[YES] Moondrop the Fox-Caracal Hybrid Partial by VulcanWood Maker Information VulcanWood (VULCANW) Crafting since 2019. Year of Project2024 Completion Time (?)7 - 12 Months ETA AccuracyNO - the ETA was passed 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 Date4 June 2024 RelationshipThe maker is NOT a friendThis relationship was indicated by the reviewer at the time this review was written. Review InformationReviewerTwitter: Mythic_Ice_Wolf Prior ExperienceYes. I have one other fullsuit, which is a digitigrade skulldog. Wear Time26 hours Informed Maker of IssuesYes. The only issue I had was very minor, but I did let the maker know. The maker is new, and I wanted to provide feedback to hopefully help them gain experience. Moondrop Mini Partial Positive ProjectThis item was a commission Paid: A Lump Sum of $1000 - $2999 Initial Contact: August 2023 Completion/Ship Date: May 2024 Shipping Origin: Sweden Type: Partial Style: Toony Padding: None SpeciesName: Fennec Fox-Caracal Hybrid Found in: Canidae, Felidae(?) Features: Hair / Wig Concept Art Photos of Completed Product Overall Initial ContactInitial contact was very easy. I contacted VulcanWood through a google form he posted on Twitter for quotes and commissions. Within the next day or so, I received my quote and asked if I would like to proceed with the commission. I did, and after discussing the commission, I paid the fee in a lump sum. Maker CommunicationCommunication occurred exclusively on telegram. Communication and response times were some of the best that I've ever seen from any commissioner, let alone fursuit maker. He was extremely transparent throughout the entire process, contacting me at every step to ensure that I was okay with everything and giving me updates when available. Barely a week would go by without any sort of update from him. Response times were a few hours at most, in spite of the several hour time difference between him and I. (Sometimes he would respond back at 3am his time.) Customer service and satisfaction is one of the many, many things VulcanWood is stellar at. You can really tell he is very passionate about fursuit making and making customers happy. Heck, he even asked me if he could add the moon shaped marking on the neck because he saw it was important to the character! Project Completion TimeDespite the ETA being missed, I'm still extremely satisfied with the project completion time. A few months wait time is very fast for a fursuit!! When I first commissioned VulcanWood in August, I asked if the suit could possibly be finished for FWA 2024 (in May). He agreed and said he could have the suit done by then. I truly believed that could have happened had it not been for some extremely unfortunate circumstances that occurred in VulcanWood's personal life. VulcanWood was deeply and genuinely apologetic about the delays, and explained how and why he was currently unable to continue working for a while. I was totally fine with this, as I understood that life hits us all unexpectedly at times. I really don't hold it against him. When the suit was shipped in May, the package came with insurance and tracking. Customs for the US wasn't an issue, and the suit soon arrived without any damage. Overall Project QualityOverall, I absolutely adore this suit. Coming up with flaws for the suit was actually rather difficult, as so much of this suit was absolutely perfect. I'm blown away with the quality of this suit, as the maker is still fairly new. This suit was above and beyond what I thought I would receive, and the maker really showed their outstanding skill in this suit. The suit is not only absolutely adorable and matches my reference sheet to a T, but it is also very durable. No seams have popped in the 26 hours I've worn it, and I was fairly active in it. I'm really glad they raised their prices after finishing my suit, as they really deserved it. Components Head Wear SatisfactionThe head is very comfortable. The head is 3D printed and lined with lycra, making it light and easy to wear. The maker warned me the neck area might be too tight, but it's never been a problem for me and has thankfully fit very well. The head fits comfortably around my own, neither too tight or too loose. Breathability is a bit of an issue, as the mouth is small and only the iris of the eye is buckram. (The sclera of the eye is plastic.) The maker included a fan to help offset this, and it's been a big help. I can wear the head for hours without a break with the fan. Despite the sclera being solid plastic, vision is surprisingly good. I can see things just fine, although there is a sizeable blind spot directly in front of my face. The irises sit a bit high compared to my actual eyes, so I really only use the lower 2/3s of the iris to see. The suit also came with 3 tongues. Swapping out the tongues is very easy despite the small mouth, and each tongue has a different effect achieved. The tongues stay firmly in place, even the largest (which is about 6 inches). The largest tongue is posable, able to be easily manipulated and stays in position. Visual SatisfactionThe head is absolutely adorable! It fits the reference sheet perfectly. I love how the maker was able to do the starry freckles and the cheek fluff. The markings are very symmetrical. The shaving is great and consistent across the entire head. The eyes are follow-me eyes, and the effect is noticeable. The whiskers survived transport undamaged and have been adorable. The eyelids, which achieve a sleepy expression, have been very sturdy. Of the 26 hours I've worn the suit, around 10 of those have been with the eyelids. The eyelids have not fallen off once in that time. They impact the vision slightly, but only cut off the upper portion of the eye. Since I mainly use the lower portion of the eye to see, it doesn't affect vision that much. If I had to point out a flaw in the head, it's that there is one patch where you can feel a clump of hot glue under the fur. This hardened clump is neither visible or bumpy. All suits have their individual quirks as unique pieces of art, and if the only flaw is an invisible lump of hot glue, I'd say it's extremely well made. Hands Wear SatisfactionThe paws are really nice. At my specific request, the maker did not line the paws. (I did this because I live in a very hot and humid climate, and I try to do anything to minimize heat retention in the suit) The paws fit perfectly over my hands and are very easy to put on. The paws are neither too tight, too restrictive of movement, or too loose. I have very good dexterity in the paws, and I've been able to even pick up items as small as cards in the them! Each finger of the paw has a removable pillow, allowing for easy washing. This has been a huge help, as being able to remove the pillows for washing or even just to allow the paws to dry out after wear have been a godsend. The pillows don't wiggle or move around; they stay in their places just fine. During my hours of wearing them, no seams that I've noticed have popped. The claws on the paws seem durable, and haven't had any issue. The maker did include 2 extra claws in case any of them fall out or get lost, but that hasn't been an issue as of yet. In the time of wearing the suit, I did use the claws for a few things (mainly assisting in picking up items and to clink against metal), and they have remained sturdy. Visual SatisfactionThe paws match the reference sheet beautifully. As with the head, I love the little white freckles the maker was able to include on them. The markings are symmetrical. The shaving on the fingers of the paws is a bit more choppy compared to the head, though. This is unfortunate, but it's not all that noticeable. There is no point in the paws were the fur backing is visible. The pawpads are minky and have been stuffed with polyfill, making them plush and soft. (Much to the delight of con-goers, who constantly asked to squish the beans lol) The claws are placed a bit crookedly in the paws, but I attribute this to the maker's inexperience with working with such materials. I frankly really like the wonkiness, and I think it adds to the charm and individuality of the suit. Tail Wear SatisfactionThe tail is amazing to wear. At first, I hesitated to get a floor dragging tail; I'd heard a lot of horror stories about how much of a hassle they are. Thankfully, I haven't experienced this! I keep the tail off the ground during wear with a lanyard that I keep around the tip of the tail and my wrist. This method of wear allows me to keep the tail clean while also being more expressive with it (being able to wag it, hug it, etc.). Despite it's size, the tail isn't heavy at all; it's probably lighter than my other suit's tail, which doesn't even touch the floor. This makes holding it and suspending it in air a breeze. The backing of the tail is sturdy and holds up very well. No seams that I've noticed have popped. Visual SatisfactionThe tail is probably one of my favorite parts of the suit. The gradient of my character has translated into the 3 colored furs extremely well. The star markings are absolutely gorgeous and numerous! There is one star freckle that looked like it might have been shaved accidentally, making it stand out as no other freckles have been shaved. Again, this is hardly noticeable, and most people probably wouldn't even see if it wasn't pointed out. The white stripe on the tail is even and symmetrical. 2 aspects of the tail has made it almost a comfort item for me: the softness of the fur and the stuffing that was used. The stuffing makes the tail almost stuffed animal-like, allowing it to bend and move effortlessly. This is a huge help when I suspend the tail on the lanyard, as it allows for a huge range of motion! The back of the tail has the gore effect, and it looks spectacular. The belt loop is under the gore effect, and it's strong and sturdy. I've had no issues with the tail at all. 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 VulcanWood. Final CommentsIn the end, this was probably the best commissioning experience I've had. It was as close to perfect as anyone could ask for: the maker, who was attentive, quick, and communicative, created a suit that is adorable, durable, comfortable, accurate to the character, and easy to wear. I cannot recommend this maker enough! I definitely plan on commissioning this maker again in the future. Are you the maker of this item? Would you like to leave an official response? Click here. In case the button above doesn't work, you can click here to launch the maker response form.
