The urge to "rescue" a doll

I used to, when I was newer to the hobby. At the time, my budget was so tight but I had all these ideas for characters, so I'd sometimes buy a "rescue" doll to save some money. In the end, it was a bad idea for me because it meant I had quantity over quality in my collection--a lot of damaged dolls and none that looked good. If I had known how to restore them, it might not have been an issue, but I didn't, and I was too scared to try, and I just ended up being really unhappy with my collection.

In short, I think if you only do it because you feel bad for the doll or want to be cheap, you won't be satisfied. If you do it with intent to practice and learn to fix damages, it could very much be worth your time.

 

I hear you @DollSewist! Have you ever read "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott? In that book Beth, the youngest sister, is known for rescuing scraps and orphans of "dollanity" I totally understand the impulse to rescue...that forlorn face...though there is value in resisting!

 

Hmmm... though admittedly, I'm still working on getting my first doll, I feel like you could really turn a broken or damaged one into a cool character. With the right paint and posing, you could help them "own" their damages and make it look like part of their design.

 

I suppose that urge is largely why all my dolls are secondhand, since I love the thought of giving them a new home/new life/new story...but I have no idea how to do even basic repairs on a doll since I'm still new to the hobby, so I know I couldn't give any truly damaged ones the love and attention they deserve (unless, as said above, the damage could be made part of the character and wouldn't need to be "fixed").

 

Yes. I also want to rescue dolls and make them beautiful again. Lucky for me, my rescues seem to be in O.T. dolls --
who are not the price of our BJD's. Unfortunately for the rescued dolls, if it more than cleaning and hairbrushing, they never gain niceness again. Do we need rescue anonymous?

 

I’ve only rescued one bjd head. I was just looking through the mp and saw this poor head with really badly discolored sealer that was partially peeling off. I knew it was going to be a lot of work to ‘restore’ the head and it might not be possible. Normally I would have passed, but the face just kept speaking to me and I bought it. It really was a lot of work to get the sealer off, but I was able to save the head. Now he is one of my favorites as I was able to fix him and make him desirable. I’m not going to make a habit of rescuing bjds though, that’s a slippery slope best avoided!

 

I would absolutely love to rescue a body, since I'm looking for a cheaper, used body for one of my boys. I don't mind mods or damage (except yellowing), so I totally get where you're coming from!

 

I would love to fix a "rescue" doll! I just haven't found the right doll yet! I want to fix dirty, poorly modded dolls! They have the most character and personality! Plus, I feel like I love the doll even more if I get to fix it up!

 

When I was a kid I used to "rescue" toys from a flea market. Usually old plushies and animal figures. Than I washed them, sometimes there was some sewing necessary and I was so happy I have rescued them from ending up in the trash.
Now I have the same impulse with BJD. I just haven't found one where I would like the sculpt yet. I found few in a bad state in need of rescuing. But so far no sculpt I'd like among them.
So I like the idea of rescuing but buy the doll just if you really like the sculpt as well.

 

I don't do it with dolls so much, but I have tons of My Little Ponies that I picked up at flea markets and secondhand stores and fixed up.
When I have more time and income, I might try buying a doll to restore.

 

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I have this problem with literally EVERYTHING. My Mom worked with dog rescue when I was little. So I constantly wanted to "save" any animal I came across.
She is also thrifty, so we shopped at thrift stores and antique stores too. So yes, when I see dolls that are yellowed and in need of love it takes a lot for me not to snatch them up.
I do occasionally give in and buy them, and the secondhand ones have always felt more "full" than the ones I have bought new.

 

There were a few "extreme" modders back when I first joined the hobby. They'd buy damaged dolls and either do repair mods or add to the attempted mods and make a one-of-a-kind creation. @Buff is at the top of my memory for restoration artists who are still active in the hobby.

 

On the doll side of things, I'm probably more the sort of collector dolls should be rescued from! It's too bad though because most of them will be mine forever ...Mwahahahahahaha [coughs]

However, I do have this temptation with fabric (I'm not quite crazy enough to move on to deconstructing clothing yet). 6 yards of dusty blanket-weight wool in a neon yellow color? Who else could do something with that? Moth eaten blanket with a really nice fair isle pattern? Mine. A kimono bolt in someone's attic? Sure! I'll take that too! I now have an entire partner-height dining room-sized sewing table full of fabric, along with a small closet, stuffed floor to ceiling to the point that you have to kind of hold the fabric in with one hand and shut the door quickly with the other!

I have a problem.

 

@DollSewist

I definitely use dolls to learn new crafting skills. They've taught me sculpting and carving (never had used a Dremel before) and dyeing synthetics. Various types of wig-making.

Part of my fabric problem is that the fabric I acquire gets saved for very specific projects I envision, and compiling all the pieces takes time. I just gathered together all the fabric pieces for a cotton velvet suit set (pants, jacket, and perhaps pencil skirt) with a polyester brocade lining.

The yellow blanket weight wool got paired with another polybrocade of pinks, yellows, and whites, and got made into a coat for my mom and a duffel coat with a fur collar for me. The fairisle is cut out to be made into another coat (the pattern avoids all the moth eaten patches), but is temporarily on hold until I figure out how I want to line it. The kimono bolt got made into a bustier top (boning practice), high waisted sailor pants, and a short kimono. (Sometimes I feel guilty about making something into a garment which it was not intended for--the pattern looks hand-printed, and I worried that the fabric printer would be sad all their hard work didn't make a kimono.)

Much of the other fabrics in my closet are for dolls (I have the entire wardrobe of most of my dolls almost completely put together now in 1/2 yard to 1 yard pieces), but I can really only work on these sorts of things in holiday spurts because I spend all my school days (and weekend) studying. Hopefully I can learn how to better utilize my Monday nights (my new weekend, as my exams are on Monday mornings).

Luckily, this Friday is my final (3 hours long!) for end-of-block (I'm deep, deep into biochem now), so I finally get a bit of a weekend to sew (still have some admissions stuff to help with for my department)!

 

A long time ago in a doll galaxy far far away (not really, it was on DoA probably 8-10 years ago), rescuing a doll and fixing it up to resell was a viable practise and frankly it funded my hobby for a very long time. I had rules about it tho, mostly that I never bought a sculpt I didn't like, and wouldn't mind keeping if it came to it, but that said, it was very much a business for me with very few of them actually staying with me.

Over the years, I would estimate that well over 150 dolls have passed through my hands in that way, 99% of them purchased here because someone had either got in over their head with some mods, got bored or simply didn't want to fix the doll up themselves but these days it's not something you can really do anymore. It made me stop rescuing and instead fund things other ways.

Still miss it though, there was something really fulfilling about fixing up some wreck and finding it a good home.

 

Taking on a damaged rescue case was exactly how I ended up with Muninn, my SDF Bliss... But he was a sculpt I liked a lot to begin with, and his faults were more in the "summer project-doll" vein than a Serious Disaster.

Fixing him up was still good fun and an excellent opportunity to learn some repair and restoration skills that have proven useful with other members of the crew, though. And he ended up becoming one of my favorites in the process. ^_^

 

I understand this impulse "to rescue". All dolls look like people, and bjd-dolls are especially. I think I would have saved these dolls if I had the opportunity. Just I never saved dolls and I am afraid to do anything ). However I fill happiness when I read about repaired bjd.

 

Every time I go into the marketplace and see a damaged doll, tbh. If I had the money, I would save so many dolls.

 

I have a few "rescue dolls" that I picked up over the years. It was a great way to learn to do some modding techniques that I was hesitant to try on my more expensive dolls.

 

This happened to me recently! A doll I wanted for a while showed up for sale from someone who I know, well... Isn't very responsible with their dolls, from what I've seen them do in the past. This one wasn't in a bad state, but I was feeling the urge of "rescuing" her before it was too late... Unfortunately, I don't have the money at the time, but I do follow this person and I'm always looking for new pictures of this doll >< some day, little one...

 

Yes very much so, its such a strange feeling I get when I see a 'rescue doll' because I'll find myself feeling bad for it and wanting to give it a better place, even though I know they're inanimate objects and don't feel. Maybe its because they look so human? Look so helpless in a broken state that you just want to fix them? A want to restore them to their former glory and beauty? I have no clue but yes I've felt the urge to get a rescue and fix it up I'd do the same with porcelain dolls at thrift/antique stores/estate sales when I was younger. One people passed by at an estate sale because her left eye fell back into her head. Needless to say I brought her home and fixed it. Or this poor sock monkey that had so many cuts in it, I literally spent hours sewing them up. Now I feel the same way with those poor rescue bjds.

 

I do this with all types of hobby-related things. I've 'rescued' abandoned cross stitch projects, broken dollhouse furniture, and battered old vinyl dolls... I don't go looking for rescue cases, but I can't resist them when I accidentally come across them... (So the only reason I haven't rescued a BJD yet is because I haven't bumped into one yet...)

 

No I was a rescuer before when I was beginning to collect dolls now I only focus on the dolls I want.

 

I did this for years with other types of dolls, especially thrifting. I'm not really interested in this with BJDs because I'm really focused on creating my original characters. I might get one or two for sewing models or practice faces or something. I could see myself buying seconds of the dolls/molds I have and love.

 

I feel this all the time. especially with bodies. if you know how to airbrush there is so much creative freedom. you can dremel away all you want and often more bad ass characters come to light! ^^ i feel they could be a key to my creative chains. i feel so bad when i do anything with my own (expensive) dolls (parts! lol)... i feel as though a rescue would help with that. especially one of my twins, who's supposed to be missing her biological left leg

 

This is the same for me. I get great ideas, but I am so busy that I would never be able to finish anything. It's hard to balance my hobbies at it is... but I have so much respect for the people who do this. Maybe one day I will be able to try...

 

I did once. It was a head with a badly done open eye mod, I traded for it with clothes I mostly had for free so it's almost as if it was a gift.

The problem is it's an old doll from a company with little to no color matches in other companies, and it's a tiny so even more complicated. So even if I'll successfully complete the eye mod I wouldn't know how to use it.

 

I do sorta feel this with secondhand dolls, regardless of damages. Even if I know they won't fit, sometimes I just get enamored by a doll being sold and find myself saving the Facebook post or Liking the Instagram post to "save" it for later. For instance, I saw a Yo-SD for sale on Facebook back in November and I was waiting for the holidays to get money to get my two MSD's (I was a full time college student at the time and really couldn't work much). So, even though I knew at the time what dolls I wanted, I was looking at a doll that's the complete wrong size from what I want! It was a cute little thing, though, and I think it was $100 USD even. Either way, I have a bad habit of secondhand online window shopping, if you will, even when I'm not looking to really buy anything, lol.

 

you could make a little fairy out of the project and sell the completed doll for profit. airbrushing and body blushing would be your friend in this case. there's even freaking adorable tutorials for plastic fairy wings you can make. unless it was a SD, then it would become another baby lol

 

There's a lot of dolls that I've been wanting to rescue on IG because of the impulse but money is a huge problem.

 

Nooooo......

ahem.... Ciske, Troy, Kiki, Jessica, Freya..... (take it as a confession)

 

Ahaha, I went specifically looking for one at one point and let me tell you my love story.
When I got this boy he was in a state of disrepair... his mouth had been hacked up to his cheeks like joker, whole chips where missing from his eyes from a bad sleeping to open eyed mod, his ears had been chopped off, his entire nose sanded away... to be perfectly honest I didn't even know if he was fixable at all...

And yet... a lot of time and trials and love later... he's one of my most favorite dolls ever...

 

@Soenatte - you certainly created something very different for him than the original modder was planning! He is very sweet/cute.

I did it once - but no where near as dramatic as that. I bought a doll that I liked off the MP. She was bright and beautiful at once time, but when I adopted her, her faceup was chipped and damaged, and the MSC was chipping on her body so her white skin looked dirty. I spent a couple weeks cleaning her up, sent her out for a gorgeous face up by @meenist and when I finished, I realized she wasn't my doll, and that I was just holding her waiting for her real owner. I can't remember now if I broke even selling her again or lost money. It certainly wasn't profitable... but it was fun.

 

@HunYi ahaha~ I'm a firm believer that dolls "give back" the energy you put into customising them (ie, scary for a gore modification or more solemn for characters with a dark past, etcetera) so I'm glad it comes off as such~ I just really wanted to make this little guy shine

@akiko0021 I think, my dollfie dream boy (who is supposed to be a pretty cheerful child, really) he's the sweetest doll I've ever owned despite his really humble beginnings~

 

That's an amazing story! Having that kind of understanding/clarity about a doll's purpose is really special.

 

I think you actually have her in your portfolio which makes me a little sad about having passed her on since she was gorgeous, but she wasn't really talking to me. I believe though that what I did - and what you did with her - helped someone else see the beauty in her.

 

I remember you and your dolls! This was close to when I first opened commissions. I was (and still am) very grateful for your business! It's awesome to know what became of her all these years later, and to have been part of her journey.

 

Didn't have this before, but I got a shot of it when I found myself on the Japanese second-hand market yesterday. Mandarake had this MSD which a big "JUNK" label on her and she just... wasn't junk? Like, yeah, she looked really dirty and there were scratches on her faceup but that was about it for as far as I could see. Probably a good thing I don't have much expendable income right now because dang, I was so ready to welcome this girl with a three-stage bath and a new face :C

 

I used to "rescue" off-topic dolls, but not bjds. As someone stated earlier, you rapidly accumulate quantity and not quality (and a large to-do list). I don't recommend this method of collecting - or maybe just one rescue-project bjd at a time. Now I have a LOT of O.T. dolls that will probably go straight to charity.
Sigh...well, it was fun at the time!

 

@Answer42 - yes the one at a time rule helps.

 

I was actually looking for a damaged doll recently because I wanted to try some heavy modding on it! I bought a DC Kid-07 that I just love the aesthetics of, but couldn't bring myself to mod it because it was just too prestine! I didn't end up finding one for the character, but I don't think I would buy a damaged doll with hopes of rescuing it ^^

 

I occasionally have a problem with wanting to rescue a doll.

The doll might not necessarily be damaged, just old. If I see the price dropping and dropping because the owner can't get rid of it, I begin to feel a little sad for both the doll and the owner. I once bought a doll so the owner wouldn't drop the price any lower, because I felt sad for the doll.

Yep, I'm a crazy person.

 

I've felt that need too. There was this lovely MSD girl doll in the second-hand market. The price was astonishing low just because she wasn't posing great and had yellowed and was a little dirty. I ended up resisting it and she eventually disappeared. I'm not sure what I would've done with her if I had bought her, and I don't know where she'll be right now but I hope she arrived at a loving home because I really felt sad about her.

 

There are other types of dolls I can rescue, restore, and repair but I’m not as experienced with bjd yet so I don’t have that urge. For some people it has to do with sustainability and not having damaged dolls go to landfills. Then others like me rescue dolls that are just no longer available to buy new.

 

The urge is very strong for me with this one - I love a restauration project, I love the...um... price that comes with a fixer-upper and I'm always happy if there is less of a long wait to get a doll + knowing how hard selling second hand is right now, I'll gladly help a person out! I'm also inclined to try out more things on a rescue doll rather than a new one so it's kind of double the fun for me.

 

Oh, this is a huge issue for me. It's led to a lot of impulse purchases- dolls I don't really want but feel bad for. I've really had to work on reining myself in and sticking to a set WTB list, regardless of how pitiful and cheap a doll may be. Because even if I don't spend a ton of money on it, I still may not bond as well once it's fixed up.

Repairing and selling on could be a way to scratch the itch without taking up too much money and space?

 

I just rescued a doll, and her sad face and bad pictures just called out to me. She was dirt cheap (especially for a bjd, think playline doll price, but she's a Bobobie so no legitimacy worries) because she was missing her headcap. After a thorough bath and a crude apoxie sculpt headcap, she's beginning to shape up. I just couldn't leave her behind.

 

I also feel the urge to buy dolls to fix them up! For me it’s usually a combination of the price and knowing what I could do with it. I got a bunch of rescue projects all at once from someone who had a terrible ex mess up a bunch of bodies that she’d had to leave at his place. I’m almost done repairs on the last one, but the other two were both dyed lovely colours to hide staining, and fixed fairly extensively to hide milliput for a couple cracks. It was the only way I’d ever afford to own a fifth motif body, or an amadiz angels body, so I was thrilled by it.

Now I’m always scanning for other dolls that need fixing up even though I have two very big unfinished mods sitting on my counter, waiting for me to finish them.

 

I have the same problem, it's difficult to pass on a fabric that feels so tactile and I always have to touch a fabric, then I can't help but buy it!! My third bedroom (also my doll room) closet is full of fabrics that are waiting to be used, not to mention the boxes of fabric filling my Billy bookshelves!!

 

Money is always a problem when you collect dolls! Too many dolls and never enough cash in the kitty!!

 

I feel this urge a lot, I don’t even inherently feel the need to completely fix these dolls, maybe just give them a nice set of clothes and a good wig. Then of course they are cared for and given a good home with me, especially if the doll is pretty inexpensive due to its damages I definitely want to swoop in and save them. Giving dolls a truly loving home is a big thing for me

 

There's a doll on a second-hand site who's in pretty good condition but an... unfortunate faceup... Every now and then I check on her and when I see that deer-in-headlights stare my inner Samaritan wants to take her home. She's been there forever. If she drops in price any further in the future I'll probably bite the bullet.

 

I have this urge a lot, especially with ot plastic dolls as I can restore them and a doll always has a potential to look pretty though I didn't always act on it and those days I never do but I feel it no less even if I resist temptation, the only way that worked till now to get rid of the urge and not feel anxiety is to have my dolls displayed nicely go in front of them and say to myself that I have too many and pretty dolls so I don't need it plus it will be cramped up on the shelf if I add even one doll there.I need to sit there look at the dolls for sometime and meditate while looking at my shelves to make the urge go away.

 

I definitely understand the feeling of wanting to “rescue” those dolls. For the beautiful pieces of art that they are, they all deserve a good home. I normally have to resist those temptations so I can save up for a doll on my wishlist instead, but sometimes it takes a lot of convincing! If you’re willing to go the extra mile and fix the doll up, though, it’s definitely a deal.

 

I get it all the time, hot mess dollies are soooo cute. but I try to resist the temptation, not only some restorations are outside the scope of my skillset and patience, but I have a lot of dolls already, and a lower priced fixer upper may be a greater opportunity for someone else.

 

This is why I need to stay off the second hand market lol I want to rescue every doll I see, especially ones with problems that I see pop up for weeks. I just wish they could have a home too...
I almost bought a CD girl with a broken off leg hook just because I thought "I could fix her!!!" but I had plans to save up for a different one. Thankfully I talked myself out of it and later bought the CD girl I actually wanted. On top of that I realize I have limited time for my dollies already, no need to add a project I won't have time for on top of it.