Maskcat 57cm Dolls - part 2

@Dollquest :I only own Maskcat bodies and an IOS 50b body, so it might not be of much help, but the Maskcat bodies are waaaaaaaaay better posers than the IOS. I didn't suede or wire any of the bodies. The Maskcat bodies are very graceful. I believe most of the problems on the 2.0 version body have been corrected in this version of the body?

 

@Dollquest I have the Maskcat 2.0 body and while I have some issues with the hip mobility for standing, overall I think it poses very naturally, especially with the double jointed elbows. The 3.0 body looks even better!

For reference, I've owned Volks SD13 (male and female), Volks SD10 (female), Volks MSD, Volks SDM, Volks YoSD, Unoa 1.5, Harucasting Maji, MerryDollRound Zuri. Maji is definitely the best poser of the bunch, especially to do crossed legs or dynamic poses, but Maskcat has this really lovely elegance, and again, I think it's even more improved on the 3.0 body.

Here are some recent poses that I thought were cute!

Spoiler: 2 more under the spoiler cut

 

@kuro : It's always such a treat to see your Poppy She looks so good in all pictures, but I love her yellow outfit the most.

 

@kuro Your doll is very beautiful. I do like her poses. Thank you.

 

@lyaam12 aww thank you! I've been really obsessed with her again lately ahaha. Kinda thinking about getting a second Ronia lololol

@Dollquest thank you! hope it was helpful!

 

@kuro Which sculpt is she? Is she the company face-up?

Never mind - I re-read your post. Lol

 

@kuro - your Ronia is so sweet (she looks so good in tan!) and her clothes look very comfy.

@Dollquest - I don't own a Maskcat doll yet (I really want to order one, but I'm still deciding which skin color/sculpt) but I have scoured the internet for information on them, so here are some examples of poses the 3.0 body can take. I am curious as to what actual owners have to say about posing ability (for example, does the body tend to fall back when sitting upright, etc.), but the images at least look good!

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https://www.moonlightbjd.com/product-page/dear-little-maid-by-yuyu-doll (with LLdT Little Edria head)
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KiwiNinamori BJD also has a very nice video of her Astrid, in which she shows some of the posing abilities:

 

Here is my normal resin Ronia with Maskcat face up. I can't stop looking at her.

 

@StellaMarigold Wow, thank you for sharing your research! I am pretty sure that she's the next doll I am going to get.

Right now, I'm planning on an Astrid. (I am currently waiting on a tiny - 27cm Maskcat doll that I bought 2nd hand on the MP. She is in tan.)

I was also going to do a layaway at Fairyland for a 1/3 doll but I did not really like the one they are having the presale for and then I discovered this company and love their dolls. Right now they don't have the tan to order in 1/3 size- only during special events I guess. My first choice would be tan but the Natural skin is very pretty. They seem to pose pretty well too - at least as well as Fairyland, from what I've seen and I actually really like the company face-ups. I am just so psyched to order this doll now. I think I'll wait a little bit to see if they offer tan, but I've pretty much decided. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through this thread. I hope you all continue to post lots of pictures!

 

@Dollquest Maskcat is currently working on a new 1/4 body and head, so I'd expect that the next time we might get a tan event is when that doll gets released!

 

You're welcome @Dollquest! They do offer tan at events (at least they have in the past) - I think they will have some kind of event on the company anniversary which I think it at the end of this year. The tan does look very pretty!

 

I do hope that they release tan soon. I'm not sure how much patience I'll have especially when I have the amount I want to have saved. It's hard to be patient when your mind is made up in this hobby. Also. I know that after I order her, it will still take a long time for her to get here....

 

@Dollquest : From what I saw, there is usually a tan event either in summer or autumn. December event (company anniversary) is more for small rewards (some item offered, price reduced, etc.) IMO it's best to wait for the tan event if it's your first choice. Since you have to wait quite a lot of time after ordering, it's better to get your first choice. The tan event might not be that far off! (Besides, the new version of 1/4 Anemone was advertised in tan^^)

@kuro :Twins would be so cute! Are you going to do identical twins, or one in tan and one in WS/NS? It's actually your Poppy that made me love the Ronia sculpt, previously, I thought her eyes to be too big. But she is actually wonderfully expressive!

 

Great reasoning. You are probably right. And if they are showing the new 1/4 sculpt in tan, it is likely there will be tan offered.

 

I made it! I think that's pretty much as much light as I'll get here. Here is the comparison picture in somewhat better light (with my IOS boy thrown in, because why not, I didn't want him to feel excluded XD). I tried to do a manicure on both Yaël and the IOS boy, which is why their hands are bit shiny and darker! For comparison purposes, look at the necks and forearms of those two dolls.

(And please forgive the unironed blue dress: I didn't quite had the time XD. For picture purposes, Astrid took the dress that came with the Yaël fullset and the black is LOVELY on her. )
IMG_2851 by Lyam, sur Flickr

I also took a good portrait of Astrid today.^^

IMG_2856 by Lyam, sur Flickr

IMO the WS does not look that unnatural (for a doll of course), provided it has that rosy kind of faceup. It would suit a classic ballerina or sickly kind of character.

And...the Maskcat heads truly are beautiful. I love Yaël, who is so sweet and contemplative, and Astrid truly is a stunning beauty. I want aaaaalll the Maskcat 1/3 heads now. XD

It may be of interest (or not haha): all my dolls wear 12mm eyes with a 6mm iris. I love the shadows it creates in the corner of eyes. The default eyes for Maskcat are 14mm, so they don't give quite the same look (but are easier to place: 12 mm eyes are tricky. XD).

 

Aghhhh Astrid is so beautiful! I'm thinking of reshelling one of my characters, and I'm leaning more and more towards the Astrid. And the WS sounds so compelling, since she is in fact a sickly sullen sort of girl... beautiful photos! I've really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts. I'm just about to start getting ready to film a little BJD chat video where I'll show off my NS Bruna, in case anyone's interested in seeing that sculpt in movement. I'll probably post it Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

@Ruinscathedral : I know right? She is so intense. Though as I wrote before: my Astrid is tricky to photograph, which may be a drawback (though perhaps I just suck XD). If the light isn't right, my camera fails to take good shots. While I love taking pictures against a black cotton velvet background, having some lighter elements help balance out the shot (on the last pictures, I used the hair). Someone else said that it's better to quit the automatic setting and underexpose the shot, but I didn't try that yet. But she is sooo beautiful in person. I disgress. I look forward to your video!

I just realized something: the newer tan Maskcat dolls don't seem to have seam lines? Because she use translucent resin or something? Because if it's the case, I lost my main justification not to get a tan Maskcat girl...I wonder how Margo would look in tan? XD

 

@lyaam12 aww thank you, I'm so flattered! I was thinking about selling my tan Ronia and buying a NS Ronia, then I'd be able to upgrade to the 3.0 body and I could body-share and get all the other heads too hehe. At minimum I'm pretty sure I'd like to get Margo, Frances, Astrid, and Lisette someday! But I don't think I can let go of Poppy, I've really come back around to her recently! So I think I'll just... have it both ways and keep Poppy and get a second one in NS haha. Not sure if I would get NS Ronia right away or if I would start with one of the other heads for variety and then gradually collect floating heads over time lol. Now the big question is just when to do it - I always find it hard to commit to non-limited dolls because I worry that the second I do, Dust of Dolls or iMda or another of my favourite artists are going to release a limited

Your Astrid is stunning

 

@lyaam12 - Thank you very much for sharing the photos! Astrid looks so lovely in black! Argh - my choice is not getting easier X)

And yes, I'm pretty sure the new tan has a slightly translucent look and doesn't have seam lines. It is beautiful! And since you were wondering about Margo in tan, here she is (and she's just lovely):

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Thank you for the information about the eyes - I much prefer a smaller iris look myself. Maybe an ideal eye size would be 14mm whites with the 12mm-size iris? I hope to be able to make eyes someday and would try that.

 

@kuro : You could always just sell the body and get the upgrade that way, though I don't know if the old tan matches the new one. Poppy is adorable, I totally understand wanting to keep her! I am lucky that none of dolls I want right now is limited (except for the Argodoll plus-size body that will be rereleased next month), so I will just set money aside when I can and slowly get the heads I want (so pretty much all of them. XD)

@StellaMarigold : Thank you so much for the pictures! Margo has such a different character in tan, I did not recognize her! My eyes are so very happy, but my wallet is in despair! I may just give in (but not before 2022, there I said it) XD You could do as I intend to do: buy one in NS, one in WS and consider the one in TS, because at this point, why not? XD IDK if it's because of the head sculpt, the characters or really because of the skin color, but my WS Astrid has a sickly but majestic look to her. She looks marvelous in white and black, which may be a bit intimidating-looking (suits Pasiphaë, an ex-queen of Crete perfectly). The NS is softer, cuter, more versatile, and more healthy-looking and alive-looking (and NS does not look bad in white and black either, there are some pictures of Yaël in her default fullset in my Flickr and on Maskcat's webside.). If you need any more pictures, don't hesitate to ask and I'll see what I can do.^^

If it may be of interest, I asked Thesecretartstudio on Etsy to add a ring on the outside of the iris, which may have added 1mm to the eyes (I commissionned 12mm eyes with a 6mm iris, they may have ended up measuring 7mm). I believe a 14 mm eye with a 6mm iris is definitely more advisable, would fit in better and won't have the shadow you see at the inner and outer corners of the eye (which is up to preference). If you want a real small iris, I've read somewhere that the iris is 1/3 of the eye, so for a 14mm eye, an iris of 4-5 mm may be more "realistic". Actually, I compromised on the eyes: I chose 12mm because I think the shadows give more "character" (personal opinion of course) but a 6mm iris because it's cuter. XD I don't dislike the results, but it's not what I would call realistic. I would love to see your eyes! I am looking forward to it.^^

EDIT: just looked at myself in the mirror and did a bit of research and iris size is variable. My iris takes a bit less than half of my eyes and I do have creepy brown irises that seem fairly large (and I do have to wear glasses^^)

RE-EDIT: Sorry for all the spamming about comparison pictures! I finally understood it: strong contrasts are not good for WS (a pity, because that's definitely Pasiphaë's wardrobe theme: corruption, symbolized by black polluting white...or perhaps I need to stalk the photography workshop). Same-y tones are better for clarity, so here is a picture taken in soft, crepuscular light against the white of the Maskcat cushions! (Still, Astrid do look a bit whiter IRL,, but I guess that's closer than before) Yay!

IMG_2860 by Lyam, sur Flickr