Back then and now...(Nostalgia Thread)

Unidoll sort-of did that to me... 'Vanished before I really made up my mind about wanting an Ark.

 

@ Silk: I also remember the Wishel dolls! I feel like the Youtube video's of people opening their Wishel eggs sparked the doll diaries over at Youtube. At least they have doubled in the last five years, which is great.
@ Nelfa: the recast controversy was indeed about the companies modifying other companies' dolls, now it's just the controversy of blatant copies and who owns them. A difference indeed!

I remember when Unidoll went out of business, the first I can remember (a lot more followed, some taking their customers orders and others re-homed under new brands). I remember when Senior Delf came out, and when my then-favorite company AngelRegion was taken over by Soom. When I joined DoA in 2006, everyone seemed to have a Delf El, and in the Netherlands there was a huge Narsha craze opening up a lot of possibilities for clothing makers for this specific size! Dollshe seemed to make the only 70cm doll, hence the name 'Hound' for that size. I remember when Wicked Stichery was the only source of BJD patterns I knew. I remember the time Switch started business and everyone freaked out in a good way. Customhouse drama, the company entirely disappearing and re-appearing as Aidoll, the new lines of Iplehouse, Soom and Luts, and of course DollZone's switch from relatively cheap company to what they are now. I saw a bunch of new doll companies that I just can't keep track of anymore, but I do recognize most sculpts by at least their company.


The variety on the Marketplace was not as big as it is today, and people seemed to not sell as many doll heads. In general, way more artist doll heads have appeared than there were 7 years ago. Therefore it's now much easier to find a resin match than it was back then, although many companies have since changed their skintones so my good ol' knowledge might not even apply anymore @_@

I joined the forum when I was 14 and I'm only 22 now, but now I feel old!

 

I was so horrified at the end price. I was sitting on my hands to not bid because she wouldn't fit in with my other dolls. They were, if I recall correctly, the first couple of dolls who had "fantasy parts". Classic.

There's another non-fullset Unoss that keeps popping up every few weeks for around $900 -- with no takers. I remember all the "but I wanted to buy one!" fuss when they first were discontinued, and what the prices looked like for any that appeared for sale over the next couple of years. It's terrible to want to rescue dolls that are going "too cheaply" by early-hobby standards.

So many things have changed. Although I suppose this change is good for the pocketbook!

 

Oh, man... I remember when everyone and their mom had a Delf El. For a while it felt like the whole forum was knee-deep in Els!
Now there's such a variety and it's hard to pinpoint who the "most popular" doll is...

 

I know many people have been in this hobby for longer than me, but damn, things have changed. I remember in 2006/5 (?) when I first saw the Luts website. I was n deviantArt and saw a pic of a doll (actually my friend linked me to it) and he was a Luts. I loved it. Went to the website, looked at the prices and almost cried lol. Took me 2 years to have the courage to buy one.

But yeah, Luts was big! I loved their dolls, and El. I wanted an El on a Moon. Then I saw a Dollshe Hound and decided that's the one I wanted. It was big and awesome. I think they were the only big dolls at the time. It was so hard to find ANY information about them. I kept looking for dollfies but never found any thing, or pictures. I thought it was dodge to buy from a Korean website and wait forever lol.

I also didn't know DoA. Joined after I got my 1st doll on ebay. Back then I would only shop on ebay. It could be trusted, now a days it's insane with all the recast. You need to keep certificates, boxes... and the new companies, I can't keep track of them all.

Ah yeah, and I remember being very angry when I missed the Soom Sard. Rare thing he was, then when he showed up in the MP he was SO expensive I gave up on having it. (still don't!) And don't get me started n the Bermanns. Tenisya's website kept crashing on me cos I had bad internet connection and I knew someone had beat me to it. XD So many frustrating moments ! Everything was way harder then... oh! Props... what a nightmare. It's easy to get props now.

I remember too when Tata Paradise was a sales thread XD

But it wasn't so bad then tho. You could easily identify companies, artist heads were a great find... I had a box full of heads lol.... I think the community was closer too, and dolls more original because there weren't so many collectors showing their pics. This are easier now, but hardly less frustrating, it's just a different frustration... dropping 2nd hand prices and recast worries, for intance.

 

I did much the same thing to get the El Special that my partner and I were splitting. It was during that weird time when there was actually a resin shortage so Luts would only restock a couple of dolls at a time and you had to sit there all night hitting refresh to get one. @_@ I missed out so many times before I managed to get him!

And oh the blessed feeling of already having snagged a Bermann before the huge drama of each Tensiya release really got going!!

 

It DID. Between that and "press papilla good feel" that was quite possibly the most hilarious dolly "advance" of all time. It gets no better, seriously.

I remember when Delfs were The Thing (you can actually date that extremely well, since I got two of mine toward the end of that period). I remember when DZ was the "cheap" company, and having to go to bat for them because I got mine less than a year after the recasting kerfuffle. (How many newer members actually know Dollzone started out as a recaster? Like, an honest-to-god recaster. The kind we rant about.) I remember when every company out of China was accused of recasting because there was no way dolls could be that cheap. I remember when Bobobie hit, and suddenly the hobby EXPLODED because it was infinitely more affordable than it had been. I remember the ridonkulous levels of drama that were the last...three? Four? Bermann releases. I remember way too well when Elfdoll discontinued their boys, because it made me cry emo tears (and then rapidly snap up two). And damn it, I remember when Dollshe sold those lovely girls that just did not catch on, and of course I didn't realize how damn bad I wanted one until they were discontinued. Ah well, hindsight.

...and I've got all three of my Delfs too. Never did get an El. But I looooooove my Shiwoo, and I actually kinda like him more now that everyone and their dog doesn't have one -- and that he hasn't been brought back by Fairyland. They might bring him back. I doubt they'll ever bring Lu-wen back, which is kind of too bad because there's an underrated sculpt if ever I saw one.

Damn, this hobby has changed.

 

Oh yes, those crazy times when a sculpt sold out the SECOND it got released. I remember reading all the stories of people who had the doll in their shopping cart, but then lost out of them in the time they were filling in their names, addresses etc. It sounded so adventurous.

 

Oh yes, the El Army. I was once a member (and still miss my boy).

I remember when resin colours besides white and normal started to pop up. GREEN? BLUE? OMGFANTASYCOLOURS!!! And for a reasonable price! I think that was around the time of Bobobie and such.

And I remember Dollzone and 'the struggle' of trying to go legit versus the people saying they'd never buy from them. I ended up with a DZ girl a year or two after the curfluffle.

I remember how difficult it was to get a Luts/CP doll. I remember stalking that website and wishing, though my wallet was absent.

I remember when I went to my first doll meet, years ago, and how difficult it was to find people early on. Now it seems like there are doll owners within 5 miles of me. Yay for growth!

A lot has changed, that's for sure.

 

*meekly raises hand to confess membership in the Rescue Society* You should see my living room. Bring me your tired, your poor, your early CH Uniques and ancient Hypermaniacs and oldskin Volks and elderly "limpid resin" Souldolls . . .

At least I don't feel the urge for another Unoss. So far.

I am still kicking myself that I didn't snatch the Taisho Romance Megu that popped up for sale on DoA a few years ago. ARGH.

 

I remember when Volks released Tachibana Shirou. I was AT that Dolpa and was so upset I didn't have the money for him because it was at the end of my trip. And then he and the rest of the Tokyo Boys were so expensive for years. I almost cried when I saw a FULLSET TSUKASA for sale on Mandarake for 60,000 this summer.

I too wish I had enough money to rescue all of the older Volks releases that pop up for obscenely low prices.

The hobby was so different when I started, and I admit I miss those days. Things have changed and not always for the better.

 

I remember all of the OP's examples and much more. Times when shops were so scarce, there would be a thread in the news section whenever ANYONE released new CLOTHES even. Hours staying up into the wee small hours waiting for Luts releases because that resin shortage was a complete nightmare! The first time I saw a Bermann in person at a meet, because yeah, back then meets were happy, friendly, lovely things I did... OH and "the Woosoo years" where if you could lay your hands on that head, you'd have to pay through the nose for it. I saw one sell for $500 the other day...nearly cried. Still slightly kicking myself I didn't buy it now, I'm also one of those 'rescue all the old CP's' people!

All those beautiful CP dolls with massive smokey eyes and side glances, I look back now and wonder when it was that everything suddenly changed to the natural look and marginally more realistic proportions that are in vogue these days?! That seems like it just snuck in without my really noticing, but in retrospect, the general concept of beauty in the hobby has changed pretty drastically, I think. Probably explains why so many companies have just vanished now.

All things considered, in the almost ten years I've been in this, there have been huge, sweeping changes. I'd be lying if I said it was all for the better too.

 

The El army, I remember that! I never did buy one though.

Lucky. I gave up on trying to get one after a while. The secondary prices just killed me, and I just couldn't spend that much on one non-antique doll.

Heh, I'm trying to keep my front room from going that route. It's like, wait I wanted that one way back when, and now she's cheeaap! I end up sitting on my hands a lot when I watch auctions so I don't buy them all. Poor unloved dolls.

I will only rescue poor earless Volks fairy girls and give them a good home. And ears, I think I'm collecting ears here for future rescuees.

Yes, the aesthetic is so different! I can't get over it. I finally got enough parts to test-string my old F-04 and went to put her with the other big dolls for a few weeks while I got eyes, wig, etc together for her. I looked at her, and thought about how suddenly there's this weird chubby big-eyed alien with the less-stylized dolls. Whoops. She just doesn't fit in, poor thing.

Things have changed so much.

 

This is a great idea for a thread. ^__^
Haha, I was just joking about the "press papilla good feel" the other day!! It's too good a phrase not to use just for the heck of it. ^_~

I kind of regret never buying the furniture that Iplehouse used to make. It was just so expensive to ship and I lived in a tiny apartment…but I see the displays in their showroom and kind of sigh. Hm…I think they've even sold off a lot of what remained for that...

Sometimes I'm just amazed how advanced some of the company websites have become. It seems like for a while they were all slight variations of the same website. Now they are so fancy!
I stumbled upon a website the other day that had that same couch at the top, that used to be on Iplehouse's website. It was quite nostalgic to see.

 

I remember when Dollmore sold Dollshe, then was accused of copying Dollshe's body.
All 70cm dolls were called Hounds much like the 60cm~ish dolls are known as SD.
Beauty White turned Beauty Green.
Dream of Doll was the cheap company, as well as Dollzone.
Soom released Beryl- Never Ending Dream and history was made!
Custom House kept having crazy promos (even though it seemed like they couldn't fill the orders they were already getting) which turned into crazy wait times and damaged dolls being delivered. Then CH transformed, Magical Girl style, into Ai Doll.

And that body with the rotating penis & squishy nipples! Who was in the focus group that gave the green light to that gimmick? LOL!

 

......WHAT. Oh my god if I'd had the money I would've been groveling for that. I still want a Shirou T. Badly. Horribly terribadly. One of these days.

I can't disagree.

 

I remember going on Tensiya's site everyyyyyday to look at the Dollshe pretties! Considering buying my Hound from Dollmore vs Tensiya, all that good stuff. And the Els--wow, I had forgotten about them for such a long time! Maybe I blocked it from my memory, there really were a ton around...Also remember seeing the new colors, I remember back before there were even tan skin dolls. O: It was so exciting when they started popping up!

 

'Funny thing is... it's happened at least twice! My Doll Chateau Dolores's A-03 body has "twirly bits" too. (He does not, alas, have squishy nipples. Poor Scribe. No "Press papilla good feel" for him. )

I have to raise my hand as a member of the "dolly rescue"-club as well. That's both the Good Thing and the Bad Thing about the CP/Delf dolls I love so much being utterly out-of-fashion (and thus usually dirt cheap in the Marketplace). I'm tempted to adopt every single one of them. I don't have the cabinet space for that, darn it! XD

I do love my more modern dolls, too... I wouldn't give up my EIDs for anything else... But my heart's always going to belong to the "old school".

(And long live the El Army... My guys are still here, manning the Turtle House garrison.)

 

My funniest memory is that my first doll, AoD Chen, was only $183 INCLUDING shipping, brand new. This was in early 2008. He was my perfect, dream doll, and I thought that was just so outrageously expensive to spend on a doll. Including eyes, wig and shoes, I probably didn't spend $225 total on him (I made all of his clothes at first from recycled fabrics). Now....I WISH I could get my dream doll for that cheap!