Sunday, April 5, 2009

Dollfie: Figure Collecting at its extreme

So browsing around the net the other day and I stumbled upon http://www.dannychoo.com/ and noticed a section for something called Dollfie, they looked like regular anime figures with actual hair, so I figured I would take a quick peek to see what this was all about.

Dollfies are Japanese fashion dolls, not unlike Barbie's, that range in size from 22 - 60 cm and use ball joints that allow for an amazing level of articulation and posability. They are produced by Volks in Japan, and available through their USA site http://www.volksusa.com/
Dollfie dolls generally come blank, ie, their heads are not painted. When an artist paints a Dollfie, the technique is referred to as a "face-up" or "make-up". This is usually done using acrylic paints and special sealer to keep the color from coming off with play.

Volks has multiple lines, everything from realistic looking people to the far more stylized Anime inspired ones. Super Dollfies are also available, 60 cm tall and made of resin they are considered to be some of the most collectable.

Looking through their site you will see that the Dollfies don't come cheap, they are most definately a premium product! Volks from time to time does what they call Dolpa's [Doll Parties] where limited edition figures and accessories become available. I saw a limited edition Mikuru from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya listed for $598! [I saw this same figure on the secondary market for nearly $1500!] Add into this the price of clothes and accessories that can rival the prices of major brand label clothing and its not impossible for a single Dollfie to cost over $1000!



I have to be honest, if one day I have the funds I am going to try and get my hands on one of these for a mascot for the site, they are wonderful pieces of art, and a definate crown jewel in any Anime/Manga collectors collection.

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