The ^ < v Game! - Part 7

^ I do do stuff with her but I find myself handling Vickie the least for some reason - she's my only doll fully made of new parts so maybe that's why? She also seems to have the most set style as a tomboy so I sometimes struggle dressing her and she ends up sitting in the same stylings longer than all my other dolls. Maybe I should just direct more effort into her.

< I made too many yarn wefts and am now stuck making a ton of new wigs in the same colour.

v do you ever get on a roll with anything doll related and do it a lot in a short span of time?

 

^ Pretty much all the crafts I do in this hobby - I like to "batch" things and craft them all at once, then bounce to the next craft. Currently I'm on a huge sewing run and that's taken up all my hobby free time. Meanwhile I'm slowly making a list of aesthetics I want to do - gonna try editing a faceup, put some eyelashes into dolls, and blush some incoming resin accessories. When my sewing run is over, I'll probably bounce over to painting.

< The crew is back in kimono and looking great!

v Is one of your dolls currently giving you grief? What's the reason?

 

^ Yes! My Nora is a frequent reason for my cursing. She bites, kicks and acts like I'm bothering her every time I pick her up. I would like to give her a faceup and a tattoo, but her personality is so unpleasant and her body weight is so heavy (you wanted a muscular massive girl, you got her).


< I edit photos and I enjoy it. (Who are you and what did you do with Arengil?!) I finally settled the score with the latest version of Photoshop! (Masking is a pain!)

v Stupid question, but... Do you think dolls are a "religion"? Do your dolls require special handling? Or are you the master of the dollhouse?

 

^ Not really, haha. I fall into the dolls being very pretty playthings category most of the time.

< I'm getting so excited for Dolpa!

v Have you ever been to any doll conventions?

 

^ No, but I really want to! And I'm very excited for the NY one I'm going to.
<I'm so excited to get home and look at dolls. And maybe I can get some nice pictures of my girl.
v There are so many wig brands. Do you have a favorite?

 

^ I’m a big fan of MSire dolls wigs for how shiny they are. They’re absolutely gorgeous. I get mine off Alice’s collections. A second shout out to leeke wigs for the colour variety, and the low price to buy them. Though—lord help me—I’m starting to get into expensive lace front wigs for the better hairlines, and that’s a detriment to my wallet.

< this workday needs to end so I can go see my friends!!! Seriously!!!

V if you could trade places with one of your dolls’ characters who would you want to be?

 

^ Possibly Dorian, he is rich, self aware, and very talented. His parents allow him the freedom to make his own choices in life, and his father will only make demands if it is necessary to do so. Also, he is very pretty.

< I really need a new doll project, something to sew or make. Clothing? Jewelry? I need something to do.

v Do you have any current doll projects that you are working on? What kinds of things do you like to make for your dolls? If you don't do this, what would you like to learn to do?

 

^ oh, I have so many projects in the go! I have my project journal for Vidania, whose body I’ve modded to be both shorter and thicker. I have Acyra, who I’m modding from male to female, and giving wings and a tail. I have Dia, who is not a Soom Dia as confusing as that sounds, whose bad elbows need to be modded to work better. I have Adonis who is getting resin top surgery, and then I have Ilya who also needs resin top surgery.

<one of these days I’ll also completely redo Wrath’s chest.

V what’s the next project you want to start with your dolls?

 

^ I'd like to craft an Angelic Layer cosplay! Both Hikaru's outfit and the school uniform Misakichi wears.

< ... but I don't think I have time this month

v Do you have any floating heads/bodies/parts? How do you store them?

 

^my floating bodies all have temporary heads on them, even when the heads are the total wrong size. One of them fits, the other one absolutely doesn’t, but it’s funny. The heads that aren’t on temp bodies are on a tiny little shelf I thrifted, that has room for 3-4 heads x 3 shelves. One floating head is chilling in a wine glass on top a glass coffin, by the rest of his family. His body is being modded right now, so he’s soon to get his body back.

< can’t wait for work to be over so I can work on resin top surgery! One more hour!!

V which do you have more of, hybrids or full company dolls?

 

^ About equal of both. I currently have 4 full company and 3 hybrids, and also have 1 full company and 1 floating head (from a head-only artist) on order currently. And all of the hybrids are/will be on different bodies - the plan is no repeat bodies.

< I want to take more doll photos, but also... don't feel like doing it and would rather sew or paint faceups these days... Vega doesn't want take doll pics? what's happening???

v What is the coolest or most precious accessory/jewellery/prop that you have for your doll(s)?

 

^ While not necessarily the most precious (the materials were meant to simulate "found" objects), I integrated sailing knots into my mini SartoriaJ Demian's necklace. His character recently obtained qualifications to captain his own ship in their TTRPG selves, so the homage was intentional.

> Taking so many medicines, it's not funny.

v What non-BJD hobby related skill did you have to learn just to make your dolls look "right"?

 

^ Faceups! I had some experience from fashion dolls, but doing faceups on open-eyed heads is very different.
< I drank waaay too much coffee, and now I'm all shaky.
V A doll you adore, but would never personally own?

 

^ Doll chateau Elizabeth. Love the concept, she’s a spider from the waist down. The only problem is that she’s 1/4 scale, and wouldn’t look right with any of my other dolls. One day I aspire to sculpt a spider girl in 1/3.

< I’m so dreading tutoring today. I’m just telling myself it’s $50 towards my next doll.

V if you could make any doll be any size, what doll are you resizing?

 

^ Now that impldoll has finally released some nice mature 1/4 bodies that don't have too-short arms, I would love them to scale down some of their more detailed 1/3 heads like Eudora, too. I would also love to scale down some classic Volks dolls to 1/4 without making them look like children like the MSD line is.

< Why has it gotten so cold and wet I really wanted to take Acorn out to take pics with a pile of actual acorns.

v Are all your dolls very meticulously planned out or do you also have any "accidents" in your collection?

 

^ I’m probably at 50% carefully planned dolls, and 50% marketplace accidents. I’m also a revolving door collector, and I sell probably more of my impulse dolls than my careful plans, but I do still sell carefully planned dolls on occasion. Sometimes my plans change, like the eleventy quintillion aura reshells.

< looking forward to my next doll arrival—I have a trade coming in Tuesday that I’m quite excited for.

V do you have a character who’s been a pain to shell? Tell me all about them!

 

^ Yes, Mavis's new boyfriend. I had this one concept and idea -I thought completely figured out. Then I suddenly woke up a realized the concept of the doll was all wrong. There had been another doll I wanted, but had no character plans for. It dawned on my he should be the new boyfriend, but I had to rewrite most of the original character concept, because he just didn't have the same look as the original choice.

< Hoping my eyes get here soon... for a doll of course!

v Do you have a lot of doll plans for the new year, hardly any plans, or no plans at all. If you have plans, which plan are you most excited about?

 

^ I have a ton of doll plans. I have my whole armour project that needs to be done, for something to the tune of 14 dolls. I also have to design and build armour for the auratus kids, finish Acyra’s tail and her wings, figure out what’s going on with my modded body… not to mention, I currently have Jinx, Gertruda and Anastasia all in need of faceups, and Sonnet, once sge settled into her character, who will also be needing an expensive lace front wig, and everyone will see how she and Cassandra are à transparent reference to Spike and Dru from Buffy. Oh, also I have Dia’s body still in need of modding.

Also Cassandra, my beloved girl now collects blind box dolls, so my dolls are demanding more dolls, which is exactly what we needed. The Nyssa weird nightmare series is totally up Cassandra’s alley, so at some point next year I have to figure out how to buy that.

truthfully, I’m excited for all of it, but I’m probably most excited to do Jinx’s faceup—she’s gonna be a really dramatic look.

<oh boy that was a lot of rambling! How can we tell I’m procrastinating writing?

V passing this along! What is the doll plan you’re most excited for in 2025?

 

^ I am hopeful I'll be able to vuy bodies for my two 1/4 floating heads: A Charmdoll Eric sleeping I have since a year ago and a MiniBite I preordered.

< Really hoping my wigs and SD tops arrive safely with all this season post madness!

v Do you have any doll related projects for this new year? If so, which one are you most excited about?

 

^ Yes! I'm waiting for bodies for two dolls, and need to get bodies for two more; my resin collection is really coming along! Next year I also NEED to get Rose in her full pirate regalia.

< Been really in love with my boy Isshō lately, but I'm waiting on his finalized wig and eyes to make him a profile page.

v Shoes, shoes, shoes. Do you have enough shoes for all your dolls? More than enough? Do you like buying them, or dread it?

 

^ NEVER ENOUGH SHOES! It's one of the few things I don't make myself so I'm happy to hunt for the perfect pairs.

< I'm so happy that all floating heads have found a body before the year is over!

v What's your favourite doll moment from 2024?

 

^ It would have to be having my holiest of holy grail dolls Soom Gluino arrive in January. I still can't believe I have him!

< Reading the above posts and knowing that I need to go shoe shopping desperately for my boys.

v What new doll related thing do you plan on learning or getting better at next year?

 

^ I really want to get better at both sewing clothes and making wigs! I'm fiiiine at both, but I really want to improve.

< It has gotten so cold here recently, and my job means I stand at a bus stop for like twenty minutes. Brrr.

v Do you have "the doll that got away"?

 

^ Crobi Lance, actually. I know he's still available, but the Website despises me, and I can't find an official dealer that sells the Crobi dolls. I am told 'create an account' I try 'that account already exists, log in' I try 'that account doesn't exist, create an account' I am in a nightmare loop whenever I go there and try to order. So, yeah, he got away.

< I am thinking of getting a Memoa account to catalogue my dolls.

v Have you done any modifications to your dolls?

 

^ oh where do I begin…
-vidania old body: shrank calves and thighs, shrank arms, shrank torso, widened shoulders, thickened stomach and butt, resculpted boobs, repositioned back to get rid of a sway back
-Vidania 2.0: replaced bust with a different sculpt, built shoulder and chest pieces to make it fit
-Mal: modded genitals and added boobs
-Acyra: modded genitals and boobs, adding tail and wings next!
-Dia: redoing the joints in his arms if I ever get around to it
-sonnet: replaced bust with another company’s bust, built shoulder sockets
-Ilya: did ftm mod for chest and put a wing connector on his back.
-Nirathos: extensive restoration
-Syndara: extensive restoration
-Adonis: ftm bust mod.
-Ash: modded torso to fit a different chest.

This is not including dye jobs, because that would make the list too long. And it’s not including mods I haven’t done yet that I want to do. Some of these mods have project journals here, but most of them, I just kinda do. This is also not including unconventional hybrids (I did a couple leg-swaps without modding).

<ready for my day to be over, but it’s so not over. Still got a snake to feed.

V Do you have any pet dolls? If not, what animal would you get, if you had to choose one?

 

^ I'm not sure if it counts cause it's definitely a doll but not an articulated one, but I have a needle felted Saint Bernard dog for my MSDs. I'm surprised really, cause when I got him it felt so delicate but I've had it for years and it is still in really good shape despite having been posed numerous times by someone with zero experience on how to handle that kind of doll. I'd love to have it but on a jointed form some time in the future, but I haven't been able to find anything like it.

< My day has just begun and the early morning is my favorite part, so quiet

v Are you the type of owner who does stuff with your dolls consistently (at least every week) through the year or do you have splurges of high activity once in a while during the year?

 

^ I do stuff with them all the time - just can't keep my hands off them

< *Fiddles around with Midoriko*

v are you someone who relentlessly searches for the perfect doll or do dolls jus "happen" and grow on you?

 

^ Moooostly the latter? I definitely have a wishlist of dolls, but I also have happy accidents where I just stumble across a doll. Buying secondhand is great for that kind of thing. I recently got a Mini Super Dollfie Schulze secondhand because I wanted a cheap super dollfie and have absolutely fallen in love with him!

< The Christmas rush is beginning, so I need to stop ordering things for my dolls until the shipping insanity dies down a bit.

V How bad does yellowing bother you? Do you just see it as a natural aging of the resin, or something you want to fix?

 

^ It doesn't bother me, but I do give my dolls that have yellowed more a nice baking soda scrub every once in awhile. I did this earlier this year and really brightened them up and evened out the color. I actually like that some of them mellowed. It makes the skin look more natural to me instead of being white/pink.

< I really need to wrap my presents, I bought them all, but haven't wrapped anything yet.

v Do you dress any of your dolls up for the holiday season, or put them in warmer clothes for the winter?

 

^ I'm not big on dressing my dolls for Christmas or specific holidays (I'm not big on dressing myself for that either ), but I've enjoyed putting them into smart party clothes for New Year celebrations. I find myself changing my dolls' clothes with the seasons, although it's less to match the season/weather, and more like a change of pace because 3 months is a nice length of time to have my dolls wear the same "fashion theme." Longer than that, and I get bored and want to see them dressed in something different. Changing with the seasons is fun.

< I need to finish this doll sewing, but the work involves unpicking stitches, and I'm clearly procrastinating on that by making posts on DoA...

v Introduce us to the most recent doll you received home! Who, what, when, where, how, why?

 

^ Midoriko, my SDC Kaede, came to me in November! I had been looking for the sculpt for a while and beating myself up for not snagging it when I saw her on a local second-hand market. I found the same listing on the MP here but had trouble reaching the seller (and didn't have my hopes up on the doll still being there, anyway)... until a surprise last month when they kindly messaged me back and told me she's still there! I was in between flights when I saw the message so I quickly got back to them and a few days later she arrived at my door. I had already gotten her a "replacement" in the form of my SDC Arashi hybrid but it's pretty special to now have them both

< I can't believe I got hooked on Volks this year but I truly ain't mad.

v Which of your dolls has been the most "surprising" to you?

 

^ My minifee shiwoo, Eiji for sure not really my normal type of doll but I bought him on a whim. Ended up finding out that he had a long backstory, kept the same clothes throughout each owner, and I even found a box opening post for him from 2006. Definitely a great purchase!

< I got back onto anime figures once again and now they’ve started to outnumber my dolls… But I’m definitely loving my new figure collection more than the old one I sold off :’)

> Ever made a doll purchase you regretted?

 

^ Maybe a little. I got Withdoll - Aiden last year and he is 1/4 size, I've mostly moved on to the 1/3 size and don't know what possessed me to fallback on a 1/4 doll. His face is a lot smaller then my other 1/4 dolls. But I do like him, it's just he wasn't what I was expecting, and I should have bought a 1/3 doll from my wish list instead.

< I seem to be addicted to buying props and backdrops for my dolls photo stories.

v Do you do your own faceups? What is the hardest part of doing a faceup for you? (eyebrows, teeth, lips, etc)

 

^ Yes, I paint my own dolls! I usually struggle with getting the line between the lips just right, or if the sculpt has teeth it can be tricky reaching in to paint them.

< Gotta repaint Asa again - I got her a new body so the faceplate doesn't match... again.

V Is there something you keep redoing with your dolls? A faceup you keep repainting, a head you keep rebodying etc?

 

^ I keep having to remake wigs and eyes for my dolls as I improve my skills at making them! I'm also considering a faceup number 3 for my boy Colin, but to be fair I've had him for a good ten years.

< I'm getting a package of crafts supplies today, I'm so excited!

V Would you rather find the perfect doll in the wrong side (IE 1/4 instead of 1/3) or the perfect doll not in your preferred skintone?

 

^ ohhhh easy choice! I’ll take wrong skin tone, I love dyeing! Even if it’s too dark and can’t be dyed, I’m more willing to fudge skin tone, but I will straight up not buy anything but 1/3, so wrong size would end the purchase altogether

> if I had the money, I would be getting the new Abidoll boy & girl body times two, because I love it that much, but uhhhh one is what we can afford, so one is what we’re doing!

V favourite doll that’s been released this year?

 

^ merrydollround's munchkins! Such adorable and mischievous faces, and so special in a sea of current trends that tend to look a... bit too alike imo

< Gah, I'd love to make some room to put my dolls on display!

v you can only pick one! Would you rather have a collection only made of early 2000s dolls or only post 2020 sculpts?

 

^ I think 2000-2020 I didn't start to collect unlit 2019-2020 but I really like the dolls that drew me in which were the earlier dolls. I have ordered only one new release doll that were created after 2020, from a new company. A lot of my dolls have been discontinued, and were that way when I bought them, or on the way out.

< Waiting on 3 dolls currently, and none of them are due in anytime soon. Going crazy.

v What do you do for your doll while waiting on the doll to get home to you? (sew clothes, shop of shoes, make wigs, etc.)

 

^ Talking specifically for any doll that I'm waiting for... I make OCs for all my dolls and they're inspired from the sculpt, so first thing is to do a bit of character development to figure out appearance and clothing style. I make them a character sheet and start filling it out, and draw them to get a mental picture. I usually stop character dev when I have a basic idea (I fully develop them later, when the doll is home and I can play with them).

For their stuff... I need to have at least a basic appearance ready, so I can style them at unboxing and immediately "see" the beginnings of their character. Wig is most important: a temporary wig that's not close enough to character design drives me bonkers and actually prevents me from bonding with them. I don't make wigs so I have to buy this, and it's #1 priority to have on hand when the doll arrives. I also get their eyes and some clothes if possible -- I don't sew for them until they're home -- but those can wait, I'm way more easygoing about anything that's not the wig.


< Speaking of which, I need to get the forever wig for my newest doll. Her temp wig is good enough, but the bangs aren't right for her character and I'm starting to get dissatisfied by that.

v What do you think about doll sculpts with visible teeth (swappable or not)? Do you own any?

 

^ funnily enough I have on order my first head with swappable teeth haven't bothered before as the sculpt needs to be right aesthetically and the right timing and Crispy homemade's Shesi SP Head just hit right. Has the option for pointy shark teeth, can't wait to see the head

> currently waiting for a head sent by FedEx to be released from Customs jail, even though I paid the customs fee 11 days ago. Yes, lumping FedEx in with this as this Customs is specialised for handling FedEx post.

v is there anything you are feeling impatient and frustrated over, bjd hobby related?

 

^ I want to get my layaways paid, and get the dolls from them. Right now, I have a secondhand Soom Doll on layaway, a beautiful Dollzone angel (light), Ringdoll Alpha (robot boy), and an Abidoll body that is sculpted to look like a trans woman. I'm also now questioning if I want to swap some bodies around in my plans, to make Ash and Triel have similar bodies, and I could figure that out, if I just had them in my hands to swap. not to mention the wings I need in, to have some of my characters be whole. I just want all my stuff to come in.

< I'm moving in with my girlfriend, and I'm really excited. It's going to be so nice living with her.

V If you could wave a wand and change the size of any doll, which doll would you resize?

 

@Chameleon Congratulations on the moving in with your girlfriend! Does she also collect ball jointed dolls. I know this is completely on related to the ^.<.v. game, but just curious. Either way awesome news!

^ I thought about this, and also want an SD sized Dollzone Carter. I already have a regular sized one and a ⅙ sized one, so having a ⅓ would be awesome!! Maybe Dollzone will do that one day.

< Surprisingly happy with checking the dolls off of my list so far this year. I am having a lot of fun sewing doll clothes as well.

v What is your favourite sized doll to collect? Why?

 

^ SD, but that’s a bit of a cop-out answer, because there’s so many size categories within the SD range. Current favourite is 70+ cm girls. Impossible to find clothes in their size, especially if they dress fairly feminine. But my god, are they beautiful. (I have a soon mecha angel hybrid (79cm), and a 76cm Miracledoll body, and a 75 cm devotiondoll body on order, and I’ve modded 2 male bodies to 70+ cm muscular women)

< @RabbidBunnies thank youuuuu! she is not a doll collector at all! She’s an athlete and her big hobby is sports, but she thinks my dolls look pretty cool, and wants to see me paint one sometime.

V If you could learn one new skill that you could use for your dolls, what skill would it be?

 

^ Making BJD eyes! I've never tried that before, but they're all so pretty that I'd love to try and make a whole lot!

< It's getting late, I should go sleep soon

V Do you have a favourite colour scheme for your dolls? Are your dolls matching color-wise or does everyone have their own thing going on?

 

^ it's pretty random! But as I make most of my stuff myself, my dolls tend to wear things made out of the same material/fiber/fabric sometimes. I've definitely had a few moments when the majority was wearing either light blue or orange wigs, or orange outfits

< Ack, didn't check the proxy and half of the doll parts I ordered were cancelled - I wish they sent a notification before things arrived at the warehouse! I've learned a lot about international transport through the doll hobby though

v What has the hobby made you an expert of?

 

^ Not an expert by a long shot, but the hobby made me pick up my second language again.
I stopped practicing Chinese shortly after high school and it's lain disused for many years. I always wanted to study it again, but nothing motivated me -- not playing videogames in Chinese, not reading manga/manhua or light novels, not conversing with people. But BJD shopping is so good on Taobao... and reading social-media-length snippets on Weibo is a nice way to ease back into the language at a conversational level... The last 2 years I've read/written more Chinese than I ever did in the years since high school, and I'm slowly recovering some vocabulary. (I'm not sure how well I speak it, though ). The dolls made me do it - and I'm not complaining!

< The weather is finally cooling down... I haven't done outdoor doll pics all summer - time to seize these cooler days.

v Share a part of this hobby (craft, doll maintenance, photos, etc) that you tried doing, and decided that it wasn't for you. What didn't you like about it, and what are you doing instead ... Buy, commission, not bother with it at all?

 

^ Faceups, wigmaking I tried it and didn’t enjoy either. I used to do my own faceups but I’m very particular and once I finally comissioned an artist one I just never looked back.

< The weather is wild here it’s hot one day and then raining the next so I never know what to wear!

v Do you still have your first doll?

 

^ I do... well I bought a hybrid and a head from the same seller in one transaction/parcel. The head on the body was sold in the end but the other head went on the body and never left it.

> ikr, every time I gear up with doing a face up (beautiful sunny morning, blue sky, no breeze) it then starts to drizzle when I have my stuff set up for doing the work

v hoping to do some more face ups, getting skilled up a little this year. Not a huge goal but baby steps. Do you have a gentle bjd goal which you are aiming to keep?

 

^ I'm not sure if it's a gentle goal, more like a bulldozer in a China shop one, but I made a list of dolls to fit character roles and I am already working on the storyline. My goal is to have this list filled for the dolls that I will need by next year. I'm aggressively saving and buying to make this happen. The good thing is I only have two dolls that I want for the following year to go. Then my list will be completely clear. I'll have to make more characters after that. lol

> Two thoughts, I can't decide between a bowl of cereal or ramen for lunch today. Also, ouch my thumb. I was trying to fish a stuck 'S' hook out of a doll leg and stabbed myself.

v Have your dolls ever managed to hurt you? What was the circumstance? Are you laughing about it now?

 

^ I have had more s-hook injuries than I can count! But also - Acorn has one of those point old school volks noses and pecked me while falling off my desk which was mostly just really weird and funny.

< It's so nice not to learn for new dolls for once! I hope I can keep up with that.

v Do you daydream about dolls?

 

^ yup, a lot! I'm waiting on my first, so it's all I can do rnBut I have also daydreamed about them for years before I ordered my first

< I just started playing binding of Isaac again! It's nice, although I had to start over and I'm not that good at it lol

v are your dolls mostly OCs, existing characters or just pretty displays?

 

^ OC’s definitely- I have a lot of them as I have lots of stories but only 30 or so are shelled

< started working on faceups again… very rusty

v what is your favorite part of collecting bjds?

 

^ Getting a physical body for my characters. As a writer who cannot draw at all, I've always dreamed about a way to be able to see my characters and BJDs are perfect for that ^w^

< I'm waiting for the rainy season to stop so I can go out and do a photo-shoot I've been planning for weeks.

v What's the part of your dolls you find the hardest to figure out? (examples: name, clothing style, wig style/color...)

 

^ oh, easily naming them. Some characters come into names so easily and so naturally. Valentine took me like, ten minutes to just blankly come up with, but his partner Addi—Addison Crane took me weeks. She used a placeholder name for 18k of writing about her. She’s the protagonist in the whole story. I enjoy messing around with clothes and eyes and wigs, but I genuinely dread naming, for the combination of research, and inventing, and googling, and frustration that it brings.

< my favourite eye maker is back, kind of. They have a small shop with some in-stocks. I’m so glad to have doll bakery back after like 5 years!!

V what would you like to get better at in this hobby?

 

^ faceups!! They’re my favorite part of the hobby I think. I love finding out new techniques and trying new things and seeing how the face turns out. Skill progression tends to be really really visible with them for me, so it’s really fun to look at past pictures and see how I’ve improved. I just always seem to get the itch in the winter, when it’s way harder to spray sealant OTL

< I’m visiting friends overseas right now, and I really wish I could have brought one to take photos in the scenery here (I’m on the Yorkshire coast and it’s soooo beautiful). I did recover a few patterns from dead links in the sewing stickies, though, so I have some stuff to do when I get home!

v What’s your favorite photo you’ve ever taken of one of your dolls, and the story behind it?

 

^ I take loads of pics and have too many favourites, many of them have behind-the-scenes stories. But here's my favourite pic from one of my favourite photoshoots, I shared it on Photo Gallery too.

Spoiler: The photo and BTS

The behind the scenes story is that I did a day trip to this location solely for doll photos -- drove about 1.5 hours and then walked about 1 km to this shoreline, carrying these these two dolls (over 3 kg of resin) in a carrier plus a bag with my DSLR camera. The rocks were precarious but the dolls were pretty safe - I was honestly more concerned about me scrambling around these rocks so close to the water, mostly because I forgot to bring my hiking boots and was wearing runners. It was exciting to pose and take pics of the dolls in this place. The weather conditions were perfect, the whole photoshoot turned out wonderful. I especially love the mood in this photo and the backstory to the doll characters too. One day I'll go back to the same place for more doll pics (and bring better shoes).

< I was hoping a Taobao package would arrive today, but I guess not... it should arrive before the weekend!

v Passing the question along because I like it and want to hear more! - What’s your favorite photo you’ve ever taken of one of your dolls, and the story behind it?

 

^ I don't think I have one single favourite photo but there are a couple of shoots I'm really proud of - like this Chobits cosplay or this one of Asa with a guitar.

< It's good to finish a doll project but it's also a weird space to be in once it's done - I need a new WIP

v how do you see your collection changing in the next 5 years?

 

^ I see the rate at which I buy dolls going down, ideally. Holy crap, have I bought a lot of dolls this year alone. I want to cool it with the arrivals, and enjoy the dolls I have. Maybe focus on getting good outfits for some of my longtime dolls that are wearing “whatever I had” temporarily. I’m going to work on getting bodies for floating heads once I’m done buying dolls and my money recovers.

< holyyyyy I’m so excited for the Do Dolls Dream girls I just ordered!!! Six months cannot come fast enough!

V Do you make dolls for your characters? Characters for your dolls? Neither? Both? Something else entirely?

 

^ Yes! Most of my dolls are characters from various writing projects or RP campaigns. I generally prefer more modern clothing/streetwear, so in my mind, they inhabit a sort of college AU, haha. I have branched out into more fantasy-styled clothing in the last few years and that's been fun to explore!

< I am soooo close to some of my outstanding doll items being shipped!

v What's your biggest focus with your collection right now?

 

^ just levelling up with faceups and getting as much done as I can this year (too many blank heads and want to start making outfits) as my spare time will be shrinking towards the end of the year. I haven't managed to do much of anything for nearly a year due to various upheavals and very stressful events, some of which unfortunately ongoing.

> have a few preorders expecting to arrive 1st half of the year, so looking forward to them... so many interesting sculpts have been released these past couple of years it has been hard to hold back dragons, snakes/nagas, gorgeously unusual head sculpts... cheap bodies for floating heads. Been amazing tbh.

v what recent BJD trends have got your hobby heart all a flutter?