ABJD's vs. Other dolls

I own quite a few different dolls and when it comes to Barbies:
1) their joints are worse than Liv, so it's pretty hard to make good photos of them with different posses
2) they can't stand by themselves and often I can't take a photo because she just won't stand (Fashionstas Ken can stand (or at least mine does) without problems)
3) no wigs or eyes (Liv win in this category again)

That being said Liv dolls are easier to compare to BJDs than Barbies. They are nice but they lack so many things...

 

I find ABJDs to be a bit more unwieldy than other dolls, but I do love their clothes!

 

How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?
I don't like paying the money anyway. The thing is, Barbie dolls hold no appeal to me whatsoever. They look fake. What drew me to BJDs first is that, when I saw them in photos, often I mistook them for beautiful people. Yes, it is a huge gap in price, but I will either pay what it takes to have what I want rather than buy a cheaper version that I don't like at all.

Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?
Of course. I'm poor - insanely poor - but I am good at budgeting and decided that I wanted to get a doll, so I did.

Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?
Simply what I stated before; why pay for something that you don't like at all? When you eliminate those that are lesser in your mind, what do you have left? And that is your only option if you are looking to buy.

 

Comparing a Barbie to a BJD is like comparing apples to oranges. Apples and oranges are both fruit and they're both good, but that's about as far as it goes. Barbies and BJD are both dolls and they're both good, but you CANNOT do with a Barbie what you can with BJD. Certainly you can mod your Barbie and change her looks, but the versatility is just not there. Barbie and other fashion dolls like that aren't nearly as poseable as our BJD and not nearly as customizable either. With BJD, you can make them over any way you want. A cheap Barbie would never stand up to that.

BJD are art, and they're also a way to make other art (photos, crafted items, clothing, drawings, etc.) BJD come in all shapes, sizes and colours, which Barbies don't. They are beautiful and unique in a way that mass-produced toys never could be. BJD are as individual as their owners, and that's the beauty of them. Making my doll the way I want him or her to be is the justification for spending the money on BJD, for me.

Now, I am a doll collector, and I do have fashion dolls in my collection as well, but I'm not nearly as attached to them as I am to my BJD. I think another part of it for me is that the fashion dolls already have names and backstories when they arrive, and it's harder to break out of that idea with them. With my BJD, they are characters that I create, and I think it makes them more real to me.

 

How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?

um...no, there is a huge abyss of difference between a barbie doll and a ABJ first of all ken does not fit my needs at all. oh Gosh! i cannot even picture a ken taking the role of my Mortimer >_< LOL. also, to me personaly all barbie dolls have the same body, you cannot just customize them the same way you do with resin dolls. i used to collect barbies back in 2002. i still own a few that i keep in my daughter's room for decoration and some still in boxes that i refuse to sell, just 'cuz they don't make them anymore and some were gifts from dear people. if i can spare the money to treat me to something that fills my needs i will. for many years i wanted to embody my beloved characters and it was impossible because there was not a single doll in the market that was up to the standards, now thanks to BJD i can make my dream come true! and even if they don't make them exactly as i picture them, i can always cuztomize! yay!!! money doesn't hurt when u are well pleased and happy as long as you can spare it

Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?

nope, iam simply happy that i can finally get them even if it takes me years! i will see them all together!

Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?

yes, i work hard for my money, and i buy what makes me happy when i can afford it without hurting my responsibilities or my wallet, right now is bjds LOL XD

sorry about the bold letters on my reply, they won't come off even if i hit the button :/

 

I've costumized many non BJD dolls.
You can do it, sure.
That doesn't mean you have to choose one over the other if you don't want to.
The money each cost, is of the responsability of the buyer and no outsider's business.

 

I buy BJDs because I like them. People like what they like, it's not because one is "better" or "worse" or "just as good as" the other. If you're interested in Barbie modification, you'll mod Barbies. If you like Monster High--which have a greater versatility than Barbies, being jointed themselves--you'll mod those, and it'll be just as valid as people who mod BJDs. But it also won't detract from the value of BJDs or make the BJD hobby somehow pointless or wasteful.

The fact that you can do some of the things with vinyl dolls that you can with resin dolls doesn't put me off the hobby at all. I know I'm blowing hundreds of dollars on a single doll, but it's what I like and it's what I want. I also like Monster High and collect those. (And sometimes I question the financial wisdom of doing both, but hey! It's my money, and as long as I budget responsibly it's my right to do what I want with it. Same goes for anybody.)

 

Barbies and BJDs are completely different. The processing of customising the two are quite different really and I would never treat a barbie the way I do my BJDs. BJDs are definitely more life like than a barbie and similar dolls and a barbie would never sit on my self for me to just look at. A BJD is art and there is such a large range of sculpts and bodies, you just can't get that with a barbie.

 

How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?
This one is really easy for me. xD I'm simply not interested in things like modding or face ups. But I am interested in making clothes and photographing them (and resin photographs better than vinyl imo). The problem with Barbies and other fashion dolls for me is that their faces usually aren't very realistic. Sure there are some, but not many to choose from to even use as a base for modding if that was what I was going to do. And yes I can make clothes and photograph Barbies too but my only motivation in this hobby really is to shell a certain character so if I didn't want to mod or only do minimal/necessary modding, I would have to start with something that looks more realistic. Plus, even if I didn't care for a realistic face, the ABJD aesthetic is more appealing to me.

Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?
Nope. I would have only liked for my doll to be smaller. A lot smaller. xD

Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?
Well I don't ever remember seeing anyone mistake a Barbie in a picture for a real person yet. xD

One argument I really hate when speaking up for BJDs is that they're art. And somehow Barbies aren't? When someone makes nice clothes for them, make a set, use props, and photograph them, that's not art? There *was* a sculptor, someone who designed their faces, just like BJDs. They're cast, although a bit differently than BJDs, but cast all the same. Once it comes out of the mold, in the case of BJDs, they only get cleaned up, which could be done by people other than the artist and that's really no different from Barbies except that it's more work, which is included in the price.

 

well, i have indeed seen a lot of people make amazing dolls by customization with lines like Monster High, but those are not barbies, even those have a lot more face molds ranges and all. Barbie is way to generic, too much of the same, when you have seen one you have seen them all, i know people that collect them, when they get them nude its difficult to ID them as most of them look the same, but with BJDs, you can create and express yourself directly on it by creating a character, you will end having a quite unique doll, with a body, eyes, head, wig, face up and all you want, specially face up works make the doll even more nunique, i have seen the same molds several times but they dont look like the same doll due to those little details that have been done different. and think, even the ones that you buy with default faceup... i don´t think a little machine is making that paint job. Barbie is a mass produced item, sometimes the quality of some of them is left aside in the name of mass producing, with BJDs wth a BJD specialle one purchased from an independent artist you are getting something completely different!

 

I own a few Monster High dolls and a lot of Pullips. Yes, these are pretty customizable, too, especially the Pullips. But no other doll line is as versatile as BJDs. Most of them always have the same face mold which is one of the biggest problems. You can change face-up, hair, eyes and clothes but you can't really change the mold besides a little bit by carving. But with BJDs you have a whole lot of different sculpts and sizes and ages which gives you so many possibilities and their bodies are much more flexible than everything I have seen before. That's why nothing compares to BJDs in my eyes.

 

I agree with the simple "you like what you like". I definitely think Barbies are customizable. Not as easily so as bjds, but that's actually sometimes a draw, I think--a kind of challenge--and there are actually quite a few Barbie face molds. (It's surprising, really, when you begin to look into it.) You can reroot, repaint, put the heads on different bodies. Lots of possibilities, and I like Barbies quite a bit. BUT--bjds simply have a different look and style. Barbies can be sweet, but they still have a very modern, American vibe. They just can't really achieve that same kind of artistic, specifically Asian look. I'm sure bjds are also much more durable, and of course the materials used are finer. The two types of dolls are just different. I like them both, for different reasons.

 

Wow, I have to intensely disagree here.

Those who say that barbies and other dolls are not customizable seriously never browsed the internet. People mod even horse figures, so why would it be any different with dolls? My little pony toys, monster high dolls, pullips Pink Street Figures, figmas, ANYTHING can be customized. Just ask and I gladly will post pictures about any of them.

Just because a bjd comes naked it doesn't make them 'more customizable'.

If you like bjds, no problem, it's your personal preference and that's enough reason for you to buy one, but seriously don't say they are 'more customizable' or anything, specially when most of the dolls I see are poorly faceup'ed and are pretty much the same.

 

How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?




Like others here, I don't compare other dolls and bjd. They're so different, I mean, the posing, the material...nothing can be compared, so to me the price is impossible to compare as well.
Plus, I'm really not interested in other type of dolls.


Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?

No...


Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?


Yes, I like it and it's my money xD (sorry...but If someone choose to buy a Ferrari, you think people would ask "why not a volks or something cheaper???). Just one basic reason is already enough to me: A BJD is done by hand by an artist that put he's love and effort on that.Totally diferent from a mass production...a mass production makes the costs decrease, but you lose the "one of a kind" element.


that happens with lots of products: prints and paintings, outfits, shoes, purses...Things done by hand and in a small production usually costs more, because it's a restrict number.

 

Best defense in the world: I just like BJDs better! If people didn't have a preference, the doll companies would probably all go under

 

My BJD is a giant BARBIE!!!

The longer I am in this hobby, the more I have come to consider my dolls just a different variety of Barbie. All of the important, basic elements of human/doll interaction are there - storytelling, fun with clothes, styling, and accessories.

When describing them to people who don't know what a BJD is, I usually refer to them as "The child of Barbie and an action figure" or "Barbie, but cooler."

Yes, there are things that you can do with a BJD that you can't do with most fashion dolls, but I don't think they are all that different.

 

I know you can customise anything, I own a monster high custom who cost as much as some bjds. She has a one of a kind face up and hair so she is in my opinion pretty much like a bjd. Exept the posing and joints. Best bit she won't yellow so she's good for outdoor photo shoots. I've seen lots of people who have larger bjds and the bjd has their own doll who's a barbie or another cheap doll. They can be good props too.

The glass eyes are a big bit, most cheaper dolls have the painted eyes rather than the glass eyes which can be changed are more realistic and can be posed so it appears the doll is 'looking' at a certain item or place.

 

Just recently I started to look into high-end cinema-actionfigures. Such as the dolls from Hot Toys or Sideshow. As I love movies, I love looking at these dolls, how far the company nailed the resemblance of the corresponding character.

I seriously started to consider getting a Lara Croft (I really like her). I had Auryanna watching the YouTube video and looked a bit closer at her. Then I thought I could as well turn her into Lara. She has that tough look, I think, and with the easy-to-pose SID body, I am sure she can also do several typical Lara-poses.

I also like Merida a lot. However, the Carina sculpt does not really resemble her. Thus I simply turned her into Merida's older sister. Works just fine, I just have to make a matching costume.

If you consider that a nice, well-made Sideshows or Hot Toys actionfigure comes approximately 230-300 bucks, and if you consider with a little tweak here and there you actually can turn your BJD into any character you want (if he or she is the right "type"), I think BJDs are at least not more expensive in the long run.

 

Since when are most bjds hand made, sure the original is often sculpted by an artist but its the same as with any doll at all including barbie. Ball jointed dolls are often mass produced in factories too, but due to some stuck up companies they're way way more expensive than they should be. No one at a bjd company puts 'love and effort' into your doll anymore than they do with a barbie !

 

I don't think you realise how resin BJDs are made. Barbies are mass-produced by machine, whereas BJDs are hand-cast in moulds, which is as far from mass-production as you can get.

The bigger the factory that produces the dolls = more workers = more dolls that can be produced, but the number of dolls produced still depends on how many moulds there are and waiting for the resin to cure can't be rushed otherwise the doll will have flaws.

High quality silicone moulds used for BJD making are only good for so many pours, after which they have to be replaced. Some doll makers prefer to use metal moulds which are more hard-wearing, but they don't allow for as much detail as silicone moulds do. Whichever moulds a doll maker uses, they're still using polyurethane resin, or French resin or enviro resin, which has to cure and harden before being released from the mould so that the mould can be used again. Dollmaking is a slow process, and parts that warp during casting or have flaws, bubbles or occlusions in the resin need to be junked and the process started all over again.

In single-artist/two-artist studios where all the casting is done in-house (Enaibi and Dust of Dolls, for example), a lot of work does go into producing a doll; from the initial design and sculpting stages right through to making moulds, casting junk dolls, refining techniques, and making a beautiful product to sell. No one is saying that the Barbie sculptors don't put any effort in when they design a new Barbie, but a machine producing Barbie parts is not the same as a person casting BJD parts.

There's nothing wrong with Barbies or collecting Barbies or repainting Barbies. Barbie dolls are fine. The ABJD hobby and the Barbie hobby aren't far apart at all. Lots of people collect both. On this particular forum though, our focus is on ABJDs only.