TBLeague / Phicen Stainless Steel Skeleton and Articulation Guide and Troubleshooting

Apart from minor variations, the TBLeague stainless steel skeleton is apparently fairly standard across models, even sexes, and the one from a departed M31 body should illustrate some of the significant features and limitations of the joints.

Disclaimer: Although they are fairly resilient, always handle these action figure bodies with care and do not force anything too far. Proceed at your own risk.











































I hope this is helpful. What do you think?

#tutorial #tbleague #phicen #steel #skeleton #articulation

Excellent idea for a thread, GF! This is indeed very helpful.

Just wondering, have you ever tried to re-align shoulders on one of the petite female bodies, like the s27b? I have one of those where the shoulder is stuck but I'm not sure if its just out of alignment like the above, or if the shoulder joint has actually popped out or broken somehow. Instead of being stuck in a raised position, the shoulder in question is stuck in a lower position, and seems resistent to being raised back up into a neutral position.

GubernatorFan wrote:

I hope this is helpful. What do you think?

I like the 'robo'-skeleton, but am a bit disppointed that he has no head.

That's probably not whay you meant though Very informative, thanks for your effort.

Great job on the thread, Ian. Hopefully everyone has a better idea of how to fix these issues.

skywalkersaga wrote:Excellent idea for a thread, GF! This is indeed very helpful.

Just wondering, have you ever tried to re-align shoulders on one of the petite female bodies, like the s27b? I have one of those where the shoulder is stuck but I'm not sure if its just out of alignment like the above, or if the shoulder joint has actually popped out or broken somehow. Instead of being stuck in a raised position, the shoulder in question is stuck in a lower position, and seems resistent to being raised back up into a neutral position.

It sounds like you need to attempt a rotation (if possible) at the shoulder, if it’s not locked down too closely to the body. Twist and twist, realigning the flesh as you go, gently attempt to raise the arm — if you can start to raise it, see if you can then move it forward or back (be aware of the direction of the elbow bend). Keep going, if possible u til you have realigned it properly — be sure to test its forward and backward motion — raising it straight up and bringing it back down (from the front, not from the side). These things can easily get twisted up from it being brought up and down from the side, but not paying attention to the limitations of the skeleton/flesh. Hope this makes sense.

skywalkersaga wrote:Excellent idea for a thread, GF! This is indeed very helpful.

Just wondering, have you ever tried to re-align shoulders on one of the petite female bodies, like the s27b? I have one of those where the shoulder is stuck but I'm not sure if its just out of alignment like the above, or if the shoulder joint has actually popped out or broken somehow. Instead of being stuck in a raised position, the shoulder in question is stuck in a lower position, and seems resistent to being raised back up into a neutral position.

Thank you very much, I'm glad it helps. As to the specific question about the petite body, I tried to replicate the issue real fast on an S26A, but I wasn't able to. The joint system at the shoulder is definitely the same or similar to the shoulder joints you see here, so it ought to work similarly. If the joint had popped or broken, I think it would show (you would be able to feel it) by not being resistant to anything and just flopping about. It is possible the joints on these very petite bodies are generally weaker and less able to overcome the forces exerted by the rubbery TPE "flesh" or any clothing on top. Or try to follow Stryker's suggestion for a fix, just don't force anything.

TravelGuide wrote:I like the 'robo'-skeleton, but am a bit disppointed that he has no head. That's probably not whay you meant though    Very informative, thanks for your effort.

Thank you kindly. As for the head... well the only reason it even has feet is to be able to stand; although I guess I put the hands on (floppy wrists because the M31 body is faulty) to match, so maybe there should have been a head. Or maybe there should have been flesh too, although that would have gotten in the way of the illustration purposes.

Stryker2011 wrote:Great job on the thread, Ian. Hopefully everyone has a better idea of how to fix these issues.

Thank you very much. I hope so too.

Very thorough explanation with excellent visuals of how the armature functions. This will be helpful for future posing efforts. Thanks!

(Although I find myself tempted to slice open a body now and remove the armature, because they look really cool!)

davidd wrote:Very thorough explanation with excellent visuals of how the armature functions. This will be helpful for future posing efforts. Thanks!

(Although I find myself tempted to slice open a body now and remove the armature, because they look really cool!)

Thank you very much, I'm glad it will be helpful. Unless there is an already ruined body that you have given up on or have decided to punish (as I did with the M31), or unless you have an absolutely pressing need for an exposed stainless steel skeleton, I would suggest you restrain that urge. These bodies aren't cheap and they are the best of their kind. Who knows how long they will be made and whether there will be more new models with meaningful improvement?

As always, GF comes to the rescue! Only having had these TBL figures about a month, I’ve had my M34’s shoulder joint get “stuck” twice now. Thankfully, both times I was able to correct the issues myself, but now knowing when I rotate the arms up, to start by swinging the arms out front beforehand, and not out to the sides before rising up. That information alone has been invaluable, and these photos are as well.

Hopefully these illustrations will assist if anyone else runs into this issue, and for that we are very grateful!

collectorofmany wrote:As always, GF comes to the rescue! Only having had these TBL figures about a month, I’ve had my M34’s shoulder joint get “stuck” twice now. Thankfully, both times I was able to correct the issues myself, but now knowing when I rotate the arms up, to start by swinging the arms out front beforehand, and not out to the sides before rising up. That information alone has been invaluable, and these photos are as well.

Hopefully these illustrations will assist if anyone else runs into this issue, and for that we are very grateful!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it, and that it is still useful. I hope it helps others, too. Thank you for asking the question in the first place and inspiring this tutorial.

Gubernator twisting up his figures like a pretzel all to show how these sorts of bodies work. That's a very brave thing to do. While I don't have seamless bodies I feel grateful for knowing what I can do with one, maybe one of these days.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Gubernator twisting up his figures like a pretzel all to show how these sorts of bodies work. That's a very brave thing to do. While I don't have seamless bodies I feel grateful for knowing what I can do with one, maybe one of these days.

Thank you. I think they are worth it, and now you have plenty of different types to choose from, if you are so inclined.

Great Information buddy. Invaluable actually. Thanks so much for doing this.

AFM

actionfiguremovies2 wrote:Great Information buddy.  Invaluable actually. Thanks so much for doing this.  AFM

Thank you, bud, I'm glad you liked it -- not that you need much advice on these yourself. And thanks for commenting.

On the one side it is very helpful, on the other I am even more confused, haha. They should make tbleague bodies of both genders with transparent skin for training and learning purposes.
Up today the shoulders of the s28 are still he weirdest/most confusing to me.

I wonder if some day, Chris Pratt will search for 'Chris Pratt sexy body' and he will find these pictures.

Thanks for more fun altruistic comedic tutorials (f.a.c.t)

Ovy wrote:On the one side it is very helpful, on the other I am even more confused, haha. They should make tbleague bodies of both genders with transparent skin for training and learning purposes.
Up today the shoulders of the s28 are still he weirdest/most confusing to me.

I wonder if some day, Chris Pratt will search for 'Chris Pratt sexy body' and he will find these pictures.

Thanks for more fun altruistic comedic tutorials (f.a.c.t)

You are welcome (and thank you for coming up with this fun acronym for what these are!). More confused? Oh no. That's the last thing we wanted. Interesting idea about transparent-skinned TBLeague bodies. A few of us might actually buy these!
LOL interesting if Chris Pratt will stumble across this. I think we are reasonably safe, because all he has to do is look in the mirror.

Yesterday I had the blocked shoulder and wrong elbow problem on a female TBLeague Body (S25B) for the first time in 6 years. I wanted to put a tight shirt without closure on him, arms twisted forward and up. It didn't fit well and I took it off again, also very difficult. I don't remember how the blocking happened.

Suddenly the elbow on one arm was wrong, meaning it wasn't bending in the direction that the silicone "flesh" indicated. And the shoulder sagged and could not be lifted like the other arm. And the arm could not be placed close to the body (down, in the standard position).

So 2 joints wrong and silicone "flesh" completely twisted!

I looked at the photo with the bare steel skeleton here in the forum. Thanks a lot for this! This gave me a better idea of ​​how the joints work. Nevertheless, I had to try something back and forth, carefully of course.

In my case, the solution was a complete rotation of the extended arm backwards (as close to the body as possible), up and forwards to the bottom of the standard position. Then the shoulder could be raised and lowered again normally. And the arm could also be placed close to the body again. The silicone "flesh" was quite twisted, so I massaged and twisted it a bit.

Now the elbow was still slightly wrong. I carefully tried to angle the elbow a bit to see where the silicone "flesh" needs to sit properly. I massaged and twisted the silicone a bit again.

Now the body is completely fine again. I was very worried about the valuable and expensive body and because it happened to me for the first time. I'm always very careful with the bodies. But the stupid, tight shirt was the cause of the mishap.

Maybe my description can help other users with similar problems. But of course I hope it doesn't happen to anyone. In any case, it's probably a big shock at first. Be careful ...

Thanks for writing this up. Perhaps it will be useful. No amount of description or even illustration can fully elucidate this complicated issue (which might vary from instance to instance), so another one is always welcome. Therefore, I'm moving this to the existing thread.

Kayla wrote:Yesterday I had the blocked shoulder and wrong elbow problem on a female TBLeague Body (S25B) for the first time in 6 years. I wanted to put a tight shirt without closure on him, arms twisted forward and up. It didn't fit well and I took it off again, also very difficult. I don't remember how the blocking happened.

Suddenly the elbow on one arm was wrong, meaning it wasn't bending in the direction that the silicone "flesh" indicated. And the shoulder sagged and could not be lifted like the other arm. And the arm could not be placed close to the body (down, in the standard position).

So 2 joints wrong and silicone "flesh" completely twisted!

I looked at the photo with the bare steel skeleton here in the forum. Thanks a lot for this! This gave me a better idea of ​​how the joints work. Nevertheless, I had to try something back and forth, carefully of course.

In my case, the solution was a complete rotation of the extended arm backwards (as close to the body as possible), up and forwards to the bottom of the standard position. Then the shoulder could be raised and lowered again normally. And the arm could also be placed close to the body again. The silicone "flesh" was quite twisted, so I massaged and twisted it a bit.

Now the elbow was still slightly wrong. I carefully tried to angle the elbow a bit to see where the silicone "flesh" needs to sit properly. I massaged and twisted the silicone a bit again.

Now the body is completely fine again. I was very worried about the valuable and expensive body and because it happened to me for the first time. I'm always very careful with the bodies. But the stupid, tight shirt was the cause of the mishap.

Maybe my description can help other users with similar problems. But of course I hope it doesn't happen to anyone. In any case, it's probably a big shock at first. Be careful ...

Thanks for this Kayla.  I got my first ever TB body today (an S28A) and straight out of the box, the right arm wouldn't bend the way the 'flesh' indicated (i.e. reversed elbow joint) and when I tried to manipulate the rest of the arm, the shoulder joint wasn't working as expected (it was sitting lower than the left shoulder).  I followed your method and the arms are now both working as intended.  It was a bit of a moment, particularly given the cost of these bodies!

Tim

Thanks for drawing my attention to this post, I had missed Kayla's write up earlier. I've had this problem with the smaller bodies soo many times (the sagging shoulder that won't go back into place in particular is a huge headache), and I'm glad to know there's a potential solution.

If I'm perfectly honest, this is one of the reasons I dread posing tbleague bodies, because you cannot see what the joints are doing. Posing them is stressful to me because of this. Which is frustrating since they are otherwise good for posing and holding poses.

Somehow missed this thread so far. What a wonderful resource. This forum is just so good for researches and information
Do we have a steel skeleton of a women body too? Does it also has that plastic box in the mittle of the upper torso?

Valiarde wrote:Somehow missed this thread so far. What a wonderful resource. This forum is just so good for researches and information
Do we have a steel skeleton of a women body too? Does it also has that plastic box in the mittle of the upper torso?

Valiarde, darthJ just sadly lost a good portion of his collection in a fire, and he posted this photo of some female steel skeletons:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/d10747128-2-freshly-roasted-tbleague-metal-female-skeletons

skywalkersaga wrote:

Valiarde wrote:Somehow missed this thread so far. What a wonderful resource. This forum is just so good for researches and information
Do we have a steel skeleton of a women body too? Does it also has that plastic box in the mittle of the upper torso?

Valiarde, darthJ just sadly lost a good portion of his collection in a fire, and he posted this photo of some female steel skeletons:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/d10747128-2-freshly-roasted-tbleague-metal-female-skeletons

Ah so NOT ALL IS LOST  and in every catastrophe there is a chance for a new beginning or for SCIENCE.  Thank you sky!

So the woman bodies are made of full metal...that is of great interest to me, as I'm planning to fiddle around with creating a winged body. (Already did some tests with a destroyed male body) but this changes things a bit.

Valiarde wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:

Valiarde wrote:Somehow missed this thread so far. What a wonderful resource. This forum is just so good for researches and information
Do we have a steel skeleton of a women body too? Does it also has that plastic box in the mittle of the upper torso?

Valiarde, darthJ just sadly lost a good portion of his collection in a fire, and he posted this photo of some female steel skeletons:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/d10747128-2-freshly-roasted-tbleague-metal-female-skeletons

Ah so NOT ALL IS LOST  and in every catastrophe there is a chance for a new beginning or for SCIENCE.  Thank you sky!

So the woman bodies are made of full metal...that is of great interest to me, as I'm planning to fiddle around with creating a winged body. (Already did some tests with a destroyed male body) but this changes things a bit.

Glad you found it (the thread) after all, and that you like it. Yes, DarthJ has put up some of the roasted/emancipated skeletons for sale, and I think Sky's link actually pointed to that listing in the Classifieds. Looks like no plastic box, which is almost counter-intuitive. Otherwise very similar to the male skeletons.

GubernatorFan wrote:

So when the arm is raised out and sideways (circular arrow in the quoted picture), is it supposed to hit something preventing it going all the way up?
Notice how it is not entirely vertical, unlike the other arm.
But the other arm has a visible bulge in the armpit in this pose, which does not happen with a real human body.

The reason I ask: 1/12 scale female bodies (T01A) do not seem to hit this limit:


It helps a lot with putting clothes on.

Compare that to 1/6 scale body (S22A):


Similar to male body in the quoted picture, the arm stops quite a long way from fully vertical (and the other arm shows a bulge).

Visisonor wrote:So when the arm is raised out and sideways (circular arrow in the quoted picture), is it supposed to hit something preventing it going all the way up?
Notice how it is not entirely vertical, unlike the other arm.
But the other arm has a visible bulge in the armpit in this pose, which does not happen with a real human body.

The reason I ask: 1/12 scale female bodies (T01A) do not seem to hit this limit:

Compare that to 1/6 scale body (S22A):

Similar to male body in the quoted picture, the arm stops quite a long way from fully vertical (and the other arm shows a bulge).

My primary objective in the notes was to indicate to people what might cause the shoulder joint to lock and how to unlock it. That happens when the non-identical sides of the shoulder joint become reversed. So it was fine raising the arm up from whatever position, but if the sides of the joint reverse, when you bring it down, it might stick away from the body and articulate less. Usually, you can avoid that from happening if the arm was raised up parallel to the front-back axis of the body; and often it does lock, if the arm was raised from the side, perpendicular to the front-back axis of the body. Of course you can still do so, but be aware of the possible problem and how to fix it. 

It is possible that there is some difference in the skeletons of the sixth- and twelfth-scale figures. I have never seen the underlying twelfth-scale skeleton, so this is just a guess, based on the difference in performance that you note.

The bulging of the flesh is a slightly different matter. It can be partly resolved by some massaging, gently untwisting the flesh from the arm, as much as possible -- but in an extreme enough pose it might not always be possible to avoid it completely.