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Did your "Grail doll" remain your grail doll?

Jun 23, 2015

    1. I think the same. Luckily, I have my grail dolls now so I'm not really looking for another one.

      My SD grail dolls were:

      Iplehouse Claude: Got him but sold him a few weeks later...I just didn't like the body but I still adore that face! I learned that he is the kind of doll I love but shouldn't have.

      Rosetta-doll Zio: Got him and I'm very happy with him

      Switch Soseo in Mocha Brown: Got him too :D (still waiting for him) he was a gift from my brother =]


      MSD/tinies grails:

      I thought the sculpt Narin N411 was perfect for an OC so I always wanted him. However, that OC is quite young and I found the perfect sculpt for it in the right size (Iplehouse Milly <3 waiting for it) so now Narin N411 is not a grail.


      Out of all my dolls and grails, my favorite is still my first doll.^^
       
    2. My very first grail was Minifee Juri 2008, I hunted her for years as she eventually became a dear OC of mine. I tried replacing her with a different sculpt and that just didn't work out at all. As fate would have it, when I wanted to give another sculpt the 2nd try as my OC, Juri 2008 popped up for sale! Had her since 2013 and she is one of my prized dolls so yup, I still consider her my grail!

      My other unobtainable grails are Enaibi Satyne & Airelle! I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself if I ever got one because the thought seems so unreal! XD
       
    3. I have my grail doll and she is also my very first BJD, Minifee Celine got her last year 2014.
      She is a very special character for me and that i am pretty happy about. So yeah she will remain my grail doll! :aheartbea
       
    4. I've actually had several different "grail sculpts" over the years... and as I finally managed to find and add each of them to the crew, I've never been disappointed. My Elf Shiwoo (Teacup), Sakakis (Tallis and Peregrine) and Okita (Yurimaru) were all exactly what I wanted and expected them to be... I've never felt an ounce of disappointment or regret about those guys. They're absolutely among my favorite dolls and are a big part of what I consider the 'heart' of my collection.

      I'm picky about what I consider a grail, though. It's never just "a doll that I'd really like to have in the crew". It's more like "a doll that I don't feel the crew will be complete without" with an added side of "if I can ever get ahold of one, because they're rare, pricey and probably either limited or completely out-of-production". A grail is to me, by its very nature, something that's not easy to come by. It's not a sculpt that can just be bought from its company's web site any time you want. It's something that requires patience and more than a little luck to get your hands on.

      That means I don't call something a "grail" lightly. When I give a sculpt that title, it's always one I've thought about quite a bit and have already given a lot of consideration to. They're dolls I have a very good feel for, long before I have the opportunity to buy them.
       
    5. Of course! I waited years for Cerberus Project to put out tan boys again so I could shell a favorite character of mine properly. I still wax poetic like a doofus whenever I photograph him because a part of my brain can't quite compute that he's actually here, even after having him for two years.
       
    6. Yes. Absolutely. My grail is a Delf Angel Elf Soo, which is discontinued. I'm hoping for a MP sale someday. My secondary grail was a Delf Miyu. I got one and I'm extremely happy. No other doll has called to me the way those two do. My Miyu is absolutely my favorite doll. This summer I'm going to clean and restring her and send her off for a new face up. I stare at her for a few minutes every day. :)
       
    7. Hopefully Fairyland Will come out with an Angel Elf Soo when they bring back the other original CP sculpts! They've got a few I waiting for to came back out.


      As for my grails I have two; a boy Soom Dia and a Volks Williams. They were my grails when they first came out and have remained so, even after a four year absence from bjds. Hopefully I'll be able to bring them both home next year. :eusa_pray
       
    8. Yes, they are still my grails--my Dollzone Trio. Joe, Floy, and (tan) Luke. I got all three and would never consider selling them since I had wanted each of them since I first got into the hobby--it's even at the point where I'm reluctant to purchase any new dolls because these three were the ones I wanted the absolute most. Luke is probably the one I'm the most clingy about, since finding him was a stroke of immense luck. (Luke was not a very popular sculpt and tan was almost never chosen as a color for him so finding him on the secondhand market was nothing short of a miracle--I would have ordered him new at one point, but he had been discontinued.)
       
    9. I have three grail dolls, and they've been so..well, for a long time! The first was Volks Scarface Cecile, the second one Dive Seimei and the third Dust of Dolls Doom Lil...I'm lucky enough to own the first two so far, but the third not yet..not yet! ;) There are other dolls that I really like, but these grails were dolls I really, really wanted and didn't think possible, and got really lucky when I did get them. Even though I've had my Cecile and Seimei for years now, they still feel special. So, for me my grails have always been the same, but I can imagine it changes for some people too, your tastes change and new beautiful dolls come out all the time.
       
    10. i think that about sums my thoughts on how I identify grails as well... so although I might have more than one they're always the most special dolls... Often they end up being even more amazing up close than I expected also. So far I've had quite a number of them... Bosschan (IoS Chaos), Ushiwakamaru (mnf Juri 2011 that I had been searching for ever since I first entered the hobby), the absolutely elusive SC*Doll -Flower & Junior- Kaka and even more importantly Yabi that weren't even ever available for sale outside of China, as well as Dream High Studio's Ossia who was a numbered limited release of 20... I've been lucky to own each and every one of these dolls and I don't think I can ever imagine my doll family without them.

      That leaves me with but one grail, Volks' Okita Souji who I've loved since the first day I joined the hobby. It's only a matter of time until I get him home, though. I know that with enough dedication it's bound to become possible eventually.
       
    11. Yes, absolutely. I fell in love with Iplehouse Carina the moment I saw her. I was really broke at the time, it took me two years to get her, and I have had her nearly three years now. She is the jewel of my collection. She remains THE most beautiful doll I have ever seen.
       
    12. I've only had one real grail - a doll I fell in love with too late. He was a limited release, and a Volks SD10 (Michele)...so not only was he super-epensive second-hand but I really didn't think he'd fit in with the rest of my dolls proportionately. Hard to get + expensive + me not sure how he'd work out = me not willing to locate and pay for him. So I pined for years. Then I suddenly had the money and Michele was the first thing I thought of that I really wanted. Plus, my collection was a little more eclectic than it was in 2009, so I didn't care if he "fit" with my dolls or not XD

      I've had him for about a year and half now, and I still consider him my grail (I have a second "grail" but I doubt I'll ever get one), no other doll has ever hit that combination of "want enough to pay for," and I don't think another one will. I adore everything about him and what he represents to me. He's not my favorite (I already had a favorite(s), my first doll, and that's not changing) but he's special in a way the rest of my dolls aren't.
       
    13. Yes, since she is simply unattainable. Enaibi Satyne, I know I will never have one, even if I would be willing to pay the 2600€ she costs : )
       
    14. My one and only Grail has never changed. I didn't have a grail doll at all for many years in this hobby, but then Dollzone introduced Anson and it was love at first sight. I was completely obsessed by her and instantly knew I would stop at absolutely nothing to bring her home. I did a mad scramble for money...literally pulling it from everywhere I could, including selling other dolls. By the time Denver Doll Emporium put her up for sale on their order page, I had the funds in place and ordered her immediately (which turned out to be a very good thing because Dollzone cancelled her after only 3 months due to production and shipping difficulties owing to the delicacy of her petals.) During the wait, I obsessed over every single detail for her and on the day of her arrival, I began an intensive month long project of doing the very carefully planned and researched artwork on all those amazing petals. She remains my Grail to this day...every time I walk past her, she still takes my breath away.
       
    15. Yes and no.
      My grail doll was and still is Soom Phonolus. I fell head over heels hard in love when I saw him, and after a few years, I bought him in 2013 through second hand!

      However, I have kind of moved on from him being my grail because I own him. I still call him my grail, because he is, but I kind of consider "grail doll(s)" to be a doll that I am obsessing over/find special, always on the hunt for/always saving up for and lusting over; kind of like a must have but will take a while to get or are very hard to get. So as soon as Phonolus was bought, I felt accomplished and satisfied then felt like "Well, where do I go from here?" XD. He didn't exactly feel like a grail doll anymore since I was no longer looking for him, but he always will be a grail since he is so special :). Nowadays, I find that I have an unexpected new grail, which is Souldoll Onulharu!
       
    16. Yes my grail has changed. When I first started collecting I had more of a "doll crush" on a doll. I really thought that I needed to have him in my collection. The thing is - the doll is a basic, I could buy him at anytime. More time passes but I never buy him. I've purchased many dolls since discovering him; which is why I think it was a "crush" rather than a "grail." I do think that doll was the first incarnation of what my grail might be. I want a doll with similar features, but not him and therefore I'm still searching or to the OP question; yes my grail has changed.
       
    17. For me grails usually stay grails, even if they are of an aesthetic I no longer am interested in. Though I have obtained many of my grails (some two of) there are a few which I find unattainable, due to the exorbitant price and rarity of the sculpt...
       
    18. I guess I'll be finding out in a few months once I pay off mine! I'm super excited. She's been my grail doll pretty much since I got into the hobby so at the moment, she's still on her metaphorical pedestal.
       
    19. My very first doll was my grail doll, back in 2006. Since then, I've had my eyes on another, but as the years pass, I want her less and less. I guess it's because I'm happy with the dolls I have and my current grail is so expensive I'll likely never own her.
       
    20. I have a lot of trouble with defining "grail." Possibly because I overthink it. See, when I hear the word, it has a very strong connotation of longing and an uphill battle...a quest, really, to obtain. I feel like, when you see your grail, you should feel that little thrill that shoots through you when the person you love says they love you too. It should fill you with this odd, bubbly thrill. I've never *really* had that for a doll. well, sort of.
      My girlfriend defines it as the feeling when you walk into a store and see something, and you know, in that moment, that's what you need to leave with. You have that inexplicable sense of want. I've had that for three dolls, all of whom I bought.

      In all honesty, my RD Jack was the first doll I bought, and I obsessed over him for months, perhaps he was a grail. Really, I think I to the grail feeling most when I saw Soom Noellia on the website, and made a character for her, who I promptly feel in love with writing. I made her a devastating backstory, but a decent future. And then she popped up on ebay, and my heart sank. she was about 3K CAD. I tried to rationalize the price, but I just couldn't. Thats a month and a half of work, if I don't eat or feed my scaly family, or save up. Yesterday, I saw another listing advertising her for a lot less.

      It wasn't even a question. I just jumped on it. I've payed a down payment on her layaway. Is she a grail? Yeah, I think she's the closest I have, and i'll always savour her character. I can't see this changing.
       
      #40 Chameleon, Jun 27, 2015
      Last edited: Feb 22, 2016