Large Ephram's new faceup (Volks Isao)

Ephram is near and dear to my heart. He's my oldest doll I still have, my first Volks doll, and the one who's survived all purges and emergency sales. He's one of the few dolls to have an Omukae ceremony in the US, and he's been with me since 2005, going to every Volks event I've attended.

For reference, here he is when he first arrived in 2005:



Original faceup still fresh, no real yellowing.

But 14 years later...



Yellow, shiny, 14 years of handling and travel and love. But nothing to be done about it, right? I love the Volks faceup too much to want another kind. His headplate fell off in 2007 or so and I put it somewhere safe, then we moved and it was lost to boxes, so even though they finally offered the satogaeri services in the US at LA Dolpa 4, he has to have it, right? Well... Remember how I've taken him to every Volks event I've ever been to? I asked MIKEY at Dolpa if they thought they might do this again at the next Dolpa since I couldn't find his headplate in time... And she knows Ephram. She first met him in 2006 and did the English translations at his Omukae ceremony. She knows he's legit. And she was able to get it OKed for him to be sent off for a new faceup! So of course after thanking her a million times I quickly handed him over to the staff and he went on his way.

Yesterday he came home. The postal service sent him to the wrong post office and I called them up and asked if I could just come grab him which they were fine with so a two hour trip later I had him home, at last.

And look. At. Him. Now:



He's. Gorgeous. ;_;

And of course I had to drag him outside:



The fourth pic is probably the most color accurate - He's obviously still yellowed, I didn't have them sand him, but he looks a lot less yellow now that the old aged sealant and dirt are gone.

There are some differences of course in his 2004 original faceup and his 2019 redone faceup:

- The blushing is still subtle but shows up a bit more now
- The eyebrow lines are sparser and more delicate and more shaded, the lower eyelash line is solid instead of broken
- The corners of his mouth on the old one were almost unnoticeable, the new one has noticeable corners but they're not super dark so they don't look weird
- The lines on his lips are more visible
- He's cut down on the eyeshadow rofl. The original had the dark blushing in the corners of his eyes very heavy and solid black, the new one there's still dark blushing there but it's soft and more shading than eyeshadow.

He looks fantastic and I'm so, so happy and grateful I was able to get this done. Here's to the next fifteen years with him.

 

Thank you! And I'm glad your Hewitt is doing well!

Two of the pictures don't seem to want to show up in the first post so let's try again:

http://www.iankunx.net/ephramnew1.jpg
http://www.iankunx.net/ephramnew5.jpg

 

Thank you! It really is close!

I know! Other than the obviously mellowed resin he could have come out of Kyoto for the first time this month!

Haha, I was actually thinking they look softer now. XD But they do look amazing! Certainly more realistic in a more modern style.

Yeah, they've offered the satogaeri services in Japan for ages along with the exchange services, but LA Dolpa 4 this year was the first time they've ever offered it for the US!

Yes! I didn't think to take a picture of it, but the package came with a sweet message signed by the person who took care of him! Definitely like a member of the family. And he was packed so well too with such care!

It really is! In 2017 at LA Dolpa 3, Mikey recognized me and Ephram even though I hadn't been able to attend an event for ten years! It's part of why I love their dolls so much - You can tell they really do care about their dolls and their customers.

Thank you! It really is. The love and connection we have with our angels is so wonderful.

It really is! I had only asked if they thought they might do it again at a future Dolpa because I knew the rules about the headplates and couldn't find it in time, in hopes of doing it at a future date when I had, not for an exception! Haha, I think both Mikey and the staff I turned him in to were touched a bit when they asked if I wanted the trade-in service and I looked horrified and specified that no no no I just wanted him repainted, I never want to give up this specific head! He really is part of my family.

Aww, thanks so much that's so sweet. :heart:

Haha I keep wanting to do a big epic story with pictures of him over the years going over every part of our story together. XD I'm also so glad everything worked out and that he's home now.

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments, everyone.