Volks Super Dollfie - SD, SD13, SD16, SD17, SDGr, SDGou & FCS - XXXV

Thank you @Ayaka ! If you ever had time to measure the zoukeimuras I'd be very grateful! I think you're right that it might also be the curve of the sclera that plays a role here - old Zouks seem pretty flat and have a similar shape to an old pair of Everpurple eyes I tried on, which had little to no gapping (they're too yellowed to use though). The head came with what I think are 18mm Volks HG eyes (not used in the photo above) and those had a tad iffy fit, but they are also more round overall so I guess that makes sense.

 

I popped an eye out to measure it, the iris is about 8mm, and the sclera is actually 15mm; so a smaller 16mm. Probably because it's a very old Zoukeimura eye, and they did vary quite a bit, even from one in a pair to the other. I took a careful look at the dome too. It is in fact fairly flat for this type of eye, especially in the white. So maybe Zoukeimura eyes from before 2010 are ideal...? Hah. I think 16mm is maybe the right size overall, though the kind of narrower iris I see more often now due to changes in sculpt style might be a bit: (o)_(o)

Not sure if it helps to see her, especially since it's not a great photo, but here is Sahara.



I'm totally willing to try her in some other eyes I have, though I mostly have artist-made ones that would likely have variance from pair to pair, so not sure if it would be helpful.

 

Now my house is not at risk of being on fire, I've been able to complete my SD10/13 Girl foot survey, and the results were surprising.
I only checked the dolls that I was 90% certain were still on their original bodies.

These dolls had FO-01:

• Elena (Adaption Model bought from Sato, 2024)
• Rose (I am at least the 3rd owner, but came with original faceup, lashes and body specs as listed on Tenshi no Kichi; the BTSBB collab dress was likely onsold a long time ago)

These dolls had FO-00:

• Maki (Standard, bought new from Tenshi no Sato 2025)
• Lieselotte (2021 Galerie d'Esprit version)
• Murasaki no Ue (bought new from Volks 2024)
• Nico (Standard, bought new from Volks 2023)
• Saki (One Off from 2021, I am at least the 3rd owner)

I had much more dolls with FO-00 than I realised!
I'd also be interested if anyone has a Standard Elena to compare to. Mine matches the body specs for Standard (L bust, H-09 hands), but she may have originally been ordered through FCS as Elena/F-42 was only discontinued last year.
Doll science and statistics are fun rabbitholes!

 

@Ayaka - Sahara is very darling, thank you for measuring the eyes! I think I've figured out what shape/size I'm supposed to be looking for but if you have some other pairs that are a great fit, I'm really curious!

@castironteapot - oh that is really interesting! I'm surprised Rose came with FO-01 as a limited, but maybe that's because of the suwarikko body (if I'm correct that that's what she's on)? I'm also curious about your Elena - what does the engraving inside the head say? I don't think standards get the corresponding F-something-something FCS sculpts do.

 

@cobaltconduct Yes, Rose is on the suwarikko body, but interestingly enough Murasaki is too, and they have different feet!

I've also checked my Elena and she does have SD-F-42 inside her head which my 2 Standards don't (Nico and Maki) so I think she may indeed be an FCS doll

 

I've been cross checking Kun and F-22 head engravings and they were also not the same for standard models and FCS, I think that indeed, your Elena must have been full choice. This standard Elena on Mandarake seems to have F-00 feet (it's a little hard to tell though), and from another listing it seems that the head engravings are just 09. The more you know!

 

Hi all, I hope you don't mind if a new voice joins this thread. I have a nasty catch 22 of a doll wish and I was hoping for some advice. I fell in love with a Volks School Head "D" that I found in and old advertisement, (the one one the left.) Now to my knowledge these heads are only available from the "in person" painting classes held at the flag ship store in Kyoto, or second-hand. I'm not even sure school heads come with lids. They have never been part of the FCS system. That's where part of my problem lies. I really like the face-up, I would hopefully only want to change a few things about it, (though I don't have the words to articulate it.)

However if it's not part of the FCS system, I don't see a way for a Volks artist to paint it unless the company decided to do a random stranger a favor for some reason. If I got the head second-hand, I couldn't ask an artist to copy it for ethical reasons. I asked a pretty well known face-up artist to do an "inspired by" job for a small Obitsu head, but I really wasn't happy with the result. This would be the perfect head if it came with Lord of the rings style elf ears. But if I got them modded, I may not be able to use the Volks exchange service if the need every arose. Advice please!

 

@Skygirl - School heads seem to be only applicable to the exchange service in Japan but they don't come with headplates so I'm not sure what documentation is necessary in this case. That only means swapping the head for a fresh one, though, no makeup. Volks does take trade-ins for heads with modifications, but only on the premise it was a failed mod and you want a fresh head. Volks has an exchange service hotline number on the form, if you know someone in japan or can get someone to be a proxy for you, you can ask Volks directly.

Volks makeup services are part of the "homecoming"/satogaeri services, but I don't see School heads listed anywhere... given that they come without a faceup from the get-go I don't think Volks will paint them. Sometimes School heads are used in one-offs, and those *could* use this service, but the customer name has to match the name on the certificate.

I think your best options would be either finding a one-off School D second hand that already comes with a faceup from Volks (might be something completely different, though), or, yeah, finding a second-hand School D and finding a faceup artist whose own style is close to what you like about this one, especially if you want the elf ears modded on for instance. It's one of the more rare School heads, and I've personally never seen a one-off with it come up second hand, but it does show up blank sometimes. It's a bit of a "you can only pick 2" type of triangle of options

Wishing you best of luck finding what you want!

 

@Skygirl you are actually able to send most any Volks head in for "re-make" services. This used to be something only offered at rare intervals, however, they recently made it available year round. It is only for Japan residents, but there are proxies that can assist with this!

Fortunately, you actually do not need to have a matching name certificate for this service. That is only applicable for FCS Order makeup and one offs. Additionally, you do not even necessarily need to have paperwork or even a head plate. Volks makes it very clear they will know if the doll is legitimate with or without these things.

You can select from any of the current main 5 FCS styles (Girl, Boy, Dark, Ennui, Animatic).

I'm not sure where you are located, but they also offered this service at LA Dolpa in 2024, and I anticipate it may be offered again this year.

There are some sculpts that are excluded from the exchange service (where you can have the head or body entirely recast), such as the Rozen Maiden sculpts, Victorique and Kazuya Kujo, some other odds and ends. But as far as I'm aware, nearly ALL sculpts can be sent in for re-make, and the school heads should be eligible. This service can also have an added "peeling" where they sand off the top layer of yellowing. This is also allowed for nearly every sculpt (I did this for my Suiseiseki)

Here are some photos of some I've done:

Spoiler: Irvin (Ennui 1 or 2 I can't remember)

Spoiler: Suiseiseki Photo 2

Old FCS F-14 (oldskin, rarely allowed, Boy Makeup)


I am a huge fan of Volks faceups and always want mine redone in this way. I've done this many times!

 

@I<3MySD. Ok, let me make sure I understand you. Are you saying that I could find a school head second hand and have it replaced if it has yellowed, and/or send it it to be painted in one of the FCS styles? Would they allow a custom make-up request where I could send it that picture and maybe ask for some miner changes it I wanted them? Thanks for clarifying

 

You can get the second hand head and send it in for a full exchange with new resin, or have it "peeled"/sanded, or do either or neither of those things and have them do the "remake" faceup with one of the current 5 faceup styles. Unfortunately, no modifications are allowed to the faceups. So no custom requests!

Its quite confusing honestly let me know if in any way that still isn't clear and I'm happy to chat more! I sent in 6 of my own heads at LA Dolpa for the remake (and had one exchanged), and have proxied the same service through someone in Japan 3 times prior.

 

@I<3MySD Wow, you really do have experience. I wonder if this face-up I am so in love with fits one of the styles. I was under the impression that if you did the normal FCS you could still do a custom face-up request. Does that not apply to school heads that are sent in?

 

Its a bit complicated. For a newly ordered FCS, you can either pick from:
1. One of the 5 "recommended make" options (Girl, Boy, Dark Ennui, Animetic), with two potential small changes (for example, extra plush, darker eyebrow, add freckles) or
2. "Order Make" which is the free reign choice. You can submit reference photos of Volks One Offs, anime characters, real people, even a cat. Volks will make a truly one of a kind faceup with your design. It is significantly more expensive.

For "renewal make" or sending in an older head (not a fresh FCS order), sadly you are restricted to just one of the 5 recommended options with no changes.

Edit to add some links! Here is the current FCS makeup detail: SDフルチョイスモデル / メイクメニューのご紹介 | ボークス公式 ドルフィー総合サイト | ボークス

And some info on the renewal make service:
SD里帰りサービス　基本コース | ボークス公式 ドルフィー総合サイト | ボークス

 

I was changing one of my GrG bodies when I noticed a very familiar foot...FO-00! It seems that it's also the default flat foot for the GrG body as all my three have it (2014 Darling Kimono Shizu, 2008 Nono Romantic Sweet Dream and a third undated body)


Top foot: Standard Maki 2025 FO-00
Bottom foot: Darling Kimono Shizu 2014 FO-00

The FO-00 mystery deepens...

 

Mandarake listed a SDGr Creamy Mami today and if you zoom in on the flat feet, you can see they're FO-00 too

 

Speaking on homecoming"/satogaeri services I had a question and would love some help! I will be attending the volks LA dolpa this year and was interested in getting some services for my volks 2011 Alice. Shes been my grail doll for over 10 years and I managed to get my hands on her but she came with a custom face up. If i got a service that required the custom face up to be removed would it be possible to get her original volks face up or would I have to choose one of the FCS makeup options? Thanks!

 

Hi there !
To celebrate 20 years of my hobby, I just acquired my first Volks doll. My partner helped me rearrange my dolls cabinet to welcome a fullset Ranma Shampoo. I admired the super dollfies in the Volks shops in Osaka and Tokyo, past spring. I had to go back home and think about it for a few more months before having one. She doesn't have a name yet, and i need to find her eyes and wig, but she's already gorgeous ! Her makeup is delightful. I think I'll keep it for a while. Just a smartphone pic to show you her pretty face.

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Happy 20th anniversary! (Me too!) She's really pretty. Love her eyes!

 

I got two of my dolls fixed up in the last one, it's worth it. I got my FCS msd and a SD 13 kohya boy fixed up. From my experience I had all the papers to prove they were mine and for the FCS one I had to pick a similar style to the one I had on it before from the list of make ups from the chart. He was from the time were we had options to get any style we wanted. So that was hard to let go of, but I got the best option for him. Now for the SD 13 kohya doll. I had to get the same make up as it had before because it was a limited doll. It cost a lot but worth it. Now I have brand new looking dolls that were over 10 years old.

 

Great! Yes Im in the same boat. The custom faceup my Alice came with is beautiful and its hard to let go of it. Im ok with spending more to receive her original 2011 makeup I just always wondered if that was an option and was hesitant because id rather keep the custom face up then do the service and receive a fcs style faceup. Thank you! Now ill definitely be doing it to get her original face up back!