DDIII Cracks

I decided to inspect my Saber Alter 2 for cracks and I haven't really found anything yet. I hope she'll be OK in the future. I did have a tough time putting her back together though, has anyone else had a difficult time?

While swapping in a new internal frame on to Kira today (both shoulders are cracked) I noticed the old piece had a crack on the neck!

 

069 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

It's the newer version too, so I had been thinking of getting Cool Cats' new neck joint and shoulder reinforcements, but this makes me worried that putting on the new neck joint would make things worse...

While swapping in a new internal frame on to Kira today (both shoulders are cracked) I noticed the old piece had a crack on the neck!

 

069 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

It's the newer version too, so I had been thinking of getting Cool Cats' new neck joint and shoulder reinforcements, but this makes me worried that putting on the new neck joint would make things worse...

 

Thanks for mentioning the new Coolcat reinforcement parts. I was not aware they had started making those yet.

Oh, no! That is too bad that there is a crack in the part not replaced by the Cool Cat alternative neck joint. It defeats the purpose to have a strong part connected to a weak part.

 

Yeah, hopefully, I just have a defective one, and they don't all crack there...

 

Coolcat has the parts listed here, but hasn't put them up for sale yet.

http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptlist.phtml?Category=382741

I'll be picking some up once they hit.

Am I the only one hoping that the DDII body is still going to be available in the future? This is so discouraging!

haha Long live the DDII and the original DDdy!!!

Am I the only one hoping that the DDII body is still going to be available in the future? This is so discouraging!

No, I hope Volks keeps it around for a while. At least until they get the kinks worked out of the DDIII series...

 

I was pricing up the DDS on the international store, and without the frame piece and hands, it came to over $350! Another reason to keep the DDII around.

haha Long live the DDII and the original DDdy!!!

 

 

I'll second this. I will trade a little more posability for sturdiness and peace of mind any day.

 

And why are they making a neck piece for the DD3/DDs body? I thought the whole reason for getting one on the DDII was to give the heads more posability so it could look up higher with out doing the neck cut to the torso? With the DDS and DD3, there is plenty of motion available there so the adjustment isn't needed. Why do a new neck part then?

 

 

Billy

Am I the only one hoping that the DDII body is still going to be available in the future? This is so discouraging!

 

No, you aren't alone, I hope Volks will continue to make it as well.

haha Long live the DDII and the original DDdy!!!

 

 

I'll second this. I will trade a little more posability for sturdiness and peace of mind any day.

 

And why are they making a neck piece for the DD3/DDs body? I thought the whole reason for getting one on the DDII was to give the heads more posability so it could look up higher with out doing the neck cut to the torso? With the DDS and DD3, there is plenty of motion available there so the adjustment isn't needed. Why do a new neck part then?

 

 

Billy

 

I personally hate the DDS neck joint. The curved part is much harder to get a head on and I'm always afraid of breaking it when I do a change. You really have to force the head on there, which isn't the case on the Coolcat part (at least for DD2). I'll likely wind up with the replacements for my DDS girls at some point.

I personally hate the DDS neck joint. The curved part is much harder to get a head on and I'm always afraid of breaking it when I do a change. You really have to force the head on there, which isn't the case on the Coolcat part (at least for DD2). I'll likely wind up with the replacements for my DDS girls at some point.

 

 

So far I haven't had any issues with mine but it's rare I take the girls heads off. I like the Cool Cats neck piece but the one big drawback I've seen is that the heads are SUPER loose on them and I don't like that.

 

But I also need to get a replacement neck piece to replace a bad one in Reiko's body. The spring on the inside is all wonky and I made it owrk for now but it needs to be replaced before it breaks all the way. So I'll get a CC one when it's time.

 

 

Billy

So far I haven't had any issues with mine but it's rare I take the girls heads off. I like the Cool Cats neck piece but the one big drawback I've seen is that the heads are SUPER loose on them and I don't like that.

 

But I also need to get a replacement neck piece to replace a bad one in Reiko's body. The spring on the inside is all wonky and I made it owrk for now but it needs to be replaced before it breaks all the way. So I'll get a CC one when it's time.

Billy

 

I have the Dollfie World Neck joint on Maiya, and it holds the head on fine. Not loose at all.

CoolCat now has repair items for those DDIII cracks: http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptlist.phtml?Category=382741

 

Shoulder Joint: http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=dp-01b&Category=382741

Hip Joint: http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=dp-01a&Category=382741

Both: http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=dp-01c&Category=382741

looks like cool stuff

Thanks for the links AnimatorAR. I just discovered a crack in my DDs hip joint so this will come in very handy!

I ordered the shoulder ones to help with my new Moe internal frame. Hope they work.

nice at least this help those who have problems finding similar things to fix those DDIII problem in their own area.

I got come Cool Cats DD3 parts. The neck pieces are a little bit thicker than their DD2 ones so heads are a bit harder to get off. There's still a loose part towards the bottom, but the top area is definitely thicker so it requires some tugging to get a head off. (Tried a head that slides right off the DD2 part just to make sure it was a fair comparison.) They're still thinner than the Volk's DD3 joint which is fine by me as I struggle with getting heads on and off those. Actually I'm kind of bummed by the CC part being thicker than the DD2 version as I really like the easy off head feature for changing outfits. But I suspect most people will be happier.

 

The range of motion is the same as the DD2 version which is still better than the new Volks DD3 piece, especially for tilting the head side to side. It's a bit stiffer and a lot smoother than the Volks piece as well. Eir's wig is too heavy for the Volks piece so her head tends to just tilt all the way back on its own. The new Cool Cats piece fairs better but still struggles with the mighty weight of a super long thick wig with twin tails. I have a few of the CC pieces and picked the one that was stiffest to use on her and it does ok. All of them were better than the Volks joints I have.

 

The shoulder and hip pieces slide right on the newer DD3 joints. They're press fit and quite tight. The shoulder pieces are a tiny bit wider than the plastic they're going over but this doesn't affect anything. Everything went back together with no problems with the pieces in place. Just getting them today I don't know if they'll help with cracking or not.

 

Unfortunately the one cracked hip joint I do have is the older thinner style, so the CC parts don't fit. I suppose it could be expoxied in place but it would require great care to get it centered. I won't be trying.

Thank you for the information, scripple! I am going to try these too.

I know I could likely read through this thread and find out...but I don't have much time to decide...

 

I need a DDIII White skin body and one has just come available for 400 dollars. Is it risky to buy one of them at this point in time? (Read: Should I just wait until they are available again?) It's from a Saber Alter 2nd Ver. if that changes anything.

 

Thanks in advance, all.

Thank you, this is very good to know about. I'd been kind of worried, wondering if my next girl would have to be a salvaged DD2 due to all of the problems. It's unfortunate that companies like CC have to step up to fix Volk's mistakes, but it's good that they are willing and able to do so, and earn a bit in the process.

I know I could likely read through this thread and find out...but I don't have much time to decide...

 

I need a DDIII White skin body and one has just come available for 400 dollars. Is it risky to buy one of them at this point in time? (Read: Should I just wait until they are available again?) It's from a Saber Alter 2nd Ver. if that changes anything.

 

Thanks in advance, all.

 

The Saber's are a mixed lot. At least some from the first wave came with the older parts and had breakage issues.

I agree with scripple. The second wave seems to be more reinforced. Either way, the Cool Cat parts should help in theory but we have no field data so far.

Wolfheinrich made an article about the shoulder/hip joints and why they crack. Be warned, there's math in it. It's a great post though. I saw the Coolcat parts the other day. I'd like to get some myself.

 

I know I could likely read through this thread and find out...but I don't have much time to decide...

 

I need a DDIII White skin body and one has just come available for 400 dollars. Is it risky to buy one of them at this point in time? (Read: Should I just wait until they are available again?) It's from a Saber Alter 2nd Ver. if that changes anything.

 

Thanks in advance, all.

 

All DDIIIs still have cracking problems, because they aren't to the thickness of plastic they need to be. You can buy those shoulder/hip parts for only $7.50 from Coolcat (all parts needed for 1 doll at that price). You have to take the doll apart to put the reinforcement in, but DDIIIs are very easy to take apart.