Hello everyone.

Hello all,

I came across this forum while researching the differences between the different dollfie models so thought I'd sign up! I'm a 51yr old guy from England and my only doll right now is a SmD Chitose multiverse that I got in January 2020. I know nothing about anime, but thought these dolls are cute, and been a big kid at heart decided to get one. I was planning to get Chito a friend and was wanting an interstellar blue Anomaly zombie, but despite many late nights and early mornings consuming buckets of coffee watching for 'brops' on twitter, it never happened. So now I am considering getting a used DD or maybe another Smartie but we haven't decided yet.

I don't really go in for the fashion thing with Chito, mainly because of limited income, but I do enjoy designing and 3D printing scale stuff to keep her amused. I occasionally take photo's of her but I only have a phone to do this with so they aren't half as good as the one's I can see whizzing across the top of my screen while I type this. I've done a couple of stories with her and once I hit the 30 post mark I will post some up along with some of the better photos I've taken. My main hobby is gaming and I have wasted many hours playing fantasy RPG's and MMO's such as Morrowind, Skyrim, World of Warcraft, Guildwars 2, and Archeage. I also used to play Magic the Gathering a lot but rarely play it anymore.

I'm looking forwards to been a member here and expanding my knowledge of all the different types of dolls that are around and getting to know the community.

Regards to you all.

SH

Welcome to the forum. I'm the same age, gender and nationality as you.

I bought a Dollfie as an emotional support doll during the lockdowns and as you can see in from my .sig things have escalated somewhat.

They always want sisters.

Most of my girls are from Japanese second hand store Mandarake. Their prices are generally good although I have just acquired Rin (ouch).

If I had to recommend a beginner Dollfie it would be my second girl Uzuki Shimamura (Smile & Sweets version). She is absolutely stunning, looks good in any outfit and the DDS body is super poseable and compatible with the most outfits. Also her default outfit is incredible.

I don't want to start a Smart Doll/Dollfie argument but I prefer Dollfies as it's generally easy to acquire spare parts for them, they retain their value and they are absolutely stunning irl. They're also delightfully squishy.

Just bear in mind that stuff from Japan ALWAYS gets charged import duties (so 20% extra). However dolls do retain their value and there is potentially a bit of an arbitrage opportunity buying dolls on Mandarake and reselling on UK eBay. I wouldn't do Dollfies (too niche) but it could work well with other dolls (or otaku stuff).

I'm also a gamer but mostly I play Call of Duty.

I do a bit of Youtubing too. Dolls was hard to get established, but nerd stuff is doing pretty well.

As for photography, most of my photos are actually taken with my mobile phone. Lighting is everything - I have a popup photostudio and some USB powered mini studio lights.

Living next to the sea helps too, although it's windy 99% of the time so I can hardly ever take the girls outside. This is Uzuki 🥰. She's definitely my Dollfie wifu.

Hello and welcome! 

(a decade older, and across the Pond!) 

As posted above, getting another Kiddo is a must-have, in my opinion, yours might just want a friend or sibling, to not be lonely when you're out and about. 

Or, it's kinda neat to take pics of the two (or three, etc.) interacting. (have 12 right now, and seriously looking at another I'd really like to bring home!) 

I do a limited amount of gaming, Genshin Impact takes up some of my spare time. 

I fully understand the "Emotional Support" aspect. (long story, won't bring that drama here.)

As far as which type of Kiddo to get, I'm leaning more towards Dollfie than Smart Doll, due to pose-ability and spare parts, and, certain business practices of someone. 

Used/ready to adopt Kiddos are everywhere. Mandarake and Amiami are my two main resources. 

Don't worry too much about using a phone for your pics, my Flickr account is full of both camera (dslr, "point and shoot") and various phone cameras over the past decade plus! 

 

Anyways, long-windedness aside, enjoy the forums, ask questions and get plenty of posts here so you can unlock all the features! 

Looking forwards to seeing your Kiddo(s)! 

 

Rick

Welcome to the Forums

Both Smartdoll and Dollfie have their own charm and best way to figure out is by having both brands.

Also a Chitose Multiverse here (Cinnamon) with another wig under the name Shisha Sosei.

Have fun here on the forum and I am looking forward to your photo’s. 

 

Good morning Xiongmao,

Uzuki looks amazing and she is so cute. I totally understand how dolls provide emotional support. I have collected various other dolls and they have been a godsend to my wellbeing over the years.

For photos, lighting is also my biggest problem. I live in a ground floor flat at the bottom of a slope, the living room window faces east and it only gives me an hour or two of optimum light. I often have to use some standard lights to imrpove this, a mini studio with a green screen is something I will have to look into getting.

As for my next doll, I am leaning more towards a used Dollfie, I have found a full blue SmD but would have to buy the Anomaly head seperate, but Im not rich enough to drop a grand on 1 doll and then pay the dreaded import taxes.

In any case, think how many friends I could get for Chito with that sort of cash.

 

Heya Rick,

I see we share the same real name 👍. I have come across Mandarake, I actually set up my account there only yesterday and spent the whole afternoon browsing. I haven't come across Amiami, so I guess thats where I will be going next.

Going to take a longer look at your Flickr account sometime soon. I was using imbb to host pics but always found it a bit 'clunky'. Thinking I wil have to get a Flickr account myself and upload some of Chitos better pics there as it seams like a better platform.

I have found a DD girl I really like on Mandarake, but she is an older model from around 2012. I was wondering how well they age and if the parts that are sold now are compatable with the older models. I can see I may have a lot to learn about the range of doll made by Volks, so many different models.

It is good I found this forum with so many knowledgable folks. I'm sure it wont be long before I'm in the relevant sections here, carpet bombing you all with noob questions lol.

 

Hey there Rajke,

You make a great point about owning both Smart doll and Dollfie and it is a route I'm planning to take once my knowledge of the Dollfie girls has been expanded. I know my way around the Smart dolls and have even 3D printed one of the heads and an XS bust from the files that Danny made available on the Smart doll store.

I haven't changed anything with my own Chitose multiverse, aside from adding the elf ears. She is also the cinnamon version. I got stuck trying to find her a name so she just became know as Chito or Chitty. She is quite a character, thinks she owns the place, and been a elf her assumption is that she superior and usually refers to me as her stupid human, hence my user name here!

Welcome!! i'm 40, and have been into Anime Character Dolls for 20 years now, since around 2001/2002...

Hey there, welcome to the forums 
Chitose Multiverse is a beauty, but I can understand why she'd want a sister haha! I'm relatively new to vinyl dolls, so unfortunately I can't offer you much advice, but if you aren't aware of it yet, I would like to introduce you to Yahoo Japan Auction! As the name suggests, it's an auction service within Japan. Officially, it isn't open to the EU & UK anymore, but you can use proxy services to access it. 

Personally, I like to browse it through Buyee. I think the interface works great and it also let's you check out Mercari. I've heard their proxy fees can be a little bit on the higher side though, so I've been using other sites to actually place my bids (My go-to has been DeJapan, but there are many others like FromJapan). YJA usually doesn't have a whole lot of SmD stuff going around, but it is a treasure trove for all your Dollfie related needs! Just be aware that if you see a custom Dollfie head for auction that they, in fact, only sell the head and (usually) not an entire doll. Yes, even if the price would suggest otherwise. I think I read something about someone making that mistake once, so I thought I'd leave a little warning! If you're ever unsure about a listing, you can come and ask around the Forum for help!

Oh, and if you decide to check out YJA, here are the search terms for SmD and DD respectively!

スマートドール

ドルフィードリーム

 

Also! If you decide to go for another Smartie, it might be a good decision to wait a little longer, at least if you want to buy one new. They are currently working on a new inner frame! It's scheduled to release 2023 early Q2, but things can always change.

In any case, I hope you find what you are looking for and have a good time around! 

19 hours ago, Tasuke said:

Welcome!! i'm 40, and have been into Anime Character Dolls for 20 years now, since around 2001/2002...

Hey there Tasuke,

Thank you for the warm welcome. I wish I had come across Anime Dolls much sooner, but better late than never as the saying goes!

Hello Retro,

Many thanks for the info on other places where I might be able to find a friend for Chito. I had no idea that most of these existed and will be sure to take a look around these site too.

@Stupid_Hoomun welcome! I'm also from the UK. It's nice to know there are a few more UK hobbyists out there. 

1 hour ago, plasticyears said:

@Stupid_Hoomun welcome! I'm also from the UK. It's nice to know there are a few more UK hobbyists out there. 

Hello there,

It seams we are a rare breed, at least from my limited experience and time in the hobby. It is good to see there are others that share the same interests on this part of the planet.

20 hours ago, Stupid_Hoomun said:

Hello there,

It seams we are a rare breed, at least from my limited experience and time in the hobby. It is good to see there are others that share the same interests on this part of the planet.

Yeah same! I'm more midlands/shropshire based, there is quite a large community in London but seemingly less of us further north. Which is a shame! 

2 hours ago, plasticyears said:

Yeah same! I'm more midlands/shropshire based, there is quite a large community in London but seemingly less of us further north. Which is a shame! 

I think before I joined here, I knew of 4 other Smart Doll owners in the UK. 1 in Scotland and another in the north east. The other 2 I have no idea where they are from. Did also know a scouser who had some of the Eva bjd's or whatever they are called. Never came across anyone with a Dollfie until I arrived here.

I posted in your other thread. Do share photos of your new girl once she has arrived.

I should also mention that there are a few Dollfie Facebook groups. Sometimes there are UK doll owners selling dolls... Since people would rather ship locally than abroad we're in a good position to pick them up. It's kind of random what appears, but I did get my MDD elf from a group.

There is apparently a doll convention in Leicester next year but it's not until October. That gives me 10 months to decide which one to take with me 😂.

As for emotional support... they definitely help. I was in China when covid hit, then fled to Thailand and was offered a job there but couldn't start due to them closing the borders. I found a job in the UK but couldn't start due to the lockdown... that's the first time I've been fired before doing a day's work. Even worse stuff happened in 2021, but at least I had Towa's happy smiley face to look at.

5 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

I posted in your other thread. Do share photos of your new girl once she has arrived.

I should also mention that there are a few Dollfie Facebook groups. Sometimes there are UK doll owners selling dolls... Since people would rather ship locally than abroad we're in a good position to pick them up. It's kind of random what appears, but I did get my MDD elf from a group.

There is apparently a doll convention in Leicester next year but it's not until October. That gives me 10 months to decide which one to take with me 😂.

As for emotional support... they definitely help. I was in China when covid hit, then fled to Thailand and was offered a job there but couldn't start due to them closing the borders. I found a job in the UK but couldn't start due to the lockdown... that's the first time I've been fired before doing a day's work. Even worse stuff happened in 2021, but at least I had Towa's happy smiley face to look at.

I've not seen your post in my other thread, it's no longer there 😕

I will sure be taking pictures once the new addition arrives, spent some time this evening making somewhere for her to settle in.

I was checking out the convention last night, it's a bit too distant for me to decided if I can definately get there. Can't be easy deciding which girl gets the golden ticket to go with you, good luck deciding.

I hope 2022 has been a better year for you, it doesn't sound like the last 2 have been kind.