Doll of a different colour? Do they exist? Can they be made?

[MeltedCaramel]

Now, before everyone gets up in arms, I mean do they exist in a mass-produced way from a manufacturer. Has Obitsu ever thought to offer their dolls in anything but "anime pallid"? I adore many characters from different ethnic backgrounds, but I have no idea where to begin.

Take Korra from Avatar: The Legend of Korra. She's not exactly my speed but she does have the same skin colour as a (male) character I'd dearly love to make. I'm fairly sure I've seen more than one doll made of Korra, but, is she fully customized as in someone spent two hours detailing her body with an airbrush and sealant, or do they actually offer dolls with different skin colours on the Japanese/Korean/etc end of the BJD spectrum (I know Hot Toys offers up a bunch of weird skin colours that never quite seem to match the generic head they give you with the doll but would be /perfect/ for something else, that sort of deal.).

So...can anyone help me out here? And if the only option is using pastels on the face and airbrushing the body, does anyone have and tips or tricks (or tutorials), especially for those pesky places like the joints, where I imagine you can just hear the paint job slowly, agonizingly scraping off as your Korra(?) moves her arm for another to-be-photoshopped water-bending action shot?

[SetsunaKou]

In a way, yes and no.

Volks and Obitsu both offered a 'tan' of sorts but there are several obstacles.

Volks has a tan, but since theyre discontinuing most of their 1/6 line, it's more and more difficult to find what you need in a particular mold. However, their Neo Guy and Neo Goh Guy bodies/heads do come in 'guy' skin which is a near match to their tan. Their tan/guy color is a very light tan. So if you don't mind a light tan, they could work for you.

Obitsu only offers tan at special times and limited. Plus, only female bodies, as far as I know. (I could be wrong, but I've only ever seen females.) They did offer 2 types of tan---marrone *light* and coconuts *dark*. The marrone could match the Volks tan/guy skintones quite well. I've used it on several occasions with Volks heads in tan, particularly for Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon. ^^ They work together really well!

Main problem is that Obitsu hasn't offered their tan skins in a few years now. Japanese custom dollmakers/buyers seem to prefer ghostly 'pale' white to tan, so the demand isn't there for tan doll bodies/parts as much. I do NOT like the unrealistic white skin! The characters all look dead! I mean, for some sickly or very pale charas, the white skin is good, but for the most part, the normal and tan skins are more called for in characterization, so it's unfortunate Obitsu decided not to continue offering their gorgeous tans!

I do have a few of the coconuts tan heads in stock (anime style and realistic) and one of each type of body (marrone and coconuts) but both are female 27cm sized. If you want me to photograph them next to the Volks tan and guy skin bodies, let me know and I'll snap a few photos for you.

None of the tans are really dark, but some are definitely Avatar/Korra possibilities. ^^

[Siead]

if you can find a jointed body you like, you would only have to tint your obitsu head of choice to match. the barbie fashonistas, for example, are jointed half decently. or the Liv brand dolls.

[DollyKim]

It would be far easier to color a soft Obitsu head to match a body of choice. Unless you find a Liv somewhere Barbie and other Mattel dolls are going to be the easiest to find. Check the Disney store and see if they still have Pocahontas, she's the most "tan" doll I've seen in quite awhile.

I have Volks and Obitsu tan, they aren't that dark.

[Geektopian]

Like Setsuna mentioned, Obitsu has made tan bodies in both a "coconut" and "marrone" color. Unfortunately, they were made in limited numbers and only one female body type.

Emory from Junky Spot (who was involved in bringing the marrone to market) explained that darker skin tones simply don't sell well in Asia. In fact, the Obitsu "white" seems to out-sell the already pale "flesh". Since the Asian market makes up most of the sales of these dolls, we don't see many darker skin tones in this segment of the hobby.

[richila]

You can still find Liv dolls on Ebay. I used an Alexis body on my custom Clawdeen head and it is a great match.
Dollmore has a nice dark skin-judging by the online pictures in ABS
http://www.dollmore.net/shop/step1.php?number=8898&b_code=B20090304061441
If you are looking for resin dolls, Bobobie, Resin Soul, Planet Doll, Lumedoll, Jamie Show and Soom all have different shades of tan in 1/6 scale female body. Only Planet Doll and Lumedoll offer males in 1/6, as far as I know.

[Geektopian]

Sorry, I had to cut my last reply short....

Something else to consider are the Cy Girl type bodies. While the actual Takara/BBI figures are now OOP and over-priced (IMO), there are clones and/or close facsimiles that should work just fine. Although one manufacturer, under the TTL/Toys City brand, has done a number of female figures and loose bodies in this style, you can also find similar version on eBay from various Hong Kong action figure sellers. These are normally sold in a variety of skin tones, although finding matching heads can be more of a challenge. The search parameters are Action Figures-Military/Adventure-1/6-Female.

Keep in mind though (and you may already know this) that the proportions are different from the slim, long legged anime style of the Obitsu/Volks/Super Action Jenny bodies, so swapping clothes between them can be pretty hit or miss.

[Android raptor]

It's not a perfect science, but dolls can also be dyed. Most people use RIT dye, which is something i don't get as that method is notorious for not soaking into part evenly and warping them. What I've used, and I don't know why more people don't use, is vinyl dye. That's how I turned this asshole from Volks "tan" (which really isn't all that tan btw) to more of what he's supposed to be. Granted it does kind of scrape off from his joints (which I think might be a problem with the brand of vinyl dye I used, which was Meltonian), however it's not nearly as bad as it sounds since that's pretty easy to cover up with clothes and occasional touch ups.

[MeltedCaramel]

OOooh, my head is swimming, I'm sick, I apologize in advance if I sound a little off my rocker.

Full disclosure: I'm looking for male bodies in a different colour. Like I said, Korra's not my particular speed, but her skin tone was a great example of the same type of skin tone I was in the market for on a guy. Eventually I'd probably have need to make a female doll with the same type of skin tone (I'm not liking this whole overtone of "only pale is pretty" that seems to permeate the market. I myself actually have skin like those anime pale dolls, but I enjoy ethnicity with my dolls.)

SetsunaKou, if you would be so generous as to take those pictures it will be yet another thing I owe you for. (XD, you need to PM me back so I can figure out how much of the piggy bank I've gotta smash (i.e. sell off) to commission you! <3)

Lumedoll's 1/6 resin dolls have some gorgeous colours in "bronze" and "ebony". Like actually, almost close to what I'm looking for, but the price tags make me wince a bit. For those interested though, check out the bronze and ebony guys on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90882719@N ... /lightbox/

They just don't solve wanting smaller 1/6 scale dolls like Obitsus in the same colour scheme. ^^;;

AndroidRaptor:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21398541@N ... /lightbox/ <---What is with this Disney High phenomenon? I just saw it the other day!! But if you don't mind me asking, is he a full custom? (I really like him. XD) I've heard of dying dolls before, and this seems as if it was a complete success, and actually close to the colour I'm looking for. Seriously though, how did you make amazing gijinka!Scar who has a preference for women's clothing? XDD

[Android raptor]

Thanks he started out as a plain ol' tan Volks EBN that I then dyed, rooted, and faceuped myself. So yeah, he's custom as fuck. Like I said the dye has rubbed off on his joints, but that's easily fixed by either covering it up with clothes or touching it up with the leftover dye.

As a side note, I wouldn't say he prefers women's clothing, just that he simply doesn't give a fuck and wears what he wants to wear regardless of who social norms dictate it should be for. I've dressed him in some pretty masculine shit as well (my flickr also has him in a military thing I cobbled together).

Re: Disney High. I don't know and don't participate in any RPs like that (though I've read and enjoyed some fanfiction), so I'm not quite sure. This guy is actually a what I did for the last D&D campaign I played. He's basically a Scar who was forcefully banished before he got murderous, who also happens to be a shape shifter with magic abilities (think the lion equivalent of a kitsune). He's still a gigantic selfish douche though, and he knows it. He's super fun to play