Small-time Hijinks

Hazel's new friend, MSD Hewitt

At the start of this month I officially introduced my first Volks mini, Hazel, a Coordinate model F-61 SDM, and I said something about her needing a small friend. Well, in all honesty, I'd already bought said friend when I wrote that post, but I didn't say anything more because I wasn't sure what condition he'd be in when he arrived.

He turned out to be in great condition, so I've already found him an outfit and taken some photos. Here's Mini Super Dollfie Hewitt (official name pending).

Portrait photo of a male resin ball-jointed doll (MSD Hewitt). He has a childlike face, pale blue-grey eyes, a red-brown wig, and wears a ruffled white shirt with pintucks and lace.

He also turned out to be something of a mystery. I found him for a really good price on Dollyteria, where it said he had a faceup by K. Mayura, who left Volks in 2016 or so. I also saw a one-off certificate in the photos, though couldn't read any details on it, and a very old-style Volks box (the one with a cardboard sleeve instead of a lid). Also, the MSD (Mini Super Dollfie) body isn't made any more - it was replaced with the SDM body (Super Dollfie Midis).

Dollyteria's photos were quite washed out, so it was hard to see how much the resin had yellowed, but from all this information I was fully expecting a very yellow old boy who would need some attention - maybe even an exchange for his head and a new body.

So when he arrived, it was a really nice (if confusing) surprise to see fresh-looking resin and a date of 2023 on the one-off certificate.

Some nice friends on Discord puzzled through it with me, and the most likely explanation is that he was originally an old one-off, but the body and head were exchanged at Volks (before they started replacing the MSD body with an SDM body, as they do now) and the head had the faceup redone by K. Mayura - this is a service Volks provides for one-off dolls, and there are previous cases of K. Mayura coming back to do faceups even though they have left Volks. And perhaps Volks issued a new one-off certificate at the same time for some unknown reason.

If anyone has more insight into this, I'd love to hear it - drop me a line on Bluesky if you do!

Anyway. Nice fresh new-ish Hewitt. I'm very happy. And now Hazel has someone of her own size to look mournful with.

Photo of two resin ball-jointed dolls, a girl (Hazel) and a slightly taller boy (Hewitt), standing close together. They both have red-brown hair. The girl wears a black school uniform with a white collar, and the boy wears a very frilly white shirt with lace. Photo of two resin ball-jointed dolls, a girl (Hazel) and a slightly taller boy (Hewitt), facing slightly away from each other. They both have red-brown hair. The girl wears a black school uniform with a white collar, and the boy wears a very frilly white shirt with lace.

Hazel's wig and school uniform are by Volks. Both pairs of eyes are by Lepus. Hewitt's wig is by Crobidoll (bought second-hand), and his shirt is by Melody.C.

Rigel joins the Interstellar Dormitory

I bought my Super Dollfie Rigel as a head from another owner, and he's never really been properly dressed, because SD10 boys are quite a lot smaller than my other dolls. He's mostly been hanging out in a handknitted fluffy jumper and some too-long SD13-sized trousers. Cute, but not really special.

In all his releases (apart from any one-offs), Rigel is part of the Interstellar Dormitory – a kind of astronomically themed school for boys – which of course has its own uniform, but every time I saw it, it seemed a bit pricy.

But after a long time of no proper outfit, Rigel has been treated to the proper Interstellar Dormitory experience. I needed a new SD boy body (due to another head purchase) and managed to pick up Alto's body and original outfit for a very good price. (SD boy bodies are always pretty cheap, in my experience, and there's usually always a few options available on second-hand marketplaces or auction sites.)

Alto's outfit is an Interstellar Dormitory uniform, so finally, my Rigel can start attending the Interstellar Dormitory and learn about his namesake.

Three-quarter portrait photo of a boyish-looking male resin ball-jointed doll. He has thick eyelashes, short grey hair, grey eyes. He's wearing a beige beret with a star emblem, a white skirt with lace at the collar, and a dark blue and beige jacket with star emblems and gold trim.

Or just lounge around looking pensive and writing poetry and making toast on a fire, which is what I imagine daily life to be at the Interstellar Dormitory.

Portrait photo of a boyish-looking male resin ball-jointed doll, who is looking into the camera. He has thick eyelashes, short grey hair, grey eyes. He's wearing a beige beret with a star emblem, a white skirt with lace at the collar, and a dark blue and beige jacket with star emblems and gold trim.

Ursula finally gets a photoshoot (and a new outfit)

In 2022, I returned to the doll hobby after many years away (no drama: life just got in the way, so I packed up my dolls and kept them in a cupboard). Ursula was the first Volks doll I bought that year, a SDGr Dream Angel Una. I'd always loved the F-01/Four Sisters sculpt, so it was really special to realise a long-forgotten dream.

Ironically, I then mostly kept her in her box for the next few years.

Yesterday, I decided I really wanted to join in with a hashtag on Bluesky (building doll community on a different social network means you actually have to engage with things there). This hashtag is from the Japanese community, and is something like "it's the first of the month, so please share photos of your F-01/Una/etc": #1日なので01番・初期子・ウナ・以下略の画像ください

Last year I bought the White Lily Junior High School uniform set from Volks, which was (to my shame) sitting in a cupboard up until yesterday, unopened. I had another doll in mind for the set, but Ursula has always had witchy vibes in my mind. The set is completely black, so I think we can argue that it also has witchy vibes, even though it's a school uniform.

Out to the garden we went!

Photo of a ball-jointed resin doll. She is outside in a garden with grey tiles behind her, wearing a black old-fashioned school uniform and a cloche hat. She holds a black school bag in front of her. Her resin is pale white, her eyes are orange and her bobbed hair is peach.

I was particularly impressed with the bag, which has a clear elastic strip just inside the handle. This grips on to your doll's hand so they can hold it more easily, and isn't very visible in photos.

Portrait photo of a ball-jointed resin doll. She is outside in a garden with dark foliage, wearing a black old-fashioned school uniform and a cloche hat. She carries a black school bag on her back. Her resin is pale white, her eyes are orange and her bobbed hair is peach.

The outfit itself is beautifully made, and I really like the puffy sleeves of the little bolero jacket. I wish my school uniform had been like this (it was uniquely ugly).

Portrait photo of a ball-jointed resin doll. She is outside in a garden with grey tiles behind her, wearing a black old-fashioned school uniform and a cloche hat. She carries a black school bag on her back. Her resin is pale white, her eyes are orange and her bobbed hair is peach.

Let's hope it doesn't take another 2.5+ years for me to take photos of her again.