Dollzone Discussion ~ 60 and 70cm ~ Part VIII

Grimalkin, what a superbly lucky find, to get a DZ Leslie long after the Dollzone retirement date! And, on clearance! Wow!

Sorry to hear DZ Gene’s wings are a pain. Honestly I love his wings. They are so awesome and dramatic!

 

Oh man, not who you were replying to but I saw this and I completely agree that Gene’s wings were impressive and the blushing and sculpting on them was amazing. When I had my Gene on that body… they truly were a pain. They came with the s-hooks a little to long to put them properly together so they tended to droop and yeah…(I’m not a ~tinkerer) he would have had to be topless all the time… though the blushing was amazing I do like to dress/redress my dolls a lot so I knew that wouldn’t work for me. BUT the person that bought the body off me was able to change out the hooks and they certainly made the wings work out for them! Still, having seen it all in person, Dollzone really outdid themselves with the attention to detail on the blushing which is why I did keep the ‘demon hands/feet’ xD

 

@Rabbit-moon - i wish i could have gotten the wings with the company blushing and the hands, but the body plain LOL it really is spectacular. thanks for vicariously sharing the joy of a good find. i really appreciate the camaraderie in this hobby for our grails and sculpt hunts

@sovayne - oooh, i'm intrigued in what they did to improve the S hooks. the droop is what was killing me - i felt like -- just please hold those gorgeous things up high and show them off! I had wired the skeleton wings for the big Doll Chateau boys, but the weight was almost impossible to overcome and balance. i was half thinking of adding a ledge to the ball joints that meet the body, but different hooks sounds much better!

 

@Grimalkin I had forgotten about the skeleton wings body! Wiring is such a good idea for those. I think they legit just got thinner/shorter hooks so the 's' slipped inside that narrow little hole/channel in the main part of the wings coming off the back. As far as balance though... I can't say I'm sure what happened from there, LOL!

 

I have a Spirit Doll Dark that has bone wings and fortunately for him, he's hefty enough compared to the wings so that they don't really affect his balance. Yes, I need to be a bit careful with getting him to stand unaided but he's pretty good. his bone wings are not strung and have a peg/slot system. I got him 2nd hand and if there were hole covers for his back, they were long since consigned to oblivion before he landed on my doorstep. It generally doesn't matter though as he's usually wearing a shirt that hides that and if he is bare chested, it's not usually his back you'll see in photos or if you do, he's wearing the wings (which his character is supposed to but back to that whole wings & dressing PITA situation).

DZ really did outdo themselves when they sculpted the Gene wings. The shape of them is beautiful and I really liked the smaller pair under the larger ones. Very unique looking. I also love the way they did his demon hands and feet.

 

@Iron-Dog, I have a Spiritdoll Dark, too! I love him; he’s so grim.

I got Dark as a fullset from Spiritdoll back in 2010, and I don’t recall him arriving with hole covers. (I wish he had.) Aside from that, that boy is such a solid stander his bony wings were never an issue. Spiritdoll was also nice enough to sew openings into the back of his jacket so he could wear his wings while dressed.

And, just to stay on-topic, here’s another picture of DZ Gene. His clawed hands were pretty awesome, too!

 

I liked Gene's hands a lot but I seem to have a weakness for long-nailed guys. A fair number of my boys have claws of some flavour. I still can't believe how lucky I was to have been able to score a pair of the DZ armour claw hands in the MP years and years ago for Khale since they were long sold out by the time I got Khale. I'm generally not a fan of jointed fingers but he had to have them as part of his character. He has beautifully blushed default hands (mag parts that have never held worth a damn *sigh) but the DZ armour claws are his defaults as far as I'm concerned.

Here's Fei-Lau (DZ Edward), Sleet (Soom Auber Storm Sprite) and Khale (Leeke Khal 7th Anniversary Bloody Night LE) in a recent-ish photo. It took a bit for me to get used to Fei-Lau's new wig as it has an ivory tone that his first wig did not but we're both happy with it now. I don't think you can tell in the photo but Khale's hands have a coating of white/iridescent glitter on them as they are Ice Hands (something from his Ice Demon half). It's noticeable in person but the camera rarely seems to pick it up. I might need to add a bit more pale blue glitter to make it pop more.
Fei-Lau, Sleet & Khale by ID Locke, on Flickr

 

@IzabethS - Ahhh they were released 2012, and I bought Azrael in October 2013 and had him home by January 2014.

@Iron_Dog - Ah they all look fantastic together!

 

Iron_Dog, Love seeing your beautiful Fei-Lau (DZ Edward). He’s so ethereal. And that wig is perfect on him.

I remember those big ol’ DZ clawed hands! I love them! I can’t remember now, but weren’t they originally on a limited Fullset boy? Maybe it was their limited Elves, Quinn or Ivan? (Holy cow! That was back in 2008 or 2009!)

I got a pair of those hands for my Hong from Denver Dolls, when he was going through his “demon days”.

Here he is with his, then, boyfriend, Soom Heliot. Heliot is wearing Hong’s old fabulous DZ outfit. Those were the days!

 

The clawed jointed hands were from Asura/Chen fullset back in the day!

 

I vaguely remember you could buy them separately for a short time and then they were discontinued. Khale's are in the NY of the time and he's Leeke rose-white so the match wasn't even a thing but I'd intended to very lightly dye them a barely there blue (Which I did) so whatever. I also have a distant memory of buying them from a fellow Canadian from... Montreal? so I didn't have to worry about Customs smacking me for the purchase.

@Rabbit-moon Your boy in his demon days is beautiful. I've always loved the Heliot sculpt, too. So many pretty boys *sigh*.

I have 3 old DZ outfits. Fei-Lau came with one as there was an event going on when I bought him that if you bought a full doll you got to choose an outfit for free. He wore it for a little while until his RD mecha arm came in. He can't wear it now as the mecha arm is too big at the shoulder/bicep to fit through the sleeve. Beautifully made though.

I bought another off a local person and Wu-Tyr (Dollshe Orajean) wears that and you'll take it off him only if you fancy rolling the dice on whether or not you'll lose a hand in the attempt because he will not give it up. I'm actually rather amazed that it has not peeled/flaked considering the age of it (at least 10 years).

The other outfit is for an MSD size and I think the pleather is holding up on that one, too. A friend bought it for me for my birthday waaaay back in the day. My SD Souloid wears the vest (minus the fur collar/hood).

 

Thank you IzabethS! You are so right! It was the Asura/Chen fullset! Such an incredible doll!

Thank you Iron_Dog! I did rather like my Hong when he was doing his demony thing. That demon phase was sorta hot!

I used to love Dollzone’s clothes back in the day. And, they were reasonably priced, too. I wish Dollzone was still selling clothes, but I guess that has gone the way of the 70cm boys.

Here’s one of my absolute favorite DZ outfits that I bought back in 2010. (I landed up putting it on my Ghost-boy, a CP/Lut Chiwoo.) DZ used to use some lovely fabrics.

 

@Rabbit-moon Ohhh, that's a beautiful outfit (on a very lovely boy).

I have a photo of Wu-Tyr wearing the DZ outfit (and rocking the heck out of it) but I wasn't sure it was appropriate here as he's not a DZ boy. Fei-Lau would not be caught dead in the outfit due to it's revealing nature.

 

The Asura/Chen fullset looks amazing.

I have Khale's fullset (and default hands) stored in a ziplock bag and aside from receiving him in that outfit and about a week of him wearing it before I made him something, it's sat in the ziplock bag for the past... 10 years? It's a lovely outfit but far too modern for him. The wig and eyes are also not him and his default mag hands drive me nuts with how they pop off if you so much as look at them sideways. I won Khale which is why his fullset gets zero use (nobody else would wear it either if they'd even fit).

 

Iron_Dog, Thank you for the compliment on the old Dollzone outfit. They used to make such lovely clothes.

About Dollzone outfits on non-DZ dolls, my feeling is that if I’m discussing Dollzone clothes specifically, or a particular DZ outfit, it’s perfectly okay to show a picture of it, even if it’s on a doll other than Dollzone. If I’m discussing a DZ outfit, it’s the outfit that counts, not the doll. Personally, I think DZ collectors enjoy seeing the beautiful DZ clothes, no matter who is wearing them. If someone has an issue with that, I’m sure they will certainly let us know. (I guess I could mask-out the face of the non-DZ doll, and then it wouldn’t matter.)

Here’s a company photo of Hong, looking totally awesome in his full-set outfit. Even though it was a great outfit, my Hong never wore it. It immediately went to my Heliot, who I wanted to look less God-Master, and more Unicorn-boy demon hunter.

Cloudedmind, What a treasure you have! And, what a first doll to have gotten: a full-set Asura/Chen! Wow! It’s funny to think about how old our dolls are now, and how much Dollzone’s aesthetic has changed.

Sadly, I think a lot of companies have cut back on the number of dolls they make and the clothes they offer. I couldn’t even find a separate clothing tab/section on the Dollzone site for clothes. They don’t seem to sell clothes anymore, unless it’s connected to a full-set.

iron_Dog, OMG! How I hate magnetic hands! The magnets are never strong enough, and hands are always popping off. I had an Elfdoll girl, and a 5Star tiny who had magnetic hands. I landed up removing the magnetic parts and replacing them with regular s-hook hands.

It never hurts to keep all the full-set pieces for your doll. If you ever need to sell the doll, because of an emergency, the full-set pieces make it more attractive to a buyer.

 

@Rabbit-moon In general, I hate mag parts because of that first experience with Khale's default hands. I get why Leeke did it (he's on the muscle body) as those hands could 100% make getting things like fitted shirts on a no-go. But if you're gonna do mag parts, make sure the magnets are good and strong and that the locking mechanism works. neither is the case for Khale's original hands.

Funny enough, one of my more recent purchases is on a FL body and I completely spaced on them having mag hands/feet. I also had no idea that the body had an entire piece that fit in the upper chest to give them mag arms. I tried him with the mag arms, utterly hated it and re-strung him without it and I'm much happier with his body. Getting him a different body is not an option as he's been dyed to have vitiligo. And generally FL does mag parts in the right way so those don't irritate me too much.

This is Wu-Tyr in the DZ outfit he loves to death. There is a crop jacket as well but he wasn't wearing it for this photo shoot. I have no idea if this was part of someone's fullset or just something DZ made at the time.
Wu-Tyr, Elder God of Primordial Waters by ID Locke, on Flickr

I'd love to see DZ go back to it's older style boys like Edward, Hong and Chen but I also get that they need to give the customer what they want. There's no purpose in producing old school dolls if they're not going to sell. I think it would be super cool if they re-released some of the old boys but they may not even have the masters for that anymore.

 

Yeah Iron_Dog, your boy is rocking that Dollzone outfit. I do wish I knew what DZ boy that outfit originally belonged to. (I’m a little OCD about stuff like that.). But Wow! That outfit is pretty smexy.

I agree, Dollzone had to continue growing as a company, and that means “change”. (*shutter*) Sadly, nothing lasts forever. I actually liked the new boy, Lucius. I might have considered getting him, but these limited-time windows to buy these new boys is not helping. Some people actually have to save up the money to buy these dolls, and that takes time.

I would love to see DZ do a re-release on some of the early sculpts. But, you don’t see many companies reissuing old sculpts. Everyone wants the next new shiny gorgeous boy. You are probably right, DZ likely used those old master molds until they fell apart. But, I can still dream about Leslie.

 

Sometimes doll companies listen to what their customer base asks of them (if it's reasonable). Maybe if there was enough interest DZ would consider re-releasing some of the old guys. They did a re-release of Carter for this Halloween. Or at least I think he's a re-release? I'm not sure as the sculpt never clicked with me so haven't paid attention to whether he's still generally available.

I get that change is inevitable *cringes* but there is something to be said for the classics. Soom has re-released many of their sculpts time and again (and I still haven't gotten my greedy paws on a Heliot or Sard *sigh*) and I'd put it out there that Soom is a fairly popular company so that idea probably isn't terrible.

I'm one of the ones who plans and saves for purchases, too, so a lot of the time limited things end up being a no-go for me. I mean, my wallet is thrilled about that but my dolly-heart weeps in despair at missing out on (insert gorgeous hunk of resin here). For DZ I think Gene with the fantasy body was my last serious temptation but I'm all about the weird/unusual/fantasy dolls (my last 3 purchases were the vitiligo dyed boy, a DC Barbara boy dyed deep red and a DV Bethel).

 

it would be really neat to get a retro sculpt release now and again. Jeremy is another one that got away, and I've only ever seen one for sale second hand and was too late of course. he sure had those great lips DZ produced during that time.



i liked the new boy too, especially with the fun accessories like the skull version. timing wasn't quite right for me either. can't wait to see what folks do with him.

it's great to see those vintage outfits holding up so well! i wish i knew a trick to tell if a pleather outfit was going to be in the "crumble" or "survive" classification on sight

 

Pleather is such a dice roll and more often than not ends up in the crumble slot for me. I don't know why as I don't typically store the doll with the outfit on and it's always stored away in a bag of it's own away from heat/light. Unluck of the draw I guess?

I loved those ears on Jeremy. I wasn't as taken by the wing arms but see my previous grievance with wings in general (although I still love them and they usually end up in the yes please column for me because I'm a contrary soul). I liked the skull version but I've already got a character with a 1/2 skull head (Rai-Sui is a SD Vito Azreal The Hierophant) so I'm not sure what I'd do with another.

 

Oh, that's right, Moment and Anson dipped back in for a short while. Those are beautiful works of art. The huge mermaid... Freida? did a lap around the buying pool not that long ago, too, if memory serves.

That's one of the nice things about a digital file, you can keep using it over and over again and the space it takes up as a product is very small compared to an actual physical copy of a sculpt. Especially if the sculpt had special parts for the body. You see so few of the old sculpts pop up 2nd hand nowadays. I assume that the people that have them are not willing to part with them, which is completely understandable.

 

Iron_Dog, I think I figured out what DZ outfit you have on your Wu-Tyr. It looks like the outfit that Wing2 was wearing when he was reissued in back in 2008. (I saw a better picture of the full outfit, but couldn’t download the picture to share here.)

Cloudedmind, I agree. I also think that when Dollzone became connected to Doll Château, and their style changed so much, the old sculptors were long gone.

However, like you, I would love to see updated versions of their old heads. Updated Yuu, Hong, and Chen would be awesome!

 

@Rabbit-moon I think you're right. It does look very similar with the jacket on. I can't say 100% as I bought it 2nd hand and I don't recall them mentioning a sculpt specifically.

I agree that when DZ and DC became sister companies, the aesthetic of DC seemed to bleed over into DZ in a big way. I don't know if that's because they were sharing sculptors between them or what.

The old school sculpts (not just DZ either) are just so much love to me. Partially nostalgia for when I first started in the hobby and partially because I just like the aesthetic.

 

Grimalkin, dolls like Jeremy are pure works of art. He was gorgeous with those majestic winged-ears and his winged arms; so stunning! I know this may sound strange but I never really considered him a “doll”. I just couldn’t see myself ever just playing with him, like I would with my other dolls. He’s beautiful, but all I would do with him is find a nice corner to display him, and admire his awesomeness. (I’d actually be afraid to play with him, for fear of breaking his delicate ears.)

Iron_Dog, I’m almost certain now that the outfit on Wu-Tyr is the Wing2 fullset outfit. I finally got the second photo to download (Man! How I wish I had bought this Wing when I had the chance!)

This! So this!

 

Ohhh Jeremy!! I'm super lucky that there's a local owner who bring their Jeremy to meets sometimes. He's a stunning sculpt, and I love love LOVE his wings!

 

@Rabbit-moon your detective skills are truly impressive. I would say that you are correct. The only thing missing/not on the outfit I have is the tulle or netting or whatever it seems like is on the shoulders. My version doesn't have that and as far as I can tell, never did (there's no evidence of it being cut/torn off). How ironic that the promo shots are with a water background when Wu-Tyr is the Elder God of Primordial Waters. I guess he was meant to wear it.

Wing2 here reminds me strongly of old CP/Luts sculpts and I'm into it. One of my friends has an old CP/Luts girl (I don't remember the sculpt name but she's of the resin hook moulded into the headcap variety) and I'm getting the same sort of vibe from him. Sometimes when I see an old sculpt just languishing in the MP forever because it's not the current aesthetic I just feel so bad and want to "rescue" it.

 

My Feather Fox arrived today. I was so surprised he got here so fast. His name is Kei Kou.I can't wait to work on him, just as the weather turns rainy, of course.
I made a fox tail years ago and it seems like it was made just for him.
Kei Kou by SteamWitch, on Flickr

Luckily, I still have some of that red fur left to use on his head too.

 

Even blank he looks really good. And the tail is perfect for him.

 

Thank you! It's the Virgo in me.

I totally get this. I feel the same way. *Heart breaks* I saved an old Iplehouse Lion head because it was just sitting in the MP forever. I don't know what I'm going to do with him, but he's safe and loved now.

 

SteamWitch, he looks amazing! Wow!

And, the tan resin looks beautiful.

Who is he going to be?

 

@Rabbit-moon Ahahaha, I'm a Virgo, too.

I'm not sure if I've rescued any dolls but 2 of my boys had been in the MP for 2 years. I'm convinced it was because of their appearance. Macian (Spirit Doll Dark LE) has been heavily modded by a previous owner (not the person I bought him from and I wish I knew who did the mods) and the mods would be very difficult if not impossible to undo (but are solely to his head). His mods are a bit difficult to describe but I guess heavily scared steampunk would be closest? He also has very noticeable yellowing between his body and his hip part but that generally wouldn't be a display noticeable thing unless he was displayed naked. Wae-Lan is a MD Aseal LE50 head and the face up on him was supposedly done for a contest and it's stunning in my opinion. Finding him a body was a chore (he's on a 5Star body) because of the size of the head/neck hole and the fact that he'd also mellowed and blush to match with an existing face-up is tough. But because both of them were so... unusual they just sat there forever.