La Légende de Temps - Part 3

I've finally had the time to look at the s-hook-situation and found a solution I can live with and thought I'd share with you!

I too spent some time trying to unbend the hooks in the flat feet, unsuccessfully. Until I had this d'oh-moment and simply gripped the top of the hook with my pliers and pressed down until the hook slipped free of the bar. The hook is a bit flexible, so with a little pressure the opening widened enough for the bar in the foot to slip through.

Then I looked at all s-hooks I have here and experimented with what would fit the several feet/hands. The solution was surprisingly easy. I had these smaller normal s-hooks that fit all hands and feet (apart from the flat ones) once I opened the end that has to go around the bar a little and closed the other end that goes through the string a little, so it will fit well into the string channels. I don't remember where I bought the hooks though, probably something like Dollmore. I took a photo on 5mm-grid paper for you to see the dimensions, hope that helps somewhat.

I think the hands move better now, because the hooks are shorter and do not go up far into the string channels anymore. They are also rounder so they can slide around the bars more freely and don't hinder the movement anymore. Movement of the demi pointe-feet is fine too, and the pointe-feet naturally don't have much movement anyway.

For the flat feet I found spare hooks I received with my Granado Lads body. Sadly Granado doesn't sell hooks, but perhaps the measurements help with finding alternatives. I like that the top of these hooks only peek out enough to allow for the string, but not enough for the open end of the hook to enter the string channel. That means there's no more danger of scratching inside the leg.


fltr: 2 granado hooks (for flat feet), 2 s-hooks (for all else): the first one bent to fit the other one in its original shape. I also included the original bag of hooks, in case someone might recognise which shop sells them like that.
As you can see the s-hooks need only very little bending.

Spoiler: photo of the attached hooks

all new hooks attached

 

I remembered most of my doll boxes have zippy bags of extras and dug through all of them.

The hooks that came with my HID woman work for the feet but just barely.

The posing is terrible and if I bend his foot too far the hook looks like it might slip out. Like they are on the verge of too small.

My Dollshe 26F hooks have a good length and hook on the pointe foot way better but they are too wide and get stuck in the leg channel

 

gorgeous. i just love those feets...
what size are Matthew's eyes and iris? they look so proportional and real

Tyrian is looking down a bit, a little harder to see in his picture, but they look like a really pretty blue

@Ophiaca - thanks for the hook pictures, i tried some i picked up a while back from Alice and they seem a little loose still, i'm still searching around... your pics are very helpful thanks

 

@Ophiaca Great, that is one problem mightily improved - one more to go!^^

The shoulder joint is rather difficult, too. It has no grip whatsoever and too little contact between the joint surfaces to hold a pose. Julia did realise this as well and put in one little silicone nub per shoulder - but to be honest, it does little to help and it gets in the way of sueding to improve stability. I guess I'll try that anyway.

@St. James I'm surprised to hear the older LLT body is so well engineered!^^
For me, like all LLT work the ballerino body is on another level altogether aesthetically, it is divinely beautiful - but the joint engineering is like from someone who never did it before. I already mentioned the shoulders above, also the ankles are weak and wobbly, and the wrists with their weird inset capsules, even with the new s-hooks, have so little joint surface you can do nothing to help them hold a pose. The ballet feet look and feel as if they were not even sculpted to fit the ankles specifically - if they were better fitted, movability could be greatly improved. I do love my boy very much, and I will try to make him work a little better - but I am amazed at such engineering from LLT.

 

@Grimalkin You're welcome! I think with this hook-problem we should gather all information and experience so everybody can find a good solution for their boy.
Btw, I tried some eyes on my Roderich. Iris-wise 10mm worked well, but they weren't big enough to fill the eyesocket, and all 12mm eyes I have had too big irises for my taste. Only the irises of my 12mm Soul In A Box eyes are a bit smaller and worked well in my opinion. He's in the middle of a faceup, so I can't post photos yet.

@Mandagore The wobbly joints bug me too, so I'm thinking about sueding too. Only with the wrist that's difficult with such thin walls. Perhaps if you glued that inner wrist ring in, like @Lady Ravenswood mentioned earlier. But I'm not really sure about that, as the opening on the other end of that ring is real small and I don't know if that might cause problems when stringing the arms. Still pondering about that. Maybe if one could glue that inner ring in really solidly, with epoxy or milliput all the way down and around so there are no gaps between inner ring and wrist, one could get rid of that narrow opening and have a strengthened, suedeable wrist in the end. I hope that makes sense.

@kagami, I love your Matthew! Looks like he's already busily practising his ballet skill.
Thanks for posting your Roderich, @St. James! The differences between the original and new Roderich are subtle, but both are beauties.

 

@Ophiaca It does!^^ Definitely worth looking into.

 

@Ophiaca
Thanks for mentioning the method you used to get the default hooks off!
I just did it and finally got all 4 hooks removed.

Aaaaaand I had a good hobby run of like 12 years....but it finally happened and I lost my grip of the s-hook changing a foot and now I have 3 holes in my finger. (How did one s-hook make 3 holes?!? ) I am SO glad I changed out those sharp hooks for more blunt ended ones! Got to undress, restring, and redress my Neil all while not using one of my pointer fingers...
He also pinched me for good measure.

Lol. Well....I give up for today.

 

@Lady Ravenswood Eventually the blood debt must be paid.

 

Oh dear me, this should NOT be funny, but it cracked me up.

@Lady Ravenswood, hope your battle scars heal quickly!!

 

The resin gods have been appeased.
For now.

 

Just wondering, has anyone had a chance to experiment with what fits the ballerino body? My poor guy is lying around naked, which doesn't matter because he also has no face or tattoo yet (or hair, for that matter ) - but I would love to shop for him while he's at the spa. I was vaguely hoping that the LoongSoul 73cm clothes might fit...but his bottom looks a bit big...

 

My guy's wearing stuff that would fit 5th Motif Timeless body.

 

I have no idea what would fit a 5th Motif Timeless body, because I don't own one. Any brands or sizes in particular? I can sew, but I just don't have the time or patience to do it these days...

 

@celga
Fair! Hehe, sorry, my guy is in a set that was advertised as fitting 5th Motif\LLT so that's why my brain just defaulted to that size as the category.
The outfit is by Absolute Doll.

I think a lot of people put their 5th Motif guys in Iplehouse EID model size stuff. (Might want to double check me on that) So that might be a place to start.

There are some artists who make stuff specifically for 5th Motif, so searching on Etsy or Instagram can offer some results too.

 

Cool beans, thanks! It's definitely a place to start. My poor Black Pearl's bum is so big that everything which fits over it is too big in the waist, but this guy doesn't seem quite so bulbous, lol. Julia definitely isn't into flat bottomed guys, though. XD

 

SD17 and 'uncle' clothes from taobao so far pants will be a pain, for now mine is wearing some sports pants originally from Iplehouse EID line (that thankfully can be tied at the front, otherwise they'd be too big). But yeah, He fits good in my Venitu clothes too.

 

Take a look at rRabbit and their 70cm boys pants. They fit really well on ballerino's bottom.

 

Ah yes! The magical rrabbit pants!

 

Oh, thank you @meanae and @Mysha! Between you and @Lady Ravenswood, I think that I can safely start shopping...and I do so love to shop! This poor boy needs everything - except of course his current stylin' leotard and boots ensemble, lol.

 

Whew! Sorry for the double post, but shopped and shopped until my bank account dropped, and it was a lot of fun. Thanks for all of the help, ladies! But on a side note...nothing, and I mean NOTHING goes with those weird, white, sorta cowboy/belted-gogo-boots that Julia threw in. Did everyone else get the same? Truly bizarre looking thingies.