Collectability: How do you Collect?

I dont, Im picky, not in terms of not liking a lot of the molds, I love them, but its been a long time since I felt like buying a whole doll, mostly its just; oh, that head would look great on that body! And I think Crobidoll is one of the only companys where I like most of the dolls.

That said, Im pretty new to the hobby, I got my first doll about half a year ago, and I only own him and two floating heads currently..

 

My collection is extremely diverse, the only true unifier being 'dolls that I love'. I am actually less likely to 'repeat' dolls of the same company or line, because of this; however, there are a few exceptions: Pipos(Baha and both Cheshires, basic grey and LE orange), BBB(green Nissa and Pixie-boi), Fairyland(LittleFee and Puki Pukisha), and Tinybear(blue Coco and Bracken)...
okay, that sounds like my rule is 'more honored in the breach than the observance', but it's about 18 dolls now, so...

There are also several themes threaded throughout: I love coloured resin, and would like to one day have a doll in every colour of the rainbow. A lot of my dolls are cats, and of those, most (but not all) are customized by me into Tigerbabies. There's also lots of pointed ears in my crew, too - fairies, elves and other magikal critters. I am more likely to go for a new doll if it is in a size I don't currently own; I have almost every scale now from 70cm to Puki-tiny with just a handful of gaps. However, I don't have a 90cm because there's not one I've seen that 'fits' with what I love (good thing, too - my doll shelf is only so big, and pockets so deep!)

Something I've done a few times that is a bit weird, is buy a pair of eyes (blue cat-eyes, à la Tigerbaby) and seek out a doll that would fit them! It's worked really well for me: made me consider dolls I might not have otherwise that have turned out to be adorable and much-loved members of my tribe.

I work in an art gallery specializing in arctic art, and it is similar for many collectors, it's not just in dolls. Some focus by theme, individual artists, media, or region. But all agree that if a piece doesn't 'speak' to you on a personal level, it's not worth it: no matter how rare, desirable, or reasonably-priced.

 

How do you collect dolls? Do you collect just one or two from the line, or do you try to collect the whole line?
Like a lot of others that have responded, mostly I collect the dolls that I think would best embody my own characters. However I do have quite a few sculpts that I got out of pure love and then made new characters for them to be. I like a lot of different companies but the one company I'm just overwhelmingly drawn to is Blue Fairy. I could see myself having every single sculpt in both genders. =3

If you do want to collect the whole line, why is that?
I'm not exactly sure why I want all the Blue Fairies! They're just all so adorable in their own respects. I have three at the moment and they're all named after trees/plants so I guess if I had more I could have a whole forest!
Blue Fairy bodies aren't exactly as advanced as some other companies as well meaning they don't have double joints and are fairly simplistic in their sculpt but I've never seen a MSD with better posing ability! (just my opinion) I just think all the sculpts have amazing personality. =3

 

I got my first bjd (and only one at the moment) because she was small, and not as expensive as the normal sized bjd's. I spent months poking around, and loved her because of her face, and her body.

I love the animal bjd's too, and sadly I think as I collect more of them they're all going to be female, because I think they're prettier. I do love Soom's lines, all of them, but for my next doll I think I want to go with a different line. While their bigger bjd's are lovely. I've liked elflands dolls a little more once I started poking around their site.

I like the idea of collecting multiple heads, and it'll probably be something that I do, because it means you can do a lot more with the doll, without having to buy a whole new body and then wait those horrible 2-4 months that it takes to make the doll.

I collect based on how I feel about the doll. I don't really have a favorite company... though I do know that I favor cream/white/albino skin colors... @_@

 

How do you collect dolls? Do you collect just one or two from the line, or do you try to collect the whole line?

I just collect dolls I love and have a diverse collection, but I do have several sets of dolls that are part of the same line. I bought them, not because I wanted a specific group of dolls, but because I liked each individual doll enough to want one of each.

If you do want to collect the whole line, why is that?

I haven't ever liked all the dolls in any one line, but if I did, I would probably want to have them all. I only buy my very favorites, though, because my house is small and my resources are limited.

 

I'm not so much of a "line collector" or a collector of one company so much as I am a collector of dolls that actually look like my characters. Dolls are inspiring to me as an artist, so when I can have a physical representation of the characters inside my head, it takes me to a new level of inspiration. The face/body/etc. is what I look for more than anything. I've peered through thousands of dolls looking for "the right one", and so far I have only found about 5 that actually fit my characters likenesses, which is still a fairly good number. Though there are certain companies whose dolls I do love so much that I just WANT them for the sake of having them... Soom and Fairyland for example. Although Volks are the true "original" company, I don't really care for the faces, with the exception of William. Good Lord he is a pretty, pretty mandoll...

 

To others my collection probably looks like odds and ends that don't match. I have collected dolls for 20 years. My taste has changed at different stages in my life. If you look close at my collection it more about the course of my life than a collector line. The dolls I got in collage are more wild and carefree. I had a thing for big hair rock bands. The year I got married I got several brides and grooms dolls as gifts. Now I seem to find my self drawn to cute children dolls like Puki Puki. I only buy a few special dolls each year or there would be no room left in the house for my husband.

 

I've never had a desire to collect a whole series of dolls from a company usually because I find them too similar to one another and I like some variety. There has never been a moment where I have looked at a particular BJD company website and wanted a complete set, for me there is normally one doll that will stand out and catch my eye. That doesn't mean I wouldn't buy from a company on more than one occasion (I have done) but that's different to purchasing a entire doll line. As an exception I really like several of Soom's Teenie Gem dolls but again its not ALL of them. Regrettably when it comes to their human body line the bodies all pretty much look exactly the same, there aren't even many hand types to choose from etc to make them look a little different. I actually prefer them in human form than in the fantasy forms that a lot of people tend to favour. Luckily I don't want a full doll line from any company as financially it wouldn't be feasible and with limited "dolly" space I have to prioritise which dolls I purchase.

 

The only doll line I ever felt the need to collect them ALL was BlueBlood Doll, when they only had Waltz, Silver, Draven and Valentine. I also bought the BBD x Jie Doll collaboration Salem, but by then, my tastes were changing to more realistic sculpts, and while I do still adore these dolls, I've sold them off.

Now, I don't feel the need to really collect any certain company's dolls. I buy what I like and what fits the character, so I might have three from one company and only one part of a hybrid from another. I try not to have any duplicate bodies, since I want my crew to have diversity, like a group of humans would have.

 

I wouldn't want every sculpt from ANY company-- there are always hits & misses. My preferred brand is Volks, but I have owned many non-Volks dolls. Right now I own three Volks dolls & 2 non-Volks dolls. The next doll I am getting is going to be from Dollshe.

I normally just find a sculpt I like & go for it. I don't generally mind which brand they are from. If they fit what I am looking for, they are going onto my wish list.

 

I seem attracted to Doll Zone dolls and have quite a few of the OT event ones, one msd (Benjamin), and the complete series of four (now discontinued) yosd that came out a couple years back (Nyu, Hiro, Tengyuan, and Mika). I have a few other bjds, all from different companies, and I'm not set on collecting just from one company. So far, DZ has hijacked my wallet the most!

 

I only have one doll at the moment so not much of a "collection", but when thinking about what dolls I would like to have one day I never even considered sticking to any one particular company. I just want the dolls that call to me, regardless of what company they come from. And like what other people have said, I think I would prefer diversity in a collection, unless dolls were going to be siblings or related somehow I wouldn't really want them to look too similar.

 

I really like having dolls from a bunch of different companies so their body shapes and sizes are varied - to me, it adds a touch of realism. However, if you don't sew or make your own patterns, I can see that it might make life a lot easier to stick with fewer models.

 

How do you collect dolls? Do you collect just one or two from the line, or do you try to collect the whole line?
At this point I've never set out to collect a whole line. I tend to pick and choose who I like, and I'm a bit all over the place sizes I like, so I can't imagine only having one size of doll. I've only ever had two from the same line at the same time at this point, but those were the dolls that appealed to me at the time.

If you do want to collect the whole line, why is that?
Sometimes I do think it would be really amusing to have an army of Lati Yellows or Pukifees taking over my house, so if I did it, it would be them. I love the little faces, and having them all could be really amusing. Not really a feasible goal though, as even tinies take a lot of room and funds.

 

I really like 5 Star dolls. I don't want all their dolls, because they don't all appeal to me, but I really like the bodies and the quality. I have 3 currently, and would definitely get more. I especially want an MSD size boy from 5 Star, but I'm waiting to see if they do a head sculpt I like in that size. I really like several of their discontinued dolls, and not so fond of the current batch in that size range. But who knows, I may break down and get their Mu Ran boy if they don't come out with a new sculpt in the next year or so.

 

I'm more of an eclectic doll collector, I've got dolls from a host of companies and artists in varying shapes and sizes. I do tend to go more for 1/3 size guys but I've never really gone for a whole line from any particular company.

 

I seems to have acquired a rash of Luts sculpts - not intentional but there's something about their designs that I just really love. I'm not looking to collect all Kid Delfs but I do have affection for several more of that size and I already own two. I think total six of my brood are all Luts.

 

I think I'd certainly happy with all the souldoll boys, but I don't know if I'd buy them all

 

For the most part I like to collect dolls from different companies (at least as far as bodies are concerned--I don't want to own two of the same body if I can help it, with the exception of twin characters). But recently... I may have made plans to acquire most of Winterrain's sculpts in the near future. ^^;