People throw around terms like "cheap" or "inexpensive" bjds... and it's true that there are bjds that are LESS expensive, mostly coming out of China. But these dolls are still only relatively cheap/inexpensive, and price doesn't always determine quality (although it can be related). Anyway, there is totally room for less expensive bjds. They still aren't something you can spend your spare change on, though... unless you have several hundred dollars burning a hole in your pocket (and hey, it seems that people DO think that this much money is like spare change, but I'm old and hundreds of dollars is nothing to throw around, in my book!).
Anyway, I have to admit that I bought this doll mostly because he was 'only' a couple hundred dollars. But I'd always wanted a Drow doll, and solid black resin at that price... VERY hard to resist. Quality-wise... he's definitely not tip-top, but all the parts are there. His sculpt is 'okay' only (neck seems too thin, chest sculpt a bit odd, head sculpt a bit generic and not refined, his pointy ears are huge and placed a bit too far back and too low)... but such aesthetic opinions are nothing concrete. There are known problems with the wrist joint, which is oval-shaped rather than round, so movement there is limited. He's a bit clunky, but then there are little problems with all dolls, even those at three-times the price.
That said, I'm not sure I all that attached to this guy. He's kind of cool, but I'm not in love with his features and details. However--I got him because you can't really see features that well on a black doll, so it's not as if these things are all that obvious. I guess I'll see how it goes, bonding-wise.
I love making characters, though, and picking out names. There are lists of Drow names on the internet, which is so cool! I found some I like, that sound good and don't seem too odd. That was fun.
#61
NAME: Valdrin Rilynt'tar--(Drow-type name: black, dark, darkness-rogue, stealer; surname--House of, victory.
COMPANY: Mirodoll (China based co.)
SIZE: Large. 68cm
HEAD SCULPT: Head 01 (Large, poiint-eared).
BODY SCULPT: 68 cm boy body.
SKIN TONE: Black.
MAKEUP (Faceup): Me.
PURCHASED FROM: Mirodoll.
PURCHASE DATE: December 18, 2013.
ARRIVAL DATE: Jan. 6, 2014.
CAME WITH: Nothing (pillows, box).
Mirodoll Head 01 in Black.
68cm Body in Black with drawstring pillow-bag.
Arms hold a pose. Weird stringing--s-hook has a ton of knots! I think there are two separate loops, one for each leg, PLUS the arms on that hook!
I tried to mod the head a bit--sanding the cheeks and the brows. This wasn't a great idea as the resin is slightly lighter underneath the surface. Polishing it up helped, but then it just got very shiny. MSC tended to look a bit globby on the dark resin. Tried some Testors Dulcote which worked OK, but still tried to keep the layers as few and light as possible.
Painted the eyebrows and eyelashes. Tried to tinker with some blushing, but it really didn't show up. Only put some black on the lips and a slight semi-gloss, but that's it. I'm not sure if it's look way too basic... will have to think about it...
Eyes are 14mm purple Everpurple urethane, flat-back. The eye-well isn't great with any sort of dome and most 14mm eyes leave gaps. This pair barely fits.
Would like the eyes to look lighter... these are pretty light-colored, but still look dark when in.
Outfit is Dale Rae Designs. Made for 60cm, so his arms hang out a bit, but it's still pretty cool on him.
The black resin isn't too hard to photograph, although at some angles and exposures it can be too dark and not show any features but the white paint. It would be much harder if there was also a ws doll in the same photo, though! I did have to tinker with the photos a bit in Photoshop... but at the right settings, it was fine without any touch-ups.