HELP!! MDD Mochi Ashi 2.0 Loose Hips

Well my MDD Mochi Ashi 2.0 body arrived today and unfortunately, she came with quite loose hips. I disassembled her according to Volks' online instructions and tightened both the screw in the pelvis and the screws on the thighs themselves, but after many attempts to re-assemble the body, the hips feel even looser and floppier than before! I've made sure that the half circle on the thigh plug aligns with the socket in the pelvis, but no matter how hard I push I can't get it tight! Is there some type of trick for this? I'm very desperate for help currently 😢

Update: I tried removing the outer thigh shells to make sure that I was attaching the hip joints correctly (I did and they were totally tight) but then as soon as I added the shells over them, they became super floppy again! Does anyone know the cause of this? The screws are all tight and the plugs are inserted correctly, so how could it be looser than when it arrived?

Edited August 5 by Roserolls

The F3 mochi's are especially annoying since the hip joints in the thighs have more room to back away from the lower torso piece when you try to put them together -- So even if the vinyl pieces are together, the joints are not.

Currently I have one malfunctioning body on the table where the hip joints just want to naturally back into the vinyl for some weird reason.

My suggestion might be to stuff the empty space in the thigh between the joint and vinyl so it doesent have room to back away, if just squishing the vinyl to keep the joint as near the opening as possible during assembly doesent work.

This happens so often that Volks made a post about it and how to set it straight.  😉  It also shows everything else on how to care for and handle the F3 bodies. 

SUPPORT　How to handle DD-f3 | THE IDOLM@STER × THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS × Dollfie Dream(R) | VOLKS INC.

 

Billy

3 minutes ago, baldylox said:

This happens so often that Volks made a post about it and how to set it straight.  😉  It also shows everything else on how to care for and handle the F3 bodies. 

SUPPORT　How to handle DD-f3 | THE IDOLM@STER × THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS × Dollfie Dream(R) | VOLKS INC.

 

Billy

That's the guide I followed, and I've made sure that half moon pegs line up with the pelvis socket correctly, but no matter what the legs still come out extremely wobbly like a super loosely strung bjd, I can even see part of the inner frame through the gaps it leaves in the thigh. I think I'll have to stuff the thighs to keep the thigh joint from moving out of place when I push it in, since I'm not sure what else to do otherwise.

20 hours ago, Roserolls said:

Update: I tried removing the outer thigh shells to make sure that I was attaching the hip joints correctly (I did and they were totally tight) but then as soon as I added the shells over them, they became super floppy again! Does anyone know the cause of this? The screws are all tight and the plugs are inserted correctly, so how could it be looser than when it arrived?

Are there any cracks? Cracks will make the frame loose.

Otherwise, I’m not sure what the problem might be, especially since you said she’s on the 2.0 body; my understanding is that the hip issue was fixed on the new bodies. I got a DDP a few months ago and she also has loose hips (was this way when I got her), so maybe they package them this way nowadays.

2 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Are there any cracks? Cracks will make the frame loose.

Otherwise, I’m not sure what the problem might be, especially since you said she’s on the 2.0 body; my understanding is that the hip issue was fixed on the new bodies. I got a DDP a few months ago and she also has loose hips (was this way when I got her), so maybe they package them this way nowadays.

Nope, no cracks. I've got no clue really what the problem is, especially after attaching the thigh pegs alone to the pelvis without issue. It was only after I put the thigh shells back on that they became super floppy. I think maybe putting the thigh shells back on moved the pegs out of place? But the pegs were attached very tightly and securely and if just gently sliding the shells over the pegs was enough to dislodge them from the pelvis, that's another issue entirely since I won't be able to do any posing with a doll that fragile.

I know Volks' customer support can take a few days to respond, but I'm quite anxious about not hearing back from them yet since contacting them yesterday. They usually respond pretty quickly. :(

1 hour ago, Roserolls said:

do any posing

Its a thing that needs to get used to, sitting poses (or anything where you lift the legs as far as they go) especially are an achilles heel for the hips since the vinyl pieces sort of pull the joints out. It sort of becomes a routine to squish the hips together when going back to a standing pose.

But again, id check that the hip joints are fully seated with the vinyl shells on, since I have a similar thing going on where the hips just wont go in fully because they are able to back into the thigh. And to set them right Id need to take a multi layered outfit off that im not too happy about.

Personally im more dissapointed in my latest MDD 2.0 Mochi and DDP that the elbows are floppy out of the box. but, known F3 body things.

 

1 hour ago, Roserolls said:

I've got no clue really what the problem is, especially after attaching the thigh pegs alone to the pelvis without issue. It was only after I put the thigh shells back on that they became super floppy. I think maybe putting the thigh shells back on moved the pegs out of place? But the pegs were attached very tightly and securely and if just gently sliding the shells over the pegs was enough to dislodge them from the pelvis, that's another issue entirely since I won't be able to do any posing with a doll that fragile.

If everything was properly tight when testing without the thigh shells, then most likely your frame (and any screw adjustments are fine) and there's really just an alignment issue. Try this if you have not already:

Remove the legs from the torso (but leave the thigh vinyl on there), remove the vinyl shell from the torso (that should be easy to remove / put back later) and reattach the legs. This should give you enough access to make sure everything is lined up correctly.

If everything is nice and not floppy now, it really was the seating. Putting back the torso shouldn't move much, so this time everything might come together properly. Speaking from experience with the issue on a DDdy (mochi-ashi might be similar), pushing in the thigh joint of the leg properly is tricky through the thigh vinyl shell, because there's no direct contact between the two parts. You'll really have to squish down on the vinyl until you feel the frame through it.

If it's floppy even without the vinyl torso, this should help you see where it flops. If there's a crack, or maybe a screw you had tightened came lose again.

5 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

If everything was properly tight when testing without the thigh shells, then most likely your frame (and any screw adjustments are fine) and there's really just an alignment issue. Try this if you have not already:

Remove the legs from the torso (but leave the thigh vinyl on there), remove the vinyl shell from the torso (that should be easy to remove / put back later) and reattach the legs. This should give you enough access to make sure everything is lined up correctly.

If everything is nice and not floppy now, it really was the seating. Putting back the torso shouldn't move much, so this time everything might come together properly. Speaking from experience with the issue on a DDdy (mochi-ashi might be similar), pushing in the thigh joint of the leg properly is tricky through the thigh vinyl shell, because there's no direct contact between the two parts. You'll really have to squish down on the vinyl until you feel the frame through it.

If it's floppy even without the vinyl torso, this should help you see where it flops. If there's a crack, or maybe a screw you had tightened came lose again.

I tried what you suggested and unfortunately the legs were still floppy, so I think the frame might just be defective or something, I checked all over for cracks but couldn't find any, and the screws are still tight, so I'm not sure what else the problem could be. Thank you so much for the advice, I'm relieved to see that I wasn't crazy thinking I put it back in correctly! But now I guess all I can do is wait to see what customer service says.

28 minutes ago, Roserolls said:

I tried what you suggested and unfortunately the legs were still floppy, so I think the frame might just be defective or something, I checked all over for cracks but couldn't find any, and the screws are still tight, so I'm not sure what else the problem could be.

Sad to hear that! I assume then, If you remove a floppy leg from the body, the connector bit of the hip joint that plugs into the torso also moves relatively easily? If that's the case even though the screws are tight, that indeed indicates an issue with the joint itself. Hopefully Volks Customer Support can help you out there.

How loose are they, just slightly loose or completely wobbly? I have a Mochi 2.0 and took the legs off and putting them back on was a nightmare compared to the older DD-F3 mochi, which I found much easier to put back on. I did it incorrectly a few times and they were loose but it mostly just felt off/she couldn't stand up but she could partially hold leg poses (so not completely floppy).  It could very likely just be that reattaching the thigh vinyl is pushing them out of alignment. But if they're insanely floppy it could be another issue.

7 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

Sad to hear that! I assume then, If you remove a floppy leg from the body, the connector bit of the hip joint that plugs into the torso also moves relatively easily? If that's the case even though the screws are tight, that indeed indicates an issue with the joint itself. Hopefully Volks Customer Support can help you out there.

Yes it does! I thought it was supposed to be that way, but maybe my connector is slightly too thin for the socket or something? I suppose I could try adding tape or something to it to add more friction but I'll wait to hear from Volks before altering anything.

4 hours ago, cheerycherry said:

How loose are they, just slightly loose or completely wobbly? I have a Mochi 2.0 and took the legs off and putting them back on was a nightmare compared to the older DD-F3 mochi, which I found much easier to put back on. I did it incorrectly a few times and they were loose but it mostly just felt off/she couldn't stand up but she could partially hold leg poses (so not completely floppy).  It could very likely just be that reattaching the thigh vinyl is pushing them out of alignment. But if they're insanely floppy it could be another issue.

They're extremely floppy. If I hold it by the torso and gently shake left to right, the legs swing wildly to the sides (and same shaking front to back). They can't hold any poses at all besides at the knee and the ankle. I've only seen something like this before on a strung bjd that was left sitting for a year so the elastic was all stretched out at the hips and the legs were falling out of their sockets. 😢

14 hours ago, finnleo said:

Personally im more dissapointed in my latest MDD 2.0 Mochi and DDP that the elbows are floppy out of the box. but, known F3 body things.

One thing I did learn on a 6000 mile road trip earlier this year, dolls that had tight joints when I was home, loosened up just from changes in location, and tightened back up as I travelled back. 

The dolls I get from Volks USA are properly tensioned, and the ones from Japan always seem to need tightening. I'm guessing that the bodies are properly tensioned in Japan, and they are loose when they get here, and then Volks USA tensions the bodies before sale. 

Maybe someone like @Tierparkzone or @ragnamuffin can comment on how well tensioned the bodies are at point-of-sale in Japan. That doesn't solve your problem; I'm just curious if it's the consequences of mailing them to differing elevations and climates. 

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

That doesn't solve your problem

No, it doesent since there is nothing to tighten in the elbows on the DDP and 2.0 mdd.

For me the DD2's and DD3's were all solid performers out of the box for several months of posing but the F3 bodies have all been more or less ragdolls after just a little posing so tightening them up is par for the course for me. mind you the dollbot bodies have needed attention as well, but I do unsupported standing poses so my standards are what they are. But the criticism for a non easily adjustable elbow are still valid no matter how you cut it.

6 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Maybe someone like @Tierparkzone or @ragnamuffin can comment on how well tensioned the bodies are at point-of-sale in Japan. That doesn't solve your problem; I'm just curious if it's the consequences of mailing them to differing elevations and climates.

I’ve never had problems with any of my DDIIIs or f3s right out of the box in the past, but the dolls I got this year (Sakura Miku (DD 2.0) and Dream Choice DDP) both have floppy legs, which is why I wondered if that’s just how they’re sold nowadays.

Edited August 7 by ragnamuffin

5 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Maybe someone like @Tierparkzone or @ragnamuffin can comment on how well tensioned the bodies are at point-of-sale in Japan. That doesn't solve your problem; I'm just curious if it's the consequences of mailing them to differing elevations and climates. 

Honestly, they tend to be all over the place. Sometimes I get bodies that are super floppy, sometimes they re perfectly set up, sometimes they have one noodly arm or something. Overall, though,  I think they're more likely to be a bit floppy. I always thought it might depend on whichever worker had put together the body, but there's a lot of variation in climate over the year in Japan, so that might come into play too.

 

4 hours ago, finnleo said:

But the criticism for a non easily adjustable elbow are still valid no matter how you cut it.

It's something that the DDP needs fixed in a frame update. And a bummer that the MDD 2.0 didn't get it. My Iori had very weak arms from the start. I eventually used the super glue method to tighten the elbows a bit. She still won't carry super heavy stuff (then again it's Iori) but she can lift basic stuff now at least...

18 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

She still won't carry super heavy stuff (then again it's Iori)

For Iori, using her dad’s clout to kick a weasel's ass is heavy lifting. All she needs to carry in her arms is a stuffed rabbit toy. 

23 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

I’ve never had problems with any of my DDIIIs or f3s right out of the box in the past, but the dolls I got this year (Sakura Miku (DD 2.0) and Dream Choice DDP) both have floppy legs, which is why I wondered if that’s just how they’re sold nowadays.

I'll pop in and say that my Sakura was fine right out of the box. Joints didn't give me any problems at all. For my first 2.0, anyway. We'll see how Fern is, if I get her.

 

My only gripe was her wig, though. That thing was a major PITA. I only needed it on her for the intro pic, and I'm so glad I had bought a different one for her. 

Even Miku NT's wig wasn't that bad!! 

 

Rick

3 hours ago, battrastard said:

I'll pop in and say that my Sakura was fine right out of the box.

Volks USA or Volks Japan?

20 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Volks USA or Volks Japan?

I entered thru the USA Pre-order..