Admittedly, I’m late to the party (as usual!) with this discussion. It’s been a busy summer. But the topic still holds interest, and the question at its core can be applied to other kinds of dolls just well as BJDs. Here’s the basic rundown: Popular BJD manufacturer Doll Soom found enormous success over the past few years by releasing at least one new fantasy doll every month. The Soom monthlies are only available through that month. Soom has made a point of saying that once the order period expires, that’s it for that particular doll. This usually causes a near frenzy among buyers when orders open each month, as well as creates a huge demand on the secondary market for past months’ dolls and their fantasy parts.

One of the early monthlies was Beryl, a hooved satyr. To say she was popular doesn’t begin to cover it. Beryl was released in spring of 2008. This past June, despite earlier comments to the contrary, Soom decided to rerelease Beryl. The new Beryl was a different skin tone, and she did not include the removable hoofed leg pieces available with her first incarnation.

A quick read through Soom’s user comments for the rerelease sums up the fan fissure pretty neatly. Posts are divided between those who are ecstatic to have a second shot at their dream doll, and those livid that Soom went back on their word. To be fair, as noted above, she is not exactly the same as the first version, however the head sculpt is identical.

Frustration on the part of first generation Beryl buyers is understandable. Many of them probably lived on macaroni and ramen for a few weeks to make sure they didn’t miss the ordering window in 2008. Others paid nearly double Soom’s asking price from previous owners, thinking that was their only shot at owning the doll. Soom’s supporters underline that the new Beryl isn’t a satyr, and is therefore not the same. One observant critic countered that while that may be true, it’s interesting that Soom released a new hooved monthly, Coquina, in the same skin tone, at the same time as the new Beryl. In other words, if a buyer was willing to shell out for BOTH dolls this past June, one could have a brand new Beryl Satyr with the only difference being skin tone.

A little grumbling I completely understand. Speaking personally, what puzzles me are the number of comments regarding the “value” of a first generation Beryls, and how a rerelease could negatively affect secondary market prices. Monetary value in the BJD world remains a sort of nebulous affair. BJDs in their current form haven’t been around as long as dolls like Barbie, Blythe, or even Jenny and Licca-chan. Given the often staggering manufacturer prices, relatively few people purchase BJDs with the sole intent to keep them as collectors items or turn them over for a profit. Obviously there are exceptions. Volks Dolpa limiteds are scalped in online sales immediately following their events, and I’m sure the Soom dolls may see a measure of this as well. But buying almost any BJD as an investment rather than because you love the doll is risky at least.

For now, Beryl has been the only Soom monthly to see a rerelease. I’m personally rooting for seconds of 2008’s Bix. Then again, I’d want him with the crab claw, so maybe I’m out of luck!

Wowzers!

Congratulations! Your hat will be on its way from Cocoa Jackson’s top secret workshop ASAP. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Rerooted human hair, on the other hand, should give multiple styling options with regular hair products and heated appliances. I had to have a go. The only thing that has held me back for so long is the cost of good long hair. But then, we found something amazing in our spare room:

A ponytail grown by my husband, cut off, stored away and forgotten. The hair is 12-16 inches long, dark chestnut brown, strong and shiny. Result!

Next thing we needed was a dolly victim. Fortunately my Star Dancer, Michelle, was keen for a new look. I whipped off her scalp and pulled out her hair:

As human hair has a ‘right way’ and a ‘wrong way’ (i.e. it is smooth to the touch in only one direction - from root to tip) I couldn’t use the lock and loop method, at least, not if I wanted it to be smooth and shiny. So the knot method was called for. Bah. This is how it goes:

1. Take a very small section of hair. Knot it close to the end (the ‘root end’):

I found the knots stayed tighter if the sections of the hair were small. The larger the section of hair, the quicker the knot slipped out.

2. Turn your scalp inside-out. Push your crochet hook (I used a 0.75m hook) through the hole you want to fill:

3. Loop the hair around the hook, close to the knot, then use the hook to pull the hair through the hole:

4. You should now have the length of the hair on the outside of the scalp and the knot on the inside:

(Remember in our picture the scalp is turned inside out so we are looking at the outside here.)

5. Repeat until all holes are filled, or as many holes as you want to fill. Stock Blythes have varying hair thicknesses and therefore varying numbers of holes in their scalps. Leave holes out or add extra to get the thickness of hair you want for your reroot. I like to fill the parting holes first, then the field, starting at the crown:

6. After many many many hours you will have this:

A finished reroot! Check how it looks with your chosen Blythe’s head and feel pleased:

Your work is not finished yet though…

7. Next, wash and condition the hair. Dip the hair in the basin of water without submerging the scalp. It’s also a good idea to comb the conditioner through thoroughly - if any plugs of hair are loose it’s better they fall out now than after you’ve reattached the scalp to the doll. If some do fall out, wait until the hair is dry, then replace them (with stronger knots this time!).

8. Now comes thatching. This is always a painstaking and fiddly task. I do it by sweeping all the hair in the parting rows over to one side. Then I use a small crochet hook (0.6mm or 0.75mm) to pull alternate strands over. Ideally, the hair should criss-cross over evenly with a result like a zipper.

9. Once you’re happy with the result, you’ll want to put your doll back together. Trim any excess fluffy hair bits inside the scalp (careful not to cut off any knots). I gave the inside of the scalp a big squirt of strong-hold hairspray before putting it back in the dome. Cramming the flanges back into the gap in the dome sometimes seems about as easy as putting toothpaste back in the tube - you might need to trim the flanges a little bit to get them to fit comfortably. Then, put all the dolly pieces back together.

10. You may find the hair is standing up away from the scalp a little bit in all directions. If so, cut the foot off an old pair of tights (pantyhose, if you’re American) and pull it over your Blythe’s head (making sure her hair is neat underneath it). It should only take a day or two for the hair to learn to sit much more flat to the head. Also, it looks funny:

11. Whip off the tights and admire your handywork. You are finally done. Now you just need to play

Expect to see many more photos featuring many hairdos on this girl!

For an opportunity to win a sunhat by Cocoa Jackson, just comment on this blog.

For a second entry to the draw, tweet this:

I’m in the draw for a hand-made Blythe sunhat @weplaywithdolls blog: http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/

Good luck doll fans! The draw will be on the 22nd of July.

A site for news concerning the National Blythe Meet 2011. Also the traveling Blythe, Miss Sydney, will be blogging her adventures here.

Number 2: blythelife.com

A fab new blog from a Canadian Blyther. Although it only began this month, it already includes an in-depth designer interview and a giveaway. We all love giveaways!

Number 3: lollitams

Two of my favourite Aussie Blythers have teamed up for blogging fun. The blog has a great look. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Well, Marabelle Melody is certainly cute, but the response across the English-speaking Blythe community is very muted indeed.

She just doesn’t seem all that special for an anniversary girl, particularly as a recent release, Ice Rune, has such similar hair and cute little bear ears:

Marabelle Melody’s outfit is quite lovely, mind you. The ears, while similar to IR’s, are adorable and I love a lolita-style ruffly dress. Her casual outfit is spiffy too with very nice new-style boots.

I can’t help thinking though: shouldn’t we get a bit more from an anniversary doll? Something special? More detailed clothing, a third outfit, a special never-before-seen hair colour, striking make up? Perhaps we’ve been spoilt by anniversary girls such as Princess a la Mode and Art Attack. My expectations are set for truly breathtaking dolls, dolls that I’d sell a kidney to obtain. MM is very sweet, but I wouldn’t sell any organs for her. It’s a strange way to be disappointed, but I am.

The anniversary petite, so essential to defeating (with cuteness) the monsters in Blythe-land, is also very sweet, but not overly exciting.

Her colouring is nice, but muted, and her outfit is adorable, but not terribly special.

The trumpet is a nice touch though, especially once you’ve seen it in action in the animation, calling super-Blythes to action. The packaging for the little one is delightful, featuring cartoon images of the whole anniversary team:

What is new this year is the inclusion of a set of primadollies, three lower-priced releases in very simple outfits. These girls have vivid fantasy hair colours and little ice-skating outfits (skates!). The primas all have the new ‘Fairest’ face mould though, which isn’t nearly as popular (certainly in Australia) as the Radiant mould. This time the FBL girls have make up and are shiny (see Junko Wong’s blog to find out about issues with the previous matte finish FBLs). Only the first girl, Simply Bubble Boom has promo pics out so far:

The international lottery for Simply Bubble Boom starts tomorrow. We haven’t yet seen promo photos for the other two, but they can be seen in the anniversary animation. At first glance, their hair colours look fabulous - rich vivid fantasy shades. More fun than Marabelle Melody perhaps, but without any accessories, I’m not finding these super-exciting either.

Maybe next year…. *sigh*…

]]> http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/2010/07/04/blythe-9th-anniversary-dolls/feed/ http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/2010/06/28/steampunk-project-pullip/ http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/2010/06/28/steampunk-project-pullip/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:41:16 +0000 Sue http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/?p=132 Steampunk Project, I'm sure I wasn't the only very excited doll collector. The dolls are being released one at a time, the first being the Pullip Eos. Each release is limited to 2000 dolls and I was lucky enough to get Eos number 682.]]>

I’ve admired Pullips for quite some years now, and I’m not quite sure why I’ve never owned one. I think it might be because their wigs often look a little too ‘wiggy’, that is, they are obviously wigs rather than hair. Rooted hair is so much more realistic-looking and style-able (if that’s a word). I have to admit, wigginess is something Eos suffers from. She has no parting; her hair all falls outwards from the crown, right on the top of her head. It also feels a tad dry and nylon-y. It’s much longer than I had expected from the promo pics, right down to her ankles.

Worryingly, a few pieces came out of the wig when I took her out of the box. Fingers crossed a good combing and maybe a wash will sort it out, otherwise a cut is on the cards. I love the colour - not blonde, but very very white.

I may also have been put off Pullips initially because of the look of her joints, but the latest body (type 4, I believe) has inconspicuous smooth joints, white retaining a great deal of flexibility, much like a Sekiguchi Momoko body. I’m charmed by her delicate little hands and feet too.

Make up wise, she’s absolutely perfect. I love the way her black and white painted lashes reflect the shape of her wings (more on those later) and emphasize her big dark eyes. Her cheeks are softly pink and her lips are a natural pinky-brown with a light gloss. Her eyebrows are also a natural-look mid-brown with a lovely arch, although they are mostly hidden by her fringe. The bronze colour on her eyelids is a nice touch, coordinating with her outfit and accessories.

And what an outfit she has! The Steampunk details are just non-stop - even her suspenders are wire. The hat is fantastic, a patchwork affair in canvas and faux suede with studs, tiny chains and screw-head features. Some people have reported that some of the clothing has had loose studs and fasteners, so I was relieved that the only problem mine has is loose velcro on her headband. It’s not great to have a piece of velcro just drop off, but at least it’s an easy fix. The headband itself is very cool, with a magnifying monocle-type piece that fits over one eye.

The wings are truly fantastic; they appear to have been stolen from some kind of clockwork valkyrie, although they are difficult to keep on her delicate shoulders. She also has a gun and some kind of staff, both bronze-coloured, long black gloves and a pair of armoured knee-pads. Remember when Blythe came with lots of clothing and accessories? It seems like so long ago now….

All in all, Pullip Eos is definitely equipped for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. She reminds me a little of Tank Girl, although that might just be the effect of Suemomo’s fabulous gallery of promo photos for the project. When the zombies take over, I’m sticking with this girl. And the Dal, maybe we’ll bring her along too…

With the fun-loving, imaginative spirit we’ve come to expect from the Ixtee team, they’ve given Mika and Pika an intriguing back story guaranteed to appeal to bunny-loving doll collectors:

In the year of 1968 Easter time, the leading America toy company
called MADDEL Inc. launched a new animal doll series.
It was a revolutionary idea at the time!
Among all these new animal characters, two of them had become the
most - wanted toy in American instantly after they were launched.
They were MIKA (a female rabbit) & PIKA (a male rabbit).
Every children or even toy collector were desperated to get one!

Today, Mika & Pika become an antique toy and are very rare
in the market.
One day, a “Never Remove From Box (NRFB)” Mika
& an “Used” Pika are posted on the most popular online
trading platform, “oDay” ,
they are posted by 2 different sellers.

Coincidentally,
they are bade by a toy collector from Hong Kong on the same day!
What is their destiny?
May the two little old friends meet each other again after a half century of separation?
Are they still the previous Mika & Pika at the time they met each other?
Will they have their dream life ever after?
Mika & Pika story to be continued…..

There is even a mock-up 1968 Easter ad for Mika & Pika. It makes me grin:

There are some similarities with the retro look of some of Toyfield’s designs. Mika & Pika have the advantage on Kuma and friends though, as the BJD body allows a fantastic range of poses. I’m also a sucker for sparkly acrylic eyes and these little guys have ‘em, together with fabulously expressive little funny faces.

There’s no definite release date yet, and no news on exactly how many will be produced. Rumour has it that there will 200 of each. Personally, I will be haunting Siu Ding’s Flickr stream for news.

It is a week since the Blythe meet in Adelaide. This week has flown by so fast in comparison to the lead up to the meet. In the lead up I had to organise where to stay, how to get there, who from my friends in Melbourne was going to join me in the weekend away from the daily grind. In the end I had many accomplices and we had a great time in the city of churches. I was the only one headed to the meet on the sunny Saturday that Adelaide had put on for us.

My excitement at going to this meet-up was off the scale. I have only been collecting Blythe dolls for a short time but my interest in them has become great and the prospect of going to spending an afternoon with a bunch of very knowledgeable women was very exciting. I knew there was going to be a room full of dolls I hadn’t seen before, some in their original form and some not. I had never seen an original kenner and the customs held an interest for me as I had only seen them on the computer and not in the flesh. I wanted to study their make up and hair and all their extra bits.

Now I can say after spending several hours at the hall with all the ladies and dolls nothing disappointed me. The hall was fabulously decorated for a party, there was lots of tasty food, musk sticks and spearmint leaves galore……….I haven’t eaten these in such a longtime it bought back lots of childhood memories. The displays of dolls was many, oh so many beautiful dolls. There was conversations with people as to which dolls they chose to bring along and how that decision was made. I found out that there a many people with many dolls and all can’t be bought along. I learnt many things about the Blythe I didn’t know, the list is to great to write here but it is like any new interest there is always so much to learn. I did love hearing the stories about how each Blythe is collected from the very special Kenners to the newer Takara girls and then the decision to change them and find their true identities. Everybody and every Blythe has a story.

Now bringing this story to an end. I had a fantastic day and I am glad I made the effort to travel such a long way to join in the fun. I loved eveything I saw and everyone I met. I hope I get to meet alot of these girls in Sydney next year both the real ones and the 12 inch ones!

Angelique

P.S I came home with 3 new girls!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I get to the North Adelaide hall, and it’s lovely. its warm inside, and as we set the tables out it all starts to take form.  Balloons go up, table cloths are spread, and soon there is pink and green everywhere and i start to relax.  We’re going to do this.

People start arriving, and the dolly table is filling up quickly.  Everyone is a little tentative at the beginning, and we all seem to be searching for name tags before we talk, but we all soon relax, and everyone is chatting away.  Many ooohs and aaahs, hugs and laughs.  It’s pretty great!

Time went so fast!  It seemed like it was all over in a blink of an eye.

Donation “thank you”s!
- Christina for both the raffle prize (to help fund the meet) and also the best dressed prize competition.
- Narelle for all the graphics.
- Goodie bag donators (Angelique, Tanya (Lollipoppet) and Tamilla (Milla)).

- Prize donators (and who won their awesome prizes!

Narelle/Chocolat - handmade dress – won by Angelique33
Maddy - handmade blythe carrier – won by Maria (CHU)
Tanya/Tamsart – handmade crochet set – won by Sonja (Sonjbean)
Jo/Vintage hat B & Kimberley– hair clips – won by Dusty Jo
Tanya/Lollipoppet – handmade outfit – won by Patty (monsoon)
Blossom/Oscarpop – handmade dress – won by Monica (monopod)
Jen/Jenink - spa voucher – won by Melissa (ohsewpretty)
Patty/Monsoon - BHC Outfit – won by Michelle (polarangel)
Alanna – handmade dress – won by Stacey (Trio)
Maria Yeoshen – handmade dress set – won by Natalie (pixelkitty)
Jen/Jenink - handmade outfit – won by Narelle (relle*)
Purple Tiger/Sue - handmade dress – won by Jo (Jaffacake)
Stephanie/Anoushka - pack of handmade cards – won by Jess (lollygomez)
Jodi/Snuffy - handmade reversible outfit – won by Adele
RTP/Leah - handmade outfit - won by Karla
Jo/Vintage hat B & Kimberley– hair clips – won by Blossom (oscarpop)
Natalie/Kitty – blythe pendant and cowgirl hat – won by Jane (Bonnie Blythe)

Best dressed Blythe went to Stephanie (Anoushka/Farkle deluxe Sparkle), who won the sensational Jamfancy outfit.

And congratulations to Milla, whose girl came in second, winning a Fritzybitz set.

Thank you to everyone who entered the photo competition

And the winner! Narelle!

and lastly, (almost) all of the attendees! … gee, we’re a pretty bunch

34 dolly lovers brought around 135 Blythes to Adelaide, and so much dolly joy.  Meeting you all was so wonderful.  Thank you so much for coming all the way to Adelaide - we really appreciate it - and we really appreciate the help from everyone on the forum, and from husbands and sisters.

Let’s go to Sydney!

I have to admit, I am a little disappointed that the hair colour and eyeshadow are both so similar to Cappuccino Chat, as it’s a combination that I’m not sure really works. Apart from that gripe, however, she’s pretty stunning. I love it when dolls wear fashions that look like real clothes in miniature (that’s probably why I’m so crazy about Momoko right now), and that’s just how Kiss me True’s clothes look. Also, the sunglasses and boots are both new styles - very cool new styles too. There’s something insanely fabulous about over-sized sunnies protecting over-sized eyes on an over-sized head; it’s a look that emphasizes the very essence of the out-of-proportion wonder that is Blythe.

Imagine my disappointment, then, with the generic lacy bride-doll blonde that is Love and More.

I had been hoping that the outfit would be a little more Lolita style, but it really looks just frou-frou in these shots. She is pink and white and cutesy.

There is one thing I like about her though. I love painted eyelids and she has them:

The make up is soft and sweet, but combined with the lacy outfit, the overall effect is saccharine.

Love and More is limited to 4000 dolls. Both dolls have a suggested retail price of 16,590yen and are released in May.

Commercial for Barbie Dream Townhouse

I am not typically a Barbie collector, although I do own a few. My interest in the new Townhouse incarnation was brought about by my daughter. She saw commercials for the Dream Townhouse around the end of this past January, and immediately began her campaign to own one. My husband and I decided to make it a gift for her April birthday.

The Dream Townhouse proved almost impossible to acquire, at least at first. Every shop in our area, as well as seemingly all online retailers, were sold out. The one exception was Amazon, which boasted 9 Townhouses available from secondary sellers, at more than $50 over the retail price. Unwilling to play along with the price gouging, we decided to wait.  By March, Amazon’s stock dropped to only 2 available, going for - are you ready for this? - nearly $400 each! It was at this point that I was fairly certain our girl would not be getting the Barbie Dream Townhouse.  Then, a mere two days before her birthday, a family member tipped me off that Toys R Us had just gotten in two of the Townhouses. Within 24 hours, most other stores seemed to have gotten new shipments as well, and Amazon had lowered their price in response.

It’s unclear why there was such a shortage of this playset. One theory is that given the poor economy, stores were reluctant to stock up on such a large toy, right after the holiday season. This makes sense, but also likely is a user post on Amazon which reported problems with the electronic components. The unsubstantiated claim said that Mattel had briefly halted production to perform some small fixes and improvements.

All of that aside, how well does the Dream Townhouse live up to its name? Pretty well, all things considered. It’s a fun playset, with lots of neat extras. Perhaps not perfect, but attractive, and a fairly good value for the price.

The new Dream Townhouse looks very similar to the old Barbie Townhouses. A photo on the box even shows the 1970s “Magic Sounds” model and this one, side by side. Standing three stories tall, the Dream Townhouse is a bookcase-shaped affair, with an elevator on the left side.

The electronic components are as follows: On the first floor, the door bell rings. Opening the front door activates a hinge switch, which lights the chandelier. Pressing on the oven timer makes a “tick-tick-tick” noise, followed by a bell. The refrigerator lights up inside when opened. On the second floor, pressing a button on the fireplace surround will both illuminate the fire (complete with “crackling” sound), and raise a flat screen television. Moving into the bathroom, the toilet “flushes”, and pressing the floor of the shower stall lets you hear Barbie sing. Unlike the previous two levels, the third floor has no built in sound or light effects. The hot tub on the balcony is actually a separate piece which can almost act as a small playset on its own. The colored lanterns over the hot tub light up, powered by a watch cell battery (the rest of the house runs on Aas, installed in a compartment in the floor).

One negative of the Dream Townhouse in my opinion, is that some of the furniture and accessories included are bare minimum in quality. It’s fairly obvious that the chairs, tables, etc, were an afterthought. That’s not unreasonable I suppose, given that the selling point of this set is the lights and sound aspect. I will say however that the bathroom accessories are adorable! There’s a little soap pump bottle shaped like a cat in a bathrobe, and my personal favorite, a toothbrush holder shaped like Barbie’s silhouette. Extremely cute, with amazing detail. It’s the inclusion of a few tiny elements like those that make other things like the thin, cheap, dining room chairs more noticeable.

Reading buyer reviews on Amazon, it does appear that quite a few people had problems with the electronic bits not functioning properly. In our case, everything works – except the fireplace. It will not light up. I called Mattel, where a customer service representative was extremely friendly and helpful, though it didn’t sound like I was the first called she’d had about this. It appears that the fireplace in our house isn’t fitting as tightly against the wall as it should, thus the electrical contact is not being made. The service rep offered further help, and possible replacement. Since my daughter is happy with the set just as it is, I think we’re going to let it go. We’ve had the Dream Townhouse now for about two weeks. It gets played with everyday.  One thing that remains to be seen is how long those light and sound elements will remain functional.

The Barbie Dream Townhouse gets a qualified “thumbs up” from this dolly fan, all things considered. If you have this set too, I’d be interested to hear other impressions!

YOU WILL NEED:

1 cute sock
needle and thread OR sewing machine with a ballpoint needle for stretch.
Sharp scissors
Measuring tape or blythe doll
Pins (optional)
2 Matching buttons / hot glue (Optional)
2 Closures of your choice

1: Choose your sock. It needs to have at least 13cm of ‘leg,’ by which I mean area above the heel, to get two out of the sock. You will see what I mean later on. This one has much more than I needed. Tube socks obviously would work well.

2: Measure 13-15cm from the top of your sock (the elastic cuff, being the bottom of the dress) and cut. Or, just measure it on your blythe so that the top of sock/bottom of dress sits just below the knee, and then make your cut at shoulder height, like I did:

3: Cut!

4: Cut in half vertically.

5: Take one half. Cut a neckline approximately 2.5cm deep. I just do this freehand, but I’ve pinned it here so you can see what I mean. In case you can’t quite see it here, the open part of the curve is the fold, the other side is the cut side. The other half can be another dress! If you had an ankle sock or shorter sock, this is where you can get the one half and then just throw away the half with the heel on it. Or keep it and think of something great to do with it!

6: Unfold, and there is your neckline!

7: Pin the side seams from the top, about 2/3 of the way down.

8. Stitch them! They WILL stretch out a bit when using a sewing machine, because we can’t choose which way the grain goes when using a sock. Don’t worry. This is a good thing. If you are stitching by hand, you might even want to stretch the fabric out a little as you go to get a similar effect.

9. Pin and stitch the neckline.

10: Pin and stitch the side seams… notice how shoddy mine are? Doesn’t matter one bit!

11: Turn inside out. The side seam you just sewed is now the centre back, and the front should look something like a stretched out Donnie Darko-esque bunny.

12: Pin and stitch down the ends of the straps/bunny ears, it is basically impossible to do this on a sewing machine, much easier to just do it by hand. Note: this is optional, it’s just for tidiness.

13: Attach your closures, I like to put the sharp bits of velcro on the part facing away from the doll to avoid scratches and pulls in tights, etc.

14: Scootch it up her legs this way… (probably an unnecessary photo, but you get it anyway) and then criss-cross the straps over her shoulders (ooh!)

15: If you are like me, you can glue buttons over where you stitched on the velcro because it looked so bad. If you’re not like me, it looks kinda cute anyway but you don’t have to do it!

Look, you did it! Wasn’t it easy? With practice it will get REALLY easy, just make sure you don’t get sloppy, like me! Find the cutest socks you can, kids socks would be fantastic but you’d probably get one dress per sock depending on the size. Still pretty good right? If you guys make one (Or many!) please post them in the sewing forum so everyone can see!

As I have never actually written a tutorial before, so I hope it makes sense. Feel free to comment or even pm me with any questions!

Have fun
-Amy

]]> http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/2010/03/18/diy-sock-dress-for-blythe/feed/ http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/2010/03/15/mad-men-barbie-ultimate-60s-doll-style/ http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/2010/03/15/mad-men-barbie-ultimate-60s-doll-style/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:01:52 +0000 Sue http://www.weplaywithdolls.net/blogs/?p=120 available, flashing those overtanned legs, sticking out her chest and grinning like a loon. ]]> Silkstone Barbies are a different kettle of fish, however. The Silkstone Barbie is so unavailable she’s verging on out-and-out snooty. She’s a grown woman and one who would not suffer fools gladly, I’m sure. In short, she’s a doll I can get on board with, a doll who is perfect to play Mad Men’s Joan Holloway.

Imagine my excitement, then, to see that Mattel have collaborated with the makers of Mad Men to create a Silkstone set: Ken as both Roger Sterling and Don Draper and Barbie as Joan Holloway and Betty Draper. The outfits and accessories are sure to be perfect (although miniature cigarettes and cocktails are definitely not on the agenda). The wait until their release in July is sure to feel long.

The concept behind a shopping service, or an auction proxy, is simple. Import shops are plentiful, but most only carry things which are guaranteed to sell well. You’ll never have a problem locating Naruto pencil cases, but vintage or niche items are too often another story. These things can be found in some Japanese stores, but most won’t ship outside of the country. The same holds true for sellers on the auction site, Yahoo Japan (aka: Y! Japan). Language barriers and shipping make the majority of Japanese sellers unwilling to deal internationally. Shopping services acts as middle men in these transactions. They purchase items by request, for non-Japanese buyers. The purchase is shipped directly to the service’s office in Japan, before being sent anywhere in world, for a fee. In the case of auctions, a shopping service will bid in your stead, and even translate and relay questions to the seller.

It sounds like a dream come true. For specific items, it certainly can be. But before you rush to sign up, it’s necessary to learn all you can about the process, and the fees involved.

I shied away from shopping services for years, until my “holy grail doll” prodded me to give one a try. I was on the hunt for a Volks Chii SD10. A limited edition from 2003, Chii fullsets can be few and far between on the secondary market. I registered with the well established shopping and auction service “Crescent Shop”. Crescent is known in BJD circles as the exclusive international liason for Gentaro Araki’s Alchemic Lab, producer of the popular Unoa dolls.

Buying goods from a store using Crescent Shop is fairly straight forward. Bidding and purchasing items via auction is slightly more complex, but still quite manageable. Knowing what sort of items overseas buyers generally seek, Crescent features a handy English language search page, with automatic key-word searching for terms like: Dollfie, Licca, Takara, Sylvanian Families, Blythe, Momoko, and more. At the time I registered, My daughter’s birthday was coming up. I decided to take a look at what Licca-chan items were on offer, reasoning that a less expensive item like that would be a test-drive of the service, than immediately snagging a pricey BJD. Within moments of searching, I found a pair of sparkley orange sneakers with Licca decals on them, in my daughter’s size. They were starting at 500yen. I also happened upon the Miki and Maki Preschool Playset, starting at 3000yen.

The first step to auction bidding with Crescent Shop is to make a deposit. The amount of the deposit determines how high you are allowed to bid. The required amount changes, depending on the current exchange rate. Crescent Shop displays a formula for how this amount is calculated. As of last spring when I made this purchase, the minimum deposit one could make was $50 USD. That $50 allowed for bidding up to $200, or approximately 20,000 yen. After placing a deposit, I used Crescent’s automated web form to place bids on my chosen auctions. I won both, each for the minimum amount. Crescent Shop notified me of the wins, but they will not accept payment, until after they receive the items from the seller. Once that happened, my auction account page was updated with the total amount due. I paid via PayPal, and my items were sent out immediately. About a week later, I received my initial security deposit of $50 back into my PayPal account. The items arrived quickly, and were beautifully packed.

Sounds fantastic, right? Well – yes. But here’s the part where I give you the cautionary bits. The fees. To use just the sneakers as an example: $5.00 sneakers ended up being close to $40.00 after Crescent’s handling fees, domestic shipping in Japan from the seller to Crescent’s office, and international shipping from Crescent to my home in the US. This isn’t including the $50 deposit, which was required to bid in the first place. Because, and this is something you NEED to realize, the initial deposit can not be used to pay for your item. Let me repeat that: The initial deposit only secures your ability to bid. It can NOT be applied to the cost of your purchases. It will be returned to you, in full, as soon as you have paid all other moneys owed, and completed all outstanding transactions. I make special note of this fact, because most of us take the concept of a deposit as being something to be deducted from the cost of whatever you buy. Crescent Shop does not do this. That means that you need to have not only the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for your purchase, but also the full deposit amount, plus the shipping and service fees.

Revisiting my beloved SD10 Chii, I was willing to pay approximately $1200 USD for the doll itself. Based on the cost of the doll, my service fee was a little over $100. Shipping within Japan was approximately $20. EMS shipping to the US from Japan was about $60. My initial deposit, allowing me to bid up to my $1200 maximum, was $350. In sum, I needed over $500 more than the price of the doll itself to make the purchase. This may sound absurd, but consider the following: This still came in at nearly $1000 less than what a Chii fullset typically sells for on the US secondary market.

This brings me to what is perhaps the most important thing to realize about auction services. Yes, they can be worth the expense and trouble - but only for certain types of items.

In my admittedly limited experience, services like Crescent are not well suited for small purchases, or impulse buys. As you can see with my daughter’s sneakers, a relatively cheap item can wind up at many times the winning price. I quickly learned the dangers of “browsing” on Y! Japan. You WILL see amazing things. You WILL want to buy them. You WILL consider taking a second mortgage to bring home that mint-in-box Licca dollhouse from the seventies (Never opened! All furniture included!). When money is tight, I stay as far away from Crescent Shop’s search page as possible. On the other hand, if you are looking for something specific to add to your collection, a shopping service can work wonders. This is especially true for limited editions, or vintage dolls and playsets. Even with the fees and shipping, you often end up paying less than you would from a non-Japanese seller .

There are a number of these services out there, and buyers are urged to choose carefully and read every word of small print. Compare fees from service to service. Make sure to study what forms of payment are accepted, how long you have to pay, how the service ships, and return policies. Ask around on forums and find out who else has used the service you’re considering, and what kind of experience they had. I was happy with Crescent Shop, although their deposit policy threw me for a serious loop.

In short, if there’s a dolly item from Japan that you are just desperate to have, looking into a shopping service is worth the trouble. If nothing else, watching the auctions gives one an idea of how much something is selling for in Japan. That’s useful information, even if you don’t end up purchasing through a service.

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.

Her make up is nice enough, but as pastel and predictably bland as many of the new releases. And, is it me, or is her outfit as shiny as a supermarket Barbie’s? I guess the shoes are quite nice, but, overall, I find Ribonetta Wish a big disappointment. I suppose I have been saved me from the temptation to pay inflated ebay prices, but it’s always sad to see a disappointing new release Blythe.

I think I’m off to buy a Hello Kitty Barbie.

The original:

Which celebrities influence your dolly fashion choices, WPWD?

I absolutely love this hair. I don’t normally like blonde dolls, but this platinum shade is so stunningly Dusty Springfield-esque and the style is perfect. The lip colour is also a shade I wouldn’t normally like, but it’s very 60s combined with that hair. Totally mod.

The really intriguing thing about this one is that her skin is described as “half matted”. The previous FBLs have had totally matte smooth skin. It’ll be very interesting to see what this semi-matte finish is like - maybe it’s the Kenner-esque look we’ve been hoping for.

The official Blythe news page says this one is limited to 15000, but I’m assuming that’s a typo - 1500 seems more likely. It doesn’t say anything about an international lottery. I hope there is one. I’m smitten.

I’m not one for the blondes generally, and her make up gives the soft and subtle look that has become pretty standard of late. The hair is a lovely shade though, and the extra-thick fringe is really growing on me.

It’s the outfit that I really love this time though. The little bear details on the boots and scarf are adorable and I love the hat.

She’ll be out in December and she costs 15,540 yen. Hopefully she’ll be a regular release and save us from lottery anxiety.

Hurrah!

According to Blythe’s official news page, Ribonetta Wish will not be available outside Japan because of regional licensing agreements. Fans outside Japan will have to compete for her on eBay. I predict a riot!

Its birthday themed, in pink and green, and full of tasty treats
With beautiful donated prizes that’ll sweep you off your feet
Come on over to Adelaide, you’ll have an awesome time
And even though its in June, the weather should be fine*

In a gorgeous old town hall, we’ll set up all the fun
Its gonna take a lot of work, but it has to be done
To make the day as wonderful as all the friends we’ve made
While obsessing over dolls and clothes, store bought and hand made

Cakes, and dolls, and sandwiches, lollies, and ice cream
It really is going to be a doll collectors dream
With dioramas all set up for dollies to pose in
And perhaps a corner set up for swapping clothing

Photographic competitions, and lots of party games
And don’t forget your party bag , and all that it contains
Its gonna be such super fun, we hope to have you here
Cos if you miss it you’ll have to wait a whole entire year

So, will be come? Please make the trip down south
We’d really love to have you here, and show you all around
And play with all your pretty dollies, be they Takara or Kenner
I really couldn’t think of how to spend a Saturday better

And if you’re up for it on Sunday, we’ll all go for a drive
Even further south to Mclaren Vale, to taste all the wine
We really cant wait to see you, this is gonna be so great
You’ve got lots of time to plan, no excuses! Don’t be late!

Did you enjoy my marvellous poem?  Oh, I certainly hope so.  Please don’t judge  our meet on the  strength of my prose, but rather on the fantasticness of Narelle’s poster, and the fact that so many lovely dolly people will be in the same room at the same time.  I cant wait to meet you all, and I know everyone is feeling the same way.

Keep your eyes peeled as more news comes to hand about what will be happening at the 2010 Adelaide Blythe Meet.  We cant wait to see you there!!

*this isn’t a promise, it just rhymed

We’ve waited a long time for this one! I hope we don’t have to wait much longer for news of the rumoured platinum-haired Paris….

News at Blythedoll.com.

I’m loving the super-straight hair and the perfect fringe, but the colours just aren’t working for me. The cheeks and lips are just too pinky, and the hair is a touch bubblegum in shade, like a lighter version of Dainty Biscuit. It does look a little softer in this pic though, like Katsilk saran in Tickled Pink:

The lighting for the photography is very different for this picture, so I think we’ll have to wait until she’s released to see what shade it really is. I have my fingers crossed for something close strawberry gelati and a long way from Pepto-Bismol.

The outfit is nice in style and very much in keeping with the London-based mystery novel writer description of Stella Savannah. I’m crazy about capes at the moment - on dolls and people - but this looks a little awkward and ill-fitting. Great colour though, and I always love those crazy platform mary janes.

I think I’ll be waiting for the Hello Kitty collaboration doll for my dose of pink overload.

She has a pink stand and pullring, and I think they might be pinky eyelids too?

She has a bow over one pigtail, just like Hello Kitty’s bow and a new type of shoe. We all love mary janes, right?

She has bright bright orangey red hair like Rouge Noir, my all-time favourite:

She has Hello Kitty accesories. Not the fanciest ones I’ve ever seen, but still:

And finally, Hello Kitty is pictured on the box. Not just any picture of Hello Kitty, but an image of her wearing the same dress as the doll:

I really really hope I win this lottery. I hope the lottery details are announced soon. Fingers crossed kitty fans!

but the make up is so Kenner-ish:

It wasn’t until I saw out-of box photos until I realised just how Kenner-ish she is. And I missed out on the lottery. Bah!

Next off the blocks is Beatrice Vest, whose international lottery finished yesterday. I love the promo animation for this girl. Who could resist earmuffs made out of clouds? My favourite thing about this girl though is her super-blushy cheeks. I’m a sucker for a healthy complexion.

Nothing exciting about the eyechips - just the standard colours, but she does have new strappy boots that are pretty cute:

The latest promo photos to be released by CWC are of Urban Cowgirl. She has similar colouring to EBL favourite Tea for Two, but a side-part in that very long brown hair.

Again, she just has the standard eyechips and the regular soft make up. She’s very natural-looking and gently pretty, but no great excitement from me. Very cool hat though!

After Urban Cowgirl, we have Stella Savannah who is proving very popular on the WPWD forum already, even though we’ve only seen a cartoon so far:

She’s a writer of historical mystery novels and loves to go to the library. I was sold on that alone, but it’s a fantastic bonus that she also has pale pink hair and a fantastic outfit. I’m a sucker for hats, for tartan and for capes. She’s a Toys R Us exclusive, so fingers crossed her resale price on eBay isn’t enormous.

Another cartoon has been spotted floating around the internet, although it hasn’t been officially released by CWC yet.

The rumour is that she will be called Ice Rene. I’m not one for the blondes but I’m loving this wintry outfit. It’s about time a Blythe had ugg boots, wouldn’t you say?

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!

Out in time for Xmas, there may well be fighting in the streets over these dolls, limited to 3000. Personally, I’m praying for an international lottery. Fingers and toes crossed. The thought of the prices they’ll be fetching on eBay scares me senseless. >_<

I think one of the sweetest things about this release is that she seems to have been styled after Hello Kitty's present designer, Yuko Yamaguchi:

Yamaguchi has done fantastic work since 1980 keeping Hello Kitty in the coolest, cutest fashions and masterminding her rise to popularity amongst adults. I hope she continues to design for Kitty for many years to come.

The first stage is to remove her head.  This is easy to do: you just take the head in one hand and the body in the other and pull.  Voila!

Secondly, you’ll need to cut her hair really short, like this:

Once the hair is short, you’ll be able to pull it out very easily with tweezers, leaving your little Shortcake with a funny bald pear-shaped head:

I then took some leftover mohair from a Blythe reroot (thanks Jade!) and used one of Rachael’s reroot tools to push little chucks of mohair into each of the holes in Shortcake’s little head. I won’t repeat Rachael’s tutorial as it needs no further explanation. I’ll just show you the results:

A crazy soft pastel afro! And with a hat, it’s very cute:

I love it, and it’s really quite quick and easy to do. Hurrah!

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!

The Blythe community has responded by freaking out a bit. Understandable, really. Who wouldn’t want this golden era of dolly production to continue indefinitely?

This is just a rumour, though. Blythe is a sought-after commodity, and it the companies associated with her production and trade are struggling, then there is a strong likelihood that there will be others waiting to pick up the slack.

In related news, Jun Planning, the Japanese company that markets Pullips and Dals, has announced its bankrupcy. Again, given the popularity of some of JP’s dolls, there is a chance that some of its interests will be handed over to another company. The future of Pullips and Dals remains unknown at this stage.

Still, even if the worst happens and Japan becomes a dolly wasteland, at least we got a lot of great years out of this Neo Blythe thing. And hey, the dolls we already have can only increase in value … right?

There’s no denying that she’s pretty, and that I could swear that bag she’s carrying is a little Hermes Birkin, but the general mood seems to be that of quiet disappointment. She just doesn’t seem special enough and, with a new face mould having just been released, I don’t think I’m the only person who was surprised to see that the anniversary has a ‘radience’ face. I’m a big fan of the RBL, but don’t we already have three RBL blondes?

Her background story seems kind of dull too. Last year we had a beautiful fairy story unravel over the months before Christina and Eleanor were released. This year’s tale is more than a tad prosaic in comparison. She’s a girl who works at a fashion magazine. *stifles yawn* Perhaps the problem is simply that, while this girl is pretty, fashionable and could have been styled by Rachel Zoe, Blythe fans are more likely to admire quirkier retro looks? That might explain why so many more of us are excited about a certain new prima:

That’s a look I can get on board with

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!

Manga artist Araki first became a favorite with BJD collectors when he collaborated with Volks to create the Unoss doll. Later, rather than continuing to produce dolls in conjunction with Volks, Araki began his own BJD company, Alchemic Lab. Alchemic Lab makes the hugely popular Unoa dolls. Unoas bring the customization aspect of BJDs to a new level, with multiple interchangeable face-plates, allowing one doll to have several expressions without changing the whole head. Unoas also sport the ability to switch the angle of their eyes with the push of a button.

Details are limited about the new pint-size offerings from AL, but here is what we know thus far: The new dolls are called Roron and Ririn. They are 35cm tall. The first batch to be released will be special, fullset, prototypes, hand-painted by Araki himself. These test dolls will be available for purchase by lottery, only to those who have bought dolls from Alchemic Lab in the past. The price will be 63000 yen. This special pre-sale will most likely take place toward the end of summer, after the next Lusis and Sist pre-order period. Roron and Ririn will later be offered for general sale as kits (like regular Unoa dolls) for 39990 yen.

A teaser photo of Roron and Ririn can be seen on Alchemic Lab’s site. They’re the pair with their backs to the camera (d’oh! f’course!). I have seen more extensive photos of the girls, but unfortunately those images are not mine to repost. I will say that in addition to the new smaller girls, AL is releasing at least eighteen new face-plates. These smaller dolls and the original Unoa will have the same size head, so face-plates can be shared!

As we bubbled with excitement over our incoming Teenies, and admired the luminous French resin of the blue elf, my friend said: “I don’t know. I’m just getting so tired of everything cool being limited! All the interesting dolls are limited editions. You have to scrape together money on short notice, if you don’t want to pay twice as much on the secondary market.”

Her observation got me thinking about current BJD offerings. I can’t say she’s far off. What’s more, I can’t imagine we’ll see any changes forthcoming in the near future. In this case, what can be maddening to collectors, makes excellent business sense for a doll maker.

Before going on, let me say that there are gorgeous standard dolls out there, from a selection of manufacturers. What my friend noticed however, is that with rare exception, dolls with innovative or unusual molds, fantasy sculpts, or unique face-ups, are almost always limited. What’s more, the ordering windows are not as long as they often used to be. At least, that’s been my observation. In the spring of 2007, I purchased a NotDoll Miriam First. She was a limited edition fullset. I bought her just about a month after she went up for sale. Though NotDoll did eventually stop producing Miriam, it was a good year at least before she was no longer available. I also think of DomaDoll’s Kkotomu and Jado centaurs. They weren’t “forever”, in the sense of a standard doll, but DomaDoll carried them for quite some time. Long enough anyway, that if you wanted to have one, you didn’t have to choose between next month’s car payment, and a new doll.

More often now, one sees dolls with ordering windows of about one month. Either that, or very small editions which sell out in short order. I’ve joked to my husband that buying BJDs often feels like being a contestant on a 1970s game show: You like what’s behind door number one. You can either spend your extra money on door number one, or wait to see what’s behind door number 2. It might be something even better, in which case you’ll be glad you saved your cash. Or, it could be something you’re not interested in at all. By then, door number one is no longer available. I’m going through this at the moment, myself. I love DollZone’s decidedly macabre new minis, Aaron and Lola. They will only be available for the month of May. If I spend money on a Lola, I won’t be able to splurge on whatever tiny Soom puts out for July. Do I put my eggs in DollZone’s basket, or let Lola go in favor of an unknown?

One could argue that it’s only wise for BJD companies to produce limited numbers of “unusual” dolls. After all, the more unusual a doll is, the more of a chance a company takes that doll fans might not appreciate it. That’s a valid view. On the other hand, judging from the mad scramble whenever DollSoom unveils a new monthly, or Volks holds an online after-event for Dolpa limiteds, companies can be more or less assured that certain things sell. Hooved dolls are big. Horns, wings, and techni-color resin have also proven to be crowd pleasers. Still, if more companies offered these fantastical choices as non-limited standards, would sales be the same? As much as I’d like to think otherwise, I’d have to say no. To again refer to an explanation I gave my doll-tolerant husband: People will see a limited doll, and not be sure whether they like it or not. If they have a credit card, or extra money, they’ll order it anyway. That way, they can take their time and decide. If they don’t want the doll after a month, they’ll have no problem reselling it to a hobbyist who missed the ordering deadline. If the doll hadn’t been limited, there’d be no rush, and no frantic scramble to procure funds. Limited BJDs often don’t leave us with much time to think. By the time you realize that you probably don’t need another winged baby satyr, she’s already on her way to your house. Bad for our wallets, but good strategy for small companies trying to survive in this economy. The march of the limiteds will continue, and I’ll keep scouring my house for odds and ends sell on Ebay.

Whether suwarrico cuts are included from the manufacturer, or added by a doll’s owner, posing a doll the surwarrico sitting position sometimes takes a little fiddling. It usually takes a second or two to feel that “catch”, when the strings slide from the vertical slot into the horizontal one, allowing the leg to rotate. Depending on the size and smoothness of the cuts, this can be made trickier if the doll is wearing a bulky costume. Last spring, I purchased a Volks Yo-SD Hinaichigo on the secondary market. Modeled after the Rozen Maiden character, Hinaichigo is a BJD of the tooth-achingly cute variety. I’m not usually one to keep full set dolls in the their default costumes, but Hinaichigo just looks so darn right in her pink velvet, and white ruffled ensemble. The only problem I encountered was that the combination of her opaque white tights, and her gathered bloomers, made it difficult to maneuver her legs. Add to this, the fact that her thigh slots and suwarrico cuts were very narrow. The elastic cords in each leg had a habit of getting stuck, side by side, in the slot. This prevented the leg from bending properly, without some gentle wiggling. In simple costumes like short dresses or thin pants, this was no problem. In a more complex outfit, trying to wiggle and adjust each leg every time I wanted her to sit, soon became tedious.

Hinaichigo’s fix was simpler than adding a suwarrico cut from scratch, as I’d done with Maebe, my MSD Hisui. The cuts were already there. They simply needed to be widened. Below is a picture of Hinaichigo’s joints, prior to any work. In the below photo, also note the thickness of the resin surrounding the channel (more clearly seen on the right leg). One of my favorite things about Volks dolls in general is their heavy, thick resin. In this case, that thick resin on the corner of the suwarrico was snagging the cords.

The first thing I did was to use the burr attachment of my rotary tool to follow the walls of the existing slots. Applying gentle pressure to first one side, then the other, I widened the area through which the strings have to travel. After this, I turned my attention to the corner of the suwarrico cut. I first removed the point, creating more of a curved path. I then tilted the rotary tool about 45 degrees, to take off some of the inside thickness of the resin. This part requires some care. You need to take your time, and use caution that you don’t scrape too much of the surrounding plastic. The next photo shows the completed right leg, compared to the left which has not been worked on yet.

Finally, as I didn’t want to have to revisit this project, I took one more measure to insure smooth string movement. I sanded a tiny amount off of the top of the thigh joint. There was originally a sharp corner there, and rounding it slightly helped eliminate one more place where the doll’s strings could get hung up.

This work on her thigh joints has made my Hinaichigo much easier to sit and pose, especially in her default costume!

Thanks for reading, and I hope if you ever have joint issues with one of your resin gang, something here might give you an idea of how to fix the problem!

Once again, I’ll remind you to use care when sanding or drilling your resin doll. Work in a well-ventilated area, and wear a respirator or mask. Your lungs will thank you!

If you’re not sure what suwarrico, or “cute sit”, or “cute sitting” is, it basically means kneeling, with your thighs turned in toward one another, and your lower legs slid out slightly out to either side. On a ball jointed doll, this pose can be achieved in a couple of ways. If you’re taking this on as a do-it-yourself project, making suwarrico cuts into the thigh string slots is by far the simplest option. A suwarrico cut is an extension of the normal string slot, angling it to the outside of the dolls upper thigh. This allows the string to follow course, turning the thighs inward.

On a doll manufactured with suwarrico cuts, they are often done as an arc, or “C” shape. For our suwarrico modification purposes, we’re going to do more of an “L”. It’s an easier cut to make neatly, and works just as well.

The following photos are taken from when I added a suwarrico to my Volks MSD Hisui, Maebe. I apologize that they aren’t the best, but hopefully they get the point across. Like the thigh modification I did to Ari in the previous post, I did not unstring Maebe for this procedure. If you feel fiddly with using an electric rotary tool, or just worried about damaging your doll’s elastic cords, you may wish to unstring them before you work. With this mod in particular, before you unstring the doll, lightly mark an “R” and an “L” in pencil on the doll’s thighs. The leg pieces can look alike once a doll is apart. You don’t want to make a suwarrico cut in the wrong direction, on the wrong leg.

Once you set up your workspace, begin by using a pencil to mark out your cuts. You will be going from the bottom of the thigh string slot, toward the outside of the leg. How far you need to go will depend on the size of the doll. For MSD Maebe, I made cuts which were approximately a centimeter and a half. It doesn’t have to be exact, but you want to go far enough to allow the thigh to rotate about a quarter turn. You also want to make sure that your cuts are wide enough to allow two cords in each leg to slip around, without pinching or sticking.

To begin, I used a drill bit about the width of my intended cut, and placed a hole at the far outside end of the pencil guide. This acts as a “stop cut”, and keeps the edge neat. I then switched to a burr attachment. Inserting the rotary tool into the bottom end of the string slot, I pulled it slowly toward the newly drilled hole, connecting the two. You should now have a neat “L” shape!

Repeat the procedure for the other leg. Once you’re finished, go back with the burr attachment, and smooth that inside corner of the “L”, rounding it off a bit. This allows the strings to slide easily, and prevents them from fraying on the sharp edge. Clean off your excess pencil marks, and try it out!

Now there is another element to suwarrico, which may or may not be worth the effort to you. A stickler will say that in a “true” suwarrico sit, the legs are able to fold closely together, not be merely splayed out to either side. In dolls that have a suwarrico body from the start, this is achieved by sculpting shallow hollows into the backs of the calves, or indenting the backs of the thighs, to allow the calves to nest into them. It’s hard to get this tight a pose through DIY, unless you’re willing to do major modification. However, if your rotary tool includes a small, cylindrical, sanding attachment, you can gently sand a bit of the calf, right below the knee. It won’t be a dramatic improvement, but it does allow a little more of an authenic suwarrico pose.

I hope that helps explain the suwarrico modification!

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