Uzuki or Mari?

Okay, so this is a tough question to answer, but............

 

I have a Smile And Treat Shimamura Uzuki DDS. She's one of my favorite dolls. But I saw one Japanese Twitter user recently who customized their DDS Uzuki (same type as mine) into Ohara Mari from Love Live Sunshine, which is a character that I treat as my girlfriend. But I love Uzuki's maid outfit so much, and I love her hair, and I love the character. But I also have a 1/6 Pureneemo Mari, and I'm currently racking my brains over whether I should transform my existing Uzuki doll into 1/3 Mari. So, I'm turning to the DollDreaming forums. 

First, I would make sure you can get everything you need to make your custom before changing Uzuki. Face up is the easy part, the perfect eyes and wig are often made out of a special material called unobtainium. 

Second, if you love both characters, why not grab a second Uzuki and customize that one? It looks like she’s about $550 on Yahoo! Japan Auctions. 

I love both characters, but I fear that I'm a little short on cash.

 

Otherwise, I already have an eye-dea (get it) of what the eyes should look like. 

Volks Type-U Apricot!

I don't think I'd ever change my girls as I love them the way they are.

For the lurkers, here's Smile & Sweets Uzuki. My studio lighting is arriving tomorrow so I'll dress her back up and try to take some better photos of this exceptionally awesome DDS.

That's it, I'm settling on a different doll to shell Mari in (hopefully). She'll still be a DDS though. 

 

6 minutes ago, CocosContestHall said:

That's it, I'm settling on a different doll to shell Mari in (hopefully). She'll still be a DDS though. 

So one other option is to use a Volks option head. They're about $50, and a good face-up artist should be able to recommend one that would work for your character. It might be that another head is even better than Uzuki. A capable face-up artist will know what they can do with a sculpt. 

You can just search for an Uzuki head separate from the full-set, but it's still going to be a few hundred. Keep in mind that unless you already have the DDS body, that's going to set you back about $350. A $550 Uzuki is almost like getting the wig and outfit from her fullest thrown in for free along with the head and DDS body. A custom will usually cost a lot to make, when you add wigs and outfits they can run thousands, which is why I suggested making sure you can get the hard to find parts first. I've been looking for a proper pink ponytail wig for a custom Mika Jougasaki for like 3 years. It's very specific and no one makes one even close. 

If you're uncertain, why not get a wig and eyes similar to the character and try them on the Uzuki you have now? It's definitely cheaper than buying a whole new doll, and you'll need the wig/eyes anyways if you do buy another doll to shell her. If you don't like it, you can always just turn her back into Uzuki. 

The wig has been decided. Dollce's 9-inch Chiffon Ring in Honey might be a nice choice. https://doll.shop-pro.jp/?pid=171308404