Back then and now...(Nostalgia Thread)

This is a nice thread for the good, old times!

I remember when I bought some clothes from Iplehouse and they were high quality so I was very impressed but they didn't have many dolls at that time, only like 3 or 4. I kept buying the SD13 clothes from them. The funny thing is, all of a sudden, I started to see wonderful dolls everywhere in flickr and here in DoA and I asked myself "where are these beauties from?" I saw that the company was called Iplehouse and I was like "oh cool, a new BJD company!" I didn't remember that I have purchased from them before
I don't know when they started to cast such amazing dolls because I wasn't interested in the few dolls they had before so I never tried to keep up with their work.

I also remember when Dream of Doll and Luts with their CP Delf line were the Iplehouse and Soom of today.

And of course the Army of Els! I don't think there is one doll who can top Delf El's popularity.

 

I was around for most of those things listed in the OP. I wasn't a member of the yahoo group. The present DoA forum had already started up when I joined in late 2004, around the same time I got my first BJD.

I'd known about BJDs before then, though, when there was virtually nothing available on ebay or on the internet and when they only came in kits that you had to purchase through Japanese shopping services...

I'm so totally typical of those times! My first was a CP Delf--where I went through Lyria (who later was with Fairyland), and had to bank/wire-transfer money. The Luts English site had just started up. DoD, Custom House, of course Volks, and only a few other companies were making dolls--and as is still true today--so many were limited and sold out. But with only a few companies, believe me, it really wasn't at all like these days!!!

All the websites were not in English, aside from the new Luts site. Paypal wasn't around. Most did not take credit cards.

I got large dolls because there were only a few minis around and that meant a very small choice of clothes and items available for minis... a bit more for the 60cm dolls. No such thing as tinies.

So much lolita style clothes back then.

I miss the Volks L.A. Mansion parties. Those were amazing!

I was watching Soom and their MDs and got Sard when he first came out.

I waited a while before getting an Iplehouse EID, but not because I didn't like them. I was just worried I wouldn't like such a big doll. But then, so many big dolls were being made that it was almost impossible to not get one (or many!).

I LOVE the ease of buying and the variety of companies, dolls, items, styles, extras, and layaways available these days. The bad thing is that it is too easy to empty my bank account!!!

 

I remember the yahoo group. And then everything moved over here.

I remember ordering things from the Japanese Volks site because they didn't have an English language site or the LA store -- and my Japanese wasn't that good at that time. I had to have a friend help me translate. The dollar-to-yen exchange rate was really good back then though; I liked that a lot and felt I was getting a good deal on stuff.

Oh! And I remember the first thing I bid on from Yahoo!Japan: a big lot of Volks parts including a factory-fresh F-05 head that hadn't had the eyes opened. I still have some of those parts.

 

Way to make me feel old thread! lol

 

I started with Customhouse, and I LOVED the way the original CH site kept archives of all their wonderful wild Unique and Limited dolls. It was like looking at family albums, even though I couldn't even begin to afford the rare beauties. I'd sit with my first BJD, Pen (CH Gene), on my lap and we'd look through the pictures of all his relatives on my sloooooooooow dial-up connection.

And I remember reading online about the adventurous people who ordered the first Volks dolls I'd ever heard of from Frank (Doll and Hobby Shoppe)!

While I didn't join the DoA yahoogroup in time, I was aware of it, and I signed on here in September of '04, a few weeks after Pen arrived. Felt like a newbie latecomer then, and still do.

 

What about those very few dolls that were costing a fortune. Cecile the Scarface was one of the only dolls that would sell for 2500 dollars. I saw one for sale recently. A fullset, "only" 900 dollars. Felt kind of sad for some reason.
On the other side of the spectrum, there was the 'cheaper' option of getting DoD Too and Bee-a. Two dolls for the price of one. A steal!

What I mostly remember though is when I saw Happydoll Margo and their other dolls and Iplehouse's SooRi and Lion and thinking: "I like them, but they'll never be popular. Too realistic."
Looking back at them now, they don't look realistic at all! Not compared to what's out there today.

EDIT
By the way, wasn't Dolkot Kiss one of the other dolls that were very popular for a while? (still love his menacing eyes) Or what about the Hound craze?

 

I almost bought Kiss as my first doll, back in 2006. It came down between him and Luts Delf Moon, and in the end I chose Moon because of the new type 2 neck locking system. I wanted simple for my first doll and S-hooks and stringing seemed really complicated! lol

... Of course, a month later I ordered my Dark Elf Soo, who was on the type 1 body with the S-hook attached to the headcap. I have never changed out Evensong's eyes because I was afraid to take her head off. The only time I ever removed it was to send it off to have her faceup redone, and I haven't done it since. lol I really should, though. After seven years she could really use some restringing. Still probably won't change her eyes, though. They're her eyes, and she wouldn't be Evensong without them.

Things definitely have changed in the past seven years, but I think it's definitely been for the better.

 

wow this thread makes me feel like a total noob. I don't really have any "back in the day" stories!

 

Oh yes!
My first doll was a Delf El, so many El's were around then! I remember ordering him through emails, rather than a simple check out.
I almost forgot how limited choices were in MSD sized. And now we have such realistic sculpts you can buy. The hobby has come a long way! There were like a handful of companies and I remember Delf and DoD seeming to be on top. Ugh and hypermaniac, I do miss hypermaniac!
Face ups and mods have come such a long way too. So much talent in the hobby.

 

"Press papilla good feel" is still one of my favorite in jokes of this hobby XD

I remember being blown away by the idea of a doll with HOOVES!

I remember how beefy my Limhwa Mano seemed in comparison to all of the other dolls at the time...and then came the EID's and my boy seemed so skinny in comparison

I also remember double joints being a luxury.

 

I remember when the Hid was a relatively new sculpt and their dolls were still on single joint bodies. I also recall the emergence of Doll Chateu as a company and all the debates about their skinny frames and large hips. It's been cool watching a few companies progress and change

 

Remember the el armies fondly an staying up all night to grab a el elf off luts website, some very good memories. Also when woosoo heads went for near a $1000.

 

In-DEED!
You and me, both.

Although I have to admit that being reminded of the sheer inexplicable weirdness that was "Press papilla good feel" made me laugh out loud. I don't remember much about the body itself beyond the pressable nipples, but... yeah. That's probably enough all on its own. XD

I started with CP Delfs, too... I had my Shiwoos before the sculpt's (very) brief bout of popularity. I remember when Hounds and Els were everywhere, and when people thought $800 for a doll was a pretty reasonable price. I remember DoD being thought of as the most affordable company and DZ being given the hairy eyeball for recasting. I remember Bermanns being the ultimate "It" dolls.

If you liked frilly Lolita outfits, women's fancy-dress kimono or rock star leathers it wasn't hard to find clothes for 1/3-scale dolls. But if you wanted anything else? Heaven help you. Most of what existed outside of those styles was rare, or pricey, or had to be commissioned if you couldn't sew it yourself. I learned how to make Chinese period pieces just so I could dress Tien Jen in something less elaborate than S&K. A few people made less frufru Japanese outfits, but Chinese? Rarer than hen's teeth. We've come a long, long way in that respect.

 

Prices have certainly fallen on some that used to be expensive.

There was a fullset Seinna Unoss on Yahoo!Japan a couple months back. All parts and outfit still sealed and unused. She barely hit 60000 yen (about $600). Or let's see ... some of the old, old Volks limiteds that were so in-demand way back when -- Taisho Romance Megu or that Snow White Nono with the "glass" case, both with all their stuff. Super, super cheap (around $400). I wanted to cry.

If Ian shows up that cheaply I will get her though and just make room somehow. I always liked her but she was so rare and expensive when she did show up for sale.

 

I think I remember it having a rotating penis as well

I remember when there were a handful of doll companies. Today I can't look through the gallery without going "what company is THAT?" several times. I remember when dollzone was a recaster and now they are a respectable company with their own dolls. I remember the popularity of the "sock dress" and I couldn't be happier that it's gone. I remember the dollmore/dollshe drama over whether dollmore modified and recast dollshe's boy bodies for their 70cm model dolls, and how it was a major factor in dollshe closing down for years and then coming back with that crazy million jointed insectoid body.

I remember the rise and fall of the popularity of the Delfs as well as CP splitting from luts and taking their minifees with them, forming fairyland. I remember when Too & Bee-A were the cheapest dolls you could get and everyone was forming splits for the pair. I remember the first actual cheap company Mythdoll and how most people were nervous about ordering from them "will I even get a doll? Is it made of cheap plastic?" Then Bobobie and AoD were formed and opened the floodgates for the cheaper bjd companies.

 

The Wishel 1/6th dolls came along around that time, as well... Sending them out in little plaster eggs was a cute idea.

 

Is Wishel still around? Their presentation was awfully cute. Makes me think of other companies that I loved and aren't around anymore. Gomidoll, Hypermaniac, Elysium. MSDoll Laurie... Still kicking myself for not getting her.

Press Papilla, wasn't that Nobility Doll's Emotional Body? I also recall a body with a neck-joint, so you could pose the neck. Not every invention in BJD-land was equally succesful.

Looking back, what really made decide to go for these dolls were the pictures of Robin's Egg. So beautiful! Those dolls had an otherworldly quality to them.

Really, a fullset Unoss in pristine condition for just $600?! It's a good thing I didn't see that listing, or I would've gotten her.

 

The real nostalgia is when the doll is released and you feel nothing or just linger for some reason, but a couple years after that, the doll is long gone, and that's when you realise you're now desperate, but it's so hopeless you just don't know where to go and how are you supposed to find one...!!! Well, i guess this is too sad for a thread which was supposed to be positive ^^ But i'm, like, REALLY nostalgic right now for that time when Glorydoll still existed. I hate it when companies do that. Sinking behind my back... So cruel.