The Ai : Custom House Boys and Girls

Thanks so much! I knew from the start that this wouldn't be easy - even back in 2005 people were telling me it was impossible. But as I started to understand the hobby better, I realized that sometimes the impossible actually is possible... if you have years to wait for it, lol.

 

Have you tried contacting Custom House to see if they have any of the old bodies left? At one time they were trying to sell out their stock of the old-style bodies and you could get one for $88 (I did). They weren't strung and there was quite a bit of sanding that needed to be done, but at that price I certainly wasn't going to complain.

 

I'll try doing that if I have to, but I haven't heard good things about their customer service... I bought an old-style kit from a member here, hopefully the skintone will match!

In the meantime... wig change! I am so in love.

 

She's beautiful! And if the body doesn't match exactly- you can blush it a bit. But really, no one is all one color. If you hold your hands next to your face, I doubt if they will be exactly the same color due to sun-exposure, etc.

 

That's true! I actually got a Volks SD13 body in for a doll I'm piecing together and the resin match wasn't too far off... I'd love for her to be all Customhouse though, since that was how I first wanted her. But I don't mind a 95-98% resin match! I am just so excited for this, I can't believe it's actually happening!

 

It's so wonderful to see someone so excited about getting a Grail Doll!

 

I just never thought I'd be able to get her... Back in the day I was told I'd never be able to replicate the Unique Ai and I wrote her off for years. Then I finally decided to go for it, and had to wait eons for a Siwon to come up for sale, and then manage to get him! My boyfriend bought him for me last Christmas, but I gave up on being able to make him into a girl and tried to make my Lydia character into Lydian the Boy. It just wasn't what I wanted, so I wiped his faceup and sent him off to get remade in a similar way to the Unique. But he was gone for so much longer than I expected (4-6 weeks turned into six months) that sometimes I thought I'd never see him again - the artist was apparently sending me regular emails that I never ever got. But once the head came back, all my hopes for this doll came back, and now that she's so close to having the right body, I just can't contain my excitement! I actually have her sitting next to me right now just so I can enjoy her company and bask in her Siwon girl loveliness. /sappy

 

I think it's great. I felt the same way about all of my Grail Dolls (I have three). The first one was my (OT) Elfdoll Soah. I just fell in love with her, but it was when I first started collecting BJDs and the idea of spending $500+ on a doll was just beyond what I could imagine. I waited several years before I finally got her (for Christmas, I think it was, from my hubby).
Then I fell in love with Customhouse St. Mina. LOVED LOVED LOVED her!!! But being a limited, and then all the issues with Customhouse, I didn't think I would ever get here. The very very few who came up on DoA Marketplace were wayyyyy out of my price range. And then one day, there she was, at a price I could afford (by charging her with paypal Bill Me Later, lol). I snapped her up so fast and am still so excited to have her. My final Grail Doll was a Maskcat (new company- OT) Ruolan. I kept looking at her and looking at her for months, then finally bought her when my husband was off on a trip. I figured if he could spend the money to go diving, I could buy the doll. So I did.
I think when you wait a long time for a doll, it makes them even more special.

 

Those are such awesome stories! I'm glad you got your grail dolls. And yeah, waiting for them for so long does seem to make them more special - I just have this feeling about Siwon, after looking at her pics for so long, that she'll never leave me. Since I was a broke high school student when I started the hobby, I've waited a long time to get the dolls I wanted back then (most of the time, I've still wanted them as much now as I did then), and the ones that that's been the case with really are in a different category than some of my other dolls.

 

Just had to come in for an update, so I apologize for the double-post... Lydia is complete! She's got her faceup and body and I couldn't be happier! I've never worked harder for a doll before, I swear. xD But every time I look at that face, it's like looking at the face of an old friend.

 

Congratulations! She looks amazing! So is this the kit body that you found? She looks great. And I love her outfit, too.

 

cirquemom - Thank you! And yes, it is. I only had the smallest troubles assembling it since I was using hot glue, but at least she got sueded at the same time, lol. She seems to have some trouble standing on her own, though, despite the sueding. Is this very common with the CH girl bodies? I wonder if I didn't glue everything perfectly straight... I followed the directions that came with it, though. The hands tie on with twine! I can hardly believe it. xD I wonder if someday they can be converted to small s-hooks, I love s-hooks.

 

You can easily replace the twine with S-hooks and I would definitely recommend it. She should stand okay- maybe the stringing is a little loose? You might try tightening it some (just take off the head cap and pull up on the string and retie it- don't cut it until you decide if that is the problem or not).

 

Thanks for the advice! What size s-hooks should I look for for the hands?

I guess I should try tightening the stringing... I got it as tight as I could, but the knot is in the middle of her torso like the instructions directed, so it's a little hard to get to. I'll give it a try now!

 

Oh- yeah, that's hard to do (with them in the middle). I always just tie them in the head. Sometimes after you get the doll strung, the elastic will relax a bit so needs to be tightened. Not sure what size S-hooks to get- I always get a restringing kit from junkyspot and the hooks are already included. But you could measure another SD doll if you have one, or if not let me know and I'll measure the ones in one of mine.

 

Well, I think I've strung her as tight as I can without it being too tight. She stands a lot better, though her ankles are a little wobbly. But still, it's an improvement!

I'm mostly just worried about what kind of s-hooks will fit in those teeny tiny holes in her wrists, or if any will. It was hard enough to thread the twine through there! I'd rather not modify them if I don't have to.

 

It's actually really easy to find S-hooks that work for CH girl wrists -- this chart from CoolCat is my go-to whenever I'm trying to figure out which size I need: http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptlist.phtml?Category=158911 You'll be fine with the hook size recommended for Luts Delf "hands foots." If the hook is a little bulgy, you can always squeeze it into a more elongated shape with a pair of pliers.

My Ai girls all stand like champs, once I find their balance; sometimes they can be a little fussy about the ankles, but that's just a matter of learning where their center of gravity is (and it's a tiny bit different for each of them -- they really are individuals). You'll get to know your adorable girl's quirks in no time!

 

Thank you! I'll try ordering a pair or two, I have another doll who needs some as well. I love older dolls, but I also love s-hooks... n__n;;;

And I think you're right, it might be a bit of a learning experience with my girl. We'll definitely be practicing!!

 

Hi all, I got an old basic Cebee (I think) from eBay last year and never got around to playing with her. I'm working on getting new clothes and wigs. I know this question has been answered previously, but given all the changes in the bjd world since 2006, what is the brand of clothes that would best fit a Custom House doll now?

I've also heard people debating on a 9/10 wig versus a 8/9 wig. What are your thoughts?

 

I have a Ceebee and an 8/9 wig fits her perfectly. I think a 9/10 would be too big. I think you'll love her when you get her all together- they are lovely dolls. As far as clothes- just about anything in the SD 10/13 range should fit her. NOT the slim ones, just regular SD 10/13. Can't wait to see pictures of her.

 

Clothes made for Peak's Woods dolls (such as Dollheart) fit old CH girls especially well, in my experience -- because while standard "SD" girl clothes work for them most of the time, the original CH bodies are slimmer than Volks standard sizes (quite a bit slimmer than the chunky Volks SD10 girls, especially). Over the years I've taken a lot of tucks in the backs of pants and moved a lot of snaps to make Volks-sized clothes fit my CH girls better.

Another place I find slimmer-fitting clothes is ttya.com, though their jeans can be a bit long in the leg.

Also, if you like her style, Michele Hardy's outfits (she sells as mhquilt on eBay) always seem to fit my CH crew like a dream.

 

Thanks for the tip! My New Years resolution is to spend more time with her. I opened her box this past weekend and found clothes moths in there, which was so alarming that I made the resolution to never neglect her again. She is off to a face up and I am excited to see her come to life.

Thanks! I noticed that she is slimmer than I had thought because my Musedoll clothes fit her ver loosely, but I couldn't tell which company would be the best fit.

 

I guess I am remembering wrong- it seemed to me my Customhouse girls were a bit on the larger side! Not my old one, which is the old body, but my Cebee from three or four years ago.

 

Hi guys, I would also like to switch out my girl's feet for high heel feet. Now that Custom House is no more, what the best place to find the right size and good resin match for the old CH normal skin?

 

[MENTION=14195]cirquemom[/MENTION] - That's so interesting! Larger in comparison to what? I've never seen the new body, do you have any pics? Or comparison pics, if I'm lucky?
[MENTION=57137]laurelvere[/MENTION] - I'm not sure if this will be helpful for you, but I accidentally purchased some Volks WS resin from 2006. It was a 90-95% match to my Customhouse NS resin from 2004. I wasn't the first owner of either so I'm not sure how much yellowing had occurred on each doll, but I put the Volks head on the Customhouse body and it worked rather well - so well that my friend adopted him! It was pretty serendipitous.

 

If you remind me, I'll dig around in my spare parts box and see what I have. I might have some CH NS high heeled feet. I can't remember if they sent them, and I never use HH feet. I'm in the middle of a massive remodel right now but remind me in a couple of days. If I have some you can just have them for postage.

 

Lolita, I'm not sure if this is what you wanted to see...but here is a photo of my 2 CH girls with phase 1 & phase 2 bodies.


Both are on the petite SD side & small busted. I put Sia (on the left) on the older CH body, which has simpler hands. It is a little bit shorter than the "newer" body she came with. And Choa (on the right) is using that newer body. It has double jointed arms, a slightly fuller bust, & nicely sculpted hands. Since Choa looks more mature than Sia to me, I decided she got the more mature looking body which means they both have slight resin variations between head & body. X0
But size wise, they are both smaller than my SD's ...not as skinny in the waist as my DOT Shall...but when I was working on a project for Shall last winter, Choa ended up dressed as she inherited each of the pieces I made too short the first time thru! Gah, that really wasn't the plan to begin with!! Choa on her phase 1 body looks almost as tall as these short 57cm SD girls in this photo but she's standing on a thicker stand to do so. They all look about the same body wise, until you go to make them a corset!

And she's not as skinny as my Notdoll body which is another petite SD. An outfit I made specific to Choa has to be pinned in back when Aoife wears it. Dressing BJDs, I use lots of pins to adjust things! But everything Choa has worn either I've made or bought second hand so I can't say where to check for best sizing. Maybe the SD10 sizes would work best? I have an outfit I made for my Volks Nono SD10 that I'm thinking of dressing Sia in soon, because I think the colors will be nice on her, and because I can adjust the size a bit as needed but I'm afraid that still doesn't help the clothes shopping conversation!

 

Thanks for that tip. I do love Dollheart clothes. In your experience, do Dollheart shoes fit old CH girls as well? Dollheart lists their shoes at 6.6cm, which seems somewhat smaller than standard SD feet size.

 

Yes, I've found that Dollheart shoes are usually good, and so are the various Chinese/Taiwanese brands (releaserain, mimiwoo, Nalisinko, rRabit). The good thing about shoes is that if they're just a little oversized, stuffing the toes with part of a cotton ball or a little clump of tissue works just fine.

And, cirquemom, if you have CH heeled feet, that would be really exciting! I've never heard of CH making HH feet, though I'll admit that my CH knowledge is earlier-bodies rather than later.

Cthulhu, I hadn't thought about Notdoll bodies in ages! They're closer to Dollstown Elf and the original Shinydoll Thaasa I bodies, aren't they? I have a vague memory of swapping clothes among those three when I had them.

 

cirquemom, thanks for that offer! I would gladly pay the postage for those feet if you happen to have them.

Cthulhu, those are actually really helpful pictures for me. I think I actually have the newer body because the hands look more complicated. I hope that discovery doesn't change the Dollheart clothes fit much now that I'm totally hooked on some of Dollheart's outfits...

 

laurelvere, the size difference shouldn't be a problem for you as the proportional difference will still be petite compared to most SD girls.
I think the newer hands are prettier, now that I've seen them! Hand sculpts are a big factor for me in deciding how madly in love I am with a doll. X0
Cynthia in FlintHills, my 2 CH girls are still larger than my "teenagers", the Notdoll body is thinner & a cm. shorter while the DT elf body is even shorter, about 53cm.
I made this outfit for Choa, starting with a white dress I bought in the mp that I added elastic to the full sleeves then made the vest, skirt & cinch belt.

When she quit wearing it, Aoife {June on the Notdoll body} snapped it right up. And while I could overlap the skirt to fit, the cinch belt needed a big tuck in the back to work. But around here, that's the secret to getting things to fit a variety of dolls...plenty of safety pins for making things looser or tighter as needed! ;0

Several years ago, I fell in love with a Musedoll Ciel head in the mp. Once she was here I started studying resin matches & petite, less mature SD bodies hoping to find one for the look I imagined for her. In the end, Ciel's resin tone drove me to distraction & I finally sold her. But, in the process I discovered the CH dolls & ended up with Choa, and the June/Notdoll combo doll. SO at least Ciel helped me to find other young ladies for my collection! X0

 

The doll in my avatar is a CeeBee wearing an 8/9 wig and it fits perfectly.

 

@cthulhu what a coincidence! My other doll is a Musedoll La Siesta Ciel head on a Dollmore body. The resin doesn't match at all and it is, likewise, driving me crazy. I tried to contact Musedoll for a girl body, but Ciel told me that she has stopped the SD production, which is a huge bummer.

Well, I sent off Cebee's head for a face up. Unfortunately, my husband mailed the package for me and he did not ask for tracking even though it is an international package. She may just be lost to the winds, but hopefully not.

 

laurelvere, that is too funny. At least you settled on a body for poor miss Ciel at your house (She will just have to wear high necked clothes). And I had a similar problem with a box last week...but, it only had to get to KS & it made it yesterday. What a relief when I heard it had arrived!!! Yikes, so sorry it happened on an international shipment. Best of luck on Cebee traveling safely.

 

[MENTION=37309]cthulhu[/MENTION] that is exactly what I have done. I covered Ciel in boy clothes because I can't stand the sight of her mismatched chest.

I am counting the days until I hear back from my face up artist. Until then, all plans to acquire new clothes and wigs are now on hold.

 

Hi guys, now that my girl is off for her international makeover, I am focusing on her body. I realized that I may have purchased the new CH basic because of her hands. Her body is full of seams and strung very tightly. I can barely get her to bend her legs! Her head is attached with an O ring instead of an S hook, and it was so tight that it took my husband and me five minutes to get the head off (with the help of an industrial grade hook, no less). Her feet are attached with these weird metal clips that you commonly see on lanyards.

Is this you guys' experience with the new CH body? I want to try fixing these problems, but I don't even know where to really start. I would love to hear your experiences since I have none!

 

Hi there- just saw this. I did find some feet, not sure if they are custom house or not- they are not an exact match to my old customhouse body and didn't try them against the newer one. But you can have them if you want. If she is going to wear boots or stockings the difference won't show anyway. PM me if you want them and I'll just pop them into the mail to you.

 

I remember some company using the lanyard clips. I think they did it because they were thin. I would restring her with better elastic and s-hooks. There is no reason that a 60 cm doll should be strung that tight. I would recommend Volks elastic. It has lots of stretch. Leeke's is good also. Dollmore's works fine in their dolls and they have a free shipping offer on ALL orders this month so that is a good source right now! Both are in the "For Custom" section. The elastic is under "Tool for Custom" and the hooks under "Steel bar＆Hook".

 

My Choa from 2006(?) was very very tightly strung and they used lanyard style lobster clasps. It was definitely a two person operation to take her head off! But I like my dolls tightly strung for the most part, and the elastic relaxes eventually, so I never changed it.

 

Hi guys, I just got my first peek of my girl's new faceup. I'm really excited!! However, I am no longer sure what sculpt she is. I had initially thought she was a Cebee, but the more I look at her, the less she lookes like Cebee. Maybe I am just looking at her for too long...

 

Hmmm, her eye shape doesn't look like Ceebee. Maybe Sia? It's been so long since I've looked at all of the CH girls together. She's got a wonderful faceup though!

 

Can you post a picture of her?
For some reason that flicker link is not coming through, just takes me to a general flickr page.
Here's my Cebee, if that's any help.

 

Hmmm....my Sia has much bigger eyes, unless they were modified (I did buy her second hand)...


Actually, her eyes remind me a lot more of my Choa, tho they have different mouths.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f56/LionHeartHats/Bjd/Josiah and Starlet Shall/009_zps57043e1a.jpg
Doesn't look like the same wide face & pointy chin...
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f56/LionHeartHats/Bjd/Josiah and Starlet Shall/002.jpg

And I'm not a long time CH collector with enough knowledge to help. Who ever she is, she is gorgeous with the new faceup.

 

You might also browse thru this database...
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...e-60cm-Ladies/page2?highlight=Custom+House+CH

On page 2 aeryn posted a photo of her Ai Basic Cebee which looks more like your girl than cirquemom's so perhaps they changed the sculpt?

 

Let me try to paste the image. This is my first time working with photobucket in the forum, so I apologize in advance for being a little rusty. I did go through the database, but eventually I realized that I just can't be sure.

 

For fun, check out these new Yahoo!Japan auctions for some long-ago limited/unique CustomHouse boys:

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e154672800
http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d165007361
http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m135707571
http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m135707341

Those faces...

 

[MENTION=57137]laurelvere[/MENTION] - This might be the first thing you did, but did you look inside the head to see if they put the sculpt name in there? My Siwon's head has "SIWON" carved inside. n___n;;

Speaking of Siwon, she got to dress up with her friends today~

 

Aaaah, the good old days. They have been well cared for. Thank you for great memories.....

Welcome back Valentine!!

 

Wow, $50 for a fullset Cyn?! That's amazing. And tempting.

 

No kidding, St. James! It's enough to make me wonder if I don't need another CH doll... I don't know if I can stop at just one! I'm not sure I recognize all the sculpts, can anyone tell me who all of them are? I'm really bad at figuring out which sculpt is which. Like, dismally bad.

 

I think the first one is Han from one of the limited to five school series (says idrisfynn over my shoulder since she owned a School Cyn), second is Jun, third is Cyn, fourth is also Jun. Remember when Jun was one of the most mature and sinister looking boys around?

 

*waves!*

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e154672800 --> Young Rock

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d165007361 --> Glory Age - "Thunder"

http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m135707571 --> Nanggilima - the Witcha (working photo)

http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m135707341 --> Limited Jun

The last one is a little different than the website photos, such as the eye color and some outfit details, but I think it's probably right? It's always so fun to look at all those listings and remember... I hope someone brings one (or more!) of these guys home.

(I personally recommend a Jun... although mine was anything but sinister! XD)

 

You guys are seriously the best! I'm so glad there are experts on CH (or at least their sculpts) still around even though the company as we knew it isn't. Thank you for helping me, I'm a bit ashamed to admit I'd never have figured it out on my own. n__n;; Sometimes I can't even recognize pictures of sculpts I own already, or are even sitting right next to me. I love those Jun boys, I need a little sinister in my life.

 

Hi, I need help. I've been trying to find the measurements for both the Ai girls and boys. Do you happen to have any information on that? Thanks!

 

Soooooooo late to this party (having given up DoA for Lent . . . ), but isn't that the Forest of Ai Jun? I'm pretty sure that's the Forest of Ai outfit (because I have one), and the faceup looks right, too. If he had the grey/white fur wig, I'd be 100% convinced of my theory.

Anyway, BIG congratulations to everybody who pounced on one of these treasures!

 

Here is Claudia, my Cebee:


More face-up practice! by Ashbet, on Flickr

Profile pic.

Her album on Flickr.

I did her face-up, although I am NOT an expert -- I should really wipe and redo it, but I like her sassy look.

It's a little hard to tell because of this face-up, but Cebee DEFINITELY has parted lips and little teeth. Laurelvere, I'm not sure of the identity of your pretty freckled girl (love her!), but I'm fairly sure that she's not a Cebee.

I hope that further research reveals who she is -- CH made some lovely dolls in their time, and it's always nifty to know the history of dolls in your collection!

This thread is a real pleasure to go through -- always nice to see people enjoying their classic dolls!

-- A

 

Ashbet, once again I am in awe of your collection & taste in dolls
Claudia is such a beauty! As a newer student of the older dolls, I am still curious to learn more about the mystery sculpt & see who will finally have the info.

 

A guess on the mystery sculpt . . . could she be one of the later CH sculpts, maybe Lubi or Iriya? There's a softness in her face that looks like the late CH style to me, somehow.

Ashbet, Claudia is a stunner, and I especially love that wig!

 

laurelvere, could your sculpt be Rock? I just saw one for sale recently and they look alike.

UPDATE: Gomene, the sculpt looks similar except for the bottom of the eyes. Beautiful, though. Here's a link to a beautiful example.

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...e-Artist-(CH-Rock)?highlight=Customhouse+rock

 

There's definitely a family resemblance, especially around the overbite It seems to me as if Rock's eye holes are quite a bit bigger than the mystery sculpt's, though, and Rock's mouth is wider. (I'm looking at my own Rock right now for reference.)

I'm still convinced that laurelvere has one of the post-shakeup CH sculpts, though I never have been able to recognize those individual faces with any confidence.