"Hidden" Points of Articulation

There are a couple useful articulation points hidden on your Dollfie Dream 2 girls.

 

The elbow: Pulling down on the elbow joint, you'll gain both more range for the main joint, as well as the hidden hinge joint in the upper arm. Take a look at Aoi's left elbow in the pic below:

037 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

The ankle: There's another rotation point in the foot, below the ankle ball. This lets you rotate the hinge joint, so the foot can be angled to the side, rather than front-to-back.

001 by galvatim, on Flickr

Mari is also using the hidden elbow point here too!

 

011 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

I've heard of a hidden knee joint too, I just don't have any examples myself...

Very cool! I knew girls have secrets but I didn't think DD girls did too!

 

Thanks for the pictures, now I can figure out how to get some different poses from my girls for the next photoshoot.

 

 

Billy

You have to be careful when rotating the hidden foot joint. If the hard plastic part that goes into the shin is up against the vinyl, it can scrape up the vinyl foot . It might be best to pop the foot off, at least until you have a feel for the joint. I suppose it's not the most useful point of articulation, but it could help with some poses.

Ah, ok.... thanks for the warning. The foot joint is interesting but I don't know how often I'd be using that one. The arm joints are what really stand out to me. I have often wanted my girls to be able to touch their faces better and without using these joints, they just can't do that so well. But now I know they'll be able to do quite a few poses I've wanted to do.

 

If I get time this weekend, I'll try and get a photoshoot going with a mini fashion show. I've got a few outfits I haven't tried on the girls yet and would like to see how they look.

 

Billy

Well, I just had Mitsuki send me instructions on how to make these joints work and I still cannot get Manami's to budge one bit. I don't have a hairdryer ( for obvious reasons ) so I can't warm up the plastic/vinyl. I seriously took 5 minutes of pulling with everything I had to get them to move and got nothing. Yoko's wont move either. So I guess I get no extra movement for now....

 

 

Billy

Hmm... I just extended Yui's arm, for the first time. I found that I had to wiggle one side of the internal frame out first, rather than just pulling the whole arm out.

 

Can't think of any good alternatives to a hair dryer/heat gun. I wouldn't use the 'hot water' trick used for swapping action figure parts on a dollfie, overall it's best to avoid immersing them in water.

Here is some more information:

 

http://www.figure.fm/post/en/4963/Double+Jointed+Elbow+Guide.html

 

and a quote from Chibichibiusa:

 

"To 'pop' her elbow joint, just wiggle side to side while pulling down slowly, don't be afraid you really cannot break her. All the limbs are meant to pop out (hands, feets, head, arms, etc...). If it seems too stiff, use a hair drier for a few seconds to loosen up the vinyl. "

 

The DD arm can be loosened at the elbow joint to allow greater range of motion. Component 7 is the outer vinyl upper arm covering. It traps the elbow joint in place by fitting into notches (blue arrow) in component 8 (the internal skeleton part containing the elbow joint). To release the elbow joint from component 7, pull the upper and lower arm parts away from each other while wiggling. Component 6 (the internal skeleton part containing the shoulder joint) slides into component 8, so if you pull too hard the only thing that will happen is that you will release the lower arm from the rest of the body. Since the parts are meant to come apart, you can just fit them back together.

 

I hope it helps.

Hmm, I think you guys are right in saying the reason I am having so much trouble is because I was NOT wiggling the joints at all. I was just trying to pull it straight out. Seeing that exploded picture showing the small "barbs" makes me think that's what I was pulling against.

 

I'll be out for the evening but tomorrow I'll try this again and see how it goes. Thanks for the added input!

 

 

Billy

That picture is going to be extremely useful when I replace Yumiko's arm vinyl pieces. Just got 'em today. OMG OMG OMG...

Good luck in surgery, MsGeek! I am sure Yumiko will be very happy when she recovers.

Good luck in surgery, MsGeek! I am sure Yumiko will be very happy when she recovers.

 

Surgery???? SURGERY??????? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMFG...(shudders) I haz a nervous.

Cool info! If I ever buy a Dollfie Dream II Body this would definitely come in handy .

Does this stuff apply to the DDdy body too?

Yes, the DDdy body has the same hidden joints in the elbow, knees, and ankle.

Yes, the DDdy body has the same hidden joints in the elbow, knees, and ankle.

 

Thank you! Time to go start pulling at her joints!!

Use a blow dryer to warm them if you have trouble loosening them.

Ok, thank you! I haven't actually tried this yet... so I'm not sure if her joints will be a bit sticky or not!

i like this kind of dollfie theorycraft ^_^