Tag: Second Life Mesh Avatars

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: the Kalhene Analexa 4.1 and Erika 1.0 Female Mesh Bodies

I admit I have a soft spot for Kalhene, a Maitreya Lara-compatible mesh body at a lower price. Well, Kalhene has replaced their Anya female full-body (i.e. head and body) package and their Alexa transgender full-body package with a new, all-in-one Analexa body, version 4.1!

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 1.0INTHIUM Kupra
Base Cost of Mesh BodyL$2,495L$3,999
Included Body Shapes5: skinny, natural, curvy, chubby, and pregnant3: skinny, curvy, and “bimbo” (ugh!)
Breast Options5 shape options; optional HD nipples3 shape options; 5 types of 3D nipples
Bento Hands and Nails5 fingernail options; 16 colours nail polish5 fingernail and 4 toenail options; 32 colours nail polish
Mesh Feet3 heel heights controlled bu HUD: flat, mid, and high; the feet are Maitreya Lara compatible4 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 Head3 heads included: soft, “hard”/more angular features, and AsianNot included (Catwa heads cost L$5,000 each)
Starter Skin and Eyes5 skin tones, 8 eye colours2 skin tones
Starter HairIncluded (works with all breast types)Not included
Starter Wardrobe10 complete outfits with footwear (see images below for examples)Sport shorts, top, bikini top, panties, and thong
Transgender Option (Penis)IncludedNot included
TOTAL COSTL$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!

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Free, Full-Body Bakes on Mesh Male and Female Avatars at Altamura!

At the Altamura store, you can pick up two free group gifts from the panels located at the entrance: free Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible full-body (i.e. head and body) mesh avatars! The Altamura group is currently free to join (normally it costs L$100), so these are completely free.

Here’s what the Movin’ On female avatar looks like, wearing the included skin:

And here’s what the rather handsome Take My Way male avatar looks like, wearing the Bakes on Mesh skin included in the package:

Now, there’s a catch. Both of these avatars do NOT come with a HUD. You cannot remove the hairbases or the lip layers on these avatars, which might pose a problem when using other Bakes on Mesh skins with them (I tried a very pale skin on the male avatar, and the lips looked dreadful). And the Movin’ On female avatar feet (which are Slink compatible) can only wear high-heeled shoes! No flats. (UPDATE Dec. 23rd.: I stand corrected! There is a HUD included with the female body, called the “Hide HUD”, which allows you turn on and off flat feet, mid feet, and high feet.)

Because there is no HUD with alpha sections, you will have to use the alphas that come with the clothing you buy (or repurpose from the SL starter avatar collection, such as these blue Alejandro shorts that the Take My Way male avatar is wearing). If you do need a set of alphas to use with clothing that does not come with them, you can pick up a free set from Little Black Dress at this SLURL (just click on the bag on the floor).

However, if you are not terribly fussy about your avatar, and you like the looks of these two, you simply cannot beat the price—completely free! Remember that these are both limited-time gifts, so don’t wait, hurry down!

I will be adding these avatars to my popular, constantly-updated lists of free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars (here) and male avatars (here). Happy freebie shopping! Here’s your taxi.

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The Free RuthTooRC3 and RothTooRC1 Mesh Bodies by Heavy Industries Now Support Bakes on Mesh

Please note that I am taking the rest of the summer off as a self-imposed vacation from the blog so I can focus on my other work, except for sponsored blogposts, and the occasional exception such as this blogpost. See you in September!

The RuthTooRC3 Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible mesh head and body

Another day, another free Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible avatar! This time it’s for female avatars: the RuthTooRC3 full-body (i.e. head and body) avatar. As usual, the head and body are separate components, so you should be able to mix and match with other BoM heads and bodies.

I had blogged about the free RuthTooRC3 mesh body before (here, about halfway down this very long blogpost), but I just found out yesterday that there is a new, Bakes on Mesh-compatible version! So a pretty good free mesh body just got even better. You can now use Bakes on Mesh skins and makeup with this head and body (the skin used in these pictures is the Elvira skin in the maple skin tone, an Advent gift from 7 Deadly S[k]ins from last December).

Here’s the exact SLURL of the Heavy Industries store, located in a retro 1950’s diner. Walk into the diner and and click both of the blue panels on the wall directly in front of you (the first one only includes flat mesh feet for some reason, but the second one includes both medium-height and high-heeled mesh feet as well):

While you’re there, click on the three red panels immediately to the left of the blue ones, and you can pick up three outfits that were designed to fit this body perfectly! (Please note that I did test various mesh clothing designed for Maitreya Lara on this particular body, and there are some fitting problems in the lower back and the rear end area on most garments.)

This body comes with a HUD to tint the fingernails and toenails, which are separate attachments. However, there is no HUD with alpha sections provided, so you will have to make use the alphas that come with the clothing you pick up. If you need a set of alphas to use with clothing that does not come with them, you can pick up a free set from Little Black Dress at this SLURL (just click on the bag on the floor).

Happy freebie shopping! I will add this updated mesh body to my comprehensive list of free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars.

UPDATE 9:12 p.m.: I forgot to mention that at the same location, you can also pick up the latest edition of the free RothTooRC1 Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible male mesh head and body, which I had written about previously (at the very end of this rather long blogpost).

Here’s the panel in the Heavy Industries diner; make sure you click on the one that clearly says “Bakes on Mesh Compatible”, not the one to the right of it:

Now, there is good news and bad news about this particular male mesh body.

The good news is that the alphas included with clothing do finally work with this body (they didn’t the last time I tested it out, which made it of limited usefulness, since there is no included alpha sections HUD). However, the bad news is that you are still going to find that most male mesh clothing does not fit this particular mesh body very well at all, even with the alphas.

I tried everything, including standard-size and fitmesh clothing of various kinds on the RothTooRC1 body, and in every case (even on the large and extra-large standard sizes), there were fit problems across the back of the neck and shoulders and the front of the waist. Clothing created for popular male mesh bodies by Belleza, Signature, and Slink doesn’t work, either.

The only things which worked were when I alpha’ed out the entire body except the hands, as I did with the following tuxedo outfit from the men’s freebie store at the Helping Haven Gateway (and there were still problems at the wrists; the skin is a male Bakes on Mesh skin I picked up from a store called DNA, which is now unfortunately closed).

The fingernails and toenails are (as they were for the RuthTooRC3 body above) separate attachments, which you can tint using an included HUD. (You’ll need to remember to remove the toenails when you alpha out the feet, as I did below!)

Given the many problems I encountered trying to find clothing to fit this body, I really cannot recommend it over the many other free and inexpensive male mesh bodies (unless you want to rely exclusively on system layer/Bakes on Mesh clothing).

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The Free G&D Ruth 3.5 Mesh Head and Body

Please note that I am taking the rest of the summer off as a self-imposed vacation from the blog so I can focus on my other work, except for sponsored blogposts, and the occasional exception such as this blogpost. See you in September!

There’s a new full-body (i.e. head and body), Bento, Bakes on Mesh compatible mesh avatar for women, an update to the original open-source Ruth mesh body called G&D Ruth 3.5. You can pick one up for free from the SL Marketplace. I decided to take this body out for a test drive, just to see how well it stacks up against other free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars I have blogged about.

Please keep in mind that the head and the body are separate items, so if you wish, you can mix and match them with other Bakes on Mesh heads and bodies.

The creator notes in the Marketplace listing:

The head has been rebuilt from scratch to a more attractive standard and no longer has visible jagged edges. There is more Bento functionally and a full range of shape support. There is a fitmesh neck blender that is also BOM and the old Ruth choker collar, to provide different levels of coverage.

There is a robust nail system that is as easy as wearing a system tattoo. Simply right click and ADD to yourself in your inventory. There is also a pure white modifable tinting option.

Skins are NOT mined freebies from other websites, they have been made specially for the body and head. There are a variety of colours including natural and supernatural tones. There is also all three tints of our Color Wonder ultra customizable skins.

Finally, a compact, low lag mesh body accessible for all SL viewers with no catches and no sacrifices. Look beautiful for the lowest possible price…free!

I spent a fair bit of time tinkering with the head and body sliders on this one, because I was dissatisfied with the default settings, particularly on the head, which I found to be rather long and thinner-faced by default compared to other Bento heads I have used before. (If you have found other Bento mesh heads to be too round, perhaps the head in this package might just be perfect for you!) The body responds well to the sliders.

I also didn’t like the system skins that this body came with (a selection of both regular and fantasy skins), so I used the Elvira skin in the maple skin tone from 7 Deadly S[k]ins, a former Advent calendar gift from last December. Here is what the body looks like, with the alpha sections HUD, wearing a swimsuit I picked up as a group gift from DM:

At first, the alpha sections HUD didn’t work, but a quick logout and relog into SL fixed that problem quickly.

There is a slight, barely noticeable seam at the neck, which the included Bakes on Mesh neck fix addresses fairly well. Here’s a close-up of the head (the Kristen hair was the gift from Ade at the SL17B Shop and Hop, and the eyes are from the Leonard starter avatar already in your SL inventory). As I note later on, you might have better luck using an alpha to remove the system eyes and replace them with mesh eyes on this particular head (here’s a recent blogpost with some good links to free mesh eyes).

The ears are a separate and adjustable attachment, which of course means you can replace them easily. The feet are also a separate attachment, and come in two types: flat and high. The hands come in two versions, too, one with short nails, and one with long nails, which include several tattoo layers to tint them various colours (plus one modifiable tattoo layer which you can tint any shade you wish):

I found in my testing that most clothing and footwear for Maitreya Lara fits this body fairly well. Here my avatar is wearing the Sonnet pumps from Hilly Haalan (unrigged and easily adjustable), along with the black Vibsy minidress by PULSE, a recent gift from the Second Life 17th Birthday Shop and Hop event:

The only problem I encountered with the G&D Ruth 3.5 body is that I could not get the alphas that come bundled with clothing to work with it. However, there are a fairly good selection of alpha sections on the included HUD (after I got it working properly), so that should not be too serious a problem.

UPDATE Aug. 8th, 2020: I have been informed that the G&D Ruth 3.5 body has been updated by its creator, and that the alpha layers that come with clothing will now work properly. Here’s the link to the Marketplace listing. Thanks for the heads up, Dagger Faulkwing!

All in all, this is a pretty nice body at a price that can’t be beat—free! I would recommend that you give this one a spin, testing it out with various system/Bakes on Mesh skins, to see how well you like it.

I’m not the only SL blogger who has noticed this new, free mesh body. Midnyte Childs, of the blog Silent Raindrops, has started an Avatar on a Budget Challenge, and her second post in that category featured this body, too! Here’s her blogpost. She noted something I didn’t mention up top, that there is a barely detectable seam where the hands and feet (which are separate attachments) connect to this mesh body. And I learned from her that G&D stands for Glitter and Doom!

I will be adding the G&D Ruth 3.5 mesh body to my constantly-updated list of free and inexpensive mesh heads and bodies for female avatars.

Happy freebie shopping!