Saber Alter White Body/Yellowing

First of all, why are these dolls so addictive?! They’re like Pringles—you can’t have just one! 😑

Next, how is the yellowing on these dolls? I’m looking at NIB ones on the usual sites and a lot of them say they’ve got yellowing on their faces/bodies despite being unused(?). Is there a way to reverse the yellowing? Is the white skin more prone to it?

Lastly, it seems white skin was discontinued(?). What do if her parts crack/break? How close is it to semi-white? Someone posted some pictures comparing the skin colours but tbh I couldn’t tell the difference. Not sure if that was the lighting, my eyes or they’re similar enough that the difference is negligible?

Honestly, if you want a Saber I’d look for Altria or Saber Extra. You should be able to find the Saber Alter outfit and sword after market. 

The lack of spare parts will be a problem and semi-white isn’t the same skin color as white. 

5 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Honestly, if you want a Saber I’d look for Altria or Saber Extra.

Unfortunately Alter is the only Saber I’m interested in 🙁

*I should clarify that I mean Alter 2nd Ver. since she’s newer and I really like the blush on her cheeks.

Edited December 2, 2021 by ragnamuffin

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

Unfortunately Alter is the only Saber I’m interested in 🙁

*I should clarify that I mean Alter 2nd Ver. since she’s newer and I really like the blush on her cheeks.

The only other person I am pretty certain has an Alter and can better answer your questions about yellowing on Alter is @baldylox. A few other have her, but I don’t recall who exactly. 

When Volks USA does their Christmas event sometimes they have Santa Alter, which as far as I know is V2 Alter in a blue Santa suit. 

24 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

When Volks USA does their Christmas event sometimes they have Santa Alter, which as far as I know is V2 Alter in a blue Santa suit.

Does Volks Japan do a Christmas event? (Or if not, a similar New Years event?) When do they announce their offerings?

I’m in Japan so not sure ordering from Volks USA would be cost effective, and 2nd Ver. NIB is easy enough to find on the aftermarket here for a decent price (although I’m not opposed to Santa Alter—her outfit is cute!).

I know Santa Alter was released much later than 2nd Ver. Was her body updated or changed in any way? How is she different (other than the outfit)?

6 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Does Volks Japan do a Christmas event? (Or if not, a similar New Years event?) When do they announce their offerings?

For Volks Japan the December Dolpa is their Christmas event. Usually there are a few Christmas themed outfit released at that time. 
 

6 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Was her body updated or changed in any way? How is she different (other than the outfit)?

AFAIK only the outfit is different. 
 

6 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

I’m in Japan so not sure ordering from Volks USA would be cost effectiv

Volks USA only serves North America. In Japan I’d try Mandarake. 

I have Alter 2nd, never had any problems with the body, and no yellowing that I've noticed.  My Lucy 1st, also white skin, had a shoulder joint that froze up, and sheered off when I tried to move it.  It's made me wary of getting anymore white skin DDs, although Cool Cat does sell replacement parts.  

2 hours ago, Galvatim said:

I have Alter 2nd, never had any problems with the body, and no yellowing that I've noticed.  My Lucy 1st, also white skin, had a shoulder joint that froze up, and sheered off when I tried to move it.  It's made me wary of getting anymore white skin DDs, although Cool Cat does sell replacement parts.  

I just checked out your girl’s profile and she’s super cute. Seems like the blush on her cheeks is even more noticeable than in other pics I’ve seen. My wallet is screaming because I can already tell that I’m going to pick her up either in a New Years sale or sometime in the coming months.

Cool Cats seems to sell reinforcement parts? Has anyone ever tried them? Do they prevent cracking effectively?

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

I just checked out your girl’s profile and she’s super cute. Seems like the blush on her cheeks is even more noticeable than in other pics I’ve seen. My wallet is screaming because I can already tell that I’m going to pick her up either in a New Years sale or sometime in the coming months.

Cool Cats seems to sell reinforcement parts? Has anyone ever tried them? Do they prevent cracking effectively?

Thanks!  There seem to be a fair amount of Alter 2nd om Manda, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one.  I also came across the outfit and sword, if you'd rather get the later release Santa Alter: https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1182854932&ref=list&dispCount=240&keyword=fate&lang=en

I have a bunch of the DDIII reinforcement parts from Cool Cat, but what I needed to fix my doll is this:    http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=kss_16

There are replacement parts for the notorious cracking torso frame shoulder joints, too.  Only in one skintone, but it's not like it's a part you see, anyway.  The Cool Cat parts are handy to have, and the reinforcement parts are well worth getting.  

I still have my Alter dressed up in the Santa set, from last Xmas...  Maybe I'll get some good Xmas shots this year.  

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?gcode=FIGURE-040770-R

Amiami currently has two Alter V2 for sale, one at 62,980 JPY, and one for 47,980 JPY (look for "More Buying Options" under the Add To Cart tab)

I bought both Santa Alter and V2 from them back in August/September, in "Condition A-" meaning the boxes were opened, but they weren't dressed or even untied from

their carrier tray. (even their pain in the ass wigs were still in the nets!) All their clothes and accessories were still sealed in their bags. 

Both were slightly priced under retail, btw. 

Risa, (DDS Marisa) in the middle, was purchased along with Santa Alter (on the right, my Allie.) And then, two weeks later, I picked up Meg, Alter V2, on the left. 

 

I have 3 Alter 2’s, along with several DD2 & DD3 white skin dolls. No matter how careful you are, the white skin will yellow somewhat. It's believed the yellowing is the reason Volks discontinued white skin. As long as you don't over expose it to Sun/ UV light or fluorescent light the yellowing won't be that bad. The overexposure is not good for any of the skin tones, white skin is affected the most imo.

The NIB ones, and some used should be fine, you can tell most the time if they take good pictures. I have never heard of a method to reverse yellowing, with that said it's not like it will keep getting worse unless you are not taking care of the doll.

The replacement parts I see come up most often are the busts, hands & rotating hand pegs. The Saber Alter V2's are very easy to come by, since they were a pre-order & very popular. You can often find her full set parts being sold separately.

The Cool Cat parts are great. They can help prevent & fix the most common issues with the DD3 body. I have the shoulder & hip reinforcements installed on several dolls. I plan to put them on all my DD3 bodies. Volks made several design tweaks over the life of the DD3, so pay attention if you are ordering Cool Cat parts. They tell you what to look for on the site.

If you get in a pinch you can always buy a doll for the body, or keep an eye out for a spare body.  The semi white is noticeably different from the white irl.

Santa Saber should have the improved arm, shoulder, and hip parts per Volks re-design.

On 12/3/2021 at 12:22 AM, Dollvari said:

Santa Saber should have the improved arm, shoulder, and hip parts per Volks re-design.

Thanks for that info! I haven't had the need to take them apart yet, so, it's good to know the difference between them when I get the reinforcement parts. 

Thanks for all the replies and valuable information! This has been very informative and now that I know about the joint reinforcements I’m probably going to order some for my girls. Also, I have a happy/sad update.

Originally I planned to wait to see if Mandarake or Dollyteria had any good New Years sales/deals, but my grail doll DDS Kuonji Alice showed up on YJA this week and it made me realize she’s the one I really want more than any other, so I’m going to hold off on Saber after all.

The happy news is that while I didn’t win the auction, I was able to snag Alice elsewhere NIB, so she will be coming home to me in the next few days 🥰

No more dolly purchases allowed for the foreseeable future!

38 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

I was able to snag Alice elsewhere NIB

Congrats. I’ve always loved her outfit, but it looks likely to be a stain monster. I would definitely recommend getting her a bodysuit and a wig cap. The wig cap would be an even higher priority than the bodysuit imo. 

It’s been almost a year since I made this topic and I’m revisiting the idea of adding Alter to my family again, so I have some more questions.

I’ve been reading a lot about staining and stain treatments for white skin, but there are a lot of conflicting reports on what works and what doesn’t. Someone on the forums said Oxy10 turned the treated area green and someone else said acne cream turned the treated areas brown, but these seem to be isolated incidents? I couldn’t find anyone else with the same issue, and it may be that Volks improved their vinyl formula with later releases.

I guess what I would like to know is, does Dream Rescue work without discoloring the skin? Is there a tried and true “safe” method for treating white skin? I’m not too fussed about yellowing anymore, just stain treating.

On 12/6/2021 at 7:41 AM, battrastard said:

Thanks for that info! I haven't had the need to take them apart yet, so, it's good to know the difference between them when I get the reinforcement parts. 

Since you have both and it’s been some time since this post, does Santa Alter indeed have the improved shoulder/hip parts? I’m leaning more towards Santa Alter if that’s the case.

Edited October 16, 2022 by ragnamuffin

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

Since you have both and it’s been some time since this post, does Santa Alter indeed have the improved shoulder/hip parts? I’m leaning more towards Santa Alter if that’s the case.

Not who you asked, but I got Santa Alter for this reason... she does NOT have reinforced frame. It appears that white skin never received a reinforced frame. 

25 minutes ago, Emil said:

Not who you asked, but I got Santa Alter for this reason... she does NOT have reinforced frame. It appears that white skin never received a reinforced frame. 

That is super disappointing to hear. I guess my next question is, how easily does the frame crack?

2 hours ago, Emil said:

Not who you asked, but I got Santa Alter for this reason... she does NOT have reinforced frame. It appears that white skin never received a reinforced frame. 

I'll beg to differ. I took both Alter V2 and Santa Alter apart this morning. There IS a difference in the shoulder joints between them.

(Flickr is definitely NOT playing nice, the crappy phone pics I took haven't appeared yet)

Alter V2 has a decidedly thinner amount of plastic compared to the thicker joint on Santa Alter. 

Edit: Santa Alter on the Left, Alter V2 on the Right:

I will say, whichever one you decide on, I'll recommend the Coolcat reinforcement parts for both the shoulders and hips. 

I'm planning to do that for both of mine.

Edited October 16, 2022 by battrastard

52 minutes ago, battrastard said:

I'll beg to differ. I took both Alter V2 and Santa Alter apart this morning. There IS a difference in the shoulder joints between them.

My Santa Alter still has a much thinner frame than my one-piece torsos and other confirmed reinforced dolls. Is it possible they partially reinforced Rider? I do recall hearing rumours that the plastic used for the white skin frames was more fragile than that of sws and normal/flesh. My reinforced girls all have what looks like two rings of plastic at their shoulders, while salter only has one ring. 

Edit: I'll be back in town in a couple days, so I can take her and my Rin Tohsaka v2 apart for pictures. Rider definitely isn't reinforced the same as my other dolls though. Unfortunately I no longer have my Yukino v2's original frame, so I don't have that to compare for pictures anymore.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Emil

There were three versions of the DDIII chest frame. The first one has thin smooth rings, the second had slightly thicker but still smooth rings, and the third had thicker rings with the doubled up edges. 

I have Alter v2 but not the Santa version, but I'm not at home right now to check her frame version. The Saber preorders were where they found that there was an issue with frame breakage and as a result they delayed the second shipping wave while they sorted it. My girl was from the second Volks USA wave so fairly late in the process.

It sounds like you guys are describing Santa as having the second frame version but not the third. 

1 minute ago, Jezrah said:

It sounds like you guys are describing Santa as having the second frame version but not the third. 

I was not aware of this- it certainly seems like the case. Perhaps the white skin frame never received the third version, as it was essentially (softly?) discontinued before the third frame type? The one-piece torsos all came with the third type, however there were no white skin one-piece torsos to my knowledge. Maybe Volks just gave up on WS 😭

8 hours ago, battrastard said:

Alter V2 has a decidedly thinner amount of plastic compared to the thicker joint on Santa Alter. 

Edit: Santa Alter on the Left, Alter V2 on the Right:

Thanks for going to the trouble of taking them apart and posting a pic! I had no idea they were so different (thought the only difference was the thickness of the joint ring).

7 hours ago, Emil said:

I'll be back in town in a couple days, so I can take her and my Rin Tohsaka v2 apart for pictures.

If you could, that would be much appreciated!

7 hours ago, Jezrah said:

There were three versions of the DDIII chest frame. The first one has thin smooth rings, the second had slightly thicker but still smooth rings, and the third had thicker rings with the doubled up edges.

I had no idea there were three versions either. I’m guessing @battrastard’s pic is of version 1 and version 2, and @Emil is describing the difference between version 2 and version 3.

7 hours ago, Emil said:

Perhaps the white skin frame never received the third version, as it was essentially (softly?) discontinued before the third frame type? The one-piece torsos all came with the third type, however there were no white skin one-piece torsos to my knowledge. Maybe Volks just gave up on WS 😭

It does sound like it. My guess is that Volks made extra Saber Alter V2s with the version 2 inner frame (probably to replace for angry customers that got the version 1 frame since it was changed between shipping waves, although if it wasn’t publicized too much then most people probably weren’t aware), those extra Sabers weren’t used but needed to be offloaded because white skin was being discontinued, and were ultimately repackaged as Riders without changing the inner frame. I guess @battrastard’s V2 is from the first wave with the version 1 frame, which is why it’s different from Rider.

Not entirely related, but I find it hilarious that Santa Alter is Rider and not Saber 😂

22 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Not entirely related, but I find it hilarious that Santa Alter is Rider and not Saber 😂

It's part of her "rebranding" or something isn't it? 😅 IIRC Altria Alter was upset at her bad image and even went so far as to claim she was from... Finland? I've been out of Fate for a while so my memory is blurry there. 

Anyway, 

25 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

I had no idea there were three versions either. I’m guessing @battrastard’s pic is of version 1 and version 2, and @Emil is describing the difference between version 2 and version 3.

I believe this would be correct, I had only known of the thinner v1 and then the double-ringed v3. I'll be back home later tomorrow, so I'll get one of my reinforced girls and Rider taken apart a bit to post photo reference, unless someone else wants to step up for the job. 

1 hour ago, Emil said:

It's part of her "rebranding" or something isn't it? 😅 IIRC Altria Alter was upset at her bad image and even went so far as to claim she was from... Finland? I've been out of Fate for a while so my memory is blurry there.

Hah, I knew about the whole “rebranding” to be more “kid-friendly” but didn’t know she claimed to be from Finland, that’s wild 😂

Reading the wiki entries, she gives misplaced gifts to people that cause trauma, retains her violent tendencies by swinging the bag of gifts around like a weapon, and calls her Master a reindeer and forces them to pull her sleigh (which looks like a hippo?!). Sounds like my kinda gal!

2 hours ago, Emil said:

I'll be back home later tomorrow, so I'll get one of my reinforced girls and Rider taken apart a bit to post photo reference, unless someone else wants to step up for the job

9 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Reading the wiki entries, she gives misplaced gifts to people that cause trauma, retains her violent tendencies by swinging the bag of gifts around like a weapon, and calls her Master a reindeer and forces them to pull her sleigh (which looks like a hippo?!). Sounds like my kinda gal!

Precisely! Join the Santa Alter cult!!! 🤭 Or else I'll buy all of them!

How could anyone not love her?