Is my DDdy F-3 frame broken?

Hi all

I recently purchased a preowned 2B and while the listing stated that there were no issues with her, I'm having a ton of problems. As soon as I removed her from the box, both her left arm (right side in picture) and leg flopped around. I followed the instructions on the Volks tutorial and managed to somewhat fix her leg, her arm is still a no go. I'm not sure if I'm just weak, but I can't even remove the arm. Upon further examination of her upper torso, I noticed that the left side of the frame is assembled haphazardly...? It's not symmetrical to the right side. Is she broken or is this salvageable?

Adjust the screws (marked with blue in the image) to your liking. This should solve the problem. 

Now, if you can`t remove the arm, go slowly pulling from the shoulder and eventually it will come out. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by Pit

The shoulder parts don't look like they're seated properly. You can completely remove the screws and re-seat them. The one on the right side of the picture is pretty pronounced in terms of how big the gap is, and it's sitting at an angle. The prior owner may have disassembled her and not put her back together correctly. That may be why the arm won't budge too.

If the upper frame is broken, Volks does sell the upper frame as a part.

1 hour ago, Pit said:

Adjust the screws (marked with blue in the image) to your liking. This should solve the problem. 

Now, if you can`t remove the arm, go slowly pulling from the shoulder and eventually it will come out. 

 

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

The shoulder parts don't look like they're seated properly. You can completely remove the screws and re-seat them. The one on the right side of the picture is pretty pronounced in terms of how big the gap is, and it's sitting at an angle. The prior owner may have disassembled her and not put her back together correctly. That may be why the arm won't budge too.

If the upper frame is broken, Volks does sell the upper frame as a part.

Many thanks and appreciation to you both! I'm glad it doesn't seem to be a lost cause! I'm still really struggling with removing the arms from the torso. The peg seems to be firmly stuck into the ball joint :'( Does anyone have any additional tips they can offer to make this easier?

10 hours ago, Rosy said:

Does anyone have any additional tips they can offer to make this easier

They are going to have to come out. If you don't get them out the entire upper body would be a loss.

They do make angled screwdrivers:

https://www.amazon.com/Tonsiki-Pieces-Double-Magnetic-Screwdriver/dp/B082F3RYDV/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=angled+screwdriver&qid=1656420159&sr=8-14

You could try using one to loosen those screws, and that might relieve the pressure enough to help.

Before that all I could suggest is pull harder. As long as you are pulling straight out you shouldn't break anything. The frame does click in place when seated fully, but it really shouldn't be that tight a fit. Heat does make things expand, so it's possible a temperature change from cold to hot caused it to tighten. You could try putting it in a zip lock bag and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Just be gentle with the vinyl when you pull on the arm afterwards. The issue with temp though is that it's going to affect both the peg and the socket, so both will contract.

As a last resort you could try sliding something like a screwdriver inside the bust between the vinyl and the shoulder frame and using leverage to pop it out, but you're going to leave marks on the frame. Any marks on the vinyl should go away with time as long as you don't stretch or tear it. Vinyl tends to be resilient, but the plastic parts are soft and scar easily.

If this is a 2B full set, then every part you have there is replaceable, but it will cost you around $120 to get new ones. Not a total loss compared to 2B's price, but you shouldn't have to pay for something that was supposed to be problem free. You have a problem with the seller if you have to go that route. 

9 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

They are going to have to come out. If you don't get them out the entire upper body would be a loss.

They do make angled screwdrivers:

https://www.amazon.com/Tonsiki-Pieces-Double-Magnetic-Screwdriver/dp/B082F3RYDV/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=angled+screwdriver&qid=1656420159&sr=8-14

You could try using one to loosen those screws, and that might relieve the pressure enough to help.

Before that all I could suggest is pull harder. As long as you are pulling straight out you shouldn't break anything. The frame does click in place when seated fully, but it really shouldn't be that tight a fit. Heat does make things expand, so it's possible a temperature change from cold to hot caused it to tighten. You could try putting it in a zip lock bag and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Just be gentle with the vinyl when you pull on the arm afterwards. The issue with temp though is that it's going to affect both the peg and the socket, so both will contract.

As a last resort you could try sliding something like a screwdriver inside the bust between the vinyl and the shoulder frame and using leverage to pop it out, but you're going to leave marks on the frame. Any marks on the vinyl should go away with time as long as you don't stretch or tear it. Vinyl tends to be resilient, but the plastic parts are soft and scar easily.

If this is a 2B full set, then every part you have there is replaceable, but it will cost you around $120 to get new ones. Not a total loss compared to 2B's price, but you shouldn't have to pay for something that was supposed to be problem free. You have a problem with the seller if you have to go that route. 

Thank you again! It took a long time but I finally managed to separate both arms from the bust. Unfortunately, it seems the previous owner tampered with her frame because I noticed 1) the shoulder was definitely not seated correctly as the tiny pegs on the side were not in their sockets 2) the screws were damaged and screwed very deeply at an angle 3) there was additional damage to the frame because the screws dug in at an angle. Mystery solved, I just ordered a new frame :'(

26 minutes ago, Rosy said:

Mystery solved, I just ordered a new frame 😢

It sucks that you had to do that, but at least your 2B can be made perfect for limited cost. 

When you get the frame you can attach the arms without the bust and adjust the tension. I’d recommend small 1/8 to 1/4 turns then test tension because the tolerances are pretty tight.  

2 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

It sucks that you had to do that, but at least your 2B can be made perfect for limited cost. 

When you get the frame you can attach the arms without the bust and adjust the tension. I’d recommend small 1/8 to 1/4 turns then test tension because the tolerances are pretty tight.  

Good idea! I am guessing the previous owner caused additional damage by over tightening so I will be careful in that regard! Thanks again :D

As far as the leg goes, it should work perfectly but you do need to get it seated properly. If you do that and it's still loose, then you'll need to adjust a screw on the ball joint inside the thigh.