Steve Reeves Hercules by Phicen

Yep, back then it was still called Phicen. And it was one of very very few of their boxed sets I've ever bought. The head sculpt is not as good a likeness as it should be, I know, nor have I kitted it out completely (besides, it comes with material for at least three or four different looks). But, to make our newest member feel at home, here he is...







#phicen #tbleague #stevereeves #hercules #myth #film #actor #male

Nice, is it the lighting or do the hands look more fitting to the body color than recent releases?
He looks a bit like that U-Boot Captain. I really like your sea background, feels like there is bombastic oldschool cinematic music and a very long title sequence incoming.

The plate he stands on looks like a futuristic viking manhole cover. HERCULES VS. SPACE VIKINGS!

The lighting helps quite a bit in the likeness’ favor. And the backdrops are perfect — I’m picturing all those movies I watched as a kid now.

When I was a teen I watched the Hercules Series with Kevin Sorbo. That was much fun eh

Don't know this one, but I think he looks very cool. That chub is a bit neanderthalic ( ) though, but like I said, I don't know that movie

Ovy wrote:Nice, is it the lighting or do the hands look more fitting to the body color than recent releases?
He looks a bit like that U-Boot Captain. I really like your sea background, feels like there is bombastic oldschool cinematic music and a very long title sequence incoming.

The plate he stands on looks like a futuristic viking manhole cover. HERCULES VS. SPACE VIKINGS!

What, no comment on the unexposed joints!? I'm glad you liked it. It is not one of the boxed bodies, at least not precisely. I thought that they had simply painted an M30 differently, but someone (MarkEl? Moonbase Alpha Male?) asserts that the sculpt/mold is in fact slightly different; I haven't verified that. But anyway, it is a different paint job than their boxed M30s (or other bodies), so perhaps the hard plastic pieces were indeed better matched to the body color. It certainly isn't a recent release. He does look like the U-Boat captain, doesn't he? Not a perfect Steve Reeves, but I appreciate the effort. Glad you found the backgrounds fitting. But I will never inflict a long title sequence on anyone. Those belong at the end, where you can skip them!

Viking manhole cover...? You're bad, Ovy. Now I'm doing everything I can to keep from making a joke about it being a manhole cover guarding a passage into Asgard... just barely... Anyway, it is a box with hiberno-nordic designs that will make an appearance in a new installment on the Odinssons thread... eventually (have you seen those? HERE).

Stryker2011 wrote:The lighting helps quite a bit in the likeness’ favor. And the backdrops are perfect — I’m picturing all those movies I watched as a kid now.

Thank you, I thought so too (likeness). And I'm glad you found the backgrounds fitting too. The one with the flowers is actually amid a field of ruins in Italy or Greece (or somewhere with Greco-Roman ruins anyway).

Valiarde wrote:When I was a teen I watched the Hercules Series with Kevin Sorbo. That was much fun eh

Don't know this one, but I think he looks very cool. That chub is a bit neanderthalic ( ) though, but like I said, I don't know that movie

I liked Kevin Sorbo (in this and other things), although I found the series silly and often off-putting. I have seen some of the old swords-and-sandals Hercules movies with Steve Reeves, and although I never formed a real attachment to them (as I did with say Arnie as Conan or Terminator, or the original Star Wars actors, etc), he remains in my mind the quintessential Hercules in a way that Lou Ferigno, Kevin Sorbo, Paul Telfer, the Rock, or Kellan Lutz (etc) never did. He would probably make most sense to an ancient audience, too, if they ever saw modern movie representations of their hero. The club is one of his more specific attributes, and that comes from the ancient mythological tradition too. It seems a bit unusual and sophisticated, compared to the elegant weaponry usually associated with aristocratic heroes, but then again the historical tyrant Peisistratos had a guard of clubmen in 6th-century BC Athens...

nice figure looks even better with appropriate settings and crisp photography.
the soles of the sandals look a little thick but the design and fit are good-good.

A very nice figure indeed, beautifully photographed

Very cool. I wish they sold that body separately.

GregT wrote:nice figure looks even better with appropriate settings and crisp photography.
the soles of the sandals look a little thick but the design and fit are good-good.

Thank you very much! Given the trouble I had lighting and shooting this so that the results were decent, I appreciate your approval. I agree, the soles of the sandals are pretty massive. I think it is a combination of their original design and an attempt to make what is (more or less) an M30 body look taller.

BAMComix wrote:A very nice figure indeed, beautifully photographed

Thank you very much! It took some effort to make it work.

actionfiguremovies2 wrote:Very cool. I wish they sold that body separately.

Thank you very much! Well, it is pretty much an M30 -- I was never quite able to confirm the supposed differences -- apart from the more naturally tanned skin tone. But you can always take out your oil pastels. That said, yes, I do wish they make all their boxed set bodies (wherever different from the ones sold by themselves) available for purchase on their own.

Very nice. For reference here is Mr. Reeves.



https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/VMcAAOSweoBbDhPz/s-l400.jpg

Thank you, Dan, glad you liked it. Changed the second photo you posted to a link, because for some reason these eBay photo URLs just don't display here. They did a pretty great job reproducing some of the costumes and accessories from the movies; the body is not far off, but probably a bit short (hence the thick sandal soles?); I think the head could really have been a bit more realistic, right now it looks like a nice semi-realistic/semi-cartoon version of the real thing.

He looks good, the sandals are a bit strange. He seems to have a sort of concerned look about him.

Theboo-bomb wrote:He looks good, the sandals are a bit strange. He seems to have a sort of concerned look about him.

Maybe he's afraid of heights!?

Hello,

Thank you so much for the awesome, atmospheric pics of the actual fig, GubernatorFan! I was about to say, "It's funny that you should post these pics, because...." when I realized that it was not a mere coincidence.

I must confess a few facts:

1. That figure was my reason for joining this site, although I have never seen a Steve Reeves movie. I need to watch his "Hercules" movie, as I really love his profile on IMDB, with regard to pics, quotes, personality, morals, etc.

2. I actually don't yet own a solitary one sixth figure, although I am hoping to get my first fig sometime soon....should my ship come in.

3. I am on the edge of either doing something right, or landing myself in a total disaster, because, should I end up getting the money that may or may not come in, I am seriously considering getting this exact same figure....in two parts.

You see, there's a body being sold online (I don't know if we're allowed to reference actual sites, URLs, etc., but the title is "Phicen HiPlay 12" Male Seamless Action Figures-Realistic Silicone Body with Male Genitals -1/6 Scale Super Flexible Male Figure Dolls for Arts/Drawings/Photography (M31)", and it's sold, sans a head, but it's shown online paired with an un-painted Steve Reeves head. It's being sold for around $90.00! OUCH!....but if I can snag it, and somehow snag a Steve Reeves head somewhere else, I may be able to put together an entire Steve Reeves-style fig., for use as an original Barbie / My Scene / story-specific male character, or something like that.

Now, I was looking at other heads on this same site, so that I could substitute a close-to-Steve-Reeves one for the Steve Reeves advertising pic head that wasn't for sale (Why the Dickens can't they ever just name the actor whose facial sculpt is being used for each head? I can tell when it's, like, Chris Pratt or Brad Pitt, but some of the others escape me), but I can't deny that I'd rather just have the Steve Reeves head.

The reviews for the body alone aren't promising, because there's been the mention of the hands, the feet, and the privates being a different color than the rest of the body, and of any applicable heads making the fig look like a giraffe-necked being from another planet, or something!

$90 is an awful lot of money for me to be spending on a body alone, just for me to receive a one sixth fig body of mismatched skin tones, sans the sexy Steve Reeves head, even if that $90 were to suddenly rain down on me like pennies from Heaven.

I have to admit, though, that the Phicen body option that I have referenced seems more racy and exciting than any other, for obvious reasons, and yet, at the same time....between the money and the skin tone issues....and the lack of a head to put onto those broad one sixth shoulders, I don't know about the purchase....nor do I know how, or where to find a reasonably-priced Steve Reeves head, anyway.

Oh, and did I mention the fact that I've never customized any doll or figure before, with regard to using paints or Cray-Pa-style art supplies? I once switched static Barbie legs out for bendable ones, via a lot of hot water and force, and I once re-attached a 1989 Ken leg that had fallen out on Memorial Day, but the unopened customizing paints are gathering dust, and all of the old paint brushes were already sent to the thrift store, because I chickened out once upon a time, with regard to trying to customize. ACK! I'd love to have the nerve to do so someday this year, though.

If anyone has any advice, suggestions, etc., they'd be much appreciated, and I'd be most grateful.

TTYL,
SteveReevesIsHot

Hi SteveReevesIsHot,

You are very welcome, I'm glad you liked it. I'm also glad that you explained what you were planning -- although I'm afraid there are bad news alongside the good.

The good news is that Steve Reeves made more than one Hercules movie (Hercules and Hercules Unchained); and also that I am about to save you all that money. I really wish it had been better.

The bad news is as follows: The body in the Phicen (now TBLeague) Steve Reeves Hercules set is not M31 but a special (at least specially colored) version of M30, which is shorter and more muscular. The stand-alone version of M30 is paler and greyer. More to the point, while promotional images for M31 do show it with an unpainted Steve Reeves head sculpt (for example, HERE), that body actually comes without any head (same as any of the other stand-alone TBLeague bodies). It is remotely possible that someone somewhere has put together a package (I have seen TBLeague bodies being sold by eBay sellers packaged with a sixth-scale head), but I would investigate very carefully before buying.

If I were you, I would keep looking out for a (used?) copy of the original set or at least the head to show up on eBay or Toy Anxiety or Monkey Depot or Black Ops Toys. I looked around for you, but right now I'm seeing nothing. If you get the head (or a head that you like -- for this or something else), you can go with better TBLeague bodies, M30 if you want the body just like the original Phicen set (but it would be paler and greyer, and is a bit on the short side), M33 if you want him leaner, M34 if you want him buffer; M31 is the worst of them for a bunch of reasons, except for the single advantage of being the easiest to stuff into moderately tight sixth-scale clothing.

If you want to know more about these bodies, I would start here:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3013-tbleague-phicen-seamless-bodies-with-steel-skeleton-catalog-updated-continually

Again, I really wish I had better news... but at least you can save your money for something that will make your happy.

Hello, GubernatorFan,

Thank you so much for the advice!  Like I had said, I was getting a bad feeling about wanting to act so hastily, and I'm actually glad that I posted a message here before I made a majorly foolish financial decision.

Thank you for explaining the details about the various bodies, because the ad picture that I was looking at was very misleading. I knew that the body came without a head, but I assumed, per the image, that it was the same body that had been paired with the Steve Reeves head from the exclusive set. I was wrong.

At least I can now plan to go a different route, and maybe get a better idea of how to put together a better one sixth figure and / or buy special sets.

Also, what would you consider to be a reasonable price for that Steve Reeves as Hercules doll, in good condition, and totally naked, but including all body parts? I don't mind saving money for the fig., but I'm not exactly married to a Fortune Five Hundred guy, ya' know.  

TTYL,
SteveReevesIsHot

SteveReevesIsHot wrote:Also, what would you consider to be a reasonable price for that Steve Reeves as Hercules doll, in good condition, and totally naked, but including all body parts? I don't mind saving money for the fig., but I'm not exactly married to a Fortune Five Hundred guy, ya' know.

You are very welcome, again, sorry there wasn't more encouraging news. But hopefully you'll be able to get one or make an even better one.

Back in 2017 the whole brand new Steve Reeves Hercules set retailed for $180 (USD) or so in the states; which was neither very low nor too high for a high-end sixth-scale set. Since then prices have been on the increase. The thing about these sets is that they are produced in finite quantities (unless for some reason the company re-releases them), and so being older or even used doesn't necessarily mean the price is bound to go down. To some extent, this can transfer to their constituent parts -- head sculpts, accessories, clothing, bodies, etc. If there is a perception that they are rare and wanted, people will want to make a buck on them. Generally speaking, these days high-end painted and ready to use head sculpts usually cost between $20 and $50, usually in the 30-dollar range, with a few outliers. Of course, it also depends on where you find them and whether there are any sales or other promotions going on. At the time of their original release, stand-alone TBLeague male bodies retailed for between $70 and $85 (it has been awhile since the last one). Nowadays, it looks like most options on eBay would cost you a little under $90 (with shipping included), although there are sellers asking for ridiculous amounts. I would start by choosing a body I like for my purposes and then looking for a good price from a seller with high ratings (above 98% positive) and a large number of ratings. You can also get loose (parted-out) bodies from sets, but these are not complete -- they lack the male parts, sometimes certain hand sculpts (while sometimes including other unique/specific hand sculpts), and sometimes the feet (it the set used shoes instead).

Your best bet may be Giantoy (if I were buying such a body right now, I would go there), which is reliable and has the best prices (with free shipping) I see across the board:
https://giantoy.com/products/in-stock-1-6-tbleague-phicen-m30-m31-m32-m33-m34-seamless-male-muscular?variant=14383995355199

KGHobby is also reliable and has better prices, but that will probably be offset by pricey shipping; also that site tends to be a bit harder to use and quotes prices in HDK:
https://www.kghobby.com/phicen-tbleague/

I also took a look at eBay, and it looks like prices have risen a bit, and now there is no (or almost no) free shipping option. Here are some links to what looked like better deals and familiar or potentially trustworthy sellers to me (no guarantees).

M33 or HERE (muscled but still relatively lean)

M34 or HERE (muscled)

M30 or HERE and HERE (closest to the original set's body but shortish, pale, and greyish; M30 might be harder to match with most heads) These sellers actually have all of them, for various prices (see drop down menu).

That was such a nice thing of you to do! The set looks pretty great, and it's nicely shot.

ZombieTestSubject wrote:That was such a nice thing of you to do! The set looks pretty great, and it's nicely shot.

I try. Thank you for the kind words.

I sadly missed out on this figure, but found a Hercules figure by another company that I am working on, to make more how I think of the character The figure is nice, though, with a face that looks Greek. He still needs a few things such as his club and toxon (bow) and his shield (as described by Hesiod) and his lion hood needs a better liner to keep it on his head, but he is getting there. I was tempted to make him look accurately late Helladic (Mycenaean) but decided to make him look late Archaic or Classical instead. I am working on a Eurystheus, Iolas, Iphitos and Megara at the moment too.

Kynaithos, I don't know much beyond a little Greek mythology, but I love it and I am already looking forward to your contributions here! Welcome aboard!

Diana wrote:Kynaithos, I don't know much beyond a little Greek mythology, but I love it and I am already looking forward to your contributions here! Welcome aboard!

My academic interests are in ancient Greek history and culture, and thus mythology is a big part of that! Thank you for your kind message and I look forward to sharing my projects here and being inspired by the 1/6 projects of others.

Kynaithos wrote:My academic interests are in ancient Greek history and culture, and thus mythology is a big part of that! Thank you for your kind message and I look forward to sharing my projects here and being inspired by the 1/6 projects of others.

This sounds great, I'd love to see what you come up with. An informed proper portrayal of mythological (or historical) figures from Antiquity would be very nice, especially as these are usually so warped into some implausible (and often gender-swapped) fantasy when it comes to sixth-scale product. Your Hercules also looks like a rendition of Steve Reeves in that role, which was, visually, pretty good (but unlike them, you opened the khiton over the correct shoulder).

GubernatorFan wrote:

Kynaithos wrote:My academic interests are in ancient Greek history and culture, and thus mythology is a big part of that! Thank you for your kind message and I look forward to sharing my projects here and being inspired by the 1/6 projects of others.

This sounds great, I'd love to see what you come up with. An informed proper portrayal of mythological (or historical) figures from Antiquity would be very nice, especially as these are usually so warped into some implausible (and often gender-swapped) fantasy when it comes to sixth-scale product. Your Hercules also looks like a rendition of Steve Reeves in that role, which was, visually, pretty good (but unlike them, you opened the khiton over the correct shoulder).

Indeed! I love the Steve Reeves Hercules movies, which as a child was one of the things that peaked my interested in Greek mythology (which lead to my studies of ancient Greek history and I find the movies underrated. Clearly the makers of the movies had more than a passing knowledge of the actual myths, despite the changes for 50s sensibilities, as they weave in events like Herakles breaking his chains whilst chained to pillars*, which in myth happened in Memphis under the auspices of a pharaoh known to the Greeks as Busiris (the real pharaoh at the time would have been Ramesses II or Merneptah) during his search for the apples of the Hesperides (usually taken to be his eleventh labour), his fight with Antaios and, even though in the second movie which was based on a non-Herakles story (Seven Against Thebes), the episode with Queen Omphale; not really famous in pop culture. I have, however, been bugged by - ever since I was teenager and found out more of ancient Greek fashion sensibilities - the wearing of his exomis on his right shoulder which was seen as effeminate... my head always rationalised it as due to Hercules's non-conformist and "hip" nature (I was pretty sure the Argive "cops" would plant moly in his wagon in the second movie!) but it does mean that, by a technicality, he wears female fashion in the Omphale segment as he does in the myth!

The main influences from the Steve Reeves movies come from the fact that I initially wanted this Phicen figure a lot but missed out on it due to health reasons at the time. I thus left my version's clothing as red - like in the second movie and the poster for the first film - and included a similar looking zoster belt (which I will add studs to). Of course, sadly Steve Reeves never had a lion hood (which I always planned to give him if I got the figure despite not being screen accurate) but mine does! I might give the figure "knemides" or leg greaves as he has them on at least one black-figure vase I have seen, and perhaps give him an alternative costume with a cuirass made from the hide of the Nemean lion too, which is how he is commonly depicted in black-figure pottery.

I have a tripod and an Apollon figure, so my first actual diorama for this figure would probably be Herakles and Apollon fighting over the Delphic tripod after the Pythia refused to help Herakles be healed from his affliction caused by the killing of his friend Iphitos.

*Clearly from the same source as the destruction of the temple of the Philistines by Samson in the Torah.

Great they do the heros from the past. In the 60 ´ties this movies are called Sandal Adventures.
Love it ! Thanks for showing