Real Doll Stand Review
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:59 am
Introduction:
I received my first Real Doll just over two years ago and from day one I was really interested in photographing her,
I started down the steep learning curve posing her on the couch, the bed etc... As my images improved I started
to envision a whole new range of pictures I could attempt if Jade was standing up, I could try various model like
poses, use new areas of my surroundings and just generally take it to the next level for what I wanted to do. So I
started to look at stands, what was available, what features I needed, price and quality. I searched TDF long and hard
for stand information and found actually very little relevant info out there, maybe I'm just not very good at searching...
The first thing I thought is “Ill build one myself!” so I looked into that, brought some bits and bobs from the local
hardware store, then I found 2 long pieces of hardwood dumped down the river, I thought that because they were
hardwood they would be perfect! What a joke! I ended up building it but I had to stand back and ask myself “Would
I trust it to hold and keep safe my $8500 (NZD) Real Doll? No, No I would not!
So I thought stuff it, she is a Real Doll, she needs a Real Doll stand, a stand specifically designed for her.
A few days later we had one...
Shipping, customer service and packaging:
Once again I found myself the subject of Abyss Creations customer service, prompt, friendly, professional and an all
round a pleasure to deal with, after placing my order it arrived in 4 days, dropped over the fence waiting for me on
my arrival home from work.
The packaging is typical Abyss creations, sturdy and well protected, a strong cardboard box with the same foam
that they use to protect the dolls packed around any voids so the stand wont move or get knocked in transit. Nice.
Assembly and instructions:
Now down here in New Zealand we are known for a few things, a couple of those things are ‘you can fix anything
with number 8 fencing wire’ and ‘Instructions? I don't need bloody instructions!’ well one thing I have learnt with
Abyss products is ‘Read the instruction's!’ So I always do now, in this case the stand needs minor assembly, I could
clearly see how it went together and a quick scan of the instruction leaflet confirmed what I thought, I had it
assembled and Danielle trying it out in about 5 minutes, simple, straight forward assembly.
Adjustments and setup:
The adjustments and positions of the legs I have found very versatile, most of the information I have found on the
Abyss stand say you need about 5 feet of floor space to use it, well I have found this to be rubbish! You can use the
stand with the legs fully deployed and like that it is very stable, but you can also use it just fine with the legs in a
very tight spread, I have used it with only about a foot of floor space! You have to watch the balance of the doll like
that but it can easily and safely be done, the great thing is in a configuration like that the dolls legs and feet create
a 4th and 5th point of contact making it that much more stable again. Obviously the wider the legs the more stable
the doll will be but if you are in a tight area or you want to hide as much of the stands legs behind the dolls legs as
possible then it is very easy.
There are multiple ways to adjust the stand for height and the dolls position and some handy safety points in that a
bar of steel sits in holes at various heights so if the tightening on the stand fails (unlikely) there is a safety backup,
nice touch when the safety of your $6000+ investment is at stake.
Construction:
Solid construction with mostly steel parts, the only PVC or rubber is in the tightening/adjusting mechanisms and the
rubber booties on the feet, good sized well seated rivets on the support arms and the same hook that the dolls
are delivered fixed to inside the crate, which gives the ability to really fix her in place on the stand if you were
displaying your doll for long periods, a spare wing nut and neck bolt included is a nice little extra as well.
You wont have any trouble with this stand collapsing under the dolls weight that is for sure!
Installing the doll and posing:
Installing the doll onto the stand is very straight forward and just the same as putting her/him back into their crate,
just a lot easier, the back cushion can be adjusted up and down for where ever you want it to sit on her back, and it
rotates on the main pole as well so you can have it out of the way while you hang her on the stand then swing it in
behind her back for support once she is on. Posing her on the stand opens up a whole new range of options of poses you
can get your doll to take on and is really only limited to your imagination and dolls ability/ range of motion.
I have found my dolls take on a whole new persona once standing, they look very confident and commanding
and the realism it adds just blows me away, having them just hang out on the stand in a nice pose is a great way
to add to the sheer presence the doll can generate, the first night I tried the new stand, once I had finished tinkering
with settings and poses I just left Jade in a very provocative pose right next to me while I worked at the computer
and I just couldn't stop looking at her! She was just so striking standing next to me, it was a lovely way to enjoy this
magnificent creation.
Off road:
I have recently been using this stand out doors in natural environment's and to my surprise it copes very well, one thing
it has in its favour is the wide spread that you can achieve with the legs. When fully deployed it has such a wide foot
print that if the ground is uneven or even sloped the stand still works absolutely fine, the dolls weight actually helps
with stability. there is a certain point where the dolls weight will tip it over if there is enough of a gradient but you
would have to be pretty fool hardy to get to that, I did it to test the limits and it was quite an angle before it started to
tip, there is also the stands leg placement to consider in sloped conditions, I found with two leg in front one back it
was very stable. if you wanted to really push the limits and use it on a heavily sloped surface you could weigh down
the uphill legs so it didn't tip but is anyone really going to use it like that? Maybe, but with the proper planning it is possible.
In conclusion:
I have always found in life I am never disappointed when I buy quality, I am also one for not buying ‘after market’
goods, for my car I will always buy ‘genuine Toyota’ and as such it basically never breaks down - for example, it might
be a little more expensive to have a mind-set like this but it pays off in the long term. As such for my expensive works
of art (my Real Dolls) I will only buy products I trust and a good place to start with that is genuine Abyss creations
equipment because I know it is specifically made for my dolls so there wont be any surprises and the bugs have been
worked out that could apply to my dolls by the people that actually made my dolls, no one knows more about
their needs than them surely?
So to finish up this review I am very pleased with it, it has exceeded my expectation because of the limitations I
thought applied to this stand from bits I have read on the forums, for what you actually get it is amazing value for
money and I am sure that this stand will last many years, just like my beautiful Real Dolls.
Highly recommended equipment if you own a Real Doll or Boy Toy for photography or just as a great and safe way
to display your doll.
Supersoul.
I received my first Real Doll just over two years ago and from day one I was really interested in photographing her,
I started down the steep learning curve posing her on the couch, the bed etc... As my images improved I started
to envision a whole new range of pictures I could attempt if Jade was standing up, I could try various model like
poses, use new areas of my surroundings and just generally take it to the next level for what I wanted to do. So I
started to look at stands, what was available, what features I needed, price and quality. I searched TDF long and hard
for stand information and found actually very little relevant info out there, maybe I'm just not very good at searching...
The first thing I thought is “Ill build one myself!” so I looked into that, brought some bits and bobs from the local
hardware store, then I found 2 long pieces of hardwood dumped down the river, I thought that because they were
hardwood they would be perfect! What a joke! I ended up building it but I had to stand back and ask myself “Would
I trust it to hold and keep safe my $8500 (NZD) Real Doll? No, No I would not!
So I thought stuff it, she is a Real Doll, she needs a Real Doll stand, a stand specifically designed for her.
A few days later we had one...
Shipping, customer service and packaging:
Once again I found myself the subject of Abyss Creations customer service, prompt, friendly, professional and an all
round a pleasure to deal with, after placing my order it arrived in 4 days, dropped over the fence waiting for me on
my arrival home from work.
The packaging is typical Abyss creations, sturdy and well protected, a strong cardboard box with the same foam
that they use to protect the dolls packed around any voids so the stand wont move or get knocked in transit. Nice.
Assembly and instructions:
Now down here in New Zealand we are known for a few things, a couple of those things are ‘you can fix anything
with number 8 fencing wire’ and ‘Instructions? I don't need bloody instructions!’ well one thing I have learnt with
Abyss products is ‘Read the instruction's!’ So I always do now, in this case the stand needs minor assembly, I could
clearly see how it went together and a quick scan of the instruction leaflet confirmed what I thought, I had it
assembled and Danielle trying it out in about 5 minutes, simple, straight forward assembly.
Adjustments and setup:
The adjustments and positions of the legs I have found very versatile, most of the information I have found on the
Abyss stand say you need about 5 feet of floor space to use it, well I have found this to be rubbish! You can use the
stand with the legs fully deployed and like that it is very stable, but you can also use it just fine with the legs in a
very tight spread, I have used it with only about a foot of floor space! You have to watch the balance of the doll like
that but it can easily and safely be done, the great thing is in a configuration like that the dolls legs and feet create
a 4th and 5th point of contact making it that much more stable again. Obviously the wider the legs the more stable
the doll will be but if you are in a tight area or you want to hide as much of the stands legs behind the dolls legs as
possible then it is very easy.
There are multiple ways to adjust the stand for height and the dolls position and some handy safety points in that a
bar of steel sits in holes at various heights so if the tightening on the stand fails (unlikely) there is a safety backup,
nice touch when the safety of your $6000+ investment is at stake.
Construction:
Solid construction with mostly steel parts, the only PVC or rubber is in the tightening/adjusting mechanisms and the
rubber booties on the feet, good sized well seated rivets on the support arms and the same hook that the dolls
are delivered fixed to inside the crate, which gives the ability to really fix her in place on the stand if you were
displaying your doll for long periods, a spare wing nut and neck bolt included is a nice little extra as well.
You wont have any trouble with this stand collapsing under the dolls weight that is for sure!
Installing the doll and posing:
Installing the doll onto the stand is very straight forward and just the same as putting her/him back into their crate,
just a lot easier, the back cushion can be adjusted up and down for where ever you want it to sit on her back, and it
rotates on the main pole as well so you can have it out of the way while you hang her on the stand then swing it in
behind her back for support once she is on. Posing her on the stand opens up a whole new range of options of poses you
can get your doll to take on and is really only limited to your imagination and dolls ability/ range of motion.
I have found my dolls take on a whole new persona once standing, they look very confident and commanding
and the realism it adds just blows me away, having them just hang out on the stand in a nice pose is a great way
to add to the sheer presence the doll can generate, the first night I tried the new stand, once I had finished tinkering
with settings and poses I just left Jade in a very provocative pose right next to me while I worked at the computer
and I just couldn't stop looking at her! She was just so striking standing next to me, it was a lovely way to enjoy this
magnificent creation.
Off road:
I have recently been using this stand out doors in natural environment's and to my surprise it copes very well, one thing
it has in its favour is the wide spread that you can achieve with the legs. When fully deployed it has such a wide foot
print that if the ground is uneven or even sloped the stand still works absolutely fine, the dolls weight actually helps
with stability. there is a certain point where the dolls weight will tip it over if there is enough of a gradient but you
would have to be pretty fool hardy to get to that, I did it to test the limits and it was quite an angle before it started to
tip, there is also the stands leg placement to consider in sloped conditions, I found with two leg in front one back it
was very stable. if you wanted to really push the limits and use it on a heavily sloped surface you could weigh down
the uphill legs so it didn't tip but is anyone really going to use it like that? Maybe, but with the proper planning it is possible.
In conclusion:
I have always found in life I am never disappointed when I buy quality, I am also one for not buying ‘after market’
goods, for my car I will always buy ‘genuine Toyota’ and as such it basically never breaks down - for example, it might
be a little more expensive to have a mind-set like this but it pays off in the long term. As such for my expensive works
of art (my Real Dolls) I will only buy products I trust and a good place to start with that is genuine Abyss creations
equipment because I know it is specifically made for my dolls so there wont be any surprises and the bugs have been
worked out that could apply to my dolls by the people that actually made my dolls, no one knows more about
their needs than them surely?
So to finish up this review I am very pleased with it, it has exceeded my expectation because of the limitations I
thought applied to this stand from bits I have read on the forums, for what you actually get it is amazing value for
money and I am sure that this stand will last many years, just like my beautiful Real Dolls.
Highly recommended equipment if you own a Real Doll or Boy Toy for photography or just as a great and safe way
to display your doll.
Supersoul.
