Posing Comparisons, FL Minifee, RS/BBB Mini and 5StarDoll MIni

It's been another long while but I have a bunch of things to post. I'm also taking time off work to concentrate on trying to improve my own work flow and to apply to jobs as well as finish off some commissions.

Today I bring you guys a review on the posing ability of MSD dolls from some of the more affordable companies compared to the posing ability of one of the most popular and expensive company. Generally I will agree that the more you pay for a doll the higher the quality but of course there are a lot of factors. Resin quality, mold quality, engineering and production quality all account for how much a doll costs. Fairyland dolls are amongst the most expensive as well as popular dolls. They are known for their consistency in quality (though there was a period of lowered quality), their beautiful sculpts and their posing ability. The engineering and precision of their joints as well as the resin quality is reflected in the price. The molds for their bodies are probably replaced fairly often because the fit of the joints are crucial to the mobility whereas joints from ResinSoul can afford to be less precise simply because the fit isn't as crucial.



Due to their popularity and age, there are a lot of reviews on Fairyland dolls, however I would like to demonstrate that more affordable dolls from Chinese companies can pose just as beautifully and are worth more attention than they currently get.

Today's comparison will include dolls from FairyLand active line MnF, ResinSoul/Bobobie and 5StarDoll. (Note: 5Star no longer offers the Type B body but the Type C is almost the same except that it does not have the thigh mobility/swivel joint)

Price for a blank doll:
FL MnF active: $397
RS/BBB: $150
5Star:

Lets begin with the basic standing and sitting poses. All three dolls are on the slim side for MSDs and stand very solidly. You will notice that from the side, MnFs tend to have a sway back as well as being noticeably shorter. The head and face sizes all work well together although you will notice from the side that the 5Star head is a bit smaller.

In the sitting pose, MnFs and 5Star do very well. The 5Star body prefers to slouch a little. This RS body (there are two other types available) does not sit well. Her hand is behind her to hold her up. Supposedly RS has fixed the sculpt so she can sit up better but this is the first generation body that I already modded to sit better.

Moving onto more difficult poses, all the dolls can kneel. The 5Star knee and elbow joints do not naturally bend as much as the other two but can be pulled out of their sockets and aligment to hold poses. Note the 5Stars far arm. Due to joint manipulation, the 5Star doll can actually kneel the best. The ankle and wrist joints are particularly flexible as is the head/neck joint. Due to the shape of the leg and the joints, FL MnF and RS/BBB legs are less easy to manipulate and cannot bend more than what you see below. The elbow joint of the MnF is beautiful and works very well to form natural looking movements. RS/BBB elbow joints are quite flexible and can also be pulled out of the socket and twisted around for various positions. In the photo below tho, the RS joints have not been manipulated or twisted around and works well for touching the face.

In the side bend, 5Star beats the others hands down. Notice the very graceful poses this body achieves quite easily. The RS body can achieve the same amount of bend but the torso keeps wanting to fall backward into an arch instead of bending to the side. A bit of sueding would help here to pose better but unsueded, the body takes more work to get into this pose than the 5Star body. The FL MnF body does not want to bend at the waist joint at all. The joint is fairly useless except for a little bit of rocking and twisting. The FL MnF body again as you can see, likes to arch backwards.

In the slouching contest, the floppiness of the 5Star body wins again. I would like to point out that when I say floppy, that I don't mean that it falls all over itself but only that posing the doll is extremely easy without much fuss. Surprisingly, I found that the MnF body does not want to slouch at all. Perhaps there is a way to do it but I didn't find it. The RS/BBB body slouches forward easily as well but not as much as the 5Star and with a more awkward line.

Finally in the arched back posing I find that RS/BBB actually has the best line and bend. 5Star bends just as much but the line isn't as elegant. FL MnFs like to arch...but only so much. Her bodyline is beautiful.

Final verdict:

5Stardoll Minis are one of my favorite dolls for posing. They naturally fall into very lanquid and natural poses. The wrist, ankle and neck flexibilty is very high. The flexibilty in the elbows and knees are a bit lacking but the joints can be twisted and pulled out of their sockets for more movement. Aesthetically the body is not as beautiful and smooth as the FL body but it is still well done and as most ppl usually have their MSD clothed, it's not a big deal. The one thing I don't like is that their hands are on the small side.

RS bodies are very detailed and beautiful. Pose wise, they can achieve some nice poses but the inability to sit up is a bit irritating. The head only really turns from side to side but some sueding should help with head tilt. I also find that their arms are bit too short for my taste in proportion to the rest of the body. Of all three dolls, this body is the most awkward in it's posing but still very nice.

MnFs are beautiful. The sculpt and proportions are amazing. They pose easily and look natural. However it is surprising to see that there are some poses they cannot handle. I would like if they could slouch more and it's probably something I could solve with sueding but unsueded she cannot slouch at all.

Coming Up!

I will be reviewing Doll Leaves MSD bodies much the same way I reviewed these.