Phicen Stainless Steel Skeleton Seamless Figures

It's been years since Phicen released their first seamless action figures with stainless steel skeletons to rave reviews, and since then I've been patiently waiting for them to release one in brown. I mean after all, in their first 2 releases, they included brown dolls (and called them "Hindu"). Last year, I thought that I was about to get my wish when Phicen released their Eartha Kitt Catwoman figure, but alas, that one had the old easily breakable plastic skeleton, so I did not waste my money on that (but I do want her head).

For years, I've been watching my doll collecting friends with their new and improved Phicens, viewing their wonderful photos, seeing them rave about the posability of these figures, and wishing to join in on the fun. So, I got tired of waiting. I decided that I would get a stainless steel skeletoned body for my Phicen "Jinx" figure, since I've been afraid to pose her with her brittle plastic skeleton. The hunt was on for the right body.

The first body that I tried was a S02A Mid Bust Suntan body (the figure on the left in the photo below). I was disappointed to see that it was not a close enough skin tone match for my Jinx.

But other than that, WOW! I was truly impressed, and joined others in raving about this body! It is beautiful, sturdy, and poses so easily! Her silicon "skin" is just as soft as the Jinx figure's skin. When faced with the decision of whether or not to return this body and try to find something else, the choice was easy. I was going to keep this body! I would try to find another head for her.

A wonderful and very generous friend of mine who's also a collector purchased the PLLB2014-S08 Large Bust Tan figure for me (the figure on the right in the photo below). My friend touched my heart with his generosity, and this doll will always hold a special place in my collection, and I cherish this gift so much! However, she also is not a close enough skin tone match to my Jinx.

That's okay, because I love her just as she is! Compared to the Suntan body, she has more shading, and she also has genital detailing. She has the distinction of being my first ever doll or action figure to have a butt hole. Yes, Phicen has truly taken realism to a new level.

I purchased a knock-off Sucker Punch Babydoll head. It's nearly a perfect skin tone match for the suntan body, and I'm extremely pleased. But the head rested low on the Phicen neck, and her neck looked a little short for my taste.

The head came with the neck adapter shown below.

I added some double-sided tape to the neck adapter so that the head would sit up a little higher on the neck.

And now, Babydoll's head rests all the way at the top of the Phicen neck.

She is a beautiful doll! Both of my stainless Phicen ladies are gorgeous! And so is Jinx, who is still hoping to get a stainless steel seamless body one day.

When posing these figures, their bodies move so smoothly and effortlessly, and they hold their poses very well. And they look very natural. I would have to say that they look more natural in their poses than any other dolls or action figures that I've seen. They are not perfect, but they do look very natural.

These stainless bodies of mine can not stand on their own. Their feet do adjust to shoes with various sized heels, and I have not been able to get them to stand in any shoes. The newer batch of Phicens have detachable feet and can stand on their own.

And here are all of my Phicen ladies together. My two older broken plastic skeleton figures with the rubbery skin have joined the party. Please Phicen (or someone) make some seamless figures with stainless steel skeletons in darker skin tones! I know you can do it.

Overall, I love love LOVE these figures! These dolls with the stainless steel skeletons are a game changer, in my opinion. These figures do have soft skin, which has it's drawbacks. The skin can rip and become worn. But aesthetically, these dolls are superior to other articulated dolls and action figures on the market.

Fragile and Fabulous Figure Comparisons

They are not all fragile.  Some are dainty but sturdy.  Some are hefty but breakable.  Some I talked myself out of posing, but then talked myself back into it.  Here are more ladies ready for another round of figure comparisons.

From left to right:  Triad Otaku Tan, Phicen "Hindu", CY Girl Ebony, AA Nutcracker Barbie, Fashion Royalty Adele, and Alvin Ailey Barbie.

I must tell you that 3 of these figures have issues.  The Otaku has a broken left arm which no longer rotates (because I glued it back in place).  The Phicen has a broken left hip.  The Nutcracker Barbie was my first doll that is jointed at both the elbows and knees, and she was my only jointed doll for years, so she has been posed A LOT over the years.  As a result, her knees are very floppy.  But these ladies are all troopers and they are ready to pose.  Just keep in mind that these 3 would pose a lot better if they were not damaged.

The Otaku, Phicen, and Ebony can all stand on their own.  Perhaps I could get Nutcracker Barbie to stand on her own if her knees weren't so loose.

Here they are showing their elbow articulation.  The Otaku has double-joined elbows, and therefore has the best range of motion here.  I have to tell you, I was sweating bullets when posing the Otaku.  Before posing her, I got out my hairdryer and heated her joints for about 60 seconds to loosen them.  I have had her for years, but after breaking her and reading about the breakage problems that others have had, I have had her sitting on a shelf most of the time.  At this point, she moves really well at the elbows and knees, but her shoulders and hips are still a little stiff, and I hesitate to do much posing that would put these areas at risk for breakage.

The Otaku and Phicen figures have standard size action figure feet.  Ebony has boot feet.  I would have to unscrew her boots at the bottom in order to get them off, and I think that I would be left with these big white things at the end of her legs that have little resemblance to actual feet.  I probably have some other action figure feet around here somewhere that would be a close enough skin tone match for her, but that's a project for another day.  For now, she keeps her boots.  The Nutcracker Barbie has molded-on ballet slippers, but I sometimes put other shoes on her.  Adele has standard size doll feet for Fashion Royalty and Barbie dolls.  The Alvin Ailey Barbie has hyper extended pointy feet and can not wear all Barbie shoes.  She crosses her arms the best.

 Here they are doing a side stretch.  The Otaku has no torso articulation, but the others all do.  Nutcracker Barbie has the best range of motion here, but the Phicen looks the best.

Here they are walking like an Egyptian.  Nutcracker Barbie has no wrist articulation, and can not support her own weight with bended knees at this point.

  Here they are doing kneeling back bends.  The Barbies do this the best.

Here they are showing off their hands. The Otaku, Phicen, and Ebony are all shown with relaxed hands, but they all came with extra hands that are able to grip objects.

Here they are attempting to sit cross-legged on the floor.  Alvin Ailey Barbie comes the closest.

Here they are attempting to do middle splits.  Alvin Ailey Barbie does this the best.  Click here to see the Phicen doll attempting this pose before I broke her hip.

Here they are attempting to do front splits.  Nutcracker Barbie does this the best.

 Here they are doing a leg lift.  Nutcracker Barbie does this the best.

 Here they are sitting down.  I think that Alvin Ailey Barbie looks the best in a seated position.  Click here to see the Phicen doll in a seated position prior to me breaking her hip.

Do you have a favorite among these dolls?  Which dolls pose the best?  Which dolls look the best?  Which dolls are the most realistic?

Phicen vs. Phicen

I recently purchased another Phicen brown body figure.  I have previously discussed my older Phicen figure and demonstrated some of her poseability, so in this post I'm going to mainly discuss the differences between the older and the newer figure.

 Here is a close-up of the newer figure.  This is the small bust version.  She has a different headsculpt that I don't much care for (but I didn't really care much for the old one, either).  The large bust version has a different headsculpt (I did not purchase the large bust version and the photo at that link is not mine).  I do like the hair on both versions of the newer Phicens.  I will re-paint her eyes one of these days.

Here's a side-by-side comparison with the older Phicen on the left and the newer one on the right.  Overall, the newer figure looks better to me.  The old one kind of looks like a girl in a rubber suit.  The newer one looks a bit more natural.  The skin color is slightly different.  There have been refinements that I can see at the shoulders, arms, waist, and knees. There's not as much bunching of the rubber skin under the armpits on the newer figure, and it is not as much of a dust and lint magnet as the older figure.  The new one came with this bikini, which I like because the old one came naked.

 The new one looks slightly slimmer.  But don't worry, she still has her booty.  As you can see, the rubber still bunches up in certain poses.

 Here they are from the side.  The shoulders, arms, and elbows look better on the new one.  The hands and feet are exactly the same.

 And here they are seated.  My older Phicen will never sit like she used to because I broke her hip.  You may recall my previous warning that you must be careful with these, because with the rubber skin you can't see the joints, and it's fairly easy to break the figure.  Yep, that's what happened.  And it's impossible to fix unless I somehow destroy the rubber skin to get to the hip joint.  So I'm afraid to move the new one much.  I'll pose her next to my other doll at high risk for breakage and call it a day.

I'm truly thrilled that this company has come out with these dolls in a brown skin tone, and I'm glad that I have these.  But I will probably not buy another one unless they come with a skeleton that is less breakable.  What fun is it to have a poseable figure if you're afraid to pose it.