Quintina Travel Performance Review and Modification

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Tue Sep 12, 2023 8:14 pm

Just a little outfit change.
Looking so much a sweet Indian woman now.

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4891d · Post by **4891d** » Wed Sep 13, 2023 1:48 am

Mr Franz wrote: ↑Tue Sep 12, 2023 8:14 pm Just a little outfit change.
Looking so much a sweet Indian woman now.

Indeed!

And so expressive! If I walked into the room, I would spontaneously greet her and start a conversation. With her expressions varying subtly depending on the viewing angle, Priya must be a great listener.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Wed Sep 13, 2023 2:50 am

4891d wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2023 1:48 am
Mr Franz wrote: ↑Tue Sep 12, 2023 8:14 pm Just a little outfit change.
Looking so much a sweet Indian woman now.

Indeed!
And so expressive! If I walked into the room, I would spontaneously greet her and start a conversation. With her expressions varying subtly depending on the viewing angle, Priya must be a great listener.

Priya is a real presence in the room. Downright startling at times. She hasn't said much yet, but her eyes speak volumes.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:26 pm

I don't know why, but my girls always seem so deep in thought...

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sat Sep 23, 2023 4:55 pm

Just took A tape measure to Priya. Her vital statistics are, Bust 34" - Waist 27" - Hips 40"
VG lists the Quintina model at 40"-26"-38" but Priya has extra stuffing and her breasts were modified to hang.

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Fri Sep 29, 2023 5:57 pm

Evaluation
Okay, so I've lived with the mods I made for a while now and wanted to share my thoughts.

The first mod I did was to lengthen and stiffen the feet, which also made the sole flatter and better defined the heel.

This has worked out really well and made shoes fit a lot better. Although, Priya's feet are so cute now, I just leave her barefoot.

Next I gave her hands a bit of shape and added some finger bones.

I wasn't after full articulation, I just wanted to give the fingers a natural curve. For the most part, this worked out well. The hands look more realistic and can be posed more easily. Only problem is, the wires in the fingers aren't attached to anything. They float free and get out of position easily. If I were do it again, I'd add some sort of structure inside the hand to attach the back of the wires to.

I also gave Priya a little boob job.

Basically reshaping the breasts, which had the overall effect of flatening the chest area above. All I really did there was fold more material into existing seams at the top and bottom of each breast. That did decrease the breast size somewhat, but gave them a more natural appearance. That was further enhanced by adding some weight to the bottom of each one to give a little drop and bounce. That and a few strtigically placed stitches after she was stuffed to better define the curves. The nipples were also relocated and made smaller. I had hoped for more bounce and sway, but I really like the way they turned out overall. Priya's breasts feel quite natural now thanks to that added weight, especially the way they feel pressed up against my chest when I give her a hug.

I had planned to add an articulated skeleton, but thought better of it, not wanting to make her any less cuddly. So instead, I opted to just stiffen her legs and forearms.

The idea was just to make her arms and legs less prone to bending in the wrong place. That's worked out wonderfully and has had the added benefit of making her easier to dress as well as more realistic to cuddle.

Okay, so the biggest mod I made was constructing a completely new and different kind of Valentina head and face. One that is removable with functioning eyelids and full eye rotation. I could not be happier with the result. Surprised myself on this one.

The head uses a modified Styrofoam core like the ones used to display hats and wigs. To that I installed acrylic eyes. The same type found on TPE and silicone dolls. I was actually able to reuse the standard Valentina Girl lips, cut down to size and reshaped. The mounting system for the head is super simple. Just a press fit over the neck stump, which was fashioned from the original head.

Overall this was a fun project. I really enjoyed working on it. I did want to have a fully articulate Valentina, one able to both sit and stand. Once I got into it though, just didn't seem all that worthwhile. I like Priya just the way she is and so does Dhila.

DocMoriarty · Post by **DocMoriarty** » Wed Oct 04, 2023 4:27 am

Great summary of your mods for Priya in one place. Except for the more complicated head mod a few simple mods were necessary to make her a lot better doll.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Wed Oct 04, 2023 6:53 am

DocMoriarty wrote: ↑Wed Oct 04, 2023 4:27 am Great summary of your mods for Priya in one place. Except for the more complicated head mod a few simple mods were necessary to make her a lot better doll.

Yeah you know, most of the body mods were simple and done after she was stuffed. I used embroidery thread doubled with a 6 inch doll maker needle to strategically place stitches here and there to pull and shape her body and to draw her arms in closer. The stitches don't even show and have the added benefit of keeping the stuffing from shifting.

I also ordered my Valentina with the optional zipper down the back. That's a must have in my book. Made stuffing her so much easier, not to mention making it a lot easier to control and guide that long needle.

As for the head, foot and breasts mods. They really weren't all that complicated, just took a bit more time to contemplate and figure out. I spent a few days safety pinning things together every which way before I finally got it all sorted. After that it was all basic hand stitching and the hardest part of that was threading the needle.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sun Oct 15, 2023 6:08 pm

Just a little outfit change

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Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Wed Oct 25, 2023 4:31 pm

"Awww... Priya's having a nap"
First words from the wife's mouth this morning.

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Post by **ValentinaGirls** » Tue Oct 31, 2023 2:31 pm

Hey Mr. Franz

I love what you've done with Priya!

Yesterday I accidentally stumbled on a good trick for taking pictures of the brown ladies. If you turn down the lights low and take pictures of them from the back of the room with flash you don't get quite little of the reflection that is usually causing big problems in photos of the brown beauties.

You might have known this before, but just in case it's a new discovery I thought I'd share it with you. I did this by accident and I'm gonna keep taking pictures of them this way from now on

titjob · Post by **titjob** » Tue Oct 31, 2023 3:52 pm

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Tue Oct 31, 2023 4:51 pm

ValentinaGirls wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2023 2:31 pm Hey Mr. Franz

I love what you've done with Priya!

Yesterday I accidentally stumbled on a good trick for taking pictures of the brown ladies. If you turn down the lights low and take pictures of them from the back of the room with flash you don't get quite little of the reflection that is usually causing big problems in photos of the brown beauties.

You might have known this before, but just in case it's a new discovery I thought I'd share it with you. I did this by accident and I'm gonna keep taking pictures of them this way from now on

Thanks! I did something like that with the last couple shots I posted above as well as the ones I just took below. The brown ladies are a bit of a challenge to photograph for sure. I'm always experimenting with light and cam settings.

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This is my favorite shot so far. Also taken with a flash in relatively low light, but with a single accent light off to the side to produce a warm, shadowy candlelight effect.

Philodendron8 · Post by **Philodendron8** » Tue Nov 28, 2023 9:26 am

This was such a great read! Actually has me wanting to make/modify my own now. It would be a great holiday project too.

Congrats on getting her, by the way!

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Tue Nov 28, 2023 1:42 pm

Philodendron8 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 9:26 am This was such a great read! Actually has me wanting to make/modify my own now. It would be a great holiday project too.

Congrats on getting her, by the way!

Thanks! I highly recommend it. Valentinas are just plain fun and easily customized.