Steve Reeves Hercules by Phicen

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

Kynaithos wrote:
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.

I think you expect to find more rationale in modern movies than I do -- I would be impressed if they actually got something 95% accurate to the source material, but they like to excuse their departures with "creativity." At this point the only creative move would be to be accurate.

But didn't Bousiris get slain by Herakles? So he can't be Rameses II or Merneptah, or any other pharaoh we know. Besides, Bousiris was the name of a city (or two or three). I suppose the exomis could have been worn either way, as needed. Usually it was unfastened over the right shoulder, because most people are right-handed. But if a person is left-handed, it would make sense to unfasten it over the left shoulder -- unless succumbing to peer pressure (I imagine Ancient Greeks were totally capable of equating left-handedness with effeminacy if they so chose to do). And of course one could unfasten both shoulders of the exomis for more demanding toil. But your observation as to this possibly being appropriate for the Omphale scenario is very interesting. Yet, if they got that right, it was surely mere accident.

I'd be curious to see your take on the Lou Ferrigno, Paul Telfer, Kevin Sorbo, Dwayne Johnson, and Kellan Lutz renditions of Herakles/Hercules, which run the gamut from total quasi scifi fantasy or reinterpretations of proper mythology.

Herakles fighting Apollon for the tripod would be awesome to see. But if you're basing this on vases, you might need anatomically correct seamless bodies and then digital censorship stickers or fig leaves to show that here

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

Ephiane, I think they are still called "Sword and Sandal" films or even "epics." Of course, we have some in our own time, like Gladiator, Troy, Clash of the Titans and its sequel Wrath of the Titans, Immortals (which is so poorly named it is almost ironic), and two Hercules ones in 2014. I don't know that TBLeague would do any more of these, and I do wish they had gotten Steve Reeves' features a little more accurately.

GubernatorFan wrote:
But didn't Bousiris get slain by Herakles? So he can't be Rameses II or Merneptah, or any other pharaoh we know.

Yes, I think it is safe to say he was a made-up Pharoah! Some Greek writers called the story a "phoney myth" and it was played for comedy at least!

GubernatorFan wrote:"Besides, Bousiris was the name of a city (or two or three)."

Indeed. I belief the famous ''Busiris'' was actually called something like "Ddw" to the Egyptians themselves, with "Busiris" being, obviously as you are aware, Greek. Those Greeks were sure proud of the word!

"I suppose the exomis could have been worn either way, as needed. Usually it was unfastened over the right shoulder, because most people are right-handed. But if a person is left-handed, it would make sense to unfasten it over the left shoulder -- unless succumbing to peer pressure (I imagine Ancient Greeks were totally capable of equating left-handedness with effeminacy if they so chose to do)."

Good observation. Unfortunately the idea of machismo was a strong force and would have meant that in things like this lefties would have had a rougher time fastening their outfits! So kudos for Steve Reeves' Hercules for not giving in to overwhelming peer pressure! Although, obviously, no one tells Hercules what to do!

GubernatorFan wrote:And of course one could unfasten both shoulders of the exomis for more demanding toil. But your observation as to this possibly being appropriate for the Omphale scenario is very interesting. Yet, if they got that right, it was surely mere accident.

Definitely a happy accident!

GubernatorFan wrote:I'd be curious to see your take on the Lou Ferrigno, Paul Telfer, Kevin Sorbo, Dwayne Johnson, and Kellan Lutz renditions of Herakles/Hercules, which run the gamut from total quasi scifi fantasy or reinterpretations of proper mythology.

I have a fondness for at least the first Ferrigno movie which did incorporate a lot of actual myths into its telling - shame that, as per usual Eurystheus and Kopreus are replaced, this time by Minos and Daidalos - and I thought the sci-fi takes on the monsters in an otherwise Classical world was actually very interesting! I remember liking Dwayne Johnson and I liked his movie well enough and the comic it is based on but I find them to be missed opportunities - shame with the comic as I love Steve Moore... especially his 'Father Shandor' strip. I have sadly not seen Kellan Lutz's movie and it might be the only Herakles movie I have not yet seen.

I love the Kevin Sorbo series, especially the TV movies and the first season which actually weaved a lot of mythology into the stories... even featuring the town of Calydon (known for the boar hunt) and Tiresias, one of my favourite mythical characters ("You bear your burdens, I'll bear mine!").

GubernatorFan wrote:Herakles fighting Apollon for the tripod would be awesome to see. But if you're basing this on vases, you might need anatomically correct seamless bodies and then digital censorship stickers or fig leaves to show that here

Actually in all seriousness, I want a seamless body for my Herakles and the Apollo but their heads are like the old style Dragon heads and thus have a neck. I have been too afraid to convert them into ball-joint heads.

GubernatorFan wrote:
Ephiane, I think they are still called "Sword and Sandal" films or even "epics." Of course, we have some in our own time, like Gladiator, Troy, Clash of the Titans and its sequel Wrath of the Titans, Immortals (which is so poorly named it is almost ironic), and two Hercules ones in 2014. I don't know that TBLeague would do any more of these, and I do wish they had gotten Steve Reeves' features a little more accurately.

"Peplum" is another name for them though I always found it silly as "Khiton" or "Exomis" would be more appropriate due to the focus!

The Perseus figure from the original 'Clash' makes the Phicen Hercules look dead on.

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

The Peplum. Chain-made by the Italians in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Same formula as the spaghetti western by which they were replaced in popularity. Italian film crew, foreign (usually American) main star, rest of the cast from every European country possible.
High casualty rate. The male bad guy never made it to the end, the bad female usually got killed by something that wasn't meant for her.
Some of the actors' names will sound familiar such as Mario Girotti and Carlo Pedersoli. No ?

Kynaithos Homerides wrote:
Yes, I think it is safe to say he was a made-up Pharoah! Some Greek writers called the story a "phoney myth" and it was played for comedy at least!

Indeed. I belief the famous ''Busiris'' was actually called something like "Ddw" to the Egyptians themselves, with "Busiris" being, obviously as you are aware, Greek. Those Greeks were sure proud of the word!

I have a fondness for at least the first Ferrigno movie which did incorporate a lot of actual myths into its telling - shame that, as per usual Eurystheus and Kopreus are replaced, this time by Minos and Daidalos - and I thought the sci-fi takes on the monsters in an otherwise Classical world was actually very interesting! I remember liking Dwayne Johnson and I liked his movie well enough and the comic it is based on but I find them to be missed opportunities - shame with the comic as I love Steve Moore... especially his 'Father Shandor' strip. I have sadly not seen Kellan Lutz's movie and it might be the only Herakles movie I have not yet seen.

I love the Kevin Sorbo series, especially the TV movies and the first season which actually weaved a lot of mythology into the stories... even featuring the town of Calydon (known for the boar hunt) and Tiresias, one of my favourite mythical characters ("You bear your burdens, I'll bear mine!").

Actually in all seriousness, I want a seamless body for my Herakles and the Apollo but their heads are like the old style Dragon heads and thus have a neck. I have been too afraid to convert them into ball-joint heads.

Manethōn, in the 3^rd century BC, thought the Egyptian king Thouōris (actually the queen regnant Tawosret) was “Polybos, husband of Alkandra, in whose time Troy was taken.” But he didn’t list any “Bousiris” among the preceding kings. And the whole comment might have been a later gloss anyway.
 
You are correct, the original name of the town was ḏdw (artificial vocalization “Djedu”), which became known as pr-wsjr-nb-ḏdw (i.e., “House of Osiris Lord of Djedu”), hence more briefly pr-wsjr (artificial vocalization “Per-Usir”) > Akkadian Puširi / Greek Bousiris / Coptic Bousiri / medieval Arabic Būṣīr > modern Abū-Ṣīr Banā. I love that the Egyptian name has (sorta) survived…
 
The other Abū-Ṣīrs are Abū-Ṣīr al-Malaq near the Fayyūm and Abū-Ṣīr as-Sidr just north of Ṣaqqarā, the necropolis of ancient Memphis. The last Abū-Ṣīr is archaeologically most famous, with its sun temple and pyramids from Dynasty 5.

The Kellan Lutz movie feels like largely a farce (but, hey, it has Spartacus II in it), but I feel largely the same way about most of them, so it is probably as entertaining. Like the others, it contains some strange twists to elements culled from various moments in mythology. The Paul Telfer mini series (in two parts?) was a bit more ambitious than the others, but with a somewhat nasty rationalization of the myth in modern terms.

Dragon heads are a big pain to convert (I've done it to a Sam Worthington head), but in general check out the Tutorials section and especially this thread, for help. But if you meant Dragon in Dreams, those are easy to convert.

GubernatorFan wrote:
Manethōn, in the 3^rd century BC, thought the Egyptian king Thouōris (actually the queen regnant Tawosret) was “Polybos, husband of Alkandra, in whose time Troy was taken.” But he didn’t list any “Bousiris” among the preceding kings. And the whole comment might have been a later gloss anyway.

Indeed! Actually there were a lot of Egyptian king lists in the ancient world and most were contradictory and thus very unreliable; the fact that some referenced in Greek works can be equated with real people is almost a miracle!!! In fact, in the modern era, archaeologists sometimes found out about pharaohs from the tombs of other pharaohs! Dynasty changes often erased histories...

I am tempted to make an imaginative dynasty list that incorporates both the Busiris of the Herakles episode (which I am sure was partly derived from the Kyknos episode any way!) and the earlier Busiris, so if Aigyptos, and all the other pharaohs (real or completely fabricated) referenced in ancient Greek sources.
 

GubernatorFan wrote:
The other Abū-Ṣīrs are Abū-Ṣīr al-Malaq near the Fayyūm and Abū-Ṣīr as-Sidr just north of Ṣaqqarā, the necropolis of ancient Memphis. The last Abū-Ṣīr is archaeologically most famous, with its sun temple and pyramids from Dynasty 5.

Indeed! I am more famirialy with the Fourth Dynasty but I do know a bit about the archaeology of Abusir and the famous Abusir Papyri; a very great find!

GubernatorFan wrote:The Kellan Lutz movie feels like largely a farce (but, hey, it has Spartacus II in it), but I feel largely the same way about most of them, so it is probably as entertaining. Like the others, it contains some strange twists to elements culled from various moments in mythology. The Paul Telfer mini series (in two parts?) was a bit more ambitious than the others, but with a somewhat nasty rationalization of the myth in modern terms.

Yeah, I liked that mini-series but some of the rationalisations were odd. Didn't they make Antaios his father?

Dragon heads are a big pain to convert (I've done it to a Sam Worthington head), but in general check out the Tutorials section and especially this thread, for help. But if you meant Dragon in Dreams, those are easy to convert.

That is interesting! I didn't realise they would be so different. Actually the head I am using for the Herakles is kind of between a Dragon and a GI Joe head; it has a longer neck than a GI Joe head but is softer like they are, rather than harder like Dragon and DID.

I will definitely check that out!

Kynaithos Homerides wrote:
I am tempted to make an imaginative dynasty list that incorporates both the Busiris of the Herakles episode (which I am sure was partly derived from the Kyknos episode any way!) and the earlier Busiris, so if Aigyptos, and all the other pharaohs (real or completely fabricated) referenced in ancient Greek sources.
 
Yeah, I liked that mini-series but some of the rationalisations were odd. Didn't they make Antaios his father?

That is interesting! I didn't realise they would be so different. Actually the head I am using for the Herakles is kind of between a Dragon and a GI Joe head; it has a longer neck than a GI Joe head but is softer like they are, rather than harder like Dragon and DID.

That would be an interesting project, figuring out the Greek mythological sequence of Egyptian kings. Although it is perhaps telling that it had so little influence on the later chronographic tradition.

If Antaios was the Cretan pirate, then yes, I think you're right. As usual, the changes were unnecessary and I think detracted from the story.

Soft is good (relatively) when it comes to modifying the heads. The Dragon (proper) heads were very hard. DID heads are hollow on the inside, so they are softer and easier to work with. Remember to heat up with a blow dryer before slicing; actually softening the hollow DID heads presents challenges of its own, with the material giving way under pressure, but easier than trying to deal with hard solid plastic or with resin (which I would not recommend even attempting).