Open Question

Do most of you adopt completed girls or buy the body parts and put them together yourselves?

Most of my girls have been purchased as complete girls. But I've also built a few of them from the ground up by getting heads painted and then adding those to bodies I got from elsewhere.

 

Of my 18 girls, only 6 were built...

 

Mamimi - DDS - 01 head

Sprout - DDII - 01 head

Reiko - DDII - 02 head

Kino - MDD - 01 head

Minako - MDD - 01 head

Hitomi - MDD - 04 head

 

All my others were bought complete.

 

 

 

Billy

All my limited girls (Feena, Kud, Cirno, Haruka, Sakuya, Saber, Rin) started as complete. My custom girls were assembled in pieces (Mahoro, Miku)

I guess it's a bit of both. All the girls I have with me now are limited dolls (that I have missed the lottery for), so it's cheaper for me to buy them in parts. I will only buy fullsets if the price is cheap or directly from Volks.

 

Doll Family

Lily: as parts

Sakura: as a fullset

Airi (Rina): as parts

Sora (Sakuno): as parts (everything except her body together)

Kirito (Lily): as parts

Asuna (Secret): as a fullset

 

Other dolls that I have owned in the past:

Kotori: as a fullset

Reimu: as a fullset

Custom 06: as parts

Natsuki: as a fullset

Miu: as parts

Saber Extra: as a fullset

I only have one girl but for the others I'm planning to do I am assembling them and customizing them. I haven't seen that many characters I want intact...well maybe Fate from Lyrical Nanoha....

Both Tana and Maiko were bought part-by-part. Tana was a bit bass-ackwards, buying a body first, then deciding on an SQLabs head, Maiko was a bit more normal, buying her head from chibinezumi, then looking for a body.

I think when I find my next one, she'll probably be the same way. I have a head sculpt in mind, but getting her "whole" might be difficult....

Completed girls so far. Of course, just because it comes as a full set doesn't mean that you can't modify them afterwards.

 

Nerina (Saber Extra) and Sakura (Sakura Shinguji) have had wig changes, and Nerina has a different set of eyes now as well. Anna (Aoi ver2) is still default for the moment, but that's mostly because I'm struggling to find anything that I like for her. Although I actually really like her default eyes and wig, she's really grown on me and is my favourite girl. As soon as I saw her expression, I just fell in love XD

 

I'm thinking that I'll probably switch Anna to a DDdy body though (If I can ever find one). The L bust she came with is very nice, but I really feel that some seriously rockin' curves will fit her perfectly.

I purchased 7 of mine as complete sets

 

*Yuki M. ~ Fullset

*Allison (Alna WS Version) ~ Fullset

*Sakura Matou ~ Fullset

*Rina Ogata ~ Fullset

*Yoko Littner ~ Fullset

*Usagi (Miu Amaha) ~ Fullset

*Sara (Custom HDD 02 she already had a face up and seller included a body and an outfit)

 

Only one was purchased in phases/pieces

*Mashiro Mito

~Default outfit along with her ears and tail were secured first

~Her head and eyes secured a few months after the clothes

~A body for her was secured after about 3months of having her head and eyes

 

And honestly I HATED doing the phase thing. I'm really impatient so it was rough having such long waits in between to get her complete. But sadly it was the best money wise at that current time for me to be able to secure her that way since she was so highly sought after by me.

 

But at least I am lucky enough to own her and she is finally complete. I do know for a fact I will never do that method again. I would rather save money back to purchase a fullset girl. Having a floating head bothered me too much and made me sad.

10 of my girls are full sets I got from lottery entries or limited releases (Rin, Sakuno, Saber Lily, Saber Alter, Kud, Yuki Morikawa, Nanoha, Neris, Sasara, Ilya) , 2 of them are standard models I bought from Volks USA (Yukino, Mayu), I have 4 custom girls that are sharing two bodies at the moment (should have seperate bodies for them all shortly) and 1 I bought aftermarket as a fullset (Sakuya, who was quite costly....).

 

Don't think I would have the patience to piece a girl together from parts myself!

Out of my six girls that are currently home, half were bought fullset and half were pieced together. My fullsets were Akira, Eliana (Saber Extra), and Selena (Saber Alter v.2). And although they still retain some of their standard look, they have all been changed somewhat. My other girls, Ayano, Mitsuki, and Kotone are standard heads that I did the faceups for and picked out bodies for. In Mitsuki's case she used to be on the MDD body but I recently put her on an MDDIII body, which was reeeally in pieces.

I prefer entire bodies rather than assembling it piece by piece, but other than that I don't mind if it's full set or independent body + head. I bought Ms. Mariko because I liked her head and it was convenient for it to come with a matching body.

My first girl is arriving soon and she is in parts, it's going to be a learning experience it doesn't scare me. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the way she is constructed up close and personnal.

Nanoha was straightforward: bought her full set, used, off Mandarake. Though I did end up making her a custom pair of eyes as I do *not* care for her default eyes one bit.

 

Agatha was a wee bit more complicated. Got her secondhand off Den of Angels; her previous owner had put her together and included the eyes, wigs, and clothes she'd bought for her in the sale. However I didn't end up using all those bits, since they ended up not fitting my idea of who Agatha was going to be, so a couple things have been sold and replaced with other stuff over time.

 

I really like the process of building a custom girl, even if it takes quite a bit of time for things to start to fall into place; it's really fun to see how much a difference little things can make and it does give you a particular emotional bond. But there is something to be said for getting a girl who already looks like the character right from the box, especially since Volks does make really nice looking clothes. Basically, both approaches are valid and rewarding, just in different ways.

I like to get them in parts, it makes them "affordable" and I have more control over how they look. I like to do my own faceups too. I also don't have a big interested in having character dolls, so there's no point for me in getting a fullset. I do have a limited--Lucy, but I got her without her outfit or wig, so the only extra was her faceup, (which I might touch up in the spring).

I think this question is related to this topic. Based on your experience would a completed DD or a DD in parts be more affordable to buy and easy for a newbie to handle? If this should get its own topic let me know and I will make one.

A girl in parts- a blank head, a body, a wig, eyes, etc.- is only less expensive if you can do face ups yourself. If you have to send it for a face up, it costs about the same as a standard girl (Yukino, Aoi, Rena, etc.). The point to sending it for a face up rather than getting a standard (if you can't paint) is if you want her to look different from the standard makeup. A fullset will be the most expensive route, but if that's what you really want, then getting a girl just because she's less expensive might mean that you don't bond well with her. Either way, DDs are fairly easy to handle as they aren't super prone to falling damage or anything. Hope that helps.

I see. That makes things more clear. Thank you for the help!

In my experience -which is limited I admit- this hobby is all about getting what YOU want as a collector. If there is a specific character you want that has been released by Volks, get that. It might be cheaper to buy a fullset of that doll because you save on shipping and customs. Alternatively, if you're going to customise that girl and you know you wont use the outfit or something, you should get her in parts or in a split.

 

If you want a doll of a character that hasn't been released by volks you'll have to get her in parts or buy a fullset and customise her. Like I'm doing with my Medea (Caster from Fate/Stay Night) and hopefully an MDD of Iris Blanchimont. Personally if you want a character from an anime, It'll come to the same price as a fullset because of outfit commissions and what not.

 

But like I said, it is all about getting what you want.

I actually pride myself a bit on having all custom kids, even though one of them is keeping her default faceup and is a limited head. I really enjoy the creating process. Sure I like to get my kids done soon but I love hunting over tons of sites to figure out just the right combo for who I'm working on. I'm really excellent about seeing and constructing things in my head from random sources. That is a major factor in why I have yet to be disappointed when they are completed. I don't do it piece by piece because of the cost, that's a moot point to me. If I feel the need to go out of my way to get the DD I want, I'm also willing to save up whatever it takes to do it. Sure there is a lot of sacrifices I deal with in the background (aka I don't whine about it), but in the end it's worth it to me.

 

Kos-Mos is my first complete girl and it is really a novelty for me, especially since there is the long wait time as well. Eve with her though, the faceup will be wiped and redone, wig replaced, and complete wardrobe change, so even she isn't going to be without work. Hmmm... does that make her a piecemeal girl too? I'm just amazed that she will come in a custom box!

 

Kids finished Piece-by-piece

 

Tamayuki (although I did buy most of him all at once from Volks)

Naiomi

Rainie

Secret girl

 

(I also have 5 more works in progress at the moment too that are piece by piece. )

 

I think it's a bit funny that the blank heads don't bother me at all but I get really uncomfortable having a complete DD with no body. Ideally I think the body would be what I aim for, after getting the head. Without the head I've got nothing to figure out. Lone wigs and random eyes don't spark anything.

 

~Sister Kyoya

There are a lot of factors on why people build piece by piece or buy fullest. Some like the limited factor of full sets, others like the customization of piece by piece. Sometimes its just a money factor and a lot of folks can't afford to plonk down $650-$1000 for a full set at one time. Building your own lets you decide how long and when you can afford parts.

 

Typically a good custom almost works out about the same as a fullset. Your just not putting the money down all at once. If you can do a good face-up yourself, you are definitely saving there. Ditto on sewing and accessory making.

 

As for my preference, every one of my girls is a pure custom so far. Even the one limited head I own has been given a face-up by me. I like to build and create, and that is probably the biggest draw to why I prefer custom and this hobby. However I want to try something new, and have pre-ordered a MOMO fullest. So your direction and taste can always change. (Although I will probably still change her wig/clothes at least)

 

For maximum happiness I think a mix of both custom and limited is the way to go, but that is just personal opinion.

I have one complete, an 1st version Aoi, and a custom head that I plan on looking for a body for in a few weeks. There are a few character dolls I would love (Alna!), but I just don't have the money at this point.

Thank you to everyone who answered, it's been very interesting reading what you have all done and it certainly has helped me reach a decision.

 

I can sew (love period fashion) and have customised other dolls before, so I think I will probably buy DDS Mayu as a completed doll as her smile and shape really appeal to me. Then any additional dolls will be purchased piece by piece.

 

I look forward to the challenge of doing the face up and designing/making some unusual clothes.

 

Thanks again, you have been very forthcoming.

Thank you to everyone who answered, it's been very interesting reading what you have all done and it certainly has helped me reach a decision.

 

I can sew (love period fashion) and have customised other dolls before, so I think I will probably buy DDS Mayu as a completed doll as her smile and shape really appeal to me. Then any additional dolls will be purchased piece by piece.

 

I look forward to the challenge of doing the face up and designing/making some unusual clothes.

 

Thanks again, you have been very forthcoming.

 

This is one reason I simply adore our community here, everyone tries to be very helpful, polite, and just friendly.

 

Congrats on choosing a girl! My DD life has only been about a year long, but wow, it really has changed so much for me. It has been all for the better, even if my wallet doesn't agree, but my heart sure does. I can't wait to see what kind of clothes your girl ends up with! I love sewing.

 

~Sister Kyoya

I purchase them in parts because it is easier for my wallet.

For me, it's some of each. Yuriko I self-assembled, but I have M.O.M.O on pre-order (Although I intend to change her eyes). All of the other dolls I have in my head so far are customs. I'm just picky about my girls, I will only get one that I truly fall in love with, and I don't fall in love easily. Also, the character dolls that I want haven't been made yet and likely never will because they are from older series. If another girl comes along, like M.O.M.O, who sweeps me off my feet, then I will certainly be willing to purchase fullset again, but I really love the process of imagining what I want a girl to look like and trying to pick out all the right pieces to get her there perfectly. I also find that that process helps me bond a lot easier (something else I have difficulty with).