Small-time Hijinks

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.

Introducing Hazel, my SDM F-61

Portrait photo of a female ball-jointed doll with auburn hair, standing outside in the snow and wearing a cream knitted shawl.

Hazel is my first 1/4 scale doll from Volks. She's a Coordinate model, which (to use Volks's own words) means:

"Coordinate Model is a Super Dollfie® that comes with all accessories including outfit, wig, and shoes that are selected by the VOLKS Doll Design Department."

Despite everything she came with, once she arrived I decided to change her wig (to another Volks wig) and eyes (to a pair from Lepus) – but I do love the default faceup. She looks very sad and concerned. I immediately felt that she needed a small friend – and this is, of course, the danger of SDM dolls. It seems like one is just not enough.

Portrait photo of a female ball-jointed doll with auburn hair, standing outside in the snow and wearing a cream knitted shawl.

One thing I didn't expect was that she came with non-standard fist hands (I'm not sure if they're from another Volks release, or another company altogether) which have integrated wrist balls. Her default hands were in the box, but the wrist balls (which are required for those hands, and all other SDM hands) were missing. There's of course a bit of a risk when buying second-hand dolls, and it wasn't mentioned in the listing – it was also not obvious, so the marketplace might have missed it.

I'm still wondering what to do about it, since you can't buy wrist balls separately. One option might be to get a body just to harvest the wrist balls, though that seems overly expensive. Another option is to get an old yellowed body (often pretty cheap) and then get the wrist balls and hands exchanged at Volks, so they match Hazel's newer resin.

For now, while the fist hands are not my favourite, they're also fine. Maybe she just has a lot of pent-up frustration. (After this past January, I know I do.) And she's incredibly cute, regardless!