First Look at Ismael

My Iplehouse Akando is here! I really wanted to wait to post pictures of him until after his faceup & aesthetic work was done, but my desire to show him off won out, I suppose. Before I even placed my order, I had seen plenty of pics of this guy in all of the different skin tones available for him. Ultimately, though, that couldn't prepare me for how gorgeous he is in real life! Note: there are pics of resin doll peen further down, though the first pic doesn't show dollpeen. Please use your discretion when scrolling further down.  ;o)

I picked him up from the Post Office mid-day, then had to head back out for an appointment. My stupendous excitement meant that I had to open the giant box & at least have a peek at him, though! I swear my hands must have been shaking as I sliced open the packing tape & tossed aside the little bubble-wrapped bundles of clothing, shoes, & other accessories I ordered with him.

Here are they eyes that Iplehouse put in his head for his homecoming. They're really a lovely color for him, but it looks like they're 14mm. I wanted a more realistic, smaller-pupiled look for him, so  I ordered a set of 12mm acrylic eyes from them as a "stand-in" until I can order some Eyeco Soft Glass eyes for him.

Here's the ubiquitous "look! he can stand right out of the box!" shot. He's wearing his wig & his new eyes--which are Glib Acrylics, so I'm assuming all of Iple's basic acrylic eyes are Glib. They're actually very lovely. The green ones have a nice life-like glint to them. The tawny/fawn ones may have this glint, too; I haven't stared at them as much as I have the sage green ones. ;o)

Here he is after I was able to come back home again. I knew of Iplehouse's habit of stringing dolls loosely for shipping, but I wasn't prepared for how freakin' floppy he'd be! His hip fell out of socket when I picked him up, as you can see here. At this point, I felt like Dr Frankenfurter, what with having this giant 'baby' who doesn't quite know how to behave yet & all.

I laid him on my bed while getting other stuff ready, & he happened to end up right next to my cat. OMG he looks especially huge in this pic! My cat is somewhere between confused & unamused.

Another pic of his 'default' eyes, this time w/better lighting. Like I said, lovely color choice, just too damned big.

This color doesn't look all that bad w/his hair color, either. Notice how those big brown eyes make him seem sweet & he almost looks like he's about to smile.

I love how small changes can make such a difference in the look of a doll! The smaller pupils definitely make him seem more mature, & even a bit 'stern', no? I'm definitely sticking w/green eyes for him, though I'll have to try a few different shades for him to see which suit him best.

At this point, the only thing left to do was to try on the stuff I bought for him to wear. All clothes & accessories are by Iplehouse. Here he is in the 'Rainy Jeans' & black suspenders. The jeans are fitted, but they're def not the skinniest pants he got!

Getting saucy during wardrobe change time.

In the Hoodie Cargo Pants Set that looks so good on these boys. I'm trying to figure out how he wants to wear his boots, which is why one pant leg is tucked in & the other isn't. True story: it wasn't until the next day that it occurred to me I could just change the way the boots are laced to help them fit differently when I tuck the pant legs in. Yeah, I have my special moments for sure!

Doesn't he have that 'Mona Lisa smile' look again in this pic?

I like the fit of these 'leather' pants overall, but I'm very not excited about the superfluous chain action.

Fortunately, though, they are removable. I may cut off the little tabby things that the chains hook to at the hip.

The 'Long Hooded Vest' set. Those are the skinniest pants he got! They're a bitch to get on, but he looks so good in them! I kind of hoped they'd be black in real life, but they're a deep indigo. I think I'll deal. Maybe I'll dye them black for him. The shirt has an asymmetric slope to the hem, & a slouchy cowl kind a thing happening at the neckline. I'm not wholly sure how I feel about it, but I think it's growing on me.

Somehow I didn't realise that this beanie actually came with this outfit.It looks ruhl cute on him, though, so I'm glad it did!

I'm not sure yet if he actually likes pulling the hood up on these, or if he was just doing it for 'dramatic' effect or something. Ah well, he's cute; does it really matter why he does this? ;o)