NEW PRODUCT: TBLeague: 1/6 Egyptian Pharaoh-Ramses II Black/White/Blue (PL2021-182A/B/C)

One thing I find incredible about the depiction of of Ramses on the chariot is that he has the reins tied around his waist when he's drawing the bow??? How in the world does that work.... or am I not seeing that right.... O.O

(I'd love a 1/6 scale chariot as well, though my preference would be for a Celtic chariot!! )

Ahh I have to say it again, that is what I love about this place, when things get historical and expert information is exchanged it's always a nice read.

I really like that figure too, I was really thinking about maybe getting this one for a basis of a culture for my fantasy undead apocalypse with it's 14-15th century tech level. (would be the first set I would buy in two years)
But 240 might be too much. And I wouldn't be able to decide between the colors, although blue is not that interesting.


Live in ancient egypt would have been great for a 1/6 collector, you would only need one 1/6 figure of your mighty ruler, the rest would be 1/12 scale or something.

Ovy wrote:
But 240 might be too much. And I wouldn't be able to decide between the colors, although blue is not that interesting.

Yeah, the price is annoying. I only want the head, maybe the body and the stand, at most. So , ehhhh...

But lol, my choice would have been the blue, mainly because I like the subdued colour scheme.

Ovy wrote:Live in ancient egypt would have been great for a 1/6 collector, you would only need one 1/6 figure of your mighty ruler, the rest would be 1/12 scale or something.

sky, keep an eye on Monkey Depot, and if you spot it grab it — even with shipping that may be your best bet. I would avoid most China eBay sellers once it gets parted out.

Stryker2011 wrote:sky, keep an eye on Monkey Depot, and if you spot it grab it — even with shipping that may be your best bet. I would avoid most China eBay sellers once it gets parted out.

Will do! Half the battle is remembering when these things are supposed to be released....so many to keep track of!

skywalkersaga wrote:One thing I find incredible about the depiction of of Ramses on the chariot is that he has the reins tied around his waist when he's drawing the bow??? How in the world does that work...

Very, very well-trained horses.

Ovy wrote:But 240 might be too much...

KGHobby has them for $1,350HK, which converts to around $180US.
https://www.kghobby.com/search.php?search_query=ramesses&Search=

shazzdan wrote:

Ovy wrote:But 240 might be too much...

KGHobby has them for $1,350HK, which converts to around $180US.
https://www.kghobby.com/search.php?search_query=ramesses&Search=

It’s their shipping that will kill you…

Stryker2011 wrote:

shazzdan wrote:

Ovy wrote:But 240 might be too much...

KGHobby has them for $1,350HK, which converts to around $180US.
https://www.kghobby.com/search.php?search_query=ramesses&Search=

It’s their shipping that will kill you…

They don't charge $60 for shipping. In any case, if I buy from a US seller, I get screwed by shipping anyway.  For anyone who doesn't live in the US, KGHobby is often a lot cheaper than any seller in the US.

shazzdan wrote:The sword and shield are both fantasy. They were still using bronze weapons except for knives made for the elite from meteoritic iron and the style of that sword is more Mycenaean than Egyptian (though there was extensive trade between the two empires so it is reasonable to expect some Egyptian warriors to be using Greek weapons). I would replace the straight sword with a khopesh even though they weren't so popular by the time of Rameses II. I can't think of a depiction showing Rameses with any kind of sword so he may not have used a sword at all. A mace would be a reasonable weapon to give him since it symbolised authority in Egypt like it did in some other cultures. One thing to note is that, at this point in time, the chariot archer was starting to be phased out in favour of chariot javelineers. Some depictions of Rameses' chariot show a javelin-case in addition to an arrow-quiver. The transition was complete in the following century - not just in Egypt but throughout the region.

I was not going to criticize them for misinterpreting the sword shape a little. I think they went with a dagger as their source and then made the lines wavier when they extended it into a sword. There are triangular swords depicted especially for the mercenaries. Rameses II is shown wielding a "light axe" (I mean the one with the relatively small head, as opposed to the "eye axe") and a mace (there are fine examples from Tut`ankhamun's tomb that could have served as source (both actual weapons and sculpture renditions of them). His father is definitely shown with a khopesh sickle, so that would not have been out of place. Rameses is usually shown with a bow and arrows and javelins, so all those would have been good.

skywalkersaga wrote:One thing I find incredible about the depiction of of Ramses on the chariot is that he has the reins tied around his waist when he's drawing the bow??? How in the world does that work.... or am I not seeing that right.... O.O

It is generally assumed that in real life there would have always been a charioteer next to the king, but that usually he was omitted in depictions, leaving the king in "majestic isolation." So the reins around the waist might be an odd rationalization employed in images like that.

GubernatorFan wrote:
It is generally assumed that in real life there would have always been a charioteer next to the king, but that usually he was omitted in depictions, leaving the king in "majestic isolation." So the reins around the waist might be an odd rationalization employed in images like that.

This one suggests that Ramses and his companion charioteer were both using bows at the same time and the reins are tied to the waist of his companion.  We have texts telling us that Roman chariot racers sometimes tied the reins around their waist so it isn't a fantastical idea.

His father is definitely shown with a khopesh sickle...

Khopeshes aren't sickle swords. They are sharpened on the outer edge, not the inner edge. When the khopesh was developed, farming sickles were made from wood with embedded microliths, not bronze. The khopesh likely evolved from the epsilon axe, not farming tools.

shazzdan wrote:This one suggests that Ramses and his companion charioteer were both using bows at the same time and the reins are tied to the waist of his companion.  We have texts telling us that Roman chariot racers sometimes tied the reins around their waist so it isn't a fantastical idea.

Khopeshes aren't sickle swords. They are sharpened on the outer edge, not the inner edge. When the khopesh was developed, farming sickles were made from wood with embedded microliths, not bronze. The khopesh likely evolved from the epsilon axe, not farming tools.

Fine, "khopesh swords" then, seemingly sickle-shaped. As for this particular relief, that one does not show anything of the sort (Rameses and charioteer). It is just Rameses, effectively twice. This is a famous example of a re-worked relief in which an original depiction of Rameses II in his chariot has been reworked into another. With the falling out of the plaster and paint, traces of the original relief (including a slightly different position of the arms and a different sort of crown -- the feathered headdress belongs to the original headgear) have become visible again, producing the somewhat ghostly second image. The charioteer would never have been depicted in the same stature or pose as the king. That said, it is possible "professional" charioteers had the skills to drive chariots with reins tied to their waist, though I imagine under controlled conditions.

It isn't ghosting. It was a common technique for showing several things side by side in profile. The same thing is done with the horses - unless you want to claim that he only had one horse pulling his chariot.

shazzdan wrote:It isn't ghosting. It was a common technique for showing several things side by side in profile. The same thing is done with the horses - unless you want to claim that he only had one horse pulling his chariot.

No, the horses are two. What you are referring to occurs on occasion, for example some images of Akhenaten and Nefertiti from Amarna seated side by side and almost sharing a profile, given the overlap. But here the pharaohs are just one. No charioteer shown here. Even if it had not been documented and written up, it should be readily discernible from the image.

Re: the reins -- thanks for the explanations, GF and shazzdan. My guess is that this is the purpose of the 'martingale' on the horses' harness (which helps stabilise the reins and keeps the horses heads under control of the bit). My shock was less about whether it was technically possible to drive a chariot in that manner, and more to do with how incredibly dangerous such a thing would be under present-day health and safety considerations.

In case anyone else was interested, this figure has been parted out on ebay now -- I managed to pick up the bald headsculpt, which was all I really wanted from this one.

I did want to get this, but I've already got three TBL sets on preorder as it is...

I got excited for a few seconds when I saw this parted out on eBay and the body looked like it might be a new (if still generic TBL-flavoured) design, but further examination seems to suggest it really is just an M33 pictured from a very flattering angle.

... I continued my serie with the "black body" versions, I hesitated to take this one, I will not take it but I pre-ordered Asset ... but a figure every 2 months is delicate....

I just received my set today, will try to put together a little review.

Curious how it turned out. : )

skywalkersaga wrote:Curious how it turned out. : )

Briefly, very well (in the sense that it is everything the promotional photos promised). Still messing with it and taking photos.

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:Curious how it turned out. : )

Briefly, very well (in the sense that it is everything the promotional photos promised). Still messing with it and taking photos.

Take your time! Glad to know it turned out alright, though. : )

An unboxing video: https://bbs.bbicn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=380433

The review: https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t5142-tbleague-ramesses-the-great-review

FYI, I just saw the white version at a serious discount (EUR171 EUR127) on KGHobby:
https://www.kghobby.com/tbleague-ramesses-the-great-white-1-6-figure-pl2021-182b/

I don't have the funds right now, otherwise I'd bite.

This one has the right color clothes. But blue has the right color crown, which is why I got that one.

I bought the blue one for the same reason. I'm going to give him a white tunic and bronze weapons. His brown tunic, armour, and silly weapons are going to be used on a fantasy-themed figure.

I have a mace ready to go. It isn't completely historically accurate - most of their piriform maces were made of stone, not bronze - but it suits the figure and looks pretty cool.

Nice job, Dan. Looks pretty cool.

I agree, the mace looks great.