Getting Serious

Amelia, Miss June

Let's all admit it - the Playmate class so far this year resembles last year's awfully closely. In 2011, we had an abysmally slow start to the year before eventually landing on some pure hotties in the form of Tiffany Toth, Amanda Cerny, and Ciara Price. In 2012, we're still waiting for a Toth or Cerny to come around to give it a major boost.

While we've seen a mixed bag so far, one thing we can depend on is inconsistency. Almost no one has posed with any real skill and prowess in 2012, besides perhaps Leola Bell, who sped past the rest with a killer body, too. As we turn the corner towards the second half of the year, we're hoping for the real talent to show through. With Miss June, maybe we have a precursor for what's to come.

Amelia Talon takes the title of Miss June, and she comes in with a bit of Playboy history. Amelia was Coed of the Week way back nearly a year ago in 2011, where she was a considerably different model. The main differences between then and now: her hair has been lightened, and of course, her breasts are far larger. Her natural and small breasts before were perhaps her biggest drawback, but now we're treated to a pair of larger C-cups, which may or may not be everyone's bag. But I'll get to that.

Upon first pass at Amelia's pictorial, I can safely say that I expected more. Not a whole lot more, but more nonetheless. Amelia is a fine model, with a piercing, unique look that places her in a certain class of Playmates. Her facial features are more akin to Jessa Hinton of last year's class - colder, more stoic, and more serious in all her photos. With a consistent gaze from shot to shot, Amelia rarely cracks a smile, and always cocks her sharp eyebrows in a sultry stare. Whether that's a good thing is personal taste, but I prefer a bit of a girl-next-door persona to my models.

Unfortunately, you'd be hard pressed to see any girl-next-door qualities in Miss Talon. She's a model's model, and it shows throughout. She does a fantastic job with her poise and posture, always keeping herself sharp and showing off her very tall frame. With her beautiful 5'7" frame, Amelia takes over pictorials simply with her slim lines and aerodynamic body type. She's sleek all over, with nary a few extra pounds to spare. Throughout her pictorial, however, you can't help but appreciate her breast enhancement, which finally gives her some definition and curvature which was sorely missing in her first go a year back.

Ultimately, though, Amelia's pictorial never really gets off the ground. She has a more-than-passable body, a sexy face, and an ample amount of talent and awareness, but doesn't ever begin to have the depth of skill that makes a really good model. There are few subtleties here - Amelia is a straightforward poser who revels in her nudity and feels completely confident - but that lack of vulnerability makes her a bit one-dimensional.

• Face: B+
  Amelia's face is all at once memorable, stunning, and even a bit boring. While her facial structure is great, with some really intriguing eyes, she's very lackluster in her expressions, always putting on a serious look, with rarely a smile. Her serious snarl eventually gets in the way of her talent, holding her back from being a truly great model.
• Body: A-
  Amelia's sinewy, long frame and great use of her curvature is wonderful in photos. While it's nowhere near the best we've seen this year (she utterly lacks the punch of Leola), she's still got a fantastically symmetrical build, with legs going on for miles, and a beautifully arching back. Certainly her greatest physical strength.
• Talent: B+
  While she's not going to get any "most talented" awards in my year-end rankings, Amelia shows flashes of brilliance that go far beyond the restrictions of her pictorial. She's a seminal posing talent when she wants to be, showing off her well above-average body in many creative ways. Still, she lacks the ability to show off the subtleties of her character, and never transcends past just being a sneering model with a killer body.
• Pictorial: B
  The photographers and producers of Playboy don't do Amelia any favors by putting her in a rather drab pictorial setting. With a body and attitude like hers, one can imagine them going for the jugular, with a really aggressive, Christi Shake/Buffy Tyler-type pictorial set. Instead, they put Amelia in position to lose. She never breaks through, and the pictorial ultimately flatlines, despite the talent of the model.
• Centerfold: B-
  A confused, cluttered centerfold shot doesn't do Amelia's body justice at all. Her prone position never takes advantage of her decent curves, and you never get an idea of Miss Talon's admirable size in this photo.
• Overall: B+
  I give Amelia all due credit for being an above-average model in a below-average set of circumstances. She's a gorgeous model who should have all kinds of success with a gorgeously photogenic body and an excellent attitude towards nude posing. A self-professed nudist, Amelia at times seems like she's born for this, and looks innately comfortable with no clothes on. However, the camera is never able to capture her true essence, and perhaps there was nothing too deep to begin with. Amelia could just be the one-dimensional model she's depicted as, with nothing more to offer than a lean, mean look. This is all fine, but she's never framed as such in her photos or videos, and she suffers because of it.

Another one down, and now we turn our attention to the second half of the 2012 class. Although there haven't been too many fireworks just yet, we've got some extremely promising possible stars coming up. Shelby Chesnes is next month's Playmate, a relative unknown with a spectacular overall look that I'm heavily banking on. Danielle Burt is also a Playmate for 2012, who could also be a wild card in the 2012 race. Looking forward to it, ladies!