What is your grail doll, and why is it your grail?

I had definitely been attached to DC Vincent for a really long time. He was basically the doll that got me into the hobby. Now since I have one on the way (yay!!) I’ve been very focused on DZ Freddy. More unrealistically I love the look of SOOM Kay but I’m not sure SD is a good size for me

 

I didn’t think about grail dolls never, until I found mold of my dreams which one is no producing anymore It’s an unpopular mold of Doll Chateau Hubery discontinued in 2017. Unfortunately I didn’t know about hobby at that period, and now it’s quite hard to catch it on second hand market. But I believe I’ll find him very soon.

 

My grail doll is a Ring Doll Rinku Fullset..... which hasn't been sold since 2017.... As soon as I saw him I fell in love with his Limited Fullset but unfortunately that's unattainable at this point. That being said, I love his sculpt so much still that I'm probably going to save up for the base doll anyway, despite being like 3 years late to his Fullset promotion :T

 

My grail has always been a lucywin cus I love centaurs. She still is however I’m just making myself happy with dolls I can afford in one go. One day I’ll be smart enough to save up slowly for her. To be honist I almost spent my entire stimulus check on her but we needed a new air conditioner instead lol

 

She is Fantasia doll Canary. To me she has become the ultimate "what money can't buy" doll. There are simply just a couple of them, and it doesn't matter how hard I look for her, I haven't even come across anyone who currently owns her. I have kind of silently come to accept that I may never get her, or it may take five years. I have her body though, or another one of the two she could be ordered with, with another head from the company. I was around when Canary was released, and I could have ordered her then and wanted to, too, but I was hesitant because the company was new. And then they disappeared, before I could read any reviews of the dolls. I regret that I didn't order, although I couldn't have known that the company would exist for such a short while.

 

My grail doll was Iplehouse Luo. I wanted him at first because I wanted dolls of Louis and Lestat from the Vampire Chronicles and of course I wanted him as my Louis. The first doll meet I went to I saw one in person and it solidified my want for him. Later another friend in my comm was selling him and I knew I had to bring him home. I have most of the dolls I would consider "grail" status now.
The only one left is Soom Sabik because I think he has the most gorgeous face and because a girl I knew many years ago had one and I think he was one of the first BJDs I had ever seen.

 

My grail is a Fullset Red King from Ringdoll. He was the one that got me back into dolls after years of forgetting they existed.
I can't remember where I even saw pictures of him but the moody photography of a captivatingly beautiful man in blood red armor captured me.
I'd found bjd's years before in my college days but I could not get into the hobby then. On finding the Red King I was drawn in again. Sadly by the time I found him his Fullsets were sold out.
I would love to have this dark temptor amoungst my collection but I don't know that a Fullset will come up on the second hand market. But if anyone who is lucky enough to have one ever feels that they want to re home theirs, hit me up!

 

My grail doll is a full set Date Masamune 2nd Version from Volks, he's been the number one on my wishlist since I started this hobby. I didn't buy him initially because of his steep price but I worked overtime the last two months and found a proxy in the UK so I don't have to pay customs when he arrives. Once Volks allows orders from overseas again he'll be mine

 

I will probably never get her and have to make a OOAK or artdoll myself (A curvier satyrl girl to shell my OC) to get what I want but Pathos Tale's Pan is the doll of my dreams. It's a shame I wasn't in this hobby when she was available as I would have snapped her up in a heart beat.

 

I had a grail doll, and I finally caved after several years and got him only to find his size intimidating and impossible to make him look exactly how I wanted. I don't trust my wants anymore after that. It was a hard lesson for me because I got a fraction of what I paid for him. From now on when I want a doll it may be cheaper to take a trip to a bjd meet and see dolls in person before shelling out my money.

 

The Volks Miruku and her sister make, Kurumi. So not one. But two. I ended up with a sizeable amount of money a few years ago, and being so new to the hobby despite knowing of its existence far earlier than that, I was a fool. I didn't do my research. I bought both for a combined total of at least three grand. o.o". I don't regret it. Because I have since spent similar amounts for a Lieselotte, and a Luna. Along with plans that include shelling out more money for other LE Volks girls.

My Miruku and Kurumi, to me as much as I love all the others I have, hold a really important place. I can't part with either of them.

 

A long time ago I fell in love with two BJDs. My grail dolls are Qingyi and Chiyu from Angell Studio. This lovely BL (?!?) couple are limited editions and out of production.
Because of their limited edition status it is very difficult to get them. I'm only interested in their full sets (with some special additions to their phoenix bodies etc. offered back then by AS). I guess that point makes it even harder. Perhaps I can find them someday. If I'm not too picky and I must have a buyers layaway option for this awesome set. But that's another story.
They are my beautiful grails, because even after all this time I can never forget and still want to own them both.

 

My grail is Dollshe Amanda Beauty in Fasion Maxi size - the reason is simple it is the most nuanced and detailed doll sculpt in this size I have found so far (and I have been at it for a loooong time), the fine details and nuances in the dolls sculpt is what attracts me to BJDs in the first place and I am unreasonably fond of miniatures of all kinds - this particular doll is just the perfect balance of size and details for me - any smaller and the detailing is lost, any bigger and it is no longer fine enough for me - I'm picky

 

My Grail right now is a Sheepy doll! ifind her sculpt so unique and i love she's made by a smaller creator.

 

My grail doll is Elfdoll B9ng Sun Hwa. I honestly think she has the cutest face i have ever seen on a doll. I also like her tiny size

 

@elfy016 Keep a watch on the Whispering Grass Etsy shop as a new release of Mr Ropuha Toad is imminent!

 

*has melt down* OH my gosh! Thank you so much for the heads up!!!!!

 

Omg I loooove Sheepy and her Sheepy dolls! I also want one! She has a preorder now for her newest doll: Count Sheepy and has some really awesome colors: even glittery white! I wonder how come you don’t really see her or her dolls here on DOA? Do you know?

 

My grails are:

Liam - BJDivas - Souldoll
Nicola B - Doll Chateau
Sharon - Doll Chateau
twigling Ingenues

Each has a specialty in their sculpt that makes them alluring one way or another.
I would have to say that once I achieve these, it will be solely looking for mates for them, rp mates or another.
Either that I would have, or that someone else would be willing to roleplay a mate with them.
But each of these that I listed look a lot like OC characters that are very dear to me. I hope I can snag them.

 

@Whenrabbithowls Sheepy is banned from DOA, that's why you don't see much of her

 

Ohhhhh.... thank you. Well that stinks. I really do love her sculpts... are they banned also?

 

If I got my Grail doll is he still my grail? XD
My grail for the longest time was Soom Euclase, missed him about 10 years ago, and he just happened to be re-release recently so I finally got him. Totally in love with all his fantasy features!

 

My grail doll is a Doll Chateau Zora. Her face was the sweetest thing I ever saw in my life. I fell instantly in love with her sad eyes and full lips. Truely a beautiful doll. I would be happy with even just her head.

 

Yeah, the person was banned, so are all her sculpts

 

@elfy016 you’re most welcome and the pre-order is open now, toads available in two colours

 

My grail doll was my dark tan Ellana from Lillycat on the Lune body (from the 2015 preorder). I looked for her for a long time and finally managed to adopt one a few months back! I had to spend a little more than planned for her, but it was worth it!

 

My grail is Ringdoll Law, because he is glorious.

 

My grail is a Danni by Rap1993, and I got her yesterday! I love her cartoony face, magnetic horns, expressive hands, and super curvy body.

 

I think the closer to a grail doll for me would be Dream of Doll Pisce. I'd be surprised if I ever find it as for obvious reasons there's no way I can get it now. Maybe one day, if I'm lucky enough, I will find it second hand!

 

Volks Chii and Volks Shinku. They have been my grail dolls since I started the hobby and still are. Not only do I love the sculpts, they are 2 of my favorite animes. Sadly I think they will remain grails forever. I have been trying to get them from Volks (well Shinku, Chii is more elusive) since 2005. I refuse to pay the second hand markups.

 

I'm late but, I love those two dolls too. I have a Min yan and recently discovered Baron. Min yan has a sweeter/calmer expression to me in person. In pictures Baron looks more 'moody' but maybe that's just me lol! I'd love to get him but 2 70+ cm dolls is just.. maybe a bit much for me.

 

If I have a grail doll its probably a Dollshe Ausley in their "Fashion Mini" size- even though I don't have the Hound that size I ordered over 2 years. She's a grail due to inconsistent order periods and the wait times.

I didn't think I had a grail doll before I happened to see a Heartstrung Ruse on the Marketplace in January. She's the uncommon mature tiny scale I mainly collect and hasn't been available from the company for years. I have never paid for (or received) a doll that fast before.

 

Soom Idealian Dover for me. I've been in love with this sculpt since 2013, which means basically since I first started learning about bjds in depth. His original promo pics don't do him justice to be honest, but something about him just caught my attention when I was looking at them and I decided to search for some owners' pics. I don't even know if I regret my decision to do so, but what I know for sure is that he stole my heart and there haven't been any other doll I loved so much. He's a very special sculpt for me. Yes, he doesn't have this perfect otherworldly beauty that many dolls have (especially Soom's dolls of that time) but he's so... expressive. Manly and gentle at the same time. He's got a lot of personality and it's definitely that very type of personality I absolutely love.

Luckily I'm getting his head soon, which I bought in split order from last Soom ID FCE. Not sure if it will be easy to get a right body for him (ID75 is just too tall for me) but still... I have a lot of hope for this.

 

My first grail was probably Luts Kid delf Bory. It was the doll I first got into the hobby wanting but have yet to obtain.

My 'true' grail it's a Conarium Lilith Full set. It speaks to me so deeply but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford her.

 

Volks DD Sasara has been my grail since day 1 of discovering the hobby. I'm sure she'll always be beyond my reach due to her high secondhand pricing and limited nature, but a part of me will always yearn to have her join my collection.

I've also previously considered Feeple60 Juri 2012 to be a grail of mine, similarly due to her limited nature. She wasn't exactly the world's most popular head that Fairyland has ever released, so she doesn't come up secondhand very often. I was introduced to her back when Lorti was still in the hobby with her girl, Chii, and I fell in love with the sculpt completely. I was sure I'd never be able to find and afford one, though, so I sort of gave up until I happened to find one in my budget secondhand in 2019. Now she's the centerpiece of my collection and I genuinely cannot be happier with her.

 

Volks Old F-07 has the cutest face in the world.
It radiates warmth and love with its shy smile.
F-07 is like this angelic child, innocent and pure. She is longing for the hug of a mother or a big sister.
This sculpt wants to be loved. No other doll has warmed my heart so much.

 

I prefer unusual sculpts and you don't get much more unusual than Doll Chateau Barbara, who is most definitely my grail. I have three at present and two more on order due to the short re-release period. Before her discontinuation I wanted more, so I jumped on the opportunity.

 

My grail doll even before starting the hobby is none other than the classic Luts CP Delf El, such a versatile sculpt and I love how androgynous he looks. Just the head sculpt though, because I'm not too fond of the Luts body design and in the beginning, owning 60cm dolls look to be a handfull compared to MSD's.

In the later years, I finally made the decision and got him in three pieces: the opened eyed head as a 2nd hand from DoA Marketplace, the dreaming head from the Luts website before they stopped carrying CP sculpts, and his 60cm body when Doll Fairyland had a promo that allows you to buy it with no head. ^^

 

My grail originally was Dollchateaus Gladys. I know, nothing limited or special. I actually got her not long after joining this website and she became my beloved Wraak.

I loved her face mostly, I got the head and a regular DC youth body.

Right now I guess I dont have a *true* grail anymore. There's dolls I want, but they arent exactly limited.

Another Vic would be nice but he's discontinued, and its not like I neeed another.

And im wanting Gem of Dolls Katyusha and Dianna with fullset and faceups because painting lil dolls is a nightmare for me. But they aren't limited so I got time!

 

I fall for dolls that get discontinued just when I have the funds yet I’ve managed to obtain most of them: Elfdoll Soah and K, French resin Narae (bought secondhand here on DOA) the older Dollshe boys (the New Old Hound and Grown Bermann releases), Dollstown Lucille (disappeared for a time then her head appeared on sale a couple years ago) and Soom Mecha Angel Sabik.

The last 2 on my list: Shinydoll Hikali and Volks Lady Oscar. I’m still kicking myself over Oscar. I had the cash but missed the announcement.

Patience is the key to this hobby. Sooner or later, the grail doll will appear.

 

Currently I'd say my grail is a Luts Kid Delf Rika. Her face just looks so sweet and gentle to me that I'm just drawn to her sculpt. Luckily Rika isn't a limited sculpt, so I have plenty of time to save up for one!

 

Is it weird to say I have none? There are plenty of dolls I found extremely pretty but to me, you must want to acquire a hard-to-get doll in order for it to be considered a grail. All desire of acquisition is instantly killed by the price tag, because even more than getting a rare and expensive doll, I really want to avoid stressing over my hobbies. And that's inevitably going to happen if, for example, an Enchanted Doll should ever get into my hands somehow. Despite my absolute love and admiration for that artist, I would probably seek to sell it as fast as possible out of sheer stress. I can't handle the responsibility of just "owning it" XD

It's better for me to have a collection with which I can be comfortable handling it, rather than a collection that I don't even dare to look at, lest I damage it somehow. Basically, I only covet what is more or less comfortably "in reach" (granted, with a bit of work). Since they are fairly easily attainable, they can't really be considered "grails".

 

I don't think I have a grail doll anymore. In the past, I would have maybe considered a Volks Unoss or Kinokojuice Kiki to be grails, but now I've seen Unoss pop up more than a few times since then, and Kiki is readily available and easy to buy. It's not a grail to me if money is the limiting factor. I can and will save up if I truly want something. If the doll isn't available to me no matter how much money I could throw, I guess it'd be a grail at that point.

If a doll just happened to be more than I could ever justify spending, it's alright for me to just admire pictures of her or him on the internet. It's okay to not get what you want sometimes. That's just how life goes.

 

I honestly feel like this isn't said enough in the hobby. Especially with the limited releases, oftentimes it seems FOMO drives people to make purchases they might not have truly wanted at the end of the day if not for that. (I'm not an exception to this either, haha.)

There are a lot of beautiful dolls and sets I sometimes get that little WTB twinge when I see, but I know now that some things are better appreciated from afar. Maybe I'll have a true "grail" again someday, but my only current dream is definitely attainable via budgeting and I'm happy letting other people own the extremely expensive things in my place.

 

What you’ve said may be the reason why my grails are all TLC projects. I want a doll in poor shape so I can handle and mod it fearlessly and happily. The lower price is nice, but the it’s the project aspect of it that excites me.

My grail doll would be a forgotten project doll that needs new life, right now it would be a Unoss, but it’s a grail because it’s very hard to find an abandoned project Unoss in need of TLC . Maybe if I put out a WTB…

 

Its a doll i loved for a very long time, but was unable to purchase until i got older; Dollzone carter! And right after i bought him he was discontinued. LOL
Im so glad i ordered him when i did!

 

I have two, I Have Doll Pim, and Soom Puss in Boots - Another World. Both would suit my OCs perfectly. Oh how I wish I could have them now. I think they would complete my dolly crew. I don't want to own too many, so no more than four dolls. Do face sculpts count too? Cause I'd like to own all of the Miho sculpts as well.

 

I think being away form the hobby for some time due to money constraints has had an impact on what my grail dolls a lot. I've been having grail companies instead of specific dolls. About a year ago I was finally able to get a doll from Fairyland, which has been a company I've been wanting to buy a minifee from for ages. Now my two grail companies are Soom and Iplehouse. I don't even care what doll I get so long as I can get one of their SD dolls. XD

 

My original grail was Soom's Ender Dreamwalker that after years I finally got in 2016.
Right now, my forever grail, is Dream of Doll's Tender Too and Bee (A version). I was so close to buying them right when they started getting shady and folded. I was SO SAD. At this point I'll settle for just the heads T_T

 

My Grail doll is Doll Chateau's Stacy. She is so beautiful, and I love the body that she is on. I will probably never own her, however. She is discontinued and expensive to me. Also, she is an SD. I don't think I will like dolls of that size. I love the size of MSDs, and having a doll that is several extra inches taller seems intimidating to me. Even though she doesn't fit in with my crew, I would still love to own her one day. Honestly, I would probably be satisfied if I could just see her in person The idea of her has stuck with me all of the years I've been in the hobby, though I'm not exactly sure why.

 

Harucasting Morae and Wind. They are currently unattainable, because they haven’t gone up for preorder yet.

I try to not even look at dolls that have been discontinued. No use falling in love with something I can’t have.

 

Merrydollround Olathe! I absolutely love her sculpt, especially the nose, and if you add MDR's Petrichor body l can't imagine anything prettier. She's also pleasantly short.

 

My grail doll was DOD Elf Ducan but he'd been a limited sculpt before I got into the hobby, so I thought I'd missed out. But I was lucky enough to find him on the Marketplace here and have now had him for several years and no longer have any grail dolls - well, for now that is

 

DollZone Yuu. I just fell head over heels for him and would not get any other doll until I could afford him. I ended up getting him in pieces basically, head first then face-up, then body, then accessories. In a sense, he is still my grail as I would love a tan Yuu too, but I'm very confident I'll never find one.

 

I have two technically my first is a Dream Of Dolls Si. the doll that was supposed to be my first doll but then I fell in love with fairyland. I still want one but Dream Of Dolls is now defunct which hurts my heart. I remember going on their website at school and just staring at all their dolls. My second grail that i'm currently actively on the hunt for is a volks Hewitt. Something about the attitude yet soft features in his face got to me...someday I will have one. I think Hewitt has been my grail since i got into the hobby honestly.

 

My grail doll is a BlackBox Mochi. Its honestly the best articulated bjd animal I have ever seen and its whole sculpt is so freaking adorable. I'm constantly on the hunt for one that's secondhand (which btw hit me up if you're reading this and have one for adoption) as I don't think BlackBox will ever rerelease preorders for it.

 

I guess my 'grail' dolls would be the fullsets of DoD Shall and DoD Calla. I still haven't managed to find them but I first saw them when a friend of mine and I were incredibly new to the hobby and these two looked almost identical to how I had imagined our two characters that we would write stories of together. I couldn't afford them at the time since I was 13 or so and I fell out of the hobby until recently and by then Dream of Doll had closed down. I'd still like to get a hold of them somehow but with them being rather old and fullsets in particular being even rarer, its been pretty difficult.

My current grail is the RingDoll March Hare doll who I absolutely love. Her gothic maid aesthetic is really my style and hopefully she'll be back in stock sometime in the near future.

 

My grail dolls have always been something that fits my character but is hard to come by. When I get my grails I move onto the next hard to get sculpts. Previously it was Or-Doll's Anderl and Blue Phoenix heads.

I've acquired those a few years back, so my current grail is The Voice Eagle. I think after I get that one then I won't have a grail for a while.

 

My grail for 8 years was Volks Lieselotte In My Closet version and for a while you couldn’t even look at one for less than 2k but with the preorder version of Lieselotte, people sold off their older versions so I was finally able to buy her for 1.5k! I never in my wildest dreams thought Volks would ever have a preorder of her.

I wouldn’t say I have a “grail” per say now but I realize finishing my collection is going to get harder and harder because the remaining dolls were LE and still highly desired. So my “grail dolls” are now Soom Ender(grey skin) and Volks Yo-tenshi Una. I know I’ll be able to buy them for the right price so I don’t consider them exclusive or anything like some of those dolls with only ten in the world, but those are the ones I want.

 

I haven't found it yet, but I'll know it when I see it. I don't even know what it looks like!