NEW PRODUCT: TBLeague：1/6 Spartan Army Commander Spartan Army Commander (3 models in total) PL2020-165A/B/C）

GubernatorFan wrote:

xitrum wrote:The helmet's got to count for something, right?  

Nah... more fantasy than Greek.

Yep. Not only did the Greeks never use it but it has never been used anywhere in the entire history of warfare. It looks like a helmet from LOTR or The Great Wall

Edit: I have one of those styles of flail available, made from metal, not plastic.



https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/608364806/16-scale-miniature-model-medieval-spiked

Stryker2011 wrote:The spikey ball on a chain is called a “flail”.

Heh. I've never seen it called a bola before.

I love Xena-style fantasy so I'm all over these, though I can nag about each one of them, too:

I think the brown/bronze traditional (as in 300) colors are the prettiest, but also the most boring. The head is most doll-like and a total bore. Shield instead of sword... She's out.

The white version has the most interesting expression and I like the spear the most, as well, which together might make up for the heavy make-up, cause:

The black version I think looks the best overall and triggers the Xena-association of course. I wish there was a close-up of the face, but it looks like the only one I'd be happy to leave as is. Those eyes look very dark, which is interesting. The flail usually has evil associations and overall the tone is very dark and that's the only nit-pick I have with this, cause I don't like evil vibes in my home. (Xena wears black, too, but doesn't have the evil vibe...)

But I'm thinking white and black together... Yin Yang... Purchase totally justified.

This release is going to hurt my pocket..., l might regret if i don't get all three as a set! However, none of them seems to come with a base...so could be cheaper!

Honestly, I'm glad it doesn't come with a base. Not only makes shipping cheaper, you also don't need a lot of space to display.
And when I wrote "bola" I also felt strange, subconsciously thinking that wasn't the right name. I forgot about "flail" completely.

And I would love to see Xena in 1/6 scale and can totally see her vibe in this figure... why has no company done it yet? There's even a HS aroung that would fit perfectly on a Xena. Dammit, AerynDiana, now I'm tempted on buying the black one, even though she doesn't come with a spear or trident.

FreakinLobster wrote:Honestly, I'm glad it doesn't come with a base. Not only makes shipping cheaper, you also don't need a lot of space to display.
And when I wrote "bola" I also felt strange, subconsciously thinking that wasn't the right name. I forgot about "flail" completely.

And I would love to see Xena in 1/6 scale and can totally see her vibe in this figure... why has no company done it yet? There's even a HS aroung that would fit perfectly on a Xena. Dammit, AerynDiana, now I'm tempted on buying the black one, even though she doesn't come with a spear or trident.

Sorry not sorry.

I mention the major oversight that is Xena whenever I get the chance.

FreakinLobster wrote:

ahbake wrote:Yeah, I was thinking uh-oh here we go! Butler, Fassbender, Wenham...

... and got Pink, Beyoncé and Britney Spears from that Pepsi commercial...

Actually, if they gave them those head sculpts, they'd fly off the shelves...

Stryker2011 wrote:The spikey ball on a chain is called a “flail”.

Heh, yes 'Flail' is the word I'm 'flailing' around for.

A bola/bolus is a different thing but it's an easy mistake to make. I've always called these things a 'mace' but that's not accurate either.


So where have we seen these sculpts before? I can see that Black Commander is a remixed Steampunk Sonja (still not the similar but lovelier sculpt with shorter hair that they used in the S28/29 promos, though) but the other two sculpts have got me stumped. The blonde has a nice stern expression but as usual the hair is too coiffed to be realistic in this context (I know, I know... TBL vs realism-round 2634, etc).

Black Commander would be my choice if I wanted a full figure, but I'll just go for any loose parts of interest.



(finally made a post that doesn't mention feet or footwear!)

EDIT: (Damn!)

The Silver one looks like the Galaxy Soldier head to me.

shazzdan wrote:Yep. Not only did the Greeks never use it but it has never been used anywhere in the entire history of warfare. It looks like a helmet from LOTR or The Great Wall

What about ceremonial? There are military uniforms that are strictly for ceremonial purposes. They would never be used in combat. But they are legit military uniforms, nonetheless.

You guys got me curious so I googled "spartan helmet". From what I'm seeing, the helmet, with the plume and all, looks pretty legit.

Jeez, how many new bodies/figures is Tbleague releasing this year? They seem to be really cranking out these releases at a record pace. Especially considering that we're in the midst of a pandemic.

xitrum wrote:

shazzdan wrote:Yep. Not only did the Greeks never use it but it has never been used anywhere in the entire history of warfare. It looks like a helmet from LOTR or The Great Wall

What about ceremonial?  There are military uniforms that are strictly for ceremonial purposes.  They would never be used in combat.  But they are legit military uniforms, nonetheless.

You guys got me curious so I googled "spartan helmet".  From what I'm seeing, the helmet, with the plume and all, looks pretty legit.

It is a stylized version of the "Corinthian Helmet". It is not accurate but as a fantasy helmet it is OK. I doubt the Greeks had ceremonial uniforms as they didn't wear much to begin with. Their armour was definitely intended for combat and as such they are unlikely to have worn something for purely decorative purposes as it would probably be considered unmanly. They thought the Persian trousers were "effeminate".

JohnByng wrote:

xitrum wrote:

shazzdan wrote:Yep. Not only did the Greeks never use it but it has never been used anywhere in the entire history of warfare. It looks like a helmet from LOTR or The Great Wall

What about ceremonial?  There are military uniforms that are strictly for ceremonial purposes.  They would never be used in combat.  But they are legit military uniforms, nonetheless.

You guys got me curious so I googled "spartan helmet".  From what I'm seeing, the helmet, with the plume and all, looks pretty legit.

It is a stylized version of the "Corinthian Helmet". It is not accurate but as a fantasy helmet it is OK. I doubt the Greeks had ceremonial uniforms as they didn't wear much to begin with. Their armour was definitely intended for combat and as such they are unlikely to have worn something for purely decorative purposes as it would probably be considered unmanly. They thought the Persian trousers were "effeminate".

I agree with John. Whether there was such a thing as specifically ceremonial equipment is a subject of debate; if there was, yes, it could be more ornate. But this is not so much about how ornate it is, as much as it is about shapes and style. It is almost all fantasy and almost no history; they took a "Corinthian" helmet, gave it a modernistic stylized treatment with different angles and shapes to the edges (compare Leonidas' helmet in the 300 movie), then gave that an ornate treatment to spruce it up, and finally a bit of weathering, and voila. But just because it's a helmet and it's got a plume, and if you squint to the point of not being able to make out any details the silhouette looks remotely Greek, doesn't make it historically accurate. And yes, Alexander the Great was criticized by some of his more xenophobic Greeks for adopting various items of Persian origin, but even he drew the line at wearing pants.

xitrum wrote:

shazzdan wrote:Yep. Not only did the Greeks never use it but it has never been used anywhere in the entire history of warfare. It looks like a helmet from LOTR or The Great Wall

What about ceremonial?  There are military uniforms that are strictly for ceremonial purposes.  They would never be used in combat.  But they are legit military uniforms, nonetheless.

Ceremonial/parade armour never existed before the Renaissance. Before that time all the fancy historical armour you see was actually used in battle.

The only exception is funerary gear. Some cultures made weapons and armour specifically to be put in a tomb in preparation for the afterlife.

JohnByng wrote:
It is a stylized version of the "Corinthian Helmet". It is not accurate but as a fantasy helmet it is OK. I doubt the Greeks had ceremonial uniforms as they didn't wear much to begin with. Their armour was definitely intended for combat and as such they are unlikely to have worn something for purely decorative purposes as it would probably be considered unmanly. They thought the Persian trousers were "effeminate".  

I agree that this is a fantasy helmet.  It has to be stylized and exaggerated; otherwise it'll look boring.  

I've read that the plume did serve military purposes: officer rank, height intimidation.  Not sure if any of that is true, though.  But vase paintings suggested that they went into battle with it.

But the main argument is that the Greek "element" is there with the face mask and the plume.

It's common in most depictions of the hoplites:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplite

i like the brunette head...might have to try and get lucky getting one loose for a reasonable price. and no 60 plus is not reasonable imo.

Those looks quite impressive though, probably the best TBleague set ever produce in recent year. Gonna preorder Golden and Silver one probably.

Indeed I'm also liking the Black and Gold Commanders too but I think I will hold out for the Sariah, the Goddess of War
figure instead.

Finally some more of those fantasy Spartan helmets (hard to find nowadays) and weapons for my figures.

Prices are out on the Phicen website. USD169 each. Either same px or more expensive than other figures with base. I will need to think twice about this...

TBL certainly knows the way to my heart and wallet... I have the black and red commanders on order, so look for lots of pics here whenever they show up

I've never purchased from the Phicen site. Where is it shipped out of and how much is shipping usually or is it better just to get from other online retailers? (most are priced at 180 shipped)

I’ve never ordered direct from them, but depending on where you’re at, check out the following link:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1860-on-line-retailers-list

Thanks for the link Stryker. Yea, I've been mostly getting my stuff from Giantoy and Onesixthkit, was just wondering if Phicen shipped direct from China.

csyeung wrote:Thanks for the link Stryker.  Yea, I've been mostly getting my stuff from Giantoy and Onesixthkit, was just wondering if Phicen shipped direct from China.

You can if you want. Here’s their site:

http://www.phicen.com/

$169 each and I need 300 of those for a "realistic" scene. $50.700 ? Before shipping and taxes ? I think I'll pass.

Seriously, these fantasy warriors are nothing for me. If I want one of those I'll just render a "N.V.I.A.T.W.A.S" in 3D. Those working with Poser or Daz3D may remember this cliché render from about 15 years ago.

BTW, the "flail" is also known as the "morning star" :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_star_(weapon)

A medieval weapon, invented way after our Greek pin-up age.

Actually, a Morningstar is any spiked ended weapon with a handle. A flail is still a ball on a chain. (Even the often inaccurate Wikipedia has that correct); as they have a picture of a morning star hanging from the same display hook next to a flail.

The original German "morgenstern" was apparently used to describe a spiked mace. By the time the English term was being used, it described any spiked ball weapon, but flails of any kind were rare on the battlefield, so it was still primarily used to describe a spiked mace.

AerynDiana wrote:I mention the major oversight that is Xena whenever I get the chance.

Missed this.

Yep. I want a Xena with a decent HS.