The Evolution of Idol Male Body

There's a new Impldoll Idol body, version VI then... well, I was a bit confused about it. The evolution of the Idol body has been strangely backwards in my estimation. They've gone from the best possible engineering to a poorer poser and returned to a hybrid of the two...

Version I: great poser, slots for strings on hip joints, three part torso, arm rotating function

Version II: same as first one, but hidden joints and crisscross stringing for the hip ball joints

Version III: same as version 2 in the lower body, hidden joints at hips, but two part torso only with rather poor poseablity

Version IV: New shape, thinner neck, no arm rotation function, new hands, two part torso, wide bottom and narrow waist, knee caps, slots for strings on hip ball joints.

My two pennies' worth

Aesthetically and engineering ways I still prefer the very oldest version of the Idol body, version I, with slots for the strings in the front of the legs. Not many people probably even remember the oldest one of them and Impl no longer sells it one their site either. It was what Filraen and Mzzen came with and it was quickly replaced with the hidden jointed, but other ways similar Gladiator body (version II). My tan and real skin Idol bodies are in fact version II, but I've separately ordered the old hip balljoints for mine to improve their posing, so basically they are now version I in appearence. The 3-part torso has a funkily swingy lower torso joint that might've annoyed some people. I quite like it. It makes them nice and limber.

With the release of Chad Impldoll then introduced the version III, with the under pecks torso joint, with the scar version upper body as an option. I don't hate it and I love the scarred torso for my boy, but it's not a good poser. The hidden joints are murder on his sitting abilities. He does not spread his legs properly when sitting, but sits all lady-like with his thighs tightly together. Not exactly the rugged muscle man sitting style, now is it!? There's a certain amount of pulling and yanking also involved when trying to get the crisscross strung strings to go where you want them to inside the hips. Standing is also more ackward with the legs fighting the spreading them further apart. The two part torso makes the posing of the upper body greatly inferior to the original three part style. I don't like it aesthetically either. It make the shoulder line tense looking. It does however have the advantage of being able to pose shirtless in a nice way.

This version IV, the newest body, confuses me somewhat. I'm thrilled they've done away with the hidden joints at the hips and re-instated the slots for the strings. That will be a relief when trying to make the bloke sit or stand. I'm sorry that the two part torso remains and now has a more peculiar shape. The butt is way too massive for my taste, which gives the body an almost feminine silhouette. I like the new knee design. Usually those knee cap parts help with standing stability and also make the knee look more natural when sitting with pants on. It makes the fabric curve nicely instead of "the cut off knee" syndrome kicking in. I have no experience of this body, so I've no way of knowing it those knees though actaully work. Knees have always been an Impl weak point. Always the same pulling and yanking to get them to bend, but their dolls do usually stand fairly well. I'm also disappointed to see the arm rotating joint gone. It made things easy posing ways, even if it did have its disadvantages aesthetically. I'll still take engineering over aestehtics any day though. My dolls need to be able to pose, not just look pretty.

I prefer the stronger neck of the bodies I-III. I'm thinking, this is speculation of course, that they've tried to make a body that would accommondate both the Idol as well as the new Star male heads. Therefore the neck would need to be thinner? I'd like to see how the older Idol head and the new Star heads look on this body, before passing judgement. Gavin's strange head makes the body look a bit odd. I don't understand why they make the bauble sooooo large. The wig would stay on a smaller bauble too. Hehe!

I'm saddened that they've changed the hands of the new Idol body. The old hands were gorgeous and so nicely shaped. They could hold weapons with the gripping hand and gently cuddle with the ladies with the straighter fingered fine hand. These new hands are just... odd. The fingers are spread out in a weird way like he was fanning his hands after having undergone manicure. (The Idol woman hands needed changing! Those were too huge and inelegant. The new Idol female hands are still inelegant, but at least they aren't large like they were meant for unearthing potatoes. Even if I still don't like the new Idol woman hands. They have the thumb too far from the rest of the fingers which will make dressing them difficult.)

What was funny about the promo photos of the version IV new body was that it appears Impl had forgotten to include a belly button!! Heheehe! It had been photoshopped, very poorly, on top of the photos and it kept changing places in different pics. What in the world!? Why!? It's such a silly mistake, how does that even happen? Were they for some reason in a hurry? I don't know. Impldoll does these crazy things. Sometimes they have some travelling wigs in promo pics where you can barely see the doll's face, other times they name their little tiny doll "Penis". Sometimes their dolls are styled like from some really raunchy X-rated movie... Hehehehe! They're a unique and endearing bunch of folks of there at Impldoll.

The conclusion being, version I is still my favourite. Version IV is not exciting enough for me to purchase, but I'll wait and see some owner photos to make up my mind about it.

*pictures courtesy of Impldoll