Assembling guide for a Volks Dollfie Dream Sister (DDS) body

As you see this is going to be totally different kind of post.
It seems I have been experimenting with lots of new stuff this year and this is one of them.
Both in terms of assembling and in writing a tutorial about it.
I believe I spoke about Volks Dollfie Dreams somewhere in my previous posts, maybe I even mentioned my plans to get one. That has been done, more or less. I decided to have a start by getting the body.

I got my hands on Volks Dollfie Dream Sister body parts. Normally if you wish to buy this directly from Volks I believe you have to purchase every part separately (and naturally hope everything will be in stock..).

Initial observations what I find to be very nice aspects in this body:
- Its size, its not quite as tall as DDII and DDIII bodies
- DDS body can still wear Volks DD outfits
- Enhanced posing abilities - arms have an extra joint and the body holds poses very well.

What you need:
The body itself consists of total 8 parts (excluding the head).
Here is the list of parts I have used - numbers differ according to skin color and options.
❀ M size bust - DDS-B-01
❀ Arms - DDS-A-01
❀ internal frame - DDS-BF-o1
❀ HDD-01 hands (basic hands)
❀ waist / lower torso - DDS-W-01
❀ thighs - DDS-HL-01
❀ shins - DDS-LL-01
❀ feet - DDS-FO-01

All parts out of box and ready for action

Getting started
Here we have all the body parts (8 in total).
They were all in separate boxes so took a little while to get them ready for action.

Each package contained assembling instructions in Japanese. I could make sense of them to some degree, but not too many pictures this time (remember seeing Unoa assembling guides with lots of pictures..).

Lovely instructions in Japanese.

I cannot say where you should start your assembling process. Some prefer to start building from bottom up. It seems I went in for kind of mixed plan. I started completing hands. Attaching hand parts to arms to get them out of the way.

Hands to arms
Please see the picture for reference in order to attach it the right way. Although I believe that hands don't quite fit on their place if you try to attach them the other way. So the flat side up. Then just slide each hand on their place using gentle amount of force.

Attaching the hands to arms - flat side up (arm parts).

When you have arms fully completed we move on...

I decided to 'attack' to complete the upper part of the body first. To my opinion attaching the thighs to shins is the most difficult / demanding part in the whole assembling process and this time I preferred to leave that among the last ones.

So, get ready for the next part by gathering the needed parts. First this funny looking internal frame as Dollfie Dream bodies are not hold together by strings like normal BJDs but they have sort of 'skeleton' within the body.

Slide internal frame to the peg. They fit nicely together.

Internal frame to lower torso

DDS Internal frame

Internal frame fits nicely to the peg sticking out from the waist / lower torso part. All you have to do is to slide the internal frame on its place. Which way, please see the picture.

Bust to lower torso

Attach internal frame / waist to bust part
Looks as pictured when its on its place
(observe from armpits)

The basic hands look like this.
You can also buy variety of different hand parts from Volks.
They are easy enough to change.

After you have attached internal frame to lower torso / waist part you need to apply the bust part in order to complete the whole upper body. Again, this is rather easily done. Just slide the bust part on the lower part so that the peg sticking from the top of the internal frame goes though the neck hole. Then just fit it right so that you are able to attach arms. Observe from the armpits - the holes should be in the middle.

After you have made it to this point all you need to do is to put the arms in their right places. Right and left, slide them in to holes you see in the middle of each armpit. Again you may need to apply a bit of gentle force as they are quite tight fit. This enables them to hold poses really well.

The upper part of the body completed
Missing legs..

Attaching thighs to shins
I found this to be the hardest part in the whole assembling process. From first glance you may observe that the parts don't even seem to fit together - the thigh holes look way too small to fit the 'huge' pegs sticking out from shins. Don't worry. However, I found it easier to work with after giving the vinyl a bit of 'heat treatment'. So I would suggest to use a hair dryer to make the vinyl more pliable. As I did not have access to hair dryer while doing this tutorial I resolved to boil some water and use the steam arising from it. Keep each thigh part above steam for a short while, not too long as you do not want to melt it.

Attach thighs to shins

When you feel the vinyl gives away a bit then proceed and use your fingers to get the peg from inside each thigh part and slide it outside through each hole. After this attach shins to the pegs - be careful which is right and which is left as it is rather hard to get them off should you not succeed in selecting the right parts. It can still be done so it is nothing final but makes it a lot easier to get it right the first time.

Get the peg from inside the thigh part and slide it outside through the hole.

When you have attached shins to the pegs sticking out from each thigh then you need to push this completed attached peg inside thigh. This requires you to use a bit of gentle force to get it all in but it is possible and something you need to do. If you wish you may use the heat treatment again to make the process easier.

It requires a bit more force to push the peg all the way inside.

Completed legs

Feet, legs & completing the rest 

Feet to shin

Feet are rather easy after you have survived thighs and shins. Just slide the right foot to right shin. As far as it goes. Then you should have completed the legs. All that is left is attaching the legs to hip sockets. This is quite easy as well. You just fit the pegs sticking from hip sockets to each hole inside each thigh and push gentle to slide them as far as they go. When done you are able to test how the legs move.

Additional info: I understand that some owners prefer to attach aluminum reinforcement pieces in between the thigh - hip joint as this is one of the places where cracks may occur at later stage. I didn't have them for this tutorial but I might consider getting them later. I recommend you to take a look.

Once you have successfully attached thighs into each hip socket I can congratulate you for completing your assembling process. Now you should have the completed body (except for the head) ahead of you.

In order to complete your Dollfie Dream all you need is to attach a head into the body. This is done by sliding the peg sticking from the neck through the hole in the head. Volks sells variety of heads separately but you also have an option to hunt down a limited head. Limited models occasionally pop up at DoA marketplace.

All finished and completed

Sneak peak

I wish you luck with completing your own Dollfie Dream and I hope this tutorial helps you with your assembling process. Should there be any questions I am happy to try to answer them.

My DDS body. I believe I mentioned I plan to get a DD Saber. She originally had DDIII body which I do not like as much so getting the head separately is my decision. Off to DoA marketplace to check.

Next update will be about clothing. As I now have DDS body I have several plans to try out outfits in DD size. Those will be available later I hope.

Thank your for reading!
~Tsuki

Pullip custom progress and doll planning

Somehow it seems the time is flying.
I have been trying to work on Tsukifly stuff but it seems to be rather slow  at the moment.
Regular life requires my attention at the moment.

Nevertheless, the pullip custom has progressed somewhat.
I have completed her eyes and the dress is half way through (slow progress since I am working on it completely by hand..). About the style. She will have a long dress in brown color, layers, lace and ribbons. Just to give you a little hint. She will be offered for sale as a fullset but to have a special twist she is likely to have short pink wig and kinda special eyes - the other being "blind" which is why she is to wear an eye patch over it (matches with the dress of course). Headdress is likely to accompany the dress although I was also considering whether I should make a Tsukifly flowerband for her. Would be more special than the headdress but we will see.

No that I am talking for once.. I might consider turning this blog towards more general dolly blog, thus also including my doll planning etc. But this might defeat its purpose so I am still considering whether to do this in a large scale. Now however, I must say something in relation to Volks Dollfie Dream Dolls. I started my BJD hobby with Volks DD Sirius. She was an amazing one, but in the end I felt she did not get the attention she deserved. Therefore I resolved to sell her. I didn't think I would regret but I must say I do, tiny little bit. There are qualities in Volks DDs that aren't there in "regular" BJDs made of resin. DDs, as they are made of vinyl are light and easy to carry although being the same size as SDs. Two other qualities are their ability to pose amazingly and moreover, hold those poses as well as their anime style faces. Of course, I am aware that the face is important and if you are more for realistic look then DDs are perhaps not your cup of tea. However, I found I also like them, along with my regular BJDs. As said I didn't think I would miss the one I sold, but I kinda do.

What is done cannot be undone, but I have a new promising target. I think she might prove to be much better suited for me than the one I had. This is Volks DD Saber. I just love her smiling face. Makes me smile as well. I have forbidden myself to try to bond with sad looking dolls, they don't seem to work for me. Saber would certainly be something else. Maybe I am able to get a DD Saber at some point (she seems hard and expensive one to obtain.. =-=)and then I could offer DD fitted clothing as well. The DD body is very slim from the middle compared to SDs. Otherwise they can wear same clothing. So yes, she will be on my wishlist. I am also doing some serious considerations with my current BJDs. Soom Beauty, Luts Delf Juri '05 and possibly one more Soom girl will most likely be up for adoption.

Volks Dollfie Dream Saber (FATE/Extra ver.)
There are also other versions of her but I would prefer extra with these lovely green eyes ~

As the days are full of sunlight and nice weather I wish I could shut myself in a forgotten garden along with my dolls and sewing thing. Only then I would be able to achieve an ideal position to start working for Dolliverse with full speed. The theme is garden and I have a small plan for a set-up as well.

I hope to have some new creations to share with you after I get these other things off my hands.

Thank you for reading! 

~ Tsuki

Tsukifly has a store~!

I must say I did not plan to set up a store so quickly.
However, I concluded it would be easier to keep track of what I have in stock and what I would like to make next. Some variety in products will be achieved through this, I hope.

The Store can be found from: http://tsukifly.storenvy.com/
I will try to keep it as updated as possible. Most of the stock I have available ready  to be shipped are now there. The blog as well as the story are still to be made more user friendly. I will be doing the work when I have time. Please enjoy~

New products include underwears!~
I heard they might be wanted so I wanted to try and make some.
This is a set offered at the shop, includes both top and panties pictured. Size is SD, but I plan to try some in MSD as well. Later also MNF size if I am able to get my hands on a model.

Navy blue SD underwear set

 I am very pleased how Supergem bra turned out. The color is not exactly what my girl would wear but then again they were made out of curiosity. Personally I love how the details came out.

Fitted pink bra for Supergems

I also had some cute leftover stuff to make some necklaces. I still have plans for several others but they have to wait a little until I have more time to think about them.

Also a cute Lollipop/ribbon necklace. Have to have some accessories as well.

Overall a lot of work for one day. I think I have earned my break. Please keep checking back.

~ Tsuki