By Virginia Obeius of Forever Virginia
For those unfamiliar with PlanetDoll 1/4 size girls, their style has traditionally leaned toward a younger-looking, single-jointed body that is slightly bigger than other “slim minis”. The new body is double-jointed and slimmer in many areas, giving it a more mature appearance. However, there are many other differences that make this body a real departure from its original style.
For reference, in the photo below, the tan girl is a new 43cm Emily next to an original NS 43cm Riz. Planetdoll no longer makes this original color and now offers a “normal” that is peachy colored and a “pink normal” that is pinky colored. Neither doll is glue-sueded or altered in any way for this photoshoot.
The new body stands a bit taller than the old. Here you can see that the new body is really slimmer everywhere except the chest.
This version has a joint under the chest, but also is available with the joint moved to the waist like the old body. I do not think that version functions as well as this one though due to the way the new body’s torso is strung separately from the legs. Without the added tension of the legs to support the torso, the waist joint is too slippery without sueding to stay in place. This is not a problem however with the chest joint version.
The double-jointed arms and legs give a greater range of movement. However, I think the swivel joint in the upper arm is unsightly and not necessary. There is also a swivel joint in the upper thigh.
The older body to me has a cuter profile but as some have noticed can be harder to clothe due to it’s thicker waist and legs.
The knees on the new body are very well done and the elbows can assume natural poses easily without sueding whereas the old body is kicky without alteration.
From the front, head swapping appears OK… however the new head sits much higher on the old body.
From the side, you can see the new body’s head has a smaller neck hole so swapping a new head on the old body might need modding. However, the old heads work fine on the new body.
The new heads have a smaller cap opening located lower down the back of the head. Inside, there are two notches for the S-hook to rest. The smaller notch site is further back, allowing the head more forward/down movement.
The new bodies have elastic running from the head to the torso and then another attaching the legs through the hips, This photo shows a view inside the hip socket where there appears to be a rotating joint although I did not disassemble the leg completely to examine this.
It is suffice to say that restringing this new body is not as simple as the older version.
More joints + more flexibility!
Planetdoll’s tan (at least this batch) appears a bit cooler than the Dollshe cast “pale tan” head shown here.
I don’t know if it is common with all new Planetdolls but the newer resin is lighter and cheaper feeling than the old. Also, there were many places where the resin was not cleaned away from small details at well as it should have been. Inside the head, the eye sockets were particularly rough with resin “flaking” all around.
Overall, even though the newer body has increased flexibility I still prefer the old body. I think it is best suited for the heads and like the solid feel and younger styling. However, I think many people who are new to Planetdoll or were frustrated in the past with their “quirks” will enjoy the new body style. As long as Planetdoll fixes the flaws in their finishing I would recommend them as an affordable 1/4 doll option.
Photos above and below are all by the author, Virginia Obeius.
Older Riz and new version Emily are both from Korean company PlanetDoll
Virginia’s websites:
~~~~~
Tan resin Emily head with face-up by the author:
Two Riz dolls with face-ups and painting by Virginia:
