Dragon's Shell Doll Minis

I was able to sand some of the dent to minimize it a bit. I washed it and I so want to start the faceup! Have to wait about 24 hours to dry before sealing though in this humidity. Don't want the face to bubble!

I look forward to seeing your boys!

 

You're braver than I am, @redmaiko - I'd be afraid to attempt a faceup in this heat and humidity. Someone (a tv reporter?) said this is our hottest summer on record. My boys--when they get here--won't be painted anytime soon. I'll just enjoy their unpainted sculpts for a while.

 

@redmaiko ooh he looks so great! Still waiting on mine, but then I ordered him with a body so I'm not surprised, lol. Can't wait to see him with a face-up! I'm looking to commission the same person that painted my Ferret to do my Pitbull so they'll match in style and they're actually located in Russia so I'm thinking I might ask if she'd be willing to ship the head and body separate. Would save a lot of time if she'd be willing to ship his head straight to the face-up artist within her own country. Doesn't hurt to ask I suppose haha

 

My heads will be delivered today!

If I were you @Hakari-chan I would ask. The worst she can say is no. Right? It's not like you're asking her to ship to two different countries.

Dog and Ghost are here! It's way too humid for faceups, so they'll be blank for a while. I ordered the elf ears for both, not realizing that I would get two pairs for each. Now I'm looking at the ears trying to decide if there is any difference between them. Is one pair slightly longer than the other? Or is it simply an extra pair in case I break or lose one? I also got one extra headback. I had to study it for a while trying to figure out what it was. When people said these heads have faceplates, I pictured a simple thin faceplate that fits like a mask. This is a substantial front and top of head that sits on a much smaller what-the-heck-is-that? piece. I've never seen one like this.

At the moment I have Dog on a Lumedoll boy body and Ghost on a Model Delf boy body. Neither body is a perfect color match but both are close enough that I'm going to use them. Pictures tomorrow if it ever stops raining.

 

@Hakari-chan I agree, definitely ask!

@vermont chick Yay!! I've never had a doll with a faceplate system like this either (although my aGatti heads will be similar when they arrive), but it definitely opens up possibilities. Ferret is the only one I believe with a more standard headcap? He is the only other DS Doll I have. I hope it stops raining for you soon!

I am planning on painting stubble all over Pitbull's head! Worst case scenario I cover it with a wig. The opening further back means the seam will be seen less, so I am going to try it.

 

A stubble-covered head sounds like it would work, @redmaiko. I've never been brave enough to paint anything directly onto a doll's head, but as you say, it's easily covered with a wig if you don't like how it comes out.

@skyealloway - I'm still convinced my pairs of elf ears are slightly different. (Maybe I want them to be?) The color seems slightly paler on one set of each, and the ear tips seem to have a bit more upturn on the other. Probably my imagination...

Here they are, without faceups because I don't have air-conditioning. In this climate we normally don't need A-C, except that this year we've had non-stop heat and humidity since before the first day of summer. I'm sticking to everything I touch. Ugh!

Dog, on the left, is occupying my Lumedoll boy body. Ghost, on the right, is on one of my Model Delf boy bodies. Both are slightly shorter than my FID, Creature Doll and Raccoon women. I'll want to photograph my incoming FID Yur with FID model and muscle guys, so I'll wait to try the DS heads on the FID male bodies. One thing I can tell just from looking at the heads on Lumedoll and Model Delf is that they'll probably look better on the taller FID bodies. Both DS heads are slightly larger than the heads they've replaced. They don't exactly look like dwarves, but they're not exactly imposing either.

 

@skyealloway - Thanks. I'm tempted to leave Dog on the Lumedoll body. The sculpt I originally bought for the Lumedoll was a female head. While it works as a boy the face is somewhat flat; I like Dog's bolder sculpt better. I really wanted Ghost on a taller body, though, because he's supposed to be the fraternal twin of Creature Doll Karin. Even in flats she's taller than he is. I love how they both have the same pissed-off expression. Raccoon men are quite a bit taller: 51.5cm. Ghost's head is certainly large enough to make that body work. I'll just have to find a different S-hook because the one I've got in the Raccoon body now doesn't fit inside Ghost's head. It's not the one that came with the doll; the original seemed a little flimsy for such a big beefy guy. Here's a closer look at Ghost. He has a tiny pinprick hole on one side of his nose. It appears as a black speck on the left in the photo. I'm hoping that when I do the faceup the pastel powder will fill it in and it will disappear.

 

@vermont chick OMGosh! Congrats! They both look wonderful! I especially love Ghost on the Model Delf body. I also had a small pinprick hole on mine. It is underneath the nose close to the nostril. Thankfully it is underneath. Hope yours fills in with the faceup! You could also mix up a tiny batch of paint in a similar color and fill it that way.

 

Thanks! I love the Model Delf body--the original body, not the skinny replacement Luts came out with last year. In my opinion, the rounded elbow and knee joints are smoother and more realistic than those of any other male body available. Luts justified the change by claiming the original body was ahead of its time--it was--and that few people appreciated it. I guess I'm one of the few.

I wonder if the pinprick holes happen when the head is removed from the mold? Maybe from the popping of a teensy air bubble? Paint sounds like a good way to fill the hole, but I worry it will show through my faceup. I think I'll just fill the hole with pastel powder. We should compare faceups when they're complete to see which method worked the best.

 

I plan to have CD Karin's head beside me when I paint Ghost so I can emphasize the resemblance. I'm only waiting for the weather to cooperate.

If the hole doesn't blend away, maybe I'll emphasize it as if it were a beauty spot.

 

Pitbull's faceup is about 95% done! I am still waffling on the painted buzzcut. I'll give it a few days and wig trials.
Beefcake in Progress by Tineke, on Flickr

 

He's looking so good, @redmaiko. Hope you'll take photos and show us how he looks in wigs. I'm having trouble picturing him in a buzzcut, to tell you the truth.

 

@redmaiko ooh he looks GREAT!
I just got an email saying that my Pitbull on the Nidum Dolls body is all done! They're just waiting for some certificates to ship with them so I went ahead and asked if she'd be willing to ship the head separately. We'll see what she says!

 

Thank you both, @vermont chick and @Hakari-chan ! I haven't had a chance to try wigs on him, but I hope to this weekend. Getting my daughter ready for remote learning school is taking a lot of time.

 

@skyealloway Depends on the kind of look you're going for! Smaller irises are good for characters you want to look more serious or older. Have you tried having him look off to one side instead of dead ahead? I find that tends to look a lot better on pretty much any eye. Maybe up and to one side, even. Play around with it and see

 

@skyealloway I agree with the above! I would try that first. Take some time to play with the position. I takes me twice as long to get the tiny eyes into a nice position compared to larger. I am picky, but it seems like if an eye is off by a millimeter for me it looks like they have a lazy eye.
What kind of eyes are you using? My Pitbull currently has the 8/3mm iris size (popovy) from Candy World. Love them! Totally different sculpt though so I couldn't tell you for sure if they would work.