NEW PRODUCT: TBleague s42-s43

rollotomasi wrote:@Brassco, @Geewillikers, @Gooboo. Thanks for the pics, really helpful!

For those that have S43, is the skintone of the S43 substantially lighter than the "light suntan" of recent TBL suntans?
I saw this Youtube video review, jump to 1:27, you'll see S43 with S23B, that's a whopping difference in skintone!
I want the headless S43A but won't get it if its lighter than TBL's "light suntan".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h-O5e8X9ug

Well that's odd - I don't have a 43, but my 42 (pictured throughout this thread) is by sheer coincidence now wearing the exact same generic blonde Kimi head he's using (the first one, not the Seyfried-alike he has on one at the very end). My particular 42 is very slightly paler than TBL's usual 'pale' though, so maybe the 43 is also more pale than usual. Still seems a bit of an extreme difference, though.

You can never be 100% certain of anything with these bodies under differing light conditions of course, but compared to that particular 23, the body in his video looks much more like a 42 than a 43.

And let's not forget that I personally have counted at least three different variants of 'suntan' in the S23 alone (it's perhaps the least useful TBL model to use as a basis for skintone comparisons IMHO).

GeeW - I have also counted three different suntan skintone variations that have been put out by tbleague since 2019 (using my various s25b bodies as a reference). The first was the greyish suntan, followed by the reddish suntan. And then the current one, which seems to be a somewhat lighter suntan (when directly compared to the previous reddish one).

I may have solved this one already - in another video he says he received two of these from a third party seller in 'generic' boxes, no identifying accessories or labels...  I'm assuming they're the same two he uses in his other video, so I reckon he's probably been mis-sold two 42s as 43s.



Having said that though, the two Kimi heads he puts on the bodies at the end do look a little too light by comparison...

skywalkersaga wrote:GeeW - I have also counted three different suntan skintone variations that have been put out by tbleague since 2019 (using my various s25b bodies as a reference). The first was the greyish suntan, followed by the reddish suntan. And then the current one, which seems to be a somewhat lighter suntan (when directly compared to the previous reddish one).

Those are the ones. I also have what seems to be a unique very slightly yellowish/sallow shade of the 'light suntan' variant S23, that I've never seen anywhere else again (whether it was a dye-processing fluke, a light-discoloured ex-display model re-boxed as 'new' or an unused prototype that accidentally got out of the factory, I guess I'll never know). It's an odd one, the hands and feet are a near-perfect match which suggests it was intentional, and in-hand its yellowish tint is obvious, but it doesn't really show as 'yellowish' in photographs.

@rollotomasi - I got my S43 from Giantoy 2 months ago and it is the current 'light' suntan, if that helps.

Nice! Thanks to all of you for the info!
I don't think i have enough patience anymore to wait for *@#% TBL to make an S43 with detachable feet!

rollotomasi wrote:Nice! Thanks to all of you for the info!
I don't think i have enough patience anymore to wait for *@#% TBL to make an S43 with detachable feet!

I'm starting to think the same, and even when/if they do, it's still not exactly the same as the Viking Woman body, and they'll most likely tweak it in some undesirable way or other. But even so while the seamless feet on these and the S34/35 are more aesthetically pleasing, I kind of hope they aren't selling very well due to their sheer impracticality and TBL will be forced to release versions with detachable feet.

I think though, that TBL just might be deliberating over which one of the Viking Woman/Month variants to release as a base body (either, or even both, would be great for me).

I wanted her to be able to stand up on her own and did manage with the zytoys shoes, she is not complete, missing her katana. oh, and the head is YM026D.

Nicely put together, Tabul. And it's great she can stand with these shoes.

She looks really nice. Stiff shoes with ankle support are a must with the floppy-footed TBLs, and this is proof. Well done, Tabul.

She looks great! Interesting how that relatively small head (Anna, right?) looks good on this amazonian body, and that this set fits her, too!

The hollow Zy Boots are usually just right for helping the fixed-foot TBLs stand up for themselves, especially the older S01-09 models. Unlike most mid-to-high heeled 1/6 boots on the market, they actually have thicker sturdier heels on them that don't snap under the figure's weight five minutes after you've squeezed the boots on. The zips on these can be a bit tricky, but really only if you intend to remove them again at some point. It also helps if you put stockings or socks on the feet (or wrap them in film) before attempting to put them on.

I haven't been brave enough to try them with the bigger flatter feet on an S42/43 yet though, so well done!

Yes it is Anna with blue eyes, you are correct the head could be a little bit bigger but you get use to it (is one of the best head sculpts out there for a great price), besides you would need a really good camera to capture her real proportions. Her outfit is from Flirty Girl, hopefully they will create more superhero type costumes. I have to mention even though she is able to stand on her own she has weak ankles limiting her poses but everything has a solution, just use double sided tape to secure her footing and maybe reinforce the back of her shoes with a hard thin plastic , here is a picture for reference against PL2020-173 with the s43 head.

I like the new S43A model for its fuller fugured statuesque body type, but I do agree with others that the non-detachable feet are a challenge. Not only because its tough to stand them on their own, but also due to their size.

Many of the commercial shoes on the market do not fit(too small) and if you do find some that fit, they will be a challenge to stay on while changing poses. I am still searching around for some shoes that will fit so if anyone has any sources, please share.

My bigger issue with phicen are with the hands. I find the hands very poorly suited to match the skin color of the body and I cannot understand why that is a problem for a major brand like Phicen. To resolve, I swap out hands from my Jaioudoll models, which match phicen suntan almost perfectly and they are much better (and prettier) made.

Ultimately, I'm happy with it overall.

I think most of us would agree about the seamless ankled non-functional "floppy" feet and the issues of shodding them, Diometes. You seem to have done a very good job in the photo. I don't own one of these bodies, so I don't know if the color matching between TPE and harder plastic has gone more awry than usual. I tend to prefer TBLeague hands, but if you want painted nails, Jiaou takes care of that from the get go.

Diometes wrote:I like the new S43A model for its fuller fugured statuesque body type, but I do agree with others that the non-detachable feet are a challenge. Not only because its tough to stand them on their own, but also due to their size.

The Viking Woman and Knight Of Fire bodies are near-identical to these (see the comparison photos on page 2), but have foot pegs instead of seamless feet. For reasons best known to themselves TBL haven't chosen to release them as a base bodytype yet, however, so for now it's a question of finding a body parted-out from those sets and then finding feet to match (I'm finding this larger bodytype is one of the few that's a good match for TBL's new style bigger feet, so if you've an S28/29 or 38/39 with spare feet, they'll do the job).

Good information... I have the S28. Thanks!

Diometes wrote:Good information... I have the S28. Thanks!

The Viking Woman and Knight Of Fire bodies only seem to be available in suntan though, so really you'd need a 29 or a 39 (you can actually pick those up loose on ebay).

Wanted to share how lovely the s43 is with the Kier set (even if they are basically the same body), I went with the black spartan HS not only because they are cheap but also easy to give personality to your figure.

Looks nice, Tabul.

Nice! If I can ask a "stupid" question... what does the "black spartan HS" refer to? Is that the costume dress?

Diometes wrote:Nice! If I can ask a "stupid" question... what does the "black spartan HS" refer to? Is that the costume dress?

It's shorthand for one of the three variants (black, silver, and gold) of the "Spartan Commander" set by TBLeague. This one also has a black-haired head sculpt. You can see it parted out recently here:
https://www.monkeydepot.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=PL2020-165&Search.y=0

Thanks Gubernator, now my project is to make a stand that can be easily hidden for better pictures

Diometes wrote:Nice! If I can ask a "stupid" question... what does the "black spartan HS" refer to? Is that the costume dress?

I see that Gubernatorfan was quicker on the keyboard, but here's what I was going to offer:

That is a good question. Sometimes acronyms and abbreviations can make posts difficult to understand.

"HS" usually refers to "Head Sculpt." That is, the type of head on the figure. In the hobby these days, heads are often purchased separately from bodies, or heads and bodies are switched around.

In this case, the HS (Head Sculpt) is from a TBLeague figure release called the Black Spartan Commander.

A typical eBay listing refers to this head as: TBLeague PL2020-165A 1/6 Black Spartan Army Commander Action Figure Head Sculpt

Here we see the head from the TBLeague Black Spartan Commander set combined with a TBLeague S43 body.

The costume the figure is wearing is from the TBLeague PL202O-171 Kier, Shadow of Heaven figure. This costume can be found parted out on eBay. The chest armor, skirt, and sword are often sold separately from each other.

I hope this helps. Asking for clarification when we under-describe or assume too much in our descriptions is encouraged! Otherwise, how will we continue to learn and share what we know?

Yes, very helpful... thank you for that detailed explanation! Sometimes as a novice I do feel a little "behind the curve" in some of the conversations, but I'm a quick learner. Thanks again for the time taken to explain. Greatly appreciated!

Oh I'm pretty sure that I myself didn't know what HS meant when I first encountered the abbreviation -- but I thought the question was about the source (action figure set) itself -- anyway, we've got it covered.

Yeah, the HS threw me! Ask my wife... I honestly sat here for several minutes thinking all the things that could have stood for a still drew a blank! LOL

Diometes wrote:Yeah, the HS threw me! Ask my wife... I honestly sat here for several minutes thinking all the things that could have stood for a still drew a blank! LOL

Ha! Welcome to my world. Aside from the military, where acronyms are used constantly, forums and social media use them far too often for my liking, and usually because the person typing is on a phone, and it usually takes me typing the acronym into a Google search to figure out what the hell people are talking about.


Anyway, don’t sweat it. And glad Gubernatorfan and davidd provided great answers. I get lost still in these discussions about bodies when people just throw out the numbers (I still have to do Google searches on them, if I’m really curious, to see what they are they talking about (I’m a visual person, so I prefer pictures rather than random numbers).