MannequinFan items for sale

Real 56 · Post by **Real 56** » Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:42 am

Would it not be possible, to purchase the eye balls from Sculpeto with instructions of how to sooth them off or maybe some kind of video tutorial showing how to do this, especially for potential customers in the UK, EU, and other parts of the world?

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:47 pm

Alright folks, I'll need to cancel the EME sale for this month as I still haven't received the new supply of 13mm lenses. I have some 14mm but I don't want to change the product again just to sell a few sets.

My supplier (in China) is telling me that if the parcel is lost they will send out a new one from their American warehouse. Didn't know they had a warehouse here and not sure why they didn't do that to begin with, but anyway...if I do receive them in the next week or so (doubtful) I may reopen the sale.
I will have an auto response on the order email (bcdspecialorder@gmail.com) for the time being.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 2:49 am

Real 56 wrote:Would it not be possible, to purchase the eye balls from Sculpeto with instructions of how to sooth them off or maybe some kind of video tutorial showing how to do this, especially for potential customers in the UK, EU, and other parts of the world?

OK, here's where I'm at with the DIY Easy Moves. Perhaps I was a bit hasty in my judgement - maybe these will work.
The samples I got from Sculpteo actually printed fine, it was just the finish that was not what I was expecting.

Here is what I got from Sculpteo - ordered on 5/22 and received 6/1. Awesome turnaround time as usual.
This is with the "chemical smoothing" finish. It's being marketed as a glossy finish which it really isn't. It's more of what I'd call an eggshell finish - slightly textured with a sheen. The black sample shows the finish best...

: IMG_4951.JPG (855 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

As they come, the white samples are way too white so they will need to be either dyed or painted to look natural.
I did find they took a dye tint quite nicely. Right is the raw white print, left is dye tinted with Rit Dyemore. Iris shown is MF10...

: Dye recipe: 4 drops Chocolate Brown + 2 drops Graphite in 1-1/2 cups hot water for 2 minutes.; IMG_4960.JPG (688.07 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

Making them glossy turned out to be as easy as giving them a coat or two of Krylon triple thick glaze...

: IMG_4961.JPG (408.88 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

You'll need to glue some ring magnets to the back of the eyeballs.
Metric size: 10mm diam., 2mm thick with 3mm hole. Part #EP373B from here (e-magnetsuk.com).
The ones I'm using are from my local Home Depot: 3/8" diam., 1/16" thick with 1/8" hole.
The ring magnets will allow the pedestals to be adjusted through the hole.

: IMG_4964.JPG (1008.49 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

For the pedestals you will need to provide M4 x 10mm machine screws and nuts.
10mm long screws will work for most dolls. Use longer ones for deeper sockets.

Machine screws
ACCU (UK based)
Lowes (U.S.)
Nuts
ACCU (UK based)
Lowes (U.S.)

I found the pedestals worked remarkably smoothly even with the slight texture, so they are good to go as is.
Popped the finished eyes in my Zoya head and found they adjusted easily.
I was worried that the eyeball color would be a little too dark, but I think they turned out looking about right...

: Irises shown are from Nix Creations; IMG_4965.JPG (723.89 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

: IMG_4966.JPG (497.4 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

So what do you all think? Is this something you would want to do? Is this worth pursuing?
I think one problem for those in EU will be getting the Rit Dyemore so painting may be the only option.
Jacquard iDye Poly is more available in EU but I haven't tried using it. I may pick some up at Joann Fabric and do some experiments.

Here are the factory prices from Sculpteo...

: DIY EME - sculpteo.jpg (554.07 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

Real 56 · Post by **Real 56** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:47 am

Great stuff, and as we would say in my part of the UK, spot on, so yeh in answer to your question, I would purchase them no problem. Also thanks for the links to the various bits and pieces needed.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sun Jun 07, 2020 4:48 pm

Well here's some good news...

Looks like Rit Dye is shipping worldwide now, so you can get the Dyemore from their website!

You'll need two colors for the eyeball tint - Chocolate Brown & Graphite.
Chocolate Brown by itself makes a nice skin color for the screw covers and eyelids as well.

Chocolate Brown: https://store.ritdye.com/dyemore-for-sy ... ynthetics/
Graphite: https://store.ritdye.com/dyemore-for-sy ... ynthetics/

Real 56 · Post by **Real 56** » Mon Jun 08, 2020 4:56 am

Excellent, great news. Also I presume you are making the iris's colours etc in photoshop?

mark81 · Post by **mark81** » Mon Jun 08, 2020 5:44 am

MannequinFan wrote: a toothpick

Confirmed! This works)
Thanks for the hint.

In the beginning of using these eyes I was a bit annoying about iris edge, sorry about that.
Meanwhile I'm still searching for alternative solution.

BUT!
I must say moving eyes saved me from TONS of stress and frustration which most likely I would have had with regular factory eyes.
Thanks, MannequinFan!

Recent one. More here>>>

: IMG_2893 copy.jpg (3.12 MiB) Viewed 1831 times

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:37 pm

Real 56 wrote:Excellent, great news. Also I presume you are making the iris's colours etc in photoshop?

Yes, I did all the irises in Photoshop.
I'm planning on having the images for download from my blog when I get this DIY eye package sorted.

mark81 wrote:I must say moving eyes saved me from TONS of stress and frustration which most likely I would have had with regular factory eyes.
Thanks, MannequinFan!

YW Mark, thanks for posting. Your girl looks like a hottie!

No problem about the iris edge. Since you mentioned it I have been working on improving it as much as I can. I've tightened up the size of the iris recess a little and I'm now printing the eyeballs in a higher resolution (100 microns) so I don't need to polish them as long. This seems to make the edges a little sharper, but not a huge amount.

One nice thing about the Sculpteo eyeballs is that the iris edge stays a lot sharper. If you look at the photo above of my Zoya head you can see the edges are hardly visible.
Also, if you don't clear coat them it reduces or eliminates the glare off of the edges. All trade offs of course.

Real 56 · Post by **Real 56** » Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:48 pm

I've just started experimenting with iris brushes in photoshop, finding it really good to do, challenging but fun. Getting the size right is my next task.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Mon Jun 08, 2020 2:06 pm

Real 56 wrote:I've just started experimenting with iris brushes in photoshop, finding it really good to do, challenging but fun. Getting the size right is my next task.

For 13mm iris, I print them at 1/2" diameter. The cabochon will magnify the image slightly so it's about the perfect size. I print them at 1200 dpi so the image needs to be 600 x 600 for 1/2".

BTW, there is a plug-in for Photoshop called "Filter Forge" that you can use to generate iris images...
https://www.filterforge.com/filters/6466.html

Real 56 · Post by **Real 56** » Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:28 am

I downloaded, the trial version, so I'll give it a go!!.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Fri Jun 12, 2020 4:33 pm

Alright, continuing the fight on the glass cabochon front...

I've ordered a large quantity from a new supplier on Etsy...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/582960676
The listing doesn't show 13mm, but that size is available in the drop down menu.

I paid for the DHL express shipping option so hopefully I will be getting them before the July EME sale starts.
The seller (Chun Supplies) was responsive to my questions and the order seems to be shipping on time so far.
They also sell irises already made...
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChunSupplies? ... y=eye+ball
They look pretty nice - only 12 & 14mm though, so I'll probably need to make a 14mm option for the DIY Easy Moves.

The DIY Easy Moves are now on my blog if you want to check it out and see if this is for you.
I've added a step by step tutorial and links to purchase the items needed to finish them...
https://mfcreations3d.blogspot.com/2020 ... n-now.html

I'll be adding downloads for all the MF series iris colors for those that want to make their own irises, and also some 3d print files for head stands.
Please feel free to subscribe to my blog so you'll get notified when new things are added. Also please leave a comment if you liked something you got.
If you have any problem with a Sculpteo item, please let me know right away so I can work on correcting the issue.

For those looking to get the correct wire for use with the hand skeleton, I stumbled on this ebay seller last night.
This is the exact stuff and you can get small lengths (5', 10' etc.)...
Southwire - 14-AWG stranded copper THHN
They are an American seller so they ship free to U.S. and also world wide. Shipping isn't cheap to EU but at least you don't need to buy 100 ft.

sture · Post by **sture** » Sat Jun 13, 2020 5:08 pm

MannequinFan wrote:...They look pretty nice - only 12 & 14mm though, so I'll probably need to make a 14mm option for the DIY Easy Moves..

Yes, please do! I´ll order as soon as I see the 14mm on your web site

Cheers

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sat Jun 13, 2020 7:31 pm

sture wrote:
MannequinFan wrote:...They look pretty nice - only 12 & 14mm though, so I'll probably need to make a 14mm option for the DIY Easy Moves..
Yes, please do! I´ll order as soon as I see the 14mm on your web site

Cheers

Hey Sture, I'll work on it over the next few days.

BTW, for those that want to make their own irises, I've now added the complete MF library of iris images to the blog for download.
They are under the "3d print files & other downloads" heading. Click on "MORE..." to see all the headings.
https://mfcreations3d.blogspot.com/p/downloads.html

It's a 30MB zipped file - you'll need to use your password to access the page and to unzip the file.
These are 1200 dpi PNG files set up for printing on 4" x 6" photo paper.
8 sheets with 6 colors per sheet.