Since last actually posting on here I've not been making as much stuff as I'd like on account of a variety of things (including but not limited to moving house, professional exams, messing up my foot and not being able to walk properly for months, lack of space before I moved, and THE HORRORS), but I have now gotten myself some nice things (like my own house!) and some of the larger dolls I've been coveting for ... some time.
Since I didn't see much comparing dolls when I started, I feel like posting some photos and talking about what the different dolls are like and what I think of them. I'm only going to talk about the 1/3 scale dolls here though, especially as there are so many more out there when you look at smaller dolls. TL;DR: If you want to get a Japanese internal frame doll, I recommend the Dollfie Dream (and its assorted variants).
So I don't just ramble I'm going to try to look at how easy it is to get the doll, customisability, posability, repairability, and general looks and quality.
First doll, the most affordable - the Azone International dolls.
This is Kaede J. Nouvelle, from Azone's Assault Lily line. The basic doll body is fairly standard - I have a few Azone dolls and the differences are mostly in bust size, though there is a bit of variation in height. Azone have a few different lines of dolls each with a different set of styles, with Assault Lily and Black Raven being slightly military-esque (one of my dolls actually has a revolver), Iris Collect which are a set of four characters (I have Noix, the bookworm), Happiness Clover, and some others. Each doll is a specific character design though, so although you can buy other outfits you're limited to a particular set of characters.
The quality is nice, though not all of them have resin eyes (some have printed eyes instead) and the joints don't move as smoothly as I would like, so they can be a bit awkward to pose. They do have magnets in their heels however, which together with the metal plate that comes with the doll makes them easier to stand and display.
They're the least expensive of the lot, being around ļæ„55K to ļæ„65K including the outfit, and although Azone don't sell directly outside of Japan (making their name a bit ironic) there are plenty of other sellers like Ami Ami. If the doll gets damaged it is possible to buy replacement parts though again this has to be through a secondary seller (I've heard Hobby Search is decent) and the stock tends to be low, HOWEVER you can actually weld the internal frame back together with suitable solvent glues. I repaired a broken ankle joint on one of mine using a solvent called MEK but I'd advise caution here as it's pretty powerful stuff and you do need to be careful with strong solvents!
Next up, the recommended one: The Dollfie Dream, made by Volks.
This is Maria, my custom Dollfie Dream Sister (the DDS being a slightly shorter doll than the regular Dollfie Dream). DDs come in a few different variants (there are also Dollfie Dream Boys, but I think these are only available from their licensed dolls like the doll of 9S from NieR: Automata that they made several years ago) with different heights and proportions, and though you can buy a complete doll you can also buy the required parts to make a custom doll as I have here (and I painted her makeup myself, please ignore the smudge on her lipstick). The options include different face sculpts, wigs, and eye designs too.
The pre-made characters are priced around ļæ„50K to ļæ„55K, but this doesn't include the doll's outfit. It's very easy to purchase both directly from Volks, either from their Japanese site (if like me you're in Europe) or their US site (if you're in the US). It's easy to get replacement parts from them too, and the doll is a lot easier than others to switch out parts (and comes with a guide).
The joints are smooth to move and the doll holds a pose well. Maria is also the most posable large doll I own and can almost (but not quite) sit cross-legged. The outfits are really nice quality and well-fitted too. Overall, a really nice doll that I would recommend. I don't think Maria will be my last doll from Volks.
Lastly, the frustrating one: The Smart Doll/SMArt Doll, made by Smart Doll Inc/Mirai Inc/Culture Japan/whatever name they happen to be using now (it's changed a few times).
This is Pippa, a Smart Doll - specifically the Pride Prowess design. There are a variety of designs with two different body types (the slim original one and a plumper "pear body" design, though they do sell male dolls again now and for some reason the sculpt has ripped abs). There are a lot of designs but you can't get alternate wigs or replace parts besides different bust options and a few other options like prosthetic limbs.
These dolls don't use a regular friction mechanism and instead have a ratchet mechanism in most of the joints, so the doll holds a pose very well but is a nightmare to actually get into a pose. I've also been a bit concerned about potential wear, because the doll *cannot be repaired*. Smart Doll Inc don't sell replacement bits and the complexity of the internal frame mechanisms mean you can't really weld together parts like you can with some others. These are also the most expensive of the dolls here, being around ļæ„52K-ļæ„60K without the outfit, and their clothes (at least when I last checked) are pricier than for the other dolls. The design of the clothes is also unlike the way clothes for a doll are normally designed. They're designed like human clothes, which makes them difficult to put on the doll and it is expected that you'll need to dismember the doll (in particular removing the head and arms) to dress them, which is quite nerve-wracking to do.
The quality is decent though I personally feel the legs and neck are too long (for comparison, Pippa is about an inch taller than Maria when stood but when sat down Maria is around half an inch taller, because Smart Dolls are pretty leggy).
Then we get to how easy it is to get the doll and I have to mention the guy who runs Smart Doll Inc and I think does everything for their English-speaking customerbase (he lives in Japan but is originally from London IIRC so English is his first language). When I bought Pippa, after answering a questionnaire to prove that I'd read through the Smart Doll website and wasn't making an impulse purchase (weird but okay) I received an email with a list of questions saying that if I didn't respond soon enough or correctly then my order would be refunded. I had to reply with a short essay responding to it all to actually get the doll I'd ordered. Another detail I didn't mention earlier is that there are a lot of items on the Smart Doll website you can only see if you have previously bought the doll.
Never before have I encountered a company that seem so reluctant to sell their products. I can understand wanting to avoid scalpers - I'm used to limits on how many of something one can order, for example - but the Smart Doll guy seems so scared of people being dissatisfied with his dolls that he'd rather cancel their order for asking questions like "Will clothes designed for other dolls fit a Smart Doll?" (from an anecdote seen on a forum) than risk them not being entirely satisfied. It completely put me off ever buying anything from them again and I plan to make any clothes for Pippa by myself in future. They also have a weird attitude to their own history. I was surprised to learn they now sell male dolls, because for several years they had scrubbed their website of any reference to the male dolls they used to have back in (I think) 2014. You might also note I'd initially referred to the doll as a SMArt Doll, which is because they were originally called Social Media Art Dolls and had some sort of arrangement as a way of exporting Japanese culture (hence why they used to be Culture Japan), but now they have a completely different explanation of the name on their website. The whole thing is just somewhat bizarre.
Overall though, as mentioned earlier, it's the Dollfie Dream that I would recommend. Volks have been making and improving them for over two decades and it shows, they're the most posable and also just feel the nicest to hold due to the softish vinyl used for the doll's outer skin. Volks also like making Dollfie (both the Dollfie Dream and their ball-joint dolls the Super Dollfie) an experience, so if you go to one of their stores in Japan - which they literally call 天ä½æć®ććæć, or "Where the angels live" - they make a full event of buying a Dollfie. Some day I hope to go to Japan with a couple of friends of mine and I've already let both know there is a detour I'll have to make...
