ALANTORI is a Second Life store which sells men’s mesh bodies, men’s and women’s hair and skin, and some men’s clothing.
If you join the ALANTORI group for L$50, you can click on the Midnight Madness boards to pick up two different kinds of Bento, Bakes on Mesh-compatible male bodies: the beefy, muscular Rick body, and the slimmer, more toned David body.
How the boards work is as follows: once each board is hit 50 times, a copy of that particular mesh body is automatically sent to everyone who touched the board (it does not wait until midnight; neither does the count reset at midnight, like regular Midnight Madness boards).
There’s also a Bento, Bakes on Mesh male head called Marco, one of free three group gifts for men at ALANTORI, located just to the right of the Midnight Madness boards:
As you can see, this is quite a muscular body, particularly in the arms, shoulders, and chest! Now, unlike the David body (which we’ll talk about in a minute), the Rick body lacks fingernail and toenail attachments, which means that the Sweet’s skin I used here gives it a bit of an unfinished look. However, the body does come with a set of five full-body skin tattoos, which do add fingernail and toenail details:
(Same body as the previous picture, but wearing the included mid tone body skin tattoo)
However, you’re going to have to find head skin that matches the included body tattoos. because there will be a noticeable neck seam (which you can’t really see here, as my avatar is looking down). So your mileage may vary on this body.
Here’s what the David body looks like with the same Sweet’s skin and Victor head. Unlike the Rick body, David comes in five separate pieces: upper body, lower body, right hand fingernails, left hand fingernails, and toenails:
Both bodies come with an basic alpha sections HUD (and, of course, you can also wear the alphas that come with the clothing your purchase):
I have written about ALANTORI’s group gift of the Marco head before. Here is a closeup of the Marco head paired with the David body (again, wearing the Sweet’s skin). The Bakes on Mesh-compatible mesh eyes are included with the head. Looking good! (I did have to fiddle with the sliders for the eyes and eyebrows to get this look.)
For women, the L$50 membership in the ALANTORI group lets you pick up 18 different fatpacks of women’s hair, each with a HUD with 146 colour options! That works out to less than L$3 per hairstyle—which is quite a bargain!
Here is just one example, the long, luxurious Bella hairstyle, showing you the brown and black tomes in the colours HUD (you just click on the buttons at the bottom to see the other colour palettes):
I have been following the progress of the Kalhene Bento, Bakes on Mesh bodies (the Anya female body and the Alexa transgender body) for some time now, and I am mightily impressed with how often the creator issues updates. We are now at version 4.0 of the Anya body, which I have found to be nearly 100% compatible with apparel and footwear designed for Maitreya Lara mesh bodies!
Pay a visit to the Kalhene store (located opposite the N-Core shoe store), and for only L$1,795, you get not only a Maitreya-Lara-compatible Bento mesh body, with a top-notch HUD, but you also get a Bento mesh head, plus pretty much everything else you need to get started—skins, eyes, hair, a starter wardrobe, even an AO to control the eyes, head, and hands! All you need to add is a body AO and you’re all set!
Let’s draw up a side-by-side comparison chart, showing you what you get for your money: column A is the Kalhene Anya version 4.0 head and body, and Column B is the Maitreya Lara version 5.3 mesh body with a Catwa brand of Bento mesh head (the most popular combination):
Kalhene Anya 4.0
Maitreya Lara 5.3
Base Cost of Mesh Body
L$1,795
L$2,750
Petite Breast Option
Included (all clothing in the package works with it)
L$599 extra
Flat Chest Option
Included (all clothing in the package works with it)
L$499 extra
Implant (Large) Breast Option
Included (all clothing in the package works with it)
Not included (not sure what the extra cost would be!)
Bento Handsand Nails
Included; Fingernails come in 36 colours and patterns, and 5 styles
Included; Fingernails come in 19 colours and 5 styles
Mesh Feet
3 feet heights controlled by HUD (flat, medium, and high)
5 feet heights controlled by HUD (flat, kitten, medium, high, and point)
Bento Mesh Head
Included
Not Included (Catwa heads cost L$5,000)
Starter Skin
Included (5 skin tones in regular and flat-chested versions)
Included (22 skin tones)
Starter Wardrobe
Bikini (12 colours), dress (8 colours), shirt (4 colours), leggings (4 colours), flat shoes (5 colours, 2 styles), high-heeled shoes (5 colours, 3 styles), plus black and white pantyhose/stockings and finger rings. All apparel fits flat. petite, regular, and implant breast versions of the Anya body.
Bra and Panties by Erratic (9 colours) and Zaara (black)
TOTAL COST
L$1,795
L$8,848 (not including the cost of a starter wardrobe)
Comparison Chart: Kalhene Anya versus Maitreya Lara with a Catwa head
Also, because the included skin tones that come the Maitreya Lara body and your choice of Catwa head will not match, you will also have to shell out for skin appliers from your favourite skin store (or a Bakes on Mesh skin, since both Maitreya and Catwa now support BoM). You could easily spend well over L$10,000 before you’re done with the Maitreya/Catwa combination, whereas you could take that extra money and put it towards apparel, footwear, hairstyles, and Bakes on Mesh skins, cosmetics and tattoos if you opt for the Kalhene Anya mesh body.
Here’s a look at the HUD that comes with version 3.0 of the Anya body. Note that unlike earlier versions, there are now three feet heights, controllable by the HUD (instead of separate mesh bodies): flat feet, mid-height feet, and high heel feet.
There’s a pretty complete set of alpha selections on the HUD, which compares quite favourably with those of the major mesh body brands, and of course you can also use the alphas that come with the clothing you buy. 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).
The separate clothing HUD allows you to change the colour and style of the included hairstyle (bangs/no bangs), as well as all of the included starter wardrobe items, including the metals and gemstones on the included set of rings, the ability to show or hide the rings on each finger, and the colour and style of two kinds of shoes, flat and high (including the flats shown here; other options include sandals and pumps). Black and white pantyhose and tights (in all three feet heights and four different transparency levels) are included in the package, too.
Here’s a look at a completely styled version of the Anya mesh avatar, showing you where on the body and clothing HUDs I made selections:
As you can see, you can create and style a complete avatar look using only the elements in the Anya package! However, I also wanted to show you how this body would look with a different head and skin (the Anya head and body are separate attachments, and of course you can mix and match them with other BoM-compatible heads and bodies as you wish).
This avatar is wearing:
Mesh Head: Strong Face gift Bento mesh head from The Genus Project (free group gift)
Mesh Body: Anya version 3.0 from Kalhene (L$1,695; Kalhene has a a small store located opposite the N-Core Design footwear store (here’s the SLURL)
Skin: Brielle by Amara Beauty (a former free group gift; group is free to join)
Hair: Beyoncé hair by enVOGUE (a L$1 gift from a previous year’s Hair Fair)
Gown: Azahara ballgown in red by Scandalize (which I picked up using the recent group gift of L$400 store credit; the Scandalize group costs L$100 to join, but if you hurry, you can join for free and pick up a second L$400 store credit offer! I believe today is the final day you can join the Scandalize group for free.)
Jewelry: I pulled this old set from my inventory; they came from a store that has long since left the grid!
TOTAL COST OF THIS AVATAR LOOK: L$1,696 (L$1,695 for the Kalhene Anya mesh body when I purchased it, and L$1 for the hair; the rest was free!)
UPDATE March 31st, 2021: I wanted to report that Kalhene has now released version 4.0 of the Anya mesh body! If you bought an earlier version of the Anya body, you can get a redelivery at their in-world store here; just click the large REDELIVERY sign on the wall as shown here:
Among the new features in this latest release are:
a new mesh head (version 2), with a stronger jawline, more arched eyebrows and some soft changes on the nose and lips;
three new different breast positions via deformer animations in the HUD (which works for all breast sizes: petite, regular, and implants), to give a more natural look to the breasts;
a neck fix for LeLutka mesh heads; and
new body oil materials (for the mesh body Bakes on Mesh only).
I have now been using the Anya mesh body with dozens and dozens of outfits that were designed for the Maitreya Lara body, without any issues, except for two minor ones:
sometimes, on only a few very long-sleeved shirts, there is a problem with the wrist and hand area, where the hand pokes through the sleeve; and
with a few pairs of jeans or pants, the waist of the pants is a bit wider than the waist of the body (see image, right), a problem which does not occur on the Maitrey Lara mesh body.
However, these problems are so uncommon (I have encountered them only 4 or 5 times in well over a year of testing!), that I can recommend the Anya 3.0 mesh body without hesitation if you want a Maitreya Lara-compatible mesh body at a bargain price!
A look at the version 4.0 Anya body HUD (the alpha HUD is separate)
Note that the alpha sections HUD seen in the version 3.0 pictures earlier in this blogpost is still available; it’s in the box marked “BOXED -Kalhene- ANYA Mesh Body V4.0 (BoM + Alpha HUD)” in the version 4.0 package, which must be unpacked separately (the alpha sections HUD looks identical to the one pictured above). Please also note that you must use the bodies in that particular unpacked folder with the alpha sections HUD! For some strange reason, the alpha HUD didn’t work with the bodies from the main folder.
The advent of Bakes on Mesh has led to some interesting developments in the mesh body market in Second Life. I have written about a few of them before, such as the highly-recommended Anya and Alexa mesh bodies by Kalhene, which are fully compatible with apparel and footwear designed for Maitreya Lara:
The Genus Project Strong Face mesh head paired with the Kalhene Ariadna mesh body (the free predecessor of the current Kalhene Anya mesh body, for sale for L$1,695 here)
Bakes on Mesh allows mesh body makers to focus on the actual mesh of their products, without having to worry about providing support for skin appliers, or even a HUD with alpha sections (although the Kalhene Anya body does include such a HUD). After all, BoM bodies can use the clothing alphas that often come with clothing. If you should 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).
Very early this morning, unable to sleep, I dragged my weary ass out of bed and paid a visit to the Freebie Megastore on the London City sim, just to see what was new. While there, I noticed an advertisement for a new, Bakes on Mesh, Bento mesh body called Eden, by a company called Rebirth, which I had never heard of before.
So, I popped into the brand-new Rebirth store (here’s the SLURL) to check it out.
The Rebirth storeTwo examples of the Eden avatar: as you can see, you can get some very different looks!Four examples of the Eden avatar: as you can see, you can get many different looks!
The Eden body is a unique proposition in the Second Life mesh body market: one body that can take you from child to teenager to adult, and from male to female to transgender! There are three options for sale at the Rebirth store:
a male version of the Eden body, which includes starter shapes for child, teenage, and adult male avatars, in ten skin tones, for L$2,790 (head not included);
a female version of the Eden body, which includes starter shapes for child, teenage, and adult female avatars, in ten skin tones, for L$2,790 (head not included); and
a transgender version which includes both male and female starter shapes and skins for L$4,890 (the base mesh body is the same regardless).
Now, I have seen a lot of mesh bodies in SL, but never before have I seen a single mesh body that offers you such a wide range of ages and genders! So, curious, I paid my Linden dollar to obtain the demo version of the transgender package, and I put it through the paces.
Now, remember that this is a Bakes on Mesh body, which does include ten different body skin tones as tattoo layers, plus matching neck fades to work with your own mesh head. Of course, you will probably opt for a Bakes on Mesh skin which works on both the head and body, and for the following pictures I used as my base skin one of the lovely skins which came with the Limited Akeruka head (a recent group gift).
The starter shapes are just that: starting points, and I suspect you will have to do a lot of tweaking to get something that you will be happy with (my personal pet peeve is avatars with arms that are way too short!). Here is the default adult woman shape with the Akeruka Limited BoM skin (the underwear shown in these pictures is included for all possible shapes and breast sizes):
Here’s the default little girl shape, which I used with one of the included flat body skin tattoos (because the Akeruka Limited skin is intended for an adult woman, and frankly looks really disturbing on a child avatar!).
Here’s the default male teenager body shape with the included male body tattoo (again, the underwear is included):
And finally, here is the default adult male shape, again with the included male body skin tattoo:
After futzing around with the body sliders, here’s what the adult female shape looks like, paired with the Kalhene Bakes on Mesh Bento head and a skin from 7 Deadly S[k]ins called Elvira, in the maple skin tone (an Advent calendar gift from 2019):
All in all, not a bad result (although I’m not a big fan of the shape of the hands):
Here’s a look at the HUD for the Eden body, which does not include alpha sections for the body. You do get settings for four feet heights, four different breast sizes (flat, small, normal, and male), and the ability to tint your toenails and fingernails.
So, what’s my overall verdict on the Eden body?
This is definitely a very malleable body, where you can adjust it using the body sliders (and the included HUD to adjust the breasts and feet) to allow you to express virtually any gender you wish—male, female, or anything in between—and any age. A sign in the Rebirth store (see image below) says you can take this body from age 8 to age 25, and my experiments with the demo version confirm that.
However, this very malleability also makes it hard to recommend the Eden body if you are only interested in one of the many possible looks: male, female, child, teenager, or adult. For example, if you’re only going to present as a female avatar, you are much better off with one of the many female mesh bodies on the marketplace (and I would therefore recommend the Kalhene Anya mesh body as a reasonably-priced alternative which even includes a Bento head, given that everybody and their dog makes clothing to fit Maitreya Lara mesh bodies). If you want to be a child avatar, and only that, then I would probably recommend one of the child mesh heads and bodies such as the ToddleeDoo, which will have much better designer support.
Which brings me to another problem: there’s a lack of clothing for the Eden bodies. Although there is a clothing store off to the side of the Rebirth store, containing a small but serviceable selection of different outfits for male, female, and intersex avatars, I don’t think there’s a lot of other designers making clothing for this body yet (and there’s a rather large sign in the store next to the entrance, pleading with apparel designers to pick up a devkit for this body and make some clothing for it).
This is, sadly, a problem with all new mesh bodies; designers tend to focus on the best-selling models of male and female mesh bodies, which means it can be next to impossible to find apparel specifically designed for them.
But, if you are a true chameleon, who likes to change their age and/or gender on a whim, the Eden mesh body might be absolutely perfect for you (provided you also get an appropriate Bakes on Mesh skin and Bento mesh head to match whatever look you’re going for).
However, the extreme malleability of this mesh body—its major selling point—also means that purchasers have a duty and a responsibility to NOT create offensive results. For example, if you mix and match an adult skin, an adult head, and a child’s shape, you could well land up in Frankenstein territory (and reap a swift and permanent ban for breaking Second Life’s ironclad rules against ageplay).
While I was in the store, I saw an avatar shopping in the clothing section, wearing what appeared to be a combination of an adult, system head and an Eden body in a child’s shape, and it just creeped me out completely. I wonder if the creators of the Eden mesh body realize that they may have opened up a Pandora’s box here.
Therefore, I am somewhat concerned at the potential for abuse of this product (but I also realize that some people are going to go right ahead and push the boundaries of decency and good taste in Second Life anyway, just like they always do… helloooo, Tiny Things!That last link is completely safe for work, by the way…).
O.K., it’s 5:30 a.m. and I am going to go back to bed and try to get some sleep before my workday starts…
I paid a quick visit to the Signature shopping event in Second Life after watching this video by Cat Pink SL (whom you should be following for news on sales such as this):
If you are in the market for a high-quality mesh avatar body, you might be interested to know that Signature is having a flash sale at the Signature Event, selling the Alice female mesh body for less than half its regular retail price, and offering a smaller but still significant discount on both the Gianni and Geralt models of male mesh bodies (here’s a direct SLURL to the vendors at the Signature Event):
The vendors at the Signature Event
Now, the male body panel at the event appears to only sell the Signature Gianni body, but I have checked back at the Signature main store, and you can buy both the Gianni and Geralt bodies there at the same flash sale price, L$2,750 (the regular price is L$4,000). Compare this to the current price of the other two major male mesh bodies: L$2,999 for Belleza Jake, and L$5,000 for the Meshbody Legacy male body.
The “Big Three” of male mesh bodies favoured by fashion designers are Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni, and the Meshbody Legacy male mesh body, with the Slink male body coming in fourth (and frankly, a lot of men in Second Life are still rocking a classic, system avatar!). The Signature Gianni body is very well supported by clothing and footwear designers, so you should have no problems finding apparel that fits.
The Signature Alice female mesh body is only L$1,500 (the regular price is L$3,500), which is a real bargain. However, you should be aware that not a lot of fashion designers are making clothing specifically for the Alice body yet, instead focusing on what I like to call the “Big Seven” brands of female bodies: Maitreya Lara (L$2,750), Belleza Freya, Venus, and Isis (L$2,499 each), Slink Physique and Hourglass (L$2,800 each), and the new, popular Meshbody Legacy female body (L$5,000). Signature obviously hopes to grease the wheel a bit by offering such a sizable discount on the Alice body, but you should go into this knowing that you will still have a somewhat harder time finding apparel for it.
All Signature bodies have Bento hands and will work with any Bento animations. The bodies work with both Signature and Omega skin appliers (with the separately available Omega System Kit for Signature), and they also support Bakes on Mesh skins, cosmetics, and tattoos. They should work well with any Bento mesh heads.
This flash sale ends at midnight SL Time/Pacific Time on September 17th, 2020, so if you’re interested, hurry down, try on some demos and decide for yourself if it’s too good a deal to pass up. Happy shopping!
