What doll got you into the hobby?

Dream of doll Sha and Ducan was the first doll that got me into the hobby. Sadly, when the company was still running, I haven't got enough money to spend on getting those 2. I wish the company would come back again so I can get my hand on those boys.

 

The first bjd I ever saw were also by dream of doll and I loved them but couldn’t afford them at the time - many, many years and a full time job later, somehow the doll that pulled me in and made me decide to go for it and start collecting was a Hatsune Miku DD. I just found everything about her adorable and vinyl seemed a little less scary than resin for my first rodeo. Now I’m on the hunt for who my first resin will be since DoD is out of the picture (though I suppose I can keep an eye to the second hand market for one)

 

My friend had a BlueFairy Emilie back in... 2003, I think. And I wanted one! I fell in love with the Xiao and the Tommy but they closed down to international orders for about a year. Not knowing if they would reopen or not to international orders I decided to get a Volks MSD and just before I ordered there was an announcement that BlueFairy would be opening back to international orders. So I waited and got the Tommy. That was in 2005 and I still have him. He'll be 16 this coming October ♡ I got the Xiao two years later XD

 

You never know what might come up in the secondhand market; there were two dolls I didn't care for when I started the hobby, that I fell in love with years after they were discontinued, and I own both now.

 

A Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine with a fantasy theme had the first pictures I'd seen of dolls made by Soom. Gorgeous fantasy dolls. The ones in the magazine were Sard and Chalco. My first BJD was a mature tiny human Uyoo doll made by them. While I've fallen out of love with my first doll, I have several of Soom's Feary Legend dolls that I adore.

 

I've been curious as to how people first got into the BJD hobby! :'D

Was it through a friend? Were bjds "mesmerising" at first glance, or did it take time for the idea to warm up to you over their uncanny valley gaze?

Which sculpt prompted you to drop that fat cash for the first time?
and have you fallen deeper into that hole since? :0c
Where are you now since that first doll, and are they still with you?

I've always been wondering whether BJD is an "accessible" hobby especially for younger individuals, how much people had to work for to get that first "grail" or perhaps you've settled with something more within your budget?
It's something that I look fondly back on now that I've been in the hobby casually for 4 years... and all the more horrifying as to how easy I'd fall prey to new sculpt releases :')

Would love to hear more about yours, and also maybe hear about a few new doll companies to check out ^^

edit: my thread for merged to here, apologies if I repeated any questions...

 

I was introduced to BJDs through "Nameless ~The one thing you must recall~" I remember wanting Yeonho ( Nameless Version ) specifically but gawked at the price and decided regular merch was the way to go. Fortunately, once I had the funds as a working adult I was finally able to get my hands on him.

Ringdoll's Wei Wuxian was the first BJD I ever ordered and was also the only BJD from my collection that I have since sold. Although in terms of date of arrival, Spiritdoll Spruce was the first BJD that physically appeared on my doorstep. Hahaha. He's still one of my favorites and I just love the shape of his face

 

I think my first foray into the hobby was with an off-topic doll and then I saw BJDs while searching for stuff for her.

My first BJD that I ordered was Resinsoul Mei but the first one that arrived was a Bobobie Isabella that I love dearly. I was searching stuff on DDE when I saw her in stock and so cheap that I pretty much jumped on it. Since then I've purchased a bunch of dolls and sold many. I've only regretted one sale (Feeple60 Erda) but other than that, I'm pretty happy with how things have gone. I got my enjoyment out of some dolls, fell out of love with them, sold them, etc. (though sometimes it's because I need the money ;_; )

Now I'm more frugal about the dolls I plan for and I have a limit of 10 dolls at a time. Currently, I have four and I plan on adding three more very soon from Resinsoul as well as a full option set Fairyline60 Miwa from Fairyland. There's also a Myou Vieruodis on the way that I'm excited for.

 

I first saw BJDs at anime conventions in like 2004-2007. I also had some friends who had them in 2007. I thought they were weird and a little creepy. I had long since outgrown my "doll phase" and was into gatch figures or action figures or mini statues.

It wasn't until I found Soom's Mini Gem Faeries that I realized that BJDs could be really cute. I forgot how I found them - maybe I was discussing them with my friends and said "If I had to get one, it has to be something special. Like a fairy or elf - something magical!" I found Soom's Idrial and I just fell in love. I even got her second hand from here. I loved how she was easy to handle, how she could wear fashion doll clothing. From her, I got a Soom Nenad. Then a Soom Rick.

Then Soom released Elf Dia and I got my first SD. Now I have this elf/fairy army with the occasional human doll. I have yet to sell any dolls and I love all the ones I have. Maybe some day I will be able to take a step back and see who really doesn't mesh and try to part with some of them.

 

I had a very similar experience! I think I actually saw a ball jointed dolls site years ago (though I can’t be sure now if that’s what they were), but I had no idea what they were back then. I just saw some beautiful dolls that were too expensive for me then and moved on with my life.
It wasn’t until I came across (and purchased) a more affordable off-topic doll last year and started looking for outfits that I came across ball jointed doll websites like Ringdoll, Gem of doll, and Fairyland. That first doll made me fall down the rabbit hole and then I couldn’t stop myself from purchasing more dolls and accessories lol.

 

I think my first taste of BJDs was because of a search I was doing for an anime and one happened in the image results. I followed it down the rabbit hole and ended up here on DOA. After looking and saving, I jumped in with reckless abandon (sorta) and ordered my first doll from a new company no one had bought from before or knew anything about, B&G dolls. This was back in 2008 or so. He was an SD and I loved him…until I realized I loved girl dolls more. I did learn about which companies his resin matched with, though, since I really liked collecting heads to practice faceups on, so I was able to help people find a good body for hybriding.

I don’t have my Sunny anymore, but it did further my love for BJDs and finding out what I liked. I got to feel a lot of different resin blends from many places and realized my favourite is the Volks resin. I pretty much stuck with that from then on. I still have my first full Volks doll, my SDC Sweet Dreams Kaede, and her twin happened to be my second, whom I still have, too. Eventually I put together a full SD and then continued putting parts together for more SDs. Now I’ve got 4 minis, 4 SDs (3 in house, one on the way), and 1 YoSD, plus a Pukipuki and two AileenDoll dragons. Never dreamt I’d get to have so many cuties in my house.

(adding since threads were merged) The doll sculpt that got me into the hobby were various Volks dolls and Soom Kanoa (whom I never ended up bringing home sadly…maybe one day).

 

Interestingly, Yumeo was the 4th doll I ordered ever but was my very first doll to arrive! I actually cried when I first pulled him out of his box and again when I took his profile pics.

But the doll that got me into the hobby was Luts Kid Delf Jamong Pegasus (2014). I missed her event by 2 days and I'm still looking for her. I started off this hobby finding my grail doll... And missing her!

 

I've seen BJDs several times before I got into the hobby. I thought they looked nice whenever I encountered a picture of one but I wasn't intrigued enough to get seriously interested in them.
When I bought my sewing machine three years ago I thought it would be nice to have a little model to sew for and for some reason remembered that BJDs existed even though I didn't even know what they were called at that point.

I was quite shocked how expensive they were and almost discarded the idea of getting one since they didn't appeal enough to me to consider getting one for so much money. But then I accidentally stumbled upon my Ringdoll Merlin, fell in love with him at first sight and only contemplated about getting him or not for about a week before I actually purchased him. I definitely couldn't (and still can't...) find another doll I liked as much.

So yeah, the doll that brought me into the hobby and the first doll I owned are practically the same.

 

Nameless is honestly such a gorgeous VN, when I heard that there's one based off BJD's, it was a straight sprint to check out Crobi's sculpts :'D But yeah definitely agreed, it's a hobby that's mainly for working adults with that price range OTL
Is the VN worth checking out?

@juni-fee 10 seems like a great number to set a limit on, I'm not sure how you're able to have such resolve to keep it to such small numbers ;;

Honestly so jealous, it must've been really lucky for the timing for your first doll to be the on that stole your heart too :' D
Like the number of times I've seen horribly timed releases for a young hobbyist who's scraping the barrel for the last cents just hits home at this point

Yumeo honestly looks gorgeous, congrats on having him as your first doll! Curious whether you have any pics of him since I've been eyeing him for some time as well!

Everyone's stories are actually so sweet and I'm surprised to see so many different starting points for each person with completely different companies

 

I've never seen it like that... but you're right, I probably was really lucky that I had the money to order him immediately and that he wasn't a limited or a sold out doll! I probably wouldn't have got into the hobby if he hadn't been an available option. I'm not sure if I would have been interested to look for another doll I really liked or just given up on the idea completely instead.

 

It's a smooth entry into the hobby yeah :' ) Honestly wish I was in the same position since the doll I fell in love with was actually not released for some time so had to settle with the next best thing :'DDD also was broke highschool student back then ahah
Honestly nice to see how far each doll keeper has come since their first days/first dolls for sure!

 

Doll in mind flowne which i never owned it in the end even though i could have bought it for dirt cheap when the company closed down.

I remember printing out photos of it and sticking all over my wall thinking some day I'll definitely get it! But my taste changed since then..

During that generation dream of doll ducan / related was all over the cosplay/doll communities... Did wanted one but nahhh too huge for me and i was just broke

 

I’ve always been into doll collecting, but I think one day I saw someone mention the term “BJD” on a Pullip video review I was watching, and it was history from there. I can’t recall the exact doll but my first BJD I saw was a Doll Chateau doll

 

The first BJD I saw was a Kid Delf Madeleine Romance Version. She was sooo cute. Then that led me down the Luts hole... and here we are a year+ later.

 

I actually don't remember the first doll I ever saw since I stumbled onto bjd videos on YouTube by chance back in 2011/2012! So I was prompted to look into them further on YouTube and what I do remember is that I became fascinated with an unboxing video of Ringdoll Sol.

From there I started looking them up online and the first doll I fell in love with was HZ Boss. He became the first sculpt I ever bought and I still own him to this day! So overall, I would say two dolls are responsible for getting me into the hobby: Ringdoll Sol (which I do not own) and HZ Boss!

 

Bluefairy Sarang changed how I looked at BJDs like, over a decade ago?! Whenever it was when Bluefairy still offered the default oversized white button up with their dolls.

I finally got her secondhand a few years ago from Mandarake. She didn't stay around very long but it was...nice, to have her, even if just for a short amount of time. I'm not really a fan of standard mini bodies.

I still prefer anime or exaggerated sculpts. While Sarang isn't exaggerated, I really love her expression. She just looks so sweet but not realistic.

When I learned about Doll Chateau, well, my mind was blown.

 

Natalialoseva's Zaya. OMG she is sooooo beautiful

 

The first doll I ever saw was a minifee event head from nicoles dreams.

 

I've posted about my start in the hobby several time in other threads, but I don't mind repeating. The doll that made me want to get a BJD was YOSD Tong Tong from 5 Star Doll, but instead of little Tong Tong, I ended up getting an SD from 5 Star, Tumnus, as my first doll. After 11 years I still have not gotten my Tong Tong, and she was discontinued a long time ago.

 

Resinsoul Xun! I fell in love and it was a worth impulse buy Now I can't stop buying more LOL

 

Migidoll Ryu was my dream doll when I was a kid. I never did end up getting him (had a Bobobie Apollo that I loved but ended up rehoming years later) but I had been so inspired by someone on Deviantart who had him. I can't remember who it was- I was big into the whole emo phase, and this person had a ton of emo/scene styled dolls and I just fell in love. I had no prior experience with BJDs up until then.

I still think his sculpt is really beautiful but by no means my taste these days.

I also really, really wanted a Supia Rosy- I had no idea dolls could be so beautiful but still mature looking- I was totally captivated by her sculpt at the time. Weirdly enough, though I didn't end up owning a female doll at all until way way later.

 

The first BJD I ever saw was an El in a LiveJournal post (that tells you how long ago that was... ) called Kai - I thought he was so beautiful, and I'd never seen a doll like that before. The owner replied to my comment and pointed me in the direction of DoA, and in March 2005 I got my first BJD - not an El, mind you, because I didn't want Kai's owner to think I was trying to copy their doll.

Fast forward several years, and Kai's owner decided to leave the hobby. They sold off all their dolls - and then messaged me, offeringme first refusal on Kai. I accepted, and Kai came to live with me - so I own the actual doll that got me into the hobby in the first place. He's one onf my most treasured dolls.

 

That's so awesome!

 

I'm into Malice Mizer, Moi dix Mois, and lolita fashion, so I think I first heard about BJDs when people were talking about the Mana-sama dollfie. I consider myself a more casual Mana fan (I felt that a diehard stan would be more 'deserving' of the doll) so I didn't enter the lottery. I do regret that a bit.

 

The dolls that really drew me in and convinced me to buy was Fairyland Minifee Chloe and Doll Chateau Douglas. I came across DC on pinterest and I loved the weird body proportions. But Fairyland in general really captured my attention. I loved the fullsets! Chloe just happened to be the first sculpt I saw which led to my love for their range of sizes and sculpts.

I don't plan on getting any more DC dolls. Though I am finally getting my own Chloe!

 

A Luts Senior Delf Abadon. He looked like a hot alternative fashion guy in the promo pictures. I really wanted one, but I was not in a place to buy a 500 dollar doll back then. Before I got my first BJD, I did a lot of DoA research and scrolling the sites of many companies, and by the time I was ready to buy my first doll, Luts were quite far from what I liked. I have never owned a Luts in the end, but they did lead me into the hobby.

 

I had seen various bjds over the years and loved them but it wasn't until I saw Xaga Doll Macula! I still think he's so gorgeous and hope to have him some day, but anyway he was the one that really made me want a doll super badly

 

My best friend had a minifee doll (can't remember the sculpt) that I was obsessed with! I wanted to order one for myself since I was always around when she was fussing with it and she was getting her third or so BJD. I ended up going with Minifee Mio and haven't ever had a single regret! She's not the greatest poser in the world but her face sculpt is everything for me and she's the reason that I'm still in the hobby today!

 

Pinterest got me hooked with Minifee Chloe and Celine as well I'm 3 dolls deep now, 2 of whom are Minifee, and I still haven't gotten either of those girls

 

I don't think I have a specific doll, but what got me into it all was also Dream of Doll! Though if we were really narrowing it down, I did discover BJDs through someone's Dollfie Dream Sasara. Still have a fondness for DDs (though I don't really like the vinyl, haha).

 

Minifee ingrid fullset . I got amazed of everything from her . So after her , I bought more minifees . And almost everything from fairyland .

 

Ringdoll Melody first got me into the hobby. I had never seen a bjd and was a lot younger like in highschool about at the time. I remember wanting her so bad. Ironically when I could afford my first bjd she was discontinued pretty soon after. Hoping for a rerelease one day.

 

For me it was Ringdoll’s “2013 Frankenstein”, he is so gorgeous, the colour of his skin, his hair, and overall the way he looked, so gorgeous .
After that, I got into their “monster” line, which unfortunately they seemed to have dropped.
However, it wasn’t until many years later that I bought my first doll, which was also from Ringdoll, “K”.
Personally, I think Ringdoll has the most gorgeous sculpts that fit my taste the best.

 

Volks Nono and Mimi! A lady called 'Kalisti' used to have a blog about her Mimi which is how I found her and ended up getting my own. Sadly the blog seems to be gone now!

 

Iplehouse Aaron! I managed to talk myself out of buying him, reasoning that it was an exorbitant amount to pay for a doll of all things. Later I came across Soom Mecha Angel Cyborg Sabik and... did not manage to talk myself out of buying him.

 

ResinSoul Xun! I've been on the forum for a couple years but I was scared to take the dive.

 

Dream of Doll Si...he was supposed to be my first doll but then i discovered Minifees. Now i have a dod si head and many many minifees lol

 

Daisy Dayes Baby Centaur

So cute and delicate, I could not resist.

 

I would always see Dollfie dreams on my newsfeed on Instagram but only collected anime figures. One random night I had a dream I owned a Dollfie and woke up the next day and instantly did so much research on where to buy and I impulse bought my first DDH09 on eBay. It was a factory default faceup and then I realized I needed a body and this was going to be a veeeery expensive hobby.
I can’t believe just dreaming about owning a doll made me run out and go buy one the next day, but I am extremely grateful for that dream because photographing dolls has become my everyday passion and is basically my life

 

I first found out about BJDs through Rendds' videos on YouTube, but the first doll I really wanted was a Volks SD F-49~ I don't want him that much anymore, but if the chance arose...

 

I don't think there was any specific sculpt that brought me into the hobby in the sense of making me look into BJDs to begin with, but the doll that brought me into the hobby in the sense of deciding to actually get one myself was Dollzone Annie. I got her because I figured her face and faceup were cute but not too cute and therefore fitting for many different clothing styles, which I considered important since she was going to be my only BJD (lol the naivety of the young me ).

Problem was though that such generic faces, as versatile as they are, are actually really not my thing, so she ended up being quite neglected for years, until... 2 or 3 years ago? I finally wiped off the company faceup and did a new one myself in an unusual style, after which I've actually come to enjoy owning the doll even though the actual sculpt is boring in my opinion.

 

As a massive fan of vocaloid and Hatsune Miku. She and Snow Miku definitely got me into the hobby!! Took a couple months of deciding if I wanted to spend so much money on a doll but I got a Snow Miku second hand and I adore her so much ♥

 

I was actually collecting Takara Jenny dolls when I first came across any mention of a BJD during one of my ebay searches. I didn't know what they were so looked through the auctions (there weren't many pages to search through back then) but there was a listing for a tan Lishe doll and she was stunning. She also sold for over $5000 which just blew my mind. But I started doing more research on "those types of dolls". DoD Duncan was then next stunning beauty I ran across and I thought I've got to get me one of these dolls and see what they're all about. I couldn't afford Duncan or Lishe at that time but did get an AngelRegion Ren doll as my first doll and I was hooked on "this new to me type of doll".

 

I don't think there is a specific doll that got me into it, but I was into reborn dolls and I may have stumbled upon them after looking for a perfect doll to make my ocs with. After that I looked into it more and decided I also wanted a BJD and make my OCs with them. I recently at the end of last year got back into it and now focusing on the BJD after I saw one of a FFXIV character was being sold.
It really just made me want my character to be made even more! I can't wait to make my Miqo'te boy and have him with me! >-<

 

Fairyland Rendia! I was just looking at bjds on a whim and something about her just struck me. I finished paying her off today and I’ll be making her into my FFXIV oc

 

Island Doll Seven! Saw a photo of him while on pinterest researching for a school project and I just couldn't take my eyes off him. I really hope I can get him some day.

 

I was super into fashion doll repaint videos, and some of the creators I watched started slowly getting into resin doll customization. The doll that made me want to start collecting and customizing my own BJDs, however, was Rapp's Soom Petit Gem repaints- the Rudy and Leepy in particular. So I found myself my own Petit Gem and haven't looked back since!

 

For me it was DollZone Megi. It was actually my friends doll but I fell in love with him and really wanted to get my own. My friend wasn't keen on me getting the same sculpt as her, so my first BJD was actually DollZone Hid. He ended up being perfect for me.

 

The doll that got me into the hobby was Dikadoll Swordsman Finn. He was my grail, and though it took me a couple of years to get him, he’s still a treasure of mine. My second grail, and the doll that revitalized my interest in dolls after a moneyless hiatus in collecting, was Esthy Peroth. I have since also acquired him.

 

The first doll who caught my eye was Volks Tae 2, in that delightful Taisho schoolgirl full set! A friend who was also into dolls showed me a picture and I fell in love. But, alas, she was limited. So my first dolls were Bluefairy Tiny Fairy Emilie and Bluefairy Tiny Fairy Tommy (MSD sized dolls.) Over 10 years later, I did find a Volks Tae 2 full set, with papers and all, for a fair price. She was worth the wait!

 

Mine was Dollfie Dreams and Smart Doll.
My friend on Facebook posted pictures, and that's where I saw them!
I'm a big anime fan and was pulled in, then delved in further into resin.
I now have 5 vinyl dolls and 1 resin, with definite fans to keep growing the collection

 

Dollmore Zaoll Luv

 

Fairyland Elf Chloe, but I settled for Carol. Maybe one day I will get my elf.

 

Yes! found the term and thought they were all so pretty and i wanted one so bad, but i cant say i have one specifically, though volks i think grabbed my eye first but that might just be because they are so beginner friendly/easy to access?

 

At that time the company was Luts, CP SD Lishe. It was love at first sight, my holy grail.