1. It has come to the attention of forum staff that Dollshe Craft has ceased communications with dealers and customers, has failed to provide promised refunds for the excessive waits, and now has wait times surpassing 5 years in some cases. Forum staff are also concerned as there are claims being put forth that Dollshe plans to close down their doll making company. Due to the instability of the company, the lack of communication, the lack of promised refunds, and the wait times now surpassing 5 years, we strongly urge members to research the current state of this company very carefully and thoroughly before deciding to place an order. For more information please see the Dollshe waiting room. Do not assume this cannot happen to you or that your order will be different.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Dollshe Craft and all dolls created by Dollshe, including any dolls created under his new or future companies, including Club Coco BJD are now banned from Den of Angels. Dollshe and the sculptor may not advertise his products on this forum. Sales may not be discussed, no news threads may be posted regarding new releases. This ban does not impact any dolls by Dollshe ordered by November 8, 2023. Any dolls ordered after November 8, 2023, regardless of the date the sculpt was released, are banned from this forum as are any dolls released under his new or future companies including but not limited to Club Coco BJD. This ban does not apply to other company dolls cast by Dollshe as part of a casting agreement between him and the actual sculpt or company and those dolls may still be discussed on the forum. Please come to Ask the Moderators if you have any questions.
    Dismiss Notice

Do you ever name and create a back story for a doll you haven't ordered yet?

Jun 6, 2022

    1. I have certain rules for my collection, and my number one rule is “no character, no doll”!:eusa_naug If I don’t have a character with a well defined backstory to suit that doll, I simply won’t buy it. This helps avoid unnecessary expenditures, which saves money in and of itself in the long run. Beyond that, I have a strong tendency to purchase on layaway through trusted dealers, treating each payment like one of my regular household bills…I just always pay on time automatically, without really thinking about it any further than that. It keeps things simple for me and makes good financial sense in my circumstances. I’ve managed to slowly add about 3 dolls per year in this way…and after so many years in the hobby, happily that adds up to an amazing crew!;)
       
      #21 PoeticSoul, Jun 7, 2022
      Last edited: Jun 9, 2022
      • x 1
    2. I'm not a writer or artist... but quite a few of my crew are the resin avatars of my tabletop RPG or roleplayed MMO characters. In some cases, those characters pre-dated the dolls by literal decades. (I started playing Solomon, as just one example, in an AD&D game when I was in high school. In 1985. I bought the LatiDoll Adel resin version of him in 2016.) Those characters obviously existed long, long before their doll versions did.

      There are other cases, though, where the character didn't exist until the doll was in-hand... and some of my crew *aren't* really "character dolls". They have nothing but a vague theme and a name. Will they ever be characters? Maybe. Or maybe not. As far as I'm concerned, that aspect of the hobby is entirely optional.
       
      #22 Brightfires, Jun 7, 2022
      Last edited: Jun 10, 2022
      • x 2
    3. All the time! My dolls are my RP characters, and I like to play them for some time before getting a doll, just in case I end up not bonding to the character or I find them too difficult or boring to play. Currently, I have one character I want to shell for sure, and four others that I'm debating on.

      For saving up money...well...that's the hard part. In my case, most of my doll money comes from either selling things I don't use anymore, or my "allowance" (which is just a set amount my husband and I budget to come out of our paychecks each week as fun money to be used however). There's a pretty creative list here of ways to get money!
       
    4. Way too often... often because I have character plans for one doll's entire 'family', but I don't necessarily know who I want next, and sometimes I know who a character is but I'm not sure which doll is right for that character.

      Or, in one case, I missed out on the perfect body for a hybrid and had to wait for the next production run, found the perfect head while the body's artist was on hiatus, bought a couple other dolls in the span of time I wound up waiting for that body, but decided one of the characters I was planning on should wait until the first was complete... my process is a mess even without complications.
       
    5. Yes , I did . In some days I will have minifee sia fullset everything included and I already created a story for her . I am so excited to have her . It was one of my grail things .
       
    6. Yes. I created a whole character before I started saving to buy my first doll. And I fleshed her out over a period of time. I wanted to know for sure I would have a reason to play with my doll and that I wouldn't get bored of the character.
       
      • x 1
    7. All the time lol. Half the time, I don't even end up buying said doll to be honest lol
       
    8. I have done this several times. I'll usually know I want a doll and have a nebulous idea of a character when I see them. During the waiting period, I solidify the character and get to know them more. There have only been a few where I had a fully formed character before finding the doll to shell them into.
       
    9. Sometimes I’ve made stories, other times dolls have just been impulse buys *_* depends if I think on a doll or not
       
    10. A lot of times I just keep the company name, because it's a perfectly good name, I've changed only a few names.

      When I go looking for a doll, it's because I want a little miniature actor to fit my storylines, I've been working on two stories to photograph for awhile, and need just a few more dolls to fit the rolls, so I guess in that way, I have it planned out, and I look for dolls to fit the characters I want them to play.

      I kind of see them as little actors though, so I don't give them much of a background as they kind of live with me, like mini roommates. I like to discover their real personalities after they get home to me.
       
    11. I love this. I feel like I love having a nice backstory.

      I love seeing the responses where they are the RP characters for games. I play DND and it would be so cool to have my doll be the character.

      I kept the company name for my first doll. The one I'm saving upnfor will be my second.
       
      #31 Ktelbug22, Jun 9, 2022
      Last edited by a moderator: Nov 2, 2022
      • x 1
    12. I definitely create stories for dolls that I don't own yet! Most of the time I'm looking for doll sculpts to shell for my OC's so they already have a name and backstory, but sometimes I'll come across a doll and fall in love with them and immediately get all sorts of ideas for their background and a name for them! For me, that's a motivator to save and even if I don't end up getting the doll (out of stock or some other reason), I'm able to use what I came up with for an OC. So I see it as a win win!
       
    13. It's good fun...
      These dolls are sort of like the ultimate in customizable action figures. :thumbup
       
    14. For me, I try to have a name and idea for a doll before I purchase it. If the doll doesn't have a purpose/identity, I don't buy it.

      As for saving up money, I have a set amount go into a "mad money" account every paycheck. That's the money I can spend on anything, including dolls and the things they need. It really helps me out.

      Another thing you can do is look around your place and find things you don't use/want/need anymore (like old collectables, electronics, etc.) and sell it locally or online. I've been doing that, and I've managed to be able to purchase multiple dolls because of it. You never know what people want!
       
    15. I can’t even remember the names I give to the dolls I currently own. I think it’s fascinating how different people view their dolls for me they are more of a pretty decoration item instead of an character but maybe I’m just not creative enough for some backstories
       
    16. My first doll is based on an OC with a whole fleshed out background, but I think having a doll that without a background might be a little more fun for me. When it comes to dolls with a story, I always feel like I have to stick with the type of clothes and hair that the character would prefer to wear, and it makes me feel a little guilty if I don't dress them the way they'd like to. The ones without a story don't have that kind of limitation in my head and I can go wild with them~
       
    17. I don’t really do much in the way of character creation, I’m no writer, but I will create relationships for my dolls. If I see a doll and think “they would make the perfect sibling for my current doll!” Then I know I’m on the right track. And once I’ve narrowed it down I’ll think of all the roleplay possibilities. I wanna create full backstories one day but for now I like to keep it simple!
       
    18. If I don't have a character for a doll I won't get it because I wont be able to "bond" with it. That said it doesn't have to be an original character. I am shelling a ton of beloved anime characters as well as OCs right now. Sometimes I am able to think of an OC or character that fits on the spot if I see a doll I really love the look of. However that is a rare occurrence as I would have to not only really love that doll and new character but also be willing to prioritize it over current doll plans.
       
      • x 2
    19. Dolls gotta spark the character fire or I won't get them! Name and backstory in particular tend to come later, but I can usually feel the gears turning on first sight. I'll give it some time and see if I keep coming back to that doll and concept, and that stage fleshes out the backstory and relationships more. By the time I put the order in, I'll at least know where they fit into my doll gang and generally what they're up to.

      The most recent one was actually a one of a kind doll where the actual plan on how to sell her were up in the air until a few days ago, and the initial sale offer wasn't extended to my country! I don't have a backstory, but I do have a general personality and relationships vibe, plus a name (Orchid!). My plan is for her to be more of my work buddy than a big part of the main cast, but we'll see how it goes. Even though I saw the holds/sale post a day late, I did manage to put a hold on her, after all. Considering she's the closest thing I've got to a grail, having first seen the sculpt years ago but losing track of the artist before I started getting dolls, I'm excited! :celebrate
       
      • x 1
    20. I’ve done exactly this with all the dolls I want to get! I have names, backstory, and a whole world that I made after seeing them! I have two ordered that sort of sparked my desire to make a whole world (layaway, but I’m incredibly impatient ^^; )

      As for saving, I would try really hard to prioritize ones you really want, and hold off on dolls that aren’t limited, even if they are though, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself with a bunch of orders, even if it means missing a limited!
       
      • x 1