Beginner MDD Questions

Hello! I recently came across a listing for a secondhand MDD, and I'm surprisingly interested in her, but I've never considered owning an MDD before so I feel a bit uninformed/unprepared. Some of my questions are a bit more subjective, but I'd really appreciate any input I can get!

The doll has a MDD f3 body. As someone completely new to Dollfies, are there any red flags with the MDD f3 body? I only own one other MJD and I haven't bonded with her due to her internal skeleton being broken right out of the box so I've been nervous to handle her. Is the f3 body particularly fragile? And if it is, is able to be repaired/replaced with MDD 2.0 f3 parts?
In the same vein, would you recommend the f3 body to someone looking to give Dollfies a try? I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy owning an MDD in the long run (I generally prefer 1/6 and 1/12 dolls), so I'm hesitant to drop a bunch of money on a doll I may never bond with, but I also don't want to cheap out and subsequently give myself a bad experience. This particular listing seems like a good way to give Dollfies a try without breaking the bank though (and it's very convenient that I wouldn't have to separately acquire everything), which is why I'm considering it despite the glowing reviews I've seen of the 2.0 body.

On Volks' website, for items that say they're compatible with MDD, which body type are they referring to? All of them? I saw that there are specifically MDD hands, will those work on f3 bodies, or are they only compatible with the 2.0 body? What about clothing items that say they fit MDD? 

Lastly, and this is very subjective, what's generally the recommended (or most common) eye size for MDDs? I think I'm leaning towards 20mm based on my quick googling, but I'm not sure if my "research" has been all that good.

If there's any other tips or comments you'd like to add, I'm all ears! Thank you!  

As an owner of both a MDD f3 and a DD 2.0, I'd say that the f3 frame is perfectly fine for a first timer. In fact, IIRC, the frame didn't update between f3 and 2.0, only the shells, which leads to better mobility/poseabilty, but also can make them a bit... floppier? 

I guess it depends on what you value more: do you want them to be able to do more poses? (2.0) Or do you want them to be a bit easier to handle? (f3)

My Ludovica is a MDD f3, and while she isn't the most flexible doll imaginable, she still has a decent range of poses available to her, and even after three years of owning her, her joints are still tight and sturdy! My DD 2.0, Kuru, is more flexible, but in order to make her so, she's got slightly looser/bigger frame pieces, so they don't always sit exactly where you want them to first try... she's still a very good, high quality doll, obviously, but maybe not as easy to handle for a first timer. This is all just *my* opinion of course, though, so take it into account with your own preferences too!

Also: 22mm is the size I see most recommended for MDD-sized heads, and what Ludo (MDD ddh-29) and Tomoe (DDP ddh-12) wear. Hope this helps!

^Ludovica

^Kuru

Edited June 25 by Giallo_Gatta
Realized I didn't clarify which of my dolls was which.

As @Giallo_Gatta said, the main difference is that the 2.0 body can move in ways the f3 couldn’t—namely being able to bend backwards. It also looks slightly more mature now, probably since Chimikko is the new little kid body on the block.

To answer your other questions:

9 hours ago, Pierrot said:

As someone completely new to Dollfies, are there any red flags with the MDD f3 body?

Not especially. Afaik it was the original MDD body (before f3) that was the problem child.

9 hours ago, Pierrot said:

Is the f3 body particularly fragile? And if it is, is able to be repaired/replaced with MDD 2.0 f3 parts?

Ime Dollfie parts don’t tend to break nearly as often as Obitsu parts do, but since the frame is the same between the f3 and 2.0, it should be possible to use 2.0 parts to repair/replace broken f3 parts.

9 hours ago, Pierrot said:

In the same vein, would you recommend the f3 body to someone looking to give Dollfies a try?

I’d recommend an MDD, regardless of whether it’s f3 or 2.0. It’s the most popular size, so everyone makes clothes for it. It’s not too big, and still looks cute next to 1/6 and even 1/12 size dolls.

10 hours ago, Pierrot said:

On Volks' website, for items that say they're compatible with MDD, which body type are they referring to? All of them?

The standard MDD Base Body (regardless of generation) and the MDD Integrated Asexual Body. Not the MDD Mochi-Ashi. They usually make a distinction between Mochi-Ashi and the others when listing size compatibility.

10 hours ago, Pierrot said:

I saw that there are specifically MDD hands, will those work on f3 bodies, or are they only compatible with the 2.0 body? What about clothing items that say they fit MDD?

These are all compatible between f3 and 2.0 (and even the old body too).

10 hours ago, Pierrot said:

Lastly, and this is very subjective, what's generally the recommended (or most common) eye size for MDDs? I think I'm leaning towards 20mm based on my quick googling, but I'm not sure if my "research" has been all that good.

Depends on the size of the eyeholes and how much sclera you want visible, but 22mm is the commonly recommended size. 20mm should work fine if the eyeholes are average size, but 24mm is a tight fit in a “typical” MDD head (for reference, I’m specifically thinking of the DDH-10, but this is probably true for all of the smaller heads that are typically paired with the MDD body). In a smaller head, you won’t be able to move 24mm eyes at all, even with a Dream Fitter installed.

Thank you both!!  Your answers are super helpful!! The secondhand MDD I was looking at sold the day after I posted this thread (lol), but I ended up buying a custom semi-white DDH-27 head earlier this week (that even comes with a set of matching custom eyes 🎉 but the listing doesn't say what size they are) and I plan on figuring out which MDD body I want to go with it at a later time. I'm leaning towards the f3 body, but Volks USA just restocked the MDD 2.0 bodies, and that's very tempting lol. I still have a couple reservations about owning a MDD, especially so suddenly, but I think a MDD will be a great second-chance starting point with how easily accessible MDD compatible items are  

Reviving this thread because I have new questions!  

Do I need to be cautious of dark wigs? Both of my girls have wig caps, and all the wigs I currently own are light/medium colors, but I worry their wigs will still stain their faces and hands. I really want to try some darker hair colors on them, but I didn't want to buy any without knowing what I was getting into.

Can dream rescue be used on faces/heads? I'd assume it could damage the faceup if it came into contact with it, but if one of my girls did get a forehead stain, is carefully placed dream rescue an option?

My one girl is MDD Yuzu and her cheeks are big enough that her head falls forward pretty easily; is there a way to prevent this? I have a long, heavy wig on her so she's a bit more balanced currently, but I don't know if I'll keep her this way. I tried using two of the included O rings underneath her head, but I'm not sure if this is their correct usage since it didn't really help. Did I need to use more of them and/or use them inside the head exclusively or in addition to underneath?

Is it a faux pas to use the same name for a doll that someone else is already using? I'm workshopping names currently and I just noticed there's a doll owned by another user here with the same name I was liking, and I don't want to step on any toes! The other doll and my MDD don't have really have any overlap otherwise as far as I know, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

8 hours ago, Pierrot said:

Do I need to be cautious of dark wigs?

If the cap/inner lining of the wig is dark, it will probably stain. Volks likes to do this with their dark-coloured wigs. The fibers themselves shouldn’t stain unless they were dyed, which they usually aren’t.

8 hours ago, Pierrot said:

Can dream rescue be used on faces/heads?

Yes, but as you said, it can damage the faceup if you’re not careful.

8 hours ago, Pierrot said:

My one girl is MDD Yuzu and her cheeks are big enough that her head falls forward pretty easily; is there a way to prevent this?

Not sure, but plastic washers help secure the head, and they usually go inside the head instead of outside it. The O rings function like washers, but you might have better luck with thicker and/or wider third-party ones.

You can also try wrapping protective tape around the neck piece to thicken it, which should help stop the head from slipping.

8 hours ago, Pierrot said:

Is it a faux pas to use the same name for a doll that someone else is already using?

Not sure if this is a problem in the wider community—it very well could be considering how neurotic some people are—but this forum is pretty chill about stuff like this, and at the end of the day it’s your doll, so you get to call her whatever you want.