no exception to this rule. It is great overall, but there are various minor improvements (noted above) that would have made it even better. While too specific a type to work for a great many purposes, it does fill (to some extent) an important void where seamless action figures are concerned.

Where to buy
Online options include these (some of them still preorders) :

Big Bad Toy Store for $80 HERE

Monkey Depot for $80 HERE

Timewalker Toys for $78 HERE

and on eBay various prices HERE

I hope you found this review useful. What do you think? Part II (M36A) will follow presently.

#phicen #tbleague #seamless #male #body #african

Whoa! That's a very detailed and thorough review. I wonder if the hands issue could be resolved by just painting a bunch of the "white" ones out there...?

Stryker2011 wrote:Whoa! That's a very detailed and thorough review. I wonder if the hands issue could be resolved by just painting a bunch of the "white" ones out there...?

Thank you, Mark.

Yes, technically one can repaint some extra hands from the older bodies or even non-TBLeague products. But in my custom oil pastel experiments getting a match with the acrylics for the hands and feet was always quite tough. Moreover, the paint could chip off. So it is a solution, just not a perfect one.

Great review! I was glad to finally see this body in detail. The magnet in the hand is a nice touch.

Am I the only one who thinks the arms look really skinny? I don't expect them to necessarily be jacked, but they look almost disproportionately thin to me.

Definitely a disappointment that there aren't some basic holding hands. In regards to the repainting, hands are really tricky. On top of it being difficult to match, as you pointed out GubernatorFan, the hands need to flex to hold things, not to mention scraping the paint from taking stuff in and out of them. You can get away with repainting feet more easily, but hands are never going to be as good as if they were cast in a matching color plastic.

Outstanding review.  Excellent photos and articulate descriptions, as always...  
 

I’m still waiting for mine, which has an estimated delivery through mid-January - so this makes me at once anxious and desperate and sorry that I didn’t purchase it from a US dealer.  While I’m finding the wait excruciating, I don’t need two of them for my theme, which is my own quandary…


The lack of gripping hands, however, is especially disappointing.  I hope that I can perhaps alter with heat a set of those included.  I appreciate the hands that come with it, though.  I’m a fan of magnetism and believe that such applications are underutilized.  

But painting hands from other figures is certainly no solution, since it does not solve the problem - it rather simply paints the problem...  


Very thorough review, Guv.  (I can tell that it’s a thorough review, even though I gave it just a quick perusal; I intend to reserve for myself some element of surprise).  

Thank you very much guys, glad you liked it. Just to reiterate, only two of the hands have magnets (as pictured above). I agree that the arms (and legs) look skinny, which is partly a function of their length, and also partly of the angle of viewing. But you get the same sense with, for example, Kareem Abdul Jabbar's actual physique in Game of Death, to name a person who is going to be portrayed using this very body. With acrylic paints you will be able to handle some flexibility of the hand sculpts, but scraping off of paint would remain a problem. And of course all this presupposes you were able to match the skin tone to begin with... easier said than done.

GubernatorFan wrote:Thank you very much guys, glad you liked it. Just to reiterate, only two of the hands have magnets (as pictured above). I agree that the arms (and legs) look skinny, which is partly a function of their length, and also partly of the angle of viewing. But you get the same sense with, for example, Kareem Abdul Jabbar's actual physique in Game of Death, to name a person who is going to be portrayed using this very body. With acrylic paints you will be able to handle some flexibility of the hand sculpts, but scraping off of paint would remain a problem. And of course all this presupposes you were able to match the skin tone to begin with... easier said than done.

You know, I wonder if there'd be a market for compatible hands. The problem is that Phicen is inconsistent with skin color from generation to generation, let alone on individual figure releases, although the male color tone is pretty consistent. But it would be cool to see someone just do hand packs. Tons of poses, unbranded but designed to fit Phicen bodies. It seems like they'd be fairly cheap to produce. Hell, I'd love to see Phicen just get on it.

ReverendSpooky wrote:You know, I wonder if there'd be a market for compatible hands.  The problem is that Phicen is inconsistent with skin color from generation to generation, let alone on individual figure releases, although the male color tone is pretty consistent.  But it would be cool to see someone just do hand packs.  Tons of poses, unbranded but designed to fit Phicen bodies.  It seems like they'd be fairly cheap to produce.  Hell, I'd love to see Phicen just get on it.

When I daydream about creating or assisting in creating the perfect line of sixth-scale bodies and accessories for kitbashing (i.e., not actual character sets), hand packs with a bunch of fairly common but usually unrepresented gestures have been consistently part of the "plan," along with seamless bodies in a range of sizes, types, and color, and perhaps a range of actor "lookalike!" headsculpts. Each hand pack would match in color a set of suitable bodies and heads.

GubernatorFan wrote:

ReverendSpooky wrote:You know, I wonder if there'd be a market for compatible hands.  The problem is that Phicen is inconsistent with skin color from generation to generation, let alone on individual figure releases, although the male color tone is pretty consistent.  But it would be cool to see someone just do hand packs.  Tons of poses, unbranded but designed to fit Phicen bodies.  It seems like they'd be fairly cheap to produce.  Hell, I'd love to see Phicen just get on it.

When I daydream about creating or assisting in creating the perfect line of sixth-scale bodies and accessories for kitbashing (i.e., not actual character sets), hand packs with a bunch of fairly common but usually unrepresented gestures have been consistently part of the "plan," along with seamless bodies in a range of sizes, types, and color, and perhaps a range of actor "lookalike!" headsculpts. Each hand pack would match in color a set of suitable bodies and heads.

Indeed, this is what I have been asking for the whole of my 12” life!  Which is to say, for several long months, at this point.  LOL.  

Seriously, how can something so absolutely practical and widely demanded yet remain just “a dream?”  

It’s quite the conundrum…

PureEnergy wrote:Seriously, how can something so absolutely practical and widely demanded yet remain just “a dream?”

I suppose they decided there wasn't enough money in it.

GubernatorFan wrote:

PureEnergy wrote:Seriously, how can something so absolutely practical and widely demanded yet remain just “a dream?”

I suppose they decided there wasn't enough money in it.

I cannot imagine that being the reason, sir - as we all sit here dreaming about such things...  


As miscellaneous other companies that are purporting to fill that gap with inferior and inadequate products seem to be getting quite fat; secondary market sellers are scalping TBL Heads for half the price of complete sets - and we’re buying them!

We also continue to buy multiple Head Sculpts in the interest of hoping for a single match...
 

In any event, there are some Hand sets that I’ve found for the female Phicen / TBL and Jiaou Dolls that are both decent in quality and value for the price.  

Head Sculpts, however, remain an altogether different matter…

Part II - M36A

TBLeague produced a suntan version of M36, which, although labeled M36A, was released a little after M36B. Apart from the skin tone, the body is identical to its darker counterpart. Because of this, check above under M36B for the detailed review of the body. Below follow some notes and photos of the M36A version.



The body and its accessories come in the exact same box as M36B, but with a different skin tone box checked.



M36A's sculpt is the same as M36B.



M36A is a suntan body, compatible with many (though not all) Caucasian and Asian head sculpts.



The articulation is, of course, identical to that of M36B, and comparable to that of earlier TBLeague male seamless bodies.



Apart from the color, M36A comes with the exact same accessories (or rather spare parts) as M36B, including the pair of magnetic basketball dribble or grab hands.



The value and fun factor of M36A are identical to or comparable to those of M36B. In fact, M36A is generally sold for a slightly lower price, most commonly around $75 (though the range varies from $66 to $88). With the stature translating to about 6 foot 6 inches (or just over 2 meters) in real life, M36A can be used to kitbash various characters, including plenty of actors of taller stature.



Overall: 3.4/4 stars, like M36B

While in some ways overly specific and limited (in the choice of spare hands, etc.), M36A is another fine super flexible seamless body that provides additional variety among TBLeague's series of these products.



Where to buy
Online options include these (some of them still preorders) :

Big Bad Toy Store for $75 HERE

Cotswold Collectibles for $75 HERE

Monkey Depot for $75 HERE

Timewalker Toys for $73 HERE

and on eBay various prices HERE

I hope you found this review useful. What do you think?

Again, great to see some pics of these. Those flexing shots do show that from the side the arms don't look emaciated the way they do from the top. The M36A has the advantage of being able to utilize hands from all the other phicen male sets at least. Which kinda further draws attention to the point that we're long over due for all the other basic bodies in an AA skin tone.

ReverendSpooky wrote:Again, great to see some pics of these.  Those flexing shots do show that from the side the arms don't look emaciated the way they do from the top.  The M36A has the advantage of being able to utilize hands from all the other phicen male sets at least.  Which kinda further draws attention to the point that we're long over due for all the other basic bodies in an AA skin tone.

Glad you liked them. The side view of the arms is indeed quite different from the front. I have the feeling that the non-rotating volume of the lower arm is a bigger issue here due to the fleshy part being thinner. And yes, it should be easier to outfit M36A with all sorts of earlier TBLeague hand sculpts. I will have to double-check, but other companies' hands often do fit on TBLeague wrist pegs reasonably well; if so, in theory one could use some of the black hands from other companies out there with M36B, but of course there will be no guarantee of a real skin tone match.

Oh man what excellent reviews for both M36 A & B. Thanks GubFan for what you put into these! It’s a no brainer to buy both of these. I’m behind on my collecting and waiting for a vendor to get the AA in stock. BTW is the sculpt for B the cut down Blitzway Universal Soldier? Good choice.

MarkEl wrote:Oh man what excellent reviews for both M36 A & B.  Thanks GubFan for what you put into these!  It’s a no brainer to buy both of these.  I’m behind on my collecting and waiting for a vendor to get the AA in stock.  BTW is the sculpt for B the cut down Blitzway Universal Soldier?  Good choice.  

Thank you very much, MarkEl! Glad you liked them (well, the real review was M36B, M36A was mostly just photos). The sculpt I used with M36A is indeed from Blitzway's Universal Soldier, with the neck removed (in this instance the head/neck sculpt was such that it doesn't blend as seamlessly with the seamless neck, but I'm fine with it). I picked it because the color was close enough and Dolph Lundgren is at least 6'5".

GubernatorFan wrote:

ReverendSpooky wrote:Again, great to see some pics of these.  Those flexing shots do show that from the side the arms don't look emaciated the way they do from the top.  The M36A has the advantage of being able to utilize hands from all the other phicen male sets at least.  Which kinda further draws attention to the point that we're long over due for all the other basic bodies in an AA skin tone.

Glad you liked them. The side view of the arms is indeed quite different from the front. I have the feeling that the non-rotating volume of the lower arm is a bigger issue here due to the fleshy part being thinner. And yes, it should be easier to outfit M36A with all sorts of earlier TBLeague hand sculpts. I will have to double-check, but other companies' hands often do fit on TBLeague wrist pegs reasonably well; if so, in theory one could use some of the black hands from other companies out there with M36B, but of course there will be no guarantee of a real skin tone match.

After dealing with an unscrupulous eBay seller, I had to get a refund for three figures (two M35s and one M36B).  So, nearly two months after ordering these, I am back at square one.  

And now I’m looking at the M36B and wondering if it’s something that I truly want.  This review has drawn my attention to several matters which I find somewhat less than desirable - such as the overall apparent disproportion, and, of course, the lack of a relatively full set of hands.  Regarding the former, the arms do seem awkward in appearance.  It also sounds as though the lower arms have issues of limited articulation.  So, perhaps it were a boon that I did not receive this purchase and will have a chance to reconsider, which I may.

Long overdue, indeed.  And two or three available TBL tones is far from a comprehensive assortment.  Whenever will they get on with it?

I have the impression that these manufacturers are in cahoots and have sliced up the pie in a way that covers the market while allowing just enough discrepancy among products to make gains on the gambles that we customers continue to take when ordering what should be compatible components - as we ultimately simply buy more when we discover that they are, in fact, incompatible.  It seems somewhat predatory, if that’s the case.

PureEnergy wrote:And now I’m looking at the M36B and wondering if it’s something that I truly want.  This review has drawn my attention to several matters which I find somewhat less than desirable - such as the overall apparent disproportion, and, of course, the lack of a relatively full set of hands.  Regarding the former, the arms do seem awkward in appearance.  It also sounds as though the lower arms have issues of limited articulation.  So, perhaps it were a boon that I did not receive this purchase and will have a chance to reconsider, which I may.

M36A and M36B are identical in everything except in skin tone. They are perhaps unusually lanky, but not impossibly so. Whether that works for you, is up to you. And we've mentioned plenty of reputable sellers; besides, by now (or soon), the brick and mortar US stores should be getting these bodies.

But I want to clarify: there is no articulation problem specific to this body. That is, they are as well articulated as their predecessors. The issue I was referring to has to do with the way the rubbery flesh appears on the lower arm in particular (and to a lesser extent generally). There are some twists that are present in the human body that have never been possible to hold with a TBLeague body, because the rubbery flesh is relatively loosely attached to the underlying skeleton. You can twist them manually, but in some cases they will not be able to hold that pose. On the whole that is not too readily apparent, except when you rotate the wrist a certain way and (especially on a thin body like this) you notice now the body sculpt does not quite match the position of the wrist. Essentially the lower arm should be able to rotate (to a point) around its axis but even if it does, that is not outwardly apparent.

Thanks Great Review . Sooo..... pichen made bigger Hands for this tall figure. But that´s all... The size of the special pichen rubber parts is like for all the male figures

Ephi, welcome back. That was both funny and sad. Thanks for the laugh.

Funny indeed. I just wonder whether the hands are actually bigger, or do they just look that way because of the more stretched-out hand sculpts for the basketball poses. That said, I have not measured them.

Holy crap Ephiane, this cracked me up so bad. You may have just taken the crown for comically illustrating a point on here. So good.

GubernatorFan wrote:

PureEnergy wrote:And now I’m looking at the M36B and wondering if it’s something that I truly want.  This review has drawn my attention to several matters which I find somewhat less than desirable - such as the overall apparent disproportion, and, of course, the lack of a relatively full set of hands.  Regarding the former, the arms do seem awkward in appearance.  It also sounds as though the lower arms have issues of limited articulation.  So, perhaps it were a boon that I did not receive this purchase and will have a chance to reconsider, which I may.

M36A and M36B are identical in everything except in skin tone. They are perhaps unusually lanky, but not impossibly so. Whether that works for you, is up to you. And we've mentioned plenty of reputable sellers; besides, by now (or soon), the brick and mortar US stores should be getting these bodies.

But I want to clarify: there is no articulation problem specific to this body. That is, they are as well articulated as their predecessors. The issue I was referring to has to do with the way the rubbery flesh appears on the lower arm in particular (and to a lesser extent generally). There are some twists that are present in the human body that have never been possible to hold with a TBLeague body, because the rubbery flesh is relatively loosely attached to the underlying skeleton. You can twist them manually, but in some cases they will not be able to hold that pose. On the whole that is not too readily apparent, except when you rotate the wrist a certain way and (especially on a thin body like this) you notice now the body sculpt does not quite match the position of the wrist. Essentially the lower arm should be able to rotate (to a point) around its axis but even if it does, that is not outwardly apparent.

I see.  Thank you for the eloquent explanation.  

I understand precisely what you mean with regard to certain limitations of poseability - as such seems to account for that 10% of human mobility that is not replicative with any of these figures (and which is certainly an acceptable ratio by any fair consideration).  

I have a head for the M36B, and would rather like to use it as I’d planned; I believe that your response here seals the deal for me, and that I will purchase (or, re-purchase, as it were) that figure from a seller with whom I am more familiar and know to be trustworthy.  

Thanks again for the clarification, Guv.  



And...  

Ephiane, did it ever occur to you that Bombaataa might just be cold?  

“Save the Chubby Unicorns,” indeed.  LOL.

I am indeed re-ordering the M36B.  I’ve a fairly particular concept for a custom, and I hope that I can accomplish what I see in my mind’s eye.    

Guv, I’d honestly reconsidered such only after your reply; you truly ought to get a piece of that pie for having so skillfully marketed this product.  

You wouldn’t happen to be in sales, would you?  


“Always Be Closing.”

PureEnergy wrote:You wouldn’t happen to be in sales, would you?

Dear Lord, no, I'd be lucky if I am not swindled at every register.

I hope your faith in my opinion does not disappoint once you get the figure. Good luck.