Fixing Loose Joints on DDII Bodies?

Hi all! I've had my eyes set on some older gals from the 2000s-2010s. I know the DDII body can get loose/floppy with time and wear, and the Mandarake listing on one of the girls I'm thinking of getting indicates she has loose joints. In general, I want to work with what they already have rather than buying new bodies (not to mention, DDII has its own charm that DDIII and F3 can't quite replicate!). Are the floppy joints something that can be fixed, or is it permanent wear to the skeleton that can't be helped? I'd hate to have no other choice but to upgrade them to DDIII or F3 = =;;

Also, if you feel like sharing- How bad is the floppiness on y'all's DDII gals?

It's Nia that I'm considering getting, by the way (as a Christmas gift to myself, LOL) That's a whole other can of worms since she's WS.. but she's yellowed, so I'm thinking I can get away with SWS + some clever blushing on the head if I need to replace her body. But at the same time, WS intimidates me because of the potential for greening during stain removal.. Ahhh I digress. Lots to think about here!!

Honestly, I recently bought a DDII off of Mandarake and she barely had any floppiness issues at all! Her shoulders were a bit looser than I like though, so I added some white tack-it (the Faber-Castell putty, NOT the glue!) to the shoulder peg. It allows it to still move, just not quite as much and is easy to take off if needed. Other common fixes include putting tape, super glue, or nail polish top coat on the peg instead, but I find that the tape always gets squished down/comes off and the other options are kinda risky for such expensive dolls and can just chip or flake off anyway. I've used tack-it putty for several floppiness fixes now (DDII shoulders, DDf-3 hand peg, and my entire Imomo doll lol) and haven't encountered any problems with the body.

Floppy joints on the DDII are kinda a permanent wear and tear issue, but they can be remedied with the stuff I mentioned. Personally I have no desire to upgrade her to the f-3 body until something actually breaks, since as soon as I got her I completely understood why so many people were upset about Volks switching to the DDIII. The DDII body is really pretty, feels sturdy, and the joints are quiet, I really like it! Sometimes I even consider downgrading my F-3 body to a DDII because I HATE how loose the f-3 bust is on the torso, it's a huge pain having to keep pushing it down when playing with it or dressing her up.

aaah yes, the oldskool body floppy fixes

VolksUSA used to have a whole blog post about it, using clear KIPS lil silicone disks in the joints, just like one would with resin dolls

can't properly search on phone.... but basically something like this
https://puppy52dolls.com/tutorial/kips/

2 hours ago, Roserolls said:

Honestly, I recently bought a DDII off of Mandarake and she barely had any floppiness issues at all! Her shoulders were a bit looser than I like though, so I added some white tack-it (the Faber-Castell putty, NOT the glue!) to the shoulder peg. It allows it to still move, just not quite as much and is easy to take off if needed. Other common fixes include putting tape, super glue, or nail polish top coat on the peg instead, but I find that the tape always gets squished down/comes off and the other options are kinda risky for such expensive dolls and can just chip or flake off anyway. I've used tack-it putty for several floppiness fixes now (DDII shoulders, DDf-3 hand peg, and my entire Imomo doll lol) and haven't encountered any problems with the body.

Floppy joints on the DDII are kinda a permanent wear and tear issue, but they can be remedied with the stuff I mentioned. Personally I have no desire to upgrade her to the f-3 body until something actually breaks, since as soon as I got her I completely understood why so many people were upset about Volks switching to the DDIII. The DDII body is really pretty, feels sturdy, and the joints are quiet, I really like it! Sometimes I even consider downgrading my F-3 body to a DDII because I HATE how loose the f-3 bust is on the torso, it's a huge pain having to keep pushing it down when playing with it or dressing her up.

Ahh thank you! Though your comment about her range of motion being reduced on her shoulder seems unpleasant (though it's better than being floppy!). Will I have to choose between floppy and stiff if I do this? Σ(°ロ°)

I haven't yet formed a solid opinion on which body I like best in a visual sense, but this week I've been coming to understand why people prefer DDII over DDIII. It feels more.. Natural? DDIII has a torso that feels a bit long, and it's not a HUGE deal to me, but I think that DDII has nicer proportions overall. I see why people weren't happy with the release of DDIII.

1 hour ago, Anna-neko said:

aaah yes, the oldskool body floppy fixes

VolksUSA used to have a whole blog post about it, using clear KIPS lil silicone disks in the joints, just like one would with resin dolls

can't properly search on phone.... but basically something like this
https://puppy52dolls.com/tutorial/kips/

Ooh! This seems quite promising. I'd love to hear anyone's personal anecdotes on the before/after of kipping their dolls, in terms of posing. I assume it doesn't get the posing back to 100% the way it was before, but makes it good enough to not have much of a complaint? LOLOLOL

8 minutes ago, skeuo said:

Ahh thank you! Though your comment about her range of motion being reduced on her shoulder seems unpleasant (though it's better than being floppy!). Will I have to choose between floppy and stiff if I do this? Σ(°ロ°)

I haven't yet formed a solid opinion on which body I like best in a visual sense, but this week I've been coming to understand why people prefer DDII over DDIII. It feels more.. Natural? DDIII has a torso that feels a bit long, and it's not a HUGE deal to me, but I think that DDII has nicer proportions overall. I see why people weren't happy with the release of DDIII.

Oh, to clarify, it doesn't make it stiff at all! It was too loose before, so now it's just the right tension, not too stiff or anything. Her arms still move easily, they just don't flop down when I lift them like before.

Edited December 3 by Roserolls

7 hours ago, Roserolls said:

Oh, to clarify, it doesn't make it stiff at all! It was too loose before, so now it's just the right tension, not too stiff or anything. Her arms still move easily, they just don't flop down when I lift them like before.

Ohh, I see! I guess your initial wording confused me a little LOLOL. Thanks!

The major bouts of floppiness on the two DDIIs I got off Mandarake is that their ankles have some trouble keeping poses unless you pose them just right and their feet like to drop off. Beyond that, I haven't noticed much.

Mandarake has the tendency to be overly cautious when describing damage. I've bought items in boxes described as "heavily damaged" that were pretty much mint upon receipt. Some of my dolls had "staining", where I'm sure Mandarake must have cranked up the contrast on their pictures because I can't find it in normal daylight. 

 

 

10 hours ago, Kemonomimicry said:

The major bouts of floppiness on the two DDIIs I got off Mandarake is that their ankles have some trouble keeping poses unless you pose them just right and their feet like to drop off. Beyond that, I haven't noticed much.

Mandarake has the tendency to be overly cautious when describing damage. I've bought items in boxes described as "heavily damaged" that were pretty much mint upon receipt. Some of my dolls had "staining", where I'm sure Mandarake must have cranked up the contrast on their pictures because I can't find it in normal daylight. 

 

 

I suppose it's better to overstate flaws than understate them That's good to know, though! I'll still keep these fixes in mind in case the looseness is significant enough to be noticeable with typical use.

The DDf3 2.0 body has a pretty bad ankle design in terms of floppiness too and none of the screws address the flaw.  (And the MDD F3 2.0 has an awful elbow design the depends on the vinyl to hold it steady, something they addressed on the DDf3 2.0.)  The DDf3 2.0 I own was much harder to get to stand than the DD3 bodies I have, and probably worse than the DD2s when they were new.  Fortunately it was easy enough to tighten up with super glue.

The joint I recall having the most issues with on the DD2 was the elbow.  Always on the loose end for if you wanted it to hold things like Saber's sword.

All doll bodies have some issue.  I think the only ones in the Dollfie Dream line I'd straight out tell people to stay clear of were the DD1 (strung) and the original MDD which just wanted to drop limbs like a zombie if you looked at it sideways.