Wow, that is really good.

 

Agreed - it is a very well thought out and executed skeleton.

Cool to see what you are working with underneath!

Yesterday, I pre-posed a Sparta Warrior figure to emulate the skeleton on the motorcycle, and with almost no tweaking, the Sparta figure fit on the bike. I think having this skeleton is going to be useful to workout and test a pose for multiple figure scenes.

This is so cool, thanks for posting it!

I've never looked at the skeleton in such detail before; now I have even more appreciation for what Phicen's underlying design.

Phicen did their homework when designing this for sure.

 

Cool to see what you are working with underneath!

 

This is so cool, thanks for posting it!

I've never looked at the skeleton in such detail before; now I have even more appreciation for what Phicen's underlying design.

 

It's a lot like the old armatures that Ray Harryhausen used for his creatures.

CHEERS!

 

Yup - when I initially saw the skeleton on eBay, that was my first thought as well. The skeleton could work for stop motion animation as an armature, but it wouldn't be as accurate or durable as a purpose built armature like an armabender 2... Harryhausen's armatures also needed a lot of maintenance, he probably would have killed for an off-the-shelf armature like these, but he would have needed them burlier.

Here's a modern animation armature based on Harryhausen's work as a comparison. They can be re-tightened which the Phicen skeleton would have a hard time doing, unless the rivets were replaced with machine screws and nuts.

 

Makes me appreciate them all the more and understand the cost. Now if only they would look at a more robust design for the stupid wrist joints...

 

Well, she's not as shapely as she was...


Thanks for posting the photos. You're right, that's some damn fine engineering.

 

Looking forward to starting my VR project...

 

good option for customising terminators, just cut and rip off flesh in certain areas, add a few pistons/wires here and there and voila! terminator!

 

That would totally work...

 

I picked up a raw stainless steel Phicen skeleton (armature in the world of stop motion animation) on eBay to do some testing with. It's a pretty remarkable piece of craftsmanship. Construction uses a pair of front/back stamped and shaped stainless plates that are riveted together; the knees and arms are fitted with crimped bands to provide clamping pressure on the ball/socket joint. The sockets are scalloped in places, presumably to act as detents and help lock in a pose. It also appears that the length of the legs and arms is adjustable at the time of crimping their bands. Looks like with that design feature they could adapt the same skeleton and components to taller figures. On the shins there is a slight back curve to emulate the actual bone structure.

Color me impressed.

Can you please tell me where I could get Phicen skeleton (without skin) for a good price? I am looking for one.

 

No need to look far and all you need is patience. Once the rubber on yours start to crack/deteriorate - all you need would be a knife and you're gold !

 

I'm new to Phicen and new to this site. Me and my girl (33-b) have been having fun playing dress up and getting to know eachother, but it seems we're having some chiropractic issues. I was trying to put her in a squat position with legs close to chest and her right leg sort of jammed up, now after "unjamming" it wants to kick off to the side If I try to bring her thigh forward it is restricted in the hip somehow. She has movement inward and back to the back, but will not hold position, and cannot bring forward or inward to the front. She can however touch her head with her calf, lifting straight to the side, once again not holding position. I think the joint got spun backwards or 90 degrees, and have no idea how to safely get it back in place. I've been trying to roll her thigh inside her skin to find the proper orientation, but it's scary trying this. I hoping people can give me suggestions to get her leg back in place. It looks like she's putting a leg out and leaning into traffic to catch a ride hitch hiking. Tinkering with it I've gotten it a bit better, the leg will stay in a reasonable standing position, but if she steps too far forward or backward, she'll continue to kick out laterally. This is really frustrating for such an expensive toy. Also the right shoulder seems to only want to move with the arm. I can get it to move independently, but I really have to dig in with fingers and exert some stregnth. I've only had her a week, so maybe joints will losen up, but it seems these figures are as frustrating as they are impressive. I hope her leg will be ok.