DollZone Introduces 70cm Dolls

From Volks' response. What's so noble about it? Umm...it's really just dolls, not a spiritual experiance.

See? They seem to think anything manufactured outside Japan or outside Volks specifically is a pirate bootleg. That's why they don't allow non-Volks dolls in their stories - they consider them bootlegs. I bet if anyone emailed them about another company, even Souldoll or whatever, they would give the same response.

DZ dolls might be a stolen rip off, and yes that would be wrong, okay. I can accept/understand that. But they might not be, and everyone is jumping to treat them like pirates, that's what I don't like. If you believe it is stolen, do not support the company, it is as simple as that. Stick to only Volks dolls, like the letter response alleges all of us should do, anyway. That is fine. But to run around shouting accusations is very hurtful for those who might want the dolls. I'm not defending anyone, because it is true that I don't know the truth and defending someone unproven to be innocent would be....stupid. But I do firmly believe in the 'innocent until proven guilty' approach, to just respect the person in question enough to not hurl insults and threats at them.

I personally just am at the point where I even feel like selling Caelan and changing him to another company's doll. I won't, of course, but Volks being such elitist company disappoints me. They really do seem to consider every other company pirates, and if people aren't careful, eventually they might shut down each and every other BJD manufacturer out there. Or at least try. And then the world of BJD collecting would be a very hollow, un-diverse one indeed.

 

Speaking of copies... I just got a dollzone Xi with the newer, more slender hands. I also have an SDC Kurenai whom I happened to have out at the same time. It was only by chance I compared their hands and they are absolutely, positively, 100% IDENTICAL. I really want to support dollzone as I like the face sculpts quite a lot but there's just no denying that the DZ mini hands are direct copies of the SDC girl hands. They've been copied, sanded down a bit here and there to look 'rough', but they are exactly the same. The hand even uses the same connection method as the SDC hands. I can take pictures later if anyone is interested to see.

Edit: I had been very seriously interested in buying one of these new 70cm boys, but upon seeing for a fact that the mini hands are copied directly from Volks SDC hands, I think I'll be buying a model doll from Dollmore instead. I will still buy one of the Dollzone heads because I really love the elf head, but only because I'm also sure it is original. I cannot be sure the body is original any longer however.

 

Yes, please!

Or, for legal purposes, they can't say the specific name of the company until the investigation has been completed.

 

This is the last post I will make in this thread, because there really isn't a point to it anymore. I do wonder...if this new body wasn't made by DZ, would anybody have cried "copy!" ? I looked at company pics of the Soom boy body and CP bodies side by side. I have both these dolls at home, and they are very different, yet they don't appear to be so disimilar in pictures. In fact, the DZ boy and Yukinojo look more different in pictures than the soom and cp bodies.

Until this is taken to court and proven, I have little sympathy for Volks. They are like the boy who cried wolf. At best, dolls by other companies are cheap immitations, at worst, copies. They also tried to sue Custom House and CP back in the day as well. I realize how attached they are to their SDs, but competition happens, and they aren't the only ones to make tall, mature looking, double jointed bodies. If they are worried about the effects of competition in the bjd market, maybe they could try not alienating those people with non-Volks dolls. When CP was warned of the new DZ minis, I believe they thanked the person for the info and said they were looking into it--they didn't give a speech about how they are the one and only, best and brightest.

If Volks has really been ripped off, then I'll feel some sympathy, but as it stands now, nothing has been proven. Just a lot of people yelling. If this were real life and not the computer, I'm sure I'd have a headache by now. I'm going to go back to enjoying my dolls and I suggest that everybody else does too.

 

I think some people have a headache anyway.

Sorry, couldn't help it ^^; Anyway....it shouldn't be taken so seriously, any of it. Some people buy fake Vouitton, some people only want the real, some people don't care about labels at all - they buy whatever pleases them aesthetically. It's sort of like that. I hope no one's actually seriously upset.

 

I most certainly will be upset if these lovely dolls will be taken out of the market. :/ I really really like them.
Hopefully the accusations will be proven wrong..

 

I really donn't want to get into this, but I did just want to point out, arguing that they have the same connection method doesn't prove they're copies. My Souldolls' hands have the same exact jointing as well.

 

I personally am waiting to see the results of Volks' investigation. If they can proove the body was copied, then that is very sad, seeing as how the new DZ seemed to have gotton on it's feet after the original copying scandle.

To me, the bodies look similar but different- for one, the DZ boy is a heck of a lot taller- but it may come down to patents on the design.

 

If they're using the one touch system with the S hooks like the newer Volks dolls, then I can see it being a bit more than coincidence... That really is a system unique to Volks dolls.

A CP is not a Volks is not a DoD is not a Dollshe. Line any of them up and they will all look different and have different knees and hands and body sculpting. I'm not so sure about these DZ guys though. I'd really like to see some owner line ups with similar sized dolls and not company taken pictures. I refuse to believe any company takes pictures that accurately reflect the doll.

 

FYI - I mentioned the connection joint IN ADDITION to the fact the hands themselves are identical. Not as proof in and of itself. I WANT TO SUPPORT DOLLZONE. But after seeing these hands, I'm not sure I can.

 

I'll just add another 2 cents here... x_x';

I don't think Volks is elitist. They're artists. They were one of the first, if not the first, asian ball jointed doll company, so no wonder they feel that other companies are copies. I would feel the same thing. Please note I have both Volks AND CP dolls, and am planning another CP doll, a Dollshe, and possibly some other companies. To each their own.

I do think the bodies are extremely similar. SD16 bodies are extremely unique to begin with. The muscle definition, hands, etc. I personally think the DZ bodies are far too similar for my taste. But I do hope the situation is resolved, and if they are copies, then it is taken care of.

I think there is so much suspicion because DZ has copied before. When you start with shady bussiness, you are bound to run into opposition. And because of their shady beginnings, they have a fairly large alliance among doll owners to defend them.

Personally, I really dislike DZ dolls. I think they are ugly, and misproportioned. But I respect that others like them. Again, to each their own. But really, I can see both sides of it.

And I know I'll probably be shot for this, but I think the second elf head looks like a combination of CP Yder, Woosoo, and Moon. x_X I think that's why I like it so much. I'm not saying it's a copy, I'm just saying it has a very similar look, a look in which I like and differs from their previous dolls. I do think I may try for the head, as I like it. ^_^ But the body, I won't go near.

 

The bridge of the second ones' nose is different, and the nose itself is also slimmer. The mouths are also a bit different, I think, and the shape of the jaw too... I think. ^^';

 

I said I would post the hand comparisons between the "new" more slender Dollzone hands and Volks SDC Kurenai hands. Please note that any perceived difference in shape/angles is due to the fact I was unable to get the hands lined up so they would photograph together at exactly the same angle. In person, the differences between the two are incrediably minimal. Also there are lines in the palm of the hands that are both in the same place that are unfortunately washed out with the flash. If it was only one thing or another, I could understand them being very close but maybe not identical. The fact everything is virtually a perfect match though? The DZ ones have obviously been altered, they've been rough sanded to make them a bit more blocky and they've had the top parts of the end of the fingers gouged out flat to look like fingernails. To see them both in person is really quite remarkable. As I said, it was purely by chance alone that I noticed they were identical. I HAD BEEN A DOLLZONE SUPPORTER UNTIL I SAW THESE HANDS NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

 

The chances are the problems with the body DZ spoke of is wrangles over the hip joints.
CP has patented its distinctive low hip-joints you find on the Delf boys and the Mini Fee. So any other company has to pay them for use of the patent, or be sued. Dollzone appeared to want a boy with a three-part torso, and the higher hip joint was the only one possible that avoided comparison with the CP joint.
Unfortunately, it appears Yukinojo has this hip joint (if Im looking at the right pic) and that might be what has caused the legal wrangle.
Also, the comparison with hounds hands dont have me too convinced, although its feasible they were sanded, then somehow repositioned. remember, a company that would cast directly from existing moulds would not have the skilled workers to be able to break the fingers and re-set them in a slightly different position. They would just make different hands, or hands exactly the same but fatter or sanded down thinner.

I think arguing is just revealing ugly arguments, and making DZ doll-owners feel victimised. This company copied once, (That woori was unmistakeable) but that doesnt mean they'd do it again. They may have cottoned onto the fact its the fans and not the companies who keep the most watchful eyes on their products, and its best to keep us happy so as to make their money.
If they get called on for copying again, they will lose their license to trade and therefore their money.

 

Uh.. Kurosakura, the hands look nothing alike.. o_o The pose, the size, yes, but when you look at the details, like how thumb is commected to the rest of the hand, or the distance between the fingers.. they don't look alike.
Also the wrist ball is bigger in the other. And the poses too are quite different.
Am I onlyone who sees difference in these things..? O_O;

 

You also haven't seen them in person like I have. Please buy a SDC Kurenai and a DZ mini. I was a believer in Dollzone until I saw these hands in person.

Also as I said in what I wrote, unless you decided to actually just skip all of that: Please note that any perceived difference in shape/angles is due to the fact I was unable to get the hands lined up so they would photograph together at exactly the same angle. In person its very obvious they are the same hands, only the DZ ones were cast bigger and then roughly sanded down to make the gap inbetween the fingers look larger and to make the thumb APPEAR differently shaped. In photographs this tactic is quite effective in making them seem different but in person it is not.

 

You speak such truths! Ah, I thank thee for saving my day and proving that there are people who look into things before judging! Thank you!

 

You're not the only one, Illves. It's not just "perceived" differences, they are true differences and I'm with you on what they are.

I just think that a lot of people are determined to worry those poor people into an early grave.

 

Hello? I own a DZ doll because I like them. I was really really looking forward to buying one of the big ones. I'm NOT a "Volks person" by any sense of the imagination, I am a DZ supporter who saw these hands in person and it has made me seriously doubt the originality of the body sculpts only. I LOVE DZ HEADS. I will continue to buy Dollzone heads. I will NEVER PASS JUDGEMENT ON SOMEONE FOR OWNING A DOLLZONE DOLL. I am just adding what I have seen.