Hometown Dolpa Kyoto 9 - March 11, 2012

I scanned SD16 Megu's pages...here they are if anyone wants to have a look

SD16 Megu 1

SD16 Megu 2

SD16 Megu 3

SD16 Megu 4

Hope the quality's good enough for now, I did these in about 10 minutes before bed, it's getting laaate here^^

 

It indeed looks like there's a new shoulder joint! I'm so dead now.

 

Normally I might mind... but this time I'm happy if yo-Megu is in the same outfit as last time ^^; because I really liked it... but I don't want to pay second hand prices for her as a set if she's re released the same way as last .

 

You are so awesome right now THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! OMG I am soOoOoO DOOMED!!!! I love this girl... I've wanted a gorgeous SD16 sister for a while now!!!... And I KNEW that was an upgraded body... TOLD YA SO
~Anthony

 

riventiana Thanks a lot for the scans.

New shoulder joints and option hand parts. No mention about the elbows, tho. But it is indeed a good improvement.

 

So weird that you can't see it from behind at all. Does it only move forward?

Eh. I love the old SD16 girl body, so I really don't see it as an improvement. Nothing is ever going to beat those amazing shoulders. I wish there were better pics of the options hands. Are they going to be special order only with Megu or offered separately? I'd like to get the fist looking hands for Layla.

 

XD I now have second thoughts. Gee... That SD16 Megu is tempting. Does anyone know when Volks USA will start the lottery? And how about KL/WLD?

 

Ah! I mean the new shoulders make improvement on softer, more feminine look. (and maybe they help with posing? We still don't know yet.) My girls are often mistaken to be boys because of their broad shoulders. lol

 

Ah, my Rosy has wide shoulders, too. XD It doesn't really matter, the width. The look is another thing. >.> SD16 girl's shoulders are so much wider than their hips and waist, so when they're wearing skimpy clothes, they look funny. No offense to anyone. ^^

 

The broad shoulders are exactly why I love the SD16 girl body. It's a very strong, very athletic body and they're rare in the BJD world. There's already a crap ton of soft shoulders and slender bodies out there. It's a shame they would do away with what makes the body really unique and hopefully this new shoulder won't fully replace the old.

 

Would they offer a lottery for this doll or will there be a first come first serve basis for SD16 Megu or any of the dolls? I think she looks like my version of Snow White.

 

SD16 Megu will be a lottery item... ^^ I'm waiting for announcement, though.

 

Alright yep I need SD16 Megu She is gorgeous!

 

Custom picture of SD16 Megu is here, though the quality is not exactly great.

 

The SD16 Megu is beautiful and all the clothes sets are lovley. I am super smitten with Lucy as well!!!!

 

It's bad that Una will be so hard to get. I'm falling for her more and more.

I have one quick question. My sister doesn't believe me that the girl in the brown cardigan is Elena: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfheinrichsworld/6847554365/in/set-72157629247159035/

I'm so sure it's her.

 

Yes, it's what the description says as well.

 

Oh, thank you!

 

I remember that special memorial one off Megu from when SD16 Kira was released... I remember she was one of the one Offs that you could not put in for. Her and the SD16 Sara.... Maybe they'll release Sara next... I LOVED Sara's outfit and wig sOoOoOo MUCH!!!!!
~Anthony

 

Una is released the exact same way she was last year, through the same Sato event.
Which means you have to have paid a 1000yen membership fee, win your attendance 5250yen, if you win the doll pay 47250yen, pay for the dolpa 1500yen as that`s when you pick up Una.
Which means she technically costs 55000yen on her own. Then you have to pay transportation and hotel costs, which for someone coming in from Tokyo would cost about 20960+ via shinkansen. She`s already going to be a 75960yen doll, the price on YJA I can justify through that.

I know people are saying it`s unfair due to YJA prices, but you have to consider that it`s still being shelled out in the same system, and that you got your girl early. So many complain about Una, but you have to also think that they shelled Saber out in the "have as many sabers you want" recently, and still the secondhand rates for the dolls are still high on YJA. I assume Una will be like this too, and her price won`t go down much.

Personally it feels like Volks is going through "if our sales are going down the drain, let`s pull out those 4-sisters cause they`re so popular". Hence why, I have a feeling that even if you miss Una now, they`re going to probably pull her out in a 1~3 year timeframe. I can wait that.

 

I don't think the Sd16 shoulders are too broad at all, especially in person. The muscle tone is very accurate. I have more of a problem with narrow shoulders. That just makes a doll look more bobble head and less realistic ><

I hope the new SD16 body has a thigh mobility joint, and double jointed knees as well!! I know for sure i will have to own this renewal version, regardless of the head sculpt. I was debating on selling the old body, but i think it will become somewhat of a rarity now.

 

KimaLucifer : I know... but why not change the fullset? >.< And will you go to the VIP Lottery this time?

 

Well why not rerelease Luna? Volks knows people want her!

 

Any links to pictures of these one-offs?

I'm excited about all of the releases. The outfits are super, the Yo's are tempting, and SD16 Megu is gorgeous! I do hope they go through the whole four sisters line as SD16s. I also enjoy the standards being made into YoSD, even though we US folks won't be able to get Ken/Mika firsthand.

 

The clothes are georgeous. I loved them. Megu 16 is tempting, her face is sad but very beautiful.
Sadly I can not afford a new doll now.

 

Its all I have been waiting for. I even told myself no more dolls until they release Luna because I want her so badly. Luna and a US release of the SDGR Alice.
I would love to grab a Una but that does not look possible. I am tempted by Yo Megu. I tried to get her off YJ on her last release but she was about $1200 with conversions and shopping fees, so I may try for her. I do already own a Yo Sara so I am on the fence. I really love this version better so I may put in just to see if I luck out and win her.
I love the SD16 Megu but I dont own any 16 girls and it is better if I dont start, the SD and yos are already taking over! lol
I would love another new SD girl too but again Luna and Alice are the two I am pinning for (and yo megu)lol

 

Nothing in my mail boxe today :'( ! it is long to have this Volks News in the south of Japan :'( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have right at 100% ! I think in the same way than you !

 

It says on this page http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v615/SephNoTenshi/megu4.jpg that the shoulders are a "gentle variation" to the SD16 girl body, as part "A-02". The rounder shoulders are suitable for younger-looking sculpts like the Four Sisters. So I suppose it wouldn't be a complete replacement, more like an optional part.

 

I always feel like you're reading my mind! I'm hoping Volks will re-release a Luna so very badly too. I'm getting a Volks YoSD Sara for Valentine's day but I LOVE this version of Yo Megu that I'm seriously contemplating trying to get her... (it is my birthday March 25th and maybe if I pout enough to the hubby he'll cave in...)

Also it would be so neat if we could get SD16 girl optional hands (and maybe the shoulders too...)

 

I like the new dolls.
But SD16 Megu must be the same mold like SD16 Kira, right? At least if Volks is keeping their four sisters (same headmold) theme up. They also look very similar to me ^^

I may be going for Yo Una but I am not sure if this size is still for me. But I never had one of the four sisters in that size so I might be tempted ^^

 

edit by myself, because I did not want to hurt anybody

 

I can kind of see why people are not very happy about a re-release, especially if they paid tons of money to get Una secondhand. That said, Una is still going to be very hard to get even if you live in Japan, and the lottery is quite limited. The other two tenshi you stand a much better chance at if you go to Sato, where lots of people who don't want the dolls come and draw their number and give it away. For Una however you only have one chance, as you have to apply to the lottery, hope you get picked, and then actually get a doll even if you do get picked.

Will say though, I've applied for Una and they wanted my credit card info and put me down for Una and the entrance fee. According to the steps it seems like after you reply to the mail saying you've got the invite, you have to let them charge your card. So if they're charging my card for Una I assume that means I'm getting her ^^; Apparently you have to pay beforehand. There's no cash option. There was a section where you could say that you weren't interested in Una, only the pink wings you get as the entrance "gift". So if 200 people get to go and there's only 150 dolls (or something) my guess is they choose 150 who want the doll and 50 who are just coming to the event just for kicks and the wings.

This is all pure speculation on my part, I just thought it odd that they took my card number along with my intent to pay 52500 yen if there's a secondary lottery at the event itself.

 

This isn't the place for whether anyone thinks it is fair or not that Volks re-releases dolls or complain about the dolls being re-released with the same outfits. Please go to the debate area if you want to talk about that. This is ruining the enjoyment for the people who are excited about the releases this time.

That being said, I can't wait for the US lottery announcement; Yo Megu here I come

 

@fransyung, Currently, Volks`s Economical situation is not the best. They`ve been shutting down certain sumikas, moving some of them to less costly places. You can also see an increase of yo-sd outfit prices; as prices haven`t changed yet seems to have ceased to include shoes. Last dolpa didn`t have as many dealers like they have in the past; people in Japan are slowly drifting away from Volks. Also, their "doll management" is not filled with people who like the Resin BJD`s but DD`s. I would speculate that this is why they are not creating "new" outfits.

And as for whether I plan on the Vip lottery, Nope. I don`t intend as I spent heaps of money last year going further all the way to Huis Ten Bosch for the Gr Alice, and that was just ridiculous, as I HAD to be there to recieve my girl. I also won a oneoff during that event, so there was some unexpected expenses.
The fact that the Dolpa participation is a must also disgusts me a bit. There is a doll event(I-doll) I want to go to over the Kyoto Dolpa which is taking place on the same day in Tokyo, and for me, Una is a girl I would love to have someday, but she`s not really a MUST HAVE now doll, hence why I`ll let those with dying urges and sacrifice everything else go for them.

 

Yeah she is elena definitely. I wonder where those wigs are from. Wigs on the both dolls are so pretty. Are they volks wigs???!!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfheinrichsworld/6847554365/in/set-72157629247159035/

 

This is really not the thread to complain about how you feel about the re-release of limited dolls. There are entire threads devoted to this subject and your opinions might be better expanded on there. Here is one with a pole. http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...-dolls-should-be-restocked-by-their-companies

Volks never told anyone that limited equaled 1 release. From their history it is obvious that most popular dolls are released more than once and limited simply means a limited purchasing window and quantity. If you want a doll so badly that you pay a higher fee on YJ! that is your choice and Volks is not responsible for your spending habits or your impatience in waiting for a second release.

 

I know, I thought the same thing but thank you! At least I have a hunch now, haha.

On the topic of the new SD16 shoulder, that is exciting indeed! The "original" shoulders are fine but I thought the hips were a little too narrow in comparison. Perhaps slighter shoulders will give a more balanced effect for the SD16 body.

 

The wig on F-12 is definitely a Volks wig. It was a limited DD wig actually. Elena's wig is also Volks wig I am sure but styled. I believe they always only use Volks wig in their photos.

 

This is certainly interesting to hear. Not to go to far off topic, but would you say people in Japan are drifting away from Volks and going to other companies, or just drifting away from dolls in general?

 

Yes Izam is 100% right...Volks only use Volks wigs. I actually emailed them about this, LOL. Its good to know these things!

 

That is so exciting Delilah! I am crossing my fingers that you get her! I adore Una and was hoping to try for her this trip, but I have no Japanese credit card. It would be amazing to see one in person!

 

This is also a point of interest for me. I wish there was a more specific thread to discuss this too.

 

I think their dominance is dwindling as they move their interest to other popular companies.

There used to be just Volks at one time!! that is long over as you know the market is flooded now.

 

Yeah, and I think that they make a lot less net profit than what people think that they make. My initial impression was that that they were pretty well off because their dolls and items' prices are generally higher and they seem to have a very solid fanbase. But now that I think about it, it may have been in part because I was influenced by what I saw on the second hand market and was focused on the consumer's point-of-view.

When it gets down to it, what about the cost of labor that goes into making these products? The number of dolls that are limited to each release? And how big is that fanbase? And even within the fanbase, it's not like everyone is buying or vying for a doll every Dolpa. It makes me wonder if they often had any limiteds left over in the past as they have now.

And seeing that they are re-releasing some popular, but hard to get, limiteds makes me happy because it gives more people a chance to own them (including me ) but I wonder what that means for Volks in the future? I hope that they still continue to give the resin line a lot of focus and love because as much as I see the appeal in DDs, I'm really in it for the resin.

 

for me, increase prices and the sellers are not nice, now i am a little tired of Volks... little by little i turn on Rosenlied perhaps, sure Fairyland and Unoa !!!!!!!!!!

 

It is more of the same old, same old. I know they are not doing well financially, but I don't understand why they release this when they could do so many releases that people would love to see more, maybe Tokyo Boys story or something else. There used to be very creative releases. Now it is all DD. This isn't what made Volks popular. While I understand that recession has made many people go away, I don't see conservatively staying with DD to be the way of the future. Or the hobby is so super-saturated Volks will never be what it used to be.
It is a shame because they still make most of my favorite molds. I am not a super-DD fan. But I like some of the outfits this last release, but that is all it ever seems to be. The DD outfits for the kitchen are really cute and creative! These are things I have wanted to see for SD. But no such luck!

 

About DD, i have seen in Tokyo a small event (Akyabara), At this sumika, Few DD and not SD ! and it is not the same fan database (like mother, woman, etc...) only boys O.o

 

I`m trying to not steer away from the Dolpa discussion, I honestly think a thread specifically should be made, but since many do not live in said Japan, you`re really going to have less opinions possibly.

Considering the cultural fact that Japanese people "prefer to keep to themselves" (which is rather obvious through Japanese history as they weren`t all willing to accept western ideas i.e. Perry), in the beginning when BJD`s all started, people just were not acceptant of foreign dolls. Japanese people are known to actually be "brand whores" (i.e. Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood, etc.), and Volks was the top notch "elite-brand" of BJD`s at a point, also not noted for any major troubles, they had excellent customer service. Volks also had their "in-store purchaseables", which at a certain point in time, Japan only had Volks. No language barrier worries was also a plus.

In the past few years though, Japan has built a few non-volks purchasable stores, such as Dolk. Compared to the past, Japanese people know more english and can, to a certain extent, at least understand emails, giving less problems. People are getting more acceptant of other dolls, it`s not a blatant "copy" of Volks for the most part, the engineering is different.

So my opinionated answer of whether people are drifting from volks / dolls in general? would be they`re just drifting away from Volks. People like the molds yes, but Volks doesn`t seem to want to shell out certain ones (Michele/Luna for instance) until they`re probably at the brink of bankruptsy or something. I know the doll hobby itself is still there, personally I find there is more people at Idoll\Dollshow where the dolls are not required to be "Volks only".
Now, being someone living in Japan permanently (I`ve lived 6 years consecutively btw) now, I myself have drifted away from Volks. I`m not oogling over new dolls and getting excited like I was 3 years ago. Last year I picked up 12 resin dolls I think, and out of those, only 3 were Volks. And out of those three, only one doll was a "new mold" from that year. I`ve also steered away from resin in general actually, those resin dolls are nice and adorable yes, but fashion dolls (i.e. Wanda frogs) are slowly growing on doll owners.

And to get back on topic, I cannot wait to see the one-off images even though I`m not going. I`d love to see more Ciera faceups hopefully.

 

SD Megu is soo pretty

 

I guess it's because I'm such a fan of the YoSD size, but I'm quite happy with Volks' recent releases. There's been a lot of Yos released over the past few events, including a number of new sculpts, and that's more dangerous to my pocketbook than a nice SD. Ken, Mika, and Una are all absolutely adorable! I'm really hoping I can pick up at least one.

I too don't mean to take the discussion off topic, but as far as doll owners in Japan...it's hard for me to say. Soom came to Doll's Myth this month to show off their dolls, and people seemed interested. I know a few Japanese collectors with sizable Soom collections, and one with like 300 Momoko dolls. But generally? Most people I talk to are Volks only. Many don't feel confident with doing any kind of maintenance themselves, and it's a comfort that Sato is so close by if anything goes wrong. It seems like others are 'Volks only' because buying dolls from other companies would make them spend too much. (Though Unoa seems to be the exception.) I have heard a lot of lamenting though that Volks isn't what it used to be, not so much in terms of quality of the product as quality/quantity of the releases. That said, these same people are definitely lining up at Sato events to buy dolls!

Anyway, I'm really happy with at least having a chance to go for Una. I missed her last year because I wasn't sure how these special events worked, so it's awesome that I can do it now! Maybe some year they will re-release Hinata...she's so adorable

 

Well, I can see that a lot of people are drifting away from Volks, there are a lot of other choices now. The dwindling of creativity shown in recent releases could be another reason... Maybe they release too many things too fast? Too many are similar, too many are repeated again and again and again... ^^;; I think the same thing happened with Soom, and so they took a step back, realised that, and made changes. (_ _) I hope Volks would do the same... (_ _)

Is there any more news about the Dolpa? >.> I'm hoping for more photos of SD16 Megu. She's starting to grow on me. ^^

 

I think the entire doll market is over saturated and many companies are experiencing the same thing. Several companies have raised their prices, cut certain lines, and/or re-released older molds in "new" limteds. A mix of the recession and a never ending stream of new companies and molds has left the market hurting. To try and say it is a Volks issue is just silly, it is a hobby wide issue. As long as the stream of dolls continues to increase faster than people buy them (due less disposable income) there will be problems.

I agree that this should be in a different thread about hobby wide trends.

 

What I find most disappointing is the lack of good judgement being shown in this thread. Stop complaining and take it to the debate forum if you want to speculate about the state of BJDs in the current economy.

As for the lack of creativity and rehash of old molds comments, I need to laugh. Didn't they just release ALICE and LORINA who are new molds with new bodies customized in fabulous outfits? Gosick anyone? Megu is what? A second release of their wildly popular Kira? Half of you complain about "oh give me my rerelease" and the other half complain about too many rereleases.

I understand if people are disappointed that there is nothing in this Dolpa that they want but really? If you are bored with Volks take it to another thread.

 

I love the SD Megu and both DDs!

 

Sunnysailor, yes I love Megu too! I don't want to start down the SD 16 road because I am still learning to make things for my SD13 girls But she is so so so pretty. Does anyone know if any changes have been made to the face or is she exactly Kira?

 

I think she is exactly like Kira! Which makes me love her even more since I miss my Kira

 

...I think she looks just like Kira personally. It'd be fitting seeing it's just the SD16 version of Four Sisters?
I think it's a good thing if she is, cause that just means I have a higher chance to get a head later. x3 I definitely want to add her to my collection, but I'm gonna stay out of SD16 body territory.

 

Steampunk outfits look amazing. ;3;

But, I have a question: http://0bbs.jp/superdollfie/img386_10 Who is supposed to be the blue eyed guy in the little square?

 

Pretty sure he is a FCS head, I think he is an F38 or maybe F49, but I am not positive.

 

That blue eyed boy is simply stunning! I am thinking more and more about getting a FCS next, but I would really want to go to Japan and do the whole production myself. The heads seem to be getting more and more beautiful. That boy looks so expressive.