Are you too afraid to enjoy your dolls?

I think, if you've never seen a BJD in-person before buying one, you can start out as over-protective.

When I bought my first doll, I was overly cautious about staining. If I ever placed her on something that wasn't a blanket or some fabric-covered item, I'd always put a tissue underneath her. Over time, I stopped doing it because I realized that anything could probably be taken care of with magic eraser anyway. She's gotten mildly dirty, but I don't worry because magic eraser takes care of it.

I was a little cautious with my second doll, more-or-less because he was new and I didn't want to mess him up right away. But now, he's like my first.

I think, overall, you will be fine as long as you don't do obviously damaging things - like hold your doll by the legs, and bash them against the wall over and over . Yes, dolls can stain - even when you don't have any idea how it got there - but magic eraser is pretty much the best thing that can get rid of it. Do try to be careful where fingers are concerned, but most of the time, if the finger breaks off, just glue it back on - and if that doesn't work, most places sell replacement parts.

I've let one other person touch my doll's face; I've touched my doll's face before, though I try not to if I don't have to, and one non-doll person touching her face isn't going to destroy anything.

I'm also lucky that any falling my doll's done has been on a plush surface (on the couch, and on carpeted floor). I learned the head cap magnates were not the strongest; it always disconnects when my one doll falls down.

 

I worry about my girl's face up a lot and I try my best not to touch her face. Every time I accidentally touch her face, I'm like OH GOD DID I WIPE OFF HER FACE UP?!!?!? But it's sealed pretty good. I also worry a bit because I HAVE taken her out in direct sunlight a few times for photoshoots. Dx I hope 15 minutes here and there doesn't have too bad an effect on her, 'cause her tan skin is gorgeous. ;n;

I also used to worry about her stringing a lot, but since I restrung her, I've been less worried about it. I know how she works now, so I don't feel like her elastic is a bunch of mischievous snakes waiting for the opportunity to twist up inside her now. xD

 

Er, no.
Polyurethane resin is tough stuff. I can mod, customize or alter my dolls if anything happens to them, and I do not handle them like they were glass. I can't afford to "live in fear", my dolls are for me to enjoy or I wouldn't have bought them.

 

hmmm not really

My crew have gotten so big that I am not really concerned about anything.

I am such a freak that all of special head molds that I love I managed to get more than one. So one stays in storage and one is being handled. So I am not at all worried about anything really

I have two old YoSD whom I dragged around with me in my purse when I travel so they have been thru a lot LOL

 

I was honestly more scared to death when I first realized that I was finally gonna get a resin BJD of my own....But now? Not really. I'm more eager to sell my poessions so I can get her and take her to the local museum for photo ops in their garden.

 

Nope! All my dolls have been out in the sun, they've been left in clothes for extended periods of time, etc. etc. etc. What marks do occur wipe off easily with a Magic Eraser. The only thing I am really careful about is scratches on my darker resins. I just make sure that they're sitting/standing securely and that nothing abrasive is near them. My ebony Iple girl is still as pretty as the day I got her, and she's been out and about the most!

 

Nnnnnnope. My way of enjoying dolls consists of spoiling them and putting them where they can sit pretty. Kind of hard to find anything to be afraid of with that.

 

I admit that the first time I reached into my bag and pulled my SDC out of it in front of a several Volks staff members, who all donned white gloves to handle my girl, I felt like a somewhat neglectful dolly parent. But honestly no doll material lasts forever, resin's color can alter, plastic and vinyl can both degrade too. Yes, you should treat your dolls with care, and do your best not to put them into environments or situations where the chance of damage to them is high. Yet the point of being in the hobby is to have fun right? So I say find a way to relax and just enjoy your dolls.

Juli DC

 

Nothing bad has happened to my dolls whilst I've enjoyed them bar a fall that put a tiny crack in one doll's leg. But it hasn't worsened in years. Temperature and weather care.

 

julidc, that sounds more like they were simply being respectful of your doll than a statement of how bad a doll owner you are - besides, if you think about how many dolls they might handle in a day, it wouldn't be practical to be constantly washing their hands/reaching for the hand sanitizer - not to mention bad for their skin! Much simpler to just slip on a pair of gloves.

I've never been too afraid to enjoy my dolls. I don't keep them squirrelled away in boxes; they sit on top of my piano where everyone can see and admire them - and they've all been out in the sun for photoshoots. Three of them in particular - my whiteskin Hound, my BW Vampire Breakaway and my NS Shiwoo - have been out a lot with me including in the sun over the 6 years I've had them; and to be honest although the Hound and Breakaway have yellowed, it's no more than any other whiteskin doll produced in 2005 that I've seen - and after this length of time in the hobby, I've seen quite a few!

I bought every single one of my dolls to enjoy them - and for me that means having them out on display, touching and playing with them. Resin is far more durable than you may think, and yellowing is inevitable - they'll do it in the box anyway. Live a little, learn to relax and just enjoy your dolls.

 

Nope my crew has been through it all Sun,dark clothing, and of course I sleep with them sometimes,ect. I dont let them sit in the sun mind you but just saying they have been out in it more then a few times. They are here to be enjoyed and I can't do that living in fear they might break if I sneeze wrong or melt everytime I touch them. I am more carful with there faces up now that most have the face up I like but that is about it.

 

I take all the reasonable precautions I can, by storing them in a room without light and avoiding extremes of temperature, but I play with them a lot and occasionally take them to conventions or outside for photos. My white dolls have mellowed slightly, but I don't worry about it as it was beyond my control.

 

My CP Delf El has several heads that I bought at different moments and yesterday I held the oldest head next to the newest. The latter was paper white and the oldest was just a tad lighter than a banana peel.

The resin match is a bit of a problem, but I don't mind that much. I really like that doll and it's not going to keep me from playing with him.
I've broken and damaged my own dolls (luckily not often) and I know how to fix most issues, but the fear of damaging someone else's doll is sort of keeping me from enjoying handling other people's dolls.

 

I don't really mind yellowing, considering that I have 2 8 year-old dolls and while they have yellowed I love them the same...I even like their new skin color because they look like antique dolls =D I take care of my dolls very well, but this is the way I am, I even take care of my books. I don't like to have nothing dirty and I'm allergic to the sun so I can't be exposed to it for a very long time.

In any case, I do string them and seal them with MSC every year or when I see they need it. The thing I enjoy about BJDs the most is that we can customize them over and over again. I recently gave a wash, MSC spay and blushing to one of my boys because he look a bit shiny but now he looks like new again hehe and he's 5 years old.

 

I'm a very "hands on" type of doll owner. I'm not rough with my dolls, but I'm not overly careful either. I bought them because I want to play with them and have fun. I can handle yellowing or minor scratches MUCH better than I could handle a doll sealed in a box. I might be considered a "bad dolly parent" by some that do hide theirs from sunlight, put on gloves to handle them, etc, but I don't care. I wouldn't enjoy the hobby if I couldn't play with my dolls and take them everywhere with me.

 

I had 2 puki puki's and when I was changing clothes on one of them her poor hand popped off and went flying in my studio---did find it...about 4 months later and sadly that did it for me playing with them. I realized that I was not doing much with them because I lived in fear that I would lose another hand (or foot) and could never completely relax when I played with them. I ended up selling both because I did not see the reason to have $400 worth of resin just sitting around. I thought their size was adorable and liked how they went well with rements so will probably at one point buy a obitsu that size and try to hybrid it.

As far as resin yellowing or face ups rubbing off I don't worry about that because, the resin is out of my control (my dolls live in my walk-in closet) and I try to be as careful as possible with handling their heads and faces but time does happen. I think about this issue though will really really expensive dolls (to me over $1000 is really really expensive ) I think I would put a doll like that on a shelf and just leave it there so hey then why buy it?

 

When I got my first doll, Marc, I was SO worried!!! A) because he was a lot of money and I couldn't afford to get a new one should something happen to him b) He's a limited. (why oh why did I pick a limited?!)

Then as time went on, I realized just how sturdy Marc was, and learned more about the hobby through this forum...I wasn't so scared. Damages, yellowing, etc happen. That is a fact of the hobby. Change happens, when it comes for Marc to have a new shell, he will get it. The old body will be customized.

Like with anything, there is a time and a place to tote Marc about.

Instead of being a "helicopter mom" with my doll...I just happily hand him over for people to look at. I keep an eye on him though, and won't let people hold him that give me a bad vibe.

I take Marc out in my purse, wrapped in a nice cloth, and just watch what I do with him. If I need to get up while he's standing, I sit him down before leaving. If I am in a public place, I keep him close. I don't keep him out in the sun, especially if it is hot.

It's just common sense and being responsible for your items. I always take care of what I have.

 

I was about to say "No way!"... but that's not really true. I *do* have one doll that I very rarely mess with, and it's mostly because I'm worried about damaging him.

I have a CP/Delf Tanned Shiwoo named Karru, and after seeing a few too many cracked necks, broken fingers, scratched joints and chipped edges on other owner's tanned Delfs, I'm just flat-out too paranoid about that kind of thing to play with him. The resin mix seems to be more brittle than NS or BW, and with the color being surface-only it's definitely more of a scratch-hazard. So... Karru stays safely on his shelf in the display cabinet, only coming out occasionally for an outfit change. I'm just more comfortable with that.

 

I was like that with my Euclase. He was very big for me and had body blushing. I didn't want to ruin it or his fantasy parts, so eventually, it helped contribute to me selling him later. Mostly, his size was why I had to sell him. I have arthritis in my hands and I was always scared to drop him because he was heavy.

My other dolls I'm fairly rough with.