Are attracted to unpopular doll sculpts?

despite liking fairyland minifees, somehow i ended up with 3 of their unpopular sculpts being Kyle (who is probably never getting a re-release rip to me who wants a tan one), Mir/Mika who is fairly uncommon nowadays and Alan who i keep seeing being put up for sale . I find these three beautiful and charming in their own right but everyone has different tastes.

 

I have FectDoll sculpts and Lati Red and Black line dolls. And what may still be the only Spirit Doll Meng Po in the English-speaking part of the hobby.

I also have some members of the crew who were really popular in their day, too, though.

 

I'm very drawn to Iplehouse KID sculpts no one seems to own, like Isla, Mia and Reese. I took the plunge with Mia and now she is a staple of my collection. But generally speaking, I can't say I'm attracted to unpopular dolls, I simply like what I like. Actually, I'm waiting for one of the most ubiquitous dolls ever, Soom Serin!

On a sad note, I think you can estimate the popularity of a sculpt by the attention it gets from recasters.

 

I wouldn't say I am drawn to unpopular dolls as much as little known of ones. I have of late been drawn to dolls made by single artist's who use a company to cast or cast themselves. Only one is more known, Irrealdolls. But I have been collecting Botodollls and in past ones like Bishonen House which are no longer being made, not since before Covid. Anyway there is something special with working with an artist over a company. Botodoll, even Dollstown answer quicker via email or FB messages and they here you and make you feel special.

 

I'm not sure how to judge popularity, but if the number of owner photos of a particular doll online is an indicator, I can say I seem to gravitate towards sculpts that not many people own. I think the only actually popular/common sculpts I've owned have been my Minifee Shushu and my DC Bella. But my others, Iplehouse Edwin, Loong Soul De Yin, and my Souldoll Ricia don't seem very common. Even my current grail, Souldoll Liam, doesn't seem to be widely known.

It's kind of an annoying tendency of mine to gravitate toward these dolls, because this makes finding them on the second hand market difficult, as well as resale, lol. But at the same time, I can't help feeling that these sculpts are extra special, too. They're like hidden gems that I get to turn into something unique, so there's an upside to it as well.

 

I made a full doll out of an old Doll Legend practice head which I wouldn't say is a popular one to see - I think what came out is a really fun doll, but after seeing what the faceupped company pics were back in the day, I can see why there are not many around (even despite the $20 price tag). Of course I also wasn't looking for it and it just fell into my lap so it's more of a coincidence than a conscious search for an unpopular sculpt (I do love her, though, she's definitely my favourite). I guess that might be a case for a lot of dolls, though - if the company vision isn't flattering it's not ending up in a lot of hands, no matter how low the price is?

 

I do like some more niche sculpts among the English speaking section of the community, but I wouldn't say it's really niche in other communities. That said, there are a few rare sculpts among most communities that I do like due to having a weird quirk to them due to being very old models and more experimental along being very hard to find for sale at all. But I guess it's mostly serendipitous on what sculpt I like.

 

I really like "weird" sculpts, DC Irma and DZ Carter are two that come to mind

I know less than 15 people who have either sculpt


Now dont get me wrong, I also appreciate traditionally beautiful dolls, but man ..... the "weirdos" / extra unique ones, they speak to me.

 

I'm generally drawn to unique, which thus carries into the faces I tend to be drawn towards regarding bjds. I'm also primarily focusing on specific characters (OCs and existing), so that of course take higher precedence in what I choose.

I do have a few sculpts that don't have a lot of representation out there. The boy in my avatar, for example, is a Dikadoll Floyer—which seems to be one of their less popular sculpts. It fits that character extremely well, but also has some quirky features I find particularly endearing (slightly hooked nose, more expressive brow ridges, his smirk...) Then there's the lesser popular Impl girls that I happen to have, Bernice and Sally. I also don't know of any other person out there with a Fantasia Doll Jin (Isaac is also pretty sparse for that matter). My favorite Minifee is also one of their less popular sculpts (Mika/Mir), which I love to bits.

I probably have a few others, but those are my more notable ones. I tend to like male sculpts with stronger, masculine features, so I'm bound to be drawn to some more unique sculpts as a result

 

I really only collect popular sculpts even if they aren't popular anymore. They're popular for a reason! Eh?? What do you mean you don't know Iplehouse Louis??