Phicen / SMCG Customs Laura Tumulus Raider II

Phicen has taken their seamless body technology and teamed up with a US customizer to release this revised version of their latest female action figure boxed set.  Featuring a "Tomb Raider" adventure theme, the Laura II includes detailed pleather/leather-like boots, belt, and holsters, dual pistols and machine guns, an extra set of griping hands, tailored jacket with artwork on the back, and a clear plastic base.  After facing some quality issues with their small chested female base bodies (as I reviewed months ago), I was a bit hesitant to jump into a boxed figure, but Chad of SMGCustoms is a stand up guy who does quality work, and I liked what I was seeing in the prototype promo photos so I decided to make a purchase.

I'm glad I did!  This is a well done set with some nice accessories.  The pistols resemble those from the Tomb Raider games and have working slides (a bit of a pleasant surprise).  The jacket is nicely done, although it has a bit of a "love it or hate it" design.  The belt and holsters are simple, and easy to work with.  But the star of the figure is no doubt the boots which are highly detailed with buckles, straps and laces.  It is very technical in design and really makes the figure pop, IMO. 

Like all seamless figures, the figure is rather limited in posing, and has a few odd quirks that make it a bit less realistic and dynamic to pose than perhaps intended, such as folding/bunching of the rubber skin around joints.  However, my copy had no major QC issues and I was pleased with the overall look of it.

At about $100 shipped, this figure is on par with similar female action figure sets from Triad Toys and I would recommend this figure to those fans who purchase similar products.

Simple white outer sleeve reveals a simple black shoebox-style package.

Inside, Laura II sits in a vacuum-formed plastic tray.

Under the figure tray is another tray with the accessories.

You'll need to attach the pistol holsters to the belt yourself, but it's not hard.

Although the head and body are the same, I like this version of Laura much better than the first one released earlier this year.

You can see how the pants was attached.  This was probably due to the "stickiness" of the rubber body.  It is supposed to be "tack-free", but it's not completely slick.  Some futzing of the fit of the material is required, but I just wanted to get some quick photos in.

While the hot pants might look better for the seamless aspects, I actually prefer this outfit a lot more.  Looks a lot more practical for adventuring, IMO.

Posing isn't too much of a problem, as long as it's not too extreme.

These boots are an eye-catcher.  Definitely puts the fig over the top, IMO.

Yes, her chest is of the over-sized, siliconal variety, but this is sort of an unlicensed Lara Croft lady, so there's some relevance there.

At some angles, the head sculpt and rooted hair are actually quite nice.

Femme Fig Photoshoot of the Day

Received the VTS racing girl set and decided to try it on a spare Triad Otaku 2.0 body.  Used a spare Lola head as well.

Also decided to take a few more pics of the Phicen "Hindu" figure with Triad bikini.
 

Yes, I need some boots for the Racing Girl set.

Phicen Small-Chested Female Base Figure Impressions

I received two of the new Phicen/TBLeague seamless female figure bodies and thought I'd share my impressions of them.

I'm not into "dolls" per se, but I do appreciate good female action figures (of which I must admit there are rather few).  And as much as I enjoy highly articulated figures for the "action"/posing aspects, it is nice to be able to show female characters in different gear without all the joints exposed once in a while.

So far, no company has attained the right balance of natural-looking skin and high articulation.  Even a luxury brand like Hot Toys has to compromise with hybrid rubber and jointed bodies which allow certain parts of the figure body to be exposed for a natural look, while still allowing more freedom of movent with the arms and/or legs.

TBLeague is one of the few companies who are offering a near complete rubber body with no visible joints (except hands and feet).

I was pretty excited to receive these at first. The packaging is simple, yet functional, with a nice femme design on the front, discreetly covering the contents, yet allowing some peeking in to the figure inside.

The back has all the instructions and warnings--saves a bit of paper there, which is ok for the environment I guess.

Inside, the figure is fairly secure, but only has a single plastic to protect the HS from paint rubs (since I preordered early, I received the "free" head, feet, and extra gripping hands--nice as these are no longer available as a set at this time).

Out of the box, the figure looks ok--the odd ab lines from the proto/promo shots are considerably softer in-hand, so no more anorexic tummy for her now.

My main concern once I opened up the package and started testing out the articulation was that the "skin" around the elbow joints on my pale figure was thinner than anywhere else on the body. One side actually tore a bit after only a few bends and you can see the metal skeleton underneath--not good.

There's also more skin folding than with the original body around the armpits and belly. I'm not sure if it's because of the "tack-free", less-sticky material used, but I think the original figure was less wrinkly, ironically.

They did an ok job taking care of the flash and injection mold points, but there's something flimsy, or more fragile about this skin that I'm not comfortable with.

Overall the body is ok, if more delicate than I would've liked.

Some have mentioned that the smaller breasts don't look natural--another irony here--I don't know about that, but I will say that the butt area is natural-looking to me.

The "free" head is not bad. The hair is messy to deal with and she has more of a doll-y look, but it's a clean paint app.

A few more thoughts: the QC allowed for little bits of lint and things to harden in the mold. My copies also had some nail marks, scrapes, and dings in them where the rubber took some kind of unnatural pressure or stress.

Quickie verdict: Phicen has done a decent job with the seamless female body, but the technology is still not there to deliver the right comination of articulation and skin-realism.

I would only recommend this to folks who already tried the earlier phicen and liked it.

Extreme poses like this are not recommended!

If she looks stiff, it's because I don't want the skin on her elbows to tear even more.  :p

I received a "Hindu" colored one--it is the same figure, but just chocolate-colored.  The hair on this one has mild highlights, which I thought was a nice touch.