Ringdoll Grown Dolls, thread #9

All these new gorgeous releases have my wallet on a chokehold
Xie Lian is very pretty but as Alex Secord Designs mentioned, I am a but disappointed that his eyes are not green or whatever color that they are in the manhua (I see them gray lol).
Regardless, I think I might get him because I really want to own all of the dolls from MXTX’s stories.

 

I actually like that he has darker brown eyes. I think in the earlier pages of the manhua his eyes were much darker than they are now, so the color doesn't bother me (unlike Hua Cheng's. It bothers me that both his eyes are more red, when he should have one black, one red. But I also haven't bothered trying to find black eyes to swap it out with). His outfit is pretty, but doesn't feel practical for him as a character. Xie Lian's robes are always described as being simple in the book, and brocade boots aren't simple xD I do really like his face sculpt though If i didn't already have the first doll they released for him I'd absolutely get this one, but I can't justify spending so much to have 2, even if i do think this one might look a little better next to Hua Cheng, in terms of the style of the sculpting and faceup. They must have changed artists between the first version and this year- his crown prince version, which is still based on the donghua, looks more in line with the style for this one and how they did Hua Cheng's too. I suppose I could always embroider some butterflies on the robes for the one I have, and if I got really brave, alter his faceup to look more similar.

I *am* surprised they haven't made the necklace with Hua Cheng's ashes for him xD Like this version has Fang Xin, so he should have that too, from the timeline of things lol

 

Good point with the robes. I love the aesthetic, but yeah, it’s not very Xie Lian. Maybe Xie Lian post-marrying Hua Cheng after he gets nicer clothes, haha. I’m not one to talk since I like making fancy clothes for my Dianxia though.

Yeah, I wonder why they didn’t do the ashes. Shouldn’t be hard for them to throw in a tiny necklace. I made my own with a chain and a tiny clear ring since I couldn’t let him be without it.

For those who prefer the new manhua version, I wonder if y’all would be able to trade your donghua version with a person who has the manhua version, since it seems like some still prefer the donghua version (such as myself).

 

If they sell svsss dolls, my wallet will be empty immediately. I will buy everything

 

Do y’all know if Ringdoll is still willing to sell copies of Xie Lian’s wig? Don’t ask why I need a third copy.

 

I think you're the only person I've seen mention that they did in the first place, so I have no idea! I'd love to know though.

 

Did they do it at some point? it was stressful for me when I got Xie Lian because it was my first time cutting out the internal mesh of a wig, and I wanted an additional one in case I damaged the one and only original Xie Lian's wig I had lol :S Everything turned out well in the end but I do want an additional wig for him to style it.

 

I bought a second wig from them! It was over a year ago so I don't know if they'll still sell copies, but I emailed them to see. Last time it was $85 shipped to the US.

 

They confirmed that I can purchase another wig. Cost is still $85.

 

Ooh that's really good to know!

 

Agreed! I think I’ll keep the messy wig as his “travel” wig, and the new nice one as the “display” wig. I think Xie Lian won’t be the one who comes with me for summer this year since he got to come last time, but we’ll see. When I last went on a big summer trip he’s the only one I had, but now I have a few to choose from.

 

All the new guys are wonderful but I fell in love 10 years ago and I still have this wonderful guy, Sol. He is joined in celebration with two of my other Ringdoll boys, Pathfinder and Dallas (K and Ronald).
Happy Birthday Ash by SteamWitch, on Flickr

 

Ah, Sanemi's gotten his wig, but he is still missing his clothes and eyes... I was planning on working on his outfit tonight, but it was too cold and I suspect my area will be on an electricity conservation notice tomorrow that prohibits non essential activities due to the freeze ^^;

Giyuu's wig also needs to be restyled, it got all messed up on the car ride home. But Sanemi's turned out way better than I expected, honestly!

 

Happy birthday Ash!!

 

If anyone's curious, a small comparison between the new (ordered 2024- produced maybe in 2023 since they got it shipped in a few days) and the old (produced 2021 I believe) Xie Lian wig.

The old wig seems to be a tiiiiny bit longer and thicker, though that could be me imagining things. Additionally, the new wig is less voluminous, and the swoopy hair bits aren't strongly gelled like in the old wig, as well as being closer to the head (part of why I think it's thinner- it's not as poofy). The front loose strands also seem thinner. The ribbon wasn't tied into a bow. Oddly the bun seems to be wider.

I'm not sure if these changes will carry over to the Crown Prince doll, or were just a fluke from being a wig ordered from an older doll that hasn't been produced in a couple years. Overall I think I'd prefer the old wig, but this one looks nicer since it's not as messy. Though the lace is standing up- anyone have tips for getting it to lay flatter? I'm not sure if I just didn't cut the lace as close as last time, but it's sticking up from his head a little more than his old wig, and creating a bit of a shadow.

 

Sanemi's eyes arrived! They're a little bluer than I wanted (they were supposed to be purple), but they're good for now. He's still naked, and Giyuu's wig still needs to be restyled.

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm unsatisfied with Giyuu's faceup again, since it feels out of place next to Sanemi's. I'll have to figure out a way to make myself happy with his face again, because I enjoy his faceup alone, but it doesn't seem so good when placed next to Sanemi's, which is a modified Ringdoll faceup.

 

I finally have my grail doll put together, after a failed hybrid attempt, and I need someone to talk me down. I got him a Ringdoll body, and the colors don't match. Please tell me it isn't as bad as my eyes tell me.

He's supposed to be elegant and tall, and the RGM 3 seems to have too short a neck for him, but I think I need it to grow on me.

IMG_20240122_164009523 by Thymeseer, on Flickr

Spoiler: hybrid fail

IMG_20240104_163635292 by Thymeseer, on Flickr

 

I think the color difference is barely noticeable! I don't see it unless I'm looking closely, personally. You may notice it more since you'll likely stare at your dolls, but most people don't stare at our dolls as much as we do! That's something I always have to remind myself. Even without body blushing, as long as he's dressed, I doubt the vast majority of people would notice the body color difference.

I agree that the RGM-3 neck is a little thick and short, which works for some characters but not others. I'm not sure if there's any options to lengthen slightly, like adding a tiiiiny boost beneath the joint with something like a silicon cup so that the head would be a little higher, but wouldn't really show the gap? Depends on your head, though. On my Guo Jia sculpt Sanemi (my only RGM-3), something like that would probably be visible, but it may not be on other sculpts. Body blushing with the correct contouring may make it seem longer without doing anything, but I have no experience with makeup and pretty much just do whatever when I do body blushing, so I can't confirm that or offer help.

 

It's not obvious in the first picture, but the second (with flash?) is more noticeable.
If you've got room in the neckwell of the head to fill in that'd be my first choice for lengthening the neck. Contrary to what most people seem to think, contouring is not a magic bullet - if it looks natural it doesn't create that much of a noticeable difference, if it's extreme enough to trick the eye it is absolutely noticeable and does not look remotely naturalistic. (the way around this is stuff like tattoos and theater paint - statement stuff that's not supposed to be subtle - see early German Expressionist films for some great examples)

 

@Alex Secord Designs @Girrl Thank you both so much. After sticking his wig on and giving it overnight, I feel much better about him now. It's not that bad. I'm going to try out some different neck donuts to give him some length, and try to plan some clothing that has lower necklines.

And once I have his faceup done, I'll have something else to obsess about not looking right!