From Resin to Vinyl: The Transition

I currently have a resin YoSD and a custom Monster High. For a while I've considered getting a DD, in the last month or so more recently (wanting a Studio Ghibli DD or MDD greatly contributed to this). I'm wondering, what will be different? Can their bodies be pulled apart like a MH? Are they different to dress? Are they different to bond with than other dolls? Will I be readily accepted in the resin community? Am I accepted here because I have other dolls?

Can their bodies be pulled apart like a MH?

Yes.

 

Are they different to dress?

Dressing a DD is almost basically like dressing a person, so really it's not that hard

 

Are they different to bond with than other dolls?

Honestly your ability to bond with your particular doll can vary from person to person, but as long as you know it's the doll you want and she looks the way you want her to, then bonding with your doll is easy :>

 

Will I be readily accepted in the resin community?

imho, it depends on the community. There are some owners who aren't very accepting of DD owners, but most of the time I see them as accepting as well (the local doll scene is like this, since DD's don't have a very huge presence there yet, a lot of members get rly happy when someone brings a DD to meets )

 

Am I accepted here because I have other dolls?

Of course! Personally I don't think anyone here would be angry at you just because you own a resin doll, the community here is pretty nice

I think the biggest difference will be the size! I actually have trouble bonding with small dolls (anything smaller than 1/4) because I'm used to the larger DD and resin dolls.

 

DD's can be pulled apart at all their joints, but some of them can be a big pain to get back on (for me at least). Hand, shoulder, head, and feet joints are the easiest to work with in my opinion.

 

DD's are composed of a plastic internal frame with hollow pieces of vinyl over top. The vinyl shell can shift around a bit, so that will feel different than either MH or a resin doll.

I've collected resin dolls for 10 years, and only just got my 'first' DDS recently.

 

She's definitely different, but in a really nice way. She's light and soft ^^

I've collected a whole variety of dolls -- from tiny Pinky:St to big-headed Pullips to resin BJDs to vinyl DDs -- and I have to say, I've made a 100% switch to the DDs. They're kind of dangerous, as they've pushed aside all of my other collections!

 

Coming from a primarily Pullip collection (which are about the same size as MH, body-wise), I'd say the biggest changes were:

- Holy crud, clothing is expensive! But wow, it's so much nicer and more detailed.

- No longer able to buy clothing items for them at stores. Really 99% of shopping is online.

- They're HUGE. In theory, 1/3 scale is only double the size of 1/6 scale. In reality, they feel four times bigger. Thankfully they're still quite light, unlike resin.

- You can take apart DDs, but there's very little reason to. Unlike MH, there isn't a huge amount of body variation except for the busts and hands.

- I think dolls with "real" eyes versus painted eyes are easier to bond with (so more like your YoSD). There's more "personality" sparkling out of their eyes, imho.

- You can take apart DDs, but there's very little reason to. Unlike MH, there isn't a huge amount of body variation except for the busts and hands.

- I think dolls with "real" eyes versus painted eyes are easier to bond with (so more like your YoSD). There's more "personality" sparkling out of their eyes, imho.

 

I actually pluck my girls apart pretty often to facilitate easier dressing. Most often it'll be the head or the hands--with the hands I actually like to take the whole wrist joint out, even if I'm changing hand sets because it's just easier than wrestling with the whole doll to get the outer vinyl off. Putting some thicker socks/stockings on is easier if you take the foot off, put the foot into the stocking first, then put the foot-with-stocking back onto the leg. Also, when I put Nanoha into her default, her "boots" are actually option feet, ankle joint and all, so I actually have to take her feet off then. The joints make a really funny popping noise when they come off, almost cartoony. XD

 

As to the eye thing, a thousand times this! That sparkle and depth is just so engaging. It feels like the want to reach out and talk to you--though about what, I've found depends on the girl in question.

I have mostly resin dolls, and my DDS is certainly a star in my collection! She was a doll I'd really wanted, so the bond was instant, and she got pampered right away. I'd also been saving for a Dollfie Dream girl for a while, I hoarded special clothing and wigs for a long time before I found the right girl, so she had a lot of things right out of her box, making it easier to love her. I just need to start buying her different eyes now, she commands it! However, I've been waffling on getting her a DDDy friend or not. Rika's so expensive, I don't want to open the floodgates for other very expensive girls. D:

 

When I dress Rika, I don't hesitate to pull her apart. My Minifees get the same treatment though. The head comes off, then the hands. If something is being tricky, her arms will come off too to help. I love how easy it is to do that! The only thing I hesitate with is her clothes. I don't like staining her, even if I can treat her. If she stains, then she'll need to sit around naked for the treatment! I don't want to do that, there are too many boys sitting on the shelf nearby, and I can't play with her at the drop of a hat. So I can't dress her in everything I want. Even her bikini and fancy panties stain! T^T So she definitely has a downside there. But Rika's M bust DDS body makes her fit in most SD girl clothes, so I don't have any problem buying clothes for her, much to my wallet's dismay.

 

In the resin community, I haven't seen any DD hate. Like Aile said, a lot of people at resin meets get really happy to see my girl in person. She's got admirers everywhere! And there's almost always someone who'll ask if someone can bring a girl for them to see, so Rika's an obvious choice for meets. Another downside though is that my girl requires part of her wardrobe to travel with her. Last time though, that was a good thing, because her wig didn't match her current outfit, but it matched her backup outfit, so she got an emergency change, and all was well.

 

So yeah, remember a bag to take your girl everywhere she can be admired, and another bag for her clothes and extras. Then extra money for new things for her, no matter where you go.

This is such a good thread!!

 

I have been out of the dollfie loop for a while but i have been a SD collector for years. And when I heard about DDs I was pretty excited. All my 13 dollfie families are all made of Resin and when I heard about Vinyl DD's I was pretty excited! It did took me a little bit to get use to. But once I realize how awesome and easy to pose with I was pretty excited.. I am saving up for my first DD! But there are so many I want!!

I am so excited to back in the Dollfie Loop! Yay!

I don't have my girl together yet, but the thing I love about my friend's girls is how huggable and light-weight they are compared to my resin girls.

 

Please don't worry about being accepted in the hobby. There are many many hobbyists who own a variety of dolls. Some communities might be more focused on resin dolls, but there are other communities that are primarily focused on vinyl or mixed collections and those will be great places for you to share your dolls.

I first got impressed with DD at a doll meet a few years ago and finally took the plunge a year ago. The transition for me wasn't too hard at all, I found my self a huge fan of how easy they are to pose, dress, and how light they are compared to my resins.

 

I once carried 3 of my resin girls around a park for an outdoor doll meet... never again... After a while it was like toting a bag full of bricks lol.

 

I feel like I could carry 5 DD and still be ok xD

 

But back on topic, the reverse was special lol. I forgot about kick legs and it actually being hard to make a doll stand up without a stand in place xD

I'm about to make the transition an him nervous but have a good feeling about it

I once carried 3 of my resin girls around a park for an outdoor doll meet... never again... After a while it was like toting a bag full of bricks lol.

How much does one SD weigh?

I once carried 3 of my resin girls around a park for an outdoor doll meet... never again... After a while it was like toting a bag full of bricks lol.

How much does one SD weigh?

 

Depends on the company, but my girls were 2 sooms and a doll zone sd. My soom girls weigh 3 to 4 ish lbs and same for the doll zone girl. Multiply that by 3 and march a mile and a half in the heat and humidity your area is famous for and you get the dolly death march of 2011 xD

Multiply that by 3 and march a mile and a half in the heat and humidity your area is famous for and you get the dolly death march of 2011 xD

 

 

I can vouch for just how heavy resins can be compared to a DD. I wasn't around for the DDM 2011 but I keep hearing horror stories about it. But I did go to the same place with the local group, Keijogirl included, last year and I carried around 2 DD's and one MDD in one bag with no problems at all. Funny enough tho, almost everyone who went on that DDM before had gotten themselves a DD of their own for this trip so walking and whining was nowhere near the levels I'd heard before.

 

Seriously tho, most SD sized resins weigh almost as much as 3 DD girls! It's crazy how much of a difference there is. It's so drastic that every time I take one of my girls to a meet where someone hasn't held a DD before, the first comment is always "She's so light!" Then the following comments will all be similar to this: "Wow, her boobs are HUGE!" LOL Ahh the Dynamite girls, how I love you all!

 

 

 

Billy

Multiply that by 3 and march a mile and a half in the heat and humidity your area is famous for and you get the dolly death march of 2011 xD

 

 

Seriously tho, most SD sized resins weigh almost as much as 3 DD girls! It's crazy how much of a difference there is. It's so drastic that every time I take one of my girls to a meet where someone hasn't held a DD before, the first comment is always "She's so light!" Then the following comments will all be similar to this: "Wow, her boobs are HUGE!" LOL Ahh the Dynamite girls, how I love you all!

 

 

 

Billy

 

HA! I remember saying that the first time you let me hold one of your girls! DDs weigh next to nothing compared to an SD. Heaven help you if you get something bigger than an SD, like my guy we named Tank. 6-7lbs minus his hair and clothes xD

 

But yeah depends on the company. Some companies have lighter resin and dolls than others even though they're the same size.

Heaven help you if you get something bigger than an SD, like my guy we named Tank.

 

So that's who owns him! I had wondered, after seeing him in a lot of Billy's meet pics.

 

For me I hope to go the other way around. I've started with DD but I have a hefty amount of resins on my doll wish list. Many, many years ago I remember accidently running across some BJD sites and was utterly amazed by them. At that point Raven completely put his foot down on the whole thing because of the cost. It was totally unthinkable for us when buying a $125 American Girl took a few months to do. I still find it interesting that except for finances I would have started in the hobby with BJD. Now only after two years I have 6 DD finished, and one of them is Yui. Nearly everyday I just shake my head at how blessed I feel. Now I'm nearly selling my soul to get the other 7 finished and paid for and the ones I still need after that...

 

So far the DD have dominated my doll collecting, but I still very much have some 'unicorn' BJD that I've been aching to get. In the meantime I try and collect the info that I can on how resin kids vary from the vinyl ones, but since I've never seen or been able to even hold a little BJD, it is really hard to understand how different they are. A lot of times I still wonder how much of a difference it will make to me in the poseability of DD vs. BJD, especially since my dolls seem to move around a lot. It is surely nerve wracking already worrying about breaks and chips, an issue DD just don't have unless it is the internal frame.

 

I hope this isn't seen as getting OT, it is talking about very similar things, but just from the other side of it.

 

~Sister Kyoya

 

So that's who owns him! I had wondered, after seeing him in a lot of Billy's meet pics.

 

For me I hope to go the other way around. I've started with DD but I have a hefty amount of resins on my doll wish list. Many, many years ago I remember accidently running across some BJD sites and was utterly amazed by them. At that point Raven completely put his foot down on the whole thing because of the cost. It was totally unthinkable for us when buying a $125 American Girl took a few months to do. I still find it interesting that except for finances I would have started in the hobby with BJD. Now only after two years I have 6 DD finished, and one of them is Yui. Nearly everyday I just shake my head at how blessed I feel. Now I'm nearly selling my soul to get the other 7 finished and paid for and the ones I still need after that...

 

So far the DD have dominated my doll collecting, but I still very much have some 'unicorn' BJD that I've been aching to get. In the meantime I try and collect the info that I can on how resin kids vary from the vinyl ones, but since I've never seen or been able to even hold a little BJD, it is really hard to understand how different they are. A lot of times I still wonder how much of a difference it will make to me in the poseability of DD vs. BJD, especially since my dolls seem to move around a lot. It is surely nerve wracking already worrying about breaks and chips, an issue DD just don't have unless it is the internal frame.

 

I hope this isn't seen as getting OT, it is talking about very similar things, but just from the other side of it.

 

~Sister Kyoya

 

Yup, he's mine lol

 

As far as the breakage and chipping etc, it's kinda scary to think about but not really too common if you're careful. My puki fell like 6 feet and landed face first on a stone tile floor didn't get a scratch, Tank slipped while I was trying on an outfit and slammed down on his own hand and broke 3 fingers less than a foot in distance.

 

Size and weight have a lot to do with it and the breaking and chipping is only a mainstay for rough play and falls.

 

Poseability wise the resins are nothing like DD unless you suede and wire them or get a fairyland body. Posing also is something relative to the company. A company that uses a simpler body may not pose well and vice versa.

 

Even yellowing is not as big of an issue as most people make it out to be. Dolls yellow over time even if you keep them in a box. Some people freak out if you take a picture with flash thinking in that split second their doll will turn into a banana. It doesn't work like that lol.

 

TL;DR Resins are fun and gorgeous, they just require a little more care and attention because they're heavier and brittle, and do require a bit of effort for posing depending on the company

I'm really looking forward to having a vinyl doll instead of resin - I had a hard time carrying them around, I was always paranoid of things breaking or chipping, and I've injured myself restringing them more times than I'd like to admit. XD

 

DDs have their own set of things to worry about, but caring for them seems less frustrating than caring for resin to me.

 

Also, it's important for me to have a doll to take places and play with, and that was difficult for me to do with resin. I know it's easy for a lot of people, but it just wasn't for me since I worried about so much going wrong with them (especially the limited ones), and it really affected how I bonded with my dolls. I feel like I don't have to worry so much since, for example, if something gets broken I can just buy a new part. That doesn't really happen with resin - most places don't offer replacements, and if they do, they are pretty much guaranteed not to match the rest of the doll.

I started out with vinyl once a long time ago (2007/2008), an Obitsu girl who is still around and still very much a central part of my Abode (which is my collection). But I was looking for a larger variety at the time and more mature looking dolls (still a great challenge to find), so I turned to resin...

When the DD line became more interesting I was tempted, but had a hard time to mentally incorporate them with my other dolls, thus it took a while, even if I had fallen hard for Saber from the beginning.

 

I do like to work/play with my resin collection, even if several of my dolls draw blood ever so often. They are heavy (some more than others), some are close to impossible to transport (the nightmare is large, bleepbersome and a pain to handle and transport (in its specially built box it's over 12kg)) and you need to take care when handling them, but I still wont give up on them. When it comes to detail of sculpt they are superior to their vinyl sisters.

 

DD's on the other hand is lighter and easier to handle, but they have their own issues from what I see among my friends: staining and broken skeletons/mechanisms. But broken parts can easily be replaced and I don't worry over much about stains (which can be a pain for body blushed resin dolls as well).

I will probably buy more DD's now that I have begun, but I won't give up on resin just for that, even if they have some catch-up to do in numbers at the abode.

 

So it's no transition but rather a widened scope (and more ways to loose my hard earned money).

I don't like when people say that greater detail in sculpt makes a doll superior. And I'm not trying to jump down your throat, OldMagician, you're not the only one that says things like that.

 

I feel that DDs and resins are different, and neither is strictly better than the other. It is a pet peeve of mine when people say things like "upgraded my vinyls to resins". That's an elitist attitude, and could be less irritating to me if they only used "exchanged" or something instead of "upgraded".

 

If DDs had greater detail in their sculpt I personally would find it weird, since their faces are so stylized. A stylized face should equal a stylized body, and you rarely see anime characters with well defined muscles and veins. Those only show up in fighting themed shows.

 

/endrant

 

My perspective comes from going from vinyl to resins. I feel that DDs are easier to care for in general. I take them with me away on trips, but I wouldn't take a resin in case I break a finger or something. Though I know that there are people who do take their resins places- maybe they're braver, or maybe it's because they've never had anything but resins and have no choice if they want a doll with them. Although, yes, for unblushed resins stain removal is usually as easy as using a Magic Eraser. I still have several resins on my wishlist, though, so I'm only really biased in regards to breakability.

i think the most different is that DD is easier to be colored.......because the molecular arrangement of SD‘s material is closer，so you have to be more careful

I don't like when people say that greater detail in sculpt makes a doll superior. And I'm not trying to jump down your throat, OldMagician, you're not the only one that says things like that.

 

I feel that DDs and resins are different, and neither is strictly better than the other. It is a pet peeve of mine when people say things like "upgraded my vinyls to resins". That's an elitist attitude, and could be less irritating to me if they only used "exchanged" or something instead of "upgraded".

That is: if you need the detail, resin sculpts are usually superior. However, many resin sculpts lack details and just as with the normal vinyl sculpt, detail and personality comes with the faceup/blushing. If you are after an anime character, the DD style is superior as a base.

Come to think about it (and looking at my collection of vinyl figurines), you probably should be able to make very detailed sculpts in vinyl if you wanted it.

 

So if I could only come up with a stain proof, easy to apply, invisible coating for vinyl everything would be perfect...

I have 2 resin dolls and 1 full DD and a floating head.

The more I hang around here, the more I want to sell off my Resins. ^^

This is a bad addiction!

I'm currently dealing with this same thing. I have 6 resin dolls and just made the transition to a DD as well. I was really nervous and hesitant to do so. For some stupid reason I wondered if it would be okay to collect both or if I would be looked down on, stupid, I know- But now I see that I'm just expanding my collection- broadening my horizons. Obviously I'm as new to this as you so I cant help much in telling you the exact differences or what to expect because I too am still learning. My main concern was the staining. I mean with resin, you pick it up, put it down, no problem, and if something gets on it you just use a magic eraser and you're good to go (in most cases). But with my DD I am CONSTANTLY washing my hands and freaking out about her staining. I know its just something I will have to get over, the paranoia I mean, and just be super carful about my hands and the clothing/wigs I put her in, but overall, the transition hasn't been so tough xD

It was very interesting to read through this topic. I'm new to DD's myself after years of collecting resin BJDs. I have to say, the dolls feel quite different from each other. Hehe, I mean outside of the fact that they are made of different materials, of course. More in the way they move. I can't deny the aesthetic appeal of my DD, she is just sooooo cute! She makes me smile every time I look at her. But I do notice how differently she moves in comparison to my other dolls. Right now I'm working on getting used to how each set of her joints work. With resin BJD's, since they are strung, you can very much just bend, flex, rotate, or dislocate any joint. Hehe. I'm trying to be super careful with my DD girl because her joints just feel so stiff and certain ones only move in certain directions. Hehe, it's a learning experience! ^_^