Project Sinon/Motoko

Well, it looks like the family is growing again!

 

It's taken a while to do so but I finally finished my latest project girl. And by project, I mean *PROJECT*. Let me explain....

 

Back in April I had made a purchase off Facebook of some DD body parts, some random clothing and an almost complete Sinon outfit. The seller and I got along well and I made another purchase from them soon after. A week or so goes by and the seller shows me a project girl they had been working on for a bit but was hesitant about it. One thing led to another and I found out the seller felt really bad about how the project had gone and just wanted to get rid of the doll to help move on. Of course, me being the total sucker I am on projects and wayward dollfies, I was all about seeing this doll and learning more.

 

So we talked about it, made a deal and then THIS arrived in early May:

 

DSC_0565 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The extra head you see up there belongs to Ami. She was a bonus from this seller because they weren't doing anything with her and figured I could find her a body and make her into something.... which of course I did.

 

Anyways, what you see above is basically what the previous owner was doing with their Sinon. They were going for a video game character from "Borderlands" I believe. They sent along what was basically a full Sinon head, eyes, body and weapons ( as I had already purchased the outfit set from them ). I also bought those DDdy parts you see on the right.

 

So let's get into some details. Basically, I know nothing of that game or its characters so I wasn't going to keep the doll looking like this. As I knew what to expect before I bought all this, doing some real work on de-staining and cleanup on the vinyl was going to be a chore. Here's what I had to start with....

 

DSC_0566 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0567 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Most of the black marks and other odd colors you see above came right off with some rubbing alcohol. Nothing too bad really. But the silver body tattoos were a different story:

 

DSC_0568 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0569 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0570 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

All of those tattoos seem to have been made with one of those paint marker/pens and I had to do some real scrubbing with a magic eraser and rubbing alcohol to get them all off. Also, in the pic below you can see some dark accent lines under the bust and across the tummy. I think the seller said they were going for the cell shaded look of the video game style. I had to get in there with a toothbrush and alcohol to get those off.

 

DSC_0571 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0572 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The Sinon accessories had been painted as well so I had to clean them too.

 

DSC_0573 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0575 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0576 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

All of the accessories except the huge gun cleaned up nicely. But that big gun is a real piece of work. It has so much painting and detail on it that it's almost impossible to get everything off it without just soaking the entire thing in alcohol. So for now, it's only halfway clean.

 

The feet were the worst parts of this. I was able to clean off all the marks and paint but they were stained so badly that after a month of stain treatments with Oxy10, I had to just give up and buy new vinyl foot covers from Volks.

 

DSC_0577 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0579 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The other thing about the feet was that the long plastic rods that connect the feet to the shins skeleton parts were missing. The owner had no clue what had happened to them so I had to improvise and make my own. Luckily, I found wooden dowels that were the same size as the plastic rods and cut those to fit in there. They work just fine!

 

The gloves also had detailing added to them that didn't look bad but I still cleaned them anyways.

 

DSC_0580 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The second worst staining was on her butt. Not sure what caused it but these took the longest to get rid of... almost 2 full months of stain treatments.

 

DSC_0581 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

And last but not least is her head. The default face up had been wiped and another painted in. Now PLEASE don't get upset or angry at the owner for doing this. You have every right as a doll owner to do whatever modifications you want to your girls. The owner wasn't a professional artist and they knew that. They did the best they could at the time and used what they had. It's not *my* style but at one time, the previous owner was happy with it for the character and that's what mattered.

 

So here's some pics of the before:

 

DSC_0582 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0583 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0584 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0585 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Getting those lines out of the ears, the coloring around her eyes and the sticky headcap was a pain! Cleaning the head alone took me an hour and a half of scrubbing, rubbing and washing. But as you'll see in the pics below, it was worth the hard work!

 

DSC_0586 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0587 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0588 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

A nice squeaky clean Sinon head!

 

So after the initial cleaning of the body and accessories, I had to do major stain treatments to the body. As I said earlier, I gave up on the feet and replaced those. But everything else cleaned up after 2 months of Oxy10 treatments. Yes, it took forever and yes, it was annoying to have to clean and redo the Oxy10 every day for 2 months.

 

But.....

 

I'm a total sucker for this kind of thing and all I could think of the entire time was who this girl would be when she was done.

 

After all the cleaning and waiting, an idea hit me. The original owner had wanted her to be a badass girl and I liked that idea. So I figured I'd try to do her in some sort of Lara Croft style..... have her be an adventurer or something similar with a long braid in her hair and a nice little look of attitude on her face.

 

So once I was all done with her body and ready for her to be redone, I handed her over to my face up artist Eblktty and she worked her magic. And I do mean magic.

 

When she was handed to me, she immediately had the look of a certain anime character I knew and loved. Ebl chose the eyes and wig from my collection of spares and I loved her choices. This girl spoke to me as soon as I popped her head onto her body and told me her name.

 

 

 

 

 

It was Motoko.

 

 

 

Yup! THAT Motoko..... from GITS.

 

 

 

Why you ask? Well, just look at her.

 

 

 

DSC_0833 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

She likes guns it seems....

 

DSC_0834 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

How about putting down the weapons for a sec so I can get some nice photos of you?

 

"I suppose I can for a sec or two..."

 

DSC_0835 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Ok good, now let's... HEY! I said no more guns!

 

"Oh, sorry. Must have had that hiding somewhere."

 

DSC_0836 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"That's too close mister, back off."

 

DSC_0837 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Will you PLEASE stop with the guns? This won't take long really.

 

I guess..."

 

DSC_0838 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Thank you. Hey wait, what do you have behind your back?

 

"Nothing."

 

Come on now, there's nowhere else to hide a gun.

 

DSC_0839 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"You're right, these are knives/blades. You said no more GUNS."

 

DSC_0840 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"Aren't they cool?"

 

DSC_0841 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I guess they're cool but could you...

 

"And guess what? If you put them together like this..."

 

DSC_0842 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"They make a gun."

 

DSC_0843 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Fine, I give up.

 

"As you should have a while ago."

 

DSC_0844 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"Now I just need to refill my ammo supply."

 

DSC_0845 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_0846 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"Now get lost before I decide to use my remaining ammo on your butt."

 

DSC_0847 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

 

 

So there we go! Altho I named her Motoko, she's not really that character.... she just happened to turn out looking a lot like her. I may change her eyes in the future but I do like the ones she has now quite a bit. As for her storyline, she's the little sister of my Ryomou and will be quite clingy to her. You can see Ryomous influence on Motoko thru the handcuffs on her side, her choice of boots and the blue choker on her neck. Of course she will also be good friends with my Yoko since Yoko is my master of weapons and guns here at the house and in the Maid Brigade.

 

I'd like to thank the original seller for letting me adopt their Sinon in the first place and for trusting me enuff to try and give her a new lease on life by redoing her. I'd also like to thank Eblktty for doing one hell of a job on her face up and styling. You always knock these out of the park for me girl!

 

Thank you for looking everyone, I hope you liked how my project turned out!

 

 

 

Billy

Oh man she turned out awesome! With that short purple hair she kinda reminds me of who I plan on making when I get a Sinon head. Motoko looks like a total badass. Also those shorts are awesome! Aveline wants to know where you got them from. lol

Badlands? AH! Borderlands!

 

I recognize that style anywhere!

And honestly, the previous owner didn't do a bad job. That style looks almost like Borderlands.

The fact that I was able to recognize it so easily shows that they did a pretty decent job at the painting.

 

Looks like they were trying to make Lilith.

 

 

Anyway, fangirling aside.

 

You did so well with the cleanup. I didn't think the silver was going to come off. But wow, you always amaze me

I LOVE the hair you gave her. It suits her well.

I liked the original style she had, very different, but I am always amazed by your cleanup ability and DAMN, she is badass as hell now, she is awesome!!

Ah, I remember the original owner posting photos of those tattoos on tumblr... or at least i think it was tumblr... it might have been one of the other sites I browse.

 

Eblktty really does work some magic, I couldn't believe that was the same doll It's amazing how much of a difference a face up can really make.

Motoko looks lovely, I can't wait to see more of her!

 

Also, that makes 47 dolls now, right? Why do I have the feeling that once those new standards get released, you'll finally hit 50?

Omg I love her! She turned out absolutely fabulous. I like motoko's face up better even than Sinon's default. Grats on pulling this together! Totally worth the effort.

Wow, Motoko's fantastic! Great work.

 

but the bow on her bosom is totally clashing her mojo

Oh man she turned out awesome! With that short purple hair she kinda reminds me of who I plan on making when I get a Sinon head. Motoko looks like a total badass. Also those shorts are awesome! Aveline wants to know where you got them from. lol

 

Thank you! That's cool you're getting a Sinon too! As for those shorts, I got them along with a random animal print top from a seller on Figurefm a while back. There's no tag inside so I have no idea who makes them. But I've seen these with white lace instead of black too so I know there's more out there. Hopefully you can find some!

 

Badlands? AH! Borderlands! I recognize that style anywhere! And honestly, the previous owner didn't do a bad job. That style looks almost like Borderlands. The fact that I was able to recognize it so easily shows that they did a pretty decent job at the painting. Looks like they were trying to make Lilith.

 

Ha ha, I got the game wrong.. I went back and changed it, thanks for that! I'm not into newer games so I have no clue. But you're right, the painting wasn't that bad and it does look a lot like the character it was supposed to be.

 

You did so well with the cleanup. I didn't think the silver was going to come off. But wow, you always amaze me I LOVE the hair you gave her. It suits her well.

 

Thanks so much! When I was in the middle of the cleaning I had to take frequent breaks and ask myself if all this scrubbing was worth it. But it totally was and now I'm glad I did it all..... especially since Motoko turned out looking so good. And I wish I could lay claim to choosing her hairstyle but that was Eblktty. The past couple of girls she's done for me I've given her creative license over the eyes and wigs as long as she gave the girl the basic look I asked for. As you can see, they've turned out very nice! So thanks!

 

I liked the original style she had, very different, but I am always amazed by your cleanup ability and DAMN, she is badass as hell now, she is awesome!!

 

Hee hee, thank you very much! It wasn't an easy cleanup but she definitely needed it and I'm super happy with how she turned out.

 

Ah, I remember the original owner posting photos of those tattoos on tumblr... or at least i think it was tumblr... it might have been one of the other sites I browse.

 

Eblktty really does work some magic, I couldn't believe that was the same doll It's amazing how much of a difference a face up can really make.

Motoko looks lovely, I can't wait to see more of her!

 

Also, that makes 47 dolls now, right? Why do I have the feeling that once those new standards get released, you'll finally hit 50?

 

I first saw these pics on Facebook but the original owner could have put them up on Tumblr, I dunno. bl does indeed work some serious voodoo for me! I'm always amazed at how well my girls turn out when she does them. Motoko does indeed look great and I'm really happy I was able to adopt her and give her another go at life. As for my family, she makes 46. I plan to get a Smartdoll Moonlight in August as a birthday present to myself so there's another step closer to 50. I don't know if I'll hit 50 by years end but it's definitely possible.

 

Omg I love her! She turned out absolutely fabulous. I like motoko's face up better even than Sinon's default. Grats on pulling this together! Totally worth the effort.

 

Thank you so much! It means a lot that you like how she looks.

 

Wow, Motoko's fantastic! Great work. but the bow on her bosom is totally clashing her mojo

 

Thank you! Motoko likes lowcut shirts as well as sleeveless ones so she prefers function over form. I doubt she even noticed the bow when she picked out that shirt. ^_^

 

 

 

Billy

The change is impressive. Well done, she is really pretty (and definitely badass looking!!)

The change is impressive. Well done, she is really pretty (and definitely badass looking!!)

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

 

Billy

Looks like this girl found the right home with the perfect weapons stash! XD Seriously though, her makeover looked like it took a lot of work, but she looks super awesome now and fits perfectly in with the rest of your girls!

 

I know the feet are a lost cause, but I feel like you should save them for socks or shoes that are known stainers (or just to test fabric on).

That was quite the ambitious rehab project with quite a successful outcome. Congrats! Motoko looks great!

Looks like this girl found the right home with the perfect weapons stash! XD Seriously though, her makeover looked like it took a lot of work, but she looks super awesome now and fits perfectly in with the rest of your girls!

 

Thank you very much! She did indeed find quite the weapons stash here... I just hope she doesn't try to use all of them! I also think she fits right in with the others too.

 

I know the feet are a lost cause, but I feel like you should save them for socks or shoes that are known stainers (or just to test fabric on).

 

I didn't throw them away! I put them in with another pair of feet that were beyond repair along with a shin and M-bust that I use for stain testing. No worries!

 

That was quite the ambitious rehab project with quite a successful outcome. Congrats! Motoko looks great!

 

Thank you sir! I guess it was a little ambitious but I'm a sucker for project girls like this. She took a long time to repair and change but I think it was totally worth it. I shared pics with the previous owner and they were also extremely happy with how she turned out. That made me really happy too.

 

 

 

Billy

WOW

 

Just WOW

 

The work you had with this girl... other people would've give up and buy some other replacement, but you kept it up for two months, TWO WHOLE MONTHS. Thats some love for that girl, seeing her finished is herd to believe where you started.

 

Congratulations on your new girl

WOW

 

Just WOW

 

The work you had with this girl... other people would've give up and buy some other replacement, but you kept it up for two months, TWO WHOLE MONTHS. Thats some love for that girl, seeing her finished is herd to believe where you started.

 

Congratulations on your new girl

 

 

Thanks so much! Buying new vinyl is the easy way out tho and it's expensive. In order to save money and give this girl new life, I kind of HAD to fix what was there and hope it worked out well. I'm glad you like her and thanks for the compliments!

 

 

 

Billy

She does look so badass. You did a fantastic job on her.

Impressive. Most impressive.

 

Motoko looks extremely cool. From the pictures, I'd never have guessed she was a massive cleaning project.

 

You know, I kind of like the original face up. Or, to phrase it better, I like what they were going for. I think it's a positive thing that I can tell what they were after, and the result, even if it isn't good, doesn't come off as entirely bad. I mean, if I did the same thing the head would probably end up looking like a raccoon or something. Their work is in dire need of a steady hand, supplies, and some practice, but there's talent there. You know, I can see why they were happy with her for their character.

 

I guess my question, if the answer is even known, is whether all the random flecks of black (and occasional flecks of red) are intentional? Were they just unintentional stains or a deliberate dirty and cuts and scrapes look?

She turned out really cute.

She does look so badass. You did a fantastic job on her.

 

Thank you very much!

 

She turned out really cute.

 

Thank you!

 

Impressive. Most impressive. Motoko looks extremely cool. From the pictures, I'd never have guessed she was a massive cleaning project.

 

Thank you very much! Anyone that has seen her in person said the same thing when I showed them pics of the "before".

 

You know, I kind of like the original face up. Or, to phrase it better, I like what they were going for. I think it's a positive thing that I can tell what they were after, and the result, even if it isn't good, doesn't come off as entirely bad. I mean, if I did the same thing the head would probably end up looking like a raccoon or something. Their work is in dire need of a steady hand, supplies, and some practice, but there's talent there. You know, I can see why they were happy with her for their character.

 

Don't get me wrong, I definitely didn't *hate* it and even tho I didn't know a thing about the character the previous owner was going for, once they showed me the pics of that character, I definitely saw it. I don't blame the owner for doing anything they did to the doll... they were doing whatever they could to make that character come alive for them with what they had. Yes, you are correct on all the points you brought up, especially the part about talent. The previous owner does Lolita and cosplay and does AMAZING work with those things. So they have serious talent for those things, it just didn't translate to the doll quite as well as they had wanted or hoped. THAT is why I was offered this girl in the first place..... because they knew I was into doing repairs on girls and that I would do whatever it took to redo her into something that we BOTH would like.

 

I guess my question, if the answer is even known, is whether all the random flecks of black (and occasional flecks of red) are intentional? Were they just unintentional stains or a deliberate dirty and cuts and scrapes look?

 

They were mostly intentional altho not each and every one were. The clothing she came with had blood splatters and other paint to simulate dirt all over them. It was a pretty cool style and look but I didn't want them so I gave them to my sister for her girls to use because it reminded me of something off "The Walking Dead." So for the most part, those were intentional and pretty well done.

 

 

 

Billy

A cream with only 10% benzoyl peroxide would remove stains?

A cream with only 10% benzoyl peroxide would remove stains?

 

Yup. The most common one here in the US is Oxy10. You can get it at just about any grocery store or drug store. I always get the Walmart brand because it costs half as much as the brand name Oxy10 and it works just as well.

 

Not all the stains/marks on Sinon/Motoko came off with this tho, a lot of it was paint so I had to use a Magic Eraser, rubbing alcohol and LOTS of elbow grease. But anything the alcohol didn't get off, the Oxy10 did.

 

If you've never used it before, I suggest you look in the "Car and Repairs" section for the stain guide and do some reading on it. Doing stain removal is quite easy but it can take some time..... Motoko took just over 2 months to get clean doing daily treatments. EVERY DAY FOR TWO MONTHS.

 

 

 

Billy

A cream with only 10% benzoyl peroxide would remove stains?

 

Yup. The most common one here in the US is Oxy10. You can get it at just about any grocery store or drug store. I always get the Walmart brand because it costs half as much as the brand name Oxy10 and it works just as well.

 

Not all the stains/marks on Sinon/Motoko came off with this tho, a lot of it was paint so I had to use a Magic Eraser, rubbing alcohol and LOTS of elbow grease. But anything the alcohol didn't get off, the Oxy10 did.

 

If you've never used it before, I suggest you look in the "Car and Repairs" section for the stain guide and do some reading on it. Doing stain removal is quite easy but it can take some time..... Motoko took just over 2 months to get clean doing daily treatments. EVERY DAY FOR TWO MONTHS.

 

 

 

Billy

 

Thank you for the info

 

Tangerine got some stains from a necklace she was wearing. So I already bought the cream and started her treatment

 

WOW two months every day. That sounds like a lot of work but I can see it was totally worth it

your commitment to restoring this girl is amazing. She is lucky you found her, as most may have just scrapped and replaced her body, which is kind of a waste. She turned out really amazing, great job!

She looks so amazing! Good work!

your commitment to restoring this girl is amazing. She is lucky you found her, as most may have just scrapped and replaced her body, which is kind of a waste. She turned out really amazing, great job!

 

Thank you so much! You are exactly right about what *might* have happened with some people.... there's no way I could toss a DD body unless is was completely unrepairable or stained beyond repair. I've got so many girls now that have repaired bodies or came to me cheap because of bad stains, if I had given up on them, my DD family wouldn't be half of what it is now. I guess it's a weakness of mine to see a DD that's worse for wear or getting ignored due to something like this.... meaning, if you just put some time into it, it can be redone and made better or at least back to stock. So yeah, this is why I have so many girls now. I just cannot say no to a DD who needs repairs, stain treatment or some type of fix in order to be whole again.

 

She looks so amazing! Good work!

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

Billy