Only two weeks left!

My first Blythe Con - I'll have to take all of my girls... not sure if it will be 4 or 3!

New vs Old

Today I noticed a lot of developments and chat in the "Luts Delf Thread" (which is of course void now that the 60cms are back with CP and Fairyland, rather than with Luts) as a opposed to the Fairyland F60 thread.

Apparently Luts are releasing a new 60cm line which is going to have the name "Delf".  I don't blame them, now the line has been restarted by CP and renamed, then there is technically no doll named "Delf" anymore, and it leaves Luts free to use it instead. (and probably use the publicity this name will yield.)

There was of course the thought that they might be releasing the old dolls... with Luts resin...

Some people can be a bit silly. CP, owning the rights to their 60cm line, has released it and considering it was never cast in the same resin as any of the Luts dolls, it can be said that it was never cast by Luts either, so Luts never had the molds. Plus it would cause a heap of litigation if Luts even tried to sell something which they no longer had the rights to sell. No, the "Just forget how they were" points to a brand new line which just happens to share a name with a line which no longer exists.

It did then start up another discussion in the now defunct "Delf" discussion. What should the thread be called and should it or shouldn't it be merged with the F60 thread.

And it brought up a lot of silliness. There are people who consider the 60cm line produced by CP as two completely different sets of dolls. Which is almost like saying there should be two different MNF threads - one for B-lines (and those heads cast with the B-line dolls) and one for A-lines. Because to be honest, the difference in the older 60cm body and the newer 60cm body is the difference between a B-line MNF and an A-line MNF in pretty much exactly the same way.

But no, F60s don't have the same "history" as those which were released by Luts. You can't have the same conversations about resin colour and head size (which is crap, because the F60 thread has already had that conversation and continues to have that conversation.)

The one which got me was the one who didn't consider the new heads to be the same heads as the old heads. They used the word original, which got my back up.

CP released the Lishe and the El as two of the F60 heads - they are two of the oldest sculpts in CP's lineup, only the Shiwoo and Chiwoo are older. (and I always forget if Shiwoo or Chiwoo came first, I think it was Chiwoo). They are iconic sculpts, with all the "history" and originality you could want.

I do not consider my F60 Lishe to be any less than any of my other Lishes, released when Luts had the line. I do not think because there is an "F60" at the front, that she is worth any less. Considering that they are using the same mold as used for the older Lishe heads, how could I possibly? She might not be as rare or expensive as some of my Elf releases, but the same could be said for any of the "basic" releases of ANY of the sculpts as opposed to their limited releases.

Just because the word used in front is different and suddenly you're claiming a different body - does it change? If my MNF Tanning Lishe was NS, would she be worth more because she's a B-line as opposed to my A-line MNF Lishe? No, and no one would dare to say that B-lines are more important than A-lines or that they have more "history" or are "original" as opposed to the other sculpts - possibly only because there wasn't a six year gap and a fight in order to update their bodies.

I also think that we are devaluing CP when we say that their outdated (and possibly embarrassing) bodies and heads are more important than their updated ones. I've said this before, CP obviously is proud of it's bodies and most particularly, their engineering. Just look at the incredible F65 and Chicline. Look at the proven and boasted (by proud owners) posability of the MNF A-line. Look at the double jointing and posability of a 9.5cm Real Puki.

How could they be as proud of the old Type 1 and Type 2 bodies, especially for the female 60cms, with the limited posing, the single joints and the old style? I know artists (a few professionals) and often their old stuff is hard to look at and cope with. It shows their mistakes. It shows them how far they've come and knowing CP, they wouldn't want their customers having to put up with old outdated bodies. I know they released the F60s with anticipation and were incredibly disappointed by the reaction of die-hard fans to the new bodies.

I think we're all getting a little bit precious. CP love their old sculpts, but they don't view the "Delfs" as any better than the F60s, in fact I'd say they view the F60 as better because of the bodies and the fact that they can finally sell them where they should be, with the rest of their lines.

Plus I think its ridiculous to draw a line in the sand and say that one set of 60cms are better than the others. They haven't changed anything about the new F60s, except they did what everyone wanted them to do - brought out the A-line version, probably about 6 years later than they wanted.

Does the name really matter all that much? I'd be happy to change all of my old "Delfs" to F60s. After all, that is the name they have now. That is the name which tells everyone that they belong to CP. And that shows that they do not and have never really belonged to Luts, and to be honest, I prefer that.

Now I've had my rant, I'm going back to dreaming about the possibility of a new Limited Breakaway. (or a Shiwoo, who knows?) I will keep them happily and consider them just as "original" as all the others.

Developments...

Ah CP...

I definitely have a love-hate relationship with CP - I LOVE their work... I'm not a fan necessarily of how they string us out and tease us, although its not necessarily a bad thing!

I made my order today - and paid it. Two new F60 bodies for Mor Mumain and Nic Naomhim (my Nanuri As), which means I need to get to it and get them on a list for eye-modding and face-uping. I have also ordered them their wigs from Leeke, I was originally going to get wigs similar to Morrigan's from Luts, but saw a cute bob wig from Leeke with a streak in it, so went with that instead. The way my luck is going, the bodies will get here before the wigs do! (though also probably before I get their eyes and faceups done!!)

I have some very definite ideas about these two - I was thinking of having Mor Mumain's ears pierced - one with one earring and the other all the way up the edge, so maybe six or seven rings. She is also going to have half opened eyes, while her sister, Nic Naomhim, will have hers fully opened. I was also going to have their faceups different, in much the same way as Pax and Nox's differ-  one with more pink (Nic) and one with more red (Mor).

As well as those two, I of course put in to get the F60 Juri 12 head, even though I don't know which of the two scar boys it will be. If it's a Shiwoo, then I'm sure I can find a home for him. LK is getting one too, and there's always a chance if he's a BA for  twins... I seem to have multiplying event heads after all!

So the last time I ordered in full from FL, with Sulis - I ordered her towards the end of July and she appeared in early August - a turn around of not even a month. I'm crossing my fingers that the bodies come that quickly too, because the quicker they mail them, the quicker we find out which head it is!!

In other news, I have just paid off a Blythe Gentle River (really the only stock Blythe I like) and she's on shipping! (woo!) But I don't have a name for her... My Blythes really have a rock/pop music theme going and I really need that kind of name for my Gentle River - so currently I have Magnolia, Jet and Devlin... so if you can think of a rock/pop style name, please tell me! I'll take any and all suggestions!

Fairyland...

Oh Fairyland, Fairyland Fairyland... Or should that be oh CP?

The darlings have once again released another event for their 10th Anniversary... and this time its F60 bodies...

I immediately thought that it solved my problem about bodies for my two Nanuri As - I can buy them both F60 bodies now and be done with it!

But of course, being Fairyland/CP - that was not the end of the annoucement... they are also releasing a Feeple Juri head... Originally, because they phrased it as the most popular MNF Juri head, I expected it to be the MNF Juri 08, which is arguably the most popular of the MNF heads called "Juri"s.

But then I always forget that any limited head which is released by CP is either a Nanuri or a Juri, whichever sculpt it is.

And on twitter it has been revealed that it is a scarred head - which limits it to two releases: the Scarred Breakaway or the Scarred Shiwoo.

This leaves me in a pretty pickle. If it is a Breakaway, I must have it to complete my collection! If it's a Shiwoo, its not necessarily bad, as such, but its the chance, the possibility.

I have not been particularly amused by some conversations I'm participating in (and may have recently gotten a little short), but I think that people don't see the wider picture.

People have been saying that just because they don't think the Scar BA and Scar Shiwoo were popular, that the head is useless. What can they do with a scar head after all? It wasn't as popular as this head...

A couple of facts:

1.  The Breakaway has been released the most times of any limited releases (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). He has been released:
1. Three times as a Limited Delf, each time with 2-3 heads, most of the sleeping heads are vampires. 
2. Once as a limited F70 - with two versions.
3. Twice as a limited MNF - and was the only MNF head to be released as both an OE and a sleeping head.
4. Once as a multihead - CL/LTF.
5. That is a total of 8 times, in (technically) 4 sizes. He is available, if you can find him, in 60cm/70cm: OE, Sleeping Vampire, Sleeping and Dreaming - most 60cm heads are available in EITHER Sleeping or Dreaming, but not both; MNF - both OE and sleeping Scarred, and in LTF/CL.
2. The Shiwoo has been released in the most sizes of any CP sculpt and is one of the original (and most popular) of all the CP sculpts released.
1. He has been released as a limited in 4 sizes - 60cm, MNF, LTF and Multihead.
2. He was available in 6 basic sizes before the sale of the Delfs stopped - 60cm OE, Dreaming and Dreaming Vampire; MNF; LTF and Pukifee.
3. There are 8 limited releases of a Shiwoo: 60cm - Elf, Tanning, Cyber Bohemian (limited faceup); MNF - Scar, Elf and Elf Vampire; LTF Elf; Multihead Dreaming Elf Vampire
4. There are also 3 Delf Art releases of the Shiwoo - the MNF Tanning (5); the Prince of Darkness (4) and the Delf Vampire Shiwoo.
5. That means, if you can find them, there is a total of 14 different heads (2 of them with different resin) that you are able to get a Shiwoo in.

Obviously there is a reason these sculpts keep getting remade in different versions over and over again. Could it possibly be because they're popular?

It's been a while

Mainly because over the school break I went away to visit my parents (who currently live in another country). So I will have to share a few photos when I get a chance.

But I thought to do a bit of an update!

There are no new dolls... which is a good thing rather than a bad thing I suppose at the moment! But there is still two incoming - Arum, my DZ Stramonium, and Aveta, my Delf Art My Dear Lady Lishe. Not sure when Arum is coming, but Aveta still has 2 months left on her layaway. Then I will probably have to find some kind of case or cupboard for her - I don't like cabinent babies as a rule, but I think with her I really need to keep her safe!

In other news, I've finally organised faceups for the Horrible Three, and they'll be heading off once everything has been finalised. Then its just a matter of getting Arum done properly, as well as the twins - Mor Mumain and Nic Noamhim, eyes opened and faceups done. Still not sure if I want to get those two F60 or F70 bodies.

So we're getting ready to wave the Horrible Three goodbye for a while... not that anyone is particularly upset by this development...

Money money money

I think many people in this hobby forget that like any business, the doll business is driven by money. Fairyland, like SOOM and any other doll company is there to make money. The actual artists themselves might be have some artistic integrity and want to please people, but the companies who sell the dolls are there to make money.

I originally thought of this post because I was told that we couldn’t be ‘sure’ that Fairyland would release the F60 Mirwen. 

I was sure we could, for the following reasons:

1. when the VF doll was released there was a LOT of customers and fans constantly asking Fairyland when the doll was going to sold because they wanted one. These questions kept coming and coming and coming even after they told people that they would not be selling the doll, that it had nothing to do with them and was a deal between CP and Yamato USA/Japan.
2. They sold the MNF Mirwen and still the questions kept coming - I think you'll also find that the MNF Mirwen has sold rather well, not only because it is the VF doll sculpt but also because it reminds people of the older CP sculpts.
3. The number of people asking FL and CP for a 60cm doll has been enormous - even though the 60cm doll was sold though Luts, people kept asking. You can see that in any of the messages where they address it in their blog before and after the release of both the CL and the F65.
4. Combine the number of people who want an F60 and the number of people who want a version of the VF doll, and you have a large number of customers and a potential of a heap of money for an F60 Mirwen.

So why wouldn't a company sell a doll that has the potential for making them a whole lot of money and quite quickly? It's one reason I knew Luts wouldn't willingly hand the Delfs back, simply because they have proven themselves to be a money maker.

Some people I think almost see doll companies as not-for-profits, making dolls for artistic merit and because they look good. No, doll companies sell dolls to make money. And lots of it.

I was surprised when SOOM stopped selling its massively lucrative Monthly Dolls - but then I realised the possible reason why - keeping up with a doll a month became too difficult, without that line they can keep making the same types of dolls and release them any time they like! (and possibly still make the same amounts of money, although I don't think they've released any super popular ones recently... the Teenie Gem Isaac might be an exception to the current rule). 

Unfortunately I think one down side of not realising dolls once a month means that those people who collected SOOM MDs and got used to checking the SOOM page once a month for the new doll don't necessarily do that anymore. I used to and I only randomly have a look at the SOOM page nowadays, no where near as often as I used to, and I haven't bought anything from SOOM since their last MD.

What brought this subject up for me again now is the situation with the Chic lines; and the muttering from the F65 thread about no updates for them when there are plenty of updates for the brand new F60.

Chicline

The Chiclines have been off sale for a while, mainly because (and as usual this is my reading of the situation and communications from Fairyland/CP):

1. they are difficult to make and restring and this affects their price
2. Fairyland seems unwilling to offer them at the price which would make  them financially viable (possibly because then they’d have to deal with all the complaints that they’re “too expensive”).
3. From the sounds of it they were only receiving single orders or not enough to pay for the casting and production.

In response to inquiries, they have made the following concession on the sale of the Chic-lines - they will produce them for a limited time, but only if they get 20 of each body ordered (obviously therefore enough to make them a profit rather than making a loss). 

This has gotten a lot of muttering, especially in that people want them to release new heads first. I would suggest that perhaps the lack of sales previously when they released two new heads - the Ineffa and the Fabilis, coupled with the price of casting, producing and stringing them, makes it financially unviable for them to continue to offer the line.

After all, why would you continue to produce a doll which doesn’t sell and you spend more money on the production of, rather than making a profit?

Yes, Chiclines, like F65s show the full artistic and engineering skills of CP, but how many people buy them for that reason? They’re a bit of a difficult size for many to deal with and that could affect their sales too!

FeePle 65 v FeePle 60

I had a lot of this conversation when I was talking about the new F60 line not simply being a remake of a 5-cm shorter F65. However, now the comments are slightly different. 

The F60 was released a couple of months ago (In July to be precise) with six heads - three of which had to be created for the new line - the Chloe, the Karsh and the Luka, all of whom are also MNF heads, the other three just had to be recast - the Mirwen had been made for over a year and the Lishe and El have been around for years - all three have always been in 60cm size (the Nanuri A & B are simply elf ears added to the Chloe and Karsh sculpts). Just last week, the F60 al a carte was update with another six heads, of which only 2 had to be sculpted - the Roke and the Siean, both originally F65 sculpts. The others - Rona and Anu were originally F70 heads, which is the same size as an F60 head, and the Miyu and Yder are both older 60cm heads.

This of course restarted and intensified the debate about the F65s getting al a carte and the lack of F65 heads - they have five: Chloe, Roke, Siean, Lora and Lorence, plus the Juri 2012. Most F65 enthusiasts, and we allow for a small amount of bias, can’t understand why there are not more heads and an al a carte option for the F65s, when there is already 12 heads for the F60s as well as the al a carte option.

I will offer the following possible reasons. (feel free to disagree, as usual) - I am sure I have offered some of this reasoning when I commented on the unlikelyhood of the F60s being mini F65s...:

1. The F65s, while sculpturally brilliant, don’t sell particularly well. This could be because:
1. A lot of people prefer 60cm (usually approximately 58cm) and shorter
2. They are so unlike CP’s usual aesthetic that most enthusiasts don’t have them (same goes for the Chic-line)
3. The weight and width of the sculpts and the bodies are not massively popular.
4. There are no recognizable heads like the Lishe/El/Shiwoo/Chiwoo etc. (and I deliberately don’t include the Chloe because she doesn’t have the age of previous sculpts behind her)

1. The sales of the Chiclines have put them off releasing more heads in the F65 size, especially with those of the recognizable category-  Lishe, El and DES
2. The reception to the new heads - Roke, Siean, Lora and Lorence - has not been what they expected and the sales have not increased
3. The Delfs have been a long time money maker and they have a sentimental attachment to them
4. The reception to the F60s and their capitulation to produce an al a carte option early has paid off financially. 
5. The heads they released did not have to resculpted, just re-cast. (and there is a suggestion that the Roke and Siean had already been sculpted prior to the release of the F60s.) Any heads they want to produce for the F65 line MUST be resculpted from scratch to meet that aesthetic.
6. There are 18 Delf heads and 7 F70 heads which they can re-release in the F60 line with no extra fuss; and 13 MNF heads which they can upsize with not too much trouble. 
7. The number of Delf/F70 sculpts which can just be re-released is immense and the interest and inquiries about sculpts not yet released is very high. 
8. Requests about resculpting smaller sizes is often in relation to getting a 60cm version (in the same aesthetic) as the current sculpt: i.e. An F60 Rheia.

I don’t think I’ve covered everything I think about this, but at the same time, there’s probably only one that matters to Fairyland... The F60s make them more money than the F65s.

For those interested, the 18 Delf, 7 F70 and 13 MNF heads are as follows (if I’ve forgotten one I apologize).

Delf: Edgar, Jess, Kum-ran, IF, Shine, Dambi, Moon, Shiwoo, Dark Human Soo, Dark Elf Soo, Angel Elf Soo, Soo, Soony, Chiwoo, Woosoo, Breakaway, Lu-wen, Harang

F70: Iden, Riff, Ashley, Cali, Peavy, Dreaming Vampire Moon, Esther

MNF: Ari, Shushu, Ruth, Marcia, Ryeon, Seorin, Carl, Rheia, Eliya, Kyle, Rena, Rix

F60 final

So I never finished the story.

I did end up purchasing an F60 and unllike me, I paid in full for it with Fairyland. So I sat in to wait - I bought a wig from Leekeworld which I full expected would arrive before my doll. I also put in for the Nanuri A head, since I figured that if I didn't like it, then I could always sell it on.

So I settled down to wait.

A week or so after the release (I had bought on the second day) I heard about someone who had received a shipping notice. I was very skeptical as usually, for those who don't know, a shipping notice isn't issued until after the 40 business day mark, or about 3-4 months.

I thought this girl must be wrong, since it was little over a week or two after the order date. But, she was right and she got her doll quite quickly - and it wasn't a fluke, others who had paid received their dolls just as quickly.

I now saw that it was highly likely that I too would get my doll earlier than I ever expected. I did get the "before shipping" notification quite quickly and the shipping notice even quicker.

But unfortunately my girl took quite a while in the shipping.  She was shipped and then took about 7 days to make it to the house.

I believe (from what I read on DoA) that I got the first Lishe... how fun is that?

Her name is Sulis - and along with her I received the event head, a Nanuri A - originally I wasn't really planning on keeping her, but then I took a photo of her wearing Morrigan's wig and she stuck...

This is Mor Mumain... and you know how this dolly stuff works - I noticed another Nanuri A for sale. Well, everyone knows how dolly impulse buying goes - Mor Mumain now has an identical twin sister called Nic Naomhim - I received her just yesterday. I'm planning on getting their eyes modded - one to fully open and the other to half open. Mor is most likely going to get a similar wig to Morrigan's, and I might get Nic a longer one in the same style.

All these plans, its going to be fun!