The Great Faceplate Debate

General chat about fembots, technosexual culture or any other ASFR related topics that do not fit into the other categories below.
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The Great Faceplate Debate

Post by rickdrat » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:14 am

Okay, I know this has been addressed, at least tangentially, elsewhere on this board from time to time, but let’s talk about the whole removable facemask issue. Do you like them or not? Why? Are they even technically feasible?

Speaking for myself, everything I am that brought me to this group is probably based on years of overexposure to lot’s of mid seventies science fiction, mostly TV. So I grew up on shows like The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman or films like Westworld. So in my own little feeble brain, those presentations represent the “correct” version of what a fembot should be. To that end, a removable faceplate is not just interesting, but required. It is, for me, what separates fembots from humans.

Furthermore, I think the idea of a mask implies a certain amount of deception, which was often key to the above-mentioned shows. I love the notion of something being other than what it seems and fooling everyone, but ultimately being revealed, or unmasked for what it really is. And for that, Robotman, gets my vote as the high priest of story writing around here. :wink:

However, as to engineering practicality of a facemask, I’m not sure it’s feasible or practical. Sure there are times when you want to “pop the hood” and see what’s going on inside, but how do you deal with the ever present “where’s the jaw, tongue, teeth?” question. I always felt the Bionic Woman fembots did the worst job of handling that. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the visual, but that flimsy rubber mask obviously didn’t contain anything substantial. I think for my money, I prefer the open face of the Westworld robots. It just looked more practical and, without creepy fembot eyes, even more machinelike.

So there you have it. Let the discussion begin.

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Post by Spaz » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:45 am

I agree, that is a question that I have always asked when seeing a face being removed.
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Post by Karel » Mon Nov 27, 2006 12:02 pm

No, people, I'm sorry. There's simply no way that it's practical in its stereotypical form; the very unrealism is as much a put-off for me as the whole faceless-woman thing. I mean, how many times have you seen a woman from behind and been irresistably attracted, only to have the sensation ruined when you finally catch a glimpse of her face? I don't see anything sexy about having no face. Personally, I find the "uncanny valley" mentioned extensively as of late to be a far more erotic effect.

The face is the most important grouping of external organs in the human body. It's the palette of emotion. Even the most elementary attempt at creating a convincing artificial face would require hundreds of tiny motors. You probably can't take the face off of an Actroid outside of a clean room, and it looks like it would take days to put back on: those competing android projects that use latex heads spread over the robot are horribly crude and unappealing. Sure, if you had godlike powers of material engineering, you could craft some kind of mask made out of synthetic nano-molecules that hardened up when disconnected from an electrical current, and then, when reattached, became flexible again and magnetically realigned itself with all the needles and servos inside... but why? Better to just peel of the scalp and go in from behind, like in Valerie 23 or Mary 25.

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Post by UserJesse » Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:51 pm

I must be honest and say Face-offs creeped me out for a good long time.
Was never really the eyes, but the big teeth with gums just hanging out there...eek! However! Now I appreciate it more and more. Nothing screams "Its a robot!" more than removing a faceplate, excelent for the selling and convincing. So in that respect I like them, but still perfer the outer mechanical appearance, things that are metal or plastic and obvious from the outside, Megaman girls...if that makes sense =)

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Post by droidlvr » Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:16 pm

I'm sooo over faceoffs. :roll:

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Post by RancidInsanity » Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:18 pm

I am so scared of "face-offs" I would literally run away from a fembot who didn't have a face plate on. :cry: (and yes I am a wussy :lol: )
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Post by Doctor Robo » Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:08 pm

I'm not big on them either. Once the faceplate comes off, the robot ceases to be a fembot and becomes just another piles of wires and microchips.

Just my two cents.

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Post by Korby » Mon Nov 27, 2006 8:53 pm

I like faceoffs in a symbolic kind of way, as a literary device to illustrate a fembot's robotic nature. I look at it as shorthand and try not to think too hard about the technical feasibilty. I guess on some level I figure that the technology that can build a humanlike female android which can walk, talk, and, uh, do other stuff as well as the real thing can also suss out how to take the face off that same android with all the necessary fiddly bits and articulation still intact.

It's a useful piece of shorthand for both stories and photomanips, in part because it allows a quick reveal without, say, a lot of unwieldy undressing on the bot's part (not that I dislike a disrobed droid, but in some circumstances it's not practical... plus, for manips, you can take a face off a fully-clothed woman whereas you cannot easily display, say, an open abdominal panel).

Given a choice, I'd go for a certain amount of nudity and an open panel someplace more intimate, mind you. But the faceplate has its uses.
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More faceplates off, please

Post by Pleasureunit » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:33 pm

Count me in with Korby and Robotman. For me, the faceplates HAVE to come off at some point in the story or illustrations for me to achieve Nirvana, or I otherwise become bored and petulant, ha ha. I think Korby's photo manip of "Maria Dwyer Unit RX3655" is "the limit", and inspires me to keep living for another few decades! :lol: I just keep thinking now we're on the very cusp of the longed-for breakthrough, what with all the work being done in Japan at present.

In any case, silly and impractical though they may presently seem, I too would hope an android's head assembly would allow for faceplate dismantling by a doting owner. The very idea of having a conversation with a cute robot whose faceplate has been removed is so intensely erotic to me that it leaves me baffled. To think her soothing voice and tender words come from nothing more than a speaker/microphone and being mere digitised lines from a pre-programmed script well-nigh makes me dizzy with pleasure, as does the thought that that pretty head covered with soft, flowing locks of hair, is packed full of wiring, circuit-boards and tiny motors.

Back to Dreamland!

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Post by ASFRyan » Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:50 pm

What about those of us who prefer the inverse, of having a robotic mask affixed to or replacing a human face, rather than hiding behind it?

Where's our part in the mighty debate?

The pro-faceplate camp may love seeing the revelation of the fembot nature, but some of us love to see the bondage aspect of things that denies humanity through covering the face.
"I never knew anyone who wanted to be a robot."

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Post by rickdrat » Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:20 am

Just to help keep things on an even keel here let me just add that I can understand the "no face offs" view. I've done quite a few manips, removing faces, only to look at the end result wondering what happend to the female identity. Karel makes some very good points about the face being the center of emotion. I guess for me the "S" in ASFR has always been a small "s" and the "R" a great big, giant, bold, neon "R". Still, I can see why it would creep some of us out.

As a side note, someone recently posted a video of a female double amputee who had recieved a set of robotic arms. I have to be honest that when I first saw that I felt very disturbed. Something about the sight of a real woman's head attached to machinery just didn't sit right with me, while I'm sure some of you found it quite interesting. So I imagine we each have our own tolerences on where the marriage of flesh (real or synthetic) and metal mix.
ASFRyan wrote:What about those of us who prefer the inverse, of having a robotic mask affixed to or replacing a human face, rather than hiding behind it?

Where's our part in the mighty debate?

The pro-faceplate camp may love seeing the revelation of the fembot nature, but some of us love to see the bondage aspect of things that denies humanity through covering the face.
As to ASFRyan's post. I've always thought this group is a fairly big tent. I didn't mean to make this an all or nothing discussion. Please do insert your thoughts where I may have failed to notice.

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Post by fection » Tue Nov 28, 2006 11:38 am

Hey, I liked the puns in your original post and I relate to what you were describing (with the fembot trying - desperately at times - to appear human and being unceremoniously unmasked) but unfortunately the visual effect of the face coming away borders on a turn off for me. I guess I like the unmasking to be more figurative.
Weirdly a panel popping open elsewhere is fine by me. I guess I see the face as the human interface (hey, a pun too) and prefer that to remain intact. There's also the potential for the face to perform unhuman actions (flickering eye-lids, wide or crossed eyes, stretched lips).
Ah well. Each to there own.

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Post by fection » Tue Nov 28, 2006 11:40 am

'Scuse the spelling...

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Post by Stephaniebot » Tue Nov 28, 2006 1:37 pm

Well I agree the group does cover a wide spectrum, but I do feel we at the transformation end of things are by far the smaller group. I dont deny I've posted less this year than before, and that definitely has something to do with it.

Face panel stuff as you've probably guessed does nothing for me, not quite a turn off, but definitely heading that way unless its cleverly done. But body panels, they I do approve of strangely enough, thats more like a robot maintenance/programming plug in zone which face panels certainly arent.

But lets face it, those of us who are more into the transformation stuff arent really likely to be heavily into faceplate removal I suspect. Mind if someone wants to change my faceplate for that of a cute 20 year old... I might consider it lol!
I'm just a 'girl' who wants to become a fembot whats wrong with that?

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Post by phantom-x » Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:20 pm

The face is the last place i want to see a removable plate.........i don't mind it elsewhere strangely enough...............back, leg, etc

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Post by Pleasureunit » Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:47 pm

Whew, another late night. But always plenty of enjoyment and learning to be found on this board amongst you all, my cyber friends and allies! :D

ASFRyan, I definately think your ideas are equally cool! I sincerely hope my own frothy posted fantasies didn't make you think any other viewpoints were disparaged or discounted.

And Fection, your stories RAWK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I equally dig exposed chest panels revealing the springs and wiring. And I've gotta say, your animations focusing on those previously stated stretched lips, crossed eyes, and the program-looped speech are masterful.

So yah, I guess sometimes the faceplate doesn't exactly have to pop off, if the writer has the moxie and the talent for writing a good, fun tale describing the other visual and auditory pleasures of a poor girl's malfunction!

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Post by rickdrat » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:31 am

Okay, let me jump back over the fence as we continue to explore this facet (that ones for Fection, no charge!) 8) of our group.
I'm perfectly willing and able to enjoy a good robot without the face coming off, and upon reflection, flickering eyelids, crossed eyes and whatnot are a pretty good turn on for me too. Still, if she should happen to tumble while those eyes are crossed, and knock her face off, then who am I to complain?

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Post by droidlvr » Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:47 pm

As an aside,a removable head module is more appealing. It's just something about seeing a nicely feminine form standing or sitting while being repaired and having the head removed. A set of wires attached to her top and with a few buttons pressed on a unit on the other end of those wires can make her stand/walk/sit etc.. As I write this I recall the pic with the man seated next to his headless wifebot while tinkering with her beautiful head. Another is when in "The Coppertop Girl" of Weird Science the guy removes her head. To me this says fembot all the way. :)

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Post by Karel » Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:38 pm

I must place myself onside with all those praising Fection's work. Not to take you away from the necessities of life, Fection, but is another work in progress?

Taking off the face would remove all the appeal of his stories and animations. If it's the falseness of the robot that's attractive, then that is better conveyed through the use of an expressive face, masking artificiality with mock emotions and responses. And the expressions when the system is turned off, or shut down, whether a dead stare, shocked incredulity, or cross-eyed silliness: priceless.

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Post by code_author » Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:43 pm

Suprising to many, I'd have to say the face plate is the least appealing of all openings on an android to me. I always liked he more hidden or out of the way places. Basically any area that could be hidden with clothes.

Code

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Post by droidlvr » Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:43 am

I always liked he more hidden or out of the way places. Basically any area that could be hidden with clothes
I agree and I can think of at least two places can be used for a less visible connection points to upload/download/program or otherwise control from. :wink:

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Post by kman1 » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:22 am

How about this: A human face atop a beautiful, powerful female chassis, be it flesh-colored or metallic, as evidenced by the awe-inspiring Maria. As an avowed transformationalist, I think it's important to see the human face (or at least part of it, possibly with a metallic helmet or other mechanical features) and see the reactions of the human face. It's just a delicious juxtaposition. But I love this debate and seeing other's viewpoints.

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Post by jakeCTom » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:17 pm

Face removal has never been a huge turn on for me actually it's more of a turn off. I do like panels on other places on the body, just not a face panel, I quess. I do like my fembots to look human and the one part of the body that gives a person major individual uniqueness is the face. I just don't want to mess with that. Now I'm not saying that other parts of the head can't do something like for example Data's daughter on Star Trek but for me no face plates.

Sorry for the rant

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Post by Spaz » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:23 pm

The only thing I like is panels and disconnected body parts, preferably the head.
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Post by dementedLuke » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:17 pm

Faceplates makes my skin crawl... I get an ongoing analogy of ripping of someone facial skin... I am more a Panel and Malfunction type...

Someday i might actually finish what i start :\ i had some art going on a few months ago and the RPG game and and something else;o)
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