Wednesday, November 2 2022
As a janitor at Smart Doll Land, one of my jobs is to let folks know of the many reasons why they should avoid buying a Smart Doll.
"I would not have bought a Smart Doll a year ago if I knew you were going to change/add meow" is an example of disappointment some folks experience when we upgrade our product specs.
The TLDR here is that folks should avoid purchasing a Smart Doll if they prefer specs to remain constant throughout a product's lifetime. The only constant about Smart Doll is Change - but many consumers feel that change is bad.
We have constantly tweaked specs to improve product quality - much of which costs more to implement, but the price of a Smart Doll has remained the same for many years.
These photos are just some examples of product quality tweaks since 2014.
The 2nd and 3rd photo shows examples of vinyl cutting. As our team leveled up their mana, we wanted to invest time cutting an incline on vinyl edges when removing flash - this allows ball joints to sit snug instead of on a flat edge. The new cutting technique creates continuity on both sides of a ball joint.
The 4th photo shows how we sand buff the joints to create a matte surface that better matches the texture of the vinyl - also creating continuity. You can try this at home by using a melamine sponge to sand the ball joints in a circular motion - then wipe with a damp tissue and repeat the process until the surface is a closer match to the vinyl.
Over the years, the frame joints became too stiff - some folks prefer this, while some found it difficult to pose - especially kids and folks with disabilities. All the current Smart Dolls are shipped with reduced stiffness.
If you prefer stiff joints, please don't buy a Smart Doll - or wait for the new Evolve frame (1st photo), which balances ease of articulation and torque resistance through a haptic joint system - it's like a ratchet with muffled clicks - some will love it (like I do) while some will hate it. I will discuss Evolve closer to the launch, but there is currently no ETA.
Change is constant at Smart Doll Land - if you dislike change, Smart Doll will not be your best choice ;-)
#smartdoll #anime #manga #3dprinting