Review: Elleo Dolls- A Friggin' Amazing Company to Work With!! (with poses)

I'll start by reviewing the order and the order process and then review the dog itself! See a couple poses at the bottom of this post.

Site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ElleoDolls?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Ease of Ordering and Payment: 10/10. Super easy. I contacted them via Etsy and they worked with me using pictures I sent to create the dog. They sent me emails throughout the process with 3-D models as he was being made. 

Price: 8/10. For the work they did and the effort they went to to make this dog, they get massive props! They did roll the cost of painting into the dog's price, which is amazing.You be the judge if the size for the cost is worth it!

Accuracy: 8/10. They get bonus points for how realistic the dog is. Be SURE to get the measurement at the head and at the withers (shoulders) to make sure the doll is the right size for the breed.

Speed: 10/10. I ordered him in February, so it took about 5  months to get him to me, and that's with them having to sculpt him from scratch! 

Shipping 10/10: I've had good experiences both times I've used the Russian postal services, but both times I paid for EMS. He arrived quickly and was packaged perfectly. 

 

Material: The dog itself is made of a very light plastic. I am not sure what type it is, but it is whatever they use for 3-D printing. It has an interesting texture to it, which actually kinda works to give the dog a little more realism. I am a little scared of moving all his joints too much in case it is fragile.

Painting: This is fabulous. Hands down one of the best animal paint jobs I've seen. The artist was so humble, not sure he could pull it off, but seriously. It's perfect.

Eyes: You can't change the eyes on this little guy. With the way the head is glued together you can't really get into the head anyway. This is okay with me though, because the likelihood of finding eyes that are small enough is slim and look at how great the artist did at making them look so sad and watery and brown!

Posing: Wonderful. My only qualm is that the middle joint is too long. I'm thinking of modding the joint from one joint into two so that he can curve more and scratch his own nose with his foot. 

The range of motion of his neck is really awesome. The neck joint mechanism is really innovative!!!

 

Scale and Accuracy: He's a perfectly replica of the breed, but I think the artist thought basset hounds were small, like a dashund or corgi, when they're actually much bigger. He'd be great for a very small, maybe mature tiny or mature MSD. 

He is sculpted beautifully. The little folds of skin on his feet are perfect, his jowels look great, everything about him just screams basset.

 

Overall, he's very cute, and worth it!!! I'm going to just have him be a puppy and see if Elleo dolls can print me an even bigger one next year!!!

In any case, I hope this helps you make the decision of whether or not to go with Elleo Dolls. As a seller, I cannot recommend them enough. They are thorough and accommodating and an absolute pleasure to deal with.

I hope this convinces you to take the plunge and get your dolls a furry, four legged friend from Elleo Dolls!!!

Pokémon Syndrome: Acquisition Disorder, Recasts, and the Doll Hobby

All Teh Dolls.

All instances of you* in this piece refer to general “you”, not anyone specific. Also, there is nothing wrong with buying or selling. Even buying or selling a lot. This is not meant as a critique or criticism of anyone or anything in particular, but rather a cautionary tale to explore your own motivations for doing so.

“Gamers have a term for this madness.  It’s “acquisition disorder.”  It’s when you have to have the new shiny.”- Click for Source

The problem with collecting hobbies is what I call Pokemon syndrome: Gotta catch ‘em all! Meaning that the compulsion to buy and buy and buy often overrides need and good sense. For some people, it gets dangerous. They obsessively buy everything they can pertaining themselves to their hobbies, shop out of their budgets, don’t live within their means, and can even rack up massive amounts of debt. (Have you seen the Star Wars documentary on Netflix where they talk about their obsession with buying and collecting? Watch that shit. Then come back here.) It’s not quite the same as a shopping addiction, which is a whole entire other issue that can be aggravated by Pokémon Syndrome, but it’s a very, very real thing. If you have a shopping addiction, like any other addiction, and you feel it’s a problem or becoming a problem, then please seek help.

Buying becomes a panacea. You’re feeling stuck, uninspired, sad, or whatever, and shopping takes over. You buy a new doll because you’re bored with the old ones or simply “not feeling” it anymore. A new outfit brings the spark back: the excitement of shopping, of comparing, of imagining, then the excitement and joyful, satisfying anxiety of waiting and checking tracking, and then the climax of arrival. You open the item, gush, glee, take a few pictures, post on social and media- and then the high is gone. So you move on to the next quest.