Wednesday Addams Obitsu, & New Obitsus [page 2]

[MeltedCaramel]

Hey Werepuppy!!! Sorry for the late reply, my health has been especially bad lately and I'm having trouble balancing everything, but I've had this page tagged for the last couple days as a reminder to reply. Sorry!!!

First off, they look adorable, even if Ahim is sans-eyes at the moment. I love the contrast of his bad-ass work outfit with her soft and frilly look. Do you plan on giving her the "bigger eyes" or more slanted eyes for a mature look? I know the decal sheets offer both. Also, just as a suggestion, I know you took the name from an anime, but I'd perhaps suggest writing her name more phonetically, like Ayem or even Iem (this one really forces people to pronounce it the correct way) because Ahim looks VERY Middle Eastern written down and is likely to be pronounced the way I did or as "Ah-him". To be clear, I'm just making a suggestion based on lots of experience with weird spelling and names that look nothing like how they sound. (Also, I'm pretty sure Ahim isn't even a true Japanese name. I'd have to check with my translator friend but I'm pretty sure it's one of those common Japanese "we made it up and it sounded good" names. )

I knew you were going to glue that wig!!! It's a HUGE pain in the behind to do anything but glue it. As for it running down onto his jacket...err....you should have de-robed him (general rule: adding or taking things away on a doll should usually be done while the doll is out of their outfit so they stay nice and spiffy) but if you give me a close up shot of the damage I can assess it and possibly offer some sort of solution to it. I have a family member that's sort of...well, bad with the super glue (she superglued her fingers together and had to wait overnight to get nail polish remover because no stores were open in the rural area we were vacationing in!) so I have some experience with it. But as for wig gluing, in case you need to do this in the future, my general practice is to have JUST the head removed from the body, and I put a decent sized dollop in the middle of the head, push the wig down and quickly get it into place, and once that's dried I methodically pull the cap elastic down and glue each side at a time, ensuring it's exactly how I want it to be. Also, you want to find super glue or jewelry glue that's a little bit viscous, so it doesn't drip all over the place.

OH!! As for the shirt part, I understand about the waistcoat (I call those vests have I been stupid all along?) showing off his markings, but for dolls a lot of owners have a knitting/yarn/crochet needle (the right name is escaping me, but they have blunt hooks on the ends) because it's natural, just like our clothes do, for doll clothes as they pile on to become stuck up inside sleeves and whatnot, so we use the knitting device to reach up and catch the snagged sleeve/pantleg/whatever and pull it out to the proper length. Sometimes this is the only way to properly clothe a doll with some of the more "built up" outfits (like suits ^^;; ) that have multiple layers. They're super cheap and you only need one, so I suggest grabbing one at the craft store sometime!! They come in handy.

When you're ready to get a custom suit done for him, PM me with your budget and I'll point you to the right seamstress. I know of three that I have personally gotten work from, one is expensive ($70 for my outfit) but very quick (she got my custom done in a week) but if your outfit requires special touches, she's not the gal. The next one is my personal friend and costs about the same (A suit would probably be around $65-70) and honestly, her work is good enough if not BETTER than the official stuff that gets put out for the dolls. I'm not saying that as her friend, we became friends AS she worked on my custom outfit, not before. The third is decent quality, better than the first but way below my friend (her stuff can't be beat as far as I'm concerned, and again, I'm not saying that as a friend but as a customer who has ordered four customs from her now, all of them hard-to-replicate anime outfits and she knocks it out the park every single time), but their work is the cheapest($35-45 usually), though it might take awhile as they generally have a queue and they're both students so ask where in line you are if you choose that one and don't want to wait three months.

As for Nikolai....wow!!! He looks awesome!!! Haha, people on this board always seem to be mugging Ken for his shoes, I have to laugh at that. What Ken doll did you mug? I'm surprised at the quality of the boots. Also...I take it you meant Rule!63? (I'm not calling you out on a typo, I want to make sure this isn't some weird Monster High secret club thing that I don't know about since I'm only on the peripheral of the fandom.) And honestly, between you and me (and anyone else reading this ) I'm not the fondest of Draculaura either. I think it might be the voice actress and the cutesy attempt by making her hate blood while all of the other MH gals display more traditional attributes of their heritage/adaptation.

I'd love to see your other CAM creations even if they only have stock materials. You're gathering quite the collection of finished or mostly-finished dolls!! I've got to buckle down and at least do the faceup on Alois so I can do my friend's custom outfit proud!! But the factory faceup stained the vinyl (I'm using a spare Ciel head so he fits in with Sebastian, Ciel, and eventually my second Sebastian is being turned into Claude), so I essentially have to break out the heavy artillery of doll cleaning materials, Remove-Zit, which I need to slather on the entire darn head and then make sure I take it off the next day. Definitely not fun.

Hope to hear from you soon!!

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

OH!! As for the shirt part, I understand about the waistcoat (I call those vests have I been stupid all along?)

It's the two nations separated by a common language thing

Vests to people in the UK are sleeveless Ts, like a tank top.

So when I was a lot younger I got really confused the first time I came across people wearing their vests over their shirts and deciding to wear pants instead of a skirt (pants over here are knickers/underpants - the outwear are trousers)

[MeltedCaramel]

Ahhhh, I figured it might be something like that ShortNCuddlyAm! Thank you for giving me a clearer idea though!! I always thought "waistcoat" was more of an outdated term for a long jacket that tied at the waist, like a trench coat. *Cough*boyamIstupid*Cough*

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Not stupid in the least!

Oh - that's the other one I forgot to mention, suspenders and braces! We use suspenders to hold our stockings up, rather than our trousers - which we use braces for (as well as straightening our teeth occasionally). It's odd how so much of the language has stayed more or less the same between the two countries, but random things like that have changed.

[MeltedCaramel]

It is quite strange how everything is the same and yet different. Different slang, different names for the same things, yet essentially the same language. Hah, my English friend had a good giggle at my expense when she mentioned her girlfriend and I had to ask if she meant actual girlfriend or how Americans tend to use the word as slang for their friends because I didn't want an accidental faux paus down the road. She had to explain that that slang term didn't exactly make it across the pond. Actually, being from an Italian family I find a lot of people don't understand the slang terms that pop out of my mouth, and they don't believe me when I tell them that "capisci?" ("capisce" in Americanized slang, but it's correctly pronounced "Cah-peeh-shee") was a legitimate threat when I was younger and misbehaving. I blame The Sopranos for making it seem like a movie quote!

[werepuppy]

@ShortandCuddlyAm You bring up a really good point about the changes in the slang of the language! I mean, it can be very different within England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales itself - 'deadly' means something really cool, according to my Irish cousins. And I'm sure there's a few bits of slang that I use that you wouldn't, being from England. (I'm curious how 'near' to London you are now. Are we talking one of the boroughs, or somewhere like Essex?) I must say, it is nice to see someone else from the UK in the hobby. I always feel a bit alone in my area, I know there's meant to be groups, but there's no way of finding them. Google searches tend to prove unsuccessful. I must try harder.

@MC Ahim will now be spelt as Ayem, as my Scottishness can't be denyed I'm sorry it's taken me a bit to reply, my health isn't the greatest either. Actually, part of the reason I've been getting more into the hobby is actually as a sort of ... way to help me. Anyway, Ayem has some power herself, but she doesn't use it, or ... rather there's conditions to her using it. I'm not entirely sure, she's not being the clearest on the matter.

Gluing the wig was the only option in the end, it was driving me mad. Unfortunately, my camera is being a pest as the moment, so I can't give you any pictures, but I will admit, it's only noticeable if you look very close at the collar. Thank you for the advice about the crochet hook, I'll be sure to look into it. I'm not sure when I'll have the free money for his custom suit, but at the moment he isn't entirely adverse to staying in his work clothes. They've still to be introduced to the rest of the dolls, so he doesn't know if there'll be a threat. Also, it probably doesn't help that I'm considering using the Obitsu 11cm body to make a doll version of Matilda. ... I really like the book.

Oh gods, it was the last Prince Ken doll that came out, sometime last year. I can't really remember the name of the guy - but he was ballet based because his legs were painted grey to represent the ballet tights. And yes, I did mean Rule!63. Apologies, I didn't realise I'd misspelt it. The interesting thing is that the character who is Nikolai's parent (the character I applied Rule!63 to) isn't all that fond of real blood either. However, the show did have the character go on a blood bender after turning someone because they became addicted to the taste of real blood, and had to through a 'revamp' process to readjust to soya blood.

There will be pictures of my other CAM dolls when my camera decides to play nice. There's only really a few 'customs' in my collection, I'm usually very happy with stock dolls as they are, maybe with an occasional slight wardrobe change. That being said, I do adore what I have, and find myself very grateful and lucky to have such a collection. And its nice to be able to find lovely people to share with.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

@Werepuppy True - I used to work in a place that had an office in Belfast and it took me a while to work out some of their slang! As for where I live - it is one of the boroughs (Merton), but I have a Surrey address (and according to every black cab driver ever, it's not in London!) My accent is all over the place though as I grew up with me Nanna who still had a strong Sunderland accent and me aunt, who had a really theatrical "BBC English" (for want of a better description) accent. There's a few of us from/in the UK on here. Sadly - and probably obviously - the only groups I'm aware of are down south.

[MeltedCaramel]

Haha, languages are such a funny thing aren't they? People tell me I sound like a character from the Sopranos because I'm from PA, close to both Jersey and Philadelphia which both have extremely large Italian-American communities, and my family is all traditional Italian, so I have the Philly-Italian accent peppered with actual regional Italian slang that has been used in my household since...well, it's been passed down obviously! Even going two states away is like visiting another planet. My family vacationed in Maryland and we couldn't get over their accents and mannerisms, not to mention every time we spoke we'd get "Y'all aren't from 'round here are ya?" We felt like someone had branded our foreheads!!

werepuppy I'm glad you liked my suggestion for Ayem. Coming from an outside observer, it definitely flows more easily in your mind as the right sounds when it's spelled that way. Also, conditions to using her power? Sounds fascinating!! I want to know more about Morpheus and Ayem. (Hah, please tell me Morpheus makes a move on her! She seems to gentle and sweet and Morpheus seems like the kind of guy who would treat her like the princess she is!)

Gluing the wig was the only option in the end, it was driving me mad. Unfortunately, my camera is being a pest as the moment, so I can't give you any pictures, but I will admit, it's only noticeable if you look very close at the collar. Thank you for the advice about the crochet hook, I'll be sure to look into it. I'm not sure when I'll have the free money for his custom suit, but at the moment he isn't entirely adverse to staying in his work clothes. They've still to be introduced to the rest of the dolls, so he doesn't know if there'll be a threat. Also, it probably doesn't help that I'm considering using the Obitsu 11cm body to make a doll version of Matilda. ... I really like the book.

<-----Haha, I know all about those damn wigs. I figured that was going to be the solution since he's not meant to be a cosplay character but rather a one-off custom, so gluing the hair isn't exactly going to harm anything! The Obitsu head/wig combo seems designed to drive a sane person crazy, I swear. It happens no matter what shape head you buy too!!! <_________< The crochet hook comes in invaluable, trust me, especially when you start going down sizes, like you mentioned the 11cm body for Matilda. Those clothes usually require some finessing to get to sit right. Also, just so you know, it would be around $45 for a custom suit if you order from the one seamstress. She's very nice and I think she can more than handle a suit, especially if you're the one putting your own finishing touches on it.

As for Matilda...haha, I knew it, I think you're catching "custom fever". I started out thinking I was going to customize ONE doll, juuuuuuuuuust because. Fastforward two years and I've got a large collection of 12'' dolls, six customs in progress, and eight customs ordered. Once you realize it's possible to make characters that they don't offer but you REALLY WANT, it's hard to stop!!! X3

Oh gods, it was the last Prince Ken doll that came out, sometime last year. I can't really remember the name of the guy - but he was ballet based because his legs were painted grey to represent the ballet tights. And yes, I did mean Rule!63. Apologies, I didn't realise I'd misspelt it. The interesting thing is that the character who is Nikolai's parent (the character I applied Rule!63 to) isn't all that fond of real blood either. However, the show did have the character go on a blood bender after turning someone because they became addicted to the taste of real blood, and had to through a 'revamp' process to readjust to soya blood.

<----Ah, Mattel, the paragon of quality. *Snort* Grey legs. As for the spelling error, don't apologize!! I certainly make enough of my own. I just wanted to make sure "Ruke" wasn't something else since I know I've seen that name around in different places but can't quite recall where. Also, soya blood...that sounds really familiar....my brain isn't quite connecting all the dots but is there a character named Ivan in the show you're talking about? Also, the whole 'not drinking real and/or human blood' thing has become a common enough trope that it doesn't bother me, with Draculaura it may be the...ultra girly personality, or the weird lisp-that-pretends-its-an-accent, or...I don't know! I can't pinpoint the exact reason she rubs me the wrong way a bit.

There will be pictures of my other CAM dolls when my camera decides to play nice. There's only really a few 'customs' in my collection, I'm usually very happy with stock dolls as they are, maybe with an occasional slight wardrobe change. That being said, I do adore what I have, and find myself very grateful and lucky to have such a collection. And its nice to be able to find lovely people to share with.

<-----I'd love to see pics when your camera isn't acting up!! <3 And I'm usually happy with my dolls the way they are too, I'm glad to meet another person that seems to, and correct me if I'm wrong, but, well, my customs usually fill a niche where there IS no available character (or in once case the size-ratio is so ridiculously off between the two that I want to slap the toymakers). If there is a character available already? I love to scoop it up. My customs are usually expanding and/or creating where there is a gap.

Also, its lovely to have you on the board!!! <33

[werepuppy]

Ah, sorry again it's taken me so long to reply. Things have been a little hectic here, but today is a quiet day so I have a chance to do the replying thing.

@ShortNCuddlyAm Surrey? Oh dear, I hope the floods aren't affecting you!

@MC So far finding a crochet hook has been a hard thing to do, but I should be able to get into town soon enough and have a bigger selection of places to try. I understand what you mean about the obitsu heads and wigs. It really is frustrating!

Hehe, Matilda custom will need to wait for a long while though. First on the list of 'hobby related' priorities is getting my old bear repaired. I've had him all my life, and he's looking a bit worse for wear now. He's very dear to me, so I'd like to make sure he's got a good bit more time left in him.

Ugh, Mattel and quality. I got a Cerise and her hood is covered in little hole marks from those damn tags they insist on shoving through the back of the doll's head. She's okay to look at from the front, but I daren't turn her round, even from a good bit away I can see these holes.

The show did have a character called Ivan in the second series, he was the main character's uncle. The show's called Young Dracula. It's a CBBC show, but it's gotten progressively darker as it's went on and it's now in its 5th series and, well, there are a lot of moments when you go "we sure this is for kids?" In a good way. And yeah, I understand what you mean by Draculaura's personality, it does grate a bit.

And you're right. The customs are for when there isn't an already available doll of that character, or doll that can be easily modified into that character.

It's lovely to be here!! ^^

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

@Werepuppy Fortunately we're not affected (although it'd be an ideal excuse to buy a canoe or two...). Pretty much convinced that the grassy bit out back that passed for a back garden is now pretty much swamp though!