Dream Valley Mini Discussion Thread

I know I would need to do a bit of modification to make it match my Dragon character more. Which creates a little bit of indecision as I assumed I would need to dye him black but DV has released him in black resin! However I think from what I've read of darker resin, sanding can become very visible so I might be better off with my original plan of buying white and then modding & dying.

Has anyone worked with black resin before and can advise?

I'm so glad that DV have also released a smaller version that is more budget and space friendly! If I got the 1/6 version it would make me less anxious about doing the modding as it would be so hard to do that to the 1/4 with it's price tag!

In the past they've done two releases of a limited doll but last year they put out a few dolls they said they wouldn't re-release (the naga and bone butterfly dolls). The promo material says it'll be discontinued with the end of order date but I haven't seen if DV 100% confirmed the dragon will be a single release. It might something worth asking DV to confirm so people can make an informed decision

 

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the nagas. Well, the "time limited" info on the dragons appears to be the same format as on other dolls that did get rereleased, anyway.
Good luck with the black resin question! I've managed to smooth out sanded tan resin a couple times so that it's not as noticeable, but never owned black. What are you planning to modify?

 

I know it will be a long wait for this Dragon but I can't wait to hold him. Ordering mine next week when I get paid. I want 1/4 Dragon in Red . My Taya girl has waited along time for her Dragon .

 

Ordered a 1/4, two-eyed dragon in white. I'd already been playing with what colors might look nice against it when a friend suggested I look up gold quartz, and that sold me on adding on gold markings. Especially since, as she pointed out, that should look really nice as the resin naturally ages.

 

Oooooh, the idea of a white and golden dragon sounds beautiful, I would love to see photos of that in progress and when it's done.

 

I've already been looking up threads on using gold (or faux gold) leaf on dolls, and I'm finding myself very glad that I have a head to practice the gold veining on. I think I need to pick up some leaf and some very fine tweezers.

 

As someone who has leafed a doll (about 50% of him in gold, silver & copper) and parts of a doll (an entire arm in gold & silver), I highly recommend using Mod Podge as both your size and as a protective coat (if you're not using MSC for that) once the leafing has fully dried. Mod Podge will fully harden after about 4-6 weeks and will require some serious elbow grease to remove. You don't need much adhesive to initially stick the leaf down and too much of your choice of adhesive will drown the leaf and make it hard to dry neatly/well. Work in small areas to prevent frustration, too. I'd also recommend picking up some soft bristle brushes to help apply the leaf.

Also be aware that ANY slight movement of air (like exhaling) can and will send your leafing flying across the room.

 

Popping into here because I'm seriously considering putting a 1/4 dragon on layaway. That dragon is bigger than my dog! Probably weighs more too. I'm debating on color since it looks like any of the non NS/WS are $130 more and that's basically adding another payment onto a layaway. I have many DV dolls but they're all WS and one NS. Also noticed the AC listing has another color called Wall White. Has anyone seen this color shown anywhere?

Edit: Anyone else notice what look like screws in the wings? Wondering if those parts are movable. Hard to tell if the wings are "folded in" in any of the photos. Glad the wings seem to be easily removeable tho.

 

The more I see this dragon the more I really want it. I might be able to manage a year layaway for the white one via bjdivas. I know I am not supposed to get anymore dolls this year but I think I will regret not getting one.

 

I do think they appear to be closed/overlapping in a few of them, like this one:

 

They look like magnets to me.

 

I think the wings where they join the body seem to be magnets but the actual wings themselves do appear to have screws.



and yes it does look like they can fold in



I'm sure the magnets for attaching the wings will make shipping much easier, not to mention making it easier to go wingless but I do kind of wish that they'd been attached a little more permanently, especially given how large they look. You can wire floppy elasticated joints, but idk what you can do if the magnets don't hole the wings up the way you want them to.

 

The wings look like they're strung to the body to me from that one picture. I have a Bethel and his wings are strung to his body I don't remember off hand how the jointing works for his wings (fully strung or pin/screw). I also have an Immortality of Soul Dark with the bone wings and the articulation of his is done with pins because of the size of the parts so maybe DV went the same route with these wings?

 

There's photos of him without the wings actually. And in some of the photos the wings can be seen attached to a harness setup that (I assume) is magnetic.


I have a few DV dolls (Scar x2, Zhao, and Abu) and they tend to have pretty dang strong magnets thankfully. So not too worried about the wing magents not sticking. I've decided to wait until I next get paid but I'll be making a down payment on a blank black dragon in a couple weeks.

 

In that photo it looks like the wings attach to the upper arm near the shoulder? It looks like that's a "hole"?

 

I think they "clip" onto the back shoulder blade area actually. This pic might be better.

 

Yes, that does show it better. So, to me, it looks like the wings are partially strung and that utilize a harness/mag attachment to hold the primary strung part on the doll. The folding parts of the wing (beyond the possibly strung part of the main wing strut) look like they may be magnets or screws of some type.

But this is utter guess-work on my end. I think it's awesome (and well-thought-out) that they've designed the wings in such a way that if you wanted to leave the wings off, you could without having to re-string the doll.

 

I think that sort of shoulder scale right where the wings would be is also magnetised so you can pop that off and then pop on one that looks like it but which has the wings

This picture is unfortunately small but you can see that the wings are both joined on to the same base scale.

 

That seems consistent with one of their other dragons, Flo, who has wings that pop in via magnets.

 

Hopefully an improvement. The Flo wing attachment is a poor design as the round pegs just want to spin in their holes from the weight of the wings. I had to shove silicone strips in their to stop that. Ugh.

I can't help but look at the new dragon and wonder how many times I'd bleed all over it from all the spikes though.

 

I'm glad I wasn't the only one wondering about this! The wing design in general looks very interesting. I had some really nice wings from Lutz that I loved to pose, but these don't appear to have as much possibilities... And those screws or stoppers I am not sure how they function. I like the idea that they seem removable fairly easily...I think it would be fun to make some wire& fabric wings and just store his resin wings.

After much debate, I have decided on a blank red 1/4 dragon. And the dragon rider I'll have to look at Alice's collection, I was planning to use Denver doll but can't pass free shipping

 

That's what I was thinking it looked like too - the wings both strung to the same base plate, that probably attaches with magnets.
Ugh. I'm probably going to end up ordering one. Not quite decided on the size, though.

 

The smaller dragon doesn't have jointed han- paw- claws?! Just in case this was relevant to anyone, who hasn't decided yet~

 

I did it! I bought the dragon! I chose the red color but without the blushing. I own an airbrush and I think I could do something to my satisfaction; I tend to like my dolls more if I have to take the time to paint them. Oh and I chose the normal eyes version.

Thank you all for pointing out that Alice's collection was including these in their free shipping event!

I did some research on pintrest and found lots of cool red dragon art. I like the idea that those spines on the back are actually some kind of fins....I may add some webbing in between them to get the look. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xzbrA4

 

I got a chance to take solo pics of the anpiel (Achelous human) recently, wearing its Christmas best.

 

Your posts on gold leaf is one of the sources I'd been looking at, and it's nice to know that Mod Podge is a surefire method. I kind of want to experiment on my stunt head with Liquitex sealants, too, just to see how an option that doesn't take multiple weeks to cure works. I think the fact that I want little bits and pieces to look like bits of gold in a gold vein will definitely help; no worries about getting it on overly neatly. As for flying across the room...hopefully wearing a respirator on account of the shimmer powder will help with that, too.

 

Ooh, I like the webbing idea! That should look cool. Good luck!

 

Oh good for you! It’s a truly amazing sculpt. And I’ve been fighting with myself not to get one ever since they first appeared, though it’s been extremely difficult to hold to my no-buy goals when companies put out such amazing things as this. The only thing saving me right now is a lack of a character for it and a definite lack of space. But I truly admire anyone who can bring one of these awesome beauties home, and I can’t wait to see owner photos.

And while I’m here I thought I’d post a photo of my latest girl, A Dream Valley Olivia Rabbit. I hunted for nearly a decade to find the perfect sculpt for my original character, “Serendipity”. She’s my first Dream Valley doll, and I’m truly impressed with her overall quality and sculpting. I purchased her full set, but put her into one of my own pre-existing outfits for this photo:

 

Does anyone happen to have any pics of the B4-04 and B4-15/17 bodies? Trying to figure out just how different they are, since I like the aesthetic of the B4-04 one the most, but have heard that the new ones have much better leg posing/stability.

@Iron_Dog re sealant for body painting & stuff, when cured, is ModPodge stronger than MSC?

 

@mxwutter I'm not sure? I don't use MSC for my projects because it's a pain to get and I have nowhere to safely spray (I live in an apartment and don't have a respirator). It is going to require some serious elbow grease to remove though as I do know this from experience. But, since Mod Podge is water soluble, if you put the part(s) into a container of warm water for a few hours (or overnight!), it will make it a bit easier to remove.

Generally, when I seal something with Mod Podge (I do this for the temp tatts I put on some of my guys), I'll put down 2 or 3 thin layers, letting it dry before applying the next layer. Since the layers are thin, it generally takes less than 5 minutes to dry. I use a make-up sponge wedge (and entire bag is like $1.50 from the Dollar Store) to apply the Mod Podge as I've found that brushes tend to leave visible strokes when you look at it from certain angles.

 

@PoeticSoul she's beautiful! That background is so whimsical, is it an actual doll photo backdrop or a painting?

I'm very excited for my first Dream Valley dolls!

 

It’s what they’re calling these days a “tapestry” which is nothing more than a photo image printed on very thin polyester. I found mine on Etsy by just typing in tapestry (and I chose the 26” by 36” size,) but I think they have them on Amazon and Ebay too.

 

@Iron_Dog tbh it being soluble in water but also armour when dry sounds very handy. I've tried applying it with a make-up sponge but I always end up having way more glue soaked into the sponge than on the actual doll do you wet the sponge beforehand or is there some other trick I'm missing?

@Zacarias I've really been enjoying seeing your human Freya as I looked through the pages, she's full of personality nice to know small SD clothing fits so well, it's a great slouchy look

 

@mxwutter I generally cut the sponge into smaller pieces (say... 3?) and dip the sponge into the MP, then scrape off the excess. I would not recommend wetting the sponge before application as that might water-down the MP somewhat.

 

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm ordering the 1/4 dragon in Red skin. (I blame IronDog for this) Ohh the resin gods are cruel. Please don't tell my wallet this yet. Its still healing after the last resin purchase . lol

 

Sorry, not sorry

 

Question for anyone in the UK who's bought from Dream Valley before, especially larger dolls, do they usually get hit badly with customs?

I'm almost certainly getting myself a lava 1/4 scale dragon and with the wait time, it'll be paid off before customs happens but it's still an additional cost.

On a different thought. What exactly does one make for a dragon. Usually for new dolls I cope with the wait by thinking about/making clothes for them (depending on how accessible measurements are). But a dragon doesn't exactly need trousers and a shirt. Some sort of display plinth? A hoard of things?

 

My plans for any additional decoration for him is jewelry-give him some necklaces, or decorative rings. With the horns and spines, there's lots of area where those can be stuck. Other than that...definitely props. Treasure, a nest setup, and I've been thinking that for a lair, it might be fun to get backdrop drawn up and custom printed.

 

I plan to make a saddle, and to try some concepts for flexible wings to switch the with resin ones. I obviously can't get either of these done exactly without the body, but I can start gathering materials and testing techniques

 

Flexible dragon wings is actually a project I've been working on! I made one pair for a friend's Christmas gift and I just need to finish up my own set so I can finally get around the sorting all the progress pics and doing a writeup.

 

I agree that flexible wings with fabric for the membrane would definitely be a good idea and I'd love to see how you both plan on doing them because I am also very interested in swapping resin wings for ones that are slightly less terrifying.

 

.

Oh awesome! Yes i look forward to seeing your design!

 

Lighter flexible wings sound interesting as I am wondering how heavy the resin wings will be one reason why I have bought 1/6 rather than the impressive 1/4 (jointed hands and 4 eyes too ) and that I want a cute pet size for my larger 1/3 bjds

 

Would also love to see that when you get around to it!

 

New Dream valley fauns are up (along with a general body sale), and while I would love Cedar's head for my cervitaur boy...alas, they aren't selling it separately. I checked with Alice's to see if it could be a special order, even. At least I can use his faceup as a guide, but man, I really like those ears and that little muzzle.

 

BJDivas is offering the heads (as well as face-ups) separate if you're willing to use them as a dealer. I'm kind of surprised that Alice's isn't, since the heads (bodies and weapons) were in the initial "flyer" listed separately.

 

Yeah, that's why I contacted Alice's first. I did a price check just now of the head plus shipping from BJDivas and it looks reasonable; I'm going to see if Denver Doll offers similar just for a price comparison, but that's looking like my best option.

 

Have you checked if New clover singing is selling it separately? I don’t see it on the website yet but she probably will list it if you ask!

 

Sent an e-mail, let's see what she says.

 

Dream Valley’s been knocking it out of the park with their anthro dolls lately. I was absolutely not planning on buying another doll any time soon, but Cedar is just so perfect. The ears, the face, and I really love the body especially. I’m such a big fan of digitigrade (technically unguligrade this time, I think?) legs and hoofed dolls.

 

Successfully ordered the Clover head in white skin from New Clover Singing! Now to wait.

 

Hi, not sure if this is were I would post this question, but I had a hybrid question. I really like the Dream Valley B4-19 body and I was wondering if a Doll Leaves head could fit on it? Specifically I was looking at Ida. I realize the resin might be a bit different, but the Normal seems sort of close.

 

I've made an hybrid with the B4-13 body in normal pink and a Doll Leaves Lan head in normal and the resin match is perfect~

 

Oh that is good to know! I thought the normal pink looked like the closest color match when I compared it with different pictures. Thank you !

 

I'm thinking of ordering the Deer boy Cedar for my birthday in March. It's right before the cut-off date so maaaaybe I shouldn't wait till the EXACT day but.. He's pretty cute.

 

I just received my Chaos the other day, and I almost forgot to post him here.



I was originally planning to dye parts of his legs and paws to look like a maned wolf, but now that I have him, I don't think this color suits that plan. It's darker in person, almost maroon. So I suppose I'll just get him face-upped and leave it at that. Either way, I'm satisfied, it's very pretty.

Additionally, I don't think this is the same red resin they're using for the dragons, so I wouldn't necessarily take this as a sample for those.

If anyone wants any other pictures, let me know!

 

@BlackSheep he looks really cool! I agree that the red the dragons were/are available in is the brighter red released as a limited time option a few months after that shade was. I'm waiting on a doll in that color.

 

he looks really good in that resin tone, congrats on his arrival

 

Hello! I'm new here so I hope this is the right place to ask this. I'm planning to order a Dream Valley Cedar doll, but I was wondering if anyone knows if the three-part body adds any poseability, or if it's purely to be able to swap the leg portion? I know they've released a few other dolls with the three-part body, but I haven't had much luck finding info/photos, so I'm hoping someone here might have some experience with one of those. I don't plan to swap the legs out, so I'll probably just go with the two-part instead if that's all it's for. Thanks!

 

Welcome! My Olivia has the three-part body with the rabbit legs, and the extra part really has no extra pose-ability at all. It’s just for interchangeability. I don’t plan on swapping the legs, but I got the three-part body just to make dying her human parts and rabbit parts different colors easier.

Edit: Though now that I think about it, I miiight grab those deer legs for my Olivia before the event ends. Then she can be a bunny or a deer whenever she wants lol.