Blogposts about the best bargains and freebies in the virtual world of Second Life! Posts about steals, deals, and free items, including hunt prizes and lucky chairs.
While womenswear freebies are plentiful in Second Life, it can often be harder to find high-quality men’s freebies in SL, so I wanted to cover a major hunt that is taking place from now until August 30th, 2021, featuring free hunt prizes from dozens of menswear stores across the grid!
The hunt is called the Men Only Hunt, and you can pick up a free HUD at this SLURL (you’ll have to join the Men Only Hunt – MOH group, which is free to join). The HUD contains all the store locations plus hunt hints, simply attach it and you’re all set to go! You are looking for a yellow-and-black bird in each store; when you find it, click on it, and the prize is yours for free!
Today, I wanted to show a few hunt prizes which caught my eye. Most prizes come in what I like to call the “big three” of men’s sizes: Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni, and the Meshbody Legacy male mesh bodies.
First up we have two of the three prizes from DUK, the Jack shorts in blue and the Dheego shorts/swimtrunks in green:
Next up is a pairing of two different Men Only Hunt prizes, the black bomber jacket by DUK (sizes: Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni and Geralt, Legacy, Heracles, and Slink) and the grey jeans from CHEERNO (which come in sizes to fit Gianni, Jake, Legacy, and Enzo bodies).
From EVOL comes this wonderful Torei hoodie, which comes with a HUD with a mind-boggling array of options (you can even tint the drawstrings!). If you get nothing else from the Men Only Hunt, please pick up this generous gift!
The hunt prize from Nero N7 is this black top and matching shorts, with a white stripe (sizes: Signature Geralt and Gianni, Belleza Jake, Legacy, and Slink):
The final hunt prize I wanted to share with you today is this shiny crown from Birth, which comes in both static and spinning versions! Be king for a day 😉
If you are tearing your hair out trying to find one of those yellow hunt birds in one of the stores participating in the Men Only Hunt, here’s a pro hunting tip…in the Firestorm viewer, if you press Ctrl-Shift-R, it will turn on wireframe mode (which is essentially X-ray vision). The yellow birds pop out and are much easier to find! Press Ctrl-Shift-R again to toggle it back off. (If this feels like cheating to you, then don’t use this tip.)
The popular Second Life womenswear store Addams is celebrating its 7th birthday with a brand new store group, the Addams Store VIP group, which you can join for only L$5! With your group membership, you can pick up a full fatpack of the Tiara bikini, which comes with an open shirt to wear over top, as well as L$500 in store credit to spend on whatever you wish (the credit is enough to get you two pieces of clothing or footwear):
The Addams store is extremely busy at the moment, but you can also teleport into the sim next door, Addams Land, join the group (just search for “Addams Store VIP” under Groups in Search), pick up the new group gift outfit and the L$500 credit, and do a little camshopping at the Addams store the next sim over (here’s detailed instructions on how you camshop). Two sims, no waiting! 😉
Here’s an example of an outfit you can pick up for that L$500, the Penelope black leather jacket and top paired with Penelope black jeans, plus a free necklace to complete the emsemble! You can use the included HUD to change the top under the jacket to one of dozens of different colours, as well as make it either opaque or transparent (with an optional bra underneath). Lots of options!
You only have five days to use the L$500 in store credits before they expire, so don’t delay! Happy shopping!
If you had purchased earlier versions of either the Anya or Alexa bodies, you can upgrade to Analexa 4.1 for free; just slap the Redelivery sign in the Kalhene store, located directly across from the N-Core footwear store.
For only L$2,495, you get a Bento, Bakes on Mesh body that is compatible with most apparel and footwear designed for Maitreya Lara, plus a lot of extra options which would normally cost you extra!
In addition to a transgender option (i.e. an optional penis with a HUD), the body comes with four different chest options (flat-chested, petite, normal, and large/implant breasts), a choice of two Bento heads, even hair and a nice starter wardrobe! In a previous blogpost, I did a detailed cost comparison between version 4.0 of the Anya body and a Maitreya Lara body/Catwa head combo, and now you get even more for your money with the Analexa 4.1 package.
Here’s what the head and body look like, wearing an outfit I picked up using a free QE Designs gift card at the SL18B Shop and Hop event, which ended yesterday. The Bakes on Mesh skin and eyes are included in the Analexa package.
In addition, Kalhene has released a brand new full-body package called Erika. This is a fuller-figured body that reminds me of the Belleza Freya, INTHIUM Kupra, and Katena bodies, where you can get a much curvier, juicier figure!
Here’s what Erika looks like, right out of the box, with the included skin and long hairstyle, and wearing one of the 10 included outfits (the sneakers are a freebie from VERSOV):
The Erika body comes with not one, not two, but three different Bento heads! Here’s a look at the “soft” head, with rounder features, which I quite like!
And here’s a look at the second, “hard” head, with sharper, more angular features:
There is also an Asian head with two shapes, which unfortunately I cannot show you because I was unable to find a suitable Bakes on Mesh skin for it. (By the way, skins designed for other brands of mesh heads might look a little weird on this head. Always demo before you buy!)
Once again, for L$2,495 you get a LOT for your money. The package includes many options which usually cost you extra in other bodies (e.g. pregnant belly). Let’s take a look at what comes in the Erika 1.0 package, comparing it with the INTHIUM Kupra body, the one I think it resembles the most:
Kalhene Erika 1.0
INTHIUM Kupra
Base Cost of Mesh Body
L$2,495
L$3,999
Included Body Shapes
5: skinny, natural, curvy, chubby, and pregnant
3: skinny, curvy, and “bimbo” (ugh!)
Breast Options
5 shape options; optional HD nipples
3 shape options; 5 types of 3D nipples
Bento Handsand Nails
5 fingernail options; 16 colours nail polish
5 fingernail and 4 toenail options; 32 colours nail polish
Mesh Feet
3 heel heights controlled bu HUD: flat, mid, and high; the feet are Maitreya Lara compatible
4 heel heights controlled by HUD: flat, mid, high, and tiptoe; the Kupra body comes with three options for feet, supporting footwear made for Kupra, Maitreya, or Slink feet
Bento Mesh Head
3 heads included: soft, “hard”/more angular features, and Asian
Not included (Catwa heads cost L$5,000 each)
Starter Skinand Eyes
5 skin tones, 8 eye colours
2 skin tones
Starter Hair
Included (works with all breast types)
Not included
Starter Wardrobe
10 complete outfits with footwear (see images below for examples)
Sport shorts, top, bikini top, panties, and thong
Transgender Option (Penis)
Included
Not included
TOTAL COST
L$2,495 (including hair and a very generous starter wardrobe)
L$8,999 for the Kupra/Catwa combo (not including the cost of hair and wardrobe)
Here’s a look at some of the ten complete outfits, with footwear, which are included in the wardrobe package (please click on each picture to see it in a larger size):
In other words, you can hit the ground running with the Kalhene Erika body at one-third the price of a Kupra/Catwa setup; all you have to do is add an animation override and you’re all set to hit the grid as a big, bold, beautiful woman!
Remember, you can mix and match, and use the Erika head and body separately with other heads and bodies you might already own (the body comes with Catwa and LeLutka options on the HUD to avoid neck seam issues for those heads). The body responds well to the head and body sliders, so you should be able to adjust the shape to suit your preferences.
In fact, the only drawback that I can find with the Kalhene Erika body is that (unlike the Analexa 4.1 body), it is not compatible with apparel designed for other mesh bodies (which is probably why the designer included a generous starter wardrobe with ten different outfits). Given that most avatar clothing designers are loath to rig for yet another body (most already do 6 or 7), it will be an uphill battle to coax creators to make clothing for this body! However, the feet on the Erika body are Maitreya Lara-compatible (although you will have problems with things like straps high on the ankle or calf).
Given the creator’s track record, you can expect frequent updates to both the Analexa 4.1 and Erika 1.0 bodies. Join the Kalhene store group for only L$25 and pick up some free group gifts, such as outfits and shapes, at the store (here’s the SLURL).
Happy bargain shopping!
UPDATE July 8th, 2021: I forgot to mention that a couple of well-known SL vloggers, Isabelle Cheren and Naria Panthar, have already put the new Kalhene Erika body through its paces. Watch one or both videos to get a better feel for the body, before you buy:
Isabelle Cheren’s review of the Erika body
Naria Panthar’s review of the Erika body
UPDATE July 10th, 2021: A commenter gave me more information about the Kupra bodies: three options for feet (Kupra, Maitreya, and Slink), plus details on the clothing that comes with the Kupra body, so I have updated my comparison chart accordingly. Thank you, Olé Olé!
Akeruka has, as expected, followed up their anniversary group gift of the W21 women’s mesh head with a similarly fabulous offering for the gentlemen! The M09 male mesh head is available from now until July 15th, 2021 at the Akeruka main store (SLURL):
Remember that you’ll have to join the [AK} Heads News & Support group for L$150 to obtain this group gift; just pay the vendor a single Linden dollar and the M09 head is yours!
The first skin is the pale Delphinus skin from Altamura (adding the high-definition eyebrows from the HUD for the head):
For a darker tone of skin, I chose a free BoM tanned skin I picked up from BROX:
I’m quite pleased with this second look! This is a very handsome Bento, Bakes on Mesh male head, and I’m certain you will be quite happy with it as well.
Remember, it’s only available until July 15th, 2021, and then it’s gone. Happy freebie shopping!