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

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.

Great Story and Characters. I like the Leather and furr armor. Your Blonde Warrioress looks like more than a Valkyrie to me, than that ones Pichen / Tbl did. If You are not happy with the helmets... i get some WW2 metal helmets and modified them for my fantasy figures. The size fits not bad to female heads

GF -- the seamless dog is still available. I don't think it was ever 'parted out', but it is available separately on its own:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IN-FLAMES-X-NEWSOUL-IFT-045-1-6-Deified-dog-Havoc-in-Heaven-Hunter-Pet-Figure/163960258694?hash=item262ccb0086:g:AsUAAOSwdIZd24wB

I really want it, but can't afford it at this point...

GubernatorFan wrote:I wish TBLeague would do that instead of their remarkably silly "centaur."

I thought the centaur was from Lucifer. Maybe it's a cooperation with TBLeague, but then I would assume they pay TBLeague for producing and designing it. And it might even be Lucifer's design. You can't really blame TBLeague for that.

Ephiane wrote:Great Story and Characters. I like the Leather and furr armor. Your Blonde Warrioress looks like more than a Valkyrie to me, than that ones Pichen / Tbl did. If You are not happy with the helmets... i get some WW2 metal helmets and modified them for my fantasy figures. The size fits not bad to female heads

Thank you very much -- I'm glad you liked it, and coming from you and your expertise in all things fantasy, I take it as a compliment. Yep, "Agatho" is very much Valkyrie like... in both color scheme and helmet. I appreciate the suggestion about the helmets and will keep it in mind. These two were part of a set of three that came from some old action figures (Marx?, is that right?). They were meant for male figures, and for male figures with larger heads at that -- I think. They are ok for me, but I acknowledge they are not ideal in terms of size.

skywalkersaga wrote:GF -- the seamless dog is still available. I don't think it was ever 'parted out', but it is available separately on its own:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IN-FLAMES-X-NEWSOUL-IFT-045-1-6-Deified-dog-Havoc-in-Heaven-Hunter-Pet-Figure/163960258694?hash=item262ccb0086:g:AsUAAOSwdIZd24wB

I really want it, but can't afford it at this point...

Thank you for the info and link, Sky. Yeah, gorgeous beast, if a little odd, and possibly ruined for generic purposes by the silly bling -- unless that is easily removable. After my recent realization about my horses' hind leg, I'm less likely to invest in that -- the price is exorbitant, the dog is too specific for its intended look, and I don't trust plastic internal skeletons with the joints concealed by a seamless cover. Maybe if it were metal and more generic in terms of looks...?

TravelGuide wrote:I thought the centaur was from Lucifer. Maybe it's a cooperation with TBLeague, but then I would assume they pay TBLeague for producing and designing it. And it might even be Lucifer's design. You can't really blame TBLeague for that.

Oh, you're probably right. It looked like such a missed opportunity to me that I didn't bother to remember.

Great looking fantasy warriors. I like the contrast too. And the seamless horse, of course. And, yeah, poor Aragorn the barbarian!

ZombieTestSubject wrote:Great looking fantasy warriors. I like the contrast too. And the seamless horse, of course. And, yeah, poor Aragorn the barbarian!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. Horse... of course. I'm sure poor Aragorn will be ok in the end. He might get some pants. And a pipe. Maybe even a crown?