MDD f3 New Standards Koume/Yuzu (and farewell Liliru)

Koume and Yuzu have been announced as part of the 20 year anniversary but I thought they should get their own thread as new dolls. They’re both using the new MDD f3 version 2 MDD body and have the same head with different faceups.
Koume is semiwhite and Yuzu is flesh.

https://dollfie.volks.co.jp/special/dd20th/project17.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=sns&utm_campaign=DD

At first I wondered why there had to be 3 separate MDD standards, and then I saw the fine print about Liliru being discontinued. She will continue to be sold until all the remaining stock is gone, so if you were wanting her, get her while you still can. Makes me wonder if a similar replacement will happen for the other girls at some point.

Do you like these new girls? I think Koume and Yuzu are cute, but I have mixed feelings about the sculpts as standards because while I love the eye shape and expressions, I’m getting a little tired of all the flat mouths lately. I feel like Liliru was a little more unique in terms of mouth sculpt. On the plus side, easy customising? It would be cool to see someone do an opem-mouth mod.

They will first be sold at Dolpa in December, and then from 13th January onwards on the online store.

They are cute, and I like their squishy cheeks, but I can’t help but feel like they’re a little boring - I miss more varied MDD sculpts like 10, 19, 20, 21 etc to name a few. I’m also getting tired of the flat mouths 😅 but I guess it does inspire more scope when painting or modding? 

They are very cute but yeah the flat mouths aren't really as appealing to me for them... I think they're good for when you're buying a blank head and want to use the space for an expressive mouth but since they're being sold prepainted with a set design they could have had sculpted mouth features that fit that design and expression. I'm also a bit dubious on the angles other than straight on

13 hours ago, plasticyears said:

They are cute, and I like their squishy cheeks, but I can’t help but feel like they’re a little boring - I miss more varied MDD sculpts like 10, 19, 20, 21 etc to name a few. I’m also getting tired of the flat mouths 😅 but I guess it does inspire more scope when painting or modding? 

I find it especially frustrating that I can't get some of the cuter MDD heads with sculpted mouths unless I do a DC/D'Coord proxy, but the mouthless dolls are super easy to obtain as an international customer.

I really don't care for the lack of sculpted mouths as of late. For me, it limits the amount of angles you can photograph the doll from. I'm also not a fan of the faceup trend of painting the lashes far from the sculpted eye holes to create the visual illusion of larger eyes. If you wanted larger eyes, why not sculpt them larger in the first place? That said, they are pretty cute and I wish more MDDs had the chubby cheek thing that these girls have.

Not a fan of these, imo Liliru was a lot cuter and definitely had a more distinctive sculpt. Something about the facial proportions is off to me, maybe its the lack of chin?

I think they're adorable; I really like this type of face. ♥ I love them in these new dresses, too!

they literaly remind me of mirai and candy 💀 (they are cute tho)

32 minutes ago, freshlemonade1w1 said:

they literaly remind me of mirai and candy 💀 (they are cute tho)

I thought the same - a black hair/blue eye semi white and blond/gold(goldish brown anyway)eye flesh skin, so maybe it was intentional? Especially for the anniversary and all. But if it was intentional I kinda wish they made them look a little more like younger versions. There were MDD versions of them a million years ago so updated/modernised sculpts of those would have been nice.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Monty

55 minutes ago, Monty said:

I thought the same - a black hair/blue eye semi white and blond/gold(goldish brown anyway)eye flesh skin, so maybe it was intentional? Especially for the anniversary and all. But if it was intentional I kinda wish they made them look a little more like younger versions. There were MDD versions of them a million years ago so updated/modernised sculpts of those would have been nice.

maybe it kinda makes sense when its a anniversary project

I think they're really cute, but I agree their faces look... oddly smushed? Like for a split second I was super excited because their faces are so round I thought they were Chimikko related... it doesn't especially suit the new mdd body imo.

Very cute chubby cheeks on these girls.

Personally I like the faceups a lot, seems tastes differ, but I am happy to see that company faceups like Volks also start going for a style where the eyeliner leaves a bit of room. I just prefer that look, it makes the eyes seem more alive and animated? Older faceups never really were my taste, esp not when there are eyes inserted with barely any white showing.

11 hours ago, 0bsequi0us said:

I think they're really cute, but I agree their faces look... oddly smushed? Like for a split second I was super excited because their faces are so round I thought they were Chimikko related... it doesn't especially suit the new mdd body imo.

Your comment is making me really want to see these girls on the Chimikko body now 😂

12 hours ago, 0bsequi0us said:

I think they're really cute, but I agree their faces look... oddly smushed? Like for a split second I was super excited because their faces are so round I thought they were Chimikko related... it doesn't especially suit the new mdd body imo.

This was my exact thought! I saw them on the Dolpa banner in a small zoomed out pic before the announcement and got excited because I thought that Koume at least was on the Chimikko body (because of her looking ‘shorter’ in the image (she’s actually sitting and Yuzu is kneeling I assume) and her arm looking kinda short (optical illusion)), and that it would be an announcement for a new head and chimikko body sales. So I was a little disappointed to see that wasn’t the case. I think the points I don’t like about the heads would be lessened/balanced out on the more ‘chibi’ body.

Gotta say I don’t like them at all in their default wigs. But somehow they come to life with those exclusive multicoloured wigs. If I collected MDD, Yuzu with that wig would be a temptation for sure!

I love their modern faceups and the cute outfits used in this photo. Got to agree that the head sculpt is not my favourite though - I don't like the chinless, squished down look it has. Maybe it's a more popular style in Japan?

On 11/6/2023 at 5:56 PM, Thespian said:

I find it especially frustrating that I can't get some of the cuter MDD heads with sculpted mouths unless I do a DC/D'Coord proxy, but the mouthless dolls are super easy to obtain as an international customer.

I really don't care for the lack of sculpted mouths as of late. For me, it limits the amount of angles you can photograph the doll from. I'm also not a fan of the faceup trend of painting the lashes far from the sculpted eye holes to create the visual illusion of larger eyes. If you wanted larger eyes, why not sculpt them larger in the first place? That said, they are pretty cute and I wish more MDDs had the chubby cheek thing that these girls have.

I feel the same. It was a labor of love to assemble my DDH18; I had to buy her head from Spain and her body as a full, unrelated doll from Mandarake. Ragnamuffin was extremely kind and let me proxy my DDH21 through her. That was an amazing experience, but not the sort of thing I can afford to do frequently. While most of my Dream Choice dolls are secondhand, it can be an expensive and frustrating way to buy them unless there's a good deal on what you want at the right time.

I have a hypothesis on the design of these heads: customizers. As you probably know, DDH01 is the most popular head sculpt in Japan, and her variants in Dream Choice sell well there, especially the mouthless version, which is why they're the most common to see secondhand. There are a billion different takes on ways to customize this head, from light to heavy, and almost all of them that go past a basic faceup involve shaving down the lips / making a new mouth completely. When they finally introduced more MDD sculpts in the form of 27, 28, and 29, they specifically focused on the two things customizers change the most: eyes and mouth.

Think about it. When you pay for an expensive custom, what are you paying the customizer to do? Hopefully a nice faceup, but it's not unusual for them to make the eyes smaller or at least change the shape, and create an open mouth with teeth and potentially tongue parts. By changing the shape of the eyes automatically- providing different shapes and levels of expression- and starting with no mouth, some of the work is already done. Just cut the new mouth hole, make the inner part and do the faceup. MDD was lacking in this area- there are DD-intended sculpts with different levels of expression, but not so much MDD, especially for the basic parts market. My guess with both Anya and these girls is that they're going in the direction of the Japan market, since MDD is the most popular size, and there are TONS of customs and custom products designed for them. While 27, 28, and 29 don't have 01's notoriety and expanse yet, one does see more customs using them pop up, and I'm guessing they did well enough for Volks to move in this direction.

All that said, I'm not a fan. Lipless customs are a necessary evil sometimes if you want to bring home the best work. That doesn't mean that the vinyl around an existing mouth can't be reshaped to it to change the expression. It can be done, it is done, and frankly, looks more natural from all sides. I am guessing that keeping the amount of default full dolls small is a productivity / cost measure, to avoid having much inventory sitting. But man, I wish Liliru was not being discontinued for these. She's a cute sculpt and an ideal first MDD. The only sculpt resembling the exclusive Dream Choice MDDs you can get at regular retail. The new girls are okay, but a painted mouth just has so much less to offer at an angle.

I love them! The cheeks are so cute and those exclusive wigs are also tempting me. I love how cute Yuzu looks in the photo where she is gazing back

they’re so cute!!! im in love with their cheeks. i’m very glad mdd is getting so much love recently. also having new mdd standard model in semi white and flesh?!?! i never thought i’d see the day. i really wish at least one would have had a sculpted mouth like they did with ribbon/coron though. also this sculpt really reminds me of ddh28.

These new standards are adorable, but their faces seem a bit blobby. I mean, the heads are certainly cute, but something about it seems off. It may be the faceup and eyes; I don't think they suit the sculpts very well. I do think I would like to get one of them though, perhaps Yuzu to match my Candy.

Maybe it's a style some will like, but they feel like a different brand of doll. Does anyone know who specifically makes the sculpts that volks uses? Maybe they're someone new? 

50 minutes ago, flora said:

Maybe it's a style some will like, but they feel like a different brand of doll. Does anyone know who specifically makes the sculpts that volks uses? Maybe they're someone new? 

The sculpts they use are all made at a child company of Volks called Zoukei Mura (造形村; meaning modeling/sculpting village), and that’s true for these heads too.

A lot of sculpts (but not all) are credited as being made by someone at Zoukei Mura named Misaki Serika (みさきせりか), but the website doesn’t specify the artist this time.

Very interesting! I do think it's good that as a company they're open to trying new things, as I think variety is better for customers since it's such a niche hobby already. 

They are cute I just wish they would give them longer wigs sometimes

Wow, no more Liliru? She's such a cute sculpt, I'm glad I have her already.

These two are very cute in the alternate wigs. It'll be neat to see what customs people make with them.

I thought they looked cute on the 2024 New Year card from Volks. Happy New Year!

https://x.com/volks_dd/status/1741474547566535033?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w