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Welcome to Harper, Volks SDMidi F-42
Nov. 24th, 2020 03:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reynardineWell, Mother SD did not smile upon me for the lottery, but I did find a lovely SDMidi on Mandarake, which I bought instead (and was half the price of what I would have had to pay for a lottery doll). She's an SDMidi F-42 Coordinate Model.
F-42 is the "Sweet Dreams" versions of the MSD F-20 head, which means she has barely-opened eyes. And honestly, I wasn't a fan of that F-20. It was one of the ones you could easily find in the US (I guess Volks USA had it as a FCS option a few times), but I didn't like her expression, which looked a bit derpy to me. But the situation is like the standard SDMidi Noa. I didn't care for her in Normal Skin, but the White Skin version was gorgeous. And the face-up on this one is phenomenal. They even went to the trouble of painting the teeth!
Due to the pandemic (and mismanagement of our US Postal Service), Mandarake only ships DHL to the USA now. Ouch, that was more pricey than I liked, much more than EMS usually costs, and it irritated me that they shipped the doll in a SD-sized shipping box. DHL prices by size, not weight, so if Mandarake had just packed the doll in a proper box, it might have save me some money. On the plus side, there wasn't the anxious wait for the doll to go through customs. DHL has some kind of deal with customs and their packages speed right through.
I flip-flopped on the names. I originally was going to call her Bianca, but once I saw her, the name just didn't fit. Catherine sounded good, but that name is just everywhere now. I went with Harper instead, because I've taken up playing the Harp lately. Gorgeous doll, in perfect shape. The photos online did not do her justice at all.
Someone had changed out the eyes at one point (they weren't glued in as is usual with Volks), and they looked to be Volks HG eyes, but I can't be sure. They were light grey and nice enough, but with a narrow-eyed doll, I've found you need light, bright eyes in order for them to show up properly in photographs. I had some extra urethane eyes I'd gotten for sale a couple of years ago from Lemon Jelly Eye Shop (are they still open?), and found a nice pair in light blue that show up well.
The doll came with the box (that's a big deal with me, I store my dolls in their boxes), part of the default clothing set (missing undies, stockings, and shoes), all the paperwork including the certificate, and the default wig, which actually goes perfectly with her. I have a number of these MSD/SDMidi Coordinate Model dolls and absolutely love them. While I have a few SD-sized Volks dolls, I really prefer the mini size (MSD/SDMidi). They are easier to store, easier to handle, and easier to photograph.
It's raining today and is very dark, so I can't take decent pictures, but Harper is a lovely doll and I'm very pleased to add her to the collection. I need to do some furniture rearrangement so that I can set up a light box and get back to doing my doll photography again.
F-42 is the "Sweet Dreams" versions of the MSD F-20 head, which means she has barely-opened eyes. And honestly, I wasn't a fan of that F-20. It was one of the ones you could easily find in the US (I guess Volks USA had it as a FCS option a few times), but I didn't like her expression, which looked a bit derpy to me. But the situation is like the standard SDMidi Noa. I didn't care for her in Normal Skin, but the White Skin version was gorgeous. And the face-up on this one is phenomenal. They even went to the trouble of painting the teeth!
Due to the pandemic (and mismanagement of our US Postal Service), Mandarake only ships DHL to the USA now. Ouch, that was more pricey than I liked, much more than EMS usually costs, and it irritated me that they shipped the doll in a SD-sized shipping box. DHL prices by size, not weight, so if Mandarake had just packed the doll in a proper box, it might have save me some money. On the plus side, there wasn't the anxious wait for the doll to go through customs. DHL has some kind of deal with customs and their packages speed right through.
I flip-flopped on the names. I originally was going to call her Bianca, but once I saw her, the name just didn't fit. Catherine sounded good, but that name is just everywhere now. I went with Harper instead, because I've taken up playing the Harp lately. Gorgeous doll, in perfect shape. The photos online did not do her justice at all.
Someone had changed out the eyes at one point (they weren't glued in as is usual with Volks), and they looked to be Volks HG eyes, but I can't be sure. They were light grey and nice enough, but with a narrow-eyed doll, I've found you need light, bright eyes in order for them to show up properly in photographs. I had some extra urethane eyes I'd gotten for sale a couple of years ago from Lemon Jelly Eye Shop (are they still open?), and found a nice pair in light blue that show up well.
The doll came with the box (that's a big deal with me, I store my dolls in their boxes), part of the default clothing set (missing undies, stockings, and shoes), all the paperwork including the certificate, and the default wig, which actually goes perfectly with her. I have a number of these MSD/SDMidi Coordinate Model dolls and absolutely love them. While I have a few SD-sized Volks dolls, I really prefer the mini size (MSD/SDMidi). They are easier to store, easier to handle, and easier to photograph.
It's raining today and is very dark, so I can't take decent pictures, but Harper is a lovely doll and I'm very pleased to add her to the collection. I need to do some furniture rearrangement so that I can set up a light box and get back to doing my doll photography again.
