It’s been a long time since I posted a Desk Diary update. A lot has happened, but most importantly… I won the lottery!
Yes it’s true, I won the lottery, not once, but TWICE! Unfortunately, instead of winning money, I’ll be spending it. A lot of it. Of course, I’m not talking about a normal lottery here, it’s the Volks Dolpa Lottery. I’m one of the lucky people that has won both the Neris and Airy Dollfie Dreams from Shining Hearts.
I’ve known about Dollfie Dreams for a while. About as long as I’ve known about resin BJDs. However, the few Dollfie Dreams I looked at never really appealed to me. That’s why, instead, I bought my resin BJD girl(s). Though, as an anime/manga fan, I would sometimes still look at them. Now I wish that I looked into them more. It wasn’t until recently that I noticed some amazing Dollfie Dreams on the figure.fm site, which caused me to really give them a serious look. After hearing about the Neris and Airy lottery, I knew I had to give it a try.
For those that don’t know, Dollfie Dreams are similar to the resin BJD girls that I have in size, but they are made differently, and look like anime/manga characters. They are made of a soft vinyl with a plastic, posable, skeleton, while my current girl(s) are made of resin plastic and held together with elastic string. Dollfie Dreams are also generally sold differently. While there are a couple “standard” Dollfie Dream models out there, most people seek out the limited ones. These limited DDs are also usually licensed characters from anime, manga and games. These are produced in a low number and sold only through a lottery. You have to WIN the lottery to be able to BUY the one you entered for. If you don’t win the lottery, you’re left with trying to get it through an after-market auction. And let me tell you, they generally go for twice the original price, unless you get lucky.
I had to learn a lot about this lottery system. Many enter the lottery multiple times via different resellers to increase their chances of winning. Problem for me was, of course, money. Volks themselves hold the money in your bank for the item while you wait to find out the results. So my options were limited. Chatter in the community made it obvious that Neris was going to be the real popular one. I took a chance and entered for Neris twice and Airy once. That was all I could manage.
The lottery is staggered and those in Japan can attend the Dolpa (Doll Party) event and win the initial run of dolls before the rest of us, whom have to wait for the online lotteries. Word was spreading fast that Neris was going like hotcakes. Many that tried to get her didn’t win and within hours many showed up for sale on auction sites. At this point I figured my two entries for Neris were a lost cause. It seemed, however, that Airy was not popular at all and everyone that entered for her won with no problem.
My first lottery results was from my entry for both girls. The email was sent a little earlier than expected. It said that I had won Airy, but not Neris. While not really surprised, I was happy that I won Airy. She’s really cute, but my heart was set on the pair, since they match. My only remaining hope for Neris was my one Volks entry, but I wouldn’t find out for another week.
Well, just this morning I got the fated Volks email. Yet again, earlier than expected. Surprised, the email said I won Neris. In fact, I later found out that if you didn’t win you don’t even get an email. It has been sad to hear from other community members that didn’t win her. So I feel very fortunate.
Now, I don’t really know anything about Shining Hearts, which is the game these two girls are based off of. I plan to change them into something I like—something that I feel suits them. So, obviously, I will not use the clothes or wigs they come with.
The bad news (besides the small fortune this is going to cost me) is that I will not get mine until AUGUST! Yes, this is a cruel joke, but this is how it works. So the wait begins.
I’m going to be broke for a long time…
As for my second resin BJD girl, she is still on the way. I ordered her in March, but she hasn’t arrived yet. She should be here soon. It’s been a long wait.
