Mistakes You've Made in the Hobby?

I'd say my biggest mistakes in the hobby have been purchases. My plans have vastly changed and I've learned that certain sizes and styles of doll don't work for me like I thought they would. I'm currently in the process of listing everything for sale and starting fresh!

 

I've ordered doll parts in overly good faith that have ended up being terrible resin matches, paid too much for accessories through dealers (my god do I wish I had known how easy buying straight from taobao was), forgotten to add things to an order resulting in twice the shipping fees... Not enough patience is always the biggest mistake in my case usually, I've definitely had to learn to force myself to take a step back from the wantwantwant tunnelvision moments. But we live and learn, no matter how hard we try we all make tons of mistakes. In this hobby where you never get to see things in person before buying, I think it's also important to accept that how you feel about your purchases might change once you get to handle them and it's not a mistake or fault per se.

 

Big mistakes, thankfully not many, mainly related to not being unaware of what, and how big, I wanted my collection to be. At one point, I had so many ideas for dolls but no way to make them all true so I felt there was no point in collecting if I couldn't shell all the characters. It took me a long time and some frustration to understand what I wanted.
Small to medium-sized mistakes, a whole bunch, like trying too many bodies for my MSD hybrid, not learning to restring my dolls properly, bad wig attempts, buying cheaper things instead of saving up for good quality, etc.

 

My biggest mistake was contracting acquisition syndrome. It is a battle that must be fought each day in this hobby

 

Sounds like I'm going to have to learn about how easy it is to buy from taobao...

I haven't done all that much so far, but I would say my biggest thing is not keeping my hands clean while handling my doll. I knew light could affect the resin but never thought about oil/dirt on my hands. I don't really count the trial and error of clothes-making as mistakes, for the most part.

 

I would say my biggest mistake was worrying too much about the "right" brands for faceup materials.

I have done faceups on almost all of the dolls in my collection, and usually order dolls blank because I enjoy the process. I also use a cheapo pack of chalk pastels that I bought ages ago, and prefer a decent quality watercolor over acrylic for eyeliner. I'm happy with the results, and that's all that matters!

 

I think my biggest mistake was also buying dolls that i could have gotten for much cheaper and with a company with a better reputation at the same time…
I failed to do enough research on company’s and reviews just far to late, but luckily I’ve now learned

 

For me, buying wigs and clothes and shoes. Not all the time, but since I can't try them on my dolls (I miss going to Fabric Friends - she used to let you try them on your dolls, but I think they closed their storefront) some wigs have been too big/too small/look not so great on this or that sculpt. Same with clothes or shoes - too small/too big/doesn't suit my doll. I've had this issue with all kinds of companies/2nd hand stores. But I plan to try to sell those I am not keeping.

Another mistake, buying from sellers who aren't honest. I've basically learn that if I don't buy it from a company/vetted 2nd hand store/or here, I shouldn't buy it at all unless I know and trust that person. Going on two years now and one particular mistake still burns.

And if always having a doll on layaway is a mistake, then I am guilty of that too.

 

Dyeing my dolls inside. For the sake of your kitchen, do it outside. With rit dye more, I felt it was easier to spill over by going too hot. I dye poly feels less temperamental, but it left a haze on everything in the vicinity. I'm gonna have to repaint my kitchen my dude...

 

I've made a lot of mistakes when learning what I liked in the hoby, what sizes and companies I liked, buying dolls I didn't like that much but got them bc they were cheap :/
PLENTY of faceup mishaps, (once soaked a mouth peice in rubbing alcohol over night (it was fine, thankfully)), dying disasters, can never make good eyeballs for the life of me

 

My very biggest mistake is something that I actually only rectified recently (I've been doing faceups in this hobby for over 6 freaking years) and it's not being careful with moisture and MSC.

I used primarily gouache, and for some reason it didn't occur to me how important it is to make sure that shit is DRY dry. I frequently sealed gouache that seemed dry and was dry to the touch, but was almost definitely not dry all the way through. I also painted on my gouache relatively thick, which likely made that problem even worse.

I managed to avoid consequences for a good 5 years or so, but recently a ton of my faceups just started crumbling off. I was freaking out trying to figure out why, but then it clicked and I felt like a total dumbass. Now I'm overcompensating and I've not only switched to acrylic, but I try to let it dry overnight before sealing.

 

Oh yes! Back in 2009, when I'd ordered my first boy doll (Dragondoll Cheng), i'd initially gotten just the body, and had to wait on a head from another company (HZ). When the head finally arrived, it had several shade too light, and waaay too small, with a neck hole too narrow to fit on that body. I ended up getting the Cheng head separately, and selling the HZ head off. As it turned out though, the new head was lighter than the body and we had to blush match him.

 

I've never done a faceup so I don't know what it acts like on MSC, but gouache cracks even on traditional supports. You need to get the right consistency that's thick enough for coverage but not too thick.

I wonder if using water-based mediums like watercolor for faceups can cause problems if you live in a very hot and humid environment. Paper usually stays relatively protected but dolls are a lot more exposed. I wonder if you need extra sealant for stuff that can reactivate like watercolor.

 

Does accidentally ordering a doll count?

I was thinking about ordering another doll and there were five I was trying to decide on. One of them was the fullset Hawkley from Ringdoll.

Well I was browsing Ringdoll laying on my sofa with my pet parrot who loves my cellphone. Well I fell asleep and this little bird had free access to my phone. Well this little mischief maker went to work tapping his beak against the screen.

When I woke up I checked my emails and saw three order confirmations from Ringdoll.
In a panic I went to the website and saw my bird had ordered two full set Hawkleys and a full set Zhou Yun. I was able to cancel the Zhou Yun and one Hawkley. The other Hawkley had already gone through payment confirmation.

So I ended up purchasing a full set Hawkley because of my parrot.

 

Sooo many mistakes over the years. Just today I scratched my dolls faceup Luckily I have the supplies and skills to fix it but I’m still upset at myself.

 

Buying loads of "Victorian" style boots in different colours and sizes only to find they weren't worth the money when, a few years after purchase, the surface of the faux leather started cracking and pealing-off.

Honestly it's put me off buying bjd shoes. I am reluctant to waste my money on rip-off products that cost a high price despite using bad quality materials thaty aren't going to last. And the styles needed for my dolls don't seem to be available in actual leather which is the only way to be sure that the same thing won't happen again... so my dolls are severely lacking in appropriate footwear.

Teddy

 

As an older, ancient-BJD-hobbyist, I don't feel I have made too many mistakes. When I first discovered these dolls, I knew I had to do a lot of research before I got any of them, just due to the cost alone. Back then there were no budget friendly companies, and illegal copies weren't an issue (thankfully). That's not to toot my own horn or anything, I am terrible at many aspects of customizing, due to many varying factors (mostly I suck at sewing, miniature painting, and probably patience and making wigs!). However, some of the bigger mistakes I feel I did do, besides (still) sucking at painting miniatures, are I didn't get a few sculpts I wish I had, when they were available. I didn't intentionally not purchase them, I was just either not in the financial conditions to purchase them at the time they were available, or I wasn't aware they were being discontinued and missed my chance at getting them. Two of those sculpts I do own already, but I have heavily modified both (which I don't regret, I just wish I owned default unmodified versions, because I am a hoarder!).

Otherwise, I feel most things like doing a sh1tty job at face ups, and modifications have all been learning experiences that have helped me learn something new. Or gave me a different approach to how I go about certain things. I never used markers for face ups, or human make up/nail-polish, or things of that sort that a lot of newbies did in the dark ages (again, I did a lot of research before I got my first BJD). I'm not pro at anything that's toy customization, but I feel that as long as I can redo the work all over again, it's not a mistake but a learning experience. DX Not purchasing sculpts I'll never in a million years be able to own now, that was a huge mistake I'll never be able to undo (I'm a germaphobe, even if somehow out of the mercifulness of life, I was able to find them in decent condition, I wouldn't purchase them because I suck!). T___T;;

 

Your WHAT did WHAT

 

I haven't done many I think?
My biggest one was chipping my friends boy when I was taking pictures. I wasn't fast enough on catching him. Which I've gotten good at over the years. Can't trust that your doll won't try to yeet themselves.

Also clothes. I will now stay away from anything with vinyl/fake leather as I had to toss away a bunch due to deterioration.

 

Soaked a head in acetone and forgot about it until the next day. Was squishy when I initially pulled it out but eventually hardened again. Head was forever super porous after that.

 

My biggest mistake in this hobby was in initially trying to limit myself in my collection. I was determined to keep it all under control insofar as numbers were concerned, and was overly concerned about focus. Oh, I tried out different sizes here and there like everyone does early on, trying to evolve my collection by learning what works for me. But when a new size seemed appropriate for something, I sold off the old to buy the new…and that was my biggest mistake. I was trying to be “sensible” and pigeonhole myself and my collection too narrowly. It took a few years for me to realize that what truly made me happy was collecting my fantasy characters regardless of size…I was creating a fantasy world after all, so diversity was key. Once I realized this, I felt free to collect whatever I needed to best express my characters. It was very freeing and brought me so much joy. But all these happy years later, there are still some of those dolls I sold from my early times that I wish I had back. I guess that’s where the old saying “live and learn” comes from.

 

@PoeticSoul I am new to BJDs and I'm feeling the opposite thing. I'm not sure if I'm in the right place... I really like the old school, SD10/13 size of dolls with a big head, and I'm super happy with my first doll. I think these dolls look very sweet and endearing and when I buy things I naturally go for that vintage-gothic style of dress which IMO that type of doll pulls off better than any other. That's easily my comfort zone, but because SD16 dolls exist I feel compelled to branch out and get one for the sake of variety. Of course I see the appeal and there are things I want to pull off that aren't possible otherwise, but I don't know if I'll be happy with it or not and if it will be worth hybridizing as well as the smaller selection of clothes I like (I don't care for modern clothes very much). Is it just going to be an itch I'll scratch?

 

I have done 3 major mistakes one is falling too hard for soom limiteds back in time, they look lovely as statuettes in front of background of in a fancy vitrine but sitting on a regular shelf they are average Joes and they would look better with less fantasy parts , 2nd floating heads there is a limit before floating heads start getting on your head and I didn't know that limit until it was far gone by 3rd as I mostly display my dolls in clothes and not really play with them they don't really need many clothes and accessories just the outfit they're displayed with and maybe one more just for change the style once in a while so this was mostly a crafting not purchase mistake I made some clothes I have no need for.

 

I've mostly been pretty lucky with my time in the hobby... The only two really notable mistakes were not buying a couple of specific sculpts when I had the chance (Because they've turned out to be so rare that they basically just don't exist at all on the secondary market-) and buying some of my early CP/Delfs in white resin. Particularly the one that I had a massive ear-mod done on that makes him irreplaceable. I absolutely hate the way CP's white resin ages, and with Nightengale? I'm just stuck with it.

 

I'm still pretty new to the BJD hobby and I'm sure I'll look back in a few years and realize I've made way more mistakes, but the only one that sticks out right now is that I wish my KDF Kai had double jointed legs! I really should of done more research, especially because I really enjoy posing my doll, but I was just so enamored with the head sculpt that the body became a second thought. I will likely have to rebody him but for now he does a lot of standing straight...
Well at least now I know for the future!

 

This doesn't sound like a mistake. Your parrot knew exactly what he was doing xD

My biggest mistake was with my very first doll, and falling in love with a head while not considering hybriding. Fast forward 2 years and I absolutely hate his body, and now I gotta deal with getting him a replacement (and then selling the old one, which will be...an experience in today's market lol).

 

My biggest mistakes in the hobby have been shelling other people’s characters. I currently have shelled my entire dnd party from one campaign, because I feel that friend group is stable, and won’t fall apart from the inevitable. Before that, when I got into the hobby, I shelled a bunch of characters created by my abusive then-partner. It was very expensive and time consuming to correct, because I had to either sell or re-do the characters for more than half my dolls. I still can’t look at Feeple60 Erda the same way, especially if he’s in a long wig.

I then made the same bad decision with my next ex’s characters. At least I’d only shelled three of them, and they were all fairly easy to resell. I now have to pair off a lot of my existing dolls, whose partners were her RP characters—cue me making so many new characters. But big life lesson—don’t spend money making other people’s characters. When you fall out with those people, you will have an expensive mistake and it’s hard to sell anything with how the market is.

 

Hawkley... kind of suspicious

 

As for my mistakes (of which there are many), I'd say the top three are:

• Buying Barbie clothes for my first doll... which was a YoSD proportioned 1/6 (In my defense, this was before I actually had her in hand...)
• Poorly removing eye putty and accidentally pulling out my doll's eyelashes
• Letting my doll stand by herself for long periods of time (when I came back from work that day, my dog had lovingly "adopted" her wig...)

 

This parrot has aspirations.

 

... I feel like I worked out a lot of my mistakes on 1/6 scale fashion dolls before finally transitioning into this section of the doll hobby. I developed my skills on those dolls and in other hobbies (I'm ADHD so I collect hobbies), and I've been fairly methodical about my collection of larger dolls (like, I used 3d printing to help me feel out what sizes I liked before really committing to a primary size range, so I saved time and money on that front since PLA is cheap and really only spent on heads, so I skipped that awkward "oh I hate this size and need to flip these expensive dolls I waited on for months" phase)....

I think so far the only stuff that hasn't really worked out is the yarn tail I made for my catboy (hated it; re-made it in faux fur and LOVE the new one), the fit on a couple articles of clothes I've made (pants too tight to get over the feet of one of my dolls and I didn't put S-hooks on his feet, but it still worked out since I cut into them and made them "weathered" so they still work), elastic that's a bit subpar in dolls I had to string from scratch, incorrect print settings on dolls with 3d printed parts, little things like that. I've got a couple extra pairs of eyes from being indecisive about what eyes I want in a head until I was able to see it all together, but that's just the doll hobby.

 

Parrot ordering a doll named Hawkley? Guess he wanted another bird friend!

 

Well, let's start:

Selling my Shiny Petsha DoC. I miss her every day. (I had to sell her due to an emergency).
I burned a bit the wig of my first doll two weeks after he arrived.
Ruined a company face-up trying to glue eyelashes.
Buying character dolls. I never know what to do with them as I enjoy the customization part of the hobby.
Waiting too much to buy a doll for it to become sold out. Found it last year second-hand after MANY years of waiting.
Getting rid of all my 1/3-sized dolls. Now I like that size again. (I guess this also was a matter of my situation back then and space).
Buying wigs, clothes and shoes in a "nesting" rush that I never used when the doll arrived because didn't vibe with the doll's style.
I wish I started sewing earlier because I´m enjoying it a lot.
Saying "I will never buy X" for then find out you like it and try to fight yourself against it.
I wish I could've made more friends in my country's BJD community.

Oh yes, and "allowing" my ex to buy me a doll that he used to blackmail me.

 

I absolutely ruined a wig trying to restyle it and make it less fluffy. It wasn't a super special wig by any means but it was still a bit embarrassing with how awful it turned out :-/

 

I think my biggest mistake was selling one limited doll. Six months later I regretted about it. The company has not re-released the doll for a long time. And I haven’t seen it on sale anywhere(.

 

My biggest mistake was buying a doll just to have one. I had just gotten into the community and only had bjds I had made a that point. I didnt really know what kind of bjds I wanted but I felt like I had to have a big company bjd so I could go to meetups and conventions. So I bought a doll I wasn't super in love with just to have one. Now I regret buying her and wish I had waited till I knew what I wanted in a bjd so I couldve gotten one I wouldve loved more.

 

That's a shame.

Sell her on, and put the money toward one you prefer....?

Teddy

 

She is actually for sale, not on this website though as I dont have marketplace unlocked yet. Im hoping to sell her and get some outfits for my other bjds!

 

I have done plently of mistakes in my 14 years in the hobby! The most memorable would be soaking a head in nail polish remover too long, I was panicking seeing the face features became smoother, less defined.
My first ever mistake was getting SD as first doll. I was overwhelmed by the size and weight. As beautiful as the doll was...I had to part with it and get a mini which was perfect and managable for a begginer like me!

 

Thank you for this advice! I am going to do my first very soon!

I am glad you have given yourself this freedom!

 

When I was first in the hobby I decided I made a hybrid as my first doll… I wanted the head (70cm size) on a smaller body (62cm) and the hybrid did work due to the head being on the smaller end of the scale and a little more stylized. However once I started buying full dolls it made me wish that I had got a full doll as my first doll instead of making a hybrid :’)

 

@Jareth I almost did that type of hybrid, too, recently. So far, I feel neutral about the decision to buy the doll as-is. (It found me when I was looking something up. I was not ready for the purchase.)

 

I've made lots of mistakes xD some may not seem like a mistake to others, but really feel like one to me...

-Trading away an event head because I didn't understand how to swap heads at the time...
-Not understanding how big a 1/3 bjd was (cause even using a measuring tape it just doesnt do them justice) and having this massive boy as my first doll (since traded)
-Buying bjd from outside my country causing me to accrue high delivery fees at the door...
-Buying low cost wigs that just don't fit right cause I was on a budget and couldn't wait.
-Getting a doll without a faceup. I don't know how to do them myself, and can't afford the faceup prices any time soon.
-Not buying the fullset of a doll and then struggling to find clothing for them later...

 

I am never going to unstring a new doll to clean it again. I did it because I wanted to sand her completely to refresh her. She's a very old Spiritdoll and really needed it but my hand got messed up and now I can't open a bottle of Gatorade hardly let alone restring her myself.

If I can get to a meetup in NYC in the Fall I'm hoping I can bribe someone else to help me. I hope so. Right now she's a bunch of parts in a doll box, poor thing! She's such a cool doll. She really deserves better!

 

My only mistakes have been selling any of my dolls. At the time I always feel like I don't want them anymore for whatever reason/can do without/didn't connect, but without fail I've regretted every single one sold! I wish I could have them all back

 

I think the ones I have made are very common. One is having FOMO and buying too many dolls. I have been pretty lucky to sell quite a few without being out too much but maybe that was beginners luck as sales have slowed down a lot.

Another mistake I have made was being impatient about clothes or accessories. I would buy cheaper accessories and clothes made for other similar size dolls and they would not look as nice. So I could have saved a lot of time and money finding and purchasing quality items in the beginning.

 

I have made a lot of mistakes, but I'm proud to say it's a little hard to recall them off the top of my head by now. My dolls have been a part of my life where I have had to learn flexibility and to be forgiving with myself. So I'm not really holding onto the mistakes. (Besides maybe some are humiliating to share, but you can have one humiliating one because I mention it periodically, which was that I completely lost my first doll or it was thrown away or stolen or something, and I don't even know. Horrible.) You can't live life without forgiving your own mistakes, though it's also nice when you can occasionally repair one. I sold off one doll head I had since my earliest days in the hobby a few years ago because I was very heartbroken in my life. I have sold a lot recently when I didn't genuinely want to and I feel sad about how they are gone and I feel nobody understands how much I wished I hadn't had to lose them that way. But some of it must be permanent. With her though, I feel very lucky I was able to get another of the headmold again. And even though it's not the same doll I can remember all those years we had together and keep making memories. So that mistake isn't painful anymore. (It is Omega)

 

That's an excellent idea for a thread!
1) Buying heads separately from the body. In my experience, they will remain Shakespeare's "skull" for philosophical dialogs. Finding the perfect body with skintone match in another company is a real stroke of luck. Even within the same company, skintone can vary over time.
2) Save money on wigs, clothes, and shoes. These will most often be of lower quality, and you won't want to use them. It's better to save up and buy something that will surely not disappoint you.
3) At one point, I thought I was giving up on the hobby and started selling dolls and other items for next to nothing. Remembering some of the items, I wiped away a tear of regret because I could no longer find anything similar and for the same price.
4) Switch to 1/3 format. I have to take out a mortgage to build them a diorama. They've already taken my chair away from me. And moving to another country with them is a real adventure. The officer at customs couldn't believe their eyes when the X-ray showed something that looked like a corpse fitting into a carry-on.
5) Do not post pictures of dolls, thinking they are not good enough.
6) I bought bodies, clothes, and shoes that didn't fit my dolls, and I could have predicted this if I hadn't acted impulsively.
7) Not participating in the community. A community can help you find people close to you or even friends.

 

I really love my 1/4 dolls, I do. But, I wish I would have started with the bigger dolls. I just find the 1/3 and up size so much easier to handle and photograph. My poor smaller dolls just get to sit on my shelf and look cute. I am going to get one more boy in that size as I have outfit, shoes, and wig for one, but after that I just want the bigger dolls.

I also wish I had known more about what kinds of water colour pencils and paints to use. I spent money buying what I thought was a good deal that just didn't work at all on resin. I am actually happy with Prisma and Faber Castel which is what I use now, but I have a bunch of useless water colour pencils from other brands that are only good on paper.

What I don't regret is the mistakes that I made while learning faceups and learning to sew for my dolls. I think the mistakes were good practice and helped me get better and fixing my dolls up and making things.

 

- I know I'm a bit late but if you prefer gouache to acrylics try the best of both worlds - acrylic gouache. They work like gouache but dry like acrylic.

 

Leaving the hobby and coming back to find most of the sculpts I wanted are no longer around as well as some of the doll companies when I come back into it.

 

Succumbing to FOMO so many times instead of saving up for a doll I really wanted.

Being impatient and going for what's in stock or available secondhand instead of preordering.

I think about how much I've spent on half baked ideas and how I could have something really cool now if I wasn't such a shopper then. I've mostly learned from the mistakes at least!

 

Got one: buying a dorrie head with company face-up thinking that it is the same as the one featured in the official page (for $50+ extra). Was pretty bummed after recieving her with an entirely different face-up and finding out that the one on the offical page is a one-off .
That's $50 down the drain when I sent her head for face-up commission and had to pay extra to have that disappointing company face-up wiped off.

 

Leaving my doll in a black wig and blue jeans for 8+ years. Thankfully I'd washed the jeans enough to only leave his legs slightly tinted blue--body blushing would probably compliment it nicely if it can't be completely removed--but I'm worried about his head. To make it worse, turns out I had bought a wig cap, just chose not to use it.

Not buying a once easy to get, off-topic doll that cost $25-$50 and now only able to find a couple of them for over $100. Even when it may knowingly be in poor condition. Nah.

 

Hmmm...I made a few newbie mistakes in the beginning, especially since I had no one else to talk to and had to rely on magazines (I know, I'm old) and word of mouth for things and what was a not as robust internet back then. So I think a lot of my newbie mistakes might not be repeated (hopefully) as there is so much information out there.

One of my biggest mistakes was trying to create dolls from scratch and attempts at face-ups and getting resin poisoning by proxy from a friend doing face-ups and modifications as a side hustle. I thought it would be cheaper to make a doll from scratch than to purchase a fullset doll. Wrong. All the costs of buying doll making material added up to a buying a complete doll a couple times over. My skin and lungs paid for it for a while too. Luckily, no permanent damage as far as I know and the nosebleeds stopped. For all newbies out there, definitely research it ahead of time, invest in PPEs, and do not do any of your doll crafting in living spaces where small children and pets dwell or where you eat at or where you live and breath in there. Oh, and do not invest in dolly crafting and face-ups and mods thinking it will be cheaper. It's not. Hahaha.

Another was thinking making doll clothing is easier and cheaper than making human clothing. It's not. It actually takes more skills to make doll clothes as you have to make the threading and seams tinier, find findings (buttons, zippers, etc) that are BJD scaled down size, and take into consideration the materials won't either permanently stain or scratch your dolls.

Not getting a doll I really liked at the time it was available. It's hard as obviously finances need to be taken into consideration which I did. But if there is a doll you really like, you can afford to do so without hurting your financial situation, get it. Most of my Grail dolls were dolls I could have bought but I didn't and now they are no longer available or Grail dolls for other people so the hunt is on.

Not me, but I've seen a friend do a lot of impulse buying and then regret selling and then regret over regret selling and revenge buying and selling. I think taking a hard look at your own impulsivity and addictive personality is a good thing for any hobby. Just be careful to not become either an enabler or addicted.

I'm still learning even though it's been nearly 20 years in this hobby. Just learn from your mistakes, be careful, do your research, and just have fun.

 

Well, overconsumption definitely was my thing during the first 2-3 years. Now, I’m more picky and I like it. But I’m okay with it – I consider mistakes a part of the learning curve.

 

Absolutely purchases. I should not have bought things thinking that I may need them in the uncertain future or that they are time/quantity limited (that does urge me to buy it). It's a pain to find something on the second hand market but it's even more painful to sell those you don't actually need

Also the one that pay me expensive ......please always bring a doll stand when you are out for photos TAT

 

Staining. I didn't listen to the many people online that told me that dark clothing could stain my dolls. When I got my first two dolls (Dollfies - so yeah, Vinyl...) I was quite shocked to see that they already had some light stains on them after just a couple of days. Learned that lesson the hard way I have to admit that this made me quite paranoid, even though my current collection is resin-only and should be (mostly) fine haha.