[NSFW?] Connecting Dollfie Dream F3 thigh joints

I recently bought my first Dollfie and I've quickly run into some trouble with it. While trying to change its clothes I figured I should pop the thigh out to slide the underwear over one leg and then put the leg back in to get it on, but after taking the leg out from the torso I've been completely unable to get it back on, and while trying I also accidentally pushed the other leg out. I've tried looking around but the only info I've seen about the thigh to torso joints is for older models that don't seem to work the same as the F3, and people don't seem to have any trouble just slotting them in. I'll attach some photos to help explain.

Torso joint:

https://i.imgur.com/KzOTsVi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bOtRSy8.jpg

So the joint is a hole with one half open and the other half covered. As an aside, this torso connector doesn't sit properly in the middle and I'm not sure why, or even how it's really meant to be sitting in the first place:

https://i.imgur.com/J9ljjoF.jpg

 

Thigh joints:

https://i.imgur.com/cJxLhB2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BOkVEon.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TLwH307.jpg

So same as the torso joint, one half is covered and one half isn't. Clearly you're meant to match the halves up to slide it in, but I've been completely unable to do that, as the joints seem to be at the wrong angle and try as I might I can't get them to rotate to match, nor do I know if they even can do that. One joint has the post stuck in it which doesn't really help slot it in at all, and if I take the post out and put it in the torso joint it just falls right out; it has to be in one of the thigh joints to stay in place.

 

The instruction book isn't much help, simply saying to match it up and push it in:

https://i.imgur.com/ONIuOcO.jpg

 

So that's it, I've made several attempts over several days to try and get the legs back in and I haven't gotten anywhere. Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong, and how to do it right?

Nothing looks broken, so I think your big problem is the “pelvis” is at an odd angle. You should be able to realign it so it is centered. 

You might want to just pull the upper torso off, which should cause the torso frame to separate into an upper and lower half. Then realign the lower half properly. You may just need to pull it completely out and straighten it properly. Just keep track of the front and back so you can reinsert it the right way. Put the legs back on, and then put the two torso halves back together. 

No need to remove the arms or head when you pull the torso apart, but you may need to grasp the pelvis with your fingers, when you pull the upper torso off. Without the legs on nothing is holding it in. Alternatively you just let it come out when you pull the upper torso off, then pull the lower part of the frame off and put it back in the body properly. 

The two frame parts should easily separate. It’s basically just a post slotted into a hole. If they aren’t sliding right apart you are probably grabbing the wrong bits, so don’t try and force it, and you don’t need any tools. 

As far as her panties go, I’ve never had a pair tear from pulling them on normally, but I tend to slide them up bit by bit until they are past the widest part of the thighs. It’s pretty easy from there on. I’ve fit DDS panties on a DD3, so they are pretty tough, just don’t overdo it  

As a doll owner your going to end up disassembling her from time to time. They’re pretty easy to put back together once you've done it once or twice. 

Edited June 18, 2019 by BeyondTime

It's not just you, the thighs ARE difficult to align and click together. It's the #1 thing I hated about assembling my MDD F3. I was in the same boat as you, tried for days to get them to click. The click of the thighs together is very noticeable though and you'll know when you've done it. It does take a considerable amount of pushing once you know you have them lined up correctly. To make sure I really was doing it right, I clicked the thighs together off the body to familiarize myself with how it lined up and the click of them going together. Then I had to push harder than I was comfortable with. Agreed though to take the upper torso off, it makes it easier to move the lower half around while you do this. I wish you the best of luck though, the thighs are a (technically literal) pain in the butt.

Reattaching the thighs are my least favorite thing about F3 lol. As others have mentioned, they have to be perfectly lined up to get them on. If you take a look at the waist socket near the crotch, you'll see that the hole has a semi-circle shape in the center. This needs to be aligned with the cut outs in the thigh sockets. A big issue is that the in the thigh joint will usually rotate in an unfavorable position so you will need to realign it.

The good thing is that once they're on, you will know when they're locked in place since there's a definite "click". I got the thigh joints back in place using the peg and waist joint and gradually rotated it. 

Once the thigh was properly locked in, I've never had issues later of the leg falling off. (ex. sometimes my DDIII Miku's thigh decides to detach when I'm posing her in photos)

Edited June 18, 2019 by Subaru

Unfortunately I'm travelling and can't demonstrate with my dolls, but the main trick is just to make sure that the pegs of both legs are oriented the same way when you try to put them together. Like that the moulding for the thigh part interlocks properly with the middle part, and that it connects with the socket on the opposite leg. All 3 have to be aligned, once they are they just connect easily.

So the "pelvis" part, that should be sitting in the middle of the groove at the bottom? I can get it in there, but it slides out easily. Regarding the thigh joints, can they rotate clockwise / counterclockwise? I mean in this sort of direction: https://i.imgur.com/z8gkxtz.png

I haven't tried moving them that way too much because I'm not sure if they actually can, but that'd make it easier. Anyway thanks for the advice, I'll report back after I've had time to try again.

4 hours ago, Haami said:

So the "pelvis" part, that should be sitting in the middle of the groove at the bottom? I can get it in there, but it slides out easily. Regarding the thigh joints, can they rotate clockwise / counterclockwise? I mean in this sort of direction: https://i.imgur.com/z8gkxtz.png

It is designed to sway from size to side, so you may need to use your thumb to keep it in position as you slide the leg post through.

Well, I took the torso apart and took the entire frame out of it to try connecting them like that, and I can't even do it this way. The thigh joints just seem to be set too far in to even reach. I've lined it up properly...

https://i.imgur.com/WxbSliH.jpg

But when I push it in it can't even match the two semi-circles together because the rest of the thigh blocks it before it can push that far in.

https://i.imgur.com/2Tw68vG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gFY1Ttq.jpg

I tried with both thighs and couldn't get either of them to go in at all, and both of them have this joint set far back within the thigh, whereas the instruction book I linked in the OP shows it sitting further out.

https://i.imgur.com/8xsdsXp.jpg

I can't get them to move further out at all, and so I can't get them to set in even like this, let alone when inside the body. Have I got defective parts or something?

Edited June 26, 2019 by Haami

To me it looks like the thigh ball joint is low within the vinyl part.  How does it look at the knee? Can the frame be shifted upwards by pushing the calf and the thigh closer together at the knee at all?

11 hours ago, Jezrah said:

To me it looks like the thigh ball joint is low within the vinyl part.  How does it look at the knee? Can the frame be shifted upwards by pushing the calf and the thigh closer together at the knee at all?

I'm thinking the same thing. It looks like it needs to be pulled farther up. I am guessing you pushed it down into the leg when you were trying to put the leg back on. Pretty sure the same thing happened to me the first time I put the legs back on a doll.

It still doesn't look like it's broken in any way, and you know it works because she was put together when she arrived. I think you just need to get all the parts adjusted so that they can line up properly. Once you have the thigh joint pulled into place you should be able to squeeze the vinyl to keep it there while you put it through the hip joint.

Remember that the vinyl is pretty flexible so it can flex if needed as you push the thigh into place.

Trying it with the hip outside of the torso is a good idea. Once you get a feel for how it lines up it may help.

Edited June 27, 2019 by BeyondTime

I don't have an f3, but on the DDIII body, I've had to pull the thigh joint as far up as possible within the vinyl skin before attaching the legs. Make sure the knee joints are straightend out as if they're bent you can't pull it up as far, or remove the shins entirely if you have to.

The lower legs definitely can't go any further into the upper legs, though I did note that adjusting the lower legs could move it around a bit. I tried taking the lower leg out entirely and that let the joint move up a lot higher, and like that I was able to push it into the frame's joint. Problem is that the joint is moving around within the thigh with nothing keeping it in the right place, so after putting the frame back into the body I can't get the joint to go in like that at all, because as soon as I try the thigh joint gets pushed back down into a position where it can't reach properly. I'm at my wit's end with this thing.

To be sure we're on the same page with the basics, it's ok to squish the vinyl; it's basically required to make this work. Looking at your pictures, you're pushing the thigh in by pressing on the outside edge of it, behind where the frame should be, but of course the frame is slipping back down into the thigh vinyl when you do this.

Instead, pull the frame up as far as you can, where the big spherical part of the joint is trying to come out of the hole. Then grab the vinyl front and back of this with your thumb and forefinger, and squeeze hard to hold the frame in place. Then press it into the torso frame. If you feel the vinyl is too stiff to do this comfortably, heat it with a hair dryer first. It'll return to its original shape once you are finished without any problem.

Or heat the thigh vinyl and remove it completely, put the frame together, then heat it again and put it back on. That isn't really required, but it might help you see how it all actually goes together.

That did it. I had to take out the other leg's shin to bring it up as well, but by squeezing down hard to stop it from moving I was able to get them both in. The legs are a little bit wiggly still, but I can't even remember if they're supposed to be like that or not, and this definitely seems like the best I can do. Obviously I needed to squeeze a lot harder than I was, plus it's been really cold here lately so there's that too.

Thanks for all the help guys. Maybe soon I can post some photos of her like she's meant to be and join the forums proper.

Glad you got it together. These doll bodies are both pretty tough in general and somewhat fragile in certain areas and with some practice you'll learn which is which. Parts like the thigh joint are tough and require some fair amount of force to put together, but some of the other joints like the wrists are pretty delicate. When posing your doll, generally hold joints close to the joint on each side and move them that way, like if you're bending the elbow then hold the forearm and upper arm on either side of the elbow joint and bend like that, rather than by holding at the wrist. That puts less stress on the joints and supports them more.

On 6/27/2019 at 11:10 PM, Haami said:

That did it. I had to take out the other leg's shin to bring it up as well, but by squeezing down hard to stop it from moving I was able to get them both in. The legs are a little bit wiggly still, but I can't even remember if they're supposed to be like that or not, and this definitely seems like the best I can do. Obviously I needed to squeeze a lot harder than I was, plus it's been really cold here lately so there's that too.

Thanks for all the help guys. Maybe soon I can post some photos of her like she's meant to be and join the forums proper.

Glad you got her back together.

The legs shouldn't be wiggly at the hips, but normally once they are in you just press them together at the hip, and it seats them further in. As you pose her the arms and legs will tend to pull out a bit, so I am always pushing mine back into place to keep the body lines natural.

For now I wouldn't worry too much about it, just enjoy her now that she is back in one piece. At some point you may want to revisit it, because it will affect her stability in standing poses.

DD Legs probably aren't the best thing to cut your teeth on when it comes to disassembling the doll. Most owners probably start with a bust swap, and the upper body is a lot easier to take apart and put back together.

Edited June 30, 2019 by BeyondTime