Price Aside, what intimidated you about BJDs

I didn’t restring a doll until I’d owned them for 14 years… To be fair, there was a long hiatus in the middle and, had I stayed active, I probably would have had to do it sooner, buuuut it was terrifying. Now I’m not scared of it anymore (other than on my tinies), but it’s just really annoying trying to get the elastic through the small channels, so I still procrastinate on it

I think for me it was partially just owning anything that is both expensive and breakable. That still unnerves me & I try to be super careful, but I’m less paranoid than I used to be.

 

Sewing!! I started my collection in late 2000s. And I was a teen then and it took a long time to save up for clothes that sometimes didn't even work out. I first tried to sew a decade later, but I was confused and discouraged, because I did not really take the time to research what I was doing, and just kind of winged it.
I picked it up recently again, now that I have more patience and less anxiety, read some books and so on and take my time to learn it. Although it's not good quality, I'm seeing progress and feeling positive.
Now if only I could go back and slap younger me and tell her to stop worrying about everything I'd have a lot of pretty doll wardrobes by now. Even if you're intimidated, try to do the things you want. Just remember you'll make mistakes and be patient and kind to yourself while you learn.

 

When I first got up close with a BJD I was terrified to touch it in case I broke the fingers off. I didn't realize they were so sturdy even though my friend told me I could pick up her doll and not to worry about it.

 

Restringing isn't too bad after the first couple times! Unless you do 4 in one day. Don't do 4 in one day.

I really wanted boys when I was 14 and I was scared of what people would think about me owning anatomically correct male dolls. I got over it mostly, but I still share them less with irl people than I do my girls ...or just don't tell them my dolls are male and say "thank you" for any compliments they may kindly scrounge up for me.

 

I was so afraid of falling in love with 70cm dolls because of just how BIG they are! Storage-wise, holding them, everything. Buttttt.... I now have four and more planned.... welp.

 

The wait. Pre-orders take months - you throw money at a company and hope for the best that a doll comes out of it There is so much that can go wrong with made-to-order dolls somehow and it's a very tense time until the package finally arrives.

The other thing that intimidates me are customs and shipping as most dolls come from quite far a way and a lot of damage can happen in transit. Not to mention how much it adds to the cost

 

For me, when I first got into BJDs, I was intimidated by their look. I thought they were creepy when I saw them at anime cons in the late 2000s. Then when I finally took the plunge, I was determined to stick with fashion doll sized BJDs. Then Soom Elf Dia came out and I was so in love with his sculpt but a doll that big?! Luckily, my friend who lived nearby that also collected BJDs had dolls of various sizes and let me hold and explore them. Now I have dolls in all kinds of sizes!

I am still too scared to try wiring or suedeing my dolls. I am not too worried about restringing but need to get the supplies. I am also still very intimidated by the 70+cm category of dolls. I have admired some sculpts but can't convince myself to commit to getting one.

 

Size and customizing. The options are endless and unfortunately I like doing things the hard way by making/customizing things all by myself. I knew there would've been a huge learning curve, but that pays off when ever I get to show off things I've done or talk about the process with my friends.

 

Ordering from outside my country.

I first started seriously looking at dolls around 2005ish. At the time, I had barely bought anything online, other than stuff from eBay from other US sellers. Way back when eBay still had an option to send a check in the mail. The mindset back then was still kind of in the end phases of "don't share anything personal online", I was even still a little uneasy with PayPal having my bank account number. Feels weird thinking back to a time like that, but it was a huge factor in me getting a doll. There was also the fear that if anything went wrong, with laws being so different in different countries, I felt I'd have no protection if something did go wrong. Once I discovered Junkyspot and Mint on Card, I started out only buying in stock dolls, and then only US from dealers. But it limited me so much! The first time I preordered a doll from a company without a dealer, I just gave all my money to my online friend and she ordered him for me in person. She lived in the same area as said doll company, and picked him up in person once he was ready. After that, I realized that giving my money to a trusted doll company with tons of positive feedback really probably wasn't any more dangerous than giving it to a friend to buy for me. I loved my boy once he was home, and after that, I really opened up to other possibilities! I'll buy from pretty much anywhere now, so long as I do my research first and have a good feeling about the seller and country it's coming from.

 

Face ups are 100% the scariest bit for me. I've done sewing, I've done sculpting (for props; no way am I ready to try making my own doll), I've done fiber arts. I've also done painting, and am horrific at it. I really, really want to try face ups, but keep putting it off because I mostly enjoy realistic ones and have never been good at realism in art. So far I've only commissioned them because of that.

 

Sewing gave me the deer in headlights the most. I threw caution to the wind modding open or closed eyes and airbrushing, but using a sewing machine was so intense that I gave it away when I started the hobby. I would only hand sew (badly). Now I am following tutorials (my machine has an entire youtube channel showing exactly where everything is and how to thread). I am loving the process. I am still a beginner, but if my machine gets stuck, I know what to do, and I don’t panic. I actually enjoy using it.

 

The first time I ever saw a BJD was at Katsucon in early 2004 (which was also the first convention I attended), when a nice girl was standing with one in one of the crowded areas. I had complimented her and the doll, and asked what kind it was, and if they were selling those at the convention. She told me the cost of her SD-sized doll and asked if I'd like to hold her doll (it was nearly two decades ago and I can't remember her name or the doll's gender unfortunately). I balked at the price and politely declined because I was terrified of dropping and breaking such a pretty doll, but suddenly had them plopped into my arms.

I've never held so statue-still before or since.

But that was the moment I knew I needed to buy one for myself. Just one. She wrote down this website and I practically stalked it, learned everything I could about bjd and eventually joined once I was ready to finally get my own in January of 2006. And as we all know, you can never have "just one".

 

I want to learn how to do my own faceups for a number of reasons, but I find the whole process incredibly intimidating! I have a difficult time estimating distances, so even doing a few base coats of MSC to get me started feels insurmountable, let alone learning how to use the materials effectively to get the look I want to achieve.

I purchased a BBB Apollo head a couple of years ago with the intention of using him to practice faceups on so that I (hopefully) wouldn't feel too bad if I "ruined" him. I'd like to get back around to trying that once we transition out of winter again here in my neck of the woods!

 

I don't think I ever felt intimidated enough for it to put me off the hobby, sometimes very discouraged. That would be when I felt like I didn't have access to whatever I needed to execute an idea I was passionate about.
I did have specific dolls I found intimidating sometimes and then I kind of neglected them out of fear of disappointing myself until I lost passion and sold them usually. I didn't feel that way with most dolls or my first so it didn't stop my hobby.
It is my personality that I don't feel intimidated much. I can understand the concept but I definitely think you can conquer a lot of these fears of doing something daunting with research and practice

 

The maintenance! I bought a Volks SD10 boy body from 2010 a couple months ago and I just now popped it in a Polident bath to soak overnight to try and lighten his mellowing and (hopefully) make his body match his head (which is 5 years younger).

Restringing him is going to be nerve-wracking, I just hope I don't get pinched too much!

 

Doing anything to them: customizing, cleaning, restringing, etc. They seem so delicate and pretty and I was terrified of damaging them. I got over it eventually. I also had no idea of resin properties at first and was very nervous around handling this material since it's different from the other resins I'm used to, or at least a resin object held together by strings.

 

Ordering abroad and having to deal with customs. Also their price, but that was more a hassle than intimidation Overall I was pretty relaxed about the dolls itself, the stuff surrounding buying them annoyed me more. And lack of condensed information, even as a forum person you sometimes just want a guide that tells you everything from the get go (so I wrote one ).

 

The idea of restringing them, and also ordering them. I mainly heard about bigger name dolls when i first learned about them (Luts, Volks, Fairyland, etc.) so I was also kind of, not quite intimidated, but hesitant i guess because I didn't necessarily like a lot of the aesthetics of those brands (at least in the early 00's/ 2010's), so I didn't really venture into bjd spaces for a looong time.
I am still a little worried about breaking them, even though most of mine are 68cm+ hefty boys xD
Funny enough, I've been intimidated by some of the more intense levels of customization (dying, mods) but somehow managed to psych myself out of it enough to just go for it, and once I did that the idea of doing them again isn't so intimidating (except maybe mods, but that's more that I'm frustrated by how they're turning out and how tedious it is). Dying a doll turned out to be kind of fun actually!

 

That happened to me too! I thought they were way too large but then I ended up with a lot of larger celebrity heads so they were bigger dolls and needed bodies. And a few other companies happened.

 

Face-ups maybe? I still haven’t been courageous enough to try but I’m also a very big critic of my own work.

 

I was so afraid to pose them. I remember holding my first doll and thinking "this is a precious thing like a baby bird." I didn't want to chip the resin or break anything. The only doll like it I had was a porcelain doll as a kid. Now I know that resin is sterner stuff than I thought.

 

The yellowing
It always scared me to think that this expensive doll I love will just turn yellow.

 

A few things...and yeah of course the price, my usual spending limit doubled since I began the hobby.

The Uncle Fever, I was afraid of the size of the SD dolls, so I started with the MSD because they were smaller. Once I got that first ⅓ then had to get them friends, and now I am really liking the 70+ cm dolls. My big dolls are just so much my favourites. I still like and have my ¼ collection, but other then one more that I have had my eyes on, I am going for the big ones from now on.

Restringing was a big intimidation for me. I still don't think I get the strings tight enough, but I am no longer afraid of taking them apart. The first time I had to change hands I was shaking. What if I lose the string inside the doll? What if I break something? What is I drop the doll while changing the hands. Um, yeah, I really worried over nothing.

I was worried about breaking them as well, thankfully they are a heck of a lot sturdier then they look. I wouldn't say that I am super rough with my dolls, but I am certainly not gentle. When I first got my Dollzone Nina and I lifted her out of the box her head cap came flying off and bounced on the hard floor. I thought it was broken, not a scratch. I am the kind of person that will stick them up in a tree, shove their feet in a puddle, have them barefoot on a beach, whatever, I just want to take pictures. I haven't broken any yet.

 

Ordering via Email and filling out the ordering form for my Peewit. The payment + VAT was a hassle and almost turned me off.
Now the waiting time until the doll arrives.
Finding clothes and wigs for their size isn´t easy either.
But I´m still determined and can´t wait to have her in my hands.

 

Sewing.. I have so many ideas and then I start to sew and it looks like crap. I have a wardrobe of sewing accessories and fabric but nothing I sew looks even remotely professional..

 

The anatomical correctness of the bodies combined with the possibility of having to open my package and showing the naked doll to the customs workers xD

I was 18 when I started collecting dolls and that thought seriously embarrassed me, it didn´t stop me from buying dolls though. There was even a way to have the customs done through the workers themself, but since I don´t trust strangers with my dolls, that was not an option, even if I would have been beet red and stuttering through the whole thing.
Luckily my first dolls made it though customs without me having to open the box, the first time it happened was years later, when it wasn´t that much of a big deal for me anymore.

Aside from that, anything that could damage my dolls, including yellowing, discolouring through dark clothes, scratches ...
I´ve never done restringing, but if it´s needed, I will also fear to damage my doll or turn it into a pile of body limbs, so that will probably be procrastinated, till it definitely can´t wait any more.
For the longest time I wanted to have earrings for my dolls, but drilling a hole into their ears is absolute horror to me, so that plan has been put off for years.
But so far, nothing has really stopped me from enjoying the hobby, though I can imagine that, if I ever try to pierce my dolls ears and instead break of the ear, that would make me writhe in regret for weeks or months^^'

 

Don't give up!!!!! Iron the crap out of it and put on a bunch of accessories!! Fake it til you make it!!
I wonder if there's a sewing share thread for newbs only. Some of the stuff people make here is sooooo amazing It's inspiring, but at the same time, it would be nice to see more cases of people who are just starting out too to help normalize wonky crafts
Then again.... it's intimidating to share things that you don't think look good

I love reading the comments about the pipis. When I first started collecting the dolls as a teenager and people asked questions it was like the first thing I brought up. Even the nice ladies at the country post office who asked me about my new purchasing habits were excitedly informed that these fancy dolls from Asia had little pipis I'm not sure if I was their disturbing story of the day or if I turned them into doll fanatics as they pressed for more and more information about them

@Pina putting a hole in my doll's ears was my first mod!!! I did not use a powered tool for it because I was scared of the same thing, breaking the ear. I bought a little manual drill for it.... um I think it's called a micro hand drill or a mini manual drill or something like that, and you just twist it!
Mark the spot where you want your holes, check them in a mirror to make sure they look even (if you want them symmetrical) then put your finger on the back of the ear where you want the hole to come out. With the drill hand position the drill on the mark, aim toward your finger and twist. Try to meet your finger with the tool. I am so not coordinated and it worked like a charm!! You can even practice on other random plastic pieces, like a bottle cap

 

@Novalyna
Oh wow, thank you so much for your advise, I really appreciate it! I didn´t even expect some in this thread
Will definitely look those micro manual drills up and the hint to practice on bottle caps is great too!

 

Staining!!! To this day I am still afraid to stain a doll even though its already happened to me about twice now...

 

The amount of information, and also the lack of information.

There are so many companies and artists to familiarize yourself with, so many terms and sizes (trying to make sense of the BJD community's screwed up idea of "scale") and discourse and etiquette... and yet if you look up a certain sculpt half the time there will seem to be 0 information about it anywhere on the internet. No release dates, no size info. Might as well not exist outside of one instagram post or ebay listing. There's just a sense that there's a whole world of BJDs that is either too old or too unpopular to even have any information saved about them.

Also buying BJDs just seems like a scam at first. Give a random (often overseas) person or sketchy-looking website hundreds of dollars and then wait for months! It's okay, we're above board, we sweeeeear!

 

Probably the most intimidating thing was the fact that I had never seen a BJD in real life, let alone handled one. Didn't put me off ordering my first one, but I was definitely very nervously excited that whole ~6 month waiting time. Although her size (slim MSD) has since turned out to be my least favorite to handle, I fortunately did like her back when she arrived.

 

My first doll I restrung using one of those rattail combs it was a total nightmare because I was worried it would break and the elastic would slingshot back into the doll :’)
but I’ve finally got actual hooks to use so it’s much easier to restring now

 

Aside from the hit to my bank, I was generally excited about every aspect of bjd ownership. I was afraid of their potential fragility, and damaging their faceups, but as my first boy was 4th hand...he'd already seen some rough handling and it showed, so I wasn't as afraid with him. I think rather than being intimidated, I was overconfident. Once I had my doll(s) in hand, I quickly became overwhelmed with the simple fact that I am not, in fact, a crafty person. xD I can't sew, my drawings are sub-par, I had no photography skills to speak of.....anyway, the intimidation came after I had them, basically. lol

 

Yep 100% When I first started collecting, I bought a bunch of 'MSD' sized clothing for my Minifee... as it turns out, MNFs are 'slim MSDs' so none of it fit! I think I'm getting the hang of things now, though there are still things that make no sense to me at all, e.g., how exactly people buy Volks dolls, because it kind of sounds like most of them are OOAK lotteries (maybe? the more I try to look into it, the more confused I get, so I've mostly given up).

 

There are a lot of ways to buy Volks dolls.
Standard models which you can order anytime online
Full-choice which you can order in Japan, and sometimes online from Volks USA, international buyers are often using a proxy in Japan to buy them because online FCS has limited options. Japan FCS has a huge catalog to choose from like you may be used to seeing with other dolls, but it is done in person.
Coordinated models (coordinated full sets with various heads)
Adaption models (preowned dolls who have been renewed by Volks) that you can get in Japan
Preorders and Lotteries which you can order online (full sets that are not OOAK, order period, lotteries when the quantity is limited to help prevent scalping)
One Off Lotteries and Auctions (OOAK full sets) sometimes online and other times in person. I think the auctions are only in person.
That's excluding secondhand sales of course. They don't have a big catalog that you can browse and order from online at all times like Fairyland or Luts, but there are a lot of different ways to get them with different degrees of difficulty. Standard models and preorders being the easiest for those outside of Japan.
Majority of them are not One Offs, but I think people are often chattering about the one offs because they're exciting in a way, like for bringing back rare and beloved sculpts, painted by coveted face up artists or having beautiful and unique outfits.

 

For some reason, part of it for me was 'what happens when other people SEE them?'
Especially my parents. Not like I lived with either of them by the time I got my first BJD, so it's whatever. But I still see them regularly lmfao.
I've always been a bit embarrassed about my hobbies, unless I'm sharing them with others who are into the same things. And I guess this one felt especially odd to me since I'd NEVER been interested in dolls as a kid. I'd play with the barbies my aunts gave me out in the mud along with my army of little plastic animals, but I didn't do their hair and dress them up to make them look pretty.
I still dread my mom finding out the price tags on some of my BJDs.

Aside from that, I've always been a bit intimidated by the community ahaha. I've mostly been standing around on the sidelines since I got into BJDs . . . which is silly, since I'm really not a shy person!

 

I never played with dolls either actually had a doll that i had to face to the wall to be able to fall asleep xD One thing more that intimidates me about jd is dark clothing/ wig staining.. All my dolls are stained and looking how everyone sells them "stored in a box in wardrobe never touched without gloves state" I feel like I ruined my dolls..

 

Face-ups. Everyone kept saying how easy it is to chip or damage them. I was really afraid of this happening to my dolls. I don't have the materials or space to do the face-ups myself yet, so damaging it would mean spending money for another commission.
Well, in reality, it doesn't get damaged that easily. And one of my dolls has chips, but they are really not that visible, you really have to look for them. So I think it is fine

 

the amount of choices available in terms of sculpts and i was not sure at all what i wanted when i first started out :')

 

The stringing part. It scared me out of my mind to just thinking about it and it took me years before I was brave enough to take my doll apart and try to do it the first time.
Still beats me, though, even if I have seen dozens of tutorials and videos. Even if my life depends on it, I can't find the right amount of tension for any of my dolls and I've taken them apart almost every year (for cleaning and such). Maybe the string that I use is not the right one, I don't know.
My dolls can still pose, of course, and stand, but I know they could do better if they were correctly strung (when compared with detailed reviews of their bodies by other owners) and it drives me mad sometimes xD

 

Honestly, it was just having them in general

I hate inanimate objects "staring" at me. I don't even keep posters or photos on the wall for this reason. It just makes me feel so self conscious, especially if they're in my bedroom. I mean, getting undressed and then turning around and making eye contact with something just... staring at you. Horrifying to me lol. So even when there were sculpts I really liked, it took me forever to take the plunge and start buying dolls. The thought of why pay this much money and not even do anything with it stopped me.

... my dolls still aren't on display anywhere, but I still enjoy having and working on them

 

For me it was definitely the size!
I got my start in the general doll hobby with 1/12 fashion dolls, so even something like an MSD seemed huge to me.
I remember getting a measuring tape and seeing what 45cm looked like and thinking it was absolutely massive for a doll; I was worried that 1/4 dolls might be too big for me, but I also couldn't find anything I liked in 1/12 scale for BJDs. All my favourite sculpts were 1/4 or 1/3 dolls and that really intimidated me from getting my first doll for a long while.

In the end, I find that I ironically like 1/3 scale the most now. 1/4 feels small in comparison, when it used to be so big to me.

 

Nowadays I'm still scared about touching them too much because of hand oils or putting them out of their boxes in case of yellowing. I also haven't even tried restringing them... I'm too afraid.

 

The wait, sending money to artists and dealers with wait times exceeding the 6 month buyer protection deadline. I also was hesitant to start a new collection of more expensive dolls and leaving even more valuable things for my family to deal with after I’m gone.

 

The yellowing, definitely. The fact that it's so expensive, yet it's expected that it would age so quickly just surprised me. Especially for tan and fantasy colour resins that would turn a different colour entirely (i hear the red pigment in resin breaks down especially fast). Leaving it in the open or putting it in it's box for long periods would both apparently cause the yellowing to accelerate.

At least for normal and white skin I can use the 'de-yellow'ing method or sand it down, but that's not possible for tan dolls.
(Side note, does anyone have any tips for tan doll maintenance?)

 

/This!

How long does it usually take a doll to start yellowing?

 

That depends on a lot of factors tbh. The age of the doll, the specific resin and ingredients in the resin and pigment mix used by the company, where/ how the doll is kept, other environmental factors like whether someone smokes in the house, etc. Older dolls used to yellow faster in my understanding, because the pigments used were less stable. Many newer dolls are made with resin that has added ingredients in it to specifically help slow down the process (colors noted as UV when you're purchasing them on a lot of sites). It's also a gradual process, so depending on the color your doll starts as, it may not be noticeable to you for a long time unless you're regularly comparing it to a new doll every few months or something

 

Thank you for the infos!
I´m looking for a cabinet that fits my other furniture right now.
Do you prefer to store your dolls in their boxes? Or do you have them on protected displays?

 

My dolls are in an ikea Billy case with glass doors because I have a cat that likes to pull things off bookshelves. I did put UV film on the glass portions, since i have a lot of windows in my office (and I put it in the main window as well), but one of them was kept on an open shelf without it for a year or so, and he's fine.
I don't see the point of spending so much on something I'm never going to look at because it's in a box somewhere personally. I got them because I like them and they make me happy, so i want to be able to easily see them near me in my space.

 

That´s a good point and I feel the same. I´ll check out the UV film for the glass doors of the cabinet, another good point.
I also have two cats that love to sniff (and my British Shorthair to sneeze) and explore new items.

 

Quite a few things, actually. Mainly body blushing and stringing.... I worry about breaking a doll and the last time I inspected a joint, that happened very slightly.....

 

It was the space issue mostly. I didn’t want to buy something that nice and have to put it in a closet where I couldn’t see it. I also didn’t want it sitting in the open where it could get knocked down or dusty. I really don’t like dust and clutter.

 

It was the same with me. My home is quite small, and I had big concerns about where I would keep them because I knew I’d want them constantly on display where I could see them at all times. So I talked myself into it with the idea of limiting myself to only one doll (and yeah, we all know where that led.) I really had no other concerns because I’d been collecting other dolls for some time prior to my introduction to BJDs. None of them had stuck around as a hobby though, although I’d tried a bit of everything…antique, vintage, modern vinyl, reborns. I’d try out a few of one kind of doll, work with them and enjoy them for a time until I became bored with them creatively, and then sell them to fund another type of doll to try. I just wasn’t getting the creative bang for my buck I was looking for. And then I stumbled upon BJDs and absolute magic happened.

So by then, I wasn’t afraid of anything concerning dolls…except, like I said, my overall lack of display space in an already crowded small home. I didn’t fear the price because I’d already learned how to utilize layaways for dolls on a lean budget, and I knew where to go for that. I didn’t fear faceups/blushing/tattoos because I had already done this sort of thing on vinyl dolls. And I didn’t fear clothing issues for difficult sizes because I’d already been a costumer/cosplayer/seamstress most of my life. I had no fears of their delicacy or restringing needs because I’d already handled some fragile antiques.

So yeah, it was only my fear of space that gave me pause. But like I said, magic happened. As I began to create their backstory, I could see where they lived in my mind…their “setting”. And my mind began to race with creative ideas of where I could put that. My first notion of an unusual use of space began with a window in my living room that didn’t receive any direct sunlight because of an outdoor overhang. One day I just boldly pulled down the drapes, put up shelving in its place, and created an entire “attic room” right there in front of the window. It was way more interesting than curtains and my family absolutely loved it. That gave me the encouragement to try it elsewhere too: take down a poster, put up a shelf and create a doll display on it; make a detailed room on top of a dresser; create a vignette on an unused portion of a nightstand; repurpose a little used storage closet as a display space by removing the door and adding shelves. Well, you get the idea. All these years later and I’m still thrilled with the results and so is everyone else who comes into my home.

 

Yes! Space was a huge concern for me too. I've actually started to branch out into putting my dolls all over. You've given me some good ideas.

 

The community, but not in a bad way! More-so like being new and not knowing terms or basic info and worrying about coming off as ignorant or making mistakes. Theres so much ive learned and still need to learn that its a bit scary.

 

Doing their faces. I dont have the confidence to send mine off to someone else and I knew that I needed to do their faces myself to fully bond with them...its been rough but I'm finally getting the hang of it I think.
On a lesser note...patterning for weird sizes. I'm so new to patterning...I feel like I'm learning sewing all over again

 

I was told that you couldn’t touch dolls without gloves because finger oils would damage them. … Took me a while to get over that. I’m still very nit picky about washing my hands before I handle dolls but I don’t wear gloves anymore. My dolls are meant to be handled and enjoyed! And I love that part of the hobby. Posing dolls is just so satisfying.

 

Restringing I’m still too scared to do it tbh

 

For me it is damaging them, I have a tendency to accidentally drop things.
In my time in this hobby, I’ve dropped head caps, faceplates and everything in between.
Thankfully only one face up has been damage due to this.