Quintina Travel Performance Review and Modification

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sun Jul 23, 2023 2:21 am

ValentinaGirls wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 2:07 am Foot looks great Mr. Franz!

I do believe you'll be seeing a new option on our site soon based on that foot

Thanks for the idea, and please keep 'em comin'

/Robert

Thanks! Pretty simple mod too. I think it would look great with the enhanced calf option or perhaps even part of that option.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Mon Jul 24, 2023 7:39 pm

Man, it's the simple things that are the biggest pain in the ass!

"What did you do today, Uncle?"
"Well, today I gave my Valentina Girl a real belly button."
"How come it's off center?"
"Shut up ya little punk! Ya bother me!"

^
Looks okay, but ½ inch off center. Measured that sucker twice, too.

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Here's what it looks like from the inside.

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Oh well, I can live with it.

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:46 pm

Project VAL's internal organs arrived today. Somehow I think 5lbs would have been plenty...

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nevesver · Post by **nevesver** » Sat Jul 29, 2023 2:47 pm

PolyFil is amazing. I originally stuffed my dolls with generic store brand polyester and while that was okay, the dolls tended to get a little hard. Started using PolyFil last year and that stuff is so soft and fluffy and fitting for a VG. A bit more pricey, but worth every penny.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sat Jul 29, 2023 3:37 pm

nevesver wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 2:47 pm PolyFil is amazing. I originally stuffed my dolls with generic store brand polyester and while that was okay, the dolls tended to get a little hard. Started using PolyFil last year and that stuff is so soft and fluffy and fitting for a VG. A bit more pricey, but worth every penny.

I actually got it pretty cheap. Guy on eBay had an extra box.

nevesver · Post by **nevesver** » Sat Jul 29, 2023 3:41 pm

Mr Franz wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 3:37 pm
nevesver wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 2:47 pm PolyFil is amazing. I originally stuffed my dolls with generic store brand polyester and while that was okay, the dolls tended to get a little hard. Started using PolyFil last year and that stuff is so soft and fluffy and fitting for a VG. A bit more pricey, but worth every penny.
I actually got it pretty cheap. Guy on eBay had an extra box.

Awesome to hear you got a bargain!

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Tue Aug 01, 2023 5:51 pm

Haven't accomplished much yet. Still contemplating this and that, but did manage to do a little hand detailing today. Valentina hands are pretty good as is. The shape is nice and they come with individual fingers. They just lack palm detail and articulation. Both however, are available as options. I just decided to do my own.

First order of business was getting the hand stuffed. Not as easy as it sounds. Thankfully, travel Valentinas come with pre-stuffed fingers and toes. So, once I stuffed the rest of the hand, it was just a matter of shaping the palm with a few strategically placed stitches. That worked out pretty well, but the fingers are a bit floppy for my taste. Didn't really want full articulation, just enough for subtle poses.
^
Opened my desk drawer and found a bunch of soft, coated paperclips. Perfect!

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^
Ah, but how to get them in now that the hand was already stuffed and stitched...

Seems finger pokes aren't such a bad thing for a plush doll!

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^
All in all, worked out pretty well. I'll add some nails once the doll is finished.

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:56 pm

Not much progress to report, been waiting on a some materials. Namely, what is to be her skull. Decided to go with a foam hat/wig display head like I used to give my Meiki Evo, Veronica a face. This time though, I plan to modify it a lot more.

So, the head finally arrived. Ebay listing claimed to be a USA seller. Merchandise however, was still in China. Not that big a deal, just took a little extra time for delivery. Problem was, jackass shipped it in a plastic bag with no protection whatsoever!

Take a look at this...

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^

Okay, so sent those pics to seller and eBay and got a full refund. Don't even have to send the foam head back. The good news is, as bad as the head looks, because of the mods I planned to make anyway, it's still usable. So, Free Skull for my Valentina!

It's already on the mend...

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nevesver · Post by **nevesver** » Sun Aug 06, 2023 10:36 pm

Was about to say, that poor foam head looks like it has a massive headache. Glad you were able to get a refund and can still use the product!

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Tue Aug 08, 2023 5:06 pm

nevesver wrote: ↑Sun Aug 06, 2023 10:36 pm Was about to say, that poor foam head looks like it has a massive headache. Glad you were able to get a refund and can still use the product!

Well, the head is all smoothed out now.

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On to the modding stage. :drinking:

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Mildly disturbing photos ahead...

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Fri Aug 11, 2023 4:39 pm

Bloody mouth and eye sockets, anyone?

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The doll is to have movable eyes and I needed to cover the raw Styrofoam to allow smoother operation. Chose maroon just to add a bit of realism should the corners show. Same with the mouth, though the lips will likely have very limited movement

...and now for some less disturbing pictures. Well, at least until I open the eye sockets again...

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I covered the entire head with some textured 4-way stretch fabric for uniformity, softness and to give the adhesive something to grab hold of when I apply the Valentina Girl fleece. The fabric they use doesn't have a lot of give, so I'll have to do a bit of creative stitchery. Hopefully, I can hide the seams.

EDIT:
Not too frightening with the eye sockets and mouth open, after all.

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Had no definite plans today, but didn't imagine I'd be giving a Valentina Girl a lip-ectomy!

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sat Aug 12, 2023 8:36 pm

Bit of progress today on project Valentina.
Cut down the lips to fit the skull and installed the eyes. They work really well.
Only problem, she kept looking up at me begging for some skin on her face.

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Soooo... with Dhila's help.

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Actually wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. I just draped a piece of fabric over the skull, pinned, cut and sewed accordingly. I was able to confine most of the seams to the top and back of the head, under the hairline. The only one that shows runs from the base of her nose down under her chin. Her lips will cover part of that and the rest just looks like a cleft. I think it will look pretty good once it's all tacked in place. Hardest part will be centering the eye openings. Only got one shot at it.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:30 pm

Was feeling inspired today and... Well, see for yourself.

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Got some tweaking to do, but came out better than I expected. Eyes move side to side and up and down, eyelids open and close, the nose has honest to goodness nostrils and even the ears have an opening!

Speaking of movable eyes. I used standard 26mm acrylic eyes hot glued to a perfume bottle cap. The cap is metal, so I heated it and used it to shape the eye socket in the Styrofoam skull to the exact size. Worked great. Movement is practically effortless.

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Thu Aug 17, 2023 10:25 pm

Well with the head done, time to start working on the body. Already did the hand and feet mods, so I went ahead and stuffed the arms and legs today. That's a rather tedious job I haven't been looking forward to.

Now, I had planned to add a full articulated skeleton, but thought better of it, not wanting to take away from the cuddliness. Still, the calves and forearms could use some stiffening. Kind of annoying sometimes when they bend every which way on you. All kind of fun trying to get pantyhose on a doll with floppy legs.

So I thought to myself, how can I make the job of stuffing the arms and legs that much more difficult.....? Simple, put some sort of obstruction in the way making it almost impossible to get the Poly-fil in!

To stiffen the calves, I used a short section of pool-noodle. Stiff, but by no means hard. They don't make skinny pool noodles that I know of, so I used pipe wrap to stiffen the forearms. Several hours and much cussing later...

Turned out pretty good. Looks like project Valentina is going to have some sexy plush legs!