The ^ < v Game! - Part 3

^ I was never a big doll person until my BFF introduced me to BJDs. I'm still not a big doll person...but I am a BJD person. ^_^

< SWEET SPARKLY SPACE JESUS TOORU IS FINALLY COMING HOME

v Think fast! You've got $500 to spend on doll stuff and only 15 minutes to do it. What do you buy from where?

 

^ well, weirdly enough, after thinking for months that I would like a Dollzone Penny or a Dollits Somi, I've discovered I really like SooHee from Dollits. It is the picture of her crouching under the Parts section that swayed me. I can see her being up to serious stuff like carefully shooting someone. I've always been a fan of the Fairyland Minifee Risse full package (steam age red riding hoods set), and she would be a fantastic alternative.

< I am sick. I HATE sore throat. Why does it happen EVERYTIME I feel I am going somewhere!

V Which full set would you have liked/like to get if you could fit it to any of your dolls?

 

^ I don't really do fullsets, but Iple's elves were great ... if I had to pick one fullset, that'd be it.

< oh you've GOT to be kidding me. We booked that freaking location half a year ago. We effing PAID for it. And now they tell us we can't have it? What the hell is wrong with those people? /bangs head on desk

v Since I'm currently torn between two heads I like for the same OC: How do you decide on a shell for your characters?

 

^ If I have couple heads and don't know what to choose, I use criterias like "which of them fits all my dolls best by the style?", "what about size?", "body? simple to hybrid with and good skintone match?"

< I have to find a crown for my King. I was surprized how hard it is!

v Do you prefer same stylization for all of your dolls or won't mind if their facec/bodys/proportions aren't same?

 

^ I don't mind if they're different! I'm soon gonna have a LDF Darae and a DZ Carter, and they're really different. Plus I'd love a DC Lance, which is pretty much completely different from anything you can get anywhere. A lot of my characters are from different stories/universes, so it's fine if they're different.

< Ah, it's finally stopped raining...that's nice.

v How would you deal with damage to your dolls? Mostly minor, like losing a finger or a chip?

 

^ Well. Since they stopped selling it just recently and I was going to buy one - 5Star Aiden in red with the beast parts. If we're talking fantasy fantasy, then I'd like them to redo the arm to match Hellboy more. I want a chibi Hellboy....*pouts*

> FFFFFFFFFF so much stuff is arriving this week!! I want all the things! Really want my Sadol suits here....

V Have you ever planned on buying a doll only to have it sell out from under you? Share your stories!

 

^ GOD YES. THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME. I found (with a little help) a ver. 1 Shirou Tachibana fullset, barely touched, on Mandarake. I stalked that puppy for DAYS waiting for payday, and then went for it...only to get a cancellation email some two days later. (Fortunately for me, a one-off Shirou came up the next day. That one's on its way home to me.)

< I have more clothes than I thought I did. Now I just need his wig.

v What was your first doll? Do you still own it?

 

^ My first doll was a Bobobie 1/4 Tony, and yes (unfortunately), I still own him. I'm planning to sell him, because I'm just not bonded to him anymore. He's really cute but...I have Aelic for cute.

< Whyyyy do so many pretty dolls with teeth keep appearing in my life...I really want a Miracle Doll Jing. Teeth and extra eyes? Perfect.

v Who do you consider your weirdest doll and why? (It can be their style or personality or sculpt or anything.)

 

^ My weirdest are my DiM Love girls. I don't really do weird (much), but all my others are human (or modded elf-eared) sculpts and your usual "dolls next door". Not these:


A dark fae and a flower fairy turned human. Starting small as far as weirdness goes. At some point I'd love a bunch of Dollzone / Doll Chateau creatures, but not just yet. Right now I need to grab some Hobbits before they're gone.

< Bunch of Hobbits and LittleRebel Kai as Marcellina's brother. And I need to catch up on "musical heads" - I never tried most of my heads on the last bodies I got my hands on. The one I'm picking up next week probably won't work for Timmy after all as his shoulders are even wider than the Miro 60's he's on now ... oh well. Someone will fit on it.

v What's the weirdest doll on your wish list?

 

^Doll chateau Alberta. The moose-like antlers and centaur body are so cool! I think the weirdest thing about her though is that she has human feet 0_o That'd be the only thing stopping me from buying her in the future.

< Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa I am not prepared I am not prepared my science and math finals are today oh god

v What is the strangest thing you've bought for one of your dolls?

 

@Osaka well this is awkward lmao, we posted at the exact same time

 

^ I don't buy much ... but I guess the most unexpected would have been a mini Samowar.

^^ Osaka's q that got skipped: YES oh my Gods. Far too often, another one being in progress right freaking now.
First off was Dollshe. I got my Bernard head complete with spare faceplate for a decent deal, so no trouble there. Decided I would've liked a Saint way too late, so 50:50 on that one.
Then Iple kicked out one of my favorite nYIDs. Got his head, so I guess that's a win. Still on the hunt for a better body than the ancient Miro 60 he's on now.
AprilStory - well. Got two for the price of one, waited next to a year and finally got them a couple weeks ago. (Love them both though, even though Adrian's body is driving me bonkers!)
Enter DiM. Lots of good deals, got my "most wanteds" but missed out on Amelie. *sniffles*
Now Iple is doing it again, discontinuing half the JIDs on my Hobbit list. So this time I'm scrambling for realsies as there are no (none, zero, zilch) hobbit-like bodies around for hybriding. Currently I've got one boy, one girl, and a girl head sitting in my cart.

< The good thing about discontinuations and scrapped plans is that it sparks something new. Main project is on hold while I'm doing all the Fantasy stuff I might never have gotten around to otherwise.

v Because my answer to flannelpaws' question was worthless: What's the strangest thing you've bought (or made) for your dolls?

 

^ Weirdly enough...miniature bones found in owl pellets and a skull. My character is a collector of oddities so I had to go find these things in Etsy shops, haha.

< Ugh, my classes start back up on Monday. Winter break don't go!

v Your doll's/character's house is burning. They only have time to grab three things. What do they grab and why?

 

^ This is a fun question. Aelic would probably grab some of his favorite or most valuable books, though he'd have a really hard time choosing. Ilya would grab his brother, Nikos. But if Nikos could get out on his own, Ilya would definitely grab his pelt (he's a selkie).

< I really really need to stop looking at dolls. My wishlist has doubled in like a week.

v If your human dolls could be magically transformed into mythical creatures, what would they be?

 

^ Truthfully, I don't know. I think my humans are pretty happy to just be human.

< SCREAMING SCREAMING SCREAMING TOORU IS IN SAN FRANCISCO

v Got any new dolls incoming?

 

^ Yep, the last order of 2016 has been on his way for weeks and (being from China) is currently being held in central customs. Filled in the online paperwork last night, printed it at work this morning and left it for the mailman to pick up ... mailman came, mailman went, letter's still here.

< Not like I didn't have enough unfinished doll projects to spend the long weekend on.
@Tez, congrats!

v What's the worst part of the "doll wait" for you?

 

^ The actual waiting, honestly. I'm not too concerned about shipping; on the off chance that something goes wrong, I'm fairly confident I could work it out. But a 6+ month wait is just...a long time.

< Speaking of, it's been a week since I ordered Ilya, and I managed to survive. Just 23-ish more to go...

v How would your dolls/characters react to you if they suddenly gained the ability to speak?

 

^ There would probably be a lot of swearing over the fact that they all live in carriers.

< I CAME HOME FOR LUNCH AND THERE WAS A GIANT BOX FROM JAPAN SITTING INSIDE THE DOOR HOLY SHIT HE'S ACTUALLY HERE OH MY GOD SCREAMING

v What was the most exciting thing that's ever happened to you in the hobby?

 

^ Probably getting my Little Monica Irin. She was a raffle prize from a dealer that was closing up shop; they sold most of their remaining stock cheap, and kept a few things back for a fundraiser raffle (with the funds raised donated to charity). I took a look, only liked the first place prize, and figured I didn't have a chance in hell to win her. But I did like the choice of charity, so I bought some entries mainly as a donation. And then I woke up, saw an email notification from them, and opened it up, expecting it to be "Hey, thanks so much for participating! You didn't win anything, but you did help us raise X amount of money for charity!" Nope, it was "Hey, thanks for participating, you won the first place prize!" I was actually kind of in shock for a moment. (And being half asleep didn't help much.) Once I actually processed what was going on, though, I was pretty thrilled! And even though she didn't work out for the character I thought she'd fit, I still love her and love having her in my collection.

< All this cleaning is wearing me out, I just want a nap now...

v If money and time were both in ample supply, what's the dream doll project you'd like to do?

 

^ Sculpt my own SD male centaur BJD based on a dapple roan Gypsy Vanner horse, complete with mohair inserts for the hoof tufts, mane, and tail, the correct build and bodily proportions for both horse and human parts(complete with horse/human ratio to each other) down to the science, and all different kinds of leather and silk tack/clothing for him to wear

< Curse you, fraudulent charges on my accounts! I was going to do so many things this weekend, from an eye exam for glasses to an oil change and brake pads for my car to starting the layaway for a new laptop since my current one keeps giving me BSOD and interfering with my writing... I had so much overtime this paycheck and I can touch none of it...

v I like this question so passing it on: If money and time were both in ample supply, what's the dream doll project you'd like to do?

 

^ I'd mod a DC Elizabeth to have 4 arms and 4 eyes... I feel like it wouldn't be terribly expensive. Time consuming maybe?
I feel like the biggest thing stopping me is lack of confidence, Im new to the hobby and have never done any modding.

< I hate waiting, I wish my 2nd doll would come in faster LMAO. When will I get that shipping notice???

v How did you get into the hobby & how long have you been in it?

 

^ Ten years ago (holy shit) my best friend showed me a picture of Dollshe's Saint, back when Luts sold Dollshe dolls. My thought process went roughly from "you're spending HOW much on WHAT?" to "holy shit son he's gorgeous" to "me wanna" to "Dollzone mini get!!" My tenth anniversary on DoA is coming up in February, and I'm very grateful to said friend for introducing me to these dolls. I never thought I'd be much of a doll collector, but I couldn't be happier with my collection, especially now that I have my grail in my hot little hands.

< *smothers Shirou with love*

v Where are your dolls right this second?

 

^ Most of them are on my dresser. Avery is sitting on my desk and watching me procrastinate, and my nameless new arrival is currently headless while I figure out what to do with her face. Her head is on the bed and her body is standing on my desk.

< Just wired my doll's joints so she doesn't compulsively slap herself in the face anymore. Yay!

v Have you ever brought a doll to a convention with you?

 

^ Yep! I went to several mini doll meetings at conventions I used to go to, but I haven't been in years. It was fun!

< Aaaand the wishlist keeps growing...I need to stop making characters.

v How do you usually come up with your dolls' names?

 

^ I use a name generator. I have two bookmarked one for regular names and one for fantasy names. It depends on what he is which one I use.

< Cold clear morning, I'm still sleepy but can't go back to sleep it's too late.

v How do you decide the character of a doll?

 

^ Usually the doll's character is decided before I even get the doll. My dolls are split right down the center between "character" dolls (meaning characters I didn't create myself) and OC dolls. The OCs all existed before their doll versions did, although Jes was the one OC I really wanted a doll of. The others, the character dolls -- it was either "oh shit that doll looks just like X" or "I really want a doll of Y character, this mold would be great" or "I need a character for Z doll, oh hey he'd be perfect for that!". So it really varies depending on the doll.

< God damn am I tired. And it's just going to get worse. I will be subsisting on coffee for the next two weeks. Days off? What are those?

v How do you save your doll money?

 

^ [Edit, somehow managed to reply to the wrong question whoops] Now that I have a "real job" it feels suddenly easy to afford things because I have way more income in a way shorter period of time than I've ever had before, because I'm very frugal so I tend to just save money naturally until there's something really huge that I either need or feel strongly enough about the hard part is gonna be not letting myself justify things that I """feel strongly enough about""" to purchase... but before, when I was younger and didn't have a job, it really just took learning how to be frugal and not spend any excess money on "average things" (I find that my immediate family spends a lot of money on dining out at expensive restaurants, clothes they don't necessarily need, hair and nails, car related stuff, movies and concerts, etc etc, things that aren't really THAT expensive in one sitting but pile up if you do them regularly)

< Somebody smack me every time I get to musing about doll and doll-related project ideas, I have too many concepts and desires floating around in my head and not enough time and money for following through!

v Do you tend to be "wishy washy" with the dolls you want, i.e. you just want every pretty doll you see and don't have any strict plans, or are you more straightforward and know what you want and find it easy to avoid random grabby feelings towards dolls that aren't in your plans?

 

^ I'm generaly not wishy-washy at all. Either I like the doll or I don't, and there's not much in between. (Well, in between would be like 'that one's pretty but eh' which doesn't justify a buy for me.) I do have separate wishlists for really want and would like at some point; generally, dolls that already have chatacters that I wanna shell go in the definitely want while dolls that I like a lot but don't have characters yet go in would like eventually. But I've had my experiences with impulse buys and try very hard to avoid those.

< I am so ready to restring Aelic. He's just...so, so floppy. Poor child.

v Do you do your own maintenance or customization? Do you enjoy it?

 

^ I want to learn to sew. I REALLY want to learn to sew. I need to actually sit down and do it, though, which is really hard with my total lack of all things resembling free time.

< need...coffee...stat...

v What's your favorite doll company and why?

 

^ This is...so hard. I have an attachment to Luts because of Aelic (plus I love a million Kid Delfs and their bodies are really nice in my opinion; also Zuzu Delfs are adorable), but I also really love a lot of Dollzone's sculpts, they're so unique. Souldoll has recently been on my radar as well, especially for larger sizes, because their sculpts are so pretty. I could keep going but...I won't.

< I need to email Amazon. Ug. At least their customer service is good.

v What was/would be your doll's/character's major in college?

 

^ Oh gosh, if Kyle went to college. . . he'd start out undecided, anyway (which sounds like a cop-out, but hang on!). I think, eventually, he'd notice his two best friends getting serious about their studies, and after much consideration--and causing everyone around him grief--he'd choose business. He'd be a great salesman, as long as he liked what he was selling. He'd jump at the chance to charm the pants off anyone.

< Awaiting TWO dollies right now, and I'm so excited! They're the main characters in a story I'm writing, and I thought I'd have one without the other for a while, which would make them sad and lonely But they won't be without each other long

v What made you decide to get/make some doll props (like furniture, etc.)? Did you start right away with your first doll(s), or did you just focus on the dolls at first?

 

^ Haha, I don't own ANY props. I don't have room for them; I can't display my dolls as it is thanks to lack of room. Maybe once I have display space.

< Have struck a deal with the munchkin. If she pulls straight A's this semester, I will get her her first doll. I figure this is a fair trade.

v What's the most outrageous thing you've ever done to get a doll?

 

^ Put my most serious doll in a fuzzy Pikachu kigu for a costume contest. I won my tiny Hujoo that way!

< Spent today helping the roomie dye her doll a darker tan. She's lovely!

v Have you ever injured yourself performing maintenance on a doll?

 

^ Not super badly or anything. I've snapped off fingernails a few times with errant elastic and gotten pinched in Aelic's joints, but nothing hugely damaging.

< That moment when you come up with the perfect character for a sculpt you love~

v Do you have a favorite among your dolls/characters? Who is it and why? Or why don't you?

 

^ While I'd love to say I don't play favorites... Gabriel and Maren are probably my faves in my OC collection (with plenty of close runners-up), and Ed and Jace in the fan dolls (again, with close runners-up). They're the ones I go to most often when I want to take photos or take a doll out somewhere.

< I am not liking these light blinks tonight... please don't let the power go out.

v Do you have a "problem child" doll who's hard to figure out?

 

^ I couldn't figure out what to do with my Dream of Doll Shall for awhile. I love her look and default outfit, but she had no chemistry with my 3 other bjd. She was just kind of there.

She had already decided her taste in clothes, which was also a problem, because I'm only good with frilly stuff and she doesn't like that! Only recently (years later) she has settled in a bit because my bjd boy received a new character, and she reacted to him. hurrah to new roles! xD

< I really should get back to the Zelda game I left running...

v How often do you actually buy stuff for your bjd hobby? (I do like once a year lol)

 

^ Not often enough. Been kind of strapped for cash. But now that I'm not really saving for dolls anymore (although I'm still kicking around the idea of Victor...) I'm planning on sinking a fair bit into clothes and the like this year. Determined to get everyone 'finished'.

< Beat Pokemon Sun, at least the main portion of the game. My team was half Yuri!!! On Ice and half alcoholic. When in doubt, name your Pokemon after booze. (I have been following this philosophy since Gen IV. Serves me pretty well.)

v If your doll was a Pokemon trainer, what would their six-poke team be? (Bonus points if you give me their names.)

 

^ Oooo fun question! Aelic would have a cute but ridiculously strong team (because he's incapable od doing things halfway): Decidueye, Noivern, Flygon, Dragonite, Ampharos, and Goodra. Ilya would want an all water/ice/dragon team: Blastoise, Altaria, Walrein, Lapras, Mamoswine, and Swampert. Aelic wouldn't give his nicknames, but Ilya's would probably have dumb ones like Iceman and Sweetiepop.

< Now I really wanna finish up Pokemon Sun...

v Have you ever "warmed up" to a sculpt? Like when you first saw it you weren't too excited, but after a while you just had to have it?

 

^ More like an entire company When I first started out in the hobby, I'll admit it; I went a good while really not liking Volks, I just wasn't attracted to their dolls and didn't see the appeal... I appreciated that they were very "classic" and renowned, but I just didn't like the look of them and swore I'd never want or own one. But somehow, over time (and getting to see a lot of Volks dolls in person at meetups) I've come to really love them and I don't own any yet but I'd love to someday! Plus my holy grail is Volks so ~ she's a bit of a pipedream but *sigh* I can dream

< It hasn't even been a month since I've ordered but I'm still itching for an update on my Mini Kitty omg... I don't think I'm truly prepared for DZ waittimes if I'm already this eager this early on

v Simple question... Are you impatient or patient with wait times? What's the longest or shortest wait time you've ever had?

 

^ I consider myself rather patient. The worst was a year with bad communications from the company; the shortest was about six weeks (unless MP purchases count, those were a lot quicker obviously).

< So much money spent ... but most of that will come back. And I shall make the bestest villain this side of the Briar Patch for the away mission in spring, yessir.

v borderline off-topic, but I hope it counts: Do you have other creative hobbies besides dolls? (Maybe something the dolls have profited from because you had some crafty skillz you could use for them?)

 

^ Woodcraft and leathercraft are both non-doll skills I have used to benefit my dolls.

< I hope this illness is finished with me. I don't like sleeping for 15 hours. I can't get anything done. Arrgh.

v Same question do you have other crafty skills that you dolls benefit from?

 

^ It's been a bit slow going, but my costuming/cosplaying has benefitted the dolls a bit as I work out how I'm going to get their "official" outfits together. Ed in particular has been reaping the benefits, because I also cosplay his character, so not only do I already know how everything goes together, I had enough scraps left from the last red coat I made (why yes, I have made more than one...) to make a 1/4 scale one for him. And my knowledge of various forms of printing means I already had a screen ready to screenprint the crucified serpent on the back, too. (Well, knowledge of how to screenprint and foresight when I prepared the screen for the full-sized version.)

< Technology is great when it works... at least the internet's back up, now I just have to fix the lights.

v I like the pokemon question from before, so passing that along after a skip: what's your doll's six-pokemon team? And do they give them nicknames?

 

^ Lol, might as well answer my own question. XD Tooru's team is well-balanced and will punch your damn lights out -- Scizor, Gardevoir, Hydreigon, Zygarde, Slowbro, Primal Groudon (with Gardevoir as the Mega if we're playing under Mega rules). He names them all after various plants. He'd love to use Mega Rayquaza but that's cheating. Cecil's team has too many Fairy-types -- Sylveon, Alola Ninetales (have you used that thing? It's a BEAST), Absol, Magearna, Garchomp, Decidueye. He names them all after types of food.

< I thought I had a solid team until I tried to catch that electric-type Ultra Beast. 205 SPECIAL ATTACK? REALLY?? Discharge OHKO'd like...everyone.

v You're given the chance to purchase any one doll ever produced. Money is no object. Availability is no object. What do you buy and why?

 

^ Aw man... That's really really hard. I don't have any "grail dolls" necessarily, and I feel like a lot of the dolls I want would be pretty easy to obtain with some dedicated searching, but I'm super into the Switch Dojin sensitive version right now... The teeth/tongue pieces just get me, I love them. But also I'd love to have my LittleRebel Tenten and a body that works for the character I want to do. (Of course, I don't actually know what body would work but...eh.)

< Of course something goes wonky on my first order from Dollmore in ages...

v Pretend you can only have one outfit on each doll for the rest of the time you own them...what would they wear that sums up their style in one outfit?

 

^Theyre not dolls (Yet!!), but my characters Chase and Emily would probably wear the outfits I designed when I was first creating their characters. Chase's fancy tan waistcoat sums up his smart-a** personality pretty well, lol.

< Come on, Sun, respond to my email! I want to order my first doll!

V What is the strangest/funniest reaction you've ever gotten for your dolls?

 

^ A friend gifted me her doll. She had him for a long time so I think she was tired of him (or his look). I wiped his faceup gave him freckles, red hair and eyebrows and he really looked cute. She like the new look very much. After about a year I gifted him back with his new look. She was very happy to have her baby back.

< Ugh, medical insurance meeting coming up. I wish I could turn off my head for a while but I have to pay attention.

v Do you take outdoor photos or do you take most of them indoors?

 

^ When I get a chance to have a real photoshoot, I want to do it outside, because the light is better. But it never happens lol. I take a lot of photos of them in their doll-sized room, and my friend built a doll room too. We had them pretend to cook with some new pots and pans last time.

< hmm, ignoring Zelda again. I have a habit of taking a minute to surf the net while playing lol.

v Have you done your own face-up? Were you nervous to try it out? (seems a bit daunting to me.)

 

^ I've never done one for precisely that reason. I have about as much artistic talent as a a bag of birdseed, so I'd be super nervous about it and really don't feel the need to try. It'd be cool to be able to do it myself, but I know I wouldn't be able to to my satisfaction. (Plus I have no tools or anything. And no desire to mess around with sealants.)

< I've decided that dolls function by chaos theory rules. Deterministic - I know where they're going to be because I put them there - but unpredictable - who knows what they're going to do once they're there.

v I've asked this before but I'll do it again; if your dolls/characters were in college, what would their major be?

 

^ I've explored this concept a bit in my spare time. Karalyn would be going after generals first and foremost so she can buy time to decide what she wants to do. I believe Nova ends up going into law enforcement. Jun wants to study literature, but most of the time she ends up helping Arya with her fashion design so she doesn't have a lot of time to study. And Zeke considers himself lucky to have even gotten out of high school, screw higher education (much to his mother's dismay).

< I want to give my deer girl a faceup, but the air quality is red today and it's dangerous to go outside...

v Write us a short paragraph about your favorite doll! ♥

 

^ The first doll I ever loved, a Luts Lishe that belonged to my then-boyfriend back in 2005 or so. Her name was Sobriquet, and I made her a little silvery-rose woven poncho before she ever arrived. The best wig on her was snowy white and to her knees. Her owner's headcanon for her was that she was the daughter of a space pirate, genetically modified to be beautiful, raised to be sweet-tongued but mentally vicious as anything. It's been years and years since we broke up--I wonder if he still has her (and if his husband likes her as much as I did).

< I'm waiting on a package with at least one doll in it. I don't know what doll it is. It's like the best blind box ever. I'm just about chewing my nails over it.

v What is your favorite doll's favorite food?

 

^ My favorite doll (UNOSS) is an android so she doesn't eat food but since she likes to mimic humans, I can see her making a sandwich out of things that (to her) might resemble food shapes. Metal washers stacked on a bolt looking like a sandwich.

< I said 'no dolls until I get my current dolls in better order but maybe a faceplate or 2...' BAM, a set of 6 faceplates and extras magically appear for sale a day later. It never fails.

v How long is the longest you've gone without paying attention to your doll(s).

 

where did that double post come from -.- delete plz

 

^ Well, I'm just getting back into the hobby after about a three or four year hiatus soooo... It's been a while. They were in their boxes in the closet the whole time.

< It's been exactly two weeks since I ordered Ilya and I am still just as excited. So, so excited~

v Which of your dolls were you most excited to get and why?

 

^ so far... my most recent whole doll, my custom coloured Angell-studio Bing yi. She was a character I'd always thought would be hard to shell, but when I did a super basic mockup of her sculpt in dark purple and it was true love. So I ordered her, paid her off the instant I could and the wait was agony. I have her body with me, but no head, cause she's out for a faceup.

<my recent iple order is probably harder to wait for... aaah she's going to be perfect. And my Red King...

V anyone else have dolls on order? Which one/s and do they have a character?