Which do you prefer: Buying heads and bodies separate or complete dolls?

It depends on what I need for a character as to which I do. There's something nice about opening a box and having a whole doll ready to enjoy. However, I like creating hybrids too, and find that it can be a bonding experience -- it feels like I'm building my own doll, and it's more unique to me. One of my favorite dolls has parts from three different companies.

Sometimes making hybrids is more expensive, sometimes it's less -- it depends on the body and head you use (or if you managed to get a really good deal in the market place ). I've never been deeply concerned about resin matching -- if the match really bugs me, I can always blush the head. Granted how much someone is bothered by a nonexact match is a very individual thing. Getting the body type I want is far more important, because that's not so easily fixable. You can always compare measurements (most companies list them somewhere on their site), or ask here if anybody has the dolls and can compare. There are lots of threads dealing with creating hybrids in the picture request section of the forum.

Creating hybrids is very doable -- it just takes a little extra research to figure out which heads and bodies will work the best for what you want.

 

Well, I used to own a beloved Elfdoll Soooah, I loved her face and hated her body so the body had to go. She became a hybrid and that's how I imagine it starts for most people. You find a head or body which you absolutely love but the other half just doesn't match your needs. I would love to have more elfdoll head sculpts in the future but i'm still not keen on even the newer bodies so it would be hybrids again. Plus often hybrids can be a LOT cheaper than buying the full doll from one company

 

Out of four dolls, only one is a complete doll company wise. Two I bought head and body separately, and one I bought head and body together from the same previous owner, despite the head and body not belonging together initially.

For me, I guess I suppose buying a complete doll is more fun because the box opening is like a real box opening, but I tend to Marketplace shop, and when I fall in love with a head, I want it. It doesn't matter if it has a body attached or not.

It's more about what's available to me and what's my price range, really.

 

I guess it depends what you are looking for. Sometimes, I've found that I might like a head sculpt but I'm not too thrilled about the body it comes with so I love that you can hybrid it with a body you actually like/prefer. Doing it that way does mean there's a certain amount of research required in terms of trying to find a close resin match but generally, I've been pretty lucky so far in that regard.

Buying a complete doll is easier because you don't have to worry about resin matching and most times, it does work out cheaper than a hybrid but sometimes a complete doll may not be everything you want so the hybrid option allows you to get what you want.

I only have three dolls at the moment and two of those are complete dolls although I may end up swapping out one of the heads eventually for something else. One of my dolls is a hybrid and I have a floating head on the way which will also end up as a hybrid so I guess that means I seem to like/prefer making my own hybrids.

 

I'd love to be able to buy a full doll every single time. Unfortunately, it's impossible for companies to offer every possible combination or for your luck to be that good on the marketplace, so hybriding is necessary.

 

Any dolls I own so far are full dolls from the company. I think, for your first purchase, if you're uncertain how you would go about hybriding a doll, then it's probably better to do your research and find one doll you think you'll really love and go with that.
At least then you're getting that full doll box opening and can jump headlong into the hobby, you'll have one doll to dote upon and style and whatever else you're going to do with it....Then if you want to try adjusting and making a hybrid well you always can!
But I think I'd have been disappointed if I bought a head and body seperate, got them and they didn't match up to my satisfaction to have to go hunting for another body. Sure I probably wouldn't mind doing it NOW, but not for ones very FIRST doll.

Even now I'm debating a new body for my model doll if I can find one for her. Love the head, not so fond of the body.

 

So far I've only really focused on how the face looks on the doll, but buying them whole is how I've always thought of it. I would buy things separately, but the more I learn about the dolls, the more paranoid I'd be about doing that. For instance I might find a doll body I like from LUTS and a face I like from Angell Studio, but I'd be so scared of the resin not matching! I haven't done this yet, but I'd rather focus on a whole doll rather than getting them separate.
The only thing I'm seriously considering would have to be hand parts and feet parts. Like for high heeled shoes and jointed hands. But it all boils down to the character I want for them, so that will determine whether I'll go the extra lengths to purchase all parts separately. And you wouldn't see their feet anyhow, so I suppose buying feet would make any of my resin matching fears invalid! LOL

But I suppose it's only because I have not found a head that I love yet that isn't on a body...

 

I much prefer getting full dolls if possible, because I'm quite picky about the resin match, but since I've been picking up limiteds off the marketplace lately, I will have a few more hybrids in the house. I'm also kinda super-picky about the body and proportions, so recently, I've been leaning more towards hybridisation.

Some people prefer to buy heads if their budget is currently tight, because bodies are usually more readily available to be picked up at a later date. Sometimes, dolls can share bodies too, in a pinch, before you get a proper body for the floating head.

For someone who is new to the hobby, it might be better to just get a full doll first and see how it works out, but if you're adventurous, there are many, many resin matching threads here on DoA that can help you with your hybridisation. ^_^

 

i prefer buying full doll because it is less trouble and i hate having floating heads. and i hate when resin doesnt match too well :/
but there are many dolls i want to hybrid so... xD
i think i prefet having not so great match rather than a body that i hate

 

I have enough hybrids in my collection at this point that I realize I honestly don't prefer one way or another. Sure, there is something very gratifying about opening a new doll and seeing it completely whole, absolutely perfect from the start, but on the other hand, there's that same sort of joy in finding just the perfect match and creating a doll that truly lives up to your taste. I'm very picky about having the entirety of my dolls match which character they are meant to be and sometimes the default body just isn't going to work so I find a different one instead. Yes, resin matching and proportion can be a pain and possibly not worth it to some people, but I would choose to go through it to have a doll that truly matches my vision of it in the end. I realize now only 4 of my 10 dolls are not a hybrid in some way, yet I in no way find my hybrids to be superior as I simply lucked out that my full dolls suited their character from the start.

For a first timer I would recommend buying a whole doll as resin and proportion matching might be a bit of a learning curve for some that could become frustrating quite quickly. Also because I personally feel I would not have been as attached to my first doll if he had not come whole as a bit of the 'magic' would have been lost at seeing my first as nothing more than bits and pieces. That's only fom my personal view however and I'm sure there are plenty of others who don't feel the same.

 

I prefer to buy the head and body together -- that way I know the proportions will be right and the resin match will be perfect, since when you buy them together they're generally cast from the same batch. Also it's generally slightly less expensive.

I do have two dolls that are on bodies I bought separately from the heads, but the heads and bodies are from the same company and because I got them used and scrounged around for good prices they were considerably less expensive than buying the head and body together (which would have involved doing FCS, eek). Volks resin is probably the most consistent of any company, color-wise (do they use computerized pigment stuff like they use for house paint or something? It's kind of amazing how consistent the resin match is), so match hasn't really been an issue.

 

This is a good question! Do any of you more knowledgable Angel Keepers have an opinion about what company's resin matches are the best with another company's?

 

Bishonen Judge, this is not the thread for that sort of thing. If you're looking for resin matches, try searching the pictures request forum.

 

Definitely try Picture Request forum -- it's way to general a question for this thread. However, I will tell you a good place to start if you're trying to find a body for a head. When it comes to NS heads, some are a pinkish color and some are yellowish color. You can begin narrowing your choices by automatically cutting out which ever color group doesn't go. Then pick your faves from the remaining bodies and start looking up and/or requesting pics of that combination.

However, I have put bodies and heads together that really didn't match color wise -- one head I blushed to match (the head was paler than the body, so it wasn't too difficult). The other I was just so happy to find a short boy body that could handle Lorry's Chiwoo melon head of doom, that I didn't care about the color by that point. However, it is less work if you start out with a head and body that's at least in the same color family.

 

I would much rather have a full doll. Obviously, I don't want to have to go through the process of resin matching; but there is also something very appealing about opening the box and having a full doll all ready to play with and love.

 

I would actually not care. If i was to order a migidoll head then so be it, but if i find a doll that has the head that i need then i wouldn't have a problem with buying the whole doll. (:

 

Both have advantages. My first doll will (hopefully) be a complete doll. Maybe in a few years, my second doll may be a Puki, or a Bobobie head on a different body, since I hear BBBs are hard to restring.

 

My first doll I bought the head then the body. Then I bought another head and just recently I have recieved my first full doll. I have to say, buying a full doll is just easier. Everytime I look at my floating head, the only thing I can think about it 'I'll buy you a body... eventually'. Buying a head and body seperately can often be cheaper, and allows you to really customize your character but sometimes it can be a hassle.

 

I will only buy a complete doll.

 

I prefer buying complete dolls, but i one day i found just the of my dreams dolls, i will buy the bodies separetly ;-)
But for example when i was customising my little pullips i was buying obitsu bodies alone!

 

I prefer full dolls, although I do have a couple of floating Minimee heads (one of which I'm going to be buying a body for next month). As others have elaborated on, there is the problem with resin- and proportion-matching if you're opting to buy heads and bodies separately. And even if you do find information all over the forum on the best fit, a lot of the times you do get contradicting and/or outdated answers since companies change their resin batches over time.

There is also the question of how much time and money you're willing to invest in such a quest, because as you buy and wait, there'd be times you'd find yourself disappointed about the nonmatch, and then you'll have to go through the whole buying and waiting cycle all over again.

 

So far (though I am quite new and don't quite yet have my first BJD) I prefer full dolls. I don't want a head without a body or to order them at separate times. I want the resin to match nicely, and I don't want to have to mod a head onto a different brand's body either.

I can see changing my mind in the future though. As there is a doll head I love from a company where the bodies are not quite as nice as the Fairyland's I have fallen in love with. I could possibly see myself doing a "frankendoll" to get the other company's head someday.

 

I've done both and I have to say I prefer getting the complete doll all at once. The majority of my BJDs are complete, but last year I wound up with three heads. Two were only available as heads so I didn't really have a choice in the matter. The third was on sale. However, by the time I eventually add the body, I didn't really save anything. Purchasing the body separately can be more expensive, especially if you calculate the extra postage your going to have to pay for making two separate purchases.

Also, finding the right resin color match and the right body for each head can be a bear. A very costly and time consuming thing. I still don't have bodies for my three heads and I am seriously thinking of selling the heads. It isn't worth the effort to try to get bodies for them. Plus, sometimes the batches are a slightly different color so if you wait too long, the right body still isn't going to match the head that normally would come with it. Another thing to consider is that with some head/body combinations, you might have to sand or alter the neck to fit a particular head that doesn't normally go with that particular body.

I did recently purchase another two other heads, though, because again it was the only way I could get the molds I wanted. The only reason I finally went for it was because the heads needed a CH or equavalent body and CH had their wonderful sale on the bodies. In this case, I did save quite a bit even after the shipping and considering the sales a CH, but again this was an isolated case.

If I were just starting out, I would go for the complete doll. Once you get more comfortable with customizing, etc., then you could venture out into buying the heads separately.

 

I prefer a complete doll only! =)

 

So far all my loves are in full..
I dare not to assemble any part of my son by myself yet...I'm still a beginner -.-||.....
but I do prefer dolls in full

 

For me being so new to this hobby; that's totally dependent on the character I'm created, the company's heads and bodies individually and my wallet. I thought about doing a hybrid with Volks and another company's resin head but I decided on just buying a complete doll from one company. I can hybridize later when I get more experienced handling and caring for my resin kids.

 

There's a really great feeling about opening a complete doll for me. When a head and body are just perfect together, and I get to open that box and see them lying there, I just love that moment. That said, sometimes working out what parts work together is really gratifying, too. So, I guess it depends on the situation.

 

I like and have, both. For the most part, I own a doll for the head sculpt, and I like to try it out with it's "real" body first.
If the "real" body isn't poseable though, it's replaced with one that is.
I recently fell in love with a head sculpt and bought the head only. I put him on a very poseable body that I already had.
I then got really stuck on the idea of having his head put together with his "real" body. I sold his hybrid body and bought the "real" one. Waited 3 months for the "real" body, spent a fortune on it and in shipping, and completely regret having sold the hybrid body. It suited my boy so much more than the "real" body.

One of the coolest things about this hobby is that it is so personal. Some people collect a certain brand and must have that brand, in whole. Some people don't care about the brand, and will mix and match to save money or to achieve a look or poseability that they want. All in all, one must figure out what works for them, and appreciate others who do the same.
As a first time buyer, I think it makes sense to buy a whole doll. If you are not happy with the head, or not happy with the body, you can move forward from there to figure out how to keep the part you love and replace the part you don't. You will learn what works for you by doing. You might find out that you must have the whole doll to be happy, or you might find out that you have to mix it up a bit to get the exact head and body that you want. You might end up like me, some dolls are whole, some are hybrids, but all of them bring you joy!

 

I prefer buying full bodies dolls then parts but I am one for buying wigs and eyes

 

BUT i do see the point in buying hands also for different potions and such~

 

I like buying a whole doll when possible. There is more to match then resin. Some doll heads are really big, like Volks, and so they're better suited on Volks bodies, which are a little chubbier. Put a Volks head on, I don't know, a Fairyland body, and it looks really bobble-headed. It's just so much easier when everything is from the same company.

But sometimes it can't be avoided. I have a Minimee head that I really love, and she's currently on a body I really hate. I'll eventually get one that I like better, but I can't say I like the shopping around aspect.

 

I like mixing and matching bodies since most of the time there is one particular company's body mold I like best of all. I don't really care about resin matching, since most of their skin will be covered the majority of the time, anyway. If you're a first-time buyer with no modding experience/courage to start modding, you may want to avoid mixing/matching. Many times you'll find head molds don't have the right size hole to fit on another company's body.

 

My doll is a hybrid. He didn't NEED to be, but I really wanted a body with better posability...so I bought his head and body from two different places. If the body offered was a nice one, I would've loved to buy him all at once, but since it wasn't, hybriding was the way to go for me. ^^;;

 

I think complete dolls are better, but sometimes, i really like the heads but the body is really useless, at that time i'll choose to by the head only and match with a useful body^^

 

Up until now I've only bought complete dolls, since I prefer to get a full doll to play with instead of painfully searching for a nice match ^^;
Yet, I cannot say that I am happy with all of them. There is a floating head waiting for a body from a different company, a doll whose sculpt I adore but hate the poseability, and another doll to come where I will need to decide if I like her body or not.

This is why I've been researching all sorts of things lately. Also, when speaking about hybrids, I mostly look at proportions. The color match can be corrected by blushing and clothing in most cases - it's not like I'd buy a pink body for a cream white doll or a tan for a normal

 

I just ordered my first doll, which i wasn't to crazy about
Her head sculpt so I ordered an extra head that I really liked
only to realize later that her neck hole is .3cm too small.
Although I've been told that with some sanding I can get it to fit.
but I'd say getting a complete doll you really like as your first would be best.
The more I look at my dolls head the more I love it, so
I'm really happy with my buy. I just have an extra head, that I may
or maynot use. Xd
Maybe I'll try matching her a body later on. ^_^

 

I prefer buying whole dolls.
It's easier.
But I bought new Boy & Girl hands for my Angel Fantasy Xun.

 

Although I prefer buying the dolls complete - I seriously dislike floating heads - all my dolls, aside from my SwD Lucas have come in parts. One of my main rule is that each doll I own has a different body and I belief the body is just as much a vital part of portraying a doll's personality as is his/her face, so my dolls are all hybrids.

Still, if I had the chance to buy them complete I'd take it any day.

 

I do prefer bringing home a doll complete, and always take the opportunity to do so whenever I can. When I bought my Ryu head, though, he wasn't available with a body, so I had to get one separately. If I were to do it again, though, I think I'd save up enough to order both a head and body all at once, and order them simultaneously so they would show up around the same time, and it'd be more like they had been purchased as a whole.​

 

I prefer to get them whole but sometimes it is easier to get separate parts or do hybrids =D

It really depends on the doll, what is available and the cost too ^^

 

Just as a personal opinion, I prefer complete dolls. I have realized that when it comes to buying the heads first, I get really lazy with saving up for the body for some reason. I have 2 floating heads right now and I have no idea when on earth either will be getting their own body (one is currently sharing another doll's body that isn't even a good resin match). I just find for me, it's easier to get it all at once that way I don't have a reason to procrastinate on it. That doesn't mean though, that there aren't plenty of heads that I still want and look at (and probably will have quite a few more along the way!), I just prefer the complete.

 

I prefer buying the complete doll. Almost all my dolls have been bought completely. I don't feel enough sure about resins to match them, yet....

 

I have to buy the dolls complete. I don't know why... I do not like to put heads from other companies with different bodies. I don't care when other people do obviously, but it confuses me too much. So I have fewer dolls since I am picky - I have to like the body and the head.

I am glad I did with my MiniFee DES though, she came yellowed, though I did not know it. If I would have tried to get a part separate it would not have matched. Like her new hands do no match.

I did order a full doll and a head from Resinsoul though, but at the same time and I am swapping the head out, so the full doll is all coming at once.

If the doll is only available as a head - like Migidoll for instance - that is the only time I think I would match 2 different companies. Since that is how it is intended to be.

There are lots of resin matching threads here on DOA so I would not worry too much about finding a match, but search before you fall in love with a body that does not match at all. Also remember the yellowing issue if buying second hand and that companies change their resin or it comes out differently sometimes. You can blush heads and bodies to match somewhat.

 

I perfer whole dolls, but I have 5 heads in need of bodies. I really need to get to saving for their bodies.

 

Complete dolls, for sure. I have trouble enough trying to match wigs to dolls, nevermind heads to bodies.

 

I usually buy everything separately, with different companies. I'm very picky when it comes to my dolls (haha.) I like to mix and match so that it's just right. Plus it's a lot of fun, since it's like a little adventure searching for the perfect parts :3 I also have found it to be a little cheaper than full sets.

 

I prefer buying a complete doll. Firstly, when you buy a new head it might be hard to find a perfect body for it. Secondly, even if you do fing one, the body might have yellowed and the colour would be a mismatch ): !

 

I prefer getting a whole doll since it saves a lot of thinking (and shipping if I'm getting the pieces from different places), but if I need to mix and match pieces to fit what I want, I would do it since I'd rather have a head on a body I like than a head I like on a body I don't like.

 

For the moment, I prefer to buy full dolls. I'm not interested in hybridation for the moment: making resin colours match is quite a pain... if I can avoid it, I'll avoid it as much as I can. Fortunately, I like all my wishlists dolls such as they are originally. But who knows, hybridation is also part of the hobby so...

 

I'd much much more prefer buying a full doll!! Buying heads/bodies seperately could mean difference in resin match, even if the two were from the same company due to yellowing and such :P
I don't want that to happen! Even though I would put up with it if it was really mandatory XD Like in the case of expensive limited heads, if all Icould find was the head I'd probably get it :P

 

Full doll. My floating heads sit for years waiting on bodies.

 

I've bought two dolls' heads and bodies separately and yes, they were less expensive than getting the parts separately, but that was because one head and the two bodies had damage that had to be fixed. They were my fifth and sixth dolls. My ninth doll is my first hybrid and I am very, very pleased with her. But I am glad that I didn't try to put her together as my first doll.

There are people who go for a hybrid for doll number one, and I admire them for it, but I needed to get used to BJDs in general first and see a lot of them at meet-ups, before I clarified in my mind exactly what I was looking for.

 

It just depends what I have in mind. Most of my dolls have been full dolls purchases but I have some hybrids. I enjoy hybrid dolls and would do it again in the future. I am very particular about my dolls, they have to fit the character I have in mind perfectly. Sometimes it is hard to find a doll just the right body build and height to fit what I have in mind. That is when hybridizing becomes important. Though in the case of Killian he was purchased separately simply because he was an event head.

 

I have two that I got as heads, one basic with factory faceup and four fullsets. I prefer complete dolls, for several reasons. One is that I have to have things match--a body and head with different skin tones and maybe a jury-rigged neck connection would drive me insane! Another is that I am not a visual artist, so when I fall in love with a doll it's almost always with the faceup I see in the photo. It's not as easy for me to see the possibilities in an unpainted head. My two are an exception; they're Shiwoos, and I've seen so many Shiwoos with so many different faceups I knew they'd be adaptable enough for what I wanted. Of course, one of them still doesn't have a faceup, so there's another reason to buy a finished doll!

 

This. I have the exact same situation. -.-
There's also a lot of work with researching resin comparisons, neck fitting, proportions that goes along with hybridizing dolls and overall it's just easier to buy a complete doll. Unfortunately, sometimes you don't like the body that goes with the head or the height isn't right. Or some companies produce only the heads. I'm procrastinating on getting bodies for my floating heads because even I love their face sculpts and would very much love to see them whole... I don't know if I should just jump the gun and order the body or re-consider my options, because I'm always worried the body and head won't look right and that I won't be able to sell it off, etc.
Sigh...

 

I don't know.. I'm still new to the hobby myself technically, and the first dolls I ordered were complete dolls. I bought a head as a practice head, so it's a floater.. but I'm planning on getting her a body as well as a sort of random character I have no name for yet.. but it's to be the same company she's originally from. Just forced to get them separately. -nods-

I have another head on a brief layaway (tyvm paypal >.> -offtopic-) and I found it fun trying to search for a body for it. She's a head I seen in person that I needed to have, and the character screamed in my head who it's for.. so I really need a body quick for it.. so rather than saving up for a body from the same company (Luts/CP) or Feeple.. it was fun actually looking around to hybridize with a fairly cheaper body yes.. but a body that fits my ideals for shape and size without altering at all. Though I like the bodies and knowing the match would be perfect from the aforementioned but the bodies just didn't fit the character. So I'm quite pleased with actually going the separate way about it.

Also I have a nack at choosing bodies I want for certain characters.. like I want the Nobility doll body (realistic one.. atm my mind plays a blank at name of it) for one character and I want DragonDoll Uncle body for another.. but I've yet to choose heads.. Though I think I want the IOS head for the Nobility doll body... when it's released.. if I've the chance to get it..

So I'm kinda on both boats really. I like my two that are of the same company and bought together a lot, it's nice to have bodies to go with the heads right away.. and the bodies are both to my taste. I think it just depends on whether the body's appeal to me and the character I'm to create.. vs having to choose separate for certain ones.. be it buying a head on market and opting for a cheap body just to give it a body.. I have to like the body for the character before I'm willing to dish out that sort of money.

 

I prefer getting a complete doll, but will get separate heads/bodies if I dislike the body the head would normally come with.

 

Buying them separately gives you greater variety of dolls, but will in most cases make you have to wait longer to get what you want (and pay more?). I think Napi heads are a good example of what can happen when the full-option isn't available - people do get the heads yeah, but also fall out with them in a short time due to bodies being "hard to get". They would be beautiful molds, but need the teeny bit of extra effort to achieve that some of us don't have patience for. Me? I uh.. I'm doing a little bit of both.
By buying heads and bodies separately you can mix and match the sexes and types of bodies, which can be especially rewarding when you've found 'the perfect lil girl' who turned out to be a boy (or a horse?). Experience and all that ;o)
Ofcourse, as mentioned a million times, buying the 'whole deal' is in most cases a lot cheaper and definately a lot quicker and easier.