Volks SD17 Leg Exchange

i don't know about old sd17 legs but posing my hijikata is amazing, i do like the joint on the legs cuz its a bit rounded shaped and it doesn't looks so bad as the souldoll, for example. plus you can "stop" the pose of the leg, i dunno how to explain but you can clearly see what i mean here.
about the price that volks does for the exchange of legs, i think it's a bit too much Oo. i mean, you already spend a lot to buy one sd17 and if they do improvements at least they could to the exchange for free, since they want back the old legs. also for the trouble of the resin match, because im pretty sure if someone get new legs on a 2 3 year old body you can notice the difference.

 

I would strongly consider it if the price weren't so steep, because my Hikaru Genji's knees have always been the bane of my existence. *shakes fists at Volks*

 

I wouldn't mind sending the legs back but paying a 220 dollar surcharge is ridiculous. Forget it! I'll keep the legs I have on my SD17 bodies.

 

I keep trying to get them to put up comparison-photos (instead of just the line-diagram), of the actual full new legs vs. the old ones. I had been under the impression that they would only be changing the peanut-joint, & the immediate knee-edge areas-of shin and thigh-- but that the leg sculpture would be the same. So I was surprised to hear this:

Well! This man's glorious sinewy legs are one of his best features, so I have suddenly become reluctant.

And seeing the new knee-joint, I'm no longer totally convinced on that front, either. I really would love to get rid of that wobble-kneed caving-in problem on my Genji, too.... but Izam is correct about the Graffiti-style knees looking somewhat awkward when bent only 90 degrees (i.e. when he's just sitting in a chair). However, they are fabulous for kneeling & other acrobatic poses, it's easier to manipulate than the old SD17 lock, and the stability is better.

Does anybody here with both new & old SD17s care to step into the breach, and take some clear sculptural comparison/legsploitation shots for us? I'm so on-the-fence here, any photographic help would be appreciated.

 

And another update from Volks: Apparently, it's easier to find an SD17 on DOA than it is at the Volks showroom. They have none.

So, I'll reiterate my far-fetched request to anybody who owns both a new & old SD17s.... or has access to both... if there are any of you out there at all. Got leg-comparison pics? ^^ I'll post in Photo Requests too, just in case.

 

Haha, that's interesting actually. I'd love to see comparisons as well. 8)... Worse comes to worse I'll just wait for my Hijitaka to come and compare his legs to my Amelia boy's then--

 

Oh goody, then you can take comparison pix after Hiji-san arrives! : Hehe, honestly, this isn't just a request for SD17 leg-pictures to drool over (although that will be a collateral benefit). Two hundred bucks + a differently sculpted set of limbs which could conceivably cause pants to fit differently... I'd just like to see what I'd be getting first.

At least it's not a big urgent deadline where we have to decide Right Now.

 

yea the exchange price is really too expensive. I had two sd17 boys with the old knees. I mostly have the leg problem with my genji which is reisner body because of the heavy armor on the body, otherwise I don't think i mind the old legs, but it would be useful for the stability for my sephiroth (genji). if i didn't have to pay for rent and other necessities sure i would do this, but also the hassle is reclothing the doll and putting all the armor back on and off. it takes me hours to assemble the outfit. honestly if you don't have the money it is really expensive to EXCHANGE. and normally for exchange you don't pay anything, but i guess they can't use the old legs for resale or anything. they could at least consider making it half price. if it was half price i definitely would consider exchanging it. otherwise it would be a serious investment. once again these bodies aren't cheap so we're paying additional price on top of what we bought. i really would consider getting it for my sephiroth but for reisner i think i would keep him as is since he doesn't have a lot of weight on him. i mostly just keep them in one pose anyway. i feel they're making a big profit out of this.

 

I'm going necro on this thread, because the introductory-price deadline is coming up (July 4), I've seen the new legs in person, and I STILL cannot make up my mind about whether to take the plunge! I have all the info I need. But I keep thinking I've decided, then vacillate. ;; Since anybody last posted here in May, how many of you have gone ahead & ordered the new legs?

-They did have the new SD17 legs on-site at New York Dolpa, and I got to see Janne's boy with his new legs on. The fluorescent lighting in there was terrible, but even so I could still see a distinct pink-resin difference. My SD17 (ivory-colored 2008 Genji) gets photographed nude a fair amount of time, so the color does concern me.
-But on the other hand, the ease of manipulation of that new joint is incredible. It is so much smoother & easier to use.
-On the other-other hand, leaving my doll for 2 months without legs??...
-On the other-other-other hand, that wobbly knock-kneed pose is totally gone, & the new joint is beautifully stable.
-On the other-other-other-other hand, spending another $220??...
-But the new joint looks so much nicer & more discreet in back....
-But the old one looks more natural when bent halfway...


So! Lots to consider! Sorry to speak like a politician, but I'm curious where everyone else weighs in on this Scorecard of Issues.

(After July 4, Volks says that you'll still be able to exchange the legs later, just not at this 'introductory low price'. I kind of shudder to think how much they'll cost later, but it is at least good to know the decision can keep being postponed awhile.)

 

Just a quick note that you don't have to ship the old legs back to Volks until they receive the new legs from Japan (according to Steps 4-5 on this page), so it would more likely be closer to two weeks (or less, if you're in CA), not two months.

 

That's not what they told me in New York!... They said they send you the new legs AFTER you send the old legs & they try to color-match.

 

Well, the new legs are definitely shipped after you send the old legs, but I don't know about color matching -- referring again to the news post, it sounds like the new legs are ready to ship by the time they request the the old legs back. Might be worth emailing Volks USA for a clarification.

 

I really don't think it's possible for them to try to match everyone's legs to their colors. So frankly, I do think they just send new legs out as soon as they receive the old legs.

 

No, of course not, I know they're not going to get EXACT color matches. ^^ That's just what they told me, they're going to try as close as they can.

Back to my original question, how many people here have gone ahead with the offer & what were your thoughts on the pros & cons?

 

I went ahead with the offer -- my legs haven't arrived yet, so I can't vouch for resin match, unfortunately. My boy's also on a Genji body, though, so I'm hoping right along with you that the color isn't too different! I can definitely say I haven't been asked to give my old legs back yet, though. ^^ Thanks to local friends, I have been able to play with both sets of legs extensively (at once, even), and IMO the improved stability is worth the price.

Granted, the old legs actually offer a bit more lateral mobility when posing (that 'knock-kneed pose,' as you put it ) than the new legs, but stability issues aside, my boy's old legs drive me utterly crazy with how frequently the lower half of the knee joint pops out of alignment, and it's amazing how easy it is to manipulate the new legs into kneeling or curled poses and have them stay like that, no wobbling or slipping or kicking. The new legs are also (IMO) prettier when sitting/kneeling, since the knee peanut isn't notched like on the old legs -- er, I don't know how easy it is to tell what I mean from that description, but the sitting/kneeling pictures in this post show it better than I can say it, I think.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. ^^

 

Omigawd, FINALLY! - - Volks found an SD17 in their showroom and put actual pictures up? When I wrote to them in May asking for comparison shots, they said they didn't have an SD17. Priceless. ^^ I too have already played with both sets of legs IRL by now, and it's 5 days before the deadline, but still, better late than never. This blog update is brilliant. That was EXACTLY the photo comparison set I was waiting for.

Anyway, thank you Tsukishiro, that helps! I was mainly curious who else thought the improvement was/wasn't worth the price & hassle. Anybody else who went through with it, what factors most helped you most with your decision? Anybody who's definitely absolutely refusing, what was the dealbreaker? (Call it an informal survey of priorities.)

>> I can definitely say I haven't been asked to give my old legs back yet, though.

And this particular gem of info also helps. :> Thanks so much.

I'm very convinced on the stability & ease, especially after seeing the new pix, but I'm still not sure about giving up that color-match. So I'm down to the final nitpicking-finepoint-pros-and-cons process. Maybe I'll flip a coin or ask the Magic 8-Ball.

 

I did the exchange for my Williams on Reisner's body, cause his legs were just ridiculous, lol! Floppy even after the Dolly doc got through with him at Dolpa. So they just took them for me right there, so yeah he's missing his legs, but he'll have his shiny new ones in a few months, I'm sure he won't mind the rest anyway after all the Dolpa actionXD I did see the new stems on a Reisner body at Dolpa and the color match was lovely. I can post an owner comparison after the legs come back. It will be after the campaign is over though unfortunately, but still useful for reference I guess.

 

Maybe it was the ghastly fluorescent lighting there in FIT, but I was able to spot the pink tones in the new resin right away, against the ivory older resin. Or maybe it was because I was specifically looking for it.

But now I can't remember which body it was I saw-- it was Janne's boy, was he a Reisner? The Reisner body's older than Genji, so if they can do a half-decent color match on the 2007 resin, maybe there is hope for the 2008 resin.

I just have these horror-visions of 5 years down the road, where Shinji's pink legs & ivory body have aged to totally different shades, so he looks like he's wearing support-hose.... ;; I've got to stop letting my imagination run away like that.

 

*squeek!* O hai Longlegs Ahoy pris!

I too am going to go right down to the wire on this deadline. After all, these are no small insignificant thing, these are the legs of an SD17.