[OK] Link the Conure Parrot Partial by Lizard Loves Mustache

The item being reviewed is 4 years old and may not reflect the makers current style, or work.




Maker Information

LLM Costumes | Lizard Loves Mustache (LLMFURS) Based in Indiana. Crafting since Oct 2007.


Year of Project2022

Completion Time (?)13 - 23 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 Date19 April 2023

RelationshipThe maker is NOT a friend
This relationship was indicated by the reviewer at the time this review was written.


Review Information
ReviewerAnonymous

Prior ExperienceYes, I have made several suits of my own, and have commissioned parts/worn other suits from a handful of makers.

Wear Time6+

Informed Maker of IssuesYes, I reached out and they were generally unhelpful.


Link the Conure

Neutral

ProjectThis item was a commission

Paid: A Payment Plan of $1000 - $2999

Initial Contact: October 2020

Completion/Ship Date: June 2022

Shipping Origin: USA

Type: Partial

Style: Toony

Padding: None


SpeciesName: Conure/Parrot

Found in: Aves(?)

Features: None


Concept Art


Photos of Completed Product



Overall

Initial ContactWonderful! I sent in a google form, and they replied to me rather quickly. The form was found through twitter, was easy yet detailed for an accurate quote. I had followed the maker for a while and always heard great things about their work.


Maker CommunicationWe kept everything through email, and during the payment plan I got responses within a few business days, all pleasant communication. I had made the bodysuit myself, using neoprene based on LLM's recommendations (I had never used anything other than fur). Together we collaborated on colors and materials to match. All emails were very professional, with a bit of casual chat, as we had a mutual discord server/friends.

As soon as the suit was paid off, all communication halted. I received a notification when the finished bodysuit arrived at LLM, as well as one picture of a foam head, which I approved. After that, I heard nothing until May, where he was suddenly all complete, pictures taken, and shipped off in the same email. They had mentioned working on the hands but I received no pictures.

After wearing him for about 6 hours total (losing two claws, ripping the base of the tail, and tripping over my feet) I let them know my dissatisfaction with the build quality, and expressed that my wishes to have received more progress photos. They then let me know that they updated pictures through Trello now, and I should have checked there. The TOS I signed indicated all communication through email, and I had already gotten a picture to approve through there. It was incredibly unclear that I had to use the Trello. More on that below.


Project Completion TimePost-payment plan (mar 2021), they did let me know it would be a 10-12 month wait. He arrived early June 2022, a little past that deadline, however I had no problem with the wait.


Overall Project QualityI am not, unfortunately. I understood I was the maker's first bird, but I was not their first suit. I feel the reviews and praises I heard were not what was delivered. While reviewing/fixing the suit later with another maker friend of mine, we found a lot of shortcuts (like hotglued flexfoam feathers) and things that were missed. The neoprene lent for a scale look but was incredibly uncomfortable to wear, and not breathable at all. I do not feel I got quality for the price I paid.

While the markings, shaving job, and style match what I was expecting from the maker, the underneath job and details did not. I felt like the maker took cheaper/alternative routes and as I will explain below, did not reach out to discuss it.



Components


Head

Wear SatisfactionThe head is fitted well. There is room for my glasses, and the vision is pretty good!
However, the feathers are made of flexfoam and fleece, were incredibly large, and only held on with hot glue, making it cartoonishly large, and made partialing rather goofy looking.


Visual SatisfactionThe markings are even, the shaving job done well. The pupils in the eyes are quite large but I don't mind them. He's a cute lil bird.


Upper Body

Wear SatisfactionI have not had an opportunity to partial with the arms long enough to make a review.


Visual SatisfactionIt looks fine.


Hands

Wear SatisfactionThese hands are made from neoprene, with lyrca liner. They are incredibly, incredibly hot and once you sweat, and take them off, it is difficult to put them back on. Two nails fell off after only an hour of light wear/walking around. They are quite large, and overlap on my arms in an uncomfortable way.


Visual SatisfactionBoth the arms on the bodysuit I made, and the arms from LLM had 'scales' made of a lighter neoprene. The hands did not include them, even though they are on the reference. The nails of the suit are pointed up like a raptor, and are not sewn on very well, as they easily came off. They were not visually appealing at all. Like thick black gloves, with claws as an afterthought.


Tail

Wear SatisfactionThe tail is huge, as long as a body pillow, and just as flouncy. It was constructed with two straps, that snapped and ripped after only a few hours of light wear. I understood it would be a longer tail, but it has absolutely no support.


Visual SatisfactionAgain, it is a body pillow. There is no definition to the "feathers' of the tail, save for a crudely cut piece of fur in the shape of a chunk of feathers on top of the tube. It gets in the way, and drags because of how heavy it is.


Feet

Wear SatisfactionThey were made on crocs, with foam and neoprene. They are incredibly oversized, so much so that walking was difficult, and I tripped in them several times.


Visual SatisfactionThe feet are not symmetrical. The 'scales' stop at the ankle, and the feet also looked odd. The toes are also not correct, the reference has two toes forward, two toes pointed back. The suit had three forward, one back. Small detail in the long run, but I feel they could have been made smaller, or a better shape to my foot had the toe pattern been followed.

RatingFursuitReview rates by asking the question:
Would you recommend this maker?

OK This review has been marked with a neutral rating.
This means the reviewer MIGHT recommend Leaping Lizards Mascots depending on circumstances that have been clarified in this review.

Final CommentsWhile the suit is certainly cute on first glance, several pieces were done poorly, most notably the neck ruff on the head, the shape and size of the feet, and the weight and style of the tail. I personally believe if someone is giving you thousands of dollars for custom work, the least you can do is personally send them a picture for approval, instead of having them hunt through your trello/remember to check it. That felt unprofessional to me.

I ended up replacing all the neoprene on the suit with minky, and making new feet/hands, as the neoprene was not breathable and stuck to you like glue, even with under armor. This was unfortunately a meh experience, with some communication issues, including the maker changing their sign-off handle and business name mid-conversation. I believe this is also when the TOS was updated.

I wish I had better things to say.


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