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Post by NewtonDKC on Oct 12, 2005 20:37:34 GMT -5
Okay AnyaFan, here ya go!!! Oh, and CHampion of Hotness - Dude I totally just got what you meant - I meant to type "STUD" and was just sppeedreading over it, I just re-read and saw I had put STD! Anyway, I was NOT insinuating anything like that, itchy critters or otherwise <grin>. Anyway, so much for trying to be clever or mildly flirtatious in a joking way - but I wasn't really trying to be nasty or insulting! Amd thus I crown myself "ChampionofCluelessness". How's that? :-) As for Hair, Fred's scalp is molded in plastic, but her Pigtails are rubbery. Exactly like End of Days Buffy if you have her, where everything on her head is scultped and non-removeable, but the ponytail is rubbery/flexible. Illyria's hair is *totally* removeable should anyone care. I haven't taken it off yet, especially considering the stuff I've already done to the others. :-) I was intent on getting 2 Shell Illyria's so I can make one Season 5 Fred, but considering the scale differential, I'm not so sure I'm all gung ho about that now. Ah heck, who am I kidding, of course I'm still going to make her! :-) Hopefully DST will do a box set of her and Wes - and maybe they "shrink" Shells Illyria (via whatever process they use when they do a "2Up" or "4Up" where the figure is carved so many times larger than the production figure will be, and machines trace the figure and can be programmed to "downsize" the scultpure. I'd say 87% of her current size would be near perfect. I wonder if it can be done or if it's too late (i.e the production run order has already been placed and manufacturing is complete?)? Anyway, here is the cardback for AnyaFan - who I also totally mis-understood. Gees, I think I was so excited about getting these new figures that what little common sense I usually have was tee-totally out to lunch, dinner AND midnightsnacking! Sorry everyone.
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Post by Haephestus on Oct 12, 2005 20:41:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the pics everyone.
Hmmmmm, attack of the 50 foot woman.
To me, it seems like the Fred head sculpt just needs more make-up/definition. Especially around the eyes. Amy Acker/Fred has such large expressive eyes, yet they look so small and squinty.
The scale thing is pretty inexcusable. I really have no idea what DST were thinking with Fred from the start. The clothes weren't that great, nor did they represent Fred that well. They clearly looked at Fredless (for accessories), yet passed on it for an outfit (at least with her arms and legs fully covered, she wouldn't look so beefy).
Illyria is a giant! She looks like the tallest of all the figures.
A real shame. I really want a Fred, but this one just seems so "wrong" for so many reasons. I can live with the scale issued with Illyria though.
Cheers, Haeph.
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Post by Shannon on Oct 12, 2005 20:51:55 GMT -5
WEEE! THANK-YOU, NewtonDKC!!!!!!!!!!!!! im glad Cordelia is mentioned atleast in Freds portion!
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Post by JBHpet on Oct 12, 2005 20:58:21 GMT -5
Amy Acker is actually 5'9'' and Charisma Carpenter is 5'7'', so it makes sense that Fred is taller than her.
Charisma seemed tall on Buffy because much of the cast (SMG, AH, SG) were under 5'5''.
Still, Fred seems much too beefy and a touch too tall in this scale.
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Post by Girl Power on Oct 12, 2005 20:59:05 GMT -5
Sculpted to her head? Ah DRAT!
Guess I'm going to have to look into one of those dremel things.
Blasted.
Thanks for all the information, Newton. You're the best!
Amy Acker is 5'9"?!?! I had no idea. That explains why she's bigger than Spike. That guy is barely 5'9" and the figure's stance is wide, which would make him look shorter. Thanks for the info.
SMG is 5'2" at the most. Charisma towered over Alyssa Milano when she appeared as the seer on Charmed. Alyssa is only 5'1".
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Post by punkrawkerspike on Oct 12, 2005 21:14:39 GMT -5
Wow. I had no idea Amy Acker was so tall! That means she's only an inch shorter than I am. I was totally off! I always thought she was just a frail, petite, short little thing.
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Post by NewtonDKC on Oct 12, 2005 21:22:45 GMT -5
***Update - while I was writing this post, the other ones stating Amy Acker being 5'9" were posted, thus my slightly anachronistic statements. :-) Disclaimer now ends, and we return to our normally scheduled discussion about Action Figures. :-)
Okay, I've been looking at Fred. I think I can reduce her scale by doing this:
Thighs - her knees look like they are far too low on her legs anyway, so I think I can remove roughly 5 or 6 millimeters from her thighs, possibly even adding thigh articulation in the process. This would make her shorter (obviously) and bring her knees more in the middle of her legs.
Arms - her arms are longer than even the Deluxe figure's arms! So again, removing a bit from probably the wrist area and slightly less from the upper biceps allows the movement to remain intact.
I think these changes may also make her neck look more natural and not so stubby. Of course if they had made her neck proportionate to the rest of her, she would have tower over even the men. Heck, D'Hoffryn might have even feared her, though she would have made an excellent Amazonian Vengeance Demon! :-)
One last thing...her width? Thickness? She just looks too beefy to be Fred, who was most definitely the "slender attractive woman" (to use Andrew's words). :-) Thus, I personally also think "sanding" her arms and maybe even her exposed lower legs would help (her elbows look especially thick). Finally, her shoulders appear to be far too broad - literally the width of Angel Series 1 Angel, and almost as broad as the other guys minus their bulkier suit jackets (i.e. so probably about the same!).
Her head is something I'm not sure I can do much about, so that's either going to stay as is (which may actually work out, helping to give Fred that "baby animal" look as others have stated) or maybe someone else can tackle it. In fact, it could be our next contest...the "Fix Fred" contest! :-) Haha!!! COme to think of it, maybe DST did this on purpose...knowing it would bug the heck out of us, and knowing the number of customizers, maybe this was a way to esnure higher sales of the Fred Figures! Haha!!! (Kidding DST - we love your work, and everyone makes mistakes, so this is just a fluke, we know). :-)
Then again, maybe Amy Acker IS far taller and built than she appears on TV - maybe the scan revealed that and we are just witnessing how she is without the magic of TV to make her more petite! :-)
Okay, I apologize for posting so many times in this thread - I'll try to stop now. :-)
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Post by Haephestus on Oct 12, 2005 21:53:13 GMT -5
I didn't realise Amy Acker was that tall.
Might help with the scale issues. Though she still appears too "beefy".
The cardback is interesting. It hints that Angel died in "Not Fade Away" which if the comics are accepted as "canon" is untrue.
It also mentions Fred's "apparent" death. Hinting at the proposed season 6 storyline where Fred and Illyria were to be separated perhaps?
Cheers, Haeph.
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Post by Glory on Oct 12, 2005 22:10:10 GMT -5
Sculpted to her head? Ah DRAT! Guess I'm going to have to look into one of those dremel things. Blasted. Thanks for all the information, Newton. You're the best! Amy Acker is 5'9"?!?! I had no idea. That explains why she's bigger than Spike. That guy is barely 5'9" and the figure's stance is wide, which would make him look shorter. Thanks for the info. SMG is 5'2" at the most. Charisma towered over Alyssa Milano when she appeared as the seer on Charmed. Alyssa is only 5'1". Sarah Michelle Gellar is actually 5'3", she said only once in an interview that she was 5'2" but since then it's been said that she's around 5'3" and you can kinda see how that figures when she stands beside Seth Green who's around that height (his IMDB profile says 5'4") . People kept saying James Marsters was 5'11" when actually he's around 5'9" which is evident in his scenes with David Boreanaz. Amy Acker is a former model so she's around the 5'8"/5'9" range at least. She probably doesn't appear tall because she's sooo slim but she really is in that range. The figure would've been better though if they had found a way to make her slender. A season 5 Fred would've been good because she wore all kinds of dressy t-shirts and short skirts that made her really gangley and womanly.
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Post by ToodlesMrJim on Oct 12, 2005 22:15:23 GMT -5
AGHHHHHHHH!!!! Wow I so didn't realize that Fred/Illyria were so tall (and I mean more then flintstone chewables), till I pulled out my willow.... Willow only comes up to (barely) Freds/Illyria's neck. This is soooo not cool. DST WE WANT THIS FIXED... I don't think I can handle it if Dawn/Buffy line are hugh like this. Maybe DST can fix the scale and release a box set of Fred/Illyria, she just doesn't seem like she goes with the line.
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Post by NewtonDKC on Oct 12, 2005 22:25:00 GMT -5
Okay I can't resist, this is too good a thread!!! :-)
Good catch on Fred being older - I had thought her younger than Cordy too!
And yeah, the Card Back info IS interesting. From what I read about the proposed Season 6, the first few episodes were to have taken place in another dimension (presumably the place where the Senior Partners live/exist or whatever you call it). But I can't believe they would kill off Angel (obviously they wouldn't have done that with an 8 Season. But yeah, I also remember reading that WIllow (I think) would somehow split the Illyria and Fred parts and Amy Acker would be playing a dual role for at least a while. Which surprised me since they went out of their way to confirm Fred did indeed die (i.e her soul had been consumed to power Illyria's rebirth - which when you think about it is a really, really horrible thing...souls should be like...you know, indestructable and always exist!). And I think Oz was going to be a recurring character? Not sure how they'd lure Seth Green back to TV, maybe they meant Guest appearances so he could help Jenny control her Wolfiness. Would have been cool if she could have truned into Wonder WolfWoman at will to fight the bad guys! :-) I would have loved for Willow to join the cast - she'd be a great fit (I loved her in Orpheus - seemed a natural fit!) and despite Fred's apparent heterosexuality, I thought they had some great chemistry - far better than Willow and kennedy! Anyhow, maybe we'll get to see part of this storyline if the proposed Angel/Buffy-verse movies really do get made as Spike, Illyria and Willow are reportedly going to be the stars!!! So maybe Willow will be able to split Fred off....and the whole "Vamp with a Soul" thing has always sort of bothered me...almost like what they call a soul isn't quite what we think of as a soul...I think Willow said something like that about Buffy when she was dead the 2nd time "I'm talking about her soul (or maybe spirit)...Her Essence - it could be stcuk anywhere!" So maybe Fred's soul isn't her "essence", the same way a Vamp's soul seems to be more a conscience more than anything else. Otherwise, does that mean Angel actually has 2 souls - the demons that vamp-animates him AND the human sould the gypsies cursed him with? And incidentally, is that gypsy cursed soul the same human soul he had when alive? I mean is that soul Angel/Liam's soul, or somebody else's? In which case, what traits and characteristics are actually part of the soul? Especially since Angel even hints that the long stated "fact", that when Vamped the person you were is now dead, replaced by a demon - may not fully be true. Otherwise, why the heck would our "souled" Angel feel so guilty about all the horrible stuff Angelus (aka Demon soul in control) did? It wouldn't be "his" sins" in any sense would they?
Okay, not only did I break my own prmise of not posting again tonight, but I also veered wayyyy off track from the figure discussion. If someone wants to move this to a discuss area that's fine with me. But most importantly - anyone else ever thought of this stuff? I'm really curious about how it all works!!! :-) And I really hope Willow is in any movie made and that a movie (or several as well as a new series or two!!!!!) dfinitely gets made and rocks!!! :-) And that we get more action figures of our favorite characters in their post-series outfits/looks/etc!!!! That would REALLY be cool (and help to continue the line indefinitely!!!). :-)
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Post by Girl Power on Oct 12, 2005 23:15:53 GMT -5
Newton, I debated that with some people on another board I went to. Not only was it ridiculous to curse Liam's soul with Angelus's deeds and instincts, but it was stupid for him to feel guilty for it.
You should start a thread in the Buffy/Angel forum. It's a great topic.
If you look at the picture of David and Amy from the back of the box, that girl is SKINNY, despite her tallness. The figure should not be as bulky as it is. I think it's some kind of mistake or oversight on DST's part.
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Post by Haephestus on Oct 13, 2005 0:04:38 GMT -5
Hmmmm.
So, is Fred's head really that big on another body? IF and only IF it can easily be done, could someone swap out Fred's head with another DST female's body?
I'm sure the height and "bulk" of Fred is really going to bother me. BUT, I'm now leaning towards swapping her head with Buffybot (for a season 5 stylish look) or maybe even Chosen Buffy (for a season 4-ish look). BUT only if the heads are in scale.
Actually Fred head on Chosen Buffy body might not be too bad. I'm not fussed on that figure as a "Buffy" (as I have my deluxe), but the body certainly looks "thin/frail" enough for Fred. I could even attempt a bit of a re-paint to make the outfit more similar to "Fredless" (blue jacket, red undershirt and black boots).
Or even a Willow body would work. Regular Season 4 Willow body would be fine for Fred also.
So, would this work?
And totally O/T - Re Fred's soul. From memory it was only ever Illyria who said that Fred's soul had been consumed and he's hardly going to tell the truth about such a thing. No-one else confirmed what Illyria said. I *personally* always figured that Illyria was kinda similar to Spike and Angel - a demon with a soul. Initially (while fully powered) Illyria was able to supress Fred's soul, but once she was de-powered Fred became more and more prominant in the way Illyria acted (even going so far as to develop close relationships with Spike, somewhat Gunn (you are not unpleasant to my eyes) and of course Wesley).
Cheers, Haeph.
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Post by xtinaslayer on Oct 13, 2005 0:16:45 GMT -5
can u post a pic of illyria doing the "this will do" head tilt? i wanna c. thanks!!
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Post by BuffyFanOne on Oct 13, 2005 0:22:15 GMT -5
Mine was packaged with the tilt. I dont know if they all are but my comic store had 5 of her an 4 of them were tilted. It does not stay tilted very well but it looks awsesome!
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Post by xtinaslayer on Oct 13, 2005 0:29:28 GMT -5
the illyria illyria or shells illyria? can get me a shot?
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Post by BuffyFanOne on Oct 13, 2005 0:30:40 GMT -5
Illyria Illyria. I will be more than happy to take a pic for you tomorrow.
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Post by BuffyFanOne on Oct 13, 2005 0:51:29 GMT -5
So, after thinking it over...I don't regret buying Fred. I am still not in love with her but I don't hate her anymore. I got her into my figure display and put her on her base and she dosn't look quite as bad on her base as she did off of it. The hight of the base makes her stand above the rest of the figures while also making her look shorter because the back of the base is taller than she is.
I will be sure to take more pictures tomorrow.
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Post by Digital Leonardo on Oct 13, 2005 2:23:52 GMT -5
Here we go - some group shots comparing Fred's larger scale to the other gals.... ANd the Fang Gang, from a variety of Time Zones (would have been a cool story - a Spell goes awry and each member of the gang is replaced by a version of theirself from a different time...imagine if Fred would have been replaced by Illyria!). :-) And of course there's no Gunn (or Harm, or even Connor). And I really need a Short Hair Cordy (I can't believe all the times I passed on the el cheapo Slave Cordy...if anyone has one they want to part with, eaither version, just lemme know your price!). :-) eww eww! Okay, Fred off my list... and Illyria looks REALLY bad! I hope she looks less shiney in person... I think this line is a big let down, and I hope the next lines arn't as bad... Illyria's face paint is way to light and out of it, the promo pictures look PERFECT... what went wrong?
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Post by Thorn Of Deucalion on Oct 13, 2005 2:32:14 GMT -5
Here we go - some group shots comparing Fred's larger scale to the other gals.... ANd the Fang Gang, from a variety of Time Zones (would have been a cool story - a Spell goes awry and each member of the gang is replaced by a version of theirself from a different time...imagine if Fred would have been replaced by Illyria!). :-) And of course there's no Gunn (or Harm, or even Connor). And I really need a Short Hair Cordy (I can't believe all the times I passed on the el cheapo Slave Cordy...if anyone has one they want to part with, eaither version, just lemme know your price!). :-) omg , they look sooo big , the figures looks nothing like fred !
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