Cynanesque - Female Fantasy Warriors (updated with Part II: Agathodaimon)

Part I: Brunette Varna

Since there was some interest (and sorry if I disappoint), I finally dug out some of my old female fantasy warriors photos, did some reformatting, and uploaded them here.

Pieces from parted-out sets came together in a sort of semi-spontaneous kitbash, completed with some leather and paint work on my part. Since this was neither the film nor the comic book Red Sonja, I decided to provisionally call her Brunette Varna (sounded better than Brown or Auburn, and in the film Red Sonja has a sister named Varna), and I wanted to fit her out in a manner that would somewhat diminish the cliche scantilly-clad effect. Of course, in retrospect, this means I shouldn't have used the scale armor (which is nothing more than a fantasy rationalization of a modern swimsuit). I used black leather for better contrast with the silverish metal, and in retrospect this, too, might have been a mistake, as the result is a tad punkish/bikerish/dominatrix-ish. But I did stay away from the fantasy high-heeled boots, at least.

I arranged my photos into a mini photo essay below, complete with a little lame basic story to connect them. Hope you like it.

Brunette Varna in the Red Canyon

Once upon a time, Brunette Varna was riding through the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, when she heard some suspicious noises...



Rather than gallop off to the relative safety of the open plain, she dismounted her horse and got ready to take on her unseen enemy...



The noise got closer and closer, but, undaunted, she prepared to stand her ground.



Bring it on, she thought...



Come out and get me!



Getting closer...



And there he was... An uncouth, fur-clad barbarian, growling in uncivilized gibberish, and advancing on his prey... after all, she was only a woman... so what if she had fancy armor and weapons...



Little did he know that Hell hath no fury like an underestimated educated woman (especially one educated in the arts of war and equipped with superior weaponry). The predator became easy prey to Varna's skilled wrath. Within mere seconds he was on his ass in the sand, begging for mercy (who dresses like that on a first date anyway?)...



Varna did show mercy, but also decided to be practical and arrest her dastardly opponent (why not make some money while you can?). After all, did not wise master Bindusara always say, "Seize the opportunity presented!" So she tossed him a long chain and made him entangle himself in it, until securely bound...



He still grunted and growled in disagreement, but a few choice words of practical reason (and some stern looks and gestures with the battle axe) kept her prisoner on the leash, as it were...



Never letting her captive out of her sight, Varna began to secure the chain around her horse's saddle...



So off they went, Varna riding proudly on her stallion, the dumbfounded and bound barbarian dragging along on his chain. She had reached into the darkness and come out with treasure, or at least a few pieces of silver, the price for her would-be conqueror...



Ever the pious one, Varna took some time on her journey to thank the gods. While her captive was snoring, she drank a toast to the Lord of the Heavens from her handy drinking horn, and she ritually re-dedicated her longsword to Him in thanksgiving. A blessed sword would, after all, be all the more effective against any enemy...





#fantasy #satire #female #male #jiaou #tbleague #phicen #aci #story

Nice little story. Poor Aragorn the barbarian; he didn’t stand a chance.

Beautiful story with a nice strong woman.
Only what does she do with the barbarian now?

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice little story. Poor Aragorn the barbarian; he didn’t stand a chance.

Thank you very much. Poor Aragorn? Well he should have known better than attacking a lady. Besides, every actor get a bad role sometime...

Gizems nice Kittens wrote:Beautiful story with a nice strong woman. Only what does she do with the barbarian now?

Thank you very much. Yep, she is... and not just because she has the face of a Black Widow. Well there was some camera footage lost in between bedtime and breakfast, and he seemed mighty exhausted for a long night of rest.

Haha, you caught that campy conanesque vibe perfectly. You wrote #satire in the tags so I guess everything is allowed and I won't comment on the practicalities of any armor or weapons seen here.
Did you use these glue on studs for the rivets on the leather?

Actually it's the origin story of the Waterloo helmet. In the sequel, they travel to the village of London, where they have another fight. He loses again and drowns in the River Thames, where his helmet is found in the 1860s.

Nice story and pictures

GubernatorFan wrote: Of course, in retrospect, this means I shouldn't have used the scale armor (which is nothing more than a fantasy rationalization of a modern swimsuit). I used black leather for better contrast with the silverish metal, and in retrospect this, too, might have been a mistake, as the result is a tad punkish/bikerish/dominatrix-ish. But I did stay away from the fantasy high-heeled boots, at least.

Although I basically agree, it works nonetheless better than Sonja's regular outfit.

GubernatorFan wrote:Thank you very much. Yep, she is... and not just because she has the face of a Black Widow. Well there was some camera footage lost in between bedtime and breakfast, and he seemed mighty exhausted for a long night of rest.

The barbarians of these days don't have the stamina they used to have

Haha, always appreciate some lighthearted campy fun! Her outfit seems like something out of an old (as in, golden era of hollywood or older) movie, and makes a change from the tbleague warrior woman aesthetic. Guess maybe the 'biker-y' vibe happened cause it was all in black?

That Aragorn headsculpt is really nice, probably saw it before but I forgot. One of those rare ones?

GubernatorFan wrote: Well there was some camera footage lost in between bedtime and breakfast, and he seemed mighty exhausted for a long night of rest.

   

Ovy wrote:Haha, you caught that campy conanesque vibe perfectly. You wrote #satire in the tags so I guess everything is allowed and I won't comment on the practicalities of any armor or weapons seen here.
Did you use these glue on studs for the rivets on the leather?

Actually it's the origin story of the Waterloo helmet. In the sequel, they travel to the village of London, where they have another fight. He loses again and drowns in the River Thames, where his helmet is found in the 1860s.

Thank you for going easy on me! Yes, I wanted to do a fantasy female warrior that wasn't as much of an over-sexualized cliche as we often get. No, the studded leather came that way, in a long band/strip. Similarly with the embossed leather (over the abdomen).

I'm glad we have finally cleared up the origins of the Waterloo helmet. But you forgot the end of the story. Possessed by an immortal spirit, Brunette Varna becomes immortal, and in the 19th century encounters the rediscovered helmet. Overtaken by remorse over causing the death of the only man to have ever satisfied her, she begins a new quest to find a way to shed her immortality, presumably by transferring the spirit into a new vessel...

TravelGuide wrote:Nice story and pictures

Although I basically agree, it works nonetheless better than Sonja's regular outfit.

The barbarians of these days don't have the stamina they used to have

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them. And that you agree that I've achieved a somewhat more plausible/practical? look. As for stamina, I don't know... he got beaten, chained up, humiliated, and was apparently kept busy all night... give the poor guy a break!

skywalkersaga wrote:Haha, always appreciate some lighthearted campy fun! Her outfit seems like something out of an old (as in, golden era of hollywood or older) movie, and makes a change from the tbleague warrior woman aesthetic. Guess maybe the 'biker-y' vibe happened cause it was all in black?

That Aragorn headsculpt is really nice, probably saw it before but I forgot. One of those rare ones?

Thank you very much -- I enjoy making people smile or be at least mildly amused. Well, the horned helmet certainly gives this a theatrical/comic/cinematic feel. And yes, that's exactly what I meant by wondering if the choice of studded black leather didn't make it go too much in that unintended direction. But you're right, that might be consistent with some film design, and a bit different from TBLeague's usual fare. Stryker has convinced me that the only really good Aragorn sculpt is ACI's, but that is either impossible to get or impossible to justify its price. I actually did get a blank cast of it recently, but haven't finished painting it. This is the next-to-last Asmus one, back when they used "real" hair. It's not bad, I think, and the fact people recognized it says as much. (I don't know/remember how different their most recent, molded-hair Aragorn head sculpt is, but judging by prior experience, that one might be easy enough to alter with "real" hair.)

Part II: Agathodaimon

Part Angel, part Valkyrie, Agathodaimon is the half-sister of Varna. Where Varna is devious, mischievous, and dark, Agatho is righteous, serious, and light. She roams around the world looking for any sign of evil or injustice. And when she finds, it she dismounts and gets to the business of righting it. All flee from her gaze, for she has little mercy for those who fail to meet her high expectations. Occasionally, she runs into her sister and sticks around long enough to pose for a back-to-back portrait, err... photo. And if they should chance upon a hero while together, they inevitably compete with each other to gain influence over his heart and mind...

























Hope you liked her.

I get strong Heavy Metal vibes from both girls, and like the way they are mirror opposites. I mean I don't watch many of the classic 80s fantasy movies, but this seems to capture that general campiness of the genre quite well. But why must the darker-clad twin always be the evil twin?! And do I sense a bit of dominatrix undertones to Varna's subtle threats?

She looks great! I particularly like the blue/turquoise battle skirt.

Bit of a nitpick: wiht both figures the helmet seems to be a bit oversized, although with their hair it kinda makes sense.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:I get strong Heavy Metal vibes from both girls, and like the way they are mirror opposites. I mean I don't watch many of the classic 80s fantasy movies, but this seems to capture that general campiness of the genre quite well. But why must the darker-clad twin always be the evil twin?! And do I sense a bit of dominatrix undertones to Varna's subtle threats?

Thank you, that's what I was going for. Well, we have to speak the some of the same symbolical language to get going, right? We can subvert expectations later. Or we can subvert them even more by not subverting them. What a twist! Sorry, I watched a lot of Robot Chicken recently, and there were a few skits with M Night Shyamalan that always ended up with him saying that (in an exaggerated false accent). Yes, partly by accident and partly by of way satire, Varna may be suspected of that sort of thing. Besides... there's all that lost footage.

TravelGuide wrote:She looks great! I particularly like the blue/turquoise battle skirt. Bit of a nitpick: wiht both figures the helmet seems to be a bit oversized, although with their hair it kinda makes sense.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked her. Yes, you're right about the helmets being a bit too large. Hair helps, but they were originally meant for male figures, which explains the size disparity. It is more obvious with the second figure, especially the last, close up photo (I had not noticed at the time).

Wonderful pics! love the figures too, and what about that horse!!! I really need to get a horse for my tracker Dannii, I kinda figure she would have one?
Really enjoyed this!

BAMComix wrote:Wonderful pics! love the figures too, and what about that horse!!! I really need to get a horse for my tracker Dannii, I kinda figure she would have one?
Really enjoyed this!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed them. Which horse do you like better? The white one is probably a little off with the head (horse experts, chime in), but I love that it is articulated.

GubernatorFan wrote:

BAMComix wrote:Wonderful pics! love the figures too, and what about that horse!!! I really need to get a horse for my tracker Dannii, I kinda figure she would have one?
Really enjoyed this!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed them. Which horse do you like better? The white one is probably a little off with the head (horse experts, chime in), but I love that it is articulated.  

Oh sorry, yeah the white one is gorgeous! I do also like the darker one, but it's the white one that steals the show! The harness work is just spectacular!

Another nice figure. I like the horse, too — I missed out on that one. How is the articulation?

BAMComix wrote:Oh sorry, yeah the white one is gorgeous! I do also like the darker one, but it's the white one that steals the show! The harness work is just spectacular!

I thought you might mean that one. It is from Inflames, designed for their Journey to the West series. I can claim no credit for the harness and decorations, they came with the horse.

Stryker2011 wrote:Another nice figure. I like the horse, too — I missed out on that one. How is the articulation?

Thank you very much, Mark. Yep, it was on the radar for just a blip or two. I remember we were having a conversation about horses and horse articulation on the old site and someone pointed me to it. I was lucky to find it on eBay and talked myself into paying the price, which was not quite as inflated then as it might have become later. The articulation is ok, more impressive in principle than in practicality -- and I forget to what extent the neck moves (been awhile, but I don't think you can have it graze). The front and hind legs are articulated where they join the torso, at the "knees," and at the ankles. That said, it's a heavy enough beast, and if you want it standing stably while unaided and carrying your figure, you are somewhat limited in poses. But, yes, you can get a bit more ambitious.

GubernatorFan wrote:

I'm glad we have finally cleared up the origins of the Waterloo helmet. But you forgot the end of the story. Possessed by an immortal spirit, Brunette Varna becomes immortal, and in the 19th century encounters the rediscovered helmet. Overtaken by remorse over causing the death of the only man to have ever satisfied her, she begins a new quest to find a way to shed her immortality, presumably by transferring the spirit into a new vessel...

Oh yeah my VHS was broken sadly so I never watched the ending. I never watched part 2 either, but my guilty pleasure has always been part 3 (Varna the Brunette Barbarian in New York, IMDb rating 3.3 out of 10 stars) , where she wakes up in present day (1986) New York for some reason and falls in love with that nerdy but conveniently sexy (when he takes off his glasses) history professor.  Why do they always end up in New York?
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigApplesauce
Harry Dean Stanton's cameo was the best though, but he always was.

Have you heard about the cancelled remake they wanted to make in 2013? They wanted to cast Scarlett Johansson as Varna but she declined in favor of Marvel. She totally did not look like Varna anyway, I think.


Your second figure is great, you could call the outfit...CYANesque even. I like the Yinyang dark light dynamic stuff. Gives this old story some edge. Depth. Could imagine the movies would be named after the sisters, but Schwarzenegger would still have the most screentime and credited first. Inspires me to work on my fantasyverse more, now that I have the right helmets printed.

Btw, do you bead/pearlwork now too?

And intresting to hear about a slightly poseable horse that is neither Asmus or that Dragon horse. 1/6 Horses, my Nemesis.

Thanks for the insight n the horse, Ian. I wonder if it’s worth tracking one of those down...

Ovy wrote:Oh yeah my VHS was broken sadly so I never watched the ending. I never watched part 2 either, but my guilty pleasure has always been part 3 (Varna the Brunette Barbarian in New York, IMDb rating 3.3 out of 10 stars) , where she wakes up in present day (1986) New York for some reason and falls in love with that nerdy but conveniently sexy (when he takes off his glasses) history professor.  Why do they always end up in New York?
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigApplesauce
Harry Dean Stanton's cameo was the best though, but he always was.

Have you heard about the cancelled remake they wanted to make in 2013? They wanted to cast Scarlett Johansson as Varna but she declined in favor of Marvel. She totally did not look like Varna anyway, I think.

Your second figure is great, you could call the outfit...CYANesque even. I like the Yinyang dark light dynamic stuff. Gives this old story some edge. Depth. Could imagine the movies would be named after the sisters, but Schwarzenegger would still have the most screentime and credited first. Inspires me to work on my fantasyverse more, now that I have the right helmets printed.

Btw, do you bead/pearlwork now too?

And intresting to hear about a slightly poseable horse that is neither Asmus or that Dragon horse. 1/6 Horses, my Nemesis.

The ladies are very disappointed in you not watching all their movies. If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open or plan to appease them somehow. It appears you have not come across part 4, where Varna and the professor travel to Los Angeles and she encounters the Beastmaster, which prompts her to dump the professor and embark upon various other silly adventures, making short work of various effete Angelinos, having already adopted New Yorker tough guy attitudes.

I'm glad you liked the Cyanesque Agatho. I know dualism is not exactly novel, but I agree it could add a bit of complexity to the story -- when there is a real story, that is. The stuff you've seen here is just a bit of introduction. Unlike most of my custom characters, these have stuck around fully kitted out -- but I haven't really gotten around to doing much with them. The bead/pearlwork you refer to is partly beading with Czech glass micro beads -- for jewelry mostly -- and with metal beads for belts and larger pieces for sixth-scale figures (though nothing as complex or as stunning as what Illusion does); the pearls proper came as part of the metal wing elements, alongside other bits and chains -- there are actually a couple of different types I've integrated into the design as a mixture of protection and decoration.

For more on the horse, see my answer to Stryker below.

Stryker2011 wrote:Thanks for the insight n the horse, Ian. I wonder if it’s worth tracking one of those down...

You are very welcome, Mark. It is a very good horse, probably the best that I own. There are limitations (the degree to which you can pose the neck, if I recall), but overall I'm very happy with it. It has a slightly soft textured surface that I find neat (and possibly reminiscent of the real thing, reduced in scale -- but I'm no expert). Some of joints are completely concealed under that surface material, others (front "shoulders") not quite, but still less than blatantly obvious. I'd say wait till I dig it out and showcase it a bit before you make a decision, but this might take a bit of time and it appears that it (and others of the kind) are getting quite scarce and expensive (and they were never cheap). Here is a link to the most affordable version I see now on eBay, where you can see more photos showing off its capabilities (the rearing poses, however, need additional support, I'm sure).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Inflames-Toys-INFLAMES-1-6-Journey-To-The-West-White-Dragon-Horse-Model-New/274386280771?hash=item3fe2b26143:g:~YYAAOSwRUpe14Bf

While we are on the subject of articulated horses, Inflames made another, similarly articulated horse, but in black, which comes with a second interchangeable head. Here is the link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/INFLAMES-TOYS-The-Wuzhui-Horse-For-1-6-Soul-Of-Tiger-Generals-Zhang-Yide-Figure/274388999201?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111314%26meid%3D44c8cd44b296429d955f15fd56dbece8%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dlo%26sd%3D274386280771%26itm%3D274388999201%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseUnbiasedWeb&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851

Nice picures and figures. I think it is often worth it digging for the older pics. Second look and for most of us, first time view.

Thank you for the horse pics, I was interested in these Inflames horses and seeing them in action.
Good to hear that you like yours so much, with the special feeling of the skin and everything. It looks cool and being able to move the feet is always great. The only thing I dislike (besides the price) is this part:



It is needed for the movement, but takes a hit for the realism look. But you can't have it all, unless they finally release that full seamless horse.
(But given the price point of their full seamless dog...they better go in real mass production!)

Yikes! Now I remember why I had to pass on these InFlame horses. $330 + for a horse, despite being articulated, is out of my comfort zone.

They both look really good, I personally like Varna the most cause she reminds me of those vintage armor drawings.

Valiarde wrote:Nice picures and figures. I think it is often worth it digging for the older pics. Second look and for most of us, first time view. Thank you for the horse pics, I was interested in these Inflames horses and seeing them in action. Good to hear that you like yours so much, with the special feeling of the skin and everything. It looks cool and being able to move the feet is always great. The only thing I dislike (besides the price) is this part:



It is needed for the movement, but takes a hit for the realism look. But you can't have it all, unless they finally release that full seamless horse. (But given the price point of their full seamless dog...they better go in real mass production!)

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them. Yep, I do like the horse, but I'm aware of its limitations. If you looked at the youtube link, you'd see the graphic showing the points of articulation. They are in fact quite a few. But because concealed joints made of plastic are always an iffy solution, it's worth noting where they are. I think one of my horse's lower hind legs is now damaged (although it doesn't show). Don't worry, I won't shoot it. I agree, the seam at the front "shoulders" is annoying, but it is no worse than you see in the photo, and I suppose necessary. The head is also a separate part (the face, really), with soft cheeks (to allow for turning and articulation) and ears. I dream of a seamless steel-skeleton horse (which would be so heavy). I wish TBLeague would do that instead of their remarkably silly "centaur." And what happened with that seamless dog? I never saw it parted out. Although what they did to the head rendered it of dubious use to most of us.

Stryker2011 wrote:Yikes! Now I remember why I had to pass on these InFlame horses. $330 + for a horse, despite being articulated, is out of my comfort zone.

Yep, pretty massive, especially now. I think it was considerably less drastic when I bought it, and I still had to think about it real hard.

Theboo-bomb wrote:They both look really good, I personally like Varna the most cause she reminds me of those vintage armor drawings.

Thank you, I'm very glad you liked them. Yeah, I suppose Varna's look, while simpler, is probably more relatable.