Azone 50's anyone?

On 11/29/2021 at 6:16 PM, lardroom said:

Sora is "fiddly" with parts constantly falling off

If you mean the wrists, the ball of the wrist seems to need to be pressed into the vinyl at the wrist. On the Volks side we’re used to the ball sitting against the vinyl as opposed to sitting inside a concave surface on the arm

[Removed since this doll doesn't exist anymore.]

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by chef_mai

4 hours ago, chef_mai said:

It makes me wonder whether whoever they are contracting for this has expertise in doing (human) clothes & uniforms but are leaning on someone else anytime a custom costume (for idols, anime series, etc.) is needed.

The clothes are made in Vietnam. IIRC their business model is “designed in Japan, manufactured in a small Southeast Asian country so we can exploit cheap human labor support the local economy!”

They charge an arm and leg for the quality you get so I hope they’re paying their workers fairly, but who knows. I love Azone dolls and some of their outfits are adorable, but ngl Volks clothing is nearly the same price for much better quality.

19 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

If you mean the wrists, the ball of the wrist seems to need to be pressed into the vinyl at the wrist. On the Volks side we’re used to the ball sitting against the vinyl as opposed to sitting inside a concave surface on the arm

Both the entire wrist fell off multiple times, as well as the vinyl hand falling off the wrist. I think the wrist is something I can fix with some clear nail polish so that there's a little more grip to hold the frame together. However, I don't know how to solve the hand popping off the wrist. It's just not secured very well. I've had her knee also pop off, but that may have been due to me exploring how flexible she is. In sum, I appreciate the increased poseability, but there are some quality issues that can be easily fixed on the user side to keep the frame together better.

17 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

The clothes are made in Vietnam. IIRC their business model is “designed in Japan, manufactured in a small Southeast Asian country so we can exploit cheap human labor support the local economy!”

They charge an arm and leg for the quality you get so I hope they’re paying their workers fairly, but who knows. I love Azone dolls and some of their outfits are adorable, but ngl Volks clothing is nearly the same price for much better quality.

Yeah, the clothes seem like paper for this costume. Kinda disappointed, but I was always going to put Sora in casual clothes anyway.

I'll need to dig around for the source, but the wrist on AZO2 bodies can be a little loose due to the AZO2 arms being longer. This is due to the *outer skin* being longer while the inner skeleton is stock Obitsu 50, so the peg for the hand/wrist isn't able to slot in as much as it would on a stock O50.

I wonder if replacing the outer skin for the forearms with the stock skin would resolve your issue.

https://paraboxshop.jp/goods_en_jpy_2459.html

https://www.obitsushop.com/SHOP/50RP-F01WS-27.html

[Edit - Found the source: https://mlkt.sakura.ne.jp/blog/2014/07/obitu-azo2-compare.html - NSFW]

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by chef_mai

1 hour ago, lardroom said:

However, I don't know how to solve the hand popping off the wrist. It's just not secured very well.

The hands in my experience are a really tight fit, had to use a hairdryer to get them off, but the vinyl needs to be covering the disc that sits right above the wrist ball. It's also possible that the vinyl was trimmed too far back and now the hand doesn't fit snugly, but you can get hand packs from Hobby Search that should solve that issue.

 

1 hour ago, lardroom said:

I've had her knee also pop off, but that may have been due to me exploring how flexible she is.

That's something I haven't had happen. The knees seem really sold and sturdy to me.

6 hours ago, lardroom said:

Both the entire wrist fell off multiple times, as well as the vinyl hand falling off the wrist. I think the wrist is something I can fix with some clear nail polish so that there's a little more grip to hold the frame together.

Before you do anything permanent with the nail polish, Gensou Doll (which makes articulated hands with very thin wrist parts) recommends wrapping masking tape around the peg of the wrist part. That seems like the safest bet since you can just remove the tape if you wrap it too thick to fit into joint.

Thanks for suggesting this as a hack! I think it's a great idea.

I actually ordered articulated hands from their shop... they come with wrist joints already attached? I was wondering in case I had to buy an extra pair separately.

45 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

Thanks for suggesting this as a hack! I think it's a great idea.

I actually ordered articulated hands from their shop... they come with wrist joints already attached? I was wondering in case I had to buy an extra pair separately.

Yup, they come with wrist parts already attached. They’re thinner than the Obitsu ones so they won’t stay in the doll’s elbow sockets without the masking tape.

Azone dropped its December collection today. Those bunny hoodies must be pretty popular since they keep coming back.

I bought a few items from Coolcat and was pretty surprised at how much bigger DD(S)-sized tops are vs. the AZO2 ones I've been using... it's like going from (S) to (XL). 

Would it be feasible to delicately but deliberately shrink oversized clothes for a better fit? The length is alright for some pieces, but for other outfits, it will end up looking sloppy.

On the other hand, short bottoms all fit like a glove.

I've been thinking about branching out to some of the Volks stuff made exclusively for DDS/DD (and erring towards ones for the SS/S/M busts), but I'm now a bit wary of the risk if it doesn't fit since these outfits are considerably more expensive than anything I've gotten so far.

 

 

5 hours ago, chef_mai said:

I've been thinking about branching out to some of the Volks stuff made exclusively for DDS/DD (and erring towards ones for the SS/S/M busts), but I'm now a bit wary of the risk if it doesn't fit since these outfits are considerably more expensive than anything I've gotten so far.

I’ve been meaning to make a post about this because I’ve picked up so many Volks outfits over the past year, but MDD/MSD clothing fits the Obitsu48 S Bust perfectly.

I don’t know about the AZO2 body, but I suspect you can get away with quite a few DD/SD dresses. I tried a few on my 48S and they were loose in the chest area but all fit to some degree. With a larger bust, they would probably look fine.

Thanks for sharing that bit! I'm actually thinking about what to do here actually. I could either have my girl move up to a larger bust and work with DD/DDS, but the outfits will run long.

Or... I could just move down to the C bust permanently and stick to MDD/MSD clothing that will generally fit well. The only exception is that some jumper/one-piece dresses might have issues or need to be put on via the head, which is a pain.

I did get the G-bust in today, and I'm pleasantly surprised it uses the same soft-touch material as before and just fits better/easier on the body when inserting. It was a brand new, sealed piece bought from the Azone store in Japan, though it's unclear when it was bought. 

I snapped the attached image to show how big a difference the sizing can be. On the left is the AZO2 tee, and on the right is a DD(S) loungewear set from Coolcat. I don't have any Volks pieces yet to compare with.

Edited December 25, 2021 by chef_mai

On 11/20/2021 at 5:32 AM, chef_mai said:

Azone just announced four additions to its schoolgirl collection. 

https://news.azone-int.co.jp/archives/42280

They did a really nice job on Milene in particular, who uses the more svelte C-body and wears glasses.

I love Milene's design and the doll look so cute but I'm getting nightmare flashbacks to a very certain manga and I just can't. 😭  (manga title starting with 177 if you know what I mean) 

2 hours ago, hanasori said:

I love Milene's design and the doll look so cute but I'm getting nightmare flashbacks to a very certain manga and I just can't. 😭  (manga title starting with 177 if you know what I mean) 

I thought of same exact thing when I saw her too.

Edited December 25, 2021 by Maia
Grammar

5 hours ago, hanasori said:

I love Milene's design and the doll look so cute but I'm getting nightmare flashbacks to a very certain manga and I just can't. 😭  (manga title starting with 177 if you know what I mean) 

I don’t know what you’re referring to, but I’m so curious!

11 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

I don’t know what you’re referring to, but I’m so curious!

She is referring to 177013/Emergence/metamorphosis it’s a nsfw manga and it’s story is quite depressing. I could pm a summary of the story to you if you want but please don’t read 177013. DO NOT READ 177013 you will regret it.

Edited December 25, 2021 by Maia
Grammar

4 hours ago, Maia said:

She is referring to 177013/Emergence/metamorphosis it’s a nsfw manga and it’s story is quite depressing. I could pm a summary of the story to you if you want but please don’t read 177013. DO NOT READ 177013 you will regret it.

I looked that up, and the core premise actually seems somewhat similar to a key plot element in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Just to be clear, Thomas Covenant was series of high fantasy novels, and not adult themed in any way, but that one plot element made me truly detest the series even though Donaldson is legit a great author and it’s a well written story. 

The moral context that plot element was placed in is probably quite different from the work you are referring too. 

11 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I looked that up, and the core premise actually seems somewhat similar to a key plot element in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Just to be clear, Thomas Covenant was series of high fantasy novels, and not adult themed in any way, but that one plot element made me truly detest the series even though Donaldson is legit a great author and it’s a well written story. 

The moral context that plot element was placed in is probably quite different from the work you are referring too. 

I think you got the wrong book it’s a manga written by Shindo L. Just search metamorphosis  177013 and then you will find it.

Edited December 25, 2021 by Maia

20 minutes ago, Maia said:

I think you got the wrong book it’s a manga written by Shindo L. Just search metamorphosis  177013 and then you will find it.

I was saying there is a book that used a plot element similar to the one I was able to find on reddit for 177013, and plot element made the book I had read pretty depressing. The book was written about 40 years ago. 

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

I was saying there is a book that used a plot element similar to the one I was able to find on reddit for 177013, and plot element made the book I had read pretty depressing. The book was written about 40 years ago. 

Are you referring to Go Ask Alice? I found that Go Ask Alice has a pretty similar feel to what is described and is overall not a great read.

Edit: Nevermind I just read the post above. I apologize.

Edited December 25, 2021 by MagicalRozen
I was silly and didn't read the previous post.

9 hours ago, Maia said:

She is referring to 177013/Emergence/metamorphosis it’s a nsfw manga and it’s story is quite depressing. I could pm a summary of the story to you if you want but please don’t read 177013. DO NOT READ 177013 you will regret it.

Oh, I just read a synopsis and I’m already feeling disgusted…

I got both the white and black lolita milenes but I've not even really taken them out of the boxes yet lol.

 

Also that h*ntai lol all I need to know is what I heard finana talk about it.

On 12/25/2021 at 8:54 PM, ragnamuffin said:

Oh, I just read a synopsis and I’m already feeling disgusted…

Oof, yeah. I got reminded of it but didn't want to give out any info because it's extremely disturbing series to say the least. One dare I wish I could turn back time on. 😭  Completely deserving of its notoriety. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you NOT to read it. It's just that bad and depressing.

 

@Maia Didn't think to find someone else who read it too! Fellow sufferer..

 

@BeyondTime Yeah, I think the mangaka said that it was suppose to be kinda a PR against drug use or something. But I think most jokingly said that the moral of the story should have that the MC should have just stayed dowdy and kept her glasses on instead lol. It was so bad that you had many people creating 'alternate endings' and the mangaka himself made an extra page reassuring readers that all of that was consensual filming between adult video stars to discourage drug use.    

 

I stayed in r/eyebleach for a while to wash away the bad, bad aftertaste haha.