Current experiences with TBLeague female bodies?

Hi folks,

I wanted to ask you about your experiences.
I started this hobby with S38 and S39 bodies, which I have had very good experiences with so far. However, I would like to go further and get a different body type. Basically I want to stay wih the more natural body shapes so I'm vacillating between types S25-S27-S29-S33. (I would also like S43 but I don't like the floppy feet, I would remain with the detachable types).
Reading the topics about the above types 1-2 years ago, several people mentioned some issues with some joints and tearing. My question would be, do these problems persist with the newer purchases or are you not experiencing similar ones nowadays? I would also like to know if, of the four types mentioned above, do you think there is one that is more "reliable" or risky than the others? Or should I really not worry and just choose the one I like best?
Thanks in advance for your answers!

I don't know about S33, but the other ones you ask about are reasonably good. S27 is the most petite, and therefore probably the one for which you would have the hardest time finding a head that matches well in size. S25 and S29 are my favorite TBLeague bodies at present, along with the muscular S23 and the S39 you already know; S17, S19, and S21 are good too. I haven't had any tearing or other issues with the ones I mentioned, but this might have to do as much with luck and reasonably careful handling and storing as with any innate quality of the models -- besides, these models are now being produced over a number of years, and there may be variation in quality, just like there is in coloring. Keep in mind that the shorter bodies -- or is it all the newer female bodies? -- seem to have done away with a point of articulation inside or just below the biceps (where the arm should be able to swivel around its own axis), which can make posing the arm over the body a little more difficult. Not counting the seamless-ankled floppy-footed ones, the TBLeague female body I own that I have found most frustrating, because it is more prone to damage is the S12. With that I have experienced both tearing surface and the wrist pegs coming off the body easily and being difficult to reattach, subsequently hanging loose, and at the price of warping the rubbery skin over the lower arm.

Well, that’s a little scary since third parties continue to flock to those bodies (S10D/S12D) for their head sculpt/costume sets.  Hopefully as you mentioned, the production quality has gotten better over the years.

Xavion2004 wrote:Well, that’s a little scary since third parties continue to flock to those bodies (S10D/S12D) for their head sculpt/costume sets.  Hopefully as you mentioned, the production quality has gotten better over the years.

Yes, I never gave them another chance, they might be better now, if still being produced. But there are probably similar enough bodies among the better ones -- S17, 19, 21, 23 -- that will still work with such sets. I haven't checked specifically, but you can see if our catalog thread does not provide enough in the way of illustration and information to work it out.

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3013-tbleague-phicen-seamless-bodies-with-steel-skeleton-catalog-updated-continually

GubernatorFan wrote:I don't know about S33, but the other ones you ask about are reasonably good. S27 is the most petite, and therefore probably the one for which you would have the hardest time finding a head that matches well in size. S25 and S29 are my favorite TBLeague bodies at present, along with the muscular S23 and the S39 you already know; S17, S19, and S21 are good too. I haven't had any tearing or other issues with the ones I mentioned, but this might have to do as much with luck and reasonably careful handling and storing as with any innate quality of the models -- besides, these models are now being produced over a number of years, and there may be variation in quality, just like there is in coloring. Keep in mind that the shorter bodies -- or is it all the newer female bodies? -- seem to have done away with a point of articulation inside or just below the biceps (where the arm should be able to swivel around its own axis), which can make posing the arm over the body a little more difficult. Not counting the seamless-ankled floppy-footed ones, the TBLeague female body I own that I have found most frustrating, because it is more prone to damage is the S12. With that I have experienced both tearing surface and the wrist pegs coming off the body easily and being difficult to reattach, subsequently hanging loose, and at the price of warping the rubbery skin over the lower arm.

Thank you very much for your answer, GubernatorFan! That means it will be enough to focus on the concept. A smaller head wouldn't be a problem either, I have an S38 head that looks better on a smaller body.

Saturn wrote:Thank you very much for your answer, GubernatorFan! That means it will be enough to focus on the concept. A smaller head wouldn't be a problem either, I have an S38 head that looks better on a smaller body.

You are very welcome. I hope your experience vindicates my answer, and that I have not led you astray. But ultimately individual copies of a product could vary. As for the S38 head, I am not surprised. I have the S39, and the head does look too small on that body. It is not a bad head in itself, but between that and the lighter hair color, it is not my favorite. Putting it on a smaller body would definitely help. I will try to make some photos.

I didn't bother to check S27B (probably too small) and S29B (probably too large), but here is how the other bodies looked with the S39 head on (I don't have S38). I think it clearly works better for smaller bodies, and for the smaller bodies in this sample. Note there is some degree to which the height of the head can be adjusted (looking at the photos, I left it too high on the S23B). And I like the head itself better now. Of course, what clothing you put on the body would also play a role for the overall look and proportions.

GubernatorFan wrote:I didn't bother to check S27B (probably too small) and S29B (probably too large), but here is how the other bodies looked with the S39 head on (I don't have S38). I think it clearly works better for smaller bodies, and for the smaller bodies in this sample. Note there is some degree to which the height of the head can be adjusted (looking at the photos, I left it too high on the S23B). And I like the head itself better now. Of course, what clothing you put on the body would also play a role for the overall look and proportions.

Great comparison pictures! Perhaps the most harmonic with the S17B and S25B. Of course, if I choose the new body especially for my S38 head, a pale one would be ideal, which in turn would be less universally usable for other heads later on... Maybe I should buy two bodies right away? This hobby is dangerous...  

Saturn wrote:Great comparison pictures! Perhaps the most harmonic with the S17B and S25B. Of course, if I choose the new body especially for my S38 head, a pale one would be ideal, which in turn would be less universally usable for other heads later on... Maybe I should buy two bodies right away? This hobby is dangerous...  

Oh yes, that's right, S38 is pale, so for that one you want a pale version of the above -- S16A or S24A. Or, as you say, both. They are both good bodies.

Saturn wrote:Maybe I should buy two bodies right away? This hobby is dangerous...  

Indeed it is. A very large chunk of this hobby, especially when it comes to kitbashing and customizing, is trial and error. Ask any of us that have been doing this awhile how many containers of spare parts we have (heads, bodies, clothes, accessories, etc.), and you’d think we were running our own toy factories. I have hundreds of things just waiting for an opportunity to be used — some may never get that opportunity (it seems to be the nature of the hobby).