Category Archives: Hobby

Obitsuroid Tutorial Episode 1: Ways to attach a Nendoroid Head to an Obitsu 11cm Body!

My Obitsu and Nendoroid body comparison post seems to be getting a lot of traction, so I thought of sharing the tips and ways I’ve learned over time on how to attach a Nendoroid head to an Obitsu body, therefore creating what we call an Obitsuroid!

An Obisuroid is basically a hybrid or a combination of a Nendoroid head with an Obitsu body. I’ve only ever tried attaching a Nendoroid head to an 11cm Obitsu body since I’ve started with the hobby in early 2019, so this first episode is will be the few tricks / ways I’ve learned on how to do it.

In this tutorial, I will be sharing that three ways I’ve tried attaching the head of a Nendoroid to an Obitsue body.

For the first one, we’ll only be needing an Obitsu body of your choice, the latest Nendoroid (faceplate), and some Tack-it (whichever color you prefer, though I’d like to use white tack it with my Obitsuroids.)

I do suggest the Faber Castel

It’s just a three-step easy-peasy process:

After choosing your Nendoroid faceplate of your choice, you just have to place a small amount of tack it around the rim of the faceplate.

Next is to push the washer of the Obitsu into the rim.

Then simply attached the Nendoroid hair as usual and voilà! You’ve got yourself an Obitsuroid!

The second trick is to use suctions hook, wall hook, or those clear suction car hook – whatever you wanna call them. In addition to the hook, you’ll be needing scissors or cutter and of course the Obitsu body and the Nendoroid faceplate and a Nendoroid neck connector. (pictured below)

First thing you do is draw a pattern of the neck connector to the clear suction and then precisely cut the suction and that’s it! It will basically hold the washer and will serve as a buffer so that it could hold the head of the Nendoroid.

You have to insert it first to the back hair-piece instead of the faceplate’s rim.

The last one is basically just the same process as the second one, the only difference is that you’re going to be using a cardboard instead of a suction hook.

Again, as mentioned above – drawn a pattern of the neck connector and cut it.
It should look like this once you insert it to the washer
Again, you have to insert it first to the back hair-piece instead of the faceplate’s rim.
And just insert the faceplate, and the front hair-piece! That easy!

I’m personally not a fan of this one because the head always tends to be too wobbly compared to the rubber hook.

On the my future Nendroid Hybrid posts, I will be discussing the YMY body (which I just ordered) and will also compare it to the Nendoroid Body and the Obitsu Body. I heard a lot of good things about it, where you actually don’t need to do all these tricks I’ve just mentioned in this post (ugh) to attach the Nendoroid head so, do watch out for it!

Please also note that this blog is reader-supported. When you buy through links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission.

AmiAmi English Twitter’s 10th Anniversary Campaign!!!

July 2021 is the start of AmiAmi English Twitter Account’s 10th year and they are giving away 10,000 AmiAmi Points (10,000JPY worth) to 10 lucky winners in a campaign draw! Below are the rules on how you can participate while the campaign is still running!

AmiAmi is one of my trusted online shop for anime figures and other merch, and if you haven’t read my review / tips on how to use their website, do read it here: Ordering Anime Figures from AmiAmi. Best of luck!

Review: Ordering Anime Figures from the Mandarake Website!

Last February, I’ve posted my experience on ordering anime figures from the AmiAmi website and this time I will be sharing with you another credible website where you can get buy not just anime figures but also dolls, books, magazines, cards, and a whole lot more under the same spectrum.

MANDARAKE was established in 1987 as a pre-owned manga dealer in Nakano Broadway. Now Mandarake is known as one of the largest manga and anime stores in the world.

Placing an order through the Mandarake website is pretty easy. First, you go to their website: https://www.mandarake.co.jp/ and choose your preferred language – available languages include Japanese. English, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and I believe the other one would be Russian (this needs some verification though). Creating an account is very easy too – the website will prompt you to create one before being able to check out: Here’s the link where you can sign up: https://my.mandarake.co.jp/pre/?lc=en (this is in English, so feel free to change it.)

It’s very easy to navigate, you have the option to choose the category on the drop down if want to zero-in on your search but what I do is I usually keep it on “All Items” which gives me more opportunity to see more related products. The thing about Mandarake is that it will show you all of the related products based on the keyword you entered, so this is when you try to filter your searches because it will show you EVERYTHING – including the sold out items from all of their 14 locations nationwide that includes Sahra, Nakano, Complex (Akihabara), CoCoo (Akihabara), Shibuya, LaLaLa (Ikebukuro), Nayuta, Nagoya, Utsunomiya, Umeda, Grand Chaos (Osaka), Fukuoka, Kokura and Sapporo.

Now this is very important because each store actually has separate shipping since they will be coming from different location so if at one transaction for example, you placed orders from three multiple stores, you will be getting three different shipping quotation about a day, or two after placing your order.

Here’s their complete FAQ page for your reference: https://earth.mandarake.co.jp/help/faq-en.html

I’ve only placed multiple order once because I don’t want to missed the opportunity to get the item that I’ve really been looking for a long time and I guess, to make it worth my money I also added small items in it. I was so glad that the shipping was very minimal. The website offers DHL Express, EMS, Registered SAL and Air Small Packet as shipping option and I usually choose EMS, and I’d get the item in about a week.

Here’s that one multiple order I was referring to:

I really just wanted the Nendoroid Petit Edward Elric but I’ve decided to add these cute Bandai Demon Slayer straps because of their size and I pretty much guess that it won’t make a difference on the shipping since it will be placed in a smaller box via EMS based on the guidelines. I was even able to sell them locally for about $27!
And here’s the other order from another location (Shibuya)

You see, it really is very easy to use the website and receiving a bootleg is almost zero. As they’ve mentioned on their FAQ page – all of their products are carefully checked by their staff with the help of their own large database.

So for those of you are who are looking for ‘affordable’ figures (at least more often than not) – Mandarake is another place you can go to, just have to be very careful and wise when placing your orders!

Review: Ordering Anime Figures from AmiAmi

I’ve ordered Anime figures from AmiAmi three times now, and I thought I’d let you know about my experience ordering from their website. First, you should know that AmiAmi actually has a physical store located in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan.

Address: Akihabara Radio Kaikan F4, 1−15−16, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan (source)

I’ve only been to Japan once and I never got to visit Tokyo so I really missed out visiting Akihabara in general but I found out about the store from friends who are fans of anime figures and have been ordering from amiami.com for a while now.

Being one of the  largest shops in Akihabara, they offer a lot of figures – brand new, on bargain sale, pre-owned, as well as pre-order items! Take note that their shop is separate from their online shop which may offer different rates!

My first online order with them was May of last year. I thought I’d try ordering four Nendoroid first. I’m a fan of Bungo Stray Dogs and I just couldn’t resist ordering the Osamu Dazai and Chuya Nakahara Nendoroid figures! I was so glad that the Good Smile Company decided to rerelease them and I got them with discounts from AmiAmi! Such a sweet deal!

The ordering process is easy. First, you go to their website: https://www.amiami.com/eng/ – this is the English version, and it’s also in Chinese. I didn’t create an account first, but once your check out – it’ll prompt you to create an account which is easy peasy too!

The website is very easy to navigate and is very straightforward. There is a category list which includes: Figures, Toys Categories, Scale Models, Character Goods, Book & Games and a lot more. And there is a ranking for New Products, Sale Items, w/AmiAmi bonus, Pre-Owned Items and Bishounen Items. I regularly check the Sale and Pre-Owned items haha!

I haven’t tried pre-ordering from them but they have an FAQ in case you’d like to try it yourself. Of the three instances (so far) I’ve order from them, I chose to combine the shipping of each order since they’re “In-stock.”

In ordering, all you need to do is add your chosen items to your cart and once you’re ready to check out, fill out the necessary information that includes your mode of payment, shipping method and contact information.

Nendoroid Doll and Obitsu 11cm Body Comparison!

I accidentally discovered the Nendoroid world last year when I searched for some local Obitsu stuff sellers on Facebook. It led me to Nendo Farm – a group created by one of the Philippines’ local Nendoroid and Obitsu distributors.

This is a Nendoroid of Nezuko Kamado from the hit series, Kimetsu No Yaiba.

As per its Wiki definition: The Nendoroid series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict anime, manga, or video games and are designed with a large head and a more petite body to give them a cute appearance. Their faces and other body parts are exchangeable, giving them a range of different expressions and poses. The Nendoroid brand spans a variety of different products: the original 10 cm figures, smaller Nendoroid Petite figures, additional display tools known as the Nendoroid More series, as well as plushies and playsets. Several video games have also been released based on Nendoroid designs.

In 2018, Good Smile Company introduced the Nendoroid Doll series. It is the latest addition to the Nendoroid series, which features the same Nendoroid heads, but an alternate doll-like body that is highly articulated and can easily be dressed up into different outfits while remaining a palm-sized action figure!

Obitsu (doll) body meanwhile are a type of ball-jointed body manufactured by the company Parabox.

In this post, I will show you the comparison between a Nendoroid Doll body and an Obitsu doll body. See, you can use the Nendoroid heads to Obitsu 11cm bodies, resulting in a hybrid doll popularly known in the toy community as Obitsuroid!

This photo shows a male Nendoroid Doll body and an Obitsu 11CM body (non-gendered).

Nendoroid doll bodies comes with three different colors – cream, peach and cinnamon while Obitsu is more varied with its Whitey, Pure White, Natural (Fleshtone) and Pure Black color.

Their height is just about the same with the Obitsu body just a tad bit higher. They can usually share clothing although Obitsu tends to be a bit bigger.

Edit: I’ve just realized that the rest of the article I wrote about this topic was not fully uploaded when I visited my site this morning! I was so busy that I usually do auto-posts, so imagine my horror when I saw that the entire article I’ve been writing for so long was nowhere to be found.

I accidentally discovered the Nendoroid world last year when I searched for some local Obitsu stuff sellers on Facebook. It led me to Nendo Farm – a group created by one of the Philippines’ local Nendoroid and Obitsu distributors.

As per its Wiki definition: The Nendoroid series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict anime, manga, or video games and are designed with a large head and a more petite body to give them a cute appearance. Their faces and other body parts are exchangeable, giving them a range of different expressions and poses. The Nendoroid brand spans a variety of different products: the original 10 cm figures, smaller Nendoroid Petite figures, additional display tools known as the Nendoroid More series, as well as plushies and playsets. Several video games have also been released based on Nendoroid designs.

In 2018, Good Smile Company introduced the Nendoroid Doll series. It is the latest addition to the Nendoroid series, which features the same Nendoroid heads, but an alternate doll-like body that is highly articulated and can easily be dressed up into different outfits while remaining a palm-sized action figure!

Obitsu (doll) body meanwhile are a type of ball-jointed body manufactured by the company Parabox.

In this post, I will show you the comparison between a Nendoroid Doll body and an Obitsu doll body. See, you can use the Nendoroid heads to Obitsu 11cm bodies, resulting in a hybrid doll popularly known in the toy community as Obitsuroid!

This photo shows a male Nendoroid Doll body and an Obitsu 11CM body (non-gendered).

Nendoroid doll bodies come in three different colors – cream, peach, and cinnamon, while Obitsu is more varied with its Whitey, Pure White, Natural (Fleshtone), and Pure Black color.

Their height is just about the same, with the Obitsu body just a tad bit higher. They can usually share clothing, although Obitsu tends to be a bit bigger.

UPDATED: Here’s a Nendoroid Doll of Deku celebrating the new year! He can actually stand on his own but it’d take a bit of time to achieve it. The Obitsu body may not be perfectly fit with the Nendoroid head but it could easily stand on its own.

As you can see, he’s perfectly perched on top of my luggage looking oh-so-cute!

Another thing is that Nendoroid body all comes with magnetic sole, while for Obitsu you can choose to buy with or without one.

This is a Nendoroid Doll: Boy Archetype.
And this one is the Natural Skin Color of an 11cm Obitsu Body.

They’re actually pretty enjoyable to play with, to display and to look at buy they could be very expensive. So, make sure to check them out at your favorite toy stores!

My October-December 2017 Book Haul!

So here’s my final book haul for the year 2017! Whoot hoot! I’ve actually read of all them already but as I’ve said – I loved having my own copies – it’s sort of easier when I’d like to reread them (I am actually rereading the Andrew Brawley now in between books haha)

If you are not familiar with the titles, five of these seven books are all young adult titles save for Texas Pride by Kindle Alexander and On Dublin Street by Samantha Young – both are spectacular reads and both were purchased from Book For Less (along with the Official Illustrated Movie Companion of Beautiful Creatures)

The other four came from Fully Booked which amounted to around 2600-2700 pesos. I discovered though, that Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentelman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is P185 cheaper at the National Bookstore – a shame really cuz I saw it first in Fullybooked! I’m still happy though because I enjoyed the book plus, Fullybooked offers more LGBTQ+ title than the National Bookstore.

***

On Dublin Street – Samantha Young
Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare …

Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well – until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street, where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.

Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached.

But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won’t be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her . . . down to the very soul.

Texas Pride – Kindle Alexander
When mega movie star and two time Academy Award winner, Austin Grainger voluntarily gave up his dazzling film career, his adoring fan base thought he’d lost his mind. For Austin, the seclusion of fifteen hundred acres in the middle of Texas sounds like paradise. No more cameras, paparazzi, or overzealous media to hound him every day and night. Little did the sexiest man alive know when one door closes, another usually opens. And Austin’s opened by way of a sexy, hot ranch owner right next door.

Kitt Kelly wasn’t your average rancher. He’s young, well educated and has hidden his sexuality for most of his life. When his long time wet dream materializes as his new neighbor it threatens everything he holds dear. No way the ranching community would ever accept him if he came out. With every part of his life riding on the edge, can Kitt risk it all for a chance at love or will responsibility to his family heritage cost him his one chance at happiness?

He Forgot to Say Goodbye – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove don’t appear to have much in common. Ram lives in the Mexican-American working-class barrio of El Paso called “Dizzy Land.” His brother is sinking into a world of drugs, wreaking havoc in their household. Jake is a rich West Side white boy who has developed a problem managing his anger. An only child, he is a misfit in his mother’s shallow and materialistic world. But Ram and Jake do have one thing in common: They are lost boys who have never met their fathers. This sad fact has left both of them undeniably scarred and obsessed with the men who abandoned them. As Jake and Ram overcome their suspicions of each other, they begin to move away from their loner existences and realize that they are capable of reaching out beyond their wounds and the neighborhoods that they grew up in. Their friendship becomes a healing in a world of hurt.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue – Mackenzi Lee
Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The first day of senior year:

Everything is about to change. Until this moment, Sal has always been certain of his place with his adoptive gay father and their loving Mexican-American family. But now his own history unexpectedly haunts him, and life-altering events force him and his best friend, Samantha, to confront issues of faith, loss, and grief.

Suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and discovering that he no longer knows who he really is—but if Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he?

Beautiful Creatures : The Official Illustrated Movie Companion – Mark Cotta Vaz
xplore the making of the film Beautiful Creatures in this ultimate visual companion, lavishly illustrated with full-color photos of the cast, locations, and sets. This beautiful paperback edition celebrates the on-screen creation of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s fascinating world, brought to life by screenwriter and director Richard LaGravenese.

With never-before-seen images, exclusive interviews and personal stories, Mark Cotta Vaz takes you behind the scenes with cast and crew, uncovering intimate details of the filmmaking process.

***

I cannot wait to reread all of these books and I am excited for next year’s hunt!

PetWORKS Competition Event: AE You! Design A Momoko Doll!!

Yes, You’ve read it right! PetWORKS – the creator of Momoko Doll is having a “design a momoko doll” competition where in the winning entries will be put into production! How awesome is that?!

I myself is actually joining this competition and will be sending my entry and I am also hoping to win! Momoko dolls are getting way expensive so I’d love to get myself some custom made and “free” doll since the winner of this event would have their winning doll as well. (haha. I am just assuming here that I’d win – if not, I’ll keep on salivating on these dolls LMAO)

The contest started last September 9 and will end on September 29 (last day of sending your entries peeps!)

How To Apply / Rules.

Download the application form (it’s the doll sketch) where in your just have to put your infos. Here’s the LINK where you can download it. (see pics below)

Momoko1Design your momoko doll as a complete doll with clothing, accessories, shoes, make-up, hair, eyes color and everything. Design a complete doll! I’d say design your dream momoko doll!

The design should be original and unpublished of course.

Send your entries at design@petworks.co.jp (I am actually having a hard time understanding their website so I supposed that you can only send one entry/person)

Here are some examples of the winning entries from their last event of the same nature, Momoko Doll Dream Design Competition.

Here’s PetWORKS website for more detailed info regarding the competition.

1111111 Poppy

Poppy Garden

111 Gradient

Gradient Of Love

11111 Desert

Desert+Rose

photos are property of PetWORKS. No copyright infringement intended.

– dollsontop

Dolls On Top: Going ABJD!

Okay, so I am now planning to buy my very first ball jointed doll but I’m still researching about them. First thing that I’ve learned about ’em is how expensive they are! haha! So there, first thing I’ve got to do is save! I was actually offered a baby abjd which I think was priced pretty reasonable however, my doll budget was not enough since I’ve to pay something for my school. *cry* too bad. I’m okay with it now since I will have more time to find the right doll for me.

So far, I was thinking of getting a boy abjd. Perhaps it’s because I do not have any boy doll yet or they’re just way too cute to ignore. LOL.

I have checked the ManikaManila Livejournal community and I’ve learned so much about Asian Ball Jointed Dolls and those doll pictures are just way too gorgeous! At the moment, I’ve three dolls in mind from three different websites selling ball jointed dolls.

They are:

Gentle Soori from Iplehouse 

Gentle Soori from Iplehouse

I am so inlove with his delicate features and tamed face-up! And the color of his hair reminds me of my hair when I was a college freshy! LOL

Gentle Soori from Iplehouse 2

Luke Version No.1 from Dream Of Doll

The youthful vibe of Luke is what enchant me the most about him. And his gray eyes. I was told though by someone that If ever I will be ordering a basic doll, I should not expect the same pair of eye because they come in random.Oh well, we’ll see.

Luke Version No.1 from Dream Of Doll 2

Luke Version No.1 from Dream Of Doll

And lastly, the super adorable FOF Hucky from Peak Woods
FOF Hucky from Peak Woods 2
FOF Hucky from Peak Woods
I’m sorry but who could resist this little cutie???
 
So there, these are my options now. They’re pretty expensive but I think they’re worth it. I hope to get one of them before Christmas though! Yay!
I do not own any of the pictures above. Courtesy of Iplehouse, Dream Of Doll and Peak Woods.
– dollsontop