A Tale of Two Types of Stripes (updated with Part III, 3 Feb 2022)

For Part II, see here.

For spin off, see here.

Blame Ovy...





































... for teaching me the word "Gopnik."

It's just one of those things... I liked the Verycool set "The Slavic Warrior: King of the Mall" (here) and the Young Rich Toys and SW Toys set "Chicago White Sox No 45" (Michael Jordan, here), picked up a bunch of the pieces, and voila...

"Boris Semënovič" went on an M33 body; otherwise, only the watch, chain, Vodka, cigarette, and slides are from other sets, and I made the Adidas logo for the track suit.

Michael went on an M36 body (good color match, as was a custom colored M33 -- but that was too short for the clothes or the guy, who is 6 ft 6 in, actually corresponding to the M36 body); otherwise, only the ball, glove, and bat were from another set.

Everything fit fine, just too bad the seamless bodies, for all their superior articulation, cannot manage a functional deep squat (especially in these shoes). I think they did an excellent job on the the Michael Jordan head. The Slavic Warrior, on the other hand, seems to have a softer and lighter paint job than the promotional images, although it is still very good, just not as sharp (and I have no idea how that compares to the source material).

So, what's the connection? The stripes, of course, albeit different. Yes, they are both sporty, though only one is actually a sportsman. The whole thing suggested 90s nostalgia, of a kind, and all the profound cultural exchange and cooperation that was the spirit of that age...

For Part II, see here.

For spin off, see here.

Oh, you made the Adidas logo! I was wondering if that outfit featuring "the three stripes" was an officially licensed miniature.

You got some great poses with the baseball player, very natural appearing.

davidd wrote:Oh, you made the Adidas logo! I was wondering if that outfit featuring "the three stripes" was an officially licensed miniature.

You got some great poses with the baseball player, very natural appearing.

Thank you very much, Dave. Not being at all adept with baseball, I was worried someone would take me to task for some inept posing, but I did try to match some photos from the real guy and also the promotional images for that set. Some turned out more realistic than others. The body is the right height, but a little on the thin side for Michael Jordan.

Yep, the track suit was just right, but sans logo. If I were more familiar with the process, I would do one of those you can iron press onto the fabric, but I have no idea how to do that (besides, ironing fabric has not been my forte). So I just extracted it, mounted it on black, scaled it, printed it out, cut it out, and secured it with some double-sided tape. It is a decent temporary solution. In most instances looks alright, except if the light bounces off the wrong way.

I’ll let some of the posing slide, Ian , since otherwise it’s pretty neat. Nice job.

TIL Michael Jordan also played baseball

Your pics are well done. I love the close pic of jordan with the base cap on.
But the real star is the outfit of the slavic warrior guy (and head!) I love it. This is a costume that will fit so many casual scenes. Does it fit female bodies too? I guess you could depict any super star in casual wear like when we see snapshots from paparazzis
Very cool and fun pics

Stryker2011 wrote:I’ll let some of the posing slide, Ian , since otherwise it’s pretty neat. Nice job.

Uh-oh, so I did mess up the baseball poses? Or was it failing to achieve a functional deep squat? But thank you very much, I'm glad you still liked them.

Valiarde wrote:TIL Michael Jordan also played baseball

Your pics are well done. I love the close pic of jordan with the base cap on.
But the real star is the outfit of the slavic warrior guy (and head!) I love it. This is a costume that will fit so many casual scenes. Does it fit female bodies too? I guess you could depict any super star in casual wear like when we see snapshots from paparazzis
Very cool and fun pics

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them. Yes, I realize that (about Michael Jordan), had gotten a bit confused over it at first, actually. But of course it is what happened -- and it makes sense. I think the work on his head is excellent, both in quality and in likeness (of course, his likeness changed over time). I love the Slavic Warrior guy too, although I was looking forward to the promotional images look of the head. But yes, this one is still very good. Theoretically, the lighter coloring ought to make it more stereotypically "Eastern Slav." There is no reason why the outfit would not fit a female TBLeague figure, especially the taller bodies. Or perhaps Natasha decided to put on Boris' clothes for comfort or intimacy or just because. I do mean to check, and will let you know -- down the line.

Hee hee! I coincidentally ran across this 1968 advertisement today, and immediately thought of your customized track suit: Honestly, why do they all have to imitate adidas?

davidd wrote:Hee hee! I coincidentally ran across this 1968 advertisement today, and immediately thought of your customized track suit: Honestly, why do they all have to imitate adidas?

Nice connection. Adidas became a sports gear craze in the Eastern Bloc from the 1970s and 1980s. It had a contract with the Soviet Olympic team during the Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980 and, presumably aided by its performance, and of course its contacts, became at once popular and available, more so than other brands (though some others, like Puma, did well too). Among the "Gopniks" in Russia, especially, they retained their popularity, apparently as an ideal brand of clothing. This was especially true for genuine Adidas, but apparently there was also reliance on knockoffs, like the Chinese Adibas. I don't know that the "Slavic Warrior" set was meant to be wearing a knockoff. The absence of the Adidas logo, I thought, was more likely due to trademark or to the technical difficulty of placing such a small logo on the sixth-scale garment, or both. It really is an Adidas track suit. See here:



As you can see, I did my homework. I did overlook the fact that I should also place the logo high at about pocket level on the left leg of the track suit pants.

Awesome gallery, the posing along with the backdrops looks quite natural! Some of the shots looked so real, especially the first of Gopnik Guy (very educational, the random things you learn in this hobby), and of course the closeup shots of Michael Jordan. Kudos for not just throwing him in a basketball outfit, and that is a perfect color match for the headsculpt (but isn't that because the M36 was essentially made for the MJ athletic body?). I would guess those loose-fitting sweatpants are the most comfortable for most TBLeague bodies as far as posing, though it's still disappointing one can't get a proper 'squat'. Great job on the logo decals. Nice to see them sharing a drink at the end, wonder what their conversations are like. Hopefully they don't get too inebriated to the point where someone takes a flying bat to the face. lol I am reminded of a story my dad told me about his own youth involving a game of baseball.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:Awesome gallery, the posing along with the backdrops looks quite natural! Some of the shots looked so real, especially the first of Gopnik Guy (very educational, the random things you learn in this hobby), and of course the closeup shots of Michael Jordan. Kudos for not just throwing him in a basketball outfit, and that is a perfect color match for the headsculpt (but isn't that because the M36 was essentially made for the MJ athletic body?). I would guess those loose-fitting sweatpants are the most comfortable for most TBLeague bodies as far as posing, though it's still disappointing one can't get a proper 'squat'. Great job on the logo decals. Nice to see them sharing a drink at the end, wonder what their conversations are like. Hopefully they don't get too inebriated to the point where someone takes a flying bat to the face. lol I am reminded of a story my dad told me about his own youth involving a game of baseball.

Thank you very much, I'm very glad you liked it. The backdrops (apart from the plain ones) were all just images on my screens. It works reasonably well if you're not trying to show the whole figure, because even if you have a screen tall and wide enough, you need to take care of the transition between whatever the figure is standing on and the background. That's why I prefer to use printed backgrounds, but it's been a long while since I have made new ones. But since this is meant to be educational about the sets (or parts of the sets on TBLeague bodies), I tend to try to get the whole figure in most of the time.

It took me a while to find, but I believe this is why TBLeague created the M36 body (black version anyway), Kareem Abdul Jabbar from a Bruce Lee movie:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1041-new-product-light-kingdom-light-army-new-products-1-6-death-tower-master-kit-lt002

The sweatpants (and tracksuit in general) work very well. The squatting issue is a combination of (1) some fabric getting in the way in the knee fold (but that's the least of it), (2) some push back by the rubbery flesh, (3) the relatively high edges of the shoes limiting a little bit the ankle poseability, although even with the regular feet it is still a bit of an issue, and (4) the problem of getting the figure to balance once you get it into something even close to a deep squatting position. I was bothered by this, so I tried again, will post results and a minor touch up improvement on the gopnik in follow up later tonight. Nah, no one got his face smashed in with the baseball bat or slashed through with a broken bottle of vodka. They learned from each other's cultural tradition, swapping the bat and the vodka bottle, then Michael taught the gopnik how to use the bat properly (for baseball, not hitting people). What was your dad's baseball story? Nothing too bad, I hope.

Part II: Minor improvements to Gopnik

For spin off, see here.

Well, would you believe it, Boris forgot to pack a gun. Actually that is probably common enough, but apparently not ideal for taking pictures... To be remedied immediately.



Then he did some more squatting, in the belief (or hope) that practice makes perfect. Even without the high-edged shoes, it was a little less than perfect, especially if one tries to achieve the "correct" position in which the entire heel is touching the ground. Apart from some push back by the rubbery flesh of the body, the soft and pliable fabric of the tracksuit is a little thick. Moreover, the figure cannot balance without help in this position.



So he got help from a mysterious crystal clear plastic bucket.



Next he demanded that his tracksuit pants should sport the Adidas logo, too. He was wielding a baseball bat, so who was I to argue with that?



That seemed to calm him down a bit...



So off he went, on his merry gopnik way.



For spin off, see here.

I really like your Boris.     That style is so cool. And you always give your figures the perfect poses (as good as possible at least, given the limitations of the body) 

I like his accessories, gun, vodka, baseball bat and the chain. 

Hopefully we see him in some kind of story soon. I guess he is the guy who couples won't like to met in a park. Or maybe he is a secret chess master  

Valiarde wrote:I really like your Boris.     That style is so cool. And you always give your figures the perfect poses (as good as possible at least, given the limitations of the body) 

I like his accessories, gun, vodka, baseball bat and the chain. 

Hopefully we see him in some kind of story soon. I guess he is the guy who couples won't like to met in a park. Or maybe he is a secret chess master  

Thank you very much. I'm definitely amused by him and putting together the whole thing -- and I hope I don't have to remind people that what I make or copy is not necessarily something I particularly admire. I'm a fan of realism, and that is often a long way from perfect. I am a lot more square than my characters -- if you can call them that, since most of these are just temporary "can a TBLeague body fit in those clothes" experiments; in fact, these two were headed to the Clothing TBLeague bodies thread, but I ended up with too many photos.

I'm hoping Ovy comes across this, because the fault or credit for it (well, for Boris anyway) is his, and he has more appreciation and insight into this than I do. But yes, Boris is (or thinks he is) a chess master, and not a secret one -- the whole neighborhood has heard of his exploits on the chess board, though never witnessed them.

Yes, still here. Appreciating a lot that you thought of me or were inspired.

Good to see the US and Russia resolving their conflicts with sports and hugs for a change.

Yes, you make him wear the stereotype with class, respect and style. But look at that pretty boy, that hair! He is not what it seems. I think in reality he is an artist, studying urban photography by day and being a House- and HardBass-DJ by night. With his retro style he is romantiziscing the bleak way of the Gopnik, social media posting stylish pictures of himself in 'harsh' and 'gritty' urban environment. He moved there for a more 'authentic feeling', although the neighborhood he lives in has long been gentrified by wealthy students, Starbucks and McDonald's. Neither him or any of his well off family members has ever been to prison, and he has been staying away from any sort of crime and any snort of (meth)amphetamine, but he likes the style.
The baseball bat? Sports equipment as intended. He wants to attend an All American Baseball Game one day, until now he only met the wax figure stars at Madame Tussaud's.

Ahhh yes, now with the piece he's packing, Boris definitely looks as though he could be a stereotyped character from Grand Theft Auto or the like. But the twist is that he is actually as Ovy describes, and inadvertently gets mixed up in real crime/gang-related activities. Now with everything on the line in a high stakes comical misadventure from the creators of 21 Jump Street, Boris must embrace the inner 'gangsta' within in order to survive and come out alive.

Oh and along the way, he randomly runs into/gets assistance from Michael Jordan and other celebrities.

GubernatorFan wrote: What was your dad's baseball story? Nothing too bad, I hope.

Basically from what I remember that he told me, when he was a kid playing with a group of kids as the pitcher, the batter swung so hard at the ball they lost grip of the bat - and it went flying hitting him directly between the eyes.

I had a similar experience in elementary school recess when I failed to catch a football and got a bloody nose. So sports of any kind has definitely never been a forte in my immediate family, but I appreciate the skill and elegance in how it is played by athletes.

I'm not familiar with "Gopniks" and their fashion style, but the posing and photography is really nice. Great!

Both figures are great, I specially love that Jordan though. I learned of gopniks through Youtube, in a way they remind me of "caco's".

Great pics and wonderful positioning and figures! The baseball guy looks great! Offers great variety in height of figures.

Ovy wrote:Yes, still here. Appreciating a lot that you thought of me or were inspired.

Good to see the US and Russia resolving their conflicts with sports and hugs for a change.

Yes, you make him wear the stereotype with class, respect and style. But look at that pretty boy, that hair! He is not what it seems. I think in reality he is an artist, studying urban photography by day and being a House- and HardBass-DJ by night. With his retro style he is romantiziscing the bleak way of the Gopnik, social media posting stylish pictures of himself in 'harsh' and 'gritty' urban environment. He moved there for a more 'authentic feeling', although the neighborhood he lives in has long been gentrified by wealthy  students, Starbucks and McDonald's. Neither him or any of his well off family members has ever been to prison, and he has been staying away from any sort of crime and any snort of (meth)amphetamine, but he likes the style.
The baseball bat? Sports equipment as intended. He wants to attend an All American Baseball Game one day, until now he only met the wax figure stars at Madame Tussaud's.

I'm glad you came across this, and that you provided (and continue to provide) inspiration. HardBass DJ -- yes, I remember that video, and came across another one of those too when doing research. And yes, these days this cooperation seems all the more pertinent and important again, doesn't it? So I appreciate that you appreciate it.

I love your creative yet eerily plausible rationalization of Boris the Gopnik, even if it makes him seem like a bit of a poser.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:Ahhh yes, now with the piece he's packing, Boris definitely looks as though he could be a stereotyped character from Grand Theft Auto or the like. But the twist is that he is actually as Ovy describes, and inadvertently gets mixed up in real crime/gang-related activities. Now with everything on the line in a high stakes comical misadventure from the creators of 21 Jump Street, Boris must embrace the inner 'gangsta' within in order to survive and come out alive.

Oh and along the way, he randomly runs into/gets assistance from Michael Jordan and other celebrities.

GubernatorFan wrote: What was your dad's baseball story? Nothing too bad, I hope.

Basically from what I remember that he told me, when he was a kid playing with a group of kids as the pitcher, the batter swung so hard at the ball they lost grip of the bat - and it went flying hitting him directly between the eyes.

I had a similar experience in elementary school recess when I failed to catch a football and got a bloody nose. So sports of any kind has definitely never been a forte in my immediate family, but I appreciate the skill and elegance in how it is played by athletes.

Maybe I should have you and Ovy write my scripts and provide photos without commentary. Nice insight, and I'm glad you enjoyed them. I'm sure even those who went on to be sports professionals had incidents like this in their "origin stories." But I'm glad you're both alright. I can see how some of the photos brought back a memory of that baseball story. At one point I was going to have them square off each other, one with bat in hand, the other with the vodka bottle (but could I break it off?), but then I thought amity and cooperation would be more constructive.

Randam Hajile wrote:I'm not familiar with "Gopniks" and their fashion style, but the posing and photography is really nice. Great!  

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. I'm not very familiar with Gopniks either, and it is not exactly a subculture I mean to glorify by any means, but sometimes realism gets us to portray what is less than ideal. I did some research, so now I have a somewhat greater understanding of the thing.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Both figures are great, I specially love that Jordan though. I learned of gopniks through Youtube, in a way they remind me of "caco's".

Thank you very much. Didn't they do a great job on him? I really love the life-like detail. Oh yes, apparently Gopniks have counterparts around the globe, with slightly different fashions and accessories.

BAMComix wrote:Great pics and wonderful positioning and figures! The baseball guy looks great! Offers great variety in height of figures.

Thank you very much, glad you liked them. I agree. While I wish the body was not quite so slender, it works well for the length of the clothes and happens to be the right height for Michael Jordan. And they did a beautiful job on the head. At any rate, between height and everything else, it does offer variety, you're completely right.