I've been struggling for a while over my next steps for custom figures. Volks, the Japanese ball joint doll company I usually buy bodies and heads from, is no longer making anything in 1/6 scale. I've been looking for a while for an alternative, and ran across Original Effect. They're fairly new, based out of China, and are doing more stylized head sculpts and bodies. I immediately loved the look of a lot of their figures, but at 13" tall, they were just off scale enough that they wouldn't be compatible with any other bodies for figures I'd use.
Recently, they announced a new "teen" body, measuring in at 10.6 inches, and Sophia was the 1st figure they were releasing using it. It took me a bit to track one down, but I finally got her in last week. My impressions on my first Original Effect figure were:
My complaints (I'll get the things I don't love out of the way.):
-The band on the stocking left definite blue stains on the skin. I know this happens with a lot of rubber bodies, but I've never seen this on hard plastic. I'm working on lifting this, but it's a work in progress.
-I got 2 left hands. Not really an issue with OE, just thought I'd complain about it. She comes with a ton of differently posed hands, and 1 pair I wasn't planning to use isn't a huge deal, but the eBay seller was good about hooking me up with a discount.
-The dress could be better fitted, and is a bit baggy.
-Ankles were a little loose, but that's from the way they peg into the shoes. Once I figured it out, and got them put together right, they're not bad at all.
-The shoes peg onto the legs, as opposed to feet that fit into shoes. I know this is fairly common and not in any way a flaw, but I'm just not a fan, and I so prefer a foot and separate shoe, especially to use for a custom. More a personal preference than anything.
-No lenses in the glasses frames, which I plan to fix on mine.
The good:
-I think, overall, the figure looks way nicer than it does in any pictures I've seen.
-The fabrics are less shiny than they looked in pictures, and better quality. Nothing looks cheap at all, and all seems really well made.
-The face has some light freckles across her cheeks, something i didn't notice in any of the promo images. I keep seeing a lot of people hating on the final paint, but I'm more than happy with it.
-I thought the glasses looked kind of cheap in pictures, but are actually thinner, made of nicer plastic, and actually have some gradation of color that really make them look good.
-I had assumed the shoes were a sculpted plastic with fabric gaiters, but are actually a nice pleather outer layer. Looks great.
-Swords are all metal, which was a pleasant surprise. They have a little kinda hook on the hilt that looks like it'd be good to attach a chain to, or something, which I think is really cool. A neat design over all.
-The tactical vest is awesome. Well constructed, super detailed, and really versatile.
-The gloves have a lot more detail, and paint looks better than it did in any pictures I saw. They looked a solid black in pics, but again, a nice color mix gives them a decent weathered, realistic look.
-The pistol stock that doubles as a holster is just a cool design. Really fun.
The body:
It's really light weight, and definitely feels more delicate than a lot of other bodies I've worked with (especially the wrist and ankle joints). It's not bad, but just something I noticed. The wrist and ankle pegs are short and small, which contributes to that, and are smooth, so they don't have the best grip. But the joints are all tight, and seem to have great mobility. The torso is rubber over an internal joint system, so I'm not sure how well it'll handle stuff like water-slide decals for tattoos, but I'll cross that bridge when i get to it. Are they the best 1/6 scale bodies on the market? Probably not. But I think they're solid, and perfect for what I'm looking for. They're using the shorter bodies for a lot of the upcoming releases, so I think OE has a new customer from here on out.
I was encouraged to take some figure pictures. I figured I'd snap a few before I took her apart for and went to work. A few hours later, I realized I had taken a ton, and had such a blast doing it. I'd been working with BJD bodies for so long, I had forgotten how pose-able and better 1/6 scale bodies could be, and realized what a HUGE improvement these would be for all my own figures.
Recently, they announced a new "teen" body, measuring in at 10.6 inches, and Sophia was the 1st figure they were releasing using it. It took me a bit to track one down, but I finally got her in last week. My impressions on my first Original Effect figure were:
My complaints (I'll get the things I don't love out of the way.):
-The band on the stocking left definite blue stains on the skin. I know this happens with a lot of rubber bodies, but I've never seen this on hard plastic. I'm working on lifting this, but it's a work in progress.
-I got 2 left hands. Not really an issue with OE, just thought I'd complain about it. She comes with a ton of differently posed hands, and 1 pair I wasn't planning to use isn't a huge deal, but the eBay seller was good about hooking me up with a discount.
-The dress could be better fitted, and is a bit baggy.
-Ankles were a little loose, but that's from the way they peg into the shoes. Once I figured it out, and got them put together right, they're not bad at all.
-The shoes peg onto the legs, as opposed to feet that fit into shoes. I know this is fairly common and not in any way a flaw, but I'm just not a fan, and I so prefer a foot and separate shoe, especially to use for a custom. More a personal preference than anything.
-No lenses in the glasses frames, which I plan to fix on mine.
The good:
-I think, overall, the figure looks way nicer than it does in any pictures I've seen.
-The fabrics are less shiny than they looked in pictures, and better quality. Nothing looks cheap at all, and all seems really well made.
-The face has some light freckles across her cheeks, something i didn't notice in any of the promo images. I keep seeing a lot of people hating on the final paint, but I'm more than happy with it.
-I thought the glasses looked kind of cheap in pictures, but are actually thinner, made of nicer plastic, and actually have some gradation of color that really make them look good.
-I had assumed the shoes were a sculpted plastic with fabric gaiters, but are actually a nice pleather outer layer. Looks great.
-Swords are all metal, which was a pleasant surprise. They have a little kinda hook on the hilt that looks like it'd be good to attach a chain to, or something, which I think is really cool. A neat design over all.
-The tactical vest is awesome. Well constructed, super detailed, and really versatile.
-The gloves have a lot more detail, and paint looks better than it did in any pictures I saw. They looked a solid black in pics, but again, a nice color mix gives them a decent weathered, realistic look.
-The pistol stock that doubles as a holster is just a cool design. Really fun.
The body:
It's really light weight, and definitely feels more delicate than a lot of other bodies I've worked with (especially the wrist and ankle joints). It's not bad, but just something I noticed. The wrist and ankle pegs are short and small, which contributes to that, and are smooth, so they don't have the best grip. But the joints are all tight, and seem to have great mobility. The torso is rubber over an internal joint system, so I'm not sure how well it'll handle stuff like water-slide decals for tattoos, but I'll cross that bridge when i get to it. Are they the best 1/6 scale bodies on the market? Probably not. But I think they're solid, and perfect for what I'm looking for. They're using the shorter bodies for a lot of the upcoming releases, so I think OE has a new customer from here on out.
I was encouraged to take some figure pictures. I figured I'd snap a few before I took her apart for and went to work. A few hours later, I realized I had taken a ton, and had such a blast doing it. I'd been working with BJD bodies for so long, I had forgotten how pose-able and better 1/6 scale bodies could be, and realized what a HUGE improvement these would be for all my own figures.
As soon as I was done, I started working on updating Thornapple with the new body and head, and spent Sunday taking new pics of her. Her new gallery is updated on the site here.
Afterwards, I immediately ordered 3 of the upcoming blank bodies, 2 upcoming boxed figures, and 1 of the tall bodies to redo Isblomma. I'm more excited than I've been in ages and can't wait to get to work on a ton of new projects.
Afterwards, I immediately ordered 3 of the upcoming blank bodies, 2 upcoming boxed figures, and 1 of the tall bodies to redo Isblomma. I'm more excited than I've been in ages and can't wait to get to work on a ton of new projects.
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