FFXIV DDS Alphinaud & Alisaie Leveilleur

All we have is this tweet so far. FanFest starts in an hour, and we may get more info then.

Sister bodies!!!

Edit: Looking like no info, but more photos may pop up from attendees over the weekend.

Excuse me while my wallet cries tears of blood.

Edited January 7 by kranberrijam

Oh my god! They're adorable!!!!!!!

Oh my gooosh! The babies ;w; How exciting!!! 

Edited June 16 by Cazzie_Bliss

Oh noooo I need at least one of them! I really love the "semi real" sculpts and these two look fantastic. I'm so glad I haven't dropped a ton of money on the other girl I've been considering because I doubt these two will be cheap and I want to be ready!

(I, too, would be doomed if they made G'raha though)

Alphinaud has such a cute face, but since I'm not into FFXIV I can't justify getting him if their prices will be anything like Y'Shtola's. I'm looking forward to seeing other people's for sure though. He's really cute! 😭

Alisaie is pretty cute. I wonder if they will be some sort of pre-order? Presumably there will be a sale through SE's site, so clickwar seems a bit iffy.

Given the character art, I'd expect them to be DDS.

Pics from the venue with some different angles, closeups and full body shots. Looks like they are DDS! (I still wish 9S had been..)

https://x.com/silmeri57970667/status/1743850069764481485?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w
 

https://x.com/kio_jackalope/status/1743841449626743259?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w

https://x.com/togino_24/status/1743817311818310020?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w

https://x.com/shiooto/status/1743815156008964319?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w

I’m not that familiar with the characters but I think they did a decent job on them. Their outfits are pretty elaborate though, so I expect a high price.

I thought these would probably be the April release (shown early because of FF Fanfest), but squeenix could want to do things their own way too.

Edited January 7 by Monty

DYING! These are not fair to me or my wallet. I need Alphie *makes grabby hands like a small child*

I had to skip over Y’shtola, but there’s no way I can skip these two…

If they keep making XIV dolls it is going to be so over for me

I don't know anything about the game but I need the blue boy, hes so cute! 

Rip my wallet 

 

The twins!! My children!! They both look so cute from the little we've already seen. I'm sure they're out of my budget, especially because I'd hate to separate them, but I'm going to love seeing their sculpts around and living vicariously through others.

My FFXIV dream collab blorbo is unlikely to ever be made, so my wallet is safe! sobs in Haurchefant

Wow i love their look!!! My bank account and mortgage will kill me... >< *sigh* 

Omg this completely wreaks havoc to my plans this year. I didn't want to spend as much as I spent last year. I'm kinda glad and sad that they're DDS since my WOL can have their clothes but they are the same size, I think they are a little smaller ingame 🤔

I'm so excited!!

When they released Y'shtola, I said to myself that if they make dolls of the twins, I'll 100% get them because they're my children and I love them (my WoL has adopted them). I was super hyped until I learned that they're Sister, 'cause that's too tall. 😭 Pretty would have been a much better size for them, in my opinion. Their heads look rather big so based on the first photos I thought they're gonna be smaller dolls, but nope... they're going to end up looking so weird next to Y'shtola, being too tall. 😰

It's like Kagamine Rin & Len ended up being the wrong size too, but at least back then DDP as a size didn't exist yet (although the Im@s DDP girls came out pretty soon after the Kagamines if I remember right) and with Vocaloid the "canon" is quite flexible, so I gave in because the dolls were super cute. I also didn't have other Vocaloid dolls previously so I didn't have anything to compare them to. Well, technically I don't own Y'shtola since she belongs to my brother and is just chilling at my place for the time being, but I've seen her in person and comparing her to Rin & Len makes me despair about Alphi & Alisaie. 😭😭😭

Also I kinda suspect that they're going to have the same magnetic ears system as Frieren does, which makes me feel rather iffy. I've never understood why Volks is allergic to making permanent elf ears for their vinyl dolls (because they do have resin dolls with long elf ears) especially when they're licensed character dolls that are meant to be that one particular character, so having optional ears for customisation purposes doesn't really make sense. While I was bummed about the slip-on elf ears, I still thought it was better compared to this magnetic ears thing. I can imagine the ears will roll and most likely fall off very easily every time you fix the doll's wig. At least when you had the human ear underneath, the elf ears wouldn't roll out of position, even if they also were at the risk of falling off. Magnetic, detached ears and no actual ears on the head seems like a cheap solution for such expensive dolls imo. 😐 It made sense for Y'shtola to have no ears on her sculpt because she has cat ears on the top of her head, but detachable elf ears for Frieren and the twins are... not great.

It makes me sad because their outfits and weapons look absolutely amazing, and their faces are super cute. But yeah, I think that the size issue and ears bother me too much to justify a purchase, especially when money is rather tight atm... 💔

34 minutes ago, mizya said:

can imagine the ears will roll and most likely fall off very easily every time you fix the doll's wig.

Frieren's ears have a peg and hole system AND the magnets, and both peg and hole are square, not round. You'd have to try really hard to get them to roll.

40 minutes ago, mizya said:

I've never understood why Volks is allergic to making permanent elf ears for their vinyl dolls

I imagine this sudden pivot to removable elf ears is because both the twins and Frieren have really long ones. Long ears run the risk of not fitting correctly into doll bags, getting caught in wigs, and just generally being more exposed and risking damage. And unlike resin, vinyl deforms and bends in response to stress, and too much bending could cause cracks, tears, or discoloration. Much harder to fix than the chipped ears that elf resins get. And they do get it. (I actually wish resins had removable ears like that, the chipping is VERY annoying.) I can totally see why they'd make them removable. It's a safety feature. Pretty sure that's also why they went with the peg system, rather than just magnets. If they're only removable so they fall off the head before they're bent, of course the underneath would be kinda ugly. It's not meant to be seen.

44 minutes ago, mizya said:

I was super hyped until I learned that they're Sister, 'cause that's too tall. 😭

Maybe the twins will be taller in the new expansion and it won't be so bad? 😅They looked a bit tall in the trailer that dropped today, and it seems like some time is passing between each FFXIV expac, so it's totally possible they're finally getting a growth spurt! (But I'm probably overly optimistic...) I do agree though, as they are in Endwalker they should totally be DDP. Volks should just discontinue that body already if they're not gonna support it in the slightest. They keep giving us short character fans hope by keeping it around the way they are. 😢

They look really good! I imagine the price will be similar to Yshtola with all the accessories and general trend upward in prices. The amount of pleather makes me sad though, since you've only got ~5-8 years before it starts disintegrating. Still, if they are preorder I'll probably end up getting at least one so I don't have to pay aftermarket prices.

I suspect the elf ear implementation is due to production limitations, like longer ears would deform when pulled from the hot metal molds for vinyl... just speculation though. That could be a fun question to ask at Dolpa.

I'm also curious why they are so bent on avoiding using DDP, maybe it's something that the license owner decides? I feel like Volks made the DDP specifically to expand their licensed options like with iMas and now nobody wants it 😂

1 hour ago, Oculae said:

Frieren's ears have a peg and hole system AND the magnets, and both peg and hole are square, not round. You'd have to try really hard to get them to roll.

Did she include regular ears, or she just has the elf ears?

@BeyondTime Frieren does not come with human ears. It's elf or egg, that's it. Another reason I think it's a safety thing rather than to help customizers!

22 minutes ago, jadepixel said:

I'm also curious why they are so bent on avoiding using DDP, maybe it's something that the license owner decides?

Considering they STILL don't even have option parts like hands or busts for DDP, and it's been years, I think they just kinda...gave up on supporting that size. I don't blame them, Obitsu's had that part of the vinyl market pretty cornered for a bit now, especially since Azone is designing a lot of anime heads and cute outfits for that size specifically, and they've got licenses going too. Why try to compete with them and risk losing when you could instead just make the doll a bit taller?

59 minutes ago, Oculae said:

Frieren does not come with human ears. It's elf or egg, that's it.

Aaand, that probably rules Alisaie out for me. 

Thanks for responding. 

I was super excited about them until I saw they're Sister size... 😫 I was thinking of making my own custom DDSb G'raha this year (I've seen a couple of really good ones!) but with the twins, they'll all be the same size? Ugh...

oooo new collabs for the year! They are adorable but I am so happy I dodged the XIV bullet years ago otherwise I might want these. Alisaie has a really beautiful face and mouth. I hope everyone that's after these two can get them!

On the one hand, I really want Alphinaud. He's adorable. On the other, it's not like I'm a huge FFXIV fan, and as usual, the Super Dollfie style face looks too young to me. I have enough other dolls I want this year that I can't prioritize him.

I was surprised by all the "DDS is too tall" responses, because Alphie is around the same height as my WoL... Then I remembered how short Au'Ra women are.  DDS would probably be too tall for her, too.

20 hours ago, Monty said:

Pics from the venue with some different angles, closeups and full body shots. Looks like they are DDS! (I still wish 9S had been..)

https://x.com/silmeri57970667/status/1743850069764481485?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w
 

https://x.com/kio_jackalope/status/1743841449626743259?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w

https://x.com/togino_24/status/1743817311818310020?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w

https://x.com/shiooto/status/1743815156008964319?s=46&t=4p5nRrsi9Bdrs_0lk7Ex6w

I’m not that familiar with the characters but I think they did a decent job on them. Their outfits are pretty elaborate though, so I expect a high price.

I thought these would probably be the April release (shown early because of FF Fanfest), but squeenix could want to do things their own way too.

Thank you for sharing these links, they are so beautiful! The attention to detail is superb but the amount of pleather is a bit disconcerting. Best of luck to all who are lucky enough to welcome one or both of these lovely twins home! ❤

I already got Y'shtola so wasn't really expecting more FF14 dolls. For me she seems the most iconic and a more interesting design and nicer face-up. I think I can easily pass on these. 

On 1/7/2024 at 5:37 PM, Oculae said:

Frieren's ears have a peg and hole system AND the magnets, and both peg and hole are square, not round. You'd have to try really hard to get them to roll.

I didn't know about the pegs as I only saw mention of "magnetic ears" from a few people, so thank you for elaborating on that. It solves the rolling out of position problem then, at least. However, I still think it's aesthetically not a great solution, and I wouldn't want holes in the head for a doll of mine that costs between 600 to 1000 euros. It makes me think about Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story, which is not really a mental image I want to have about my Dollfie Dreams. 😅 Having permanent human ears with slip-on elf ears was definitely a far more elegant solution for a doll of this price range.

I'm doubtful it's a safety issue that they're not making long elf ears directly attached to the head. I'm more inclined to believe @jadepixel's theory about possible issues during the manufacturing process, it would definitely make sense. I got my first resin BJD in 2005 and have had dolls from several different companies over the years, and I've never had issues with my resin dolls chipping. The only times I had things broken was when I was a dumb teenager and left my doll's hand on the floor while restringing and accidentally stepped on it (breaking two fingers), and two other occasions of broken parts was during shipping when buying 2nd hand dolls, as the previous owners didn't package the dolls safely enough in the box. I've had my dolls get scratched when taking them outside and posing them on rocks etc, and while fitting clothes I'm in the process of sewing on them (from pins). Currently the only doll with really long elf ears I have is Withdoll Vera and I can't say I've had issues with wigs, other than she needs a very tightly-fitted wig as I obviously cannot pull the wigcap of an oversized wig to cover her ears. In my experience long elf ears aren't much different from shorter ears, when it comes to resin dolls. Vinyl is definitely more flexible than resin and I can imagine that the ears could get bent out of shape and tear, but I can't really come up with a scenario where you'd put your dolls' head in such a tight space for such a long period of time for that to happen. 🤔 So yeah, rather than safety it's more likely a manufacturing issue.
 

17 hours ago, Tira said:

I was surprised by all the "DDS is too tall" responses, because Alphie is around the same height as my WoL... Then I remembered how short Au'Ra women are.  DDS would probably be too tall for her, too.

Well, when I say that DDS size is too tall for the twins, I mean it in comparison to DD Y'shtola. In comparison to mine or anyone else's WoL the point would be moot because someone's WoL might be a lalafell, and even a max height lala will still be shorter than the twins. So personally I'm concerned with how the twins look next to Y'shtola, and possible other Scions they might make as dolls in the future. I linked a visualisation that I posted on twitter in my previous post: here. When we look at the game models, the twins' shoulder level is around the halfway point of Y'shtola's upper arms, while Dollfie Dream Sister's shoulders are almost at the same level as a Dollfie Dream's shoulders.

Additionally, based on what I see in photos, they have done the same with Alphi & Alisaie as they did with Rin & Len: they made the dolls' heads quite big to make them have more child-like propotions on the Sister body (and having big heads makes them appear even taller). My Rin and Len can easily sport 9-10" wigs, but Y'shtola's wig size is closer to 8". Her head is even smaller than my Mariko and Sheryl Nome's heads, and I used to think that their heads were small. 😅 Y'shtola's wig is pretty badly made and the curls framing her face are way out of scale so her head looks bigger with the wig on. One of these days I hope to get some natural light so I can do a head size comparison with no wigs to show how small Shtola's head actually is.

Edited January 8 by mizya
typos