Costs involved in copying this Horo Dollfie

Also starting to wonder if I want to be as pale as his, or go with a 'normal' skin colour. But pictures seem to be all over the place in terms of saturation, so I'm not really sure yet. I'd like some skin tone, but not too pink either. In some photos 'normal' skin looks pleasantly pale, in others however they look too pink. The white skin looks far too lifeless in some photos, and seems to have some colour in others. So yeah, not sure.

Much as she hates to admit it, Holo is a spirit of the wheat who is outside all the time. If you have a choice, white skin may not make as much sense for her realistically speaking, since it is ghostly white and the only color comes from cheek blushing on the faceup. White skin does look good, especially Saber Alter, but I'm not sure it's quite Holo. You might want to try and compare white and normal skin side by side if you can and choose from there.

 

The good news is that you actually can choose either white or normal skin for this particular version of Holo. Saber Alter and original blue Saber have the same head and identical faceups (other than amount of blush), so you've got a white skin and a normal skin option for this head. The bad news is that cost and availability is definitely a factor in your decision: it's far cheaper and easier to get an AlterII head than it is to get an original blue Saber head. (assuming you don't want to wipe/repaint any doll heads; Saber Extra is easy to get and has normal skin, but has a different, less intense-looking faceup). I suspect that being able to get the whiteskin Alter easily might have influenced the original owner's skin choice.

 

Those are your major choices for using Saber's head as a base to build Holo upon.

What do those look like? Is it a standard item you can buy easily?

 

Yep! You can find it on Volks USA.

 

 

Good God, 12$?

You can buy better ones for 1.50$ a piece http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=other_07&Category=411907

I'm sure You'll find a strip of foam for free

 

Being there, You can buy at CoolCat some other things for Your Horo, for example a metal wig brush (I recommend it, it's very good), clothes, eyes etc.

 

As for the head and skin colour - I'd say the normal skin is better suited for Horo.

And take a look at the DDH-07 head.

 

 

It's normal skin, very nice, mature and with a light smile. IMO she may make a very nice Horo.

You'll find it quite cheaper than Saber, even the Volks' prepainted 07 (from 11000 JPY on Y!J)

Edited July 7, 2017 by Guest

To those of you angry/disappointed/upset/sad that I want to copy someone elses 'girl', you should be ecstatic that I'm already looking to differ mine from his. I worry though that by changing it up, she'll look off, or wrong.

 

Honestly, I don't think anyone is going to be "angry" or "upset" with you, regardless of what you ultimately decide to do. This is one of the friendly and more laid-back forums I've seen, even if you wouldn't guess at much from this particular thread (honestly, I think this thread is about as argumentative as people tend to get on here, and it's still super-mild). People might not agree with what you do, but I don't think anyone wants you to feel personally attacked or unwelcome. Unless you're flinging literal poo at people, I think everyone will want you to participate and enjoy the hobby -- yes, even me, even if I don't agree with the copying thing.

 

I think this is well said. In the end it's about enjoying the hobby in each our own way. With all the choices out there it's almost impossible to not be tempted to try out other options. I think you'll find that shooting for something will lead you to a much more varied result in the end, something you can call your own.

Much as she hates to admit it, Holo is a spirit of the wheat who is outside all the time. If you have a choice, white skin may not make as much sense for her realistically speaking, since it is ghostly white and the only color comes from cheek blushing on the faceup. White skin does look good, especially Saber Alter, but I'm not sure it's quite Holo. You might want to try and compare white and normal skin side by side if you can and choose from there.

 

That was exactly what I thought initially. It seems wierd for Holo not to be lightly tanned. That doesn't really come out in the anime (where she is quite pale), but there are a few official pieces of art around that show her with darker skin.

 

 

With regard to the copying of a doll: Copying someone else's art without permission is wrong, no matter how you look at it. However a person has no right to complain of copying when their own "creation" is a copy of someone else's work (as in this situation where the doll is a replica of an anime character). I'm not a paragon when it comes to these things myself, but I always try to keep a clear understanding of this principle.

Ugh... Really quiet annoying that I can't post links, or quote people who posted links...

 

@Sister Kyoya & Kumi, Thanks for those links to the face protectors!

 

As for the comments on skin colour, while some artwork does show Horo with darker skin... Most of the official artwork I've seen show her as being quite pale, not pure white, but pale for sure. This varies a bit on the artists style, but she's consistently more pale than someone who spends time outside all the time should be. But she IS a goddess/deity of sorts. That said, even Lawrence is quite pale for someone who rides a wagon outdoors all the time, so, anime is not very realistic

 

Maybe I'll look into photoshopping Dan's photos a bit to try and add some skin tone back in and see what that looks like, if it throws me off or what.

 

With regard to the copying of a doll: Copying someone else's art without permission is wrong, no matter how you look at it. However a person has no right to complain of copying when their own "creation" is a copy of someone else's work (as in this situation where the doll is a replica of an anime character). I'm not a paragon when it comes to these things myself, but I always try to keep a clear understanding of this principle.

 

We're on the same page, I do say that.

 

I could see copying being annoying if you created something unique, but a character copy isn't all that unique, even if you do own the only one. It's still a copy of a character which others may want to duplicate.

 

---------------------

 

A question about resale... Lets say I buy a head, whatever the heads cost, lets use Kumi's example of ¥11,000, in general, how much could I turn around and sell it for if I decide it wasn't the right head for Horo. We'll assume perfect condition, but has it's faceup done. Just curious how much trial and error might cost me.

Limited heads tend to stay in price - even the prepainted 07 (with Volks factory faceup) is considered limited so chances are, You will get what You paid. Maybe minus shipping and import taxes, maybe less.

If You do some impulse buy for a higher than usual price then You will probably lose some more money but not much.

 

However, once You will have Your first DD, then probably the spending will start.

She will demand more clothes, more shoes, and most importantly more sisters

 

PS. Stay here, post more, You will have access to quotes and pictures in few days.

People keep saying I'll collect more than one. But I personally doubt it, there isn't another character I'm willing to spend so crazily on, $800-1200 is a lot of money. I have too many expensive hobbies, and the motorcycle hobby takes precedence over all else these days. Perhaps alternate clothes, or at best, I 'remake' Horo and sell the original parts as I go along. But I don't see multiple in the cards, just unaffordable. If we go with the daughter thing, Horo will be an only child, a spoiled only child. But seeing as I'd rather her be my wife than my daughter... that makes that even creepier ... I don't need a harem of Dollfies, or concubines, or children...

 

 

(Famous last words right?)

...DD models, as someone has on the blog. Or just girls

 

People keep saying I'll collect more than one. But I personally doubt it, there isn't another character I'm willing to spend so crazily on, $800-1200 is a lot of money.

 

Everyone says that. Been there, done that

For me 800$ is much, much more than for You, believe me, and I have three... orz

But, to be honest, they weren't that pricey.

 

One DD is lonely, even on photos.

Maybe You can settle for two. Two DDs can interact, open more options for photography.

It's not $800+ because You can build one for ~450$ or even less, there are deals sometimes, depending mainly of the head. Volks' standard models start at ~$500.

And the second girl can share clothes, shoes and wigs which You will have in the drawer, bought for Your first.

Everyone has such drawer, no exceptions

Good God, 12$?

You can buy better ones for 1.50$ a piece http://us.sk-coolcat.com/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=other_07&Category=411907

I'm sure You'll find a strip of foam for free

 

I'm sorry, I couldn't help laughing when I saw this. I know Volks is the worst (especially when you tack on the shipping if you bought just this item ) but I was tired and it was the easiest to think of.

 

Personally I think the 07 head look much more like Holo than Saber does. I even have an 07 head so I've seen it in person (although it was blank). In my opinion the original pic you are going from makes it look like Saber is doing a Holo cosplay. Sure it is very good, but I thought of Saber first and Holo second when I saw it.

 

As for the normal skin, it is not tan in the least, but it does have a more realistic color. It in fact matches my own skin, and I am very pale. The white skin is white to parchment white, and much more translucent than the normal skin, part of the reason why I find it hard to photograph.

 

As for the resale with a faceup, it really depends on who the faceup artist is, their skill level, and how desirable the end result is. Sure the sculpt plays a factor too, but that's not everything.

 

As for the lone DD... My husband (Ravendruid) bought his first DD Yuriko with the intent of her being a photography model. For quite some time he was frustrated with not really knowing what to do with her. After almost a year he has his second girl on preorder. After a while he found that not having anyone she could regularly interact with was taking the fun out of it for him. She tends to be overbearing to her little brother Tamayuki, and has rather alienated her sister Naiomi in one fell bodice removing swoop. She was like an actor on an empty stage with just a pretty background. I know there are some who have stuck with just a single girl, although I can't think of who off the top of my head, so it is possible.

 

Me on the other hand started out with a complete MDD and a second head. I had no misconceptions that I wanted a small doll family. Just over a year later I have 4 complete (2 waiting to be returned from faceups), 4 waiting for bodies and other misc., a head on layaway, and a girl preordered. I knew this would be a happy addiction to me, but holy **** I didn't expect it to explode quite like this. None of that includes all of the stuff that Hubby and I have collected and made for our DD either. My MDD Tamayuki's first collecting addiction was furniture, but thankfully has moved on to stickers for the moment.

 

~Sister Kyoya

To those of you angry/disappointed/upset/sad that I want to copy someone elses 'girl', you should be ecstatic that I'm already looking to differ mine from his. I worry though that by changing it up, she'll look off, or wrong.

 

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. I'm not yet convinced to spend the money, I think I'll have to at some point see some in person and have a better idea then. At least estimates seem fairly consistent all around, so I can try and budget that out. Bonus, sold a figure yesterday, that'll cover 10-20%!

 

That actually makes me at least feel better. Custom girls are indeed a lot of work (*shoots a glance at Agatha the Never-Ending Project), so this kind of research will help make sure that she's the most satisfactory girl for you personally--which is what will get you through the slow bits of the customizing process, and what really matters in the end.

 

Your indecision regarding skin tone is something I can empathize with--while I knew Agatha would be a normal skin DDDy from the get-go, a LOT of other things drove me nuts for a while. Artists in any medium just aren't always consistent (further complicated by deliberate variations like emulating lighting changes), and the artist for Agatha's source material Girl Genius is particularly prone to a sort of "detail drift" even between adjacent pages. >.< In the end I found it was best to make note of which versions of hair/clothes/face/eyes that I simply liked better and running with that.

 

I guess when in doubt go with your gut instinct on what you like and what looks particularly good to you, since when it's all said and done you're the one whose opinion really matters.

 

Grats on the figure sale btw! Yeah, custom girls (especially ones using limited heads) aren't exactly easy on the wallet--another reason to do some hunting into your options before actually plunking down the cash, since it buys you time to not only make a confident decision but to get all your ducks in a row.

 

(As for the "this will be my only one", yes, those are very famous last words in this hobby, lol. But there's nothing to say that you have to adopt your second one quickly. The gap between Agatha and Nanoha's homecomings was a year and a half!)

Don't worry about getting a second DD, when you don't even have your first. There's nothing wrong with having a collection of just one. You'll probably find that alternate outfits or costumes are nice to have, though.

 

I do think Holo fits the normal skin tone rather than white. You can always got a blank 07 head (or one of the other 6 option heads, if you prefer) and commission a face-up, some face-up artists will even do modifications such as reshaping the mouth or eye holes.

 

Have you looked into the ears and tail yet? You'll definitely want to attach the ears with magnets (or possibly sew them to the wig, although I don't believe I've seen that done). One option you have is this YJA seller: http://www.rinkya.com/new/en/selling-list-suijin725eb He's out of stock on the eact color you'd want, but he'll make more. The ears may be a bit on the bushy side for Holo though. One of my friend's dolls has a set of these, and bares a slight resemblance to Holo: http://www.scripple.org/forum/index.php?topic=149.msg483#msg483 There are other choices, I'm sure, I think Dollmore has resin ears that may be smaller. Or maybe it was Leeke World.

Have you looked into the ears and tail yet? You'll definitely want to attach the ears with magnets (or possibly sew them to the wig, although I don't believe I've seen that done).

 

I was hugely tempted to sew on Tama's kitty ears to his wig, but I just didn't quite feel like buying a 2nd wig for an occasional outfit. One of the reasons I thought about it is because it looks more natural with the hair (minorly at least) and ears normally have a set place where they sit. Magnets could be more fussy depending on your personality, having to open the head to put them in and whatnot. On the other hand though if you wanted the ears to move around for a wider range of expression, magnets would work great. It would even afford the option of happy (upright) and sad/mad (bent) ears too. Er... that is if you can find/make them. I often forget that not everyone enjoys making/sewing stuff as much as I do.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Have you looked into the ears and tail yet? You'll definitely want to attach the ears with magnets (or possibly sew them to the wig, although I don't believe I've seen that done).

 

I was hugely tempted to sew on Tama's kitty ears to his wig, but I just didn't quite feel like buying a 2nd wig for an occasional outfit. One of the reasons I thought about it is because it looks more natural with the hair (minorly at least) and ears normally have a set place where they sit. Magnets could be more fussy depending on your personality, having to open the head to put them in and whatnot. On the other hand though if you wanted the ears to move around for a wider range of expression, magnets would work great. It would even afford the option of happy (upright) and sad/mad (bent) ears too. Er... that is if you can find/make them. I often forget that not everyone enjoys making/sewing stuff as much as I do.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Actually, Mitsuki and I taped the magnets on top of Aoi's head, then put a headcap and her wig over them. Works totally fine, and the ears can be removed for easy transport. And Aoi can wear hoods without the need to cut actual earholes!

SakuraSylph and I only had 1 DD for several years. We got Rin in 2008 and didn't actually get more DDs until last year. We were fine with only 1 DD... until we fell in love with several more.

 

I think the thing that helped is, after we got Rin, we stopped paying attention to the Volks news. We didn't know there were more interesting dolls coming. If you only want one, it seems to work best if you pretend Volks doesn't exist after that. Removes all temptation.

... and abandon Your flickr account, delete DD group and forum membership and all bookmarks in "DD Blogs" folder.

Then maybe, just maybe, You will have the ease in mind in this matter.

But maybe not

... and abandon Your flickr account, delete DD group and forum membership and all bookmarks in "DD Blogs" folder.

Then maybe, just maybe, You will have the ease in mind in this matter.

But maybe not

 

And permanently block Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook...

Good luck.

Well, hey, since Horo likes to prance around naked you could always skip the outfit and just get the tail and the ears...

Well, hey, since Horo likes to prance around naked you could always skip the outfit and just get the tail and the ears...

Not really a fan of joints to be honest. I'd have to get a silicone body and deal with the maintenance on those.

 

Another question for everyone... Are there any other examples of Horo Dollfies to draw inspiration from?

That is the only one I could find!

Want to brainstorm source ideas with me? If you find a seamstress before I do, I would love to know if she'd be willing to do two of the outfits so my Holo could have one as well.

 

You can see the head I'm going with here, it's another official Volks head + faceup, but I chose a slightly lighter wig than Daniel's Holo. I didn't know his existed until after I put my head/body on layaway.

 

The ears/tail I picked are probably going to be temporary. When I have time/money I would like to comission someone to make a set from yarn or make one myself as they look super realistic.

Ah, surprising no one else has. Perhaps that's why I hadn't seen a 'perfect' one before.

 

I don't honestly have anything to brainstorm about, I know nothing of clothing and it's production, or how to make tails or ears... I just learned from your post you can make quite awesome tails out of yarn.

 

All of this is new territory for me.

I haven't even started to look for a seamstress yet, mostly because of the cost..

 

I ordered the ears and tail I'm going with for now from this seller, which is a good start if you're not sure where to look.

 

The other place I'd say looking would be the Den of Angels marketplace, although you require 50 posts to be able to access it, and most of the forum is about resin dolls rather than Dollfie Dreams.

 

Edit" With a closer look, it appears that this Holo is using a real fox tail? Or a very, very convincing fake.