hello!

thanks to the nice suggestion of user dreamcore~ on flickr, i registered here a little while ago and have been lurking on-and-off.

 

i've always liked toys (and anime) but last year i became very interested in collecting and started spending a lot of money on this hobby. i have a mixed collection of anime figures, figmas, nendos, busou shinki, vinyls, lego, mecha, mlp, monster high, plushies, pullips and asian resin BJDs. although i am a bit picky about what i actually buy within each type, you can see i like variety.

 

i decided to take the plunge and start collecting DDs in 2012 since i had admired them for a long time. currently i own two official character dolls (Nia DD and Konomi MSD) as well as another MSD that i did the face-up for myself (i call her Ril at the moment, but sometimes it takes me a while to settle on one name). aside from Ril's blank head and accoutrements (Volks will never restock the MSD body!), everything was plundered through second-hand purchasing so even though it's a silly idea, i feel like i'm giving them a new home (and i like wondering why the old owners had to sell them, even though it makes me kind of sad). i'm also currently waiting on Marya DD which i'm pretty excited for as she was one of the first DDs i saw and made me want to start collecting.

 

my current holy grail (which i hope to attain soon) is Ayanami Rei (maid version), although i'd be very tempted by the earlier prototypes. i keep finding Asuka for sale and nearly bidding on her, but i feel like i couldn't until i own Rei!

 

i don't have any photos to share of my DDs yet (actually i do, but they're on my camera waiting to be uploaded and processed!) but if you like, you can find me on MFC at /profile/leitan and on Flickr at /people/leitan.

 

thank you, and it's nice to meet you all.

hi

 

welcome to forums

Hello and welcome!

Welcome aboard! I hope you have fun looking around and joining in the conversations. Rei is an excellent choice to go after! I have the original that was released on the DDI body and I love her to bits. I hope you can find one to add to your family soon!

 

 

Billy

thanks all! rei is my collection mascot, i have a lot of merchandise and figures relating to her, so it would make sense that i should quest for her.

 

there are two auctions on YJA right now that i'm keeping my eye on - they're the 2004 versions, not the 2008 release. it's so tempting. i have this sinking feeling i am going to end up bidding, even though i wanted to hold out for 2008 rei (inevitably, i may end up with more than one rei).

thanks all! rei is my collection mascot, I have a lot of merchandise and figures relating to her, so it would make sense that i should quest for her.

 

Oooo! Any chance we can see some pics of the Rei goodness?

 

There are two auctions on YJA right now that i'm keeping my eye on - they're the 2004 versions, not the 2008 release. it's so tempting. i have this sinking feeling i am going to end up bidding, even though i wanted to hold out for 2008 rei (inevitably, i may end up with more than one rei).

 

personally, I prefer the original Rei. I like her eyes better than the newer version and I think she has more of the attitude shown in the anime. But that's not to say that the newer Rei isn't nice, I like her too.

 

Just know that if you are bidding on the original Rei, she may come with the DDI body which is vastly different form the DDII body. I'm not sure how up to date you are on those bodies so I figured I'd mention it.... you may already know. My Rei had the DDI body and I swapped it for the DDII after a few months.

 

And there's nothing wrong with multiple Rei's! The more the better!

 

 

Billy

i have a -few- pictures of some of my noble Rei collection on my MFC and flickr (which i mentioned the urls in my intro post) if you're interested, but i still need to dobleepent a lot of my collection (i am only really just getting into photography after being gifted a good camera by my s/o)

 

i've been looking at photos of the 2004 Rei DDs and i really see their appeal, so the more i think about it the more i want to bid. of course, there's no guarantee i'll win but you made some really good points and i think i agree, the maid version is a little "cosplay/fan-service" while the originals seem more...canon?

 

i am aware of the body differences, but i would have to see the doll in person before deciding to swap the body or not.

 

there is absolutely nothing wrong with multiple Rei indeed! at the risk of talking about spoilers, i could even hint that it's entirely true to the spirit of Eva....

Welcome leitan.

thank you for the welcome Talolili...

 

to continue the saga of Rei, i'm feeling very conflicted right now!

 

i won the auction for the '04 Rei which i am very happy about - i really look forward to getting her... and not a few hours later, two people online made me aware of two '08 Reis on sale. One NIB for 90000 JPY and one good condition used for 75000 JPY.

 

this is after not being able to find her at all [for a reasonable price] since i started looking a little while ago. Nia and Rei are the only current characters i could justify spending more than about 80000JPY on since i really love them both... but if i bid or buy on the '08 Rei now, i will have gone way over the budget i intended to spend on dolls for march/april - '04 Rei was supposed to be my last DD purchase until at least May since i'd given up on finding the other version anytime soon.

 

it's not that i can't afford to the '08 Rei right now, but if i buy her i will be going over budget, and that feels irresponsible... but if i wait, i worry her price will go up in future, or that i won't be able to find her again...

 

what to do? i'm so tempted. it feels like a "now or never" situation but maybe i'm being overdramatic and i will find her again in a month or two?

Hi and welcome. As a 08 Rei owner, I'd say go for it but that's just me . Maybe you could adjust your budget since May is just a moth away? If you don't feel comfortable, I'm sure there will be another 08 Rei available. I got mine from Mandarake for about 65000 yen I think, but that was 2010. They show up there from time to time. Corny as it may sound, go with your heart?

 

Best of luck and welcome again!

hey katnaper ^^

 

i asked someone else what to do and they said pretty much the same thing! i also asked my s/o his opinion and he said "i'd buy it if it's going to go up in collector's value over the years" (which made me laugh- but how could i sell Rei? maybe to avoid being homeless...) so umm... i may end up doing it. but it will mean refraining from impulse buys and such for while, as well as i had planned on buying more accessories and such for my owned DDs which i might not now.

maybe i'm worrying too much though - it's not that i'm unable to pay the rent or buy food! i just like to be in control of my spending and not go too crazy at one time. i know some people feel amazingly lucky to own even one doll and here i am debating if i should buy two of the same character at once - it makes me feel a bit silly.

hey katnaper ^^

 

i asked someone else what to do and they said pretty much the same thing! i also asked my s/o his opinion and he said "i'd buy it if it's going to go up in collector's value over the years" .

 

Smart man. He's right you know. The one thing about DDs is I find they're like Pringles in that you can't just stop at one. LOL. Seriously though, go with what is comfortable for you. If you're going to stress out about over spending then wait up a bit. Like I said, I'm sure there will still be a Rei available somewhere. But if you do decide to get her, I guess the gals will just have to wait for a while before they get their accessories. Or you can look at it this way: Rei - Rare, might not be available again for months vs Accessories - can always get anytime... that should help??

well... i did it. mandarake ship so insanely fast - maid rei arrived today and she is beautiful. right now she's sitting next to my nia and i am very very pleased.

 

meanwhile i only just got invoiced for the '04 rei so it could be 1-2 weeks before i get her, but i am in no rush at all (although i'm really curious to see how they look side by side).

 

i'm glad everyone encouraged me to buy her. i've taken some pics already and will upload them when i can...

 

since the goal has been achieved, although there are other character DDs who i would very much like to own one day, i am happy with the size of my DD family right now and hope to focus on acquiring outfits, wigs, hands and other essentials before doing so... and making sure i have a nice place to display them as well.

Congratulations! So happy for you . Rei is lovely. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your girl. And yeah, mandarake shipping is insane eh?

Congrats on getting BOTH Reis! I can't wait to see pictures of them! I know you will adore the frist version of her. Pictures do NOT do her justice. You'll see what I mean when she arrives.

 

 

 

Billy

thank you guys!

here's a teaser pic of her with nia that i took this afternoon...

 

 

i probably won't have time to do a full photoshoot and edit, upload it for a day or so (who knows) since i might be a little busy, and i should probably start a thread in the right forum for that when i do...

 

but i am actually very curious to see rei v1 now. maid rei is lovely, but there is one thing about her that i don't get: her eyes. they're amber. everyone knows rei has red eyes, even the box she came in has a picture of her with red eyes! not as if making them red is a problem for volks either, since my konomi MDD has pure red eyes.

 

what would you guys' opinions be on replacing her eyes with red ones? i'd keep the originals safe of course. it just seems a little odd... oh, and i noticed her eyebrows are a dark teal (green) color instead of a mid-to-dark blue (or even light blue) which would have matched her wig a little more accurately... but i don't think i would ever try to alter a limited character doll's face-up without a LOT of serious consideration first. maybe i'll get her a teal wig instead!

 

it still hasn't really sunk in that i *have* her yet... it might take a few days... but now i really want to see how she looks next to her prototype.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Guest

That's a cute teaser pic! I need to see more of Nia too!

 

If it were me, I'd swap out Rei V2's eyes for real red ones. Just keep her defaults for later use. But to me, Rei isn't Rei without some deep red eyes.

 

I also think that Rei V2's face is a bit too wide to match with the anime version of her. The V1 is way closer in my opinion.... but I'm jaded since I really love my V1 Rei. I'm interested to see what you think of Rei V1 when she arrives!

 

 

Billy

Congrats on getting her in! I know what you mean about the arrival feeling a little surreal; I got that with each of my girls.

 

As for changing her eyes, if her defaults aren't doing it for you, go for it! I changed out Nanoha's default eyes and couldn't be happier that I did it. (Of course, in her case, it was a more drastic need for change, as her defaults are a rather unnerving near-black, but still.) In addition to checking Volks, there's also some anime-style eyes at Leekeworld, Cool-Cat, and Twin Snow. Dollfie World sometimes gets in some of the Japanese customs, too, once in a while. For commissioning custom eyes, there's Ersa Flora. Alternately, you can get some Pupapa Paradise D.Eye.Y. blanks, same as Ersa Flora uses, and create your own, which is what I did since I'm a DIY addict and a bit picky. (If you want more info on how assembling your own from D.Eye.Y.s works, just ask and I'll give you a detailed description.)

 

Ooh, a turquoise wig with her white skin I bet would be gorgeous. I think Mitsuki's got a group order with Leekeworld going right now, and they have a standard turquoise color that may be close to her eyebrows. I think one of this season's limited colors may also be a darker turquoise, though I'm not completely sure off the top of my head.

hey baldy, there are a couple pics of Nia on my flickr if you're interested, but... i wanna do a more "natural" looking photoshoot with her, rei, and maybe my other girls - and then once that's done i will start a photo thread for it.

 

i see the wideness in the face.... canonically she's portrayed as being pretty gaunt. i'm definitely going to look for some nice red eyes then. nothing wrong with being jaded, it happens to us all... and i think nostalgia affects what we like and what we don't... after all that's why i'm a rei fan in the first place.

 

thanks for all the recommendations on where to get them, Poofie. i've only purchased eyes from Volks USA before although i've seen them on sites like coolcat etc. you mentioned some names i didn't recognize so i will look them up and have a browse! i can be very picky at times myself so i understand. thanks for all your helpful suggestions.

 

since Nia's wig actually has turquoise tips, i might do a wig swap with them to get an idea of what Rei would look like with a more greenish tone in her hair. we'll see how that turns out!