Oh no! My doll's neck broke (and how I fixed it)

  

Starting my first 2024 blog post with a misfortune. 

The plastic neck part of Volks MDD-III body broke from the tension. I have this body since 2015 when my friend helped to purchase directly from Volks Japan. I fix the body with my own custom DDH-01 and her name is Nayeon. Though she made her first debut in 2022 due to procrastination.

The early look of Nayeon 

(She has different face-up by now)

At first, I didn't do anything right away as the neck base still hold the pieces together but I would be mindful every time I pose the doll as the area was fragile.

However, it made a fuss when I was fixing the doll head because the spring would burst out whenever I remove the head (for dress-up purpose). 

As you can see on the left photo, the crack was apparent from tension from the tiny iron bar that hold the 2 pieces together. The second photo shown the neck piece base fragmented due to two possibilities -

1. The tension finally break the crack open

2. It shattered as I tried to remove the pieces during fix up.

The situation agreeably it's time to find replacement. Original Volks part is out of question because they don't sell only the neck piece but I have to buy the whole upper torso in order. Therefore, I was scouting for third party option.

Back then, I wasn't familiar with Taobao marketplace. Thus my option is based on people feedback from forum and oversea shops that have English translation.

I found a topic from dolldreaming has similar issue with mine that recommend these two shop :

- Cool Cat (Taiwan) website

- Grayforce aka ぐれいん (Japan) @ Yahoo! Auction Japan (YJA)

Cool Cat's fortified neck joint looks cool and made by aluminum alloy (which appears sturdier) but it's only compatible for the original MDD / MDD-II (the first of MDD body series). So I left with the option grayforce's neck joint. It's made with plastic but the solid one. I feel confident this will last long.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the sequence series for the Mini Dollfie Dream body evolution as below :

[ Original MDD / MDD-II ► MDD-III ► MDD-F3 + MDD-F3 (Mochi-Ashi variant) ► MDD 2.0-F3 ]

*The original MDD/MDD-II , MDD-III, MDD-F3 and Mochi-Ashi body are discontinued,

however leftover stocks and body parts might still available at the online store

I've used third party website to purchase from YJA. There were two options 1,600JP¥ (to bid) or 1,800JP¥ (to buy out). Basically, if you could wait and wish to pay less, go for bid option and hope no one else crosses you. I'm impatient, of course I chose buy out. The difference wasn't huge. The item arrives within 2 weeks later as I chose the slow shipping method to save some cost. Once settled down, I tried to figure out how to fix the neck part on my MDD body. I found myself struggling to assemble it on. Then, my dumbass realized I bought the MDD / MDD-II's neck joint but my MDD body is MDD-III type.

Photos courtesy to Leah Schleifchen from FB, Cool Cat and Volks Japan

Grayforce's neck parts :

The parts are totally different from each other! I had to make another purchase again! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ). The sad part is I can't even find local buyer for the older body's neck joint. I keep inside my tool box now as reminder of my foolish haste decision. You might think the ball part might transferable to MDD-F3 type body part, it isn't. The ball is smaller. Though, Grayforce has created the neck joint for MDD-F3 in case you wish to get your own.

The correct neck joint part has arrived thus little Nayeon will undergo minor surgery. This is for her sake to move freely in the future.

Installation was successful and super easy. I'm very happy how it feels on Nayeon. ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ ) The best thing about using this neck joint, I could easily remove my doll head without wobbling it to pull out.

Actually this ordeal was settled since last year, by now I have learned how to purchase from Taobao and it makes my life easier to get something from Chinese maker.

As time goes, I found some options that could be alternative from options above. Feel free to do your research and get the best of your buck. Make sure you know which doll body model you have and appropriate part.

Other options of third party neck joint for MDD (and some DD) : 

- Shiroi Kitsune no Yume

- Miu's Sugar Dream's @Taobao

- 薄荷Rosaheart @Taobao

I hope this post is beneficial and fix your dilemma. No one favors a broken doll but there's always way to fix it. I'm not sure when and what I will  write in the next blog post. If you have any suggestion, feel free to contact me at my hobby Facebook page's messenger or Instagram's DM.

Keep enjoying doll play! 

Other useful/relatable links 

[ Cool Cat's joint extending range ] [ Dollfie Dream's neck mod ]