[Adopted] Volks Mini Super Dollfie Discussion (MSD) Part 1 (Ready for Wiki)

Hello,

I just bought a previously owned Volks le msd Yuni doll. First version. She is my first bjd doll purchase! (Except for a custom Shiwoo head..not a total doll.)
I am so excited!

Can anyone tell me anything about her? The previous owner did not know. When did she come out? How was she sold? Any info or links? I am curious. I have seen some threads on the second version doll, but not the first. Anyone have the first version? I hope to get her soon.

Thanks,
Kris

 

Ooo..ok. I believe she was sold only at a dolpa (I will try an find the number). Her default outfit I believe include a plaid skirt thing. Her body was the old style MSD body and does not have the cute bending knee thing that the second Yuni has. She was produced in smaller quantities than the second version (Volks never really tells you exactly HOW many of each limited they make). She came out before Dolpa 11 (which took place about 3 1/2 years ago I believe) but I am not sure how long before.
Uh, that is all I know. I hope it is all right! ^_^

 

Congratulations! I am glad to see another Yuni owner on the boards! *Is in the process of completing her own Yuni 2*. All I know about the first is basically that she's the same mold as the 1-off "antique" MSD. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! I'm sure you'll be really happy with her though! The Yuni head mold is adorable. There is a tiny line of info( the same as I told you) and several piccies of her at the SD Types page of DOA here: http://denofangels.com/msd/msdlimited.html

 

Oh Wow!! I did not expect so much so soon! Thank you all soooo much! I really appreciate it!!
One thing is the owner said she was a normal pureskin. I guess she may not be a pureskin though, but rather what you call an old skin. What is the difference? Or I can look that up.
I love to see the original release photos. Oh, thanks usagi665 for your detailed info and all the photos of her in different wig styles. That is fun to see.
What is a one off?
Congrats PippaGirl for getting your Yuni soon too!

 

First off, congratulations on your new doll! She's a adorably cute and you will love her! I have the 1st edition MSD Yuni. I had purchased mine second hand from someone else who use to be on the boards.

Actually Nabeerain, you are incorrect. She is NOT white skinned. She was an LE release specifically for the Seoul, Korea grand opening along with the SD 13 boy Kai.

I believe she came out right around November of 2004. She is normal skin color, old skin type (not pureskin), has old MSD styled body. I'm not sure who designed her make up. I am assuming its "Zoukeimura" (my Kanji skills are limited so forgive me if its incorrect). According to her certificate papers it says that it was an "airbrushed make up."

Her outfit includes: a black floppy hat, white blouse w/ black lace trim, red w/ black gingham print capri pants, a pleated over-skirt attached with silver belt jewelry (with stars & moon charms), black tie, black boots, HG glass eyes in 14mm cadet blue (technically grey colored), and a Volks wig W-87 (in a #16T cream which is a light brown color).

There have speculation in the past that her head mold was first used in the "antique styled" one offs. She has also been compared with the FCS Sato-exclusive headmold the F-05. They have remarkably similar features. I think their only differences are the F-05's mouth is shaped differently.

Hope this info helps!

 

Hello again. ^_^ Well, if the owner said she is pureskin, and she is, then she would have to be a 2nd version Yuni.

The difference in oldskin and pureskin resin is the texture. Oldskin is opaque, a slightly paler shade of flesh, and, in my opinion, a little hardier. Pureskin is slightly translucent, very pretty to photograph, and has a lovely matte texture. I have dolls in both resin types and I like them both. ^_^

Pureskin dolls are newer and so have the newer body types, with modifications such as locking knees to help with standing, tabs to help with sitting. It is generally accepted that pureskin is easier to pose (most people prefer it), but some people do prefer oldskin for the ability to take on more fluid poses. There is also a type of girl body which is only available in pureskin: the suwarriko body, which is modified to be able to sit prettily with the legs sprawled. For completeness' sake, Yuni 2nd has the pureskin suwarriko body, while Yuni 1st has the oldskin standard girl body.

There are slight sculpt differences between pureskin and oldskin as well, such as the knees (pureskin has more detailed knees).

Finally, pureskin dolls have the easy-change hand/foot system, which, in my opinion, is their biggest advantage. This system makes it a snap to change their hands and feet out for other optional parts. I'm very fond of my oldskin boy, but I do wish he had the selection of hands my pureskin dolls have!

Sorry for being so wordy! I hope you found the info helpful, though.

A one-off is a doll of an existing sculpt which one of the senior Volks artists specially paints and has outfitted (usually by a well-known dressmaker). They are sold by lottery in Volks stores in Japan as well as at Volks Dolpas (in Japan) and Tea Parties (in the USA).

 

My input, as I owned a Yuni v. 2 for a short period of time;

Yuni's headmold is NOTHING like the MSD F-05 headmold. Yuni's head is very flat and pointy, while the F-05's head is similar to Mika's headmold, but with far, far rounder features.

A waaaay rounder, cute nose, pouty lips that actually protrude outwards rather than inwards (which is what Yuni's does), and far rounder, chubbier cheeks.

Sort of like comparing Ani to the new Somi that CP has.

I actually think that the F-05 looks like the F-07, except that the F-07's eyes turn sideways, and the mouth is open far more.

But this is my opinion, and others will probably disagree.

 

Oh, I got my Yuni in the mail today. Yeah!
Here is a photo of her in my avatar right now.
Thanks again everyone for your information. I am actually confused now though. The owner says she is a pureskin doll. I do not think she is a swarrico body? Doesn't swarrico look curvy grooved in the thigh ball joint? I see a groove that is straight in my doll. Her legs do lock in place. The owner thought first version came out in both oldskin and pureskin. Could that be? I got my doll nude without her outfit.
Unrelated-How do you keep the back cap of a head on snug? Can you tape it? With what tape? I twisty tied it on so it won't fall off back but it is not snug.
Do numbers on her head cap mean anything?
Thanks.

 

Congrats, Kris! ^_^ She is very pretty. How are you liking her so far?

The first version came out ages ago, before pureskin MSDs were even made. The only pureskin Yunis are Yuni 2nds. So, if she is Yuni 1st, she must be oldskin unless she is a Yuni 1st head on a different, newer body.

An easy way to tell: pull out her hand or leg. If you see an S-hook attaching to an eyehook embedded in the hand, it's a pureskin body. If you only see a curved hook embedded in the hand (no S-hook), it's an oldskin body.

Depends on her head cap. If she has the really old style of headcap, like the older MSD Kens, then most people are forced to use some sort of putty or tape.
If she has the "newer" oldskin headcap like my Hewitt (Dolpa 10), you just need to make sure the rubber band is snug. If you do a search in the forums, you can probably find pictures/suggestions. Use a short, thick band. What Volks does is to insert the band through the hole at the back, loop each side over the hook at the top, and then stretch the criss-crossing strands to hook onto the S-hook in the head. It works well for me.

As for the numbers, do you mean the number scratched inside the head/headcap, or the numbers on the gold Volks plate at the back of her head? The theory is that the former is the sculpt number (e.g. all MSD Enns have "13" in them). As for the Volks plate, for limited dolls such as Yuni, the numbers/letters usually indicate year, month, and dolpa of origin (e.g. my Hewitt has 03,12/DP10 for 2003, December, Dolpa 10).

 

Does anyone know the measurements for a MSD with Tabi feet? (feet with the big toe spaced from the rest - so they can wear 'thong' sandals)

I need to know as soon as possible because I want to buy my little girl some shoes for when she arrives, but I don't know if the pair I've found on eBay will fit her.

The measurements the seller gave are:
7cm long
6.5 cm from the strap
3.5 cm tall

Any help would be much appreciated!
(Esp. if tabi feet will fit most other MSD sized shoes!)

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who answered!

 

I'm not at home now so I can't measure the feet, but they fit into any shoe that also fits non-tabi MSD feet. The space is created from "pushing" the other toes off to the side. Width and length-wise, they are the same as non-tabi feet.

The only issue with tabi feet not found in regular feet is that the big toe doesn't play nice with fishnet stockings.

 

I agree with small_gecko, tabi feet fit well into most shoes that fit normal feet...I've only found a very slight difference when the shoes are very very snug.
As for the shoes you've found, they sound all right, but I can't be sure. Do you have a link to the shoes? Many MSD sneakers are around 7cm long, but the width is important, too.

 

Roo fits into MSD-sized shoes fine, and he has tabi feet

 

Can anyone tell me if MSDs can interchange hands with SDCs? I'm more looking if girls can swap, but I wonder if the boys can swap too.

 

Girls: not without modding. Basically you'll have to resculpt a new wrist ball to use in order to have it fit right.

The boys I hear can share though, but since I don't have ready access to a boy I don't know for sure.

 

I just got my first Volks doll- a MSD Mika. She's lovely, but there is no way I can get her to stand up. The problem seems to be that her ankles are so slippery that when I try to balance her, her weight simply slides backwards or forwards at the ankle.
Is this common with Volks MSDs and if so, how can I get her to stand? I have six other MSD-size dolls and all of them can stand alone and hold the pose relatively well. (Dollzone, AoD, Bobobie, and Soulkid)
I like this doll but it really bothers me that I can't get her to stand by herself. Since I do a lot of pictorials, this is pretty important to me to be able to pose her.
Thanks!

 

how is her stringing? if she's too loosely or tightly strung, this will effect her posing. you can improve her standing by getting her a nice pair of sturdy boots, by wiring her knees, or by hot gluing or sueding her joints.

 

I tried adjusting her stringing and that didn't help. Also put some nice sturdy boots on her, and she still couldn't balance to stand. It isn't her knees- they stay nicely locked. The problem seems to be with her ankle ball joints. I think they are just too slippery for the calf part to grip, so she slides forwards or backwards. I'll have to try the hot glue thing but not sure how to do it.

 

I remember when Melody had a problem with her knee staying in place, the SD Doctors sanded the joint to make it fit. So maybe the shape of the calf part or the ankle ball joints is the problem and needs to be reworked.

 

Hmm, I don't have that problem with either of my Volks MSDs. I'd suggest taking a look at the joints to make sure there isn't a weird seam getting in the way, and then hot-glue-suede the ankles. There are several threads in the Customizing/Esthetics forum, but you basically just run hot glue inside the cupping joint and give it 10 seconds or so to cool.

 

If the stringing is loose it may need to be tighter. Also in general, it is easier to stand BJD's with their legs slightly apart rather than close together, and and adjust their lower and upper torso to put their weight directly over their feet. Torso positions need to be changed if you move other weight around - like if you decide to lift their arms up, or tilt their head forward, that changes where the weight is balanced so you need to adjust the torso.

Since it's your first BJD, it will be hard for you to tell if they are too loosely strung. If the leg joints all move easily with no resistance from the elastic, they may be too loose.

Also check their ankle balls and see if they look or feel slippery, check for protruding seams as mentioned above. The balls should be pulled pretty tightly against the ankle and resistant to slipping.

Carolyn

 

It's her first Volks doll, not her first doll. ; ) If it's just an ankle problem it's not likely to be stringing issues.

 

Did you got the Mika assembly kit? I know that there are some funky things about the parts that they provide.

 

Is your Mika new from Volks or a resale? And is it the pureskin body?

I noticed this in a Volks faq - it implies that maybe the older bodies did need sueding to stand?

Sueding
Volks will put sueding in the joints to help your doll pose better and be more stable. However with the newer, upgraded bodies this is not hugely necessary, unless you are very particular about your doll being able to hold a very wide variety of hard-to-keep poses. This costs 5,250yen for SD/SD13 and 3,150yen for MSD.
Note: This is called 'Self-Standing Parts' at the LA store.

 

No the problem you described isn't standard with Volks msd I have 3. I got 2 directly from volks and one I got second hand they all stand well without the ankle problem you describe.

If you put boots on her that should have locked her ankles to help stand. How is her torso and pelvis are they loose?

 

I have four Volks MSDs and they stand with no problems, I can just plonk them down on a flat surface and they stand. The pureskin MSDs are a little easier to pose than the oldskin. I don't have any of the mini-sized dolls you mentioned, but I have played with some other brands and if you are used to stiffer joints, then Volks can seem a little floppy at first.

If you assembled her yourself, double-check that the parts are facing the right direction and so forth. Sometimes right and left parts can get switched or ball-joints might be put in upside down.

I'd recommend tightening her stringing if it is extremely loose (it shouldn't need to be very tight at all) and thereafter I might trying sueding or hot-glue "sueding". I've tried the latter on my oldskin MSD and personally I didn't like the way it made him stiffen up, but it does come highly recommended by some DoA members. It just involves coating the joints with a thin layer of glue (I used hot glue)...you can find tutorials on DoA.

Hope that helps. Mika is a lovely girl and I hope you can get her to stand to your satisfaction.

 

I just got her off the Volks USA site, and it says she is a pureskin normal. Yes, she was an assembly kit. I was very careful about the parts- they are marked with a little R or L on the inside. I have tightened her strings several times. My Bobobie Sprite is extremely floppy but I can still balance her to stand up. My Mika does still seem a bit floppy, so I'll try tightening her even more. I think, though, it's going to end up being the hot-glue gun sueding.

She IS a very pretty doll, and seems to have a really sweet personality. So I'm sure at some point I'll get her right and then she'll be OK. I just wondered if other people with MSDs had the same problem and if there was a well-known fix for it. Thanks!

 

Thanks Gina- I will tighten those strings, then it looks like I must try the hot glue thing. I can't do anything or take a picture until Christmas, because she is in her box now waiting for Santa to put her under the tree! But I may sneak her out to glue her and then put her quickly back!

 

I got Mika for Christmas this year too! She stands well, but I added hot glue to her hips ankles and shoulders just to give her that extra stability. I had to re-string her about 4 times before I found the right tension for her body, I ended up stringing her fairly tight.

 

My Mika's problems seem to be the ankles. The ball joint is so slippery it won't grip to balance the doll. I'm going to try the gluing thing, and will probably do her hips as well, like you did.
Other than that i like her- I just ordered her a chocolate brown wig and brown eyes to see how she looks. My Feilian has a wig very similar to the Mika stock wig, and blue eyes, so I thought I would try something different with her.

 

I know this is a bit old... but I thought I'd add in my thoughts. I had this same problem with my F-06 girl (same body, just through fcs). My best solutions so far have been shoes that support her ankles and a very tight restringing. She's pretty stable now without shoes, just with her stringing, but I definitely don't leave her standing anywhere. I'm thinking hot glue sueding as well.

 

I have pulled her thread tighter and tighter and it hasn't helped. I bought a low temp glue gun today and will try the sueding when I get home in a couple of days. I did try some sturdy boots but she still wouldn't balance to stand- I think I'm going to need to do her hips as well.

 

Well, after a lot of messing around with her, I finally got her standing! I tried using silicone glue to coat the inside of her ankle- didn't work at all. And then what a pain trying to scrape it all off. So I got a low-temp glue gun, tried that, but at first it wouldn't stick because of the remnants of the silicone. Then I really looked and found that the ball joint of the ankle was not seating well into the calf socket. It seems that the sides of it came down too far and the ball couldn't really get up far enough into the socket. So I sanded those down a bit, then put in a small amount of glue, and FINALLY she stood! Still not really solid, so I may mess with it a bit more, but at least I can get her standing. Oh- and also yanked yet another couple of inches of string out.


Here she is, finally standing on my kitchen counter.


She even looks happier!
Now...back in the box until Christmas!

 

What glue can you use to glue the magnets in with?

 

I've bought magnets from them for my Volks Yori's head. I had to dig a hole myself to put them in.

For gluing them in, I bought epoxy resin glue (fast curing) at home depot and after curing its holding nice and strong. I've also used this to put the magnet back into my supia yan's head when that popped out.

 

Also, when gluing in your magnets, be VERY sure that they're oriented in a way that will attract, not repel your kid's headcap right off his/her head. >_< Once superglued, they're a bugger to pry back out. One good solution I've seen to this is to only glue a magnet in one side, and a non-magnetized piece of metal (ex: a round metal washer) on the other side for it to attract.

 

Hi.

(If this subject has been mentioned, please delete.)

Volks MSD owners, how do you feel about suwarriko legs?
Are they okay for posing or hard to work with?
Would you choose normal legs over these when ordering FCS?

Perhaps it's the stringing. Is it a matter of looks or function?
Suwarriko legs look better in the sitting pose, but are there disadvantages?

Ugh. Sorry for a bunch of questions. =A=;
But I was curious because I need to decide.

For me, I think posing is important.
Even standing is a desired ability.
But if I can do it with suwarriko legs too, it won't matter.

Anyway, thank you for reading.

 

Standing is a little hard with suwarriko, the stringing keeps getting into the suwarriko slots, because it is so rounded and easily slips. i prefer yosd suwarriko body because the stringing does not slide as well there, you have to fix it yourself. but msd suwarriko it happily slides to a sitting position instead of standing

 

It would be lovely with a better MSD suwarriko body. but i guess i allready have more MSD then and they have this body
I did see someone say "Standing is so easy with MSD suwarriko body", i havent seen so much talk about them, but never heard that. i will suede/kips my body and hope it works better then. im not sure if it should be stringed more tight or loose, thats the problem

 

I have one swarikko and one normal msd I don't notice that one has a harder time standing than the other right now both seem to have the same amount of trouble standing. I think it's more related to string tension. From experience in future when ordering fcs dolls I'm going to be requesting tight tension on the strings and self standing service (sueding) The sueding adds just a bit more hold on posing. I'd order swarikko over normal legs just because I like the extra sitting type poses it allows in comparison to regular legs

When I ordered both my girls I had them not tightly strung. I'm going to dolpa to see if the sd doctor can give them a checkup and adjust the string tension to a bit tighter.

I noticed that with volks dolls they are well balanced and proper string tension is often the problem with posing problems.

I've had loosely strung yosd dolls that had standing problems too.

I have mixed feelings on which is better the rounder (msd)or the angled swarikko(yosd)
The msd one still has an easy time swarikko posing when wearing tights. Yosd dolls have problems sitting when wearing tights since it's harder to get the string into the swarikko turn.

I think as with every joint design it has it's pros and cons

 

What about up to date blue fairy bodies?

http://bluefairyint.com/shop/step1.php?number=185

I love the blossom body but will it match?

 

Up to date BF bodies are very pink. I doubt they'll match.

 

I find that my realskin CP KDF Ttori head matches quite well with a Volks MSD girl body (from what I gather, though, the body is a bit old, if that makes a difference), so I can only assume the same can be said for a Volks head on a realskin KDF body, though I don't have a Volks head to prove it. X3

 

Awww thats a shame, I really like the blossom body ^^

The kid delf body isn't much of an improvement on a MSD body maturity wise so thats not really an option for me. And I don't really like the angel studio body posted, the head looks a bit big for the body (imo) and Midori has a real melon head so I doubt I'd like that combo.

I think maybe a SDC body may be my only option, which is a bummer since they're harder to get a hold on.

 

Trrrruuuuue. The KDF boobs are not huge, but they are at least bigger than Volks (by a smidgen... rofl). X3 have you thought about modding, maybe? Then you wouldn't have to worry about resin match, either.

 

Modding her body isn't an option. The MSD body is very child like in many ways. She has no real 'hips' her body is like a rectangular box. She has short chubby hands and feet and chunky child like arms and legs.

Its the whole body being more mature I'm going for, not just a mature bust.

 

I brought both my girls to dolly doctor at dolpa regarding standing.

Definitely for FCS ask for tight not normal tension.

For my regular body girl Aree-chan the dolly doctor just pulled an cut about 2 inches of elastic.

My MSD girl Ria-chan needed a bit of dremel work on one of her swaricco slots and one of her knees. Here you see the dolly doctor blowing off the dust from the parts. I have to say volks did all the work for free.

 

I see. It makes a difference?

Thanks for the tip about ordering tight tension
(I kept thinking it would make her snap into the sitting pose.)
For me, posing is important.

I like the suwarikko pose.
Although sitting poses are nice, it's not always desired.
I guess both can pose okay. But maybe suwarikko is more work?
(I wonder which is more popular/frequently ordered.) ^^

I actually don't mind the body.
I like child dolls, so I think it fits.
But it would be interesting to see what's in store. ^^

 

(Posting @ White Rose Assassin's request, who is currently nowhere near a computer)

WRA just spotted some outfit from the Ellowynn Wilde line that would look great on Cosette. I don't know what it is or what it looks like so I can't add details.

She wants to know if anyone knows if Ellowynn Wilde line fits MSD Mikas. So does anyone know?

 

Mmmm I am not sure... i am tempted to say no it wouldn't fit because Volks MSD are a little more chubby than that doll... It might work on an Unoa or a Mini-Fee... But just looking at the silhouette of the doll, I don't think a Volks MSD would be able to squeeze into one... that's a shame they do have nice outfits.

 

A definite no on anything Ellowyne fitting a Volks MSD. The only things I've been able to fit on my Narae are things with a high waist and they are tight. Anything too fitted is a no.

 

*nods* I've been able to stuff Unoa and Narae (slim minis) into Ellowyne clothing, but it's definitely not going to fit a Volks MSD.

-- A

 

I measured my Ellowyne- here is what I have for her:
neck 7 cm
shoulders 20 cm (wrapped tape around body)
bust 19 cm
arm 12 cm shoulder seam to wrist
waist 13.5 cm
hip 19.5 cm
upper thigh 10 cm
inseam 17 cm

Wilde Imagination makes a few outfits that are not as fitted such as "Dots Enough" and "Couldnt care less" The outfits come with shoes, which wont fit your BJDs, so it may be more cost effective if you have an Ellowyne or other 16" Tonner fashion doll to wear her shoes. I have used Ellowyne sewing patterns to make clothes for my Bobobie Sprite, so that is an option- just alter patterns. Hope this helps!

 

I have tabi feet on my msd right now. Where can I find shoes that are thongs for her? The ones on the Volks site are sold out.... Anyone know who sells msd thongs that wil fit her?

Thanks.

 

Stupid question but I can Volks MSD fit into Dollmore MSD outfits? Or does it really depend on what I am buying?