To the Vinyl Gurus: Is this possible? o_O

[Quillis]

So... for a while now, I've been planning out a doll based on a character of mine, Rieza. She's a cute, feisty "diesel-punk" Asian girl who has super-human strength but doesn't really look it--round-faced, wide hips, relatively small breasts, and fat thighs. A short, curvaceous girl.

I have the face all picked out--a DOllmore Eve Mio: http://dollmore.net/shop/step1.php?number=7742. The body is what stumps me. D: The BJD resin world is chock full of delicate, slender bodies on one side, and statuesque goddesses on the other. But nothing small and curvy with a big butt--except for a few rare and rather unobtainable models...

So now I turn to the mysterious vinyl realm. Perusing places like here and Junky Spot have shown me just how versatile and flat-out amazing these dolls are, but being a complete vinyl newbie I'm a little overwhelmed by questions of engineering, parts, and how to find more information in general. In short, my big query is: how would I go about taking a standard Obitsu body and modifying it to be the perfect body for my Rieza? Can I graft a DDy's curvy bottom half onto an Obitsu skeleton? DO I even need to??? Because I'd rather not invest in Dollfie Dreams at this point in my dollieh career--I need to keep a tight focus or I'll become even more scatterbrained than I already am. XD;

Any gentle nudges in the right direction would be much appreciated. Particularly any informative articles aimed at newbies, and interesting tutorials regarding vinyl modification. <3

[K2!]

So... for a while now, I've been planning out a doll based on a character of mine, Rieza. She's a cute, feisty "diesel-punk" Asian girl who has super-human strength but doesn't really look it--round-faced, wide hips, relatively small breasts, and fat thighs. A short, curvaceous girl.

I have the face all picked out--a DOllmore Eve Mio: http://dollmore.net/shop/step1.php?number=7742. The body is what stumps me. D: The BJD resin world is chock full of delicate, slender bodies on one side, and statuesque goddesses on the other. But nothing small and curvy with a big butt--except for a few rare and rather unobtainable models...

So now I turn to the mysterious vinyl realm. Perusing places like here and Junky Spot have shown me just how versatile and flat-out amazing these dolls are, but being a complete vinyl newbie I'm a little overwhelmed by questions of engineering, parts, and how to find more information in general. In short, my big query is: how would I go about taking a standard Obitsu body and modifying it to be the perfect body for my Rieza? Can I graft a DDy's curvy bottom half onto an Obitsu skeleton? DO I even need to??? Because I'd rather not invest in Dollfie Dreams at this point in my dollieh career--I need to keep a tight focus or I'll become even more scatterbrained than I already am. XD;

Any gentle nudges in the right direction would be much appreciated. Particularly any informative articles aimed at newbies, and interesting tutorials regarding vinyl modification. <3

There are a number of different ways you could go with this girl. There is a bewildering array of parts and possible combinations that can be assembled.

The Fast Way...
would be to buy a existing completed body that closely fits your description. From your initial description (wide hips, relatively small breasts, and fat thighs. A short, curvaceous girl), I would suggest looking at the Yamato VMF50 Type F.
http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/zoomer ... a&gid=1857
The Type F has fuller hips and thighs than the stock Obitsu 50cm, small but round breasts, and is a 50cm size body so she would fit your "short" requirement, relative to other "SD" scale dolls. The Dollfie Dream bodies (both DD2 and DDDy) are large and tall compared to the Obitsu 50cm and 60cm and other 60cm resins. The VMF50s are manufactured by Obitsu for Yamato and share 100% of their interior (and some exterior) components with the stock Obitsu 50cm.

The Long Way...
would be to build a customized body by picking and choosing from available, compatible parts.
I would suggest exploring the Parabox web site in the Obitsu body area.
http://parabox.jp/eng/o_body.html
Start with thinking about the overall height of the finished doll and whether or not this finished height is "short" compared to other "SD" scale dolls or not.
With the bodies on the Parabox site, the 40cm and 50cm bodies can share a lot of parts. Likewise the 47cm, 55cm, and 60cm bodies can share many parts. There are very few parts that can be shared between these two groups.
Once you have a base body picked out, you can look at the parts available (and compatible) and start "frankensteining" your doll together.


To address your specific question, "Can I graft a DDy's curvy bottom half onto an Obitsu skeleton?" the answer is yes. Aesthetically I would use the standard DD2 abdomen over the DDDy abdomen as the transition from hip to thigh is smoother.

For a frankensteining suggestion based on your description (wide hips, relatively small breasts, and fat thighs. A short, curvaceous girl), start with the 47cm body (PB47-WHG), replace the abdomen with the DD2 abdomen (Volks DDII-W-01), replace shins with 55cm shin (55RP-M01WS-25) and knee joint (55RP-M01WP-30), replace small bust with medium bust (60RP-F03NS-21 or Volks DDII-B-01M)



Note: the abdomen shown is a white skin not a normal skin.

[Quillis]

O_O

IT'S PERFECT.

*mind blown*

Thank you so much K2! Suddenly everything seems a lot more do-able thanks to your helpful suggestions. I had been considering "frankensteining" a doll using the 55cm or 47cm Obitsu as a base, but wasn't sure about compatibility between parts (besides which there are so many...). Would your suggested approach require any modification of the vinyl or the internal skeleton?
(Also, the 55cm shin is surprisingly shapely for being a part of a male body. XD)

The VMF50s are ridiculously beautiful. D: It looks a little daunting to obtain one, though... are they limited editions? Looking at them, they're a little too long-legged and... willowy? for Rieza, but now I kind of want one for its own sake... ^^; This hobby is dangerous!

[K2!]

I had been considering "frankensteining" a doll using the 55cm or 47cm Obitsu as a base, but wasn't sure about compatibility between parts (besides which there are so many...).

There is a bit of a learning curve. It's not like it's easy or cheap to run to the store and buy a bunch of parts and start bashing them together like Legos.

Would your suggested approach require any modification of the vinyl or the internal skeleton?

I try to avoid trimming vinyl parts if possible. Since the vinyl is what shows and you usually have one shot at a cut you have to cut it in the exact place, in the perfect way so it's not jagged or crooked. Too much pressure!

In the example picture, there is a little bit of trimming to be done. The top of the DD2 abdomen has to be trimmed a little at the top (where it fits inside the bust) so it fit better (than shown). And the 55cm knee joint has the "bone" parts (femur in the thigh and fibia/tibia in the shin) permanently attached so the "femur" has to be trimmed a bit shorter (with a hack saw) to accommodate the shorter 47cm thigh vinyl.

I didn't do any of these modifications in the example, which is why the body is laying down, not standing up.

Also, the 55cm shin is surprisingly shapely for being a part of a male body. XD

Yeah. Go figure. There are a number of Obitsu girls out there with those shapely boy shins.

The VMF50s are ridiculously beautiful.

Yes they are.



From left to right: Type B, Type B, Type D, Type A, Type E (in tan) and Type F

D: It looks a little daunting to obtain one, though... are they limited editions?

They aren't true "limited editions" in the traditional sense, like they only make 50 then break the mold. Yamato seems to sell them two ways. Either they buy a batch from Obitsu and sells them till they are gone, or they take orders for a set time period then has them manufactured. So they come and go. Currently the Type A is the only one they are selling at their store, but you can find many of the others on Yahoo Japan Auctions. The resale prices used to be quite high but as the number of dolls available has grown, prices have calmed down considerably. Yamato doesn't currently sell internationally so you have to buy through a proxy. The biggest problem right now is the exchange rate, which is in the neighborhood of 77yen to the dollar. When I bough my first VMF four (?) years ago the exchange rate was in the upper 90's so a 28000yen body was just over $300, but now... (ouch!).

So they are available, just a bit hard to pay for.

This hobby is dangerous!

Yes, it is a long slippery slope, paved with vinyl bodies, wigs, eyes, clothes, furniture, props...

[Greyhaunt]

And may I add that once you get a VMF you just want more and more of them? I have three myself...and each time it gets harder to resist!

[Quillis]

K2 - Thank you for all your help! And also for the VMF50 line-up. *drool* They're so beautiful! Especially the pink lady in the middle--those hips! It's also really nice to see toned, athletic bodies in the doll world. <3

Greyhaunt - Lol, I see what you mean. Hopefully the smallness of my income will help curb my vinyl consumption... maybe. >>;;

Anyway, I really love the DIY aspect of this project, but seeing the Type A body... I kinda just want to get that for Rieza. XD; Eeeep.