I tend to be a bit more curious than some collectors. Whether it be collecting totally disliked characters, or just stuff that people find too distasteful for their shelves, if there's something that clicks and it's not insanely priced, there's a good chance I'd get it just to learn a bit more about what a "good figure" means to me.
Case in point, my most recent TBLeague purchase, the 1/12 Imperial Guardian, which are a series of effectively colour swapped clones with different head sculpts. So generic that they don't even have names just model numbers (she's "D", BTW). In this instance, not only was I curious how well a "fully clothed" figure would perform (by comparison to my usual taste in women), but also, how good were TBLeague's armoured outfits were.
Like all other 1/12 TBLeague figures, packaging is a very simple translucent plastic box with the goodies inside. The contents are similar to the 1/6 version, with both some improvements and reductions (of which there was only one design to choose from):
- 1 x Main Figure with Head and Armoured Shoes
- 6 x Posing/Gripping Hands
- 1 x Dress
- 1 x Helmet
- 1 x Upper Body Armour
- 1 x Corset
- 2 x Pauldrons
- 2 x Elbow Armour
- 2 x Forearm Armour
- 2 x Stockings
- 2 x Knee Guards
- 2 x Leg Armour
- 1 x Spear
- 1 x Sword
- 1 x Stand
Compared to the 1/6 set, the body armour isn't as complex, and feature one piece rather than a separate neck and chest section (which ultimately affects articulation), but it does gain a sword and a stand (and colour choice, if you want to include that). There's also no painted blood on the spear tip (or sword blade).
UNLIKE every other 1/12 set, however, this has got to have the most... bleh artwork I've ever encountered. It's like when people draw their own version of movie covers.
Overall, the transition to 1/12 isn't too bad. I do really like the Blue and Orange colour scheme, though honestly on an actual battlefield this might not be a great combo. Colour matching of the armour with the pleather corset is excellent, though the super long string at the back is kind of goofy looking.
You lose some detailing on the gear, but the spirit is very much there, though admittedly not as there as with the lovely Valkyrie sisters Sariah and Tariah. There still exists some great raised detailing, trim, various moulded straps and buckles. Strangely, having seen actual armour in museums and what not, the less than perfect detailing work kind of makes it seem more like real armour.
The head/face, however, is kind of a write off. Again, if you don't look that hard she's fine, but if you're me you notice things look wonky. As there is no actual 1/6 version for me to compare it against (at least not that I'm aware of) I can't comment on degradation. I can, however, point out how this one sucks. Loss of facial details, lack of flesh paint, and more importantly, the left eye is just wonky in terms of positioning and paint applications. Not sure if I got lucky, or this face has been manufactured so many times that it's starting to deform. Either way, the helmet pretty much stays on.
Articulation is where my greatest curiosity was focused. The armour is... I'm going to say... reasonably designed? It's not skin tight armour so there is sufficient space built in to allow for the movement of the underlying body, albeit somewhat hampered. Furthermore, I didn't realize it when I bought it, but the ab area is a corset, so it's basically just another piece of fabric. So overall, the hard armour pieces are located in spaces that generally don't get in the way of movement. The exception is the lack of a dedicated neck armour piece, so you definitely lose range of motion there.
Paint wise, it's all right. I've mentioned my beef with the face. Base colour on the armour isn't bad, though detailing paint can be a bit weak. Stylistically speaking if you're going for the weathered and beaten look, the lack of crispness could work for you. Paint applications on the weapons, however, are lacking, especially the sword. You can very easily tell the half assed the black paint down the middle of the blade. The spear features some weathering, but there's no distinctly decorative paint apps there to screw up, and the shaft is a piece of steel wire, just like with Tariah and Sariah. Spear tips is also not as intricate, but it is functional.
Build quality wise, I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything fit together. Sure the pieces aren't as crisply made as I'd like, but I had no idea what to expect as my figures are usually more liberally dressed. Everything fit as it was supposed it and there was no warping or anything like that on the armour... just the face.
I especially like the helmet. It covers up the messed up face, and the visor actually functions. I like how the inner piece is designed with a gap in it to fit the bridge of the nose on the head. Now, getting it ON the figure, however, that's another story. I think they should have used an even softer material, like with the hands, or moulded it such that the cavity for fitting the head is naturally large enough, and doesn't need you to spread it out.
An interesting release. Costs more than the other ones I've gotten thus far, and part of that price increase is due to inflation and a more elaborate outfit. However, this is also not a licensed property or anything. So yeah, pricing wise it's kind of a weird one for me. From the actual toy perspective, however, I like it as it's probably the most conservatively dressed seamless lady I own, but at the same time it's still not even CLOSE to being realistic, unless you're count Dynasty Warriors as your standard for real. I'm glad I have the helmet to cover up that face, and as an armoured figure goes, I'm quite impressed with how much it can pose. Guess the logical next step would be to get one of these that is fully armoured.
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