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abs2891

Hi!  So after consulting several posts in here on modding (the nipples on the medium bust I have are going to be eliminated once I get some sand paper) I decided I should set up an account and ask some questions of my own as I venture into something that has been a long time coming. 
 

I first discovered BJD back in the early 2010s while in college.  At the time, I found them beautiful and terrifying.  The price! The maintenance! Oh my! I put the idea of ever owning one on a back shelf in my mind where it technically remains since I’ve currently gone the vinyl route instead.  After finishing college, I moved to NYC and started work in accounting, doing my job and occasionally toying with the idea of getting a BJD but never committing. 
 

Finally, in 2019 I moved to Japan for a two year secondment and somehow in one of those how’d I end up here moments on YouTube, I ended up watching reviews of the sailor moon dollfies.  While the list of intimidating factors was no smaller, something really drew me towards the design.  I liked the slightly more anime look and style and as I dug around more I found the Miku dollfie which I fell in love with.  I decided there would be no better time to try to buy her than when I was in Japan and so began my lurking on resale sights, trying to find one at a price that wasn’t too crazy.  As fate would have it, after a few weeks of this I walked into the Dollyteria in Akiba and there in the case was an out of the box Miku with two small stains (one on an ear which I think was the bigger flaw), a missing panel for one of her sleeves and a slightly mussed wig for nearly half what the new in box listings I’d seen went for.  I decided this would be my girl and armed with dream rescue, a lot of hair tools and craft supplies I went about dealing with the issues.  The ear stain came off entirely.  The hand one has lightened to be not noticeable and I’ve since grabbed some spare hands as well. I crafted two new keyboard panels for her sleeves that while not flawless, do the job.  The wig remains the one sore spot and I may bite the bullet and buy a replacement as I’ve gathered this was a general complaint among first gen miku anyways but for now, it looks better after several hours of fiddling. 
 

My second girl is an in progress MDD whose head I got via lottery at the doll party this past weekend.  It needs some sanding and such but I’m hoping when all is said and done I’ll have pics to share. 
 

And the third addition to my little doll family will be a DDB I craft this week at Doll Point in Akiba (yeah, definitely getting this all done at once, I know, but the planned vacations that I would have spent money on while I stayed in Japan all went away with corona so here we are and this will be the last one... for now)

 

And so concludes my doll story.  If you’ve made it this far, congrats lol  

 

For a little extra, I’ll be 30 this year O.O - can speak and read Japanese for the most part (passed JLPT N2 in December) and may also have re-developed a not so small BL manga habit since coming to Japan since now, no title is off limits due to needing translations haha. 

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Gweneveryn

Welcome! I hope you have lots of fun making your boy this weekend! I'd also love to see your doll family if you decide to share 💖

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abs2891

@Gweneveryn I did have a good time making him though right now he’s in stain removal surgery bc of course I managed to touch him after touching something I shouldn’t have (I don’t even know what 🤦🏼‍♀️) but before that I did take some pics at the volks store - They’re a fun trio though I’m still trying to figure out my mdds final look bc I’m not satisfied with her hair and eyes yet

 

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abs2891

@Gweneveryn definitely was not a good feeling.  Thankfully, things are looking much better and he still has his face up intact (the biggest stain was a massive yellow mark that ran down his jawline and covered his chin) but I’m going to probably be super paranoid about touching them for a while. 

Edited by abs2891

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Tierparkzone
On 4/25/2021 at 10:52 PM, abs2891 said:

I’m still trying to figure out my mdds final look bc I’m not satisfied with her hair and eyes yet

Remember: If you have your MMD with you, most stores will let you try on the stuff you're interested in.

In case you haven't seen this yet, here's a thread that lists basically all of the relevant stores:

 

When it comes to wigs, Dollce and Mandarake (their in house Himekazura brand) are probably your best options if you're looking for something colorful. For more natural colors, DolK and From-SEN may have the better selection. - Speaking of Mandarake: While the one in Akiba should have a few Himekazura wigs, the one in Nakano usually has the bigger selection in that regard.

Cant really give any recommendations on where to best shop for eyes, but the stores mentioned above should have some options available here, too.

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abs2891

@Tierparkzone ooh good to know on Nakano - I’ll put that on my list of places to visit.  I definitely should take her along because I’ve learned my ability to visualize how something will look in my head is... bad lol 

I did use that post to find Dollce the other day after checking out their website 😊  Was super happy to see they put light wig caps under their dark wigs so now my girl is rocking a deep navy blue wig which I’m pretty happy with (though still with a wig cap of course hehe) I’ll probably stay on the look out for a saturated blue or purple as an alternative but I’m glad she doesn’t look washed out any more ^^

With the eyes, I just kept rummaging through everything at the used shops, but in the end, the winning pair was volks O24 in red

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Xiongmao

Welcome to the forum. I visited Japan several times from 2007 - 2010. For anyone who hasn't visited - you definitely need to go at some point. I was the most overwhelmed I have ever been in my entire life when I disembarked at Tokyo station from the Narita Express and had to find my way to the Yamanote line in the peak of the evening rush hour. Seeing salarymen, sailor suited school girls, office ladies, maids, otaku, steaming bowls of ramen and of course numerous vending machines in real life was absolutely incredible.

I'd love to visit again (or even work there - amongst many things I'm also an ESL teacher and was working in China when Covid hit). When I visited Japan I was more into anime and figures at the time - I would give anything to go and visit Mandarake again, and browse all those cool stores in Akiba and Nakano. I also dream of experiencing Hanami again, but this time with my beautiful Dollfie to photograph in Tokyo's parks 😊.

I do have quite a bit of Akihabara haul around the house and we use the stuff for props sometimes. I wish I'd had a larger suitcase and bought more figures and books because my 2008 haul is priceless (well to me anyway).

As for Miku, she's the reason I bought a Dollfie, although I ended up not actually buying Miku. However I did buy Miku hair for my Dollfie just before Christmas (photos in the Dollfie photos section). It wasn't cheap but it's easy to put on and looks great, even if it's totally wild and unmanageable if like me you've not figured out doll hair care. Still I have sussed out her skeleton now.


Xiongmao-Signature-Vinyl-Dolls-December-2023.jpg.092aa55b9a3c11160633f60ad1610e7c.jpg 

My Dollfie doll family 😊.

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