Japan. The land of the rising sun, and cool dolly stuff galore. BJDs, Licca-chan, Jenny, Pullips… Not to mention a plethora of playsets and meticulously detailed miniatures. What collector hasn’t fantasized about unlimited access to all that great stuff?

Thanks to internet shopping and import stores, getting the goods from Japan is easier today than ever before. Even so, most hobbyists still lust after a bevy of “must-haves” which repeatedly elude capture. What to do? One answer is the use of a shopping service. Read on to learn what this is, and whether using one could fill the holes in your collection.

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When the folks at Japanese clothing label Rou Rou collaborate on a doll they really create something special - a doll that stands out from her dolly sisters and typifies the Rou Rou style.

The Momoko that Rou Rou collaborated on is definitely one of my favourites, with her light freckles, fresh clean face and dark ponytail:

Rou Rou have twice collaborated with Petworks on Odeco and Nikki, creating very detailed and unusual outfits. Not like ‘doll clothes’, they seem to be real clothes in miniature, and supremely cool ones at that:

I also really love the markings on these Nikkis, and the beautiful golden eyes on the black and white one.

This week Rou Rou announced a third collaboration with Petworks on Odeco and Nikki.

According to a rough Babelfish translation, these outfits are intended to be a fusion of Japanese and European style.

They will be released in Rou Rou stores on the 29th January at 13,800 Yen each. For non-Japanese fans, Yahoo Auctions Japan may be our only purchasing option. While the first Odeco and Nikki Rou Rou set can be hard to find, the second seems more plentiful and quite reasonably priced on YJA. Fingers crossed we can get hold of this set without too much difficulty.

It’s good to know that Petworks have already planned how to separate me from my money in 2010. They are going to do it in truly cute-tastic style:

Due out in the middle of November, the latest versions of Odeco and Nikki are soft, sweet and wintery in pastels.

For the first time, I’m absolutely crazy about Odeco. The colours of her hair, eyes and make up are great together, and great with her blue and lilac outfit. Nikki’s colouring looks a little harsh against the soft fluffy clothing, but I’m willing to bet she’ll be cute with an outfit change. Plus, you’ve got to love a hat with ear holes.

There are also doll show versions out on the 1st November:

The santa colours are classic, but pretty limited. I do like the golden nose on Nikki though - festive!

I have my fingers crossed for a pre-order - w00t!

The first time I saw pictures of a Momoko were in the first Doll Coordinate Recipe pattern book. There is a full page of pictures of Momoko dressing herself - a display of poseability that was quite astounding to a Blythe-only doll collector, as I was then.

Still, I hadn’t seen one of them in real life, so I remained intrigued from a distance for a year or two before getting really sucked in to the marvelous world of Momoko. It was the ‘Wake up’ Momoko range that did it - a small range of dolls in basic outfits with minimal make up. I had been reluctant to pay 12,000 yen for a type of doll I wasn’t sure I’d like, but 6,000 I was ready to risk!

And so arrived Betty:

I was smitten right away. That profile! The almost-realistic proportions!  I also love that she can tilt her head and stand up on her own. She’s cute and versatile, and as the Momoko official website tells us, Momoko clothing really is true to life. Each clothing item is a real item in miniature, even the super-fine knits and the little fasteners. I particularly love the Momoko Dr Marten boots which have moulded laces tied around the ankle and the distinctive sole pattern on the underside.

Of course, these kinds of details mean that Momoko clothes can be fairly expensive, especially the Petworks-produced Close Clipped Sheep items. The latest collections, Puppy Garden, are a tear-inducing 39,000 yen, but coordinate to create a complete wardrobe with several pairs of shoes. Totally tempting, particularly as they come with an exclusive Petworks doll. I love the crimpy-haired girl this time.

Production of Momoko is split between Sekiguchi and Petworks, the Petworks girls being more exclusive and expensive. They are very similar dolls, although I have to admit to only having seen one Petworks Momoko in real life. The only difference I could identify
with a quick look was that the joints seemed a little sturdier on the Petworks version. I expect there are many other differences a more knowledgeable and experienced collector could show me.

This season Sekiguchi have a line up of new releases that I just love:

(both photos are stock pictures taken from www.momokodoll.com)

Here they are on display at Pretty Power Osaka:

(http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/pretty_power_osaka/49432813.html)

I have a definite favourite in Sparkling 80s, with her dark hair and eyes, but I absolutely must have the outfit from Milk Tea Party too. The high-heeled mary janes are a new mould and very cute. Let’s hope they’re not as delicate as the last new shoe - a high-heeled T-bar shoe that is apparently very easily broken.

These dolls are due to be on sale Autumn/Winter 2009 at 13,400 yen, with pre-orders already being offered in some stores for Outdoor Boyish. I will be alerting Santa.

Hurrah!

There isn’t a whole lot you can do to customise Petworks’ Nikki, but changing the colour of her eyes is something the designers have given us the means to do.

As ever, the first step is to choose your victim. This was an easy one for me this time as my gorgeous black Nikki, Rocky, had stock eyes that I thought were much too dark for her:

I’d also bought a ‘Monster’ Odeco because I loved her pink hair and bone-white skin, but was a bit spooked by her pinky eyes.  Here’s her stock picture from Petworks:

The first step was to whip off Odeco’s wig.  Easy done!

The next step is to gently squeeze and twist the ‘hatch’ on the back of the head to remove it:

Odeco’s ‘hatch’ is much bigger than Nikki’s:

You’ll now be able to see the sleep-eye capsules resting in their little plastic sockets inside the head:

Use your finger to push the eye capsule from the front into the head.  You’ll need to push firmly:

Each eye capsule is an eye, sleep-eye mechanism and set of lashes all in one (Odeco on the right, Nikki on the left):

Repeat with the other eye and you should end up with a very spooky-looking eyeless dolly:

Now you’ll need to put in some new eyes.  You can either put in eyes you’ve swapped from another Odeco or Nikki, or use acrylic eyes.  Nikki takes 22-24mm eyes and Odeco takes 20-22mm.

I chose blue for Odeco and yellow for my Nikki:

It’s always weird to get boxes of eyeballs in the post.

The next bit is the tricky bit.  You will need to try to hold open the plastic eye socket flaps as well as you can with one hand whilst slipping the new eye in with the other.  It’s pretty awkward, but perseverance pays off:

Put band-aids on your bleeding cuticles (you might not need this step of the process, but I did) and repeat with the second eye.

You may also want to give your dolly some new eyelashes.  I gave Odeco very light lashes (cut down from human lashes bought at the pharmacy) after her eyes were in.  I simply used a pin to push the pre-glued lash band just slightly between the eye and socket above her eyes.  Pop her wig back on, and she’s as good as new:

I think Odeco’s little-girl face is suited to light lashes, but you can choose any thickness or colour you can find.

You’ll also now be able to adjust your doll’s gaze and expression:

Now go customise your dolls and send me pictures!

I love to have a go at customising (with varied results) so, when I took a liking to Momokos, it was inevitable that one of them would soon be in pieces on my dining room table. When the lovely Jade had a ‘Wake up’ Momoko for sale I spotted my victim:

I didn’t really have a clue as to how customising was done with a regular small-headed doll, so I was straight off to my fave Momoko Flickr group to ask for advice. The lovely ladies there pointed me at the odd tutorial. It turns out that there are loads of tutes about rerooting Barbies and Momoko’s head is constructed the same way (but prettier, obviously). So the usual method goes like this:

1. Remove your doll’s head. This is surprisingly easy for someone who’s used to Blythe dolls; you hold the head in one hand, body in the other and pull.

2. Cut the hair very short with scissors. Then use tweezers inserted in through the neck to remove the remaining fluffy hair bits.

3. Now to put the new hair in. Take 5 or 6 strands of your new saran or nylon hair and fold it in half. Thread the loop created at the fold point through a sewing needle. Pull the hair a couple of inches through the eye of the needle.

4. Push the needle through one of the holes in your doll’s head and pull it out of her neck. Depending on the size of your needle, you may need to use a small pair of pliers inserted into the neck hole to pull it through.

5. Remove the needle from the doll hair. You should now have a loop of hair sticking out of your doll’s neck. Tie a knot near the end of the loop. Use a small pair of scissors to trim off any excess. From the top of the doll’s head, pull the length of the hair back through the hole, so that the knot is against the inside of the scalp.

6. Repeat.

I followed this method across the top of my doll’s head, but found it was getting trickier to get the needle out of the neck as I got closer to the side of the head. Clearly, it was time to get some more advice. I asked Rachael who’s got lots of experience in rerooting small-headed dolls and - woo! - she has an online tutorial. She’s going to give me one of her fabbo rerooting tools to have a go with. I’ll report back when I’ve had a go…

Anyone else done any Momoko customising? Give me a shout if you have any tips

The Petworks folks have seriously outdone themselves this time, I reckon. Both the limited set and the general release Odeco and Nikkis are adorable.

Firstly, there’s the limited edition set:

I absolutely love this Nikki!  I’ve been hoping for a Nikki with pale eyes and these ones are sparkly and green and delightful.  Also, her colouring is beautiful and I just love her blushy pink cheeks.  I find Odeco a little dull though and that wig is really very wiggy.  It doesn’t look very styleable at all.  The outfits are very detailed and sweet though and the packaging is just beautiful.

At 30,000 yen and a limited release I think this one might be soaring in price on the secondary market.  It might be worth scouring Yahoo Japan Auctions though…
More pictures on the lovely lholy-chan’s flickr photostream.

Secondly, there is the regular release set Obake no Odeco and Nikki (ghosts):

This is the first time I’ve been excited about an Odeco. I really love this one - the pink hair, the make up, the super-pale skin tone. Her eyes might be a little too spooky, but they are the exact colour I’ve been looking for as a swap for my black Nikki, so we could see some eye-switching fun at my house soon!  The hot pink Nikki reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake’s cat Custard.  Clearly, I must have one.  The jumpers are Halloween-only attire, but the black and silver boots are fantastic and very versatile.

These two are 8,900 Yen each and are out sometime on February.  The blue and black wigs are 2,400 Yen each and out in March.

Again, lholy-chan’s flickr photostream has more pictures.

There’s a new set of Odeco and Nikki dolls and this time they look like they’ve stepped off the set of Little House on the Prairie. Fortunately, I love that show.

I find this outfit absolutely adorable - especially the little lace-up boots. I’m also pleased that this time Nikki has the pale greeny-yellow eyes I’ve been hoping for. I’m not too sure about her markings though. While the white around her nose and mouth is super-cute, the stripes are a bit square - much like the grey ‘Vacation’ Nikki.

I just wonder why Odeco looks so worried - perhaps it’s the Depression-era outfit. She may be worrying about where her next potato is coming from…..

I never really understood why people had twins in their doll collections. I mean, with so many different and delightful dolls in the world, why have two the same?

But then Flickr’s ‘rockymountainroz’ began taking fabulous pictures of her goldie twins, and I started to be won over. I found myself bidding on eBay on a white Nikki doll, just like my own Mustard, with thoughts of dressing them identically. I was outbid, unfortunately, so I never got to discover whether their identical looks would correspond with similar personalities.

I am lucky enough to have twins visiting at the moment.  They are Blythe Fruit Punch girls waiting for a major makeover in the salon. They are truly adorable and I’ve always had a soft spot for FPs. I’m trying not to get to know them too well though, or I won’t want to let them go home when they’re done. So far, I can tell you that they don’t seem to fond of each other, or of hanging around waiting.

Of course, for some people, two little girls dressed identically will always be scary. Always.

For more twin pictures and talk visit this thread on the forum.

I keep thinking that next time, next time, I’ll give the new Nikki a miss. It isn’t going to happen today though. When it come to Odeco, I can take her or leave her - I think it’s the wig, I don’t like wigged dolls so much - but Nikki I find irresistible!

And who could resist the little halter top and knee socks?  It doesn’t look much like a band uniform to me, but it does look adorable.

I am a bit disappointed that every Nikki seems to have come with blue eyes since series 4 (the calico cat) though.  I’m already looking for just the right acrylic eyes to customise this one.

Petworks are also releasing Odeco & Nikki keyrings.  I think they’ll be a cute toy for my Nikkis (my many, many Nikkis).