Tan DoT are not worth their price

Thank you for clarifying, krambear.

 

No one is stopping her from speaking her mind. I think this thread has stayed positive, on the whole, and a lot of people have been offering their support.

My personal opinion with the tan DOTs is when they saw the problems with the finished product they should have taken it back to prototype; nevertheless, there are plenty of people who love the tanned dolls for what they are, mold marks notwithstanding.

 

There's one for sale in the marketplace, here, with a few nice pictures. I can't see any seams or marks, but it may just be the photo angle...

 

Wow.. Well I really do agree with Pony_gery's statement, I think part of the reason things like this happen with companies is because -WE- let them. I've heard before, in reference to new companies starting out or lesser known companies, that it is THEIR responsibility to make us buy their products.
I would assume that that also means it is their responsiblity to make sure we are satisfied with said product.

People in this hobby really do tend to be understanding, and while sometimes that is a good thing, in cases such as this it is bad. I do not own any dolls, but even just being a member here I have never seen any tan doll except the DoT's with these 'gating marks' and while many people have said that these are a necesary evil, look at Volks sunlight dolls, look at Luts tan dolls, look at ANY tan doll except the DoTs. They said, that they sent the dolls off to another place to be manufactured. I am not sure if this is the reason why they were under par, but I would think it had something to do with it because, even a skilled production line, as they claim this place was/is, will not do an outstanding job the first time they produce something, especially something as complicated as a doll.

So yes, it may be difficult to make tan dolls, and maybe more expensive too, but, ask Donn or fancyboots, I am sure the actual cost of materials is nowhere near $500, which is about as low as finished 60cm dolls get, and although the work is done mostly by hand, for that kind of money you would expect to get something more than this.
At least, I would.

 

I can see his seamlines in the photo by the window but seams never really distracted me before. Nevertheless I also think she has a right to complain to DOD, but this doesn't mean all their dolls will turn out like this. This only shows that DOD is not perfect, no company ever is.

 

Here is the re-done lips of Maelys (Dorachan Tanned Shall)

BEFORE




AFTER




And I just want to say the the tanned color is really beautifull, not too light, but not too dark.

 

Double post sorry ^^;

 

That looks so much better!! YAY!!

 

Much better looking ^^

Also, I wanted to say, DoD tanned dolls did not have to have all of the problems that they have. Angel Region's tanned Kais have parting lines, but not the other light spots (aside from really odd ones on the end of their heels--as if they were dipped like Achillies!) although they do have seams. Volks tanned dolls don't have seams at all, and no light spots (I can say this confidently after seeing one IRL yesteday! He's so beautiful) so it's possible... I can't speak for the tanned hounds or Els, but I think they both have seams. Leekeworld tanned dolls have seams, too.

If you're really, really concerned about them the best advice I have is to play with them a lot--the seams wear down over time and with use.

I think the problem with the lighter spots in the mold is that it would've taken making a new mold (I assume they used the same mold as they did for normal ones and just changed the resin) and DoD wasn't willing to put the money into that. From the complaints I've heard and the pictures I've seen, looks like it would've been worth their while (if only for the sake of their reputation) to try something like that.

Just my two cents ^^; Sorry your doll wasn't what you wanted/expected; I had the same disappointments with my DoD and that's why I don't have him anymore.

 

Wow! the new lips are great..^_^ but the sad part is, it had to be fixed. Oh well, not that i want to say anything new,i do agree with you guys about the 1st face-up.. I hope this wont happen to any future DoD dolls..(please spare my standard DOT Shall.. *hides*)

 

Out of curiosity, does anyone know exactly HOW the tan dolls are made?
If they are poured with a different colored resin, you would think that there wouldn't be any discoloration issues. If they were poured with the original color and then just painted, you would think that someone could just sand the seams BEFORE the painting. I don't understand why the color is not uniform throughout all the resin.... The regular colored ones do not have this problem, why would the tanned?

Just a thought: The actual MATERIALS for making the dolls may not cost all that much but any type of epoxy/resin is dangerous to work with. You have to wear a respirator plus have eye and skin protection, with respirator filter changes daily. (a decent respirator and filters are expensive)

The stuff is extremely caustic, produces large ammounts of heat and takes a long time to cure. Resins are usually a two part mixture which causes a pretty nasty chemical reaction when mixed. Your doll is the product of that chemical reaction. That material does not exist without that reaction.

Now I don't know exactly what TYPE of resin they use but every resin I've ever worked with has always had about 50 warnings on it. This is also why they tell you never to breathe in the dust from sanding your dolls. Plus they don't know how a part came out until they remove it from the mold, probaly days after the pouring to allow curing time. But you wouldn't be expected to know any of this unless you have worked with larger ammounts of epoxy/resin. The little tubes of stuff you get at Home Depot that you mix together are nuthin'.

We also don't know what type of molds are used in the first place. Considering the large heat output of these chemicals when mixed, you may have to have a special mold that can withstand the heat without expanding and then contracting on the part once it is cooled, making it impossible to remove.

And I'm sure the people who manufacture the parts are not the same as the people at DoD who put those parts together. They may have gotten a crappy manufacture this time around, but it is thier responsibility to get on thier supplier's ass about quality control. We also don't know if they pre-purchase the resin prior to the pour. If they only have a fixed ammount to work with, they will be more reluctant to discard less-than-perfect parts.

If these companies would tell us a bit more about the process, (which they like to covet as thier "trade secrets"), I think most would be much more understanding about WHAT goes into making a doll and WHY they cost so much. Making resin isn't rocket science, but if you don't know how it's done then that can be confusing to the end cosumer.

If you look at any other resin models of comparable size, (not dolls), the cost comes out about the same -expensive!

In the end, DoD is probaly losing a lot of money on the 60cm dolls because it has not perfected the process yet. It will take them many restocks before they make that back. They also pay for the development of the original casts, the making of the molds, the shipping of the parts from wherever they are made to wherever they are essembled, the employees who put the dolls together, the manufacture of the special boxes and pillows that the doll comes in addition to the resin it's self... Kinda like pharmacutical companies. It costs so much to develop the drugs that they need to initially chagre rediculous prices to make up for that cost.

Ok, that turned out to be WAY longer than expected!
This is only my speculation. I do not know exactly how these dolls are made. I am not defending DoD or any other maker, nor am I bashing them.

But a little insight never hurt anyone :smile:

 

Her price is poorly reflected in her faceup. Thats all I can say really. The lips are definatley amateur, and the eye makeup isnt too fabulous either.
I must say though, I have a LUTS Lishie, and her headcap doesnt quite line up with her head, so I think this is maybe more normal than the rest of the Shall's flaws?

 

I got to see two DOTs yesterday, a normal Lahoo and a tanned Camine, and they were both gorgeous!! I did get to see the infamous 'gate marks' on the ankles -- it just looked like a spot where the resin was slightly differently-textured to me, nothing very obvious. And his face-up was gorgeous!!

I think that Dora got a doll that shouldn't have made it past quality control, but in general DODs, in my experience, have been really nice dolls

-- A

 

I second this. Ashbet and I saw the same dollies at the MD meetup yesterday, they were wonderful =3 The parting line was not noticable (and didn't detract from the doll) and the gate marks were small and barely visible. The faceup was much better than the tan Shall in question.

I'm sorry that the faceup is less than desireable .____.; I hope you guys get something worked out, that had to be a big dissapointment ;___; She looks much better now =3

 

To my knowledge it is mixed in with the resin. The problem is in how the pigment settles. It's not a different color underneath so much as a different shade. It's fairly hard to get the pigment to settle evenly on the outside, let alone trying to figure out how to get it to be the same all the way through. It's one of the reasons why Resin is a pain. It's hard to get it entierly uniform. There's airbubbles and pigment settling and you have to make sure the resin components are mixed perfectly to begin with, the temperatures have to be right, it can't be too humid. Lots of annoying little variables.

So, that's why it's not uniform all the way through. The regular ones are close enough to the more or less natural shade of the resin(I think). Also certain dyes work differently and so it's easier or harder to make it appear even.


I don't know about Volks, but that's how the other companies seem to do it. To my knowledge volks does a combination, where the resin is different but they also sand then coat the seams so that it looks even. Though I could be wrong, they might spray the whole thing.... Though I doubt it. *Shrugs* I think I'll ask next time I'm at the store.

 

She is beautiful now!! Really good!!! I really like her ^^ Congrats!

 

Ahh.. Makes a bit more sence to me now... Thank you!
That was very helpful :-)

 

No problem. *Smiles*:smile:

 

I think something like only 1 in 5 dolls are ever able to be sold because color in the resin settles differently. So like you can have an arm one color and the body another color and the head another, etc. This is partly because the smaller parts like hands & feet reach a different temperature than say the torso or head due to the size. Greater surface area and all that. So yeah like it was mentioned, lots of teensy lil factors. Ain't that a pain?

I have a Tan El and he does have seems, but they aren't too terribly noticeable. There is a bit of excess on one of hands that bugs me, but oh well that is what long sleeves are for. >_>

 

::Alastair gives Ashbet and Muffin a thumbs up::

Al's a ho. He's glad you all think he's pretty. Once again, i don't find the gate marks or seams that bad, but I can see how it can take you by surprise. When Al arrived we noticed the marks, but just disregarded it as it would be part of the mold removal process.