Batchix Dark Castle "Machina" (Alpha Edition) discussion part 1

Has anyone decorated her Machina for X-mas?
Rho Beta always likes to get into the thick of human activities. She was trying to help with the tree...

 

Oh Phanuel - she looks Amazing! What a great holiday pic! I always LOve your pics on the Association game LOL! Fabulous!!!

Awesome Gatodelsol that you are getting your so soon!!! Oh, you are just going to Love her! You are going to have to tell me, is she MSD sized? Or maybe a comparison pic with one of your MSDs?

I am still laughing over the Fidelia comparison - HOOT!

 

DollZwize, she is sort of slim MSD size, I can take a picture later of her with an MSD.

 

DollZwize, Machina's measurements are very close to those of the MSD in the Fidelia comparison pic. They are the same height (44cm), and Machina is smaller in the bust, and slightly larger in the hip. So yes, Machina falls into the "MSD" category. (And check out the new avatar, special for you! Poor little Lyra really does look like a firefly when the pic is downsized!)

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It's been a challenging few days for me, but my Machina, opened on Christmas night, has had such a grounding effect on me!! She is just exquisite! I'll be doing a "Box Opening" so I can post loads of pics (I can't seem to stop taking pictures of her!) - I'll post the link here when it's done. For now, I will share a few here.

And share a few of my thoughts re: this wonderful creature!! Her lilac color is perfect - it's really hard to capture in pictures, though (at least with my amateur photography skills), because it's so subtle. I'm sure it's the flash that washes out the color and makes her look gray - I'll have to try some outdoor pics with natural light.

The thing I am most blown away by is how expressive she is!!! And I don't just mean her beautifully expressive face! Her body is amazing, and she strikes a pose so beautifully. Although she is a "machine", her body is more expressive than any other BJD I've seen!! It's almost poetic (which is why I've already taken a ridiculous number of pictures of her).

I have to say, too, these Machinas and the little Firefly Faeries seem to be made for each other! There was an instant rapport between my lilac Machina and my little Lyra. I fear they may become inseparable.

She came with brown eyes, which were lovely, but I already had some special eyes for her (and another pair on the way to try, but I just love the ones I have in her now!). Aside from the eyes, ideas for customization I think will take some time to "come" to me....I had a few ideas before we met, but now that I have her in hand, I've dismissed them as they don't suit her.

OK, before this turns into a novelette.....it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you.....

Claudia

 

PoeticSoul, thanks so much for the tips re: photographing indoors! I'll be heading to the local hardware store tomorrow!

EXACTLY!! It truly is amazing! (And thanks for the excuse to post another pic! ). This is the pose she struck when I first stood her up.....I did NOT arrange her like this! I just stood her up, found her balance (she stands so amazingly well in those heels!) and stepped back, and this is what she gave me! (Which, of course, made the perfect little seat for Lyra!) I am so excited about the adventure to come as her style evolves!

 

AWESOME Box Opening!!!! Loved it! Oh you are so right, somehow the combination of these FF and Machinas are just Amazing. They have a wonderous chemistry between them that is just mesmerizing.

Oh I am so glad you Love Claudia, and indeed take your time customizing - I sure am LOL!!!

The eyes are Spectacular! Spam away! We Love seeing discovering Machina Pics!

My spelling tonight is all Tiggified! Note to self - dont try to write AFTER Tiggy has updated her blog LOL!

So far Tiggy only put up a few family pics w/ Axel at the "MeatUp" but she has kindly agreed to offer you a taste of coming attractions....

 

Your first "meatup" DollZwize? I hope you had fun!!!! Axel is adorable BTW, and looks cool with her human friend. I love her clean lines, I can never do clean lines, LOLz.
gatodelsol, you don't have to worry about going on here, it's so hard to explain how amazing this doll is, it's great to have the confirmation.
For me, I was lucky enough to take a workshop with Batchix (lovely person BTW and so pretty), and she let me hold her Machina, and I just fell in love with the feel of her. And that she is so well engineered. I love dolls like that, the combination of art and science is perfection.

 

More pics

 

Customization "newbie" question: the idea of disassembling my Claudia mortifies me (I have never unstrung/restrung a doll). If I decide to do painting/customizing without unstringing her, do I need to somehow protect any exposed elastic when spraying MSC? Would it be bad to get MSC on the elastic? Is it unrealistic to attempt painting her "intact"? Should I just suck it up, take her apart, and learn how she works? (OK, that was actually several newbie questions, but they're all related! )

And PoeticSoul, I commented on your box-opening thread, but have to reiterate here - your Lady Shandre is amazing!! You have such artistic talent - she's just beautiful! (Are the hooves daisydayes? I want so badly to get some of her faun legs!)

So, apologies in advance, but I just can't help myself....I am so mesmerized by my Claudia (even completely blank, she's amazing!)....so I'm sneaking in another pic. Attitude feeds attitude.....and these two seem to have it in spades! (Sorry she still looks gray - work has been so busy, I haven't made it to the hardware store for the light setup!)

I promise not to post any more pics until I start customizing. Unless she does something irresistible! I just love her! (No, Stella Maris, I am NOT becoming the enabler....far be it from me to encourage acquiring another....huh uh, nope, not me....)

 

Um, yeah right, clear to see, no enabler you.
I painted Blue Nova entirely together. That was part of the fun for me, no parts removal. I've been known to hurt myself at those moments.
In any event it did not appear to cause any trauma to her elastic.

 

As for Quadrophenia, I'm with Stella Maris on this one...I painted my Machina all together. I think it was more fun that way. I just worked on her a little bit each day, letting her "speak" to me as I went with no pre-conceived notions about what I was going to do. It was tremendous fun that way! By the time I finished one part, Quadrophenia would have let me know what she wanted on the next part. To prevent a buildup of MSC where I didn't need it, I would just cover whatever area I didn't need to spay with a paper towel. That way, I could finish her face and spray it...then later I could work on her shoes and spray those, etc. Worked like a charm and didn't hurt the elastic a bit.

 

Hey there happy new year!
I painted Cass' in bits and man it was a mistake...It took forever to paint and I put her legs on several times as I couldn't figure it out!

I broke the elastic and have not managed to get something strong enough for her yet!
DON'T undo her.
I am still not convinced I put her back together right even now.

I love all the new lilac girls and I still take loads of pics of Cass' I just need to get them on to photobucket...

 

Thanks! I got it from http://www.clearneon.com/

It comes in lots of colors and it's pretty easy to brush on. Wear gloves when you paint with it though - it sticks to your skin for days (not that you can tell this except under blacklight since it's completely invisible otherwise, but still...)

 

Man's best friend? Nope, Machina's best friend!! Claudia has adopted (or been adopted by!) a new friend!



There are a few more pics here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5829710#post5829710

So, some ideas have come to me for Claudia's customization that I'm really excited about! I've sketched a few out on paper, I bought some paints, I have my MSC at hand.....and I'm so afraid to begin!! I just need to get past that first brush stroke..... Have to remind myself as long as I've done a good coat of MSC, I can "erase" it if I completely botch something!

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy for me, then I'm off to the wilds of Montana for a week, but I hope to get started after that and be able to post some progress pics! In the meantime, I'm loving her just the way she is!

 

I believe you can find a dog like that at Junkyspot. Under "Obitsu"
http://www.junkyspot.com/obindex.html

 

Yeps, Axel Gots her RoboPupster Todays! I done tried him outs on da FireFly Thread, an now here be a Familywize pic.

So da Pup jus do goes good wid my Axel! TANKs! ~ TiGGy

 

Well you know how persuasive Tiggy is, she jus snaps those little fingers and.....

Hopefully Axel will handle the concept of "sharing" better than our Tiggs does.....

 

Decided it was about time to take some more pics of Rho Beta. I didn't have as much trouble with the lighting this time, and she was quite cooperative. A link to the gallery for anyone who'd like to see:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356213&highlight=batchix+machina

 

Oooooh I dont think I ever posted this closeup of Axel with her beloved Robopupster Sparky!