Volks Mini Super Dollfie Discussion (MSD) Part 1

[Birju_Lachi]

I totally need to take new pictures! I got Aleric last year at LA Tea Party with the sunlight skin.

[AreeElf]

I finally got my Aree volks did an awesome job I'm still in

[broken]

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.

[VulpesPraedatum]

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.

[cirquemom]

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!

[sspearls]

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.

[cirquemom]

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.

[Midori]

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.

[astrosnik]

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.

[Carolyn.S]

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

[astrosnik]

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.

[Midori]

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

[Carolyn.S]

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.

[AreeElf]

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?

[shan]

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.

[cirquemom]

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!

[ginarolo]

Hi Cirquemom,

Sorry you are having trouble to get your doll to stand.

I had trouble with my Old Skin MSd boy Hewitt. I was not the original owner.
He seem to have slippery ankles too.

I took him to doll doctor at New York Dolpa. Doll Doctor checked out his stringing. It didn't seem to help. But then doll doctor did the hot glue thing in the joints. (Ankles and Hips.) That really helped. It wears out and can be reapplied.

I also have an old skin MSD boy Enn 2. I am the original owner. He stands and poses well.

Edit: Just saw you assembled yourself...and doll is pureskin. I have a couple of pureskin MSd girls. So tighten the strings. Make sure strings are not twisted around. If you have a chance take a picture for us. Just so we can check her out.

[cirquemom]

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!

[FunnyLori]

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.

[cirquemom]

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.