DDP Iori Minase and Yayoi Takatsuki(and Volks news 70)

Pretty much what Cauldroness said. I was having this discussion with Shailara just earlier today as a matter of fact. It's just that the stage outfits aren't the greatest there are for people that aren't fans of iM@S or even just don't plan to keep them as their default characters (as is my case).

 

As for me, I started out wanting just the body, -I was completely enamored after the initial information for it was out!- but I think Iori might very well fit the part of that last character in my little wishlist after all so I'll definitely be preordering her~

Yeah, it sounds like the Idolmaster DDP outfits will only fit DDP girls -- so you'd need a DDP to be interested in the outfit -- the only way (right now) to get a DDP is to pre-order an Idolmaster girl -- which means you're already getting an Idolmaster DDP outfit, so why would you join a split for an outfit you're already getting?

 

Don't forget, the outfits SHOULD also work for Obitsu 48/50cm girls, too. Yes, it's a bit niche, but less so than DDP right now.

 

Actually, if I had an Azone Madoka, I might be tempted by these outfits. But instead I have Princess Grumpybutt Homura, and putting her in any of them would be hilariously wrong.

I was hoping that the outfit could fit MSD or 1/4 dolls but I made a comparison with my Little gem (regular MSD) and the only thing she could use is the top, the pants/skirt need to be modified.

 

DDP

 

S-bust: 17.5cm

Waist: 13.5cm

Hips: 21cm

Leg length: 25.5cm

 

My little gem girl:

 

S-bust: 17.5cm

Waist: 15

Hips: 18.5

Leg length: 20cm

 

It's better when the size is bigger than smaller but the material here is tricky. I just sold a DDS Makoto outfit and the material looked difficult to work with if you want to modify it. Still, I will try to make Yayoi's outfit work for my Little Gem. I don't know what I will do with Iori's outfit though....

 

It never hurts to try and offer the splits! someone with 50cm azone girls could be interested in them or someone who is willing to do some work on them.

 

Actually, if I had an Azone Madoka, I might be tempted by these outfits. But instead I have Princess Grumpybutt Homura, and putting her in any of them would be hilariously wrong.

 

Ok Homura is badass, and she would look hilarious in the Twinkle Star outfit too. I now have this image of Homura in twinkle star with a beet red face, and that classic anime embarrassed expression.

 

I do have an Azone Mami Tomoe and the pink wouldn't suit her, but twinkle star might. At least if her bust didn't burst it at the seems. I want the Azone Kyoko Sakura, and she would certainly be fun to dress in funny clothing.

 

For me even if I didn't want Yayoi's head I would want her outfits just so I had more DDP specific clothing options for Iori. Honestly though I might find I like Yayoi more in person. DD always look better to me in the flesh than in photo.

Does anyone know about the Nakayoshi Hands? I think I read online that they are DollPoint limited? Am I wrong?

Sooo.. when will the outfits from VOLKS 70 be released for purchase?

It looks like they will be released at the DD Gathering 2016 event in Japan on 10/8.

 

It looks like they have something called Window Festa Halloween 2016 going on 10/8 - 10/31, and it includes some of the new items. No idea what the details of this event are. There is no English page for it. It appears to be an SD event with some Dear SD items.

 

Volks USA hasn't found out if they will be getting the My First Star set yet either.

 

Edit: My bad, the English International site lists the new outfits as being on the webstore on 10/8.

 

http://www.volks.co.jp/dress/1610/?version=en

http://www.volks.co.jp/ddgathering/2016/ (And oh wow some of these are pre-order items with a quantity limit.)

Edited September 24, 2016 by Guest

Does anyone know about the Nakayoshi Hands? I think I read online that they are DollPoint limited? Am I wrong?

If I'm understanding correctly they're items for VIPS only. Are VIP-exclusive items common? This is the first I've heard of one.

...good thing I just became a VIP recently ;;

On one hand its cool to get something extra spiffy as an added bonus for membership (I signed up mainly just cos I wanted the volks news deliveries) but it sucks for everyone else. I'm tempted to help people get them if possible but it's likely there's a limit on how many you can get.

Are VIP-exclusive items common? This is the first I've heard of one.

Yes, they are common, although they may not always be something that you want for your collection. Half or so of the issues of Volks News during a year will come with a VIP member exclusive order form in the bag along with your issue. There'll be a couple doll-related items and a couple modeling items that you can only order with that form (upon which your VS/VIP membership number must be placed).

 

Sometimes it's SD glass eyes, other times wigs, and other times exclusive pre-painted heads. Can be anything Volks wants to offer their supporters, really. Having access to exclusive items is one of the advertised perks of VS/VIP membership.

 

There's also member-only items that are sold at Super Dollfie Cruise, and other VIP-only physical events. Those are irregular special events.

So last time I was in the Volks store I noticed that the space Rin and Len used to be has been cleared and Rin/Len have been moved to a glass case at the back of the store. In the space they were before, there's pictures of Iori and Yayoi. I expect they'll have display dolls there eventually but I'm not sure when.

 

DD Gathering is on October 8th at all stores nationwide and I intend to go. They might be on display then to celebrate the preorder opening, or it might take a while longer for there to be enough prototypes to send out to all the stores. Hopefully they have them out while the preorder is still ongoing because even though I'm not that interested in them I do intend to take pics to post here - Rin and Len made me more aware then ever how much better amateur photos can be compared to Volks' official ones in showing how a doll really looks. Especially cos the Fu kuoka store doesnt put the new dolls behind glass like a lot of the other stores do.

 

(I cant confirm if they will have the displays out on DD Gathering, but hopefully once they are there it'll be announced on the DD blog so I can go take a look. I'm actually really interested to see how they look myself even though I dont plan on getting them. Not sure if preorder dolls will get displayed so far from their release but then again I remember seeing display Miku back in 2013...granted that was in Akihabara.)

Crossing my fingers Torino!! Thank you for going in the trouble for everyone else! ^ ^ I'd actually love to see some third party pictures of them, even though I'm pretty adamant on getting Iori all the same.

 

Photos like these really go a long way sometimes, it's often really hard to decide on bringing a doll home just from the company pictures...

Yeah, that's why I'm really hoping they'll have them while the preorders ongoing cos it'll be really useful in helping people decide. Just gotta hope they dont sway me lol.

 

I dont know if its the lenses Volks uses or what but I still cant get over how the official photos of Kagamine Rin barely resemble the Rin I have. Her eyes just look so small somehow, and her face isnt half as cute. (It's still cute, it just looks so bland in comparison) I dont know anything about photography and how lenses can distort things other than a weird gif I saw showing how much a different persons face changed with different types of lens and focus but it must be something like that. It's just weird to me because usually when theres 'inaccurate official photos', it would be that the actual item looks WORSE in person than the official photos but with DDs its the complete opposite

It's just weird to me because usually when theres 'inaccurate official photos', it would be that the actual item looks WORSE in person than the official photos but with DDs its the complete opposite

 

Because DD are just that awesome.

 

It was photos that were posted here that sold me on Takane. The product photos didn't do her justice.

I do hope they have them up for display too. maybe with anastasia as well

 

I am sold on all of them but seeing better pictures of them would be wonderful! I really wonder how volks manages to make their products look worse in photos literally every time. When I take pictures of my dolls I become very conscious about their good and bad angles, lighting, all that good stuff. How someone can not only ignore all that regularly enough to never do the subject of their photo any justice but to ALWAYS show them as worse than they really are somehow is just beyond baffling to me!

Perhaps they do it on purpose, so that when the doll gets out, everyone loves them. Set the bar really low and you can only get higher.

I think the problem with the photos is that Volks wants to make the photos as unbiased as possible, which makes them ugly. It's like when they say the "camera adds ten pounds" and makes someone look fatter, it's because without flattering lighting, a 2-dimensional photo print can't capture what you see in real life with two eyes. But if you add nice lighting for a product photo, you can easily be flagged for misleading advertising.

 

For example: Rin. At first I found her really hard to take photos of with a flash, the first photos I took of her with flash looked terrible (and TBH I still haven't done it much because effort). She has so many curves on her face that the beauty's just lost when you light everything up evenly,

 

Pretty Rin by bodolza, on Flickr

 

That's an eight second exposure, with a lamp providing the lighting. But if you look at Volks' product photos, none of them have the lighting that brings out those details, they're as bland as possible. (If you're wondering what post processing I did to that photo, I just added a vignette to make the top & bottom of the photo darker).

 

So far the only flash photos of Rin I liked are these,

 

Rin Spam (3) by bodolza, on Flickr

 

Even though I used a flash it's pretty dim, so it's soft and with an angle that shows Rin's curvy sculpt. Volks would never make a product photo like this, people would just cry B.S. But that's what Rin looks like.

I think the problem with the photos is that Volks wants to make the photos as unbiased as possible, which makes them ugly. It's like when they say the "camera adds ten pounds" and makes someone look fatter, it's because without flattering lighting, a 2-dimensional photo print can't capture what you see in real life with two eyes. But if you add nice lighting for a product photo, you can easily be flagged for misleading advertising.

 

I do agree that the lighting in Volks' photos is mostly to blame, but there may be another facet: Volks was in the figure business loooong before they got into doing dolls, and figure photography is traditionally very brightly lit. In fact, having finally gotten a couple of scale figures *after* having dolls for so long, I'd even go as far to say that figures are easier to photograph with a lot of bright, even light than with a single dramatic one. It keeps them from getting harsh shadows from the sculpted hair, and brings out the subtleties of the better paint jobs.

 

Dolls, on the other hand, have larger surfaces, the hair is softer and doesn't create those sharp shadows sculpted hair does, and their faceups don't rely on contouring so much (especially not DDs). They get flattened out in overly-even light, and can look downright amazing in dramatic light.

 

I honestly sometimes suspect that Volks has one photo team that gets used for ALL their products, and with short deadlines, they just stick the doll in the same light boxes they use for figures, and call it a day. Every once in a while they get to play around with backdrops, but that might not even be the photo team in charge of that--those sets may well be the same people who do the photo spaces at the stores.

 

TL;DR: Volks looks to be using figure-photography lighting on their dolls. It doesn't work.

I saw someone post on FB that Volks USA updated the site for these two and Anastasia. Honestly, the deposit seems a bit high to me. Maybe $100-150 but I wasn't expecting $250. I may go through the international site after all now but I'm not for certain. http://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?subcats=Y&status=A&pshort=Y&pfull=Y&pname=Y&pkeywords=Y&search_performed=Y&q=Idolm%40ster&dispatch=products.search

I saw someone post on FB that Volks USA updated the site for these two and Anastasia. Honestly, the deposit seems a bit high to me. Maybe $100-150 but I wasn't expecting $250. I may go through the international site after all now but I'm not for certain. http://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?subcats=Y&status=A&pshort=Y&pfull=Y&pname=Y&pkeywords=Y&search_performed=Y&q=Idolm%40ster&dispatch=products.search

My guess is they want to discourage people from cancelling their order after the preorder period has passed. With that bigger deposit I'm sure it'll make people think twice about whether to preorder with Volks USA if they don't want to lose their deposit should they need to cancel. I figured there would be a deposit, but that's too much for me. Looks like I'm ordering from International after all~ Thanks for the update Talolili!

@Poofiemus That makes perfect sense! I never considered that it was about the extreme lighting. I'm still surprised at how small it makes Rin's eyes look in comparison to the real thing (let alone how weirdly deadpan Miku and Len look)

My guess is they want to discourage people from cancelling their order after the preorder period has passed. With that bigger deposit I'm sure it'll make people think twice about whether to preorder with Volks USA if they don't want to lose their deposit should they need to cancel. I figured there would be a deposit, but that's too much for me. Looks like I'm ordering from International after all~ Thanks for the update Talolili!

 

I'd like to point out that with a larger down, you'll owe less when shipping time comes. That also makes it easier for people to fulfill their payments.

 

That said, having done the preorder for Miku having paid in full instead, I am SUPER glad I went that route. Quite a lot can happen to you and your finances in a year. I wound up getting laid off about halfway through the wait period, but since I'd paid in full I didn't have to worry at all--she was coming regardless. Trust me, the wait is a LOT easier when you've done your your end of the deal. If you can afford to pay her off up front, I highly, HIGHLY recommend doing it. So much less stressful.

 

@Poofiemus That makes perfect sense! I never considered that it was about the extreme lighting. I'm still surprised at how small it makes Rin's eyes look in comparison to the real thing (let alone how weirdly deadpan Miku and Len look)

 

Heh, glad I'm not completely nuts in my lighting hypothesis. And yeah, the bright lights are SUPER unflattering on a LOT of DDs. You should look at the old promo shots for Nanoha! She looks so. . .fat, and derpy in those promos. If it weren't for owner photos, it would never have even occurred to me to purchase what is now one of my absolute favorite DDs!

I saw someone post on FB that Volks USA updated the site for these two and Anastasia. Honestly, the deposit seems a bit high to me. Maybe $100-150 but I wasn't expecting $250. I may go through the international site after all now but I'm not for certain. http://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?subcats=Y&status=A&pshort=Y&pfull=Y&pname=Y&pkeywords=Y&search_performed=Y&q=Idolm%40ster&dispatch=products.search

 

Yeah $250 is a bit hard on the wallet, but at the same time I really want to encourage them to offer more of the DD events here in the US. Still it does spread the pain out a bit. I can pay $500 for Iori and Yayoi now and only have to have find $720 (plus fees) next winter instead of $1220.

I'd like to point out that with a larger down, you'll owe less when shipping time comes. That also makes it easier for people to fulfill their payments.

 

That said, having done the preorder for Miku having paid in full instead, I am SUPER glad I went that route. Quite a lot can happen to you and your finances in a year. I wound up getting laid off about halfway through the wait period, but since I'd paid in full I didn't have to worry at all--she was coming regardless. Trust me, the wait is a LOT easier when you've done your your end of the deal. If you can afford to pay her off up front, I highly, HIGHLY recommend doing it. So much less stressful.

Oh yeah I totally understand that side of it It's true that much can happen in a year or more that we don't expect. And putting a large down payment or paying in full is great if you can do it so you don't have to worry about the unexpected. It's just not an option for me personally at this time. I need that year to save up It also helps that my friend is taking her eyes, wig, and default set so I just have to save for the doll

 

Also I bet you're right about the whole lightning set-up that Volks probably uses for DD photos. Owner photos will always help me to decide on sculpts I've missed

Yeah $250 is a bit hard on the wallet, but at the same time I really want to encourage them to offer more of the DD events here in the US. Still it does spread the pain out a bit. I can pay $500 for Iori and Yayoi now and only have to have find $720 (plus fees) next winter instead of $1220.

 

Yep, I feel similarly and yes it does make the final purchase a lot easier when they're ready for shipping, not having to fork over so much, but I'm in a similar situation as Innocentsake. I don't know if I'll have that much during the pre order period. Considering I have other purchases, birthdays, holidays etc. Will have to wait and see.

The product page has been updated on Volks USA.

http://www.volksusa.com/event/201610ddimas/

 

If anyone wants to take Iori's outfit set pm me. Charles the bunny has been claimed.