Kagamine Rin/Len Reboot!

I got my Rin, but her nose was stained right out of the box! Has anyone ever had a doll arrive like this? I emailed Volks and I hope they can send me a replacement head or let me exchange the doll, but I've never heard of them doing that, so I am worried. 

6 minutes ago, magique said:

 

I got my Rin, but her nose was stained right out of the box! Has anyone ever had a doll arrive like this? I emailed Volks and I hope they can send me a replacement head or let me exchange the doll, but I've never heard of them doing that, so I am worried.

 

I have heard of that once. If they don't replace the head, just use some Dream Rescue. That stain look really light and it should come out in 2 or 3 days. You won't even know it was ever there. 

8 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I have heard of that once. If they don't replace the head, just use some Dream Rescue. That stain look really light and it should come out in 2 or 3 days. You won't even know it was ever there. 

That's a relief!!! I never let my dolls get stained so I forgot dream rescue exists hahaha. Thank you for letting me know! 

My pair arrived today.

I have to say I'm pretty overwhelmed. They look stunning irl. Sure, I have Rin already but I never dressed her as original Rin. Before I acquired my first DD Towa I was looking enviously at pictures of Rin, then realising she was virtually unobtainium.

I was surprised to find Rin has an 02 tattoo. I don't think Len has one because his sleeve would cover it anyway. They do also come with transfers, which of course I'll never use.

I don't think the wigs are too bad. Rin's pointy bits on the top of her head (I'm not sure what the term for them is) don't quite match up. Thankfully both wigs were easy to fit. Len's looks more like straw. I guess Volks had a challenge trying to find the right material to style them.

I'm kind of scared of breaking Rin's barrettes but they look like the sort of thing I could easily knock out on the 3D printer.

How long that pleather will last, who knows. But once they re-grail themselves they'll probably be rebooted. Vocaloids are really going from strength to strength.

Odd factoid: Rin has 2 microphones lol.

5 hours ago, littlebirdzoom said:

Hold up, is Len supposed to have the number pre printed on his arm or is that just Rin?

I feel like its just Rin that has it printed on. I think I heard a while back that it was because his tattoo was hidden by his clothes, unlike Rin. Could be misremembering that though.

I have the original releases, so far their pleather and painted clothes have held up! Like you I hope they last as long as possible but I have been relieved with how mine have minimally aged.

I am so glad your dolls are home! Rin still is my favorite DD face and Len can look like he has an attitude or is adorable depending on head tilts and wig placement.

I hope you have long years of enjoyment!

Rin arrived yesterday evening. I'm so happy she's home, I've wanted her for years! Some people reported the wigs felt a little too full of styling product, and I can say her hair definitely feels off compared to other doll wigs I've handled. I'm not aware if styling product residue can stain/discolor heads, but as long as it doesn't I'll try to work with it.

Quick pic of her after she arrived:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzKto1drmmM/?img_index=1

 

2 hours ago, Calyps0Kitt3n said:

I feel like its just Rin that has it printed on. I think I heard a while back that it was because his tattoo was hidden by his clothes, unlike Rin. Could be misremembering that though.

I think that’s true - and it seems consistent with other dolls of them. The Rin nendoroid doll and Pullip also has the arm tattoo but I’m pretty sure the Lens doesn’t (I don’t own the nendoll so can’t confirm this but I saw an old sales photo of naked pullip Len and his arms were bare - unless they’d put him on a new body at some point).

2 hours ago, Monty said:

I think that’s true - and it seems consistent with other dolls of them. The Rin nendoroid doll and Pullip also has the arm tattoo but I’m pretty sure the Lens doesn’t (I don’t own the nendoll so can’t confirm this but I saw an old sales photo of naked pullip Len and his arms were bare - unless they’d put him on a new body at some point).

Nendoroid doll Len has the tattoo. His sleeve does cover it, but it is there.

I'm really excited to see more of everyone's photos! I can't wait for my Len to arrive! I ordered him from the US Volks store so I imagine I will have to wait a while. Hopefully photos will hold me over until then.

I hope his wig isn't as bad as some people's seem to be. 

I also deeply regret not also ordering Rin. I didn't at the time because I only had Miku and figured I would only get my absolute favorites, but I've since acquired Luka and Kaito (he was part of the fav plan anyway) and it definitely seems weird not to have Rin now, haha.

44 minutes ago, DeadlyNova said:

Nendoroid doll Len has the tattoo. His sleeve does cover it, but it is there.

 

Thanks! Out of interest, what side is it on? I remember some fandom discourse/arguing back in the day about whether Len’s should be the same side as Miku and Rin’s or the opposite because he and Rin ‘mirror’ eachother, I’m wondering what GSC went with, and whether they know if they may have settled a famous (and silly) debate lol.

45 minutes ago, Monty said:

Thanks! Out of interest, what side is it on? I remember some fandom discourse/arguing back in the day about whether Len’s should be the same side as Miku and Rin’s or the opposite because he and Rin ‘mirror’ eachother, I’m wondering what GSC went with, and whether they know if they may have settled a famous (and silly) debate lol.

It's on the opposite side!

I unpacked Len's wig, and yeah it looks like someone tried to use a hot iron on it and melted the fibers. Maybe contact Volks with photos and see about a replacement. The back of the wig seems fine, its just the front that's messed up and looks unfixable.

If I were to guess, the fibers are so short they had to heat them to get them to fall over the forehead like hair would.

Rin and Len have both arrived (hilariously they arrived 1 day apart, despite being shipped within 2 hours of each other).

I haven't had the time to unpack them yet.

19 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

I unpacked Len's wig, and yeah it looks like someone tried to use a hot iron on it and melted the fibers. Maybe contact Volks with photos and see about a replacement. The back of the wig seems fine, its just the front that's messed up and looks unfixable.

If I were to guess, the fibers are so short they had to heat them to get them to fall over the forehead like hair would.

Yeah this is what I was saying. It's just the front and it's totally melted. The sides of my wig are chopped really messy and blunt too, are yours like that? I'm curious if it's just a consistent rush.

If anyone has any success contacting Volks about it for a replacement, keep us updated? I'm going to try my hand at it because it's pretty bogus. 

Volks posted this about Len’s wig:

https://t.co/bxrI4VqBiQ

7 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Volks posted this about Len’s wig:

https://t.co/bxrI4VqBiQ

Some of the wigs I’ve been seeing on twitter don’t look like this though, so I’m gonna be a bit disappointed if they aren’t considered defective. I would be interested to see if this method actually helps some of the wack wigs I’ve seen, and if not, whether they would consider them defective.

20 minutes ago, Monty said:

Some of the wigs I’ve been seeing on twitter don’t look like this though, so I’m gonna be a bit disappointed if they aren’t considered defective.

Mine is ok the sides and back but I can't tell the hairs on top that look like they're melted are the "short curly hairs" they are referring to. 

1 minute ago, BeyondTime said:

Mine is ok the sides and back but I can't tell the hairs on top that look like they're melted are the "short curly hairs" the are referring to. 

If you check the QRTs, it seems a few people are annoyed at the explanation and some are even posting photos that the actual complaint was not addressed, and they cannot make their wig look like the step 1 example photo no matter what. 
I don’t doubt there were plenty of people for whom the advice in the link was a good fix, but I hope that the people who truly did get bad wigs are able to get new ones. It doesn’t seem like it was every single Len wig, but it does seem like it was a lot of them.
I don’t know if the inconsistency is because of them rushing out a large quantity in a shorter period of time than a typical preorder, but I would like to see less of this kind of thing in future..

Time to bring wig production to Japan. 

That blog post they made for Lens wig feels more like a just deal with it type situation. If feel this is quite unfair and upsetting especially to those new to the hobby who don't know how to style a wig or for those who don't have the fine motor skills to do this with their wigs. I also feel for the price we pay for these dolls, that the wig at least shouldn't be this bad. I also feel they need to find better materials for some of their wigs especially the one's that straight up feel and look like they came straight out of party city. My 2023 Snow Miku wig is so shiny and coarse feeling that it honesty does feel like it came out of party city.

Sorry for the mini rant. 😅 

8 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Volks posted this about Len’s wig:

https://t.co/bxrI4VqBiQ

Yeeeaaah even their "styled" wig doesn't look like the one in the promo pics. It's pretty bad. I've gotten better wigs on Ali Express for like $10. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Poofiemus

16 minutes ago, Poofiemus said:

even their "styled" wig doesn't look like the one in the promo pics. It's pretty bad.

while I was flipping through the set at work it reminded me of Ryuguu Rena's wig styling guide, which had a similar "And here's one we've prepreared earlier" ending vibe.

have to wonder is their quality control just random spot checks, and not go through the whole lot from the supplier (assuimg the reboot wigs were produced outside of volks).

Volks wigs have always needed some ammount of fettling in my oppinnion, but the ammount of work required seems to be getting out of hand.

 

I would point out that with the 2B head issues, Volks did push back with an "here's how to fix it" until they started seeing example heads.once they saw examples they replaced the heads. Dunno if that's what's going on here, but I'd say if you think it's busted, seek remedy by sending photos, or taking it to one of their stores if you are in Japan.

5 minutes ago, finnleo said:

Volks wigs have always needed some ammount of fettling in my oppinnion, but the ammount of work required seems to be getting out of hand.

 

Agreed, and it's just been gradually getting worse imo. Nanoha's and Fate's wigs from back in 2009 were some of the best I've ever had, but the quality has just been going downhill from there. OG Miku's from 2014 had decent construction but the fiber wasn't as nice, the Kirito wig is really coarse, and this Len wig is a hot mess. That's just wigs that I have personally, not even all the ones others have with frizz or broken ponytails etc.  What's extra frustrating is so many other companies have really been upping their wig game over the years, so it makes this decline even more painful to watch, especially since so many licensed characters have unique hair styles you can't really get anywhere else. 

I may still try to salvage the Len wig, but more as a challenge to my own skills than anything else. Thankfully my boy is pretty enthusiastic about his new identity, so I won't be too sad if I fail. . . but man do I feel bad for people who are keeping him as his default character and/or aren't as bold with wigs as I am. 

34 minutes ago, Poofiemus said:

OG Miku's from 2014 had decent construction but the fiber wasn't as nice

My sarcastic self cannot let this one pass, so you have been pre warned.

Everything is a matter of perspective. Get your hands on the latest yuki miku wig, and that 0G miku wig will miraculously transform into a nice thing.

(although personally I never really found fault in my 0G miku wig... other than if you didnt comb it between poses it would end in tears. )

Yor's default is still the biggest low point for me ... was rough and spiky like a tumbleweed, and all that hair product slathered and combed like a plowed field ... which then promptly exploded.... and still reeks after washing it that my nose almost burns when trying to work on it.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by finnleo