UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The CATWA HDPRO Queen Bento Mesh Head Is L$1, But TODAY ONLY!

PLEASE NOTE: My blog is still on indefinite hiatus; I have made a single exception for this blogpost. After this, I will be going back on my self-imposed break from blogging.


CATWA has announced that the one-day giveaway of their HDPRO Queen Bakes on Mesh, Bento female mesh head has been extended by ONE DAY ONLY, so you have until 11:59 p.m. SLT/Pacific time TODAY, March 26th, 2021, to visit one of the following four special promo sims to pick up your head for only one Linden dollar. After today, the Queen head will retail for L$5,910, so this is a truly exceptional bargain that you should not pass up, even if you already have a favourite Bento mesh head! Pick one up anyway today, when it’s 99.98% off, and stash it away in your inventory for a rainy day when you feel like switching your look!

QUEEN will be available for one linden purchase price until [26th MARCH 11:59PM SL TIME]. We thank you for the overwhelming response to this offer. We also thank Linden Lab for their help in setting up the additional sims. Landmarks are in CATWA groups. We have set up 4 sims for the promo, Landmarks were sent to both of CATWA groups. Make sure to use those LMs as it’s the only way to get in because all of the sims are NEW!

Each promo sim has 9 vendors; simply pay the vendor L$1 (it will not be refunded). The vendors all look like this (you do not need to join any group to use them):

If you are impatient and have received the message that you can use the delivery terminal, feel free to use the redelivery terminal on each of the promo sims or at the CATWA main store to get your HDPRO Queen head delivered (I found I had to do this for several of my alts).

Please note that all four sims are jam-packed with avatars trying to pick up this freebie today, so please be patient. You might want to use a tool like the handy free Teleport Hammer to fight your way in. (Remember that if you are a Premium member, you get priority access to overcrowded sims.)

Below is what theHDPRO Queen head looks like, with the included mesh eyes, and using one of the included head skins (a BoM tatto layer) and the default eyebrow shaper and body shape, without any adjustments to the sliders (you will have to find system/Bakes on Mesh skins to match the head tattoos included in the package):

Here is what the head looks like with the Elvira skin by 7 Deadly S[k]ins, paired with the Kalhene Ariadna mesh body (a freebie which is unfortunately no longer available):

Happy freebie shopping!

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: Cat Pink SL has posted a 40-minute livestream on YouTube about the CATWA HDPRO Queen head (it’s in Spanish with some English):

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Altamura Clodet Full-Body Female Mesh Avatar

As you might have noticed, I am taking a bit of break over the holidays from blogging, but I did want to mention yet another free full-body female mesh avatar from Altamura, called Clodet. You can pick up Clodet at three vendors located behind the Christmas tree at the Altamura store (just pay the vendor L$1 and it will be refunded):

Clodet 3 28 Dec 2018.jpg

As with past freebies from Altamura, you cannot remove the head on this one, but with such a beautiful head, you might not mind so much! To my knowledge, Clodet is the first of the free mesh bodies from Altamura to have a blonde hairbase (which you can remove).

Clodet 1 28 Dec 2018.jpg

Clodet 2 28 Dec 2018

Here’s an overall look at the avatar:

Clodet 6 28 Dec 2018.jpg

Clodet 5 28 Dec 2018.jpg

This avatar is wearing:

Mesh Head and Body: Altamura Clodet full-body mesh avatar (free)

Hair: Green Tea by Navy and Copper (free group gift; group is free to join)

Dress: Guapa holiday minidress by Altamura (free 12 Days of Christmas gift #3 under the Christmas tree at Altamura; the Altamura group costs L$25 to join during the holidays, 50% off the regular price of L$50)

Shoes: Jai pumps by Rowne (free gift at the Shop & Hop Christmas Mall; also a free group gift at the Rowne mainstore, along with many others; the Rowne group is free to join)

Body AO: Chubby Girl AO by [ImpEle] (free from the SL Marketplace)

Hands AO: included with the Altamura Clodet body

TOTAL COST FOR THIS AVATAR: L$25 (the group join fee for Altamura)

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Altamura Akakor Male Bento Mesh Head and Delphinus Male Skin Applier

As promised, Altamura has given a free group gift of a fully-adjustable, Omega-compatible Bento mesh head for male avatars, called Akakor, which appears to be named after the mythological Amazonian ancient underground city. (See what you can learn from Second Life?)

It’s the 12th gift of their 12 Days of Christmas gifts, located under their Christmas tree to the left of the main entrance of the Altamura store (it’s crazy busy right now and will be throughout the holidays, so you might have some lag issues). Here’s a SLURL to guide you.

You do have to join the Altamura Design/Mesh Avatars group to pick up all the Advent gifts (the group join fee is L$25 during the Advent/Christmas season; usually, the fee to join is L$50). It’s worth it to join the group and stay subscribed, since Altamura often offers special deals to group members throughout the year. For example, Altamura offered Valentina, a fully-featured, fully-adjustable, Bento mesh avatar head and body package for women, for only L$300 during the 2018 Skin Fair!

Here is what the default head looks like, out of the box, with the with the included eyebrows shape, body shape, and head/body alpha:

Altamura Akakor Mesh Head 23 Dec 2018

This is a really great-looking male head!

Note that this head only comes with one HUD, for animating the eyes and mouth. There are no other included HUDs for different skintones. However, it is Omega-compatible, which means you can use any Omega skin and makeup appliers on it. You will have to buy and install the Omega System Kit for Altamura. A message recently posted to the Altamura group included a notecard (which you should get a copy of, for future reference), and it states:

Go to the Omega mainstore and buy the Omega System Kit for Altamura. It’s cheaper to get it there than on the Marketplace (MP). (It’s 99L at the Omega inworld store, but 199L on the MP.)

If you’re on a viewer that has Area Search, you can just search for Altamura when you get there. Please note that there is only ONE system kit for Altamura, so it doesn’t matter if you buy it from the Men’s or Women’s section.

Here’s the taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Omega%20Solutions/224/129/24

And here’s what the vendor looks like at the Omega mainstore (the SLURL should place you right in front of it):

Omega Store19 Dec 2018.png

Note that there is a tattoo on this head on either side of the neck of this mesh head (which you can’t see in the picture I posted above). I hate wearing tattoos, so I removed it using one of the free Omega makeup-removal HUDs available on the SL Marketplace (such as this free NEFA Clear All Layers Omega HUD).

Now, one of the other gifts under the Altamura Christmas tree is the Delphinus male skin applier, which comes in both Altamura and Omega versions. The Altamura version of the applier doesn’t work on this head, but the Omega version does, and here’s what it looks like. BE CAREFUL though; once you apply it, you cannot revert back to the original skin unless you re-unpack it and re-install the Omega system installer and relay on the new head. Here’s what the Delphinus skin applier looks like:

Altamura Delphinus Applier 23 Dec 2018.png

It’s nice too, but I think I like the default skin better. In the following picture, I have paired the default Akakor mesh head with the Altamura Robert mesh body, which I picked up as the Men Only Hunt prize last year:

Altamura Akakor Robert 23 Dec 2018.png

Note that there is a slight mismatch between the skin tone of the head and the body, which I hid by adding the Nina unisex choker by RxK (free from the Ajuda SL Brasil freebie store; more details here). If you picked up the free Altamura Robert mesh body at the Freebie Megastore at the London City sim, you will not be able to remove the head to replace it with this one. I find this to be a rather irritating limitation to all the free mesh full-body avatars that Altamura has been giving away this year, but it is a freebie so I can’t really complain. If you really like this head, perhaps you will spend some money and buy a fully-featured male mesh body from Altamura (or wait until another special deal for group members comes along).

Happy shopping!

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Altamura Leila Bento Mesh Head and LAQ Joline Omega Skin

I’m not sure how I missed this, but one of the Advent gifts under the Christmas tree at the Altamura main store is a female Omega-compatible Bento mesh head, called Leila:

Leila Bento Head 2 19 Dec 2018.png

You do have to join the Altamura Design/Mesh Avatars group to pick up all the Advent gifts (the group join fee is L$25 during the Advent/Christmas season; usually, the fee to join is L$50). The Leila mesh Bento head is the gift for the 8th day (see the arrow in the picture above). The Christmas tree is located to the left of the main entrance as you walk in, you can’t miss it! Here’s a SLURL to guide you.

Now, this is an Omega-compatible head, but you will have to buy the Omega System Kit for Altamura. A message recently posted to the Altamura group about this gift head included a notecard (which you should get a copy of, for future reference), and it states:

Go to the Omega mainstore and buy the Omega System Kit for Altamura. It’s cheaper to get it there than on the Marketplace (MP). (It’s 99L at the Omega inworld store, but 199L on the MP.)

If you’re on a viewer that has Area Search, you can just search for Altamura when you get there. Please note that there is only ONE system kit for Altamura, so it doesn’t matter if you buy it from the Men’s or Women’s section.

Here’s the taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Omega%20Solutions/224/129/24

And here’s what the vendor looks like at the Omega mainstore (the SLURL should place you right in front of it):

Omega Store19 Dec 2018.png

UPDATE Dec. 31st, 2020: The location of the Omega system kit for Altamura heads and bodies has moved; it is now located here.

Here’s what the default head looks like, with the included eyebrows shape, body shape, and head/body alpha. I also included the notecard that comes with the head:

Altamura Leila Head 19 Dec 2018.png

If you want to apply your own Omega makeup to this head, you will first need to remove the default makeup provided by Altamura using one of the free Omega makeup-removal HUDs available on the SL Marketplace (such as this free NEFA Clear All Layers Omega HUD).

Note that this head only comes with one HUD, for animating the eyes and mouth. There are no other HUDs for different skintones or makeups for the Leila head, which were (for example) included in last year’s Giselle Bento mesh head gift at the Christmas 2017 eBENTO event. In this picture, I am using the default system eyes, but Altamura recommends:

WEAR or ADD your mesh eyes. The Altamura Leila does not come with eyes, but there are plenty of lovely FREE eyes on the MP. Here’s one that you can try:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/NSS-VERMEER-mesh-eyes-demofree-sample-AMETHYST/9638616

NOTE! Don’t be afraid if it says DEMO on the link. It’s a WORKING demo, meaning it’s a fully working free sample that the creator generously provided so everyone could have a good pair of mesh eyes.

Now, it just so happens that LAQ is offering a very generous free gift throughout the month of December: the Joline Omega skin applier in all skintones, both with brows and browless, so you can apply your own brows! You do have to join the LAQ Updates group (which is free to join) in order to get this gift. Here’s the SLURL to pick that up.

LAQ Joline 19 Dec 2018.png

Isn’t it beautiful? So, let’s put the two together, along with the free mesh eyes recommended by Altamura, and see what we come up with, shall we?

Leila and Joline 19 Dec 2018.png

Looking good!

The total cost of this head (not including the mesh body and LAQ appliers for that mesh body to match the skintone of your head): only L$124 (L$25 for the Altamura group join fee, and L$99 for the Altamura Omega System Kit). I think the result compares very favourably with much pricier Bento mesh heads that cost L$5,000 or more!

Note that if you can’t afford an expensive mesh body like the L$2,750 Maitreya Lara, there are free and inexpensive options available. Try them out with your Leila head!

Here is what the Altamura Leila head looks like with all the default makeup removed, and a dollarbie Omega lipstick by Poema added, with a Maitreya Lara body (LAQ body appliers to match the LAQ skintones are L$300 per tone):

Leila Head 20 Dec 2018

Looking very good!

Since you can pick up all the previous days’ Advent gifts at Altamura, I would suggest you wait until all 12 gifts are under the tree, then make one trip on Dec. 24th or 25th to pick them all up! I plan to do this for several stores which allow you to pick up all the previous days’ gifts at one time. Happy shopping!

UPDATE Dec. 21st: The 10th Advent gift under the Christmas tree turns out to be an Altamura Omega full-body skin applier HUD, in all the Altamura skintones! You have a choice of with brows or browless (so you can apply your own Omega eyebrows):

Leila Head 21 Dec 2018

What this means is that you can now match your Leila Bento mesh head to literally any Altamura body! In the picture above, I am wearing the Leila head with all the default makeup removed, and with the third Baltic Sea skintone applied. I am wearing the head with the free Altamura Jenny mesh body I had picked up at the Women Only Hunt back in 2017 (not the free version you can pick up now at the Freebie Megastore at London City; that version, unfortunately, does not let you remove the head).

Frankly, I was a little surprised that this was not part of the Advent gift on the 8th day. But I now see they are spreading out the gifts over several days. So be sure to drop by and pick up gift #10 to use with your Leila head!