NEW PRODUCT: HHMODEL & HAOYUTOYS New product: 1/6 Rome - Camp Flag Bearer Action Figure (#HH18020)

GubernatorFan wrote:I, for one, appreciate the attempt to provide something a bit distinctive and perhaps less ideal. And while this is just a collectible, perhaps the tone of some posts has turned a little ugly.

If there is an actual actor that this is based on, I can imagine the poor man reading this thread, depressed, and thinking "I never knew that I look like a fat chubby Sean Bean, a fat Liam Cunningham..."

I like to think the head is just realistic and not fat, but then again, I also like to think the same when I look in the mirror.  It brings up an interesting question though -- looking at the pics again.  Does it look like they actually gave him a different body shape, which will stand out in a group display?  Or am I just seeing maybe some way that the armor fabrics and leather are bunching up on an otherwise "normally lean" body?

It looks to me that it is a more "robust" body -- but as you say, that could just be the layering; it would, however, make more sense given the head sculpt if the body was a bit more plump. The only way to know is if it ever gets parted out, or someone breaks down and buys one, to be sure.

I don't have any actual proof, but I believe these are still using the same CooModel hard plastic jointed bodies as the first sets in this series.

GubernatorFan wrote:I don't have any actual proof, but I believe these are still using the same CooModel hard plastic jointed bodies as the first sets in this series.

For "these," as a group, certainly yes -- but now I am wondering if this particular one is using something more like the Worldbox Plump. Did CooModel ever make a belly model like that? The proportions of this one seem different from the previous others in the pics, unless again it's just an effect of fabrics bunching up. If HY did actually go through a special effort to make this one the "Friar Tuck" of their Roman merry band, I'm impressed.

Moonbase Alpha Male wrote:For "these," as a group, certainly yes -- but now I am wondering if this particular one is using something more like the Worldbox Plump.  Did CooModel ever make a belly model like that?  The proportions of this one seem different from the previous others in the pics, unless again it's just an effect of fabrics bunching up.  If HY did actually go through a special effort to make this one the "Friar Tuck" of their Roman merry band, I'm impressed.

I don't think they have a "fat" body. Might be using padding (note how the belt causes the outer line to tuck in at the waist in some of the shots). Moreover, the head might be slightly on the small side to fit inside the helmet without making that too oversized. Certainly the short-cropped hair helps in that respect.

Doesn't really work for lower-ranked Roman soldiers. Most were short and lean because their diet had little meat in it. There is one account where there was almost a mutiny because they were issued fresh meat instead of their typical staples of wheat, lentils, and chickpeas. Army rations included meat but it usually made up a fairly small proportion of their total food allocation, and even that was more than they were used to eating as civilians.

shazzdan wrote:Doesn't really work for lower-ranked Roman soldiers. Most were short and lean because their diet had little meat in it. There is one account where there was almost a mutiny because they were issued fresh meat instead of their typical staples of wheat, lentils, and chickpeas. Army rations included meat but it usually made up a fairly small proportion of their total food allocation, and even that was more than they were used to eating as civilians.

I think your point is well-taken generally, but if anyone would be the exception, it would be the Aquilifer.  It was not a low rank, but just below Centurion.  In battle he had influence above his place in the chain of command because soldiers would follow the Eagle standard.  And I believe he got double pay because he had to be at the very front of battle, while wearing lighter armor for mobility, and largely unable to defend himself due to carrying the eagle.  Further he was also treasurer because the coins were kept together with the Eagle and signage.  Due to the one-off nature of the rank he also had a lot of additional prestige and his position was unique.  It was also the prestige rank you would probably have if your family was relatively wealthy but you didn't aspire to rise to the very top military ranks, so he could just be carrying a few extra libra from prior civilian life.  Not that I think HY Toys would have thought this through...

Given less varied nutrition, most pre-modern people would be shorter and generally slightly smaller than modern ones, that is true. But a lot of bread can make your body heavier and bulkier than meat by itself.

CAESAR
Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

Moonbase Alpha Male wrote:
CAESAR
Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

Nice find!

GubernatorFan wrote:Given less varied nutrition, most pre-modern people would be shorter and generally slightly smaller than modern ones, that is true. But a lot of bread can make your body heavier and bulkier than meat by itself.

White bread, yes. But  most Romans never ate that. On top of that, modern strains of wheat have a higher calory density and are easier to digest. The bread available to the Romans did not enable the type of weight gain that we see with modern bread.

While active duty soldiers might not have been particularly prone to heaviness, there are plenty of depictions of chunky Romans, including Nero and Titus, among others.

GubernatorFan wrote:While active duty soldiers might not have been particularly prone to heaviness, there are plenty of depictions of chunky Romans, including Nero and Titus, among others.

Of course there were. It is pretty obvious why when you look at what the aristocrats ate and the copious amount of alcohol they drank. Many also had a devotion to avoiding any kind of manual labour. But that has nothing to do with Roman legionaries.

Well they couldn't invade France and not enjoy our wine