In the vinyl department: Obitsu vs. Volks?

[Evelien]

What the title says... how's Volks DD posability compared to the bigger Obitsu bodies..? Are they worth getting should they be afforable? Lol.

[victoriavictrix]

The one drawback I know of to DD is that their internals have the same sort of breakage issues as Obitsus--but Volks refuses to sell parts. Their response to "my doll's skeleton broke" has consistently been "buy a new doll."

[Kd_Bunchanumbers]

Lols I had a friend who lived locally who had the DD and they were much more looser to handle than my big Obitsus and they were permanently stuck on stands... I mean they LOOK pretty and are very nicely sculpted but they weren't to my tastes.

[Greyhaunt]

I don't have a DD, but from all I've heard they are not as poseable in the sense that you have to use stands with them - you can't free pose them like you can an obitsu.

[cirquemom]

Sorry, I just have such a knee-jerk reaction to Most Things Volks. Just...not my cuppa tea.

I love my Obitsus and find them extremely durable, posable, sturdy, etc. I've had Prima for almost five years now- only problem I had with her was the one time that abdomen part broke, as it did on all dolls at the time (it was like a club). But the fix cost me under ten bucks and it has never broken again, and have not had that problem with any of my other Obitsus.
I actually prefer the way the 50 cm Obitsu looks over the Volks. And the Yamato series.....*drool*

Not real happy with how the knees on my 40 cm look, but hey- that's why they invented thigh high socks,right?

[Evelien]

Hmm, the not being able to stand alone is a downer... I do love that about my Obitsu girl. How about when you put big shoes on a DD..?

Not having the opportunity to replace little parts isn't a pro either...

[Kd_Bunchanumbers]

Hmm, the not being able to stand alone is a downer... I do love that about my Obitsu girl. How about when you put big shoes on a DD..?

Not having the opportunity to replace little parts isn't a pro either...

The thing is, the joints in the knees and hips eventually get so loose it's difficult to get them to stand *at all*. My friend has had his DD for about two years and they pretty much are useless without stands, lol.

[K2!]

I have three DD2s and one MDD. Overall, the DD2s are beautifully sculpted and will match the Obitsus in the range of motion category, meaning their joints will bend just as far. The big difference is the DD2 joints are much looser than those of the Obitsu, somewhat reminiscent of a tightly strung resin. You can get a DD2 to stand up without a doll stand provided the pose is very simple, the dolls weight balanced evenly, etc. I wrote Volks about this issue and the possibility of tightening the joints and their response was, "Use a doll stand". With my MDD (Pinky) I became so frustrated with the doll's inability to stand on it's own or even hold it's arms out without drooping, I gutted the body and replaced the skeleton with Obitsu parts. I could go on for hours about this.

As mentioned by VV, internal skeletal parts are unavailable although many (not all) external vinyls are available so don't worry too much about staining. Like Obitus, the DD2 skeletons have several Achilles heels. One of the biggest is that the neck piece has a thin section and is prone to breakage. So much so that it is the only internal part sold by Volks. There are numerous third party metal and plastic replacement neck parts on the market.

It is my belief that Volks will never really address these issues because they believe the DD2 line to be an "entry level" doll (with the exception of the licensed anime characters). After a person has purchased a few DD2s, they may be ready to move up to the real BJD doll experience, a $1500 Volks resin. The last few years has seen an explosion of limited DD licensed anime characters creating a "collect 'em all" market. Some of the more popular of these, such as Saber from Fate Stay Night, sell for over 200,000yen on the secondary markets.

Overall the Dollfie Dream 2, Dollfie Dream Dynamite, Dollfie Dream Sister (new), and Mini Dollfie Dream are beautiful, well made dolls and well worth their asking price of $218 to $253 at the Volks USA store (head not included). The increasingly popular licensed anime characters (full sets) are a quite a bit more expensive ($500+). Just don't expect them to be standing on the shelf next to your Obitsus with out some help.

[Misheru]

I love them both and my DDs will stand unaided in heels and boots. Not as stable as my newer Obitsus, but will do it.

The body sculpt on Volks is prettier to me. Will post pics later...am on my phone.

[landwhale]

I personally would get a Yamato over a DD. I like the DD sculpt better than the normal Obitsu sculpt but I go for posability over looks. Since it would take a lot of time and cost quite a bit to completely reshell an obitsu skeleton with a DD skin (I don't even know if it is possible.) I would just suck it up and pay for a Yamato.