Studio Miscast Blog: doll

Showing posts with label doll. Show all posts

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Since purchasing my very first Smart Doll at Anime NYC in November, I have been dying to take Melody outside for photographs. Last weekend, the boyfriend and I got to hang out at the New Hope, PA train station and I got to put her telescopic stand to the test.

Jordan's a big train guy, so in the past few years, I've found myself getting pretty familiar with all sorts of steam and diesel engines. I've photographed my dolls with trains before, but this was my first time bringing a doll around a live steam train, however!

I really love Danny's concept and design of the telescopic stand, but I always wondered - did it actually work? Could you successfully hide it in photos?

The answer?

Oh yeah - the telescopic stand is sturdy enough to keep your doll steady and compact enough to hide behind one of their legs. Melody was perfectly balanced and I was able to get these shots of her on and near the tracks quickly before the train came through.

Since 2005, I've lugged around heavy resin dolls and more often than not, elected to risk balancing them on their own rather than deal with cumbersome stands and extra PhotoShop work. The SmartDoll telescopic stand is a breath of fresh air for a traveling doll photographer such as myself. I only wish I could get something similar for my other dolls!

Overall? I had a great time adventuring with Melody. I decided to name her Rinko and will changing up her styling a bit over the next few months. I have my eye on some fun option parts for her too - mostly a large bust part, option hands, and flat feet (please, Santa?).

Is a Smart Doll on your holiday wishlist too?

Saturday, June 24, 2017

The Unoa Lusis sculpt has always stuck with me through the years of doll collecting. It's something about the beautiful shape of her eyes, her button nose, and especially the dainty hands that sculptor Gentaro Araki is famous for.

As of this month, I've owned three Unoa Lusis dolls. All of them, the same character: Miss Reina Amura.

Reina's first incarnate was around 2011, during my second year of college. I had purchased a Unoa Sist, since they were much easier to find (and to some extent, cheaper) and a Lusis faceplate separately. I remember when I got her, I had my hair dyed the same color and I cut my bangs. We were twins. She was, in a small way, an extension of myself.

She actually made it to California with me when I moved there to continue school. Ultimately, somewhere along the way, tuition and rent got tight. I needed to eat. So I made the hard decision to let her go. Honestly, I was devastated and maybe am still, just a little.

This was long before the accessibility and reasonable prices of Unoas today. I can remember a time when a Lusis could easily go for $800 (or more). I never figured that I'd own her again... but then Unoalchemy came along. The first Unoa I snatched up again was Yusuke, a Sist boy (thank you, Unoalchemy!).

Later, I finally got Reina back - or so I thought. I adopted her on layaway from a friend who had recently gotten one from Unoalchemy too. I submitted my down payment. I did a little dance of joy. My friend (who is a complete saint) let me take her home early. She was blank, but we bonded. I bought her eyes and clothes. I dressed her up.

Then, my car died.

I had to give her up again. Handing her back over and cancelling that layaway was the hardest part. But, let's fast forward again almost half a year later.

While browsing Den of Angels, I came across a Lusis with a certain glam, a certain style that resonated with me. She was adorned in light, realistic freckles, with a dewy, glowing face-up and stunning back tattoos. I never thought Reina to have tattoos or freckles, but she was perfect. I honestly thought I had found the perfect vision of the character I had been missing for so long, even if both of them looked nothing alike.

There was really something about this particular doll, painted by Rianne, that stuck with me. Is she the same doll, just repainted? Maybe. My original Lusis had a Sist box and so does this one - so it's possible.

Long story short, I've come full circle back to a Lusis again, whose character seems stronger and more vibrant than ever. I'll have to share more of her story in depth, but for now, here are a few fun facts about Miss Reina Amura:

She greatly enjoys toys, dolls, and Gundam
Her favorite ice cream flavor is banana
She loves to learn new tech
She's a low energy lady and often enjoys reading and watching Yusuke work
Often mistook for being shy, she is rather fierce and outgoing
Her favorite Gundam series is Zeta Gundam (and she loves Amuro)

Monday, April 10, 2017

Sunday, I finally got to visit Fairmount Park in Philadelphia to see the cherry blossom trees! I haven't been to their Sakura Sunday event in many years, so it was nice to finally go again and see all of the changes. (Thanks to ED for helping me with these photos!)

I put together a last minute outfit for Sayla, featuring a half length kimono that my friend's mom made for Nico many, many years ago. I recently found it and realized that it was the perfect color for Sayla, whose main color happens to be pink. I didn't have any proper obi lying about, so a flower pattern bandana from Target actually made a great makeshift one.

At the festival, they had a lot more vendors than when I was there last, including lost of anime ones. ED and I found the gunpla, of course. Lots of traditional Japanese merchandise including Daruma dolls, tabi socks, vintage kimonos, and more. I was surprised at the lack of Japanese foods available, however. I missed a lot of my Japanese festival favorites including taiyaki and takoyaki.

I picked up a lovely pink kanzashi (traditional Japanese hair ornament) hair clip early in the day, which really completed Sayla's look, I think. I also couldn't resist picking up some Sumikko Gurashi Rement blind boxes with ED as well. We pulled most of the good ones, I think!

Thanks to everyone I met up with and everyone who stopped for a photo of Sayla or to learn more about her. I can safely say I'm more in love with this doll more than ever. I am hoping that maybe I can afford another Dollfie Dream if VOLKS is at NYCC this October. Sayla needs a friend, don't you think?

Sunday, April 2, 2017

I wanted to start showcasing some of my dolls in a new blog series where you can get to know them - so first up? Baby Garma, of course!

Some of you may already know his older self, my SWITCH Taeheo, but did you know that they are both based off of Garma Zabi from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam? Someday, I hope to have his uniforms commissioned for both of them. Little Garma is actually based off of the Garma from the more recent Gundam the Origin series, which depicts him growing up and leads into the Garma we all know and love from the original series.

The Gundam franchise has always held a special place in my heart. It was my gateway into anime, dolls, and my love of Japanese culture. Garma is one of my all time favorite characters from the series - maybe someday I'll have other Yo-SD Gundam characters too? ;)

Baby Garma - although innocent - also has a curious and sassy side to him, which I think the Eddie sculpt encapsulates. He dresses very casual yet at the same time can wear a lot of adorable formal clothing (which I hope to get him more of in the future).

He likes ramen and udon a lot, playing with his Zaku toys, and imagining that he will one day defeat the Gundam. Outside adventures are his favorite and - of course, he loves flowers.

Have a question about Garma? Leave us a comment below!

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

What's better than getting dolly goodies in the mail? Getting dolly goodies in person, of course!

Recently, I had the opportunity to finally stop in and see Fabric Friends and Dolls for myself! I was in Maryland visiting family and quite ironically, the shop was less than a half hour from where I was staying in Gaithersburg. I've been purchasing from them online for a while, but nothing beats buying doll items in person, that's for sure.

FFD carries an impressive amount of company items (including the company I take pictures for, Leekeworld!) and dolls. The owners are super kind and let you try things on your doll, sort of like VOLKS did when their LA shop was still open.

Items are sorted by company and size - oh my! It is easy to get lost in the sea of high quality Nine9 Style and Freedom Teller clothing sets they sell. I was so overwhelmed by their amazing stock and organization. It was hard to choose what to get! Stay tuned for a box opening and haul video featuring the Momoko doll I purchased here.

Check out my video tour of the shop!

Thank you to Iris for letting me film in the store and to the lovely doll owners and dolls I met: createdbymonsters, aggrosongbird929, and all the others (sorry that I missed you)!

If you'd like to visit Fabric Friends and Dolls, here is their information:

6836 Olney Laytonsville Road
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20882
(301)-740-8830
fabricfriends@comcast.net

Store Hours (to call):
SUN, MON - CLOSED
TUES - FRI: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST
SAT - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Since I never completed my first 365 back in 2015, I decided 2017 was going to be the year that I completed one. I once again decided to go with a BJD theme (with my Azone and Dollfie Dream making an appearance too).

In addition to making a blog post each week with all 7 photos, I will also be posting each new photo daily on Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, and Instagram. Check the links to the top right hand corner to follow along.

I hope you enjoy the photos from Week 1!