Dollieh Sanctuary

Hello!

So I've been thinking a lot about aesthetic and posability a lot lately. As someone in the BJD hobby, that's usually one of the concerns I have aside from what size or color to pick. Then I got to wondering: are there any other types of dolls that combine this? Maybe, silicone ones? Similar in a vein to Dollfie Dreams, but casted in one piece. Is there a market of any kind for these kind of dolls?

The problems with silicon dolls are as follows:

THE BIG ONE: they are always sticky. Some come with a powder to dust on them to prevent that, but the powder wears off quickly, and they attract dust as if they were dust magnets.

If you thought vinyl stained easily, well, silicon stains just looking at it.

Internal skeletons are often wire, and break, and there is no way to fix that.

They get cut easily, and there is no way to fix that.

They are gorgeous, but IMHO more trouble than they are worth.

I've never seen one in person, but a couple of years back Emory (Junky Spot) has some available. They were very expensive, fragile and difficult to deal with from all the reviews I heard. He never ordered them again. It's possible that methods to create them have improved since then, otherwise most people seem to consider them as overpriced display dolls.

I don't mean to dissuade you if that's a doll type you are interested in, just be forewarned that there are some severe disadvantages that come with the lovely aesthetics of silicone dolls.

I've ranted on these before. At one time I was very interested in acquiring one of these type of dolls. They are very beautiful and there is an allure to no joint seams. But the extremely high price tag meant I had to wait and while I waited I did some research.
I have several Dollfie Dream replacement parts (busts) made of the same material and I can confirm all the negative attributes mentioned above and a few more.
Pronounced mold parting seams: YES (Have the seams trimmed at the factory unless you have the dexterity of a robotic neurosurgeon.)
Dirt magnets: YES (Cleans easily under running water but reverts back to a dirt magnet the second the water's gone.)
Stain magnets: YES (Fast and deep, the material is very porous.)
Tears easily: YES (I think there is a special adhesive for repairing the material but it really just stops (slows) further tearing and does really nothing to make the break look any better.)
Expensive: YES (Very)
Most joints will take on a "Gumby" appearance when bent as the material does not compress like human flesh. At 90 degrees or more bent joints look more like curved tubes.
The material is dense, making it heavy, as heavy or heavier than the equivalent mass of solid resin. I can't imagine these dolls ever standing without a doll stand or something to lean against.
The material is also somewhat temperature sensitive, becoming softer and stickier at higher (80+ degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures. When it is soft it tears more easily.
The internal skeletons vary from one manufacturer to another. Some are robust like Obitsu skeletons, others have wires with very simple (fragile) joints. A big problem with this is it is nearly impossible to know exactly where a joint is and how it is supposed to bend. You can assume the joints are where they normally are, knees, hips, elbows, etc. But you will never really know exactly how that joint hinge is lined up so you can move the parts in the correct plane without twisting the hinge point. If you are coming from resin dolls you will have to learn a whole new discipline for bending the doll's joints. One small slip up can lead to a broken internal part, which can cause a tear in the skin. Then suddenly your $800 beauty looks like she has a permanent compound fracture.

I don't know about the larger scales, but the new 1/6 Phicen bodies with the stainless steel internal skeletons have had good reviews. I was really impressed with the posing pics on OneSixthWarrior, at any rate!

these sound awful. does anybody have any pictures of these dolls?

VirgoVertigo wrote:these sound awful. does anybody have any pictures of these dolls?

http://www.artetokio.com/old/english/products.html
They are very pretty and there is a certain allure to the lack of joint breaks, but...

For that level of smooth detail I usually just go with non-sticky figures that sit on a shelf and look pretty. Though 99% of mine are men with giant swords, I think there might be a girl or two somewhere. LOL

they're so beautiful ... it really stinks that they're not so great. oh well, i've always liked the look of the joint breaks anyway!