The ^ < v Game! - Part 6

^ I'm not a huge fan of the dedication to exclusivity or limited editions, but that has improved drastically since I first began. The hobby used to be much smaller so limiteds were limited, you had to buy the fullset, and there were way fewer basic options. I still tend to avoid limited dolls because of it! I do like how global everything has become, though; I've learned how to use proxies and not to be intimidated in the global marketplace.

< My poor Ondiin has been in customs forever. At least she's close to home!

v Have you ever bought a fullset? Did you keep all of it?

 

^ I did, actually! It was a Ringdoll Dylan. Totally still have all of it to this day, since the kimono was so cute and fit well. He was actually the first one I ever bought as well, so maybe that's part of it.

< I'm wanting to get back into the hobby more, as I've been absent for 7 years or so, but wary about the BJD rabbit hole, which leads me to my question..

v How do you bracket your funds/time/browsing for the BJD world? Do you find yourself looking for new dolls/accessories in all your free time?

 

^ I'm new to BJD so I'm finding it extremely easy to spend "too much" time looking at new dolls and accessories in my free time (and sometimes when I'm not really free). I've also easily gone over my initial mental budget on purchases including and for my first doll. I've told myself I'm only getting one doll but 1) I'm not sure that's true and 2) it feels like I've used that logic to justify spending a lot of money on clothes, props, toys etc for her. I'm worried it could become an expensive cycle. Part of me really hopes I'm in a honeymoon phase of things and I'll stop wanting to spend all my extra time/money on dolls once I have my doll and all the stuff I've ordered for her so far.

< I'm super happy with the jewelry I've made for my doll and excited by the jewelry supplies in my digital shopping cart to make more jewelry. (see above!) I'm sad the glasses I ordered and that arrived today look like they are probably too small to fit my girl! Boo they are so cute though!!

V I'm going to push this question forward because I'd love to hear from people who've been in the hobby for some time and see how others manage time/money/etc. How do you bracket your funds/time/browsing for the BJD world? Do you find yourself looking for new dolls/accessories in all your free time?

 

^ I have allowed myself $200 a month for mad money ( a lot for some people, I know). Usually it goes to dolls. I also have PayPal credit that is 0% interest for 6 months so I can use my $200 a month to pay it off if I purchase a full doll from some company. Otherwise I just save up and hope my wanted doll doesn't disappear from the MP or I can put it on layaway too.

< July is usually very dry but this year the storm season is early and it's been raining for a week.

v Do you have a dolly budget?

 

^ No, but I think I should. A solid number I’d be comfortable with is $50/month or $600/year. I prefer an annual budget as opposed to monthly since everything is expensive and I like to bundle orders anyways. I also don’t think I’d carry over any unused budget to the next year because spending a lot of money really weighs on my mind

> I love window shopping for BJDs but most of the time I don't buy anything. I find having a character for my SDs doll has really limited the clothing I would buy them. My YoSD though, has no specific character and gets spoiled with all the cute things.

v Does your BJDs character/styling make it easy to shop for them or difficult to shop for them?

 

^Most of mine aren’t going to be easy. Between proportions (twigling, Iple and other large girls/modded girls with weird heights—like 53cm, and 75) and very stubborn aesthetics. Liriel, for instance, needs very specific armour, and otherwise dresses and lingerie that tend towards almost a vampire look. Liriel II on the other hand is light colours and flowers, and an impossible body to put in most clothes. Zilvriia is like a glittergrime, harley in BoP kind of aesthetic. All the Shrike I make (currently that’s... 3?) need the same armour, jacket, and cloak. Plus the only eyes I’m into these days are dollbakery.

<so, we all know I’m a nightmare on shopping...

v do you prefer a larger or smaller collection of dolls?

 

^ Smaller! I'm hoping to do a bit of downsizing soon, from 9 to 3 or 4.

< My turtle has decided she's a murder machine. I started out with 27 mosquito fish and now I have 8... such carnage...

v Do you have any murderous characters as dolls?

 

^ I’m debating this right now in a story actually, with writing in the murder of a doll character shelled in a sculpt I don’t plan to ultimately keep. Since I thought to myself, “her days here are numbered”, why not enact it for the death of her character? Now with a sacrificial lamb, though...who will be the murderer?

< Raining, migraine aura, it’s a dull day for me.

v how long is your doll story? Do you have one with several arcs?

 

^including spinoffs and old iterations if the universe, Aura is in about 220k, and Shrike is in about 320k. I’m not finished any of that writing, but I estimate another 3 books, so around 300k more for both.

<I have Zuri written on my wrist right now. Saving for her is motivating me not to go home sick (by sick I mean chronically ill, but not contagious)

v what’s the next doll you want?

 

^ I think Doll Family A Max. But I’ll sit on it for a bit and maybe try a face-up mock up.

> Work is stressful and my computer keeps freezing

v Have you ever tried making a mock up on company photos to see if the doll will work for what you have in mind?

 

^ Oh yes, most of my dolls get mocked up one way or another. This relationship diagram shows three of my planned/blank dolls (the characters for Isamu, Okuni, and Koyuri/Kokiden) with painted over company photos just to help me further pin the character's look down.

< Geez body, now is not the time to throw my groove off!

v Was there a doll you initially didn't like (or at least neutral to), but you now love?

 

^ Fairyland Pongpong. When I first saw him I wasn't into the permanent grin ( : D ) type of face. At that time I think any sort of expressive dolls just seemed weird to me? But I bought a littlefee Pongpong a few years ago and man, that huge grin just never fails to cheer me up when I see him. I always forget how adorable this doll is until I see him again and he still makes me smile so much.

< I used to own alot of doll hybrids (head/body from different companies) and I took stock of my collection recently and realised about half of my dolls now have their default bodies from the companies and only half are hybrids. When did this happen lol

v On that note, are your doll's/dolls' head and body from the same company or do you prefer to have hybrids?

 

^ Whatever works, to be honest. I have a couple heads that share a body (mostly for space reasons), a bunch of full dolls (sometimes because certain companies don't sell heads separately), and a bunch of hybrids (because some bodies are just more amazing than others). Body type is a thing, I want my dolls - specifically my older OCs - on the perfect body. If they come with it by default, the better ... otherwise I shall find it and I shall hybrid it.

< I need to get a new passport photo taken, bleargh. -.-

v Do you prefer taking or looking at photos of your dolls?

 

^ Taking and looking. I take photos looking for the good ones, I have shaky hands so sometime the photos are blurred. When I get a good photo and it has a good pose and composition I love looking at it and use them on my phone and laptop wallpaper so I can look at it even more.

< Rain, I like rain but not the storms but it's so humid right now. YUK!

v Do any of your doll characters have phobias? and why...

 

^ a phobia is defined as a disproportionate and irrational fear Response, and some of the phobia looking things that my characters have are rationally founded in their universes. With that said, in our univers, Ness, Lex, Ki, Dia, Chromis and Aura all have similar trauma that lead to a phobia-level fear of the dark.

I think Vidania’s issues are less phobia and more single exposure aversive conditioning that has a violent response. She can’t handle the taste of apples. I could potentially argue for it starting as acute stress disorder, because she wasn’t symptomatic (ie: with flashbacks and severe enough distress/impact of daily life) long enough to be counted as ptsd.

<I don’t have a phobia, but my gf does, and holy heck am I glad I don’t have to deal with that experience first hand.

V what excited your doll’s character?

 

^ Since werewolves in her story world are cursed with insatiable hunger, Emie is super excited about anything involving food.

< Am repurposed state employee for Covid case investigation. This is my last week of training before starting. Gotta say, never saw myself doing a call center job...

v What's one of your dolls' character's favorite foods? Do you have it as a prop for the doll version?

 

^ that's something I've never thought about! Uh, for Salt he's someone who likes to exercise alot so he likes sashimi, chicken breast salads and healthy food, but he also has ramyeon as his guilty pleasure food? Given that I've never thought about what my dolls eat, no I don't have food props haha xD

< I'm almost finishing the faceup on Tones that I started a few months ago. Now I'm wondering if I have enough time to mod Salt's neck before taking my annual doll crew photo... or whether I should just take the photo first and mod him afterwards instead. Hmm...

v Are any of your dolls modded? What are the mods they have?

 

^ I have a lot of modded dolls. Some are small, like neck mods (I'm not sure I can even count how many I do it so much) and then a few have light face mods like my DS Saint who's jaw is sanded down. I have a bunch with eye mods, both opening and closing, several with mouth mods and three with very heavy face mods (Batman, Joker and Two-Face). I've got multiple dolls with scars - though if I did them they're not permanent. I could probably count my un-modded dolls easier than my modded ones at this point....

Both my Elf Chiwoo heads are modded, but they were modded before me...so I don't even know the whole scope of their mods - one has the neck key hole modded out, so it just sits on a neck like a regular head, and my sleeping breakaway had scars modded on him before I owned him.

> It is so nice to have windows that open omg

V Have you ever modded a doll?

 

^ Vidania has a leg-shortening mod, to bring her down from 60cm to 53. Yes, I took 7 cm of resin off. While I’m at it I repositioned her torso joint, because she has a swayback, and I’m in the process of thickening her hips/ lower half, and broadening her shoulders.

Acyra has a male body that I’ve sculpted breasts and a vulva onto (or at least the slit you see on typical female dolls) I’m also shaving down her neck, replacing her hands and feet, drilling holes to install a tail and wings, and then she’s getting dyed. Right now these are the only modded dolls I’ve started so far.

<I love modding.

v passing it on : Are any of your dolls modded? What are the mods they have?

 

^ Not finished, but doing a chest mod on my supia Nael. I've had other dolls in the past with mods including a finished chest mod, elf ears, eye openings, dye.

< by august, faceup season is already practically over :/ bummer.

v what is your favourite thing you've personally made for your doll(s)?

 

^ I made her a sparkly pastel rainbow tulle tutu skirt. It was really simple and easy to make, but she looks adorable in it.

< Some of my students are really bad with technology and I hate it. I just want to go play with my doll.

v Is there anything you find shocking/ surprising in the hobby?

 

^ As a newbie I find some of the wait times shocking and horrifying. I've never really been interested in a hobby where you can't just.. buy... what you want. And I do understand getting something made as it's ordered... but it seems like a lot of artists have lag-times that are just... well, unacceptable to me. If it's going to take you over 3 years to make a doll for someone, just don't offer it! If it's that hard to make! Same with wigs. If the wig takes over 6 months it sounds like your not running your business very well. omg I don't know how this has become a standard. I have suffered with long wait times in other situations (going on 6+ years in one case) but I'm just not a patient person!! Maybe if I had known ahead of time, I would have tried harder not to fall in love with BJDs!!

< I want to see your tulle tutu skirt, @Enredadiza !

V Tell us about when someone found out for the first time that you collected or were interested in BJDs and that person said something that made you feel really GOOD!

 

^ Well, we had just moved into our new residence and I had my dolls displayed on the piano (I still do -- that's their spot!). During the housewarming party, one of my husband's friends pointed to my Granado Michael and said something to the equivalent of "Look at this guy! Isn't he handsome?!" My heart nearly burst from happiness, not only because a non-doll person complimented my doll, but also because my poor Michael wasn't really so popular in the local community due to his realistic sculpting.

< OH MY LOWRD, why did I not answer my phone when the deliveryman rang? Now I'd have to wait again for my hair fibers and wig accessories to be re-delivered!

v Because positivity is very much needed, I'll pass down the question: was there a moment when someone found out for the first time that you collected or were interested in BJDs and that person said something that made you feel really GOOD?

 

^ I remember waaaay back when it was my last year of school, a boy who I'd never really spoken to before came up to me and said he'd seen pictures of my dolls on facebook and thought they were really cool, and he regretted that we'd never been friends because I seemed like an interesting person. He was a bit of an oddball himself (in a cool way) so I was pretty flattered xD

< I finally got some goggles I really wanted for aaaaages and the doll I bought them for is away getting his face painted The goggles will just have to sit in their box and wait for him to get back!

v have you ever bought something for a doll you don't own yet? bonus points if it was expensive and you still have no intention of getting the doll anytime soon xD

 

^ nope! But whenever I get my first doll Probaly

< How does people make such tiny intricate yosd clothes? I mean there just so small and tiny, but the detail on them is so amazing!

v what’s one doll you regretted buying-or not buying?

 

^ My most recent doll purchase, Cuarto Hecate. She's gorgeous and I love her, but I just got a pay cut at work and could really use the security of an extra $1k in my account more than a cool chihuahua sized wolf on the shelf. I like making noises about selling my dolls but really, the low prices I've gotten from previous sales plus the effort of selling makes it hard to motivate myself to even bother. I'd maybe get half that for her.

< Damn state budget deficits...

v What's the longest layaway you've ever done?

 

^ I'm doing a 12 month layaway right now. Normally I prefer to keep them to 3 months so I can get it out of the way and get my doll faster, but this is with Dollshe so.............

< after months of full quarantine and currently partial quarantine, I have finally reached the stir-crazy point and all I wanna do is BUY NEW DOLLS.

v what is your latest doll project?

 

^ Going to start transforming my April Story Diana into my OC Kasumi I'm pretty excited for it! (but also lazy hehe).

> Also need to finish start editing box opening footage... I still haven't touched the box opening footage of my Migidoll body (not like that was 4 years ago or anything ) and filmed another box opening last night! Hopefully I can get both videos done this month.

v Do you make any BJD related videos on the YouTube or other video sharing sites?

 

^ I have a YouTube channel! I made some bjd videos a few years ago, then stopped, and only recently got back into making bjd related videos again. I get what you say about not editing some footage for a video... I also have a doll decluttering video that's been sitting around since last year. In the past, I stopped making videos because it felt too tedious at times and I wasn't having that much fun so recently I've tried making shorter videos just to make things fun again. Here's a random and short one for the lols:



< I have 3 packages on the way, stuff to collect from a dolly friend who did a mini group order, and 1 more order that's being made. And yet I itch to buy more doll clothes just because none of the items are home yet. Ugh. Need. Self. Control.

v Have your taste in dolls changed since you joined the hobby? What do you like now?

 

^ my taste has changed. I prefer more mature looking dolls now, as opposed to ones that look like children

< I definitely need some dessert

V Do you regret buying any of your BJDs?

 

^ nope! I'm very happy with my two, and I love them so much

< I can't wait to get more clothes! I'm addicted to Etsy!

v anything you're excited to purchase next?

 

^ I just ordered my first Bluefairy doll a few days ago, I'm excited to order her glass eyes once I get her!

<I just realized I missed an order period for a doll I've been wanting from Atelier Momoni, but Granado may be about to announce a doll I want...

V Any pre-order period you're waiting for?

 

^ Merry doll round Zuri, which is opening at the end of August, according to their insta. Crossing my fingers for any of the brown shades from last time. Also twigling obsidian now that it’s been backed by enough people

<I’m so tired.

vpassing this along. Any pre-orders you’re waiting for?

 

^ Nope, not in terms of dolls. The only things I'm waiting for are doll clothes. ^^

< Gah it was so stressful trying to take a full crew photo in the living room. Unfortunately that's the area with a nice background that's different from my usual. I'm done now but man, I was worried my dolls will get stepped on or have coffee spilled on them when my family walked pass them with their cups on the way to the kitchen OTL

v Props for dolls, yay or nay?

 

^ i love props! I have a cellphone, laptop, cooking utensils and of course backpacks.

< I so can't wait to see my dolls again!!!

v have you ever had a time away from your dolls?

 

^ Not really. I had a very small collection when I was less settled, so they always came with me.

< My local post office is a nightmare right now.

v Do you prefer more joints for posing, or fewer for aesthetics?

 

^ I think I prefer posability because I like interesting poses (my dolls stay clothed anyways). BUT all my purchases would beg to differ! I've not bought a single body based on the posability!

> I'm half considering replacing my Hazuki's body with an Impldoll Star MGB body, cuz extra joints seem like they'd work for her. But 65 cm... seems too tall haha.

v Kind of debating jointed hands for Hazuki. What's your cup of tea? Jointed hands for posability or non-jointed for aesthetics?

 

^ I only have one set of jointed hands, and maybe its just me or they aren't strung right or something, but I'm really not fond of them. It could just be my sausage fingers trying to pose them. They look really neat though! I'll always like non-jointed hands more though.

< I bought way too many dolls this year and I wasn't supposed to. Again. Whoops. Just paid off a grail yesterday though!

v Do you have a grail doll? If so, what is it? Do you own it? If not, what is the next doll you plan on getting?

 

^ The Dollshe Hound I ordered 18 months ago seems a bit like a grail right now... I hope I love him as much in person as I do in photos.

< I ordered a Bluefairy Charlie on my birthday as a gift to myself, and she'll probably get here first!

V What does the term "grail doll" mean to you?

 

^ It means to me to be your ultimate favourite doll. The most important and special. Mostly because that's Feather for me!

< So tired today

v what's the most exciting purchase you've had this year?

 

^ Twigling!! I ordered a head and 2 full dolls, which seemed impossible until I did it. And now I’m in the obsidian preorder. I’m worried this has awakened something in me and now I’m going to judge every other body I meet by how it compares...

<day 2 of migraine. Sometimes I doubt that I’m chronically ill, and then I remember that this happens.

v what’s your favourite body sculpt?

 

^ I think the Limhwa 57cm girl body! the spine is a bit too curved (in a sexy comic book character way), but overall I love her proportions and she has graceful hands with beautiful long nails!

< speaking of, Limhwa body is hopefully the next thing on my buy-list.

v How important are extra hand parts (with different poses) for you?

 

^ SUPER important, haha! I have so many extra hands for my dolls. I think I own 80% of all the Volks SDGr option hands there are, and when SQLabs was sculpting their option hands I stalked their blog every day. I love how expressive they are and how much they can really add to your dolls. I have one pair of jointed hands, but I'm not really into their aesthetic. Option hands are the way to go.

< Trying to have my post office track down a lost doll. I'm hoping it's just on their truck and they marked it as signed for but just didn't get to delivering it yet.

v Which BJD accessory (hands/eyes/wigs) are you most picky about?

 

^eyes. I’ve met one company with eyes I love, and one with eyes I like... every other set of eyes goes into the “naughty eyeball sin bin” where I use them as spares for new dolls. I’m the worst snob for eyes.

<every time I eat Costco food, I feel sick. But their fries are just so good.

v what is your favourite doll accessory?

 

^ [Edit] I really like how necklaces look. Unfortunately I don't own any that are truly BJD scale, but I've fudged it for a bit using my necklaces with a small pendants and thin chains.

> I was really excited to get my new doll from April Story but it was amazing to finally get some in-character clothes for my existing dolls. The stuff I bought really pulled together the looks of my dolls and I feel like I enjoy them more now
I enjoy seeing a "complete" looking doll versus an incomplete one.

v Do you enjoy completing your existing dolls more or getting new dolls?

 

^ Completing them, for sure!! I'm really glad all of my current dolls are complete.

< Working from home really sucks when there's a heatwave and you got no AC. I can hardly wait until November so I can whine about the bone-chilling cold instead. Brr. I miss living near the coast. Perfect 60-80 degree weather all year round.

v Do you dress your doll up in seasonally appropriate attire?

 

^ I dress up my 1/6 doll in seasonally appropriate attire. She's the only one with seasonal clothing and the only one I can use old barbie clothes for

> My other dolls only have a few clothing items each. None of which would be considered seasonal.

v How many outfits do each of your dolls have? Do they share clothes?

 

^ They share clothes a lot, and I have no idea how many clothes they have. Some (especially the boys) don't have as much, especially if they can't share due to their measurements (poor Dave), but the girls? They're drowning in stuff.

< which reminds me, I've been meaning to change their clothes ...

v Is there a size / gender / style of doll among your crew you seem to spoil more than the others?

 

^ I'd love to say I spoil my SD boys...but that's a lie. My Minifee Alicia gets anything and everything she wants.

< 12 days until my Hobby Anniversary. 10 years????? it feels like yesterday i got my first doll!

v Do you do anything special to celebrate anniversaries/birthdays/arrival days/milestones in the hobby?

 

^ I take a full group photo to post on the arrival date of my first doll (also the day I officially started the doll hobby). I can't handle more milestones to be honest haha

< feeling sleepy in the morning

v Do you like your dolls with body blushing, or hands/feet blushing?

 

^ I don't care much about feet because they're in shoes, but hand blushing - always! It adds a degree of realism that I love. I don't usually worry about body blushing much, either, but in a pure white doll I prefer it, because it lessens the 'glow'.

< So much work, so little time. I'd love to take a vacation, but I'd get too far behind.

V Do you sometimes wish that you had a big pile of money in the bank in exchange for ever having discovered this hobby...as in, you'd never know what you'd been missing?

 

^ Yes. Yes I do. But it is too late for me. If I ever give it up, it will probably be years and I will never get what I spent back. Oh well, no use wishing. Might as well get more dolls.

> On second thought, spreading my money around between all of these different accounts might have been a mistake. I can't access anything for crap.

v Do you have a separate doll money bin?

 

^ yes. I have a savings account that I use to save up for fun stuff. And with me, fun stuff = doll stuff most of the time xD

< I just made a very, very naughty doll purchase that broke several of my doll-buying rules (I DID use money from my doll savings account though. So at least there's that xD )

v do you have any doll buying rules? And have you ever broken them?

 

^ I don't have a lot of rules specifically in regards to buying BJDs (just some loose rules about spending my money in general). I think my one rule is to not have any MSDs because I just don't want to deal with a third scale of doll. Oddly enough, I had originally planned to get a LUTS Kid Delf Kiwi as my first doll. I also don't really want to buy anymore YoSDs so I can focus on my SD group.

> rosen_garden_bjd's MSD boys got me torn though

v Do you scratch a doll sculpt off your wish list if the price is too high or do you just plan to save for it?

 

^i have a strange relationship with price. I told myself, a long time ago, that Twigling was too expensive. I did the same with iple, and a couple other companies that I considered as “only buy secondhand” companies. The problem with that is that I’d order more than the dollar value of the things I wanted from those companies from other, less “expensive” companies. For some reason $600 at dc was doable, but a 600 dollar iplehouse girl seemed impossible. That’s kind of ended this summer, because I have two girls ordered and one that I’m waiting for with twigling, and once I manage to get into MDR’s zuri preorder, if there’s money left, there’s a doll I want from iple. It was more of an idea that I had to reframe things from “off-limits” to “You can buy this one doll instead of 2-3 others.”

<my dnd party continues to be so weird. What are they trying to accomplish. No idea, but it involves pond water.

v what’s your favourite doll company?

 

^ Dollzone and Myou!

< wendys frostys are so good (lowkey eating one while typing)

v what was the first doll you bought?

 

^ Soom Mini Gem Uyoo in tan as an X-mas Kit. She's in her padded case, since her hands and face have yellowed, and I don't have the face-up skills to hide it.

< I have the supplies and a lot of blank dolls, but my art supplies are on the third floor and am not confident about painting them since I'm still new at face-ups...

V Are any of your dolls blank?

 

^ Yes. I have an April Story doll waiting for a face-up! I want to do her face-up myself but just haven’t been able to sit down to do it yet.

> Working on turning the space under my bed into a storage space for my dolls and cosplay materials.

v Where do you store your doll stuff?

 

^ all over the place I really need to work out a better way of organising. Clothes and fabrics for making clothes are all in tubs stacked up by my dining/sewing table. Wigs/eyes are in a doll carry bag in my wardrobe. The furniture and props are wherever I could fit them (some under my bed, some in the wardrobe, some in the storage space over my bathroom... SD furniture takes up a lot of space xD )

< definitely need to stop buying dolls for a while now

v do you prefer to buy dolls new or second hand?

 

^depends. New, I can get them in the configurations/colours I want, but secondhand, I can find moddable fixer uppers for good prices. And hunt down more Ingenues and eloys. Both have their perks.

<will I ever stop giving Twigling every cent I have? All signs point to no. But Obsidian is worth it.

V what is your favourite resin colour?