Anxiously awaiting my custom doll from Spartan Lover

[Stocking_Hunter]

Any progress on your guy?

[DreamyStarrr]

Any progress on your guy?

No still waiting on him to ship, the wait is killing me right now lol. I just want him to be on his way already!

[Stocking_Hunter]

Well... My FEDEX tracking number sat for over a week, (I have seen others complain of much longer), as "Created" before it was actually received for shipment and started "moving". FEDEX has various types of service and the tracking is slightly different for each one. FEDEX Home Delivery, (for instance), will show a Pickup; Nothing while it is in transit, (which can take up to a week so no updates for a week!); Arrival at Depot; Out for Delivery. At least they tell you up front the ETA. "Received by FEDEX. Estimated Date of Delivery XXXX."

The "regular" FEDEX, (not Home Delivery), will usually show a much more detailed timeline with a scan every step of the way.

UPS is hit or miss. Sometimes you get a good timeline. Other times you won't see anything until the package is delivered.

Thank goodness USPS doesn't do delivery of big packages like ours! I don't know how many times my packages have been "delivered" to the wrong address, (miles away from my home even thought the address was completely correct!), or "Delivered. Handed to Addressee" and the package is nowhere to be found.

Chin up! He will be on his way soon! I guess you can say this is part of the "experience".

[Resonator]

Wow, always very cool to see fully custom dolls out there.

I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more

Yeah, same. I think cost is probably a factor though, and people might just be happy with something that's just "good enough," especially depending on how they use their dolls.

I think a part of there not being so many custom dolls out there, is due to the fact that a lot of manufacturers won't create a custom doll that is based off of a celebrity or character in fear that it might violate intellectual or likeness copyright. (Some won't even create one off of a few features from different ones; blended together). But it does seem like that has changed since 2016 (at least outside of the US?), since I see countless dolls that look like celebrities and female video game characters these days (GameLady & SY brand comes to mind), but with different names to possibly avoid that clause in court.

With a custom doll you hope the manufacturer can make an almost 95% match based on what you supply. Even dolls from the same molds can vary widely as it is. Since there are no factory photos on these unique creations to know if your custom doll will be exactly how you imagined them to be, that is a lot of money to spend in the hopes that they will look exactly how you expected them to when supplying the 3D models/pictures to them. It can be more of a gamble depending on who you have manufacture the custom doll as well.

Spartan did do an excellent job on your custom Astarion; his quality looks top-notch from these photos. It has me wondering if his face was created by the same factory who made his body also.
~

I can understand the concerns about copyright. Good to see that some manufacturers are finding ways around that. A 95% similarity sounds pretty good, but it is definitely still a lot of money to risk if you're not sure if they can recreate it faithfully. I'm mainly interested in this topic because I have a custom doll idea in mind - a female one, not a male one though - that I would make if I'm ever in the position to do so (though it may never actually happen, since I would need my own place for that). I'm always interested to see how accurately custom dolls reflect the photos a customer gives. Not seeing a lot of examples out there in the wild. It looks like they did a pretty good job on yours.

The best way to go about a custom I feel is to find a 3D artist, one that has a decent sized portfolio. I found one on Etsy, they were a good price & did really spot on work. With the people making the doll I only saw one pic example of a custom they did & it wasn’t really a good match to the pic of the person they were making.

By that, do you mean someone who can take an image and create a 3D model based on it? Ok, that actually sounds like solid advice. I'll have to keep that in mind (if the day ever comes that I can get a doll lol).

[Stocking_Hunter]

Well... My FEDEX tracking number sat for over a week, (I have seen others complain of much longer), as "Created" before it was actually received for shipment and started "moving". FEDEX has various types of service and the tracking is slightly different for each one. FEDEX Home Delivery, (for instance), will show a Pickup; Nothing while it is in transit, (which can take up to a week so no updates for a week!); Arrival at Depot; Out for Delivery. At least they tell you up front the ETA. "Received by FEDEX. Estimated Date of Delivery XXXX."

The "regular" FEDEX, (not Home Delivery), will usually show a much more detailed timeline with a scan every step of the way.

UPS is hit or miss. Sometimes you get a good timeline. Other times you won't see anything until the package is delivered.

Thank goodness USPS doesn't do delivery of big packages like ours! I don't know how many times my packages have been "delivered" to the wrong address, (miles away from my home even thought the address was completely correct!), or "Delivered. Handed to Addressee" and the package is nowhere to be found.

Chin up! He will be on his way soon! I guess you can say this is part of the "experience".

Just a quick note... After spending the entire day waiting for FEDEX Home Delivery, (after the box was loaded on the truck the ETA changed from 10-2 to EOD. ), they finally decided to appear at my house at 5:00 pm. (I think this was his last delivery even though I live less than 5 miles from the FEDEX depot!) The FEDEX Guy didn't knock. I never saw his truck, (and I was sitting in the dining room looking out at my driveway!). I heard a noise. Went outside and found the box with Lexy on my back porch leaning up against the house. I didn't even get a notification of delivery until close to 1/2 hour later!

So... Yea for the "experience".

Hopefully your guy will be on his way soon and arrive gallantly without issue or delay.

[DreamyStarrr]

Well... My FEDEX tracking number sat for over a week, (I have seen others complain of much longer), as "Created" before it was actually received for shipment and started "moving". FEDEX has various types of service and the tracking is slightly different for each one. FEDEX Home Delivery, (for instance), will show a Pickup; Nothing while it is in transit, (which can take up to a week so no updates for a week!); Arrival at Depot; Out for Delivery. At least they tell you up front the ETA. "Received by FEDEX. Estimated Date of Delivery XXXX."

The "regular" FEDEX, (not Home Delivery), will usually show a much more detailed timeline with a scan every step of the way.

UPS is hit or miss. Sometimes you get a good timeline. Other times you won't see anything until the package is delivered.

Thank goodness USPS doesn't do delivery of big packages like ours! I don't know how many times my packages have been "delivered" to the wrong address, (miles away from my home even thought the address was completely correct!), or "Delivered. Handed to Addressee" and the package is nowhere to be found.

Chin up! He will be on his way soon! I guess you can say this is part of the "experience".

Just a quick note... After spending the entire day waiting for FEDEX Home Delivery, (after the box was loaded on the truck the ETA changed from 10-2 to EOD. ), they finally decided to appear at my house at 5:00 pm. (I think this was his last delivery even though I live less than 5 miles from the FEDEX depot!) The FEDEX Guy didn't knock. I never saw his truck, (and I was sitting in the dining room looking out at my driveway!). I heard a noise. Went outside and found the box with Lexy on my back porch leaning up against the house. I didn't even get a notification of delivery until close to 1/2 hour later!

So... Yea for the "experience".

Hopefully your guy will be on his way soon and arrive gallantly without issue or delay.

Omg that sounds so maddening! Thankfully I went with UPS lol. I was thinking of FedEx because I was nervous about the potential strike but thankfully it didn’t happen. & yes! USPS is the worst, I would NOT trust them with my Astarion lol.

I’m trying it’s so close, yet so far. He didn’t ship this week so next week I’m hoping for a tracking number finally.

Hah, that’s so annoying! But hey, you finally have your lady ^_^ hope you 2 are having a great time! & thank you! Definitely need all the good vibes for his journey, no issues, delays or damages!!

[DreamyStarrr]

By that, do you mean someone who can take an image and create a 3D model based on it? Ok, that actually sounds like solid advice. I'll have to keep that in mind (if the day ever comes that I can get a doll lol).

Like you send them pictures & they digitally sculpt it for you hope you can get your doll eventually!

[DreamyStarrr]

He’s on the way!!!!! Just got tracking!! I’m so excited & nervous, hehe!! Please everyone send good vibes my way that Astarion will get here safely!! <3

[Stocking_Hunter]

So excited for you!

[DreamyStarrr]

What!?!? I just got the tracking last night, it’s gonna be here tomorrow??

[FormerlyHot]

DreamyStarr, I used to order precious and semi-precious gemstones from India and would experience the same thing. The shipment would take forever to clear customs (usually in New York) and then would suddenly be out for delivery in Georgia the next day. Go figure.

[Stocking_Hunter]

Oh WOW! Oh WOW! Oh WOW!

At least with Lexy I had a week to prepare...

Did you already call in "sick", (with excitement)?

[Stocking_Hunter]

Any updates? I am getting second hand anxiety!

[DreamyStarrr]

Any updates? I am getting second hand anxiety!

Well the last update was it’s in a state that’s only 5 hours away at like 1 in the morning, so I’m wondering will it just show up or is it gonna be tomorrow? I’m so restless :,( I just want him home damn it lol. He’s so close & yet so far!

I’m currently trying to free up some time so we can spend some quality time together :p

How’s your week with your lady going?

[Stocking_Hunter]

Any updates? I am getting second hand anxiety!

Well the last update was it’s in a state that’s only 5 hours away at like 1 in the morning, so I’m wondering will it just show up or is it gonna be tomorrow? I’m so restless :,( I just want him home damn it lol. He’s so close & yet so far!

I’m currently trying to free up some time so we can spend some quality time together :p

How’s your week with your lady going?

Lexy has been amazing. Even with all the preparations I am still finding things to do with and for her. Learning soo many things and getting use to her presence. I am documenting my learning experiences as I go in her "Lexy is finally home!" thread.

Not going to hijack your thread with any of that. This is about YOUR guy! Hopefully he shows up soon!

Keep us posted!