Dolls you love that you missed out on?

Minifee Mio is mine. I knew she was being discontinued but thought I didn't like her enough to spend that much. Yeah, that backfired.

 

Yes. And it's not the end of the world, but it sure can feel like it!

The first I missed was Soom Ender. His order period was only about two weeks and there was absolutely no way I could afford him, not even on layaway. I did end up finding the head a few years later, but in the end, I never could make a hybrid work or get the fullset and I ended up selling him. I still think he's gorgeous but I don't regret selling him. Having him in hand, I realized 70cm+ is just a bit too much doll for me!

The other is a BlueBlood Doll Phoenix. He was the first head Medusa ever made, and only 2-3 ever existed. This was before I even knew about the artist or head at all, and I didn't discover BlueBlood Doll until several years later when she had four sculpts available, but Phoenix had been discontinued and modified to become Draven. Even finding information that Phoenix ever existed at all is somewhat difficult and I didn't even see pictures of him until I managed to track down an owner who had one of them, but had modded him. I even contacted the sculptor for more information (this is how I know so few were made) and even she no longer owned one. It's been a decade since I started looking for info on him, and don't have much more than when I started. I don't know if the other(s) have been damaged, modded or even still exist. In this case, it's literally less than a one in a million chance of ever owning one.

The only thing you can really do is just keep an eye on as many legit marketplaces as you can. Post "want to buy" listings. Check daily. Save up as much as you can so if you do find one, you'll have the cash ready to pay immediately.

 

I do feel this. In my case, I think I've just become involved in the hobby too late and missed out on a lot of things in general. It feels like 90% of what is shown when I browse various dollmaker websites is sold out, and it stings a bit. I first found out about the hobby in 2020 and had my eye on the Fairyland Chiclines. School and financial issues kept me from actually starting the hobby. I've become more invested in the hobby only now this year. I'm not sure when Chiclines were discontinued but I would still like to have a Chicline doll one day~

 

I was in the hobby around the time Luts CP Delfs were still being sold by the company. Only problem is I didn't like how they looked at the time. I think it was definitely a combination of how they were styled in company photos and how I didn't like the minimalist faceups that were super popular in dolls at the time. Flash forward to now, where they're expensive to get a hold of, but I've been seeing so many with faceups that bring out the charms of the sculpt. If I could get one I would, but I don't really know how much they are going for now or how much to price a WTB thread.

I also was in love with a lot of Ninodoll sculpts, but I never seemed to catch the ordering periods, and now it seems like the site is gone? No idea if they're still being sold or not, but it makes me sad.

 

I really regret not buying Doll Chateau's Fergus when they released him again. A the time I hadn't seen owner pictures and wasn't a fan.

But I have since seen many owner pictures and really regret not buying him. I love his sculpt now.

 

They might release them again someday, but I hate that I missed out on IOS' unitot skull heads. I might not have bought them, but I would've liked the option, you know?

 

Delf Soony is my biggest small regret. I was fully capable of purchasing her new from Luts but never committed to it. I probably will never get one now, but I'm happy when I see people posting her!

 

Freakstyle Salome. She'll always be the one that got away.

 

Ringdoll's Ksitigarbha....! He released during a time when I wasn't actively checking hobby news, so by the time I found out about him his order period had already ended. Well, technically he's still available, but only as a blank doll, and naturally it was the fullset outfit and makeup that caught my eye.....

It's probably better that I missed the announcement because I don't think I would have been able to afford him at the time. These days I don't have space for another doll....

 

Volks's Rozen Maiden girls...I'm not the biggest fan of the anime but I do love the sculpts, and the manga was one of my bjd gateways.
I tried for Souseiseki and Shinku in the June Bloom lottery but no doubt the competition was fierce.
Ah well, at least looking at Tenshi no Kishi it seems that they do come up in one-off lotteries often...

 

While my perception of "missing out on a doll" changes as I struggle with using my hands, there are definitely dolls that I missed out on that I still wish I hadn't. For example, Souldoll Serena. To this day I look at her photos on the company's website and think "Man, she's just so pretty...I wish I had her". Even as I try to handle my dolls her size and struggle to so much as change out a flat foot for a heel foot there is something about her sculpt (at least photos that I see of it) that just captures my interest and makes me go "ooh, pretty, I love that doll. I want that doll, what sculpt is it? Serena?! Oh, no wonder". I came back to the hobby right after her release sold out and any time she has randomly popped up I haven't had the cash or she has disappeared within moments of the sale being posted.

I cannot stress how much WTB threads here on DoA have saved me on dolls I have missed out on and given me a chance to own them in some shape/form. I never thought I'd get my hands on a Souldoll Aehael (prior to them re-releasing her), let alone her centaur version and I can safely say I own both a human and a centaur version of her now that made their way to me because of my WTB thread. While originally I had thought I wanted her in Normal Skin, I have both girls in Sandy Brown and I love the tone even more for what I had planned for the doll.

Granted, I suppose I don't beat myself up too badly because I believe that if something is meant to happen, it will happen. Even with something as silly as a desired sculpt in a hobby. If I am meant to have Serena one day the cogs will align ever so precisely and she will become mine. If not, well then it just wasn't meant to be.

 

I think the closest thing I have that's obtainable is DF-H'S Lu Xian sculpt in normal pink, but I am pretty okay with moving on tbh. There's so many options for sculpts that I will eventually find one that works for a character with my personal specifications.
I try to forget the one Dollfie Dream one off doll that has been haunting me for years that was auctioned in 2013. She's not happening for me and I'm healing from that pain.

 

I don't feel as bad for missing opportunities straight from companies as I do second hand. I tend to look at my local marketplace and mull over the decision forever as the dolls are up for grabs for ages usually... the moment I strut to message the seller, they are gone of course. I feel bad for missing out on a french resin narae with a really good price earlier in the year, it was a grail I had way back when but I guess I no longer have that strong feelings for the sculpt. Oh, and had I had the funds in 2007, I'd be beating myself up for not getting a DoD doll, but of course I didn't so it's not the worst of all regrets.

 

Dream Valley’s dragon version of Sylves and their Bethel were both some of the first fantasy BJDs I ever saw when I was first researching how to get into the hobby, and were honestly a huge part of getting me invested in buying my first doll. Human BJDs are lovely, but seeing how much could be done with fantasy characters was what got me really excited. Unfortunately dragon Sylves was limited and Bethel has been discontinued, and I wasn’t about to drop $400+ that I hadn’t saved up on a hobby I wasn’t even a part of yet.

Sort of wish I had been more impulsive, because they’re both gorgeous and definitely grail dolls for me, but it’s better on my wallet overall to be as responsible with my money as I am haha!

 

What I am most upset about missing isn't actually a full doll, but actually an add on piece for a doll that was super limited. DFH pumpkin head A (though I'd even take B honestly) I'd love to still find one somehow, but this is the thing I'm most sad about missing out on for my collection.

 

I’m always looking for Illusion Spirit Minos. I liked the thicker non muscle body he was on as well but then the company went defunct and some of them are difficult to find now.

 

She’s neat in person too. I saw one at a meet.

 

One thing that I love about this hobby is being able to find images and just enjoy them, even if I can't get the doll. I don't think I have too much FOMO over dolls, as the ones I like do pop up second hand or I already got them, but outfits, I have extreme FOMO over those. There are outfits I have WTB posts for because I missed out on them!

 

When Iplehouse discontinued a number of sculpts at about the same time, there were several I had hoped to buy at some point later on. Since I could only afford two at the time, I had to let KID Milly go. .

 

Dollzone Anson/Moment. HUGE regret. ;;

 

LatiDoll's red-line Oracle M...

I liked him and the Temple Knight K a lot at the time they were released, and thought long and hard about ordering them both... But I didn't. Because they had a very different look and proportion to the mostly-CP/Delf and "Old School" Volks dolls that I owned at the time, and I thought they would look very awkward sitting next to the rest of the gang.

I regretted that.

Eventually I managed to find a Temple Knight K second hand.
I've never seen an Oracle M come up for sale...

I'll keep looking, because hope springs eternal, but given how not-exactly-popular the red-line guys were in general and how few of that particular sculpt are even out there specifically? My odds honestly aren't very good and I know it.

 

There are some dolls I really liked that i didn't get, but mostly what i liked about them was their full sets outfits. So i regret not being able to get those more than not being able to get the dolls. At least in those cases, the basic doll is still available, but I'd have to customise them, so it's easier for me to not get them. That said, I absolutely loved Loongsoul's Yan Ling- C. The outfit and the styling are so, so pretty, but I couldn't justify the cost for the full set when it was available.

Souldoll Caleb is another one, but the doll would've been the wrong size for the character i'd use him for (i want to keep my dolls for that group to 1/4 scale). I also wish I'd known about Miracle doll's Lan Qi when she was being offered, since it's so hard to find muscular 1/4 girls, but maybe she'll turn up second hand or someone else will make a muscular 1/4 girl in the meantime.

 

For me it's easily Doll Chateau Amos. I never would have thought he'd be discontinued, but I came back to the hobby with a fat wallet and saw that he was done and gone. He's on my Super Secret Double Probation Grail List where, should I find him or his head floating around, I will descend upon him like a thousand starved locusts (or, rather, just throw my wallet around).

 

15 years ago when friend of mine "invited" me in world of bjd, i like and wanted some of BuddyDoll BJD (i think it was April, because she has smile, not sad or negative emotion as many or most bjd dolls), when i decided to order this doll, company was already dead. This doll still doll: why i become interested in BJD (well, except of my friend dolls, they was first which i saw in reality, and thanks to Universe - Crobidoll still alive and kicking))
Also as BJD dolls agent in my country (well, this experiment was failed, as i cant make business with studying in university at same time, and when your hobby side-job are not accepted by your family because you - male), well as bjd agent i have Oceanmoon Ha-nee (50cm doll) for short period of time, and actually i really like that doll in that time but i must to sell her (to spread BJD)). That mold was discontinued.

 

I was around during the heyday of CP Delfs and have so many regrets, both in terms of not buying them from luts when available, but also in missing specific secondhand dolls (a modded juri '05 and a juri '06 come to mind). Now they're so hard to find..

Another doll is a Shinydoll Sayuki B on the type 1 body. I've always loved how solemn and wistful she looked, but she's next to impossible to find anywhere. There was also a 'test' head from Shinydoll that wasn't an official release, and I pinged the person selling her too late ;_;

 

I "discovered" the hobby back in ~2010, but didn't really have the funds to start engaging with it in earnest until ~2017 or so, so I've missed out on a lot of dolls! There are many that I wish the stars had aligned enough for me to grab back when they were new and/or readily available (Minifee Shushu, some of the CP Delfs/FL rereleases, Dream of Doll sculpts, etc).

On the other hand, most of the dolls I've fallen in love with over the years were limited sculpts owned by other people. I've been fortunate enough that, with enough time and patience and saving, I've been able to nab several of my pipe dream grail dolls. Most of the ones I feel I've truly "missed out" on now were/are dolls that I would like a lot if everything lined up right, but don't necessarily want to devote that kind of time and money into hunting down. It's a general regretful pining rather than an active personal goal, if that makes sense.

 

I remember wanting a Hypermaniac Nahu - (specifically the opened eye version that was limited to 5) so badly it pained me I would Iove to have any of the Hypermaniacs now that I have money, but sadly the artist doesn’t seem to make them anymore (haven’t seen an update in a while).

 

Even though this is just a small regret, I still regret nontheless that I wasn't able to get Iplehouse Rebecca during their mass discontinuation event. A discontinued sculpt from another company had popped up at the MP at the same time, and I chose to get that instead because I could not afford to buy both.

 

Just missed out on Napi Doll Carol yesterday. Pretty down about that but I'll have to keep an eye out for her sleeping version soon.

 

Souldoll Caleb, fantasy version.
Caleb-Fantasy ver

I sadly was paying off two different layaways at the time, and couldn't possibly handle a third one. I would still love to find one, and maybe I'll find one secondhand one day; but I still kick myself for having so much going on at once that I couldn't have gotten him too.

 

I have 2:

Pukipuki Cupid 3! I have a desperate need for this one, or at least just the face plate as I've got a spare puki body. I WILL have one some day.

The other is Dollzone Hid; that was just a gorgeous sculpt.

 

Supia Doll Jacob in his original tan with the elf ears. By the time I discovered his sculpt, they’d discontinued the resin colour. I ordered a Migidoll Vicente in Latte hoping it would satisfy the itch but nope. Vicente is a beautiful sculpt but I should have just ordered Jacob in white and dyed him instead.

 

I regretted not getting Dream High Studio's Roley and Moley. They were tiny' 3" moles with cute outfits in brown and pale yellow resin. They were just so tiny, and so expensive! Every time I saw a picture of one of those adorable moles I would kick myself for not getting one! Believe it or not, last month I came across BOTH of them, in their cute outfits, and in perfect condition, for the original selling price of one doll! I couldn't hit the buy button fast enough! They had only been listed for 24 hours- I just got very lucky. I promptly made two story picture books of The Wind in the Willows with Blurb, starring Moley, of course! So keep looking for 'the doll that got away' and be persistent!

 

The first BJD I fell in love with was Luts Delf Shiwoo Elf, back in 2004/5.

Limited edition, and already sold out before I discovered BJDs and the luts site.

I might have been able to get him on the secondhand market, back then, if I'd known where to look. The few times he's come up on the secondhand market since then (the ones that I've seen) he's either been snapped up beofre I saw the listing, or I didn't have the money available at the time.

I'm taking the view that if I'm meant to have him, one will happen into my path at the right time for it to work out.

Teddy

 

My case is an odd one in that the doll I loved was available for years and years, yet I could never make myself pull that trigger. It was the Iplehouse EID Luo…and wow, was he ever gorgeous in a manly-man sort of way! Every photo I saw of him was just pure love for me. But I won’t buy a doll unless I can see a character in them…and I just never could in poor Luo, and not for lack of trying let me tell you! But it never came to pass and eventually he was discontinued. I guess that gorgeous hunk of resin just wasn’t meant to be.

 

So many things Muhan! Limited artist runs spiritually hurt so bad

 

More RealPukis - I regret not buying Obi. And I regret even more that I didn't snap up Tyni several times when I found him for sale... Every time I thought there was time enough to get him when money wasn't so tight. Now I'm beginning to fear that FL will never bring them back at all...

And I wish I got PukiPuki ChiChi when he was still available. Not one that you come across very often...

 

I’d love a couple tan PukiPuki! By the time I found them and realized I wanted one they were not being made anymore.

 

I love the SD Kyle/Amon The Hanged Man (gargoyle version) but I didn't have the money when he was released and because he was limited, I couldn't buy him. I've never seen him 2nd hand *sigh*. I'd also love to get my grabby hands on an SD Kowalski/Billion and he was another who was limited and waaaaay out of my budget at the time (just blank he was $1200US and the CAN$ sucks hard so....). I've seen Kowalski 2nd hand twice since he was released nearly 10 years ago and both times I didn't have the cash on hand since it is a fair chunk of change once you factor in exchange rate ($1200US would be approximately $1625CAN at the rate today and that doesn't include shipping, which would be a fair bit as he's 70cm and likely heavy, too).

 

Souldoll Chiron in tan. Always wanted this doll, I already had everything picked out - hair, eyes, clothes, aesthetic. I never got to buy him and I know I'll never get my hands on one, but I would pull out all the stops if I ever did. He is so dreamy.

 

Any of the anthro dolls by Aurora BJD ^^ I was younger back then with little to no extra spending money, and I was flip-flopping back and forth whether I wanted one when they announced they stopped selling them, sadly. If I ever come across one second-hand I know I'm going to snatch them up in an instant.

 

I missed out on fullset Ringdoll Lexi a few months ago. Basic Lexi is still there but I loved his hair and face-up so much I'm considering finding another sculpt for my OC. I really wish Ringdoll had given a clear notice that they were discontinuing fullsets for certain dolls, then I could have put him on layaway.

 

Soom Shoshon. Don’t ask me why goofy moose boy struck a cord with me but he did! Convinced myself that I didn’t need to buy anymore dolls at the time and have regretted it. Maybe one day the stars will align and I’ll be able to snag him and his fantasy parts off the secondhand market but I’m not holding my breath, lol.

 

Just when I started on this hobby, DearMine released one of their anthro dolls, Loc, in a version I love to pieces until today. Back then I wasn't interested in any doll that wasn't a mature mini so I didn't even know the company existed. Nowadays I haven't been able to find him on the second hand market in my 13 years in this hobby.

 

Ringdoll's Sol and zombie Sol are amazing dolls I would have loved to own.
But Frankenstein (2012) will always be my favorite doll. It's the sculpt that made me fall in love with bjd and get into the hobby!

Spoiler: Stitches and horror elements

 

Dream Valley Phoenix (Nirvana-Phoenix?). It was released right before I got into the hobby earlier this summer, and though I found another doll I love and am very happy with, I can't help but feel like I missed out, especially since it was released RIGHT before I started looking into BJDs! I absolutely love dolls with fantasy elements, and the wings on that one are so gorgeous.

 

Gloomy Dolls Eris, I just couldn't afford her at the time still holding out hope though..

 

I have a lot of them probably, but I'll mention a random obscure one, why not? When Aria doll announced that they were closing I didn't order anything (having recently just barely escaped becoming a casualty of the n-doll collapse where lots of people never got their orders). Anyway, I was in love with both Narvy and Gravity (their only 70cm guy I think). I soon managed to put Narvy together second hand, but I never found Gravity. I still love him more than anything and he's probably the only doll that large I would ever bring home again at this point. It's been so many years now... who knows, maybe I will find a bargain Ariadoll Gravity still

 

La Légende de Temps Ahaz and Nabarro Sumner. Practically perfect in every way, and unfortunately, seems like they are just not meant to be.

 

I've had too many to count, really, but the one that sticks in my mind the most is Elfdoll Dami. Before I got my first BJD, I went back and forth between her and Minifee Shushu a lot. But I finally made up my mind and decided on Dami. But sadly by the time I was able to afford a BJD, Elfdoll had closed down and I ended up with Shushu. To this day Dami is one of my all-time favorite dolls, and even though I love my Minifee girl, part of me still wishes I had been able to get Dami instead. I actually think her sculpt might have been more cohesive with my current tastes/goals for my collection than my Shushu.

 

I'm currently kicking myself for not preordering the Dollfie Dream Y'shtola. Had I known I was suddenly going to get back into bjds I would have lol

 

when napidoll rereleased the rogebelle head like 2 or 3 years ago. im a bit sad that I didnt buy her, but i already had two heads so no a super big loss but just thought how cool it would be to have different styles for each rogebell

 

Minifee Liria. What a beauitful sculpt!

 

Puyoo dolls, especially the tan ones. Wish I was able to get one earlier, now just buying a head second-hand costs at least $400. But it is what it is.

 

Soom Chalco forest king ver. I took a very long break from the hobby and when I came back I saw that just two weeks prior he had been re-released

 

Minifee Liria is one i still feel bad for missing out on. I remember wanting Dollzone Elsa very badly a while ago as well, and then being disappointed when I found out she had been discontinued, after putting off buying her for a while.

 

I can't remember the name of the sculpt, but it was a YOSD Little Monica doll that I really loved. Unfortunately I never got the nerve to get it, sadly....

 

I've definitely missed out on SO many cute dolls that I probably have no clue about, but one that really gets me is irrealdoll's Nur. He's sooo cute and has a face that I like a lot, but I don't think I'll find him for sale any time soon.. Or ever. ;-;

 

Back in 2019, I missed out on ordering Zaya and Yuy from Natalia Loseva.

I also missed out on ordering the Pasha Pasha Halloween heads: "Beat" Elf Head and "Thirst" Vampire Head.