New to Phicen

[exshadowz]

Hi so I am thinking about expanding my figure collection, I am currently a Hot Toys collector and I have been eyeing Phicen for awhile now and decided to dip some money in on a couple of figures. I have heard a lot of good things about them and thought about adding them to my collection. So I was thinking to start off by getting the Robyn Hood and Mercy Dante figures that have caught my eye. Just a few question though. Are the Phicen figures good to leave in poses with the arms or legs bent more than half way or all the way as I was thinking about leaving that Robyn Hood figure in a pose like she is aiming an arrow but fear leaving her in that pose long term may damage the silicone. Am I right or is Phicen more durable than that? Also speaking of leaving her in that shooting arrow pose, is that arrow wire good to be left full or almost fully pulled back or will that loosen the wire/string if left long term. Those were just some initial thoughts I had, if there are any expert/long term phicen collectors that can help me out with my concerns that would be greatly appreciated.

Also does anyone have any just general Phicen specific advice or cautions that i should be aware of?

Sorry for making this post text heavy.

 

[potato]

rubber don't go well with prolonged stretching, bending, contacting other materials, heat, humid, dirt, paint.

but if the area is hidden by outfit and cannot be seen, i don't see a problem with it.

also try to get the latest version of the Phicen because they have been improving on their products on constant basis. the older version lose out in terms of aesthetic & posebility. they are still new so can't say about durability.

 

[bunnyfreakz]

Their body is durable but don't mean will not cracking. Defect still persist but probably in small number.

I think body will fine if you just leave it in pose. The biggest concern I think some cloth will stain the body. Otherwise solid figure and worth money, they are cheaper than Hot Toys. Not sure about those arrow wire, I am particulary not own those Robyn hood figure. But phicen accesories are top notch and well made but for prevention , just not put those in high stress state.

 

[Adeno]

When buying Phicen dolls, always go for the "Stainless Steel" version. The old versions before 2014 had plastic "skeleton" inside so they only had limited posability. The plastic skeletons also broke often. The stainless steel skeleton is a whole different world. You can smoothly pose the dolls in all sorts of ways and you won't really have to fear about breaking them.

Of course, extreme poses will probably cause damage, like overbending a joint to where it's not humanly possible in real life. As a general rule, if the joint of the Phicen doll reaches a point where it stops, do not attempt to go beyond it or you might damage it badly.

Another tip I have for you is that when you're first replacing the hands of a Phicen doll to use the other extra hands it comes with, use a hair dryer to heat up the current pair of hands attached to the doll to loosen them up. That's when you can safely pull them off. The reason why you need to loosen them up first is that they are very tight and if you pull the hands off of the ball joint that's connected to the wrist, you risk actually pulling the ball joint out of the stainless steel skeleton! That's no good and putting it back in is such a hassle. If you also somehow manage to pull out the ball joint, it will become loose and you won't be able to make the doll's hand hold poses properly anymore. It will become "wiggly".

As for buying clothes for your Phicen dolls to wear, ALWAYS wash them first with laundry detergent because sometimes, these clothes have excess dye and they might stain your Phicen doll badly. What I do is I handwash the clothes, squeeze, scrub until I see the excess dye go away. Next, I put the clothes in a tupperware, put some more laundry detergent in it, and then fill it up with water. I then leave it there for 2 days. This way, the clothes won't have excess dye anymore. Dry the clothes and then make a part of it touch a small area of your Phicen doll's skin to see if it would stain. Make different parts of the clothes touch the Phicen doll's skin just to make sure it's really safe to wear.

For maintenance, you might notice that your Phicen doll will get dirty over time. All you really need is a brush or even a tiny paint brush and you just brush the dirt away. Dirt on a Phicen doll tends to stick and the easiest way to get them off is by using a brush. Just a soft brush is ok, not too hard. When it comes to the doll's stickiness, you can make your Phicen doll feel smooth again by using the common Johnson's baby powder. You don't need a lot, dab your paint brush into a small amount of baby powder and brush your Phicen doll's body with it gently.

As for the types of available Phicen dolls, there are the standard stainless steel ones beginning from Phicen PLMB2014-S01. Most of these dolls come with headsculpts included. They are usually in the range of $80 to $110. The limited edition ones are more expensive, usually starting from $140 to $200. These are usually based on comic book characters like Shi, La Muerta, Mercy Dante, Red Sonja and others. The latest right now are the Phicen S16A Pale and the S17B Suntan body types. These two don't include headsculpts, only replaceable hands and feet, so be careful when buying these two models!

If you want to learn a little bit more about Phicen dolls, feel free to read my reviews of a couple of them



Phicen Shi Kireina Kimono Asia Version

Phicen Demon Huntress

Phicen PLMB2014-S02 Tan and Suntan

How to Keep Phicen Dolls Fresh and Clean

 

[exshadowz]

When buying Phicen dolls, always go for the "Stainless Steel" version. The old versions before 2014 had plastic "skeleton" inside so they only had limited posability. The plastic skeletons also broke often. The stainless steel skeleton is a whole different world. You can smoothly pose the dolls in all sorts of ways and you won't really have to fear about breaking them.

Of course, extreme poses will probably cause damage, like overbending a joint to where it's not humanly possible in real life. As a general rule, if the joint of the Phicen doll reaches a point where it stops, do not attempt to go beyond it or you might damage it badly.

Another tip I have for you is that when you're first replacing the hands of a Phicen doll to use the other extra hands it comes with, use a hair dryer to heat up the current pair of hands attached to the doll to loosen them up. That's when you can safely pull them off. The reason why you need to loosen them up first is that they are very tight and if you pull the hands off of the ball joint that's connected to the wrist, you risk actually pulling the ball joint out of the stainless steel skeleton! That's no good and putting it back in is such a hassle. If you also somehow manage to pull out the ball joint, it will become loose and you won't be able to make the doll's hand hold poses properly anymore. It will become "wiggly".

As for buying clothes for your Phicen dolls to wear, ALWAYS wash them first with laundry detergent because sometimes, these clothes have excess dye and they might stain your Phicen doll badly. What I do is I handwash the clothes, squeeze, scrub until I see the excess dye go away. Next, I put the clothes in a tupperware, put some more laundry detergent in it, and then fill it up with water. I then leave it there for 2 days. This way, the clothes won't have excess dye anymore. Dry the clothes and then make a part of it touch a small area of your Phicen doll's skin to see if it would stain. Make different parts of the clothes touch the Phicen doll's skin just to make sure it's really safe to wear.

For maintenance, you might notice that your Phicen doll will get dirty over time. All you really need is a brush or even a tiny paint brush and you just brush the dirt away. Dirt on a Phicen doll tends to stick and the easiest way to get them off is by using a brush. Just a soft brush is ok, not too hard. When it comes to the doll's stickiness, you can make your Phicen doll feel smooth again by using the common Johnson's baby powder. You don't need a lot, dab your paint brush into a small amount of baby powder and brush your Phicen doll's body with it gently.

As for the types of available Phicen dolls, there are the standard stainless steel ones beginning from Phicen PLMB2014-S01. Most of these dolls come with headsculpts included. They are usually in the range of $80 to $110. The limited edition ones are more expensive, usually starting from $140 to $200. These are usually based on comic book characters like Shi, La Muerta, Mercy Dante, Red Sonja and others. The latest right now are the Phicen S16A Pale and the S17B Suntan body types. These two don't include headsculpts, only replaceable hands and feet, so be careful when buying these two models!

If you want to learn a little bit more about Phicen dolls, feel free to read my reviews of a couple of them



Phicen Shi Kireina Kimono Asia Version

Phicen Demon Huntress

Phicen PLMB2014-S02 Tan and Suntan

How to Keep Phicen Dolls Fresh and Clean

Wow thank you for this in depth advice. I thank everyone who has offered their Phicen wisedom for me in this thread.

 

[TheMajor]

Both Robyn Hood & Mercy Dante use the stainless steel skeleton, so you wont have to worry there. A number of Phicen figures have been prone to staining, but I haven't seen any reports of those two staining. While there are certain thing to be aware of, when buying Phicen figures, so long as you take the necessary precautions you wont have a problem.

What hasn't been said already, is most of the talk about bodies in this thread, is in relation to the generic figures, rather than the licenced figures. Though use of a hair dryer for replacing hand is strongly recommended.