[YES] Akapan Red Panda Fullsuit by Gentlefur Studio The item being reviewed is 5 years old and may not reflect the makers current style, or work. Maker Information Gentlefur Year of Project2021 Completion Time (?)4 - 6 Months ETA AccuracyYES - the ETA was accurate An ETA is the Estimated Time of Arrival for a project. In other words, an estimated turnaround time. An ETA is not a deadline. Review Date18 March 2022 RelationshipThe maker is NOT a friendThis relationship was indicated by the reviewer at the time this review was written. Review InformationReviewerAkapan Red Panda Twitter: a_ka_pan Instagram: a_ka_pan YouTube:Akapan Red Panda Linktree:a_ka_pan Prior ExperienceNo, this is my first fursuit. Wear Time12 hours Informed Maker of IssuesThose related to tongue and lower legs. I did not report on those related to the finishing. Akapan Red Panda Positive ProjectThis item was a commission Paid: A Payment Plan of $1000 - $2999 Initial Contact: June 2021 Completion/Ship Date: November 2021 Shipping Origin: China Type: Fullsuit Style: Kemono Padding: Plantigrade Specialties: None SpeciesName: Red panda Found in: Musteloidea(?) Features: None Review Video Review video is in Portuguese and has English subtitles Concept Art Photos of Completed Product Overall Initial ContactI found out that the studio had open slots through its website. I sent an email asking for a quote and showing the reference sheet, and they answered me in less than 12 hours with the quote and payment terms. The maker said DTD was not mandatory, however, he suggested me to make one. Maker CommunicationThe maker is a native speaker of Chinese and I of Portuguese, but we communicated in English without any problems. His posture was respectful and professional. Most emails and messages were responded to in less than 24 hours, even with an 11-hour time zone difference. Only one email took days to respond. We kept in touch before the fursuit was produced via email and after via Telegram. After the maker received the duct-tape dummy, I said "I'm looking forward to see my kemono fursuit being made." During production, we didn't talk: I didn't want to bother the maker with questions, but I wasn't contacted on his own initiative either. I sent my body measurements in September 2021. Our next contact was almost two months later, from the maker sending me a photo of the fursuit made. The studio maintains a Trello, but while I was waiting for the fursuit to be produced, updates took a while. A few days after I did an unboxing livestream, the maker gave me advice on how to wear the fursuit and asked how my fursuit was and if there was anything that should be fixed. I told him about issues involving the tongue and thelower legs. The maker thanked me for the advice, saying that they will fix this in the future. Finishing issues had not been detected at the time. Project Completion TimePayment started on August 13, 2020 and ended on June 15, 2021. Production ended on November 1, 2021, so from commission to completion took 1 year and 2 months, and from full payment to completion took 4 months. Estimated time for completion was the fourth quarter of 2021, so it has been completed within the estimated time. The fursuit was shipped on November 24, 2021 and arrived on December 13, 2021. It got caught in customs. Tracking was provided. UBS was used as shipping service. Overall Project QualityThe fursuit arrived in two well-sealed and reinforced boxes, with bubble wrap inside. The boxes suffered external damage during transport (it took eight flights!), but the fursuit arrived intact. Each part of the fursuit came with a bag for protection and transport. The fursuit is beautiful and is easy to wear. No part of the fursuit hurts or tightens. The colors are exactly as requested. The fur is soft, the spandex lining is comfortable and wicks sweat well, and the foam feels sturdy, but the finishing has some fragile points, described in the following topics. Fortunately, it can be easily fixed.A bandana came as a gift. An envelope came containing care instructions, a double-sided photo of the fursuit and stickers.Shipping cost $914 on November 24, 2021. The maker offered to pay half the shipping cost, meaning I paid $457 for shipping + fees. As a studio, the owner is not the only person working on the fursuits. He told me that my fursuit is the first made by a new team. I drew the reference sheet myself. Months before production, the studio drew its own reference sheet, which underwent two corrections by me. As I received the fursuit almost at the beginning of the Brazilian summer, in the first three months, I wore the fursuit only a few times, almost always at night, so I still haven't had the experience of washing it or cleaning its parts. Weight: 8.150 kg / 59.1 oz Components Head Wear SatisfactionThe first few times I wore the fursuit head, it felt tight on the chin, but over time it got comfortable. To help with internal fixation, the fursuit's head has five removable foam blocks, attached with Velcro: one on top, one on the front, one on the back, one on the right and one on the left. By removing the blocks, it is possible to retract the back of the head, which helped me to save space inside a suitcase. The eyes are made of perforated plastic. The vision through the micro holes is good. There is little difference in the internal vision between the external areas of different colors, these colors are printed. There is no dome in the eyes, which makes breathing easier and doesn't fog them up. There are no hidden ventilation holes. Air circulates through the mouth and the eyes. I once wore just the head for two hours straight without overheating. The field of vision is limited in the front, between the eyes, so to see what's in front of me, I need to look sideways. Apparently, this limitation is normal for fursuit heads. On the other hand, the eyes are large, slightly favoring vision. The base of the head I received is 3D printed, using foam only around the eyes on the inside. There are no fans. The head is light and cool. The tongue is attached to the inside of the head by an 8 cm / 3.2 inch elastic band. It is possible to use the tongue showing it or leaving it hidden inside the head. There is no button, snap or Velcro to keep the tongue fixed in the mouth, so it gets out of place if I move the head intensey. Weight: 1.210 kg / 8.8 oz Visual SatisfactionThe style of the head is beautiful, adorable! The expression is very cute. The eyes, being made of plastic, reflect light, acquiring a pleasant effect. The eyes have depth, giving a slight follow-me/eye-tracking effect. I had asked the maker if he made removable eyelids and if they would be magnetic or made with Velcro, and he replied that magnetic eyelids for kemono style were free and that he usually gave two or three pairs for expression. He didn't say he didn't make them with Velcro, and the eyelids I got were made with Velcro. I received one pair. Since they are made with Velcro, I hardly use the eyelids for fear of damaging the fursuit's eyes. The patterns drawn on the face were as faithful to the reference as possible, as it was a slightly complex pattern. On the cheeks, there is a flap on each side that gives a more angular shape to the contour of the face. The mouth came with teeth made of fabric (two upper canines and a lower frontal row). One of the upper canine teeth, which are fixed with hot glue, fell out, and I glued it back with tape. The jaw is fixed (non movable). One-Piece Body Wear SatisfactionWear Satisfaction The body is comfortable and easy to wear. It has no padding. The lower legsare very wide, similar to bell-bottoms, to suit the feet, which are very big. This makes the lower legsbaggy. The lower legsare not tight or attachable to the feet, so the feet get uncovered when sitting on the floor. This was the first plantigrade fursuit that the studio made, so the trend is for them to improve the production of future plantigrade ones. The other parts of the body are well fit. The wrists are snug enough for the hands to get snug inside the sleeves. I made a duct-tape dummy based on a tutorial provided by the studio. The fur seam is reinforced and imperceptible to whoever sees from outside, but the seam of the lining unraveled a little inside the sleeves. Weight: 2.680 kg / 19.5 oz Visual SatisfactionThe body is beautiful and the fur is pleasant to the touch. The zipper is in the front and, after being closed, it is imperceptible to the eyes and to the touch. Hands Wear SatisfactionThe lining is comfortable. It is the same as the body. Hands fit reasonably, but after a few minutes of use, they may slip a little, but not fall off. Hand measurements were not requested. The hand paw pads are made of good quality flannel. Pinch movement with the thumb and forefinger is limited, so it is difficult to grab objects using the thumb. Weight: 130 g / 1.9 oz each one Visual SatisfactionThe hands are beautiful and according to the reference. Each finger has a white fabric claw. Finger fur is shaved. It has a sturdy white edging, noticeable if the hand is not inside the sleeve. Tail Wear SatisfactionThe tail is easy to wear and nice to hug. The buckle positively surprised me: it is very easy to open and close, and it has magnets that help to fasten the belt. Weight:1.050 kg / 7.6 oz Visual SatisfactionThe tail is beautiful, but I had asked for it to be long enough to reach my ankles, however, it reaches my calves. Feet Wear SatisfactionThe feet use Crocs as a base and are accompanied by gaiters that are very soft, pleasant to the touch. Putting on and taking my feet off them is easy. The fursuit's feet are large (35×42 cm / 13.8×16.5 inches) and heavy, which makes it a little difficult to lift the feet or walk. Weight: 1.470 kg / 10.7 oz each one Visual SatisfactionThe feet are beautiful. The toes are shaved and each has a white claw made of fabric, as are the claws of the hands and the teeth. The only thing that I disliked was the claws on the central toes, which seem too close together compared to the other claws. To my surprise, the feet came with two pairs of replaceable soles: an indoor one (with foot paw pads made of flannel) and an outdoor one (made of EVA), which is very useful. They are attached to the feet by Velcro, which covers the entire bottom of the feet, requiring a lot of force to detach them, so much so that one of the Velcro sheets on the bottom of one foot came off the hot glue. To reduce the force needed to detatch the sole of the foot, I placed a sheet of paper between the sole and the foot. The studio could only make feet with four toes on the sole and, optionally, a dewclaw (vestigial digit). Each foot is symmetrical in itself, that is, there are no external differences between the left and right feet. To differentiate them, I put masking tape in an L-shape on the left Crocs. Special FeaturesThe fursuit came with a pair of removable eyelids, interchangeable outdoor and indoor soles, retractile head, magnetic buckle, unnoticeable zipper and microperforated eyes with printed colors (all described above). RatingFursuitReview rates by asking the question: Would you recommend this maker? YES This review has been marked with a positive rating. This means the reviewer would recommend Gentlefur. Final CommentsConsidering the pros and cons, I recommend the studio. The biggest pros were aesthetics, which is beautiful and matches what was promised; the special features; and the offer to cover half the cost of shipping (which is not necessarily a studio policy). The biggest con was communication, because if there had been better communication between the two parties, the end result would have been better. Are you the maker of this item? Would you like to leave an official response? Click here. 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