Coral Reef Discussion Thread- Minis

Finally got into my Flickr! Here is a quick snap of my black swan. I can't wait to start getting her put together while she's off to the spa for a faceup!

IMG_20240827_181722_509 by Lisel Rodriguez, on Flickr

 

Oh wow, she's amazing!

 

@LiselT Those wings! Really beautiful. I love the Doll-Chateau-esque proportions of the Mantis body.

 

@Caramello_Cat Right?? I was seriously blown away by her when she arrived!

@lutke The wings are so flippin' cool! They pose so nicely, too! I'm still trying to figure out how they will be blushed.

I think she has decided she is some sort of ancient owl librarian, maybe with a deep navy, copper and white color scheme. I have an outfit being made for her, but I gave the faceup artist full artistic license to play. Very excited.

 

Can someone who happens to have both a Whale Island doll and the Jiu Er Mao 1/4 extra hands (or even just the Mantis body's standard ones) confirm that the hands are not different than those on the Whale Island? Are they slimmer or substantially different in other ways?
And on top of all are they compatible with the Whale Island?

 

@lutke I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the default hands are the same size.
Here is the extra human hands for the mantis on my Caroline:

The mantis hands have a slightly different design, sure - but note that my mantis is from their first release.
I will not be putting the hands on the mantis for any pictures, as I'd have to restring her arms completely. So you'll just have to take my word for it when I say that they (both Caroline's and the default human hands) fit the wrist joint on the mantis perfectly - I have tested them both against the joint.
So I see no reason why they wouldn't fit. But I cannot say anything about them proportions-wise (I wonder if the jiu er mao extra hands are slimmer/daintier?)

 

That was pretty much my concern, but if the default human hands are so similar in size and design to the Whale Island, the extras can't be so different. I'll probably get them and then I'll report.

 

Coral Reef confirmed that the hands will look a little thinner on the Whale Island body, so that's worth considering. I will probably still get them at a later point.

 

I've figured out one thing that I wish I had known before ordering, but at least I can leave some advice here: if you're buying a doll on the Whale Island body, pick the "wide shoulder" version. The small shoulder version's arms pose well, but I could not understand how to do this on my Caroline. I thought it was something I had to figure out. Then I realized that the body shown is the wide shoulder one, and looking again at the arms, I noticed that they're not the same and the joints have a slightly different design, so I assume that kind of movement is only possible on that version?
I can still get elbow rotation by pulling the joint out and I prefer the small shoulders aesthetically, but I'm kicking myself a bit because I would've loved to have that kind of easy elbow movement like on my Maskcat. Or maybe I'm actually missing something? Can anyone give me some input?

 

@lutke The joints in that picture look like split elbow joints to me, so that explains why you can't achieve the same range of movement. Not sure if all the WI bodies have them now or just the wide-shouldered one tho! I've got a few dolls with split elbow joints and I really like them.

 

@lynxie I didn't know about split joints! In this case no, they're one piece in both cases, but the cut and size are slightly different. I have sent a mail to Coral Reef to ask about it.
I could also be wrong and the picture there is showing a joint that's been pulled out of the socket, but if that's the case it really doesn't look like it.
Does anyone have the wide shoulder version?

EDIT: Coral Reef said they have updated the body with better elbow joints at some point, so I guess the cast they used for my fullset is the older version. Wish I got a fresh cast of the updated one but I was way past the ordering time for that fullset, and that's the body I would've received if I had made the order on time. So I'm more than happy as it is. Mystery solved, there's no engineering difference between shoulder sizes.

 

I just bumped into that company. I didn't know it and I fell totally in love ! Caroline is my favorite! She's such a beauty !
I may have missed something but if default feet are the heel ones, where to get flat feet? I can't find them on there website, just extra hand parts...

 

@Sillyan just ask when you place the order, if you do direct (the site doesn't accept payments so you're going to have to send a mail). On Alice there's an option for "extra feet parts"

 

Great ! Thank you ! I think I will order through acbjd then ! But I just finished a layway for my dollzone Nana, another layway in progress and 2 heads waiting for there bodies, I'll have to wait a little while for this beauty... too much beautifull bjd in this world

 

Hello, just drop in to see does anyone have similar experience or any good adivce for my case: I have a 1/4 Coral Reef Whale Island body and I had a bad feeling about that because the hooks on the legs were very thin (almost like wire) and fragile. When I was trying to put the legs back together, they broke in half and ended up getting stuck inside the leg parts and I couldn't get them out... This is the first time this has happened, so what should I do? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

@Clementia I assume you tried a crotchet hook or needle-nosed pliers already? Also there might be a problem there... unless you removed that piece in the process, there should be a circular resin seat for the hook where you see that gap in the leg. If it wasn't there, that might be the reason why the hook fell in? The hook doesn't look broken from the picture.

 

Thank you for your advice @lutke Yes, a circular resin seat was inside of the leg (other one didn't have it and it's okay) but the hook went inside of the resin part. I tried to pull it with a thin wire then I was able to pull out and the circular resin seat came off as well. Unfortunately I could not hold it longer and now the hook is even deeper inside. I tried to drill the both end but no luck. Even worse, the leg part is a bit cracked now...I don't know really what should I do.

 

Hi, I just found a crochet hook and could finally to take the hook out. The top of the hook was broken.
Thank you very much for your help and advice. I hope I could restring the body again.

 

Oh glad to hear! Though I think the missing seat won't be a good thing in the long term. You could try to contact Coral Reef? When I did contact them directly they were corteous and willing to help, so maybe if you ask them for a spare piece and spare hooks they will send them to you.

 

I'm quite worried about them too. - My dolls have all arrived very tightly strung, and I'm both impressed, and worried, at how the thin hooks are able to hold together!
Hope Coralreef will be able to supply you with replacements!

 

Took a few quick pictures of Candell before going to sleep. She loves the sparkly cape!

 

Hi, Yes, I contacted Coralreef directly as well as Legenddoll, where I have ordered additional ballet and high heel feets . Coralreef just sent me some notes with drawings and Legenddoll told me that Coralreef is willing to create a new leg for my 1/4 girl's body for 25 USD without guarantee that the part will be the same color of the body.
I am a little worried that it could happen again, so I will probably repair the small part that was damaged and see how it goes.

 

You are right. Assuming that the body needs to be quite tightly strung but not too tight...I had to reassemble and cut the elastic a bit because It would be a problem if the body didn't stand up properly.

 

Wow, she is gorgeous

 

that's disappointing...

 

My Opal finally arrived! I noticed one thing which concerned me - her thorax is strung, which will make dressing her a bit difficult.
Speaking of which, how are you dressing your minis? I know Coral Reef has made some clothing for them, but what usually fits them the best besides that?

 

@Lumenade The Mantis body seems hard to dress and from what I understand the non-fullset outfits released by CR are for the Whale Island 1/4.. Candell is on that more manageable body but I'll definitely go custom and sew something eventually. You can check the custom size section on Alice.
Is the thorax high enough on her back that you can use pants?

 

I had this trouble with mine too! It's kind of tough to dress the mantis body. I tend to use dresses that cover her bits. I've had good luck with 1/6 tops, and 1/4 dresses. I also have a Kumako outfit set that fits her pretty well, and has room to cover her abdomen piece.
Here's a picture of her in the Kumako sized outfit:

 

Oh that's brilliant using a Kumako top, now I'll have to go shopping to see if there's anything I like for my lady.

 

Unfortunately no, it sits right below her sacrum. They would have to be very low-waisted.

Out of curiosity, I compared their measurements and their bust size is exactly the same, plus their shoulder width isn't all that different. Very interesting find!
How do you get dresses through her back? Do you open a hole, or just get wide enough pieces?

 

That's a great solution!

 

The mantis body requires a "butt hole" in their clothes


Pretty much has to be treated as if having a non-detachable tail.

 

I’m gonna have to keep an eye on Coral reef releases. They really create some stunning and unique dolls. I’d love to grab one someday.

 

It's times like these that I wish this forum had laughing and other emoji reactions.

 

At least things like this are enjoyed on the "Things about this hobby that you find hilarious?" thread.
But, I don't know if this problem's been mentioned before, there.

 

It's a very open dress and I just kind of have it draping over her torso and abdomen. I think this one has snaps on the back.

Thanks, I'm glad it helped! I may try to find other pieces in that size for her. I have also had some success with Barbie tops on her if they are stretchy.

HILARIOUS and also that looks great!!

 

My friend took a beautiful photo of Despina, my mantis, so I just wanted to share a pic here of her again~

 

@Beansproutmomo even blank your Amber is stunning, wow. I think the dark green robe and pink eyes give her such a dangerous yet mystical vibe. Gotta get some clothes for my own Amber now! Though I'm planning on replacing her head with a Mirana instead, and saving my Amber head for another doll (spidery lady maybe? her 4 eyes would work so well).

 

The transparent wing parts have now arrived. I was about to say that they look nice mixed with the other wing-type part, then I saw that you have them mixed too @Beansproutmomo
Did you order both kinds or did she come with both?

I agree - you really got a great color-combo!

 

Does anybody with one of the 1/4 Whale Island bodies know - do they fit minifee clothes? It seems like the only measurement I saw that might not work would be the hips. Anyone have experience with trying it?

 

There's a video that shows that the 1/4 WH body will fit minfee clothes, as long as they're loose on the hips, so you're correct.

 

Awesome! Thank you

 

This might be a bit of a long shot, but I'm wondering if there are any Coral Reef Ling owners out there, or people who have other coral reef dolls with a recommended 10mm eye size. That was what Coral Reef told me her eye size was, but I'm wondering if 12mms will fit?

 

Thanks so much!
For the wings, I only received red spikes and wings. I was really hoping she would come with the transparent wings when I ordered her, but I may have to try to get some of those later. :/
They look great on yours!

 

Hi all, I have a grey ‘Lotus’ head that was purchased from another member and am trying to decide whether to get Coral Reef’s own body or hybridise with a Dream Valley one as they have some interesting models, does anyone have grey resins from both of those companies to see if it would work? I have a DZ grey doll which is slightly lighter than CR but similar tone only it’s not as slender as I’d like for my Necromancer idea. Thank you for any help.

 

@Blodeuwedd While I cannot help... I love Lotus, and hearing "necromancer"..! I really want to see the end result!

 

I was waiting for a new boy doll named Cornflower of CoralReef from a local dealer (they'd ordered him from Taobao), and the artist said the doll would likely to arrive after this Lunar New Year holiday. I was so excited that I'd researched A LOT about CoralReef but strangely enough I discovered Cornflower wasn't sold on any other website even their main page. As I'm just a newbie, maybe this is a very common thing in the BJD marketplace but, IDK, I just wanna ask, what do you think the reasons might be?

 

That’s ok @Yumeiro, I’m asking as there’s two dealers that have grey resin in stock, one CR body, one DV full doll which seems too good a chance to pass up but I can’t decide which to go for. Should probably ask on the DV thread too come to think of it
Yes, Necromancer…..she’ll be roughly based the look of on my Diablo IV character…..in theory

 

@fallriverx0x0 As far as I know, they are not their own sculpts, but a collab..?

 

I think Coralreef's dealer situation is a little weird. I've seen their 68cm boy and panther sculpts only offered at one dealer before too. I swear I thought Legenddoll, Jane, and NCS had Cornflower/Rubellite though. I think for those three dealers they were limited to the month of October so maybe CR just didn't update their website.

 

@fallriverx0x0 no idea, but in general, there's a whole lot of stuff that doesn't get on dealer catalogs. Coral Reef had dressforms for the bodies at some point (at least I think they were dressforms) as well as several pieces of clothing that never showed up anywhere. If you ask a dealer e.g. Alice to get you something you see on one of their partner companies' Taobao they will probably be able to get it. Many Chinese companies' west-facing websites have a tendency to be half-abandoned, rarely outdated, or in CR' s case incomplete, so they're not always a reliable way to see what they offer I'm afraid - It's better to just check their Weibo and Taobao.
I imagine that dealers do not constantly scan everyone's catalog but simply get the major sales-related announcements from social media?

 

I recently saw Coralreef's 1/4 boy body while looking at another artist's Weibo, and I fell in love instantly! I also haven't seen it on any dealers' sites, so I'm thinking of asking Alice's Collection if they can order it for me later.

Has anyone had this body?

 

@oubliemoi You might want to check this unboxing from a while ago!

 

It's true... What a shame they don't actively update their website though! I really love their sculpts and I really wish there were more people can reach out to them 'cause being one of the very few people owning Cornflower makes me feel so lonely (つ﹏<。) Coral Reef, you should've learned some marketing skills TBH...

I'm waiting for the full doll to arrive, which includes the 1/4 male body! If you want some references to look at before deciding to order, I could post a few pics here when he's arrived໒(＾ᴥ＾)७

 

omg!! This is so good!! Thank you!

I'm very interested!! I'd love to see him!! I hope your Cornflower comes home soon~

I hope their dolls are a bit more accessible for overseas collectors in the future. They're really so beautiful.

 

@oubliemoi I forgot that CR has a Bilibili channel and I found this and this video where they showcase the posing.

 

This is excellent, thank you! I'll have to watch these when I'm home later!

 

I picked up a Caroline last year and love her to bits. I've been waiting to pick up another Coral Reef doll, but I realized that with tariffs coming, I needed to do it sooner than later. So I decided to see what was in stock in the US based dealers. BJDivas had a Black Swan (with face-up) in light tan, so I grabbed her. Her body is going to be so different from Caroline's voluptuous one, but I hope that the resin feels just as good.

 

Congrats. I was looking at that one, myself. She must be stunning.

 

Black swan is lovely! I absolutely love how mine poses. I just got her back from getting a faceup. Now I need to get to work making her a wig, lol.

20250425_142253 by Lisel Rodriguez, on Flickr