Aesthetics Perfecting the Collection: A Master List

It was suggested to me by a friend that a journal for a fairly complex doll I'm working towards might be a fun idea. I figured I'd take it a step further and compile all of my doll projects into one mega thread. While I don't have the largest collection, there's always someone or something in need of TLC, and at this point, I'm not sure keeping a mental checklist is realistic anymore.

Some of these I have the tools and skillset to do. Others are very much commission territory, with suggestions and recommendations very much welcome.

A bit of light, NSFWish stuff mixed in here, as well, just as a heads up.

Complete
In progress
On hold

DOLLS

Taylor (Iplehouse SID Stella): low priority. Now that her alternate head is finished and on the way home, she is more or less 'complete' for me, having been repainted last year, and with three fresh pairs of hands to boot.

• Full sueding.
• Acquire custom wig replicating Taylor Swift's current hair (long waves, blunt bangs, natural blonde). I don't have any issues with her current Red-era style, but I really would like something more 'modern', so to speak.
• Run wire through her arms for additional support while holding heavy props (primarily diecast firearms; more on this later.)
• Redo body blushing. Not sure I care about this anymore now that getting a temporary body for her in the meantime is no longer feasible with the discontinuation of Iplehouse's glow skin. We'll see.

Samira (Fairyland Feeple65 Angela Type 2): the newest addition, and pretty much perfect out of the box. She came with vampire teeth pre-modded, and her current custom faceup is exactly what I wanted for this character, lending well to her Persian/Iranian ethnicity. Poses wonderfully. Currently, I consider her complete.

Christelle (Fairyland Feeple65 Angela Type 2): It took me quite a while to really pin her aesthetics down, but she is quite settled now, leaving me to focus on the more complex, mod-heavy aspects of her character.

• Genital mod. Christelle is transgender. While she's been on HRT for many years, and gone through with several cosmetic procedures, she hasn't had any bottom surgery, and I would like her body to reflect this. Something 'functional' akin to a number of male dolls have would be really nice (i.e. swappable between erect and not); I realize this is probably asking too much being way outside of my skillset, ergo very much a commission, but given the potential for wonderful photo ops, it's hard for me not to aim that high.
• Body blushing and mani/pedi. A requirement after the aforementioned, additive mod. She more than deserves the extra attention.

Faye (Fairyland Feeple65 Chloe): Elven > human ear conversion commissioned several years ago. Faceup was redone last year due to unforeseen chipping. Unfortunately, despite the major hurdles being dealt with, she's still in need of additional care.

• Complete restringing.
• Suede problematic joints.
• A manicure would be nice, especially if I could have her nails modded into a stiletto shape.

Carina (Light Limner E-Mundo Selina): Blushed with mani and pedi. Faceup redone recently for the same reasons as Faye. Never had any stringing/posing issues. Overall, I consider her complete.

• Find a pair of shoes that actually fit. This isn't as easy as it seems; due to their petite figure, these dolls have exceptionally small feet that fall somewhere between MSD and SD in sizing, making a good fit nearly impossible. For reference, a single foot is 6x2cm. Adding to the difficulty is the limited ankle range on the E-Mundo body, the current issue with the shoes I have on her now; they restrict her movement just enough to prevent unassisted standing that she normally has no difficulty with whatsoever. They're too wide, anyway, but at least nail the look I had in mind.

Foxglove (Soom MD Amber): The eldest of my dolls; an original release from 2009 with her deer parts, though I don't use the hooves and their matching legs, preferring human instead for her lower half. Body is blushed and still in great condition, complete with antlers, tail, fluffy forearms, and fantasy hands. Restrung her last year, but still needs tweaking (see below.) Crack in the back of her head was expertly repaired by a past owner.

• New faceup. She's had the exact same one since 2013. While it's held up, I've grown tired of it, and would very much like to see her refreshed.
• New eyes. I love the color of her current pair (a metallic lime green gradient from Eyeco), but they've yellowed and turned cloudy with age.
• New wig. The silver Leekeworld she has now just doesn't flatter her once I attach her antlers.
• Restring arms. While her body and legs are perfect now (she can sit without back support!), the arms are different story, having turned out just a little too tight.

Sage (Limhwa Half-Elf): My second eldest, but technically the doll I've owned the longest, and the first truly complex and successful character I ever wrote. While I've since moved on from her story, she's still sentimental to me, but despite this, has fallen into a bit of neglect.

• Complete restringing.
• Suede problematic joints.
• New faceup. Same reasons as Foxglove; significantly overdue for a makeover.
• Wardrobe change.

Rose (TBD): The doll I currently don't have, but inspired this project journal. Bringing her to life will be no easy feat—an ethereal beauty from a cyberpunk near future, with numerous external implants that will require various degrees of modification.

• Pick a sculpt. Iplehouse Aileen on a medium bust EID body.
• Commission concept art of her implants for visual reference. These include: both legs at thigh length, one arm extended to her shoulder, cyberwear on her face (a glowing etched line crossing her cheekbones and nose; this is part of an implant I have no interest in attempting because it simply it isn't feasible beyond this), and a mechanical phallus in place of her girly parts, something I'd like to be equally as functional as what I have in mind with Christelle.
• Commission aforementioned mods. I have no idea who would even be willing to. Suggestions are very much welcome.
• Commission body blushing.
• Commission faceup. Already have an artist lined up.
• Wig and hair. I know what I want already, so neither of these are an issue, either.
• Figure out what in the hell she's even going to wear, because I'm not sure I'm ready to commission an outfit on top of everything else, much as I'd love to see her in the clothes I picture her most in.

 

PROPS

Furniture: Last year, I ordered and assembled a not-so-little furniture set for several of my dolls to lounge on for display. Unfortunately, getting anyone to sit on it is a nightmare, between a lack of any substantial weight, and cushions that are too thick, forcing most dolls to slouch immediately. As cute as it looks, I'm pretty close to throwing it all into the fireplace out of sheer frustration, and I'm not sure there's any real improvement to be made.

Weapons: I've been customizing two 1/3 scale diecast firearms from Goat Guns for action photos. Specifically:

Steyr AUG—

• Repaint stock assembly and magazine. See post #3.
• Epoxy red dot scope to accessory rail. See post #3.
• Attach keychain flashlight for scaled tactical light. See post #3.
• Spray matte black accent on magazine. Waiting for cooperative weather.
• Find some way to adapt the AR15 suppressor to work on the barrel thread. The tap on the suppressor is larger than the threads on the AUG barrel. Could be epoxied, but keeping it straight while curing would be challenging.

The AR15 needs the most work. Not only did I overspray some parts in my haste to finish, but the shade of red I used was an awful pick, looking too more like a fire hydrant than a serious tactical rifle, leaving me with only a grip, magazine, and barrel shroud that turned out fine. The current plan is this—

• Spray receiver and stock with the new red I picked out.
• Spray new holographic sight that I ruined the first time around.
• Modify long barrel to work with the third party, 3D printed barrel shroud I have. A2 post needs to be removed, which is nothing a Dremel can't hack off in 30 seconds.
• Respray modified barrel to cover up the bare metal left from the cutting process.
• Add keychain flashlight as with the AUG.
• Figure out some way to attach a sling, since all the part changes have removed the existing clips.

Taylor's Wardrobe: where to begin with this... it's basically the conversion of an antique, 1930s steamer trunk into both a carrying case and portable wardrobe that stalled some time last year. I started by thoroughly cleaning the entire trunk, including the inside with white vinegar to kill the musty, horse glue smell. Thankfully, this worked surprisingly well; I really didn't want to have to strip all the paper lining out given both its good condition and the fact it would require building entirely new drawers (as you might expect with the age of this trunk, they are built of extremely thick cardboard; removing the paper would tear them to pieces. ). All hinges were flushed clean with WD40. This is where things get messy—

• Cushioning for the doll herself on the empty left side. All of the designs I came up with used up too much space. This is especially true since I plan to keep the existing hanger rod for larger outfit pieces i.e. gowns and coats.
• Some sort of straps to keep her from sliding while moving. Fabric with velcro, maybe?
• Casters. While not massive (likely meant for a child's luggage), it's big enough to carry my largest dolls, and weighs as much as you think. Not really hard, but one of the last things I plan on doing. Will also do a lead test beforehand to see if I need to mask up or not.
• Dividing up the existing drawers for better organization. Not really worried about this, either, since getting things prepped for safe doll transportation is the real hurdle, and micro storage solutions are plentiful.

 

A rainy evening. Still waiting on new goodies to arrive in the mail. In the meantime, let's take a look at a tiny gun!



Here's the 1/3 Steyr AUG as I left it some weeks ago. Since these toy replicas are made entirely of diecast and plastic, I stuck with standard model sprays and sealants for a repaint of the stock assembly and magazine: Tamiya Fine Surface Primer as a base, followed by Tamiya TS45 Pearl White and Tamiya TS87 Titanium Gold, then finalized with Mr. Top Coat Premium Semi-Gloss for a soft, satiny finish. A cheap keychain flashlight from Amazon with roughly in-scale zip ties adds to the tactical, function over form aesthetic I'm going for.

What I'll be attaching tonight is the red dot scope pictured adjacent, intended for other models in the Goat Guns line. While the size is correct, the accessory rail here doesn't use the same tooth spacing as the others (AR15, AK47 dust cover), and thus any optical refuses to lock in place securely. This includes the recommended 4x scope, which I went through two of simply from them falling off and breaking in some sort of catastrophic way.

Since I don't plan on ever taking it off again, and replacement parts are exceedingly cheap if for some reason I do change my mind, I've decided to epoxy the scope permanently in place.



I started by deciding on my ideal rail placement before sanding this area down, followed by the bottom of the scope. As I'm unsure of what paint Goat Guns uses, and don't want to risk accidentally stripping too much off, I felt this was the safest route to create a clean working surface, even if a bit remains in the crevices; it won't affect the looks or adhesion in any way.



Epoxy applied intentionally thick to bridge the gap between surfaces. In this case, bog standard J.B. ClearWeld; it's cheap, readily available, easy to work with, and will fix just about anything. As I didn't need a lot for such a small project, I kept precautions fairly minimal knowing I was already in a well-ventilated part of the house: a fan to blow away the fumes, and gloves to prevent stray drops from landing on my fingers.



The scope, pressed in place, and set screws tightened. To keep it from sliding off during the curing process, I cradled the entire body inside an inexpensive drill press vise. Designed for constantly repositioning, these are incredibly handy to have for any hobbyist without a dedicated workspace, confidently hefty, but still light enough to easily stash away..

A couple hours later, and these are the final results:





So simple, but so effective, to the point of looking factory made. Definitely happy with how things turned out.