Do you upgrade your dolls?

I have never redone a doll completely in the sense of reshelling or changing any major parts. But most of my dolls have had minor uppgrades over the years.
Two of my dolls got new hands. My Doll Leaves boy got a pair of jointed hands because it fits his character who tends to be fidgety and nervous and that's much better expressed with jointed hands than with his defaults. And an old JID girl got a pair of the new style JID hands, simply because I like them better and they fit in better with my other dolls hands.
Some of my dolls have gone through a few wigs and eyes before I found the right ones for them and clothes are constantly being added to their warderobes.
Faceups and blushing gets redone as needed. Sometimes because of wear, sometimes because I think I can do a better job now. Sometimes I'm even right.

 

Oh yes, all the time. I redo faceups, get or make new wigs, get or make new eyes, buy new hands/bodies and sometimes heads. I have one character who had gone through 3 very intentional thought out shells, only to end up in the fourth, which was an impulse buy from a friend. I have another who has had three possible heads and though I'm reasonably happy with him at present, if a body or head I liked better came along, I'd change it when I could afford it. It's not so much updating, because I have a few older dolls with older style faceups that I like to keep intact, but perfecting the ones who shell the most beloved of my characters.

 

Oh yeah, and I feel like the fact that I've only been in the hobby a little over a year plays a part in this-still figuring out what I want for who. Currently I have two that are awaiting new heads, one that needs to be dyed and have her faceup redone, and another who needs his faceup wiped and redone, because I feel like I can do better. Not to mention I seem to have a revolving door of eyes as I figure out which eyes work best with who.

 

I've just recently done this with my very first doll. While I did like his original faceup and the wardrobe that I had picked out, his character changed quite a bit over the years from his initial conception. An upgrade has been long overdue!
I got him back recently from an artist that gave him a new faceup, and I'm currently waiting on his new wardrobe

 

Updates for me mostly come in the form of refreshed face-up, and new hands. Currently, I think six or seven of my dolls have hands that are not their default ones. Hands are so important to the look of a doll for me, and some default ones are... Less than preferred. When possible I just change the shape by boiling them, but sometimes that's not enough.

I have tried to fully upgrade a doll with a new sculpt and body, but it didnt quite workout. The attachment to the original was too strong, or the vibe of the new one was off in another case. I'm attempting it again for another doll/character now, and I'm hoping it works as I can't really justify keeping that new doll otherwise

 

Guilty. As. Charged.
I started collecting playline (Barbie) dolls, and when the made-to-move bodies came out, everyone got rebodied.

Rebodying BJDs is so much more expensive, so I am doing it more slowly, but oh yes, I do love buying a pricey body for a budget head.

Spoiler: Photographic evidence of my crimes

Now if you're swappin' body
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Supiadoll Noa (left) on Fairyland Feeple65 body. Fairyland Feeple65 Medusa Angela (right) claimed the Impldoll Star Model 63-cm body. Netis is safe. For now...


Getting handsy
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Resinsoul Mei on Souldoll Soul Kids NL body, Unoa Lucis/Sist on Peakswoods FOB body


Unoa-Peak's Woods hybrid
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Another picture of Unoa on Peakswoods FOB


Doll Leaves-Dreaming Doll hybrid
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Doll Leaves Hedy on Dreaming Doll Little Elva Type-A body


Resinsoul/Bobobie Mei
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Mei on the same Dreaming Doll Type A body (before she got the Soul Kids body)


More pictures
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Dream Valley Z7 (center) stole Domuya Mauve's body, and she's not even a little bit sorry.


Taking over my office
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Bottom left, pastel pink silk dress from Dollmore: Resinsoul Dawn (centaur) head on Dollmore Judith body. Doll Leaves Hedy on Dreaming Doll Little Elva Type-A body.
Soul Doll (Vito, I suspect) Duke of Arhanian on Miracle Doll 68-cm female muscular body.
April Story Emma on Soul Doll Vito female body.
Doll Chateau Alberta on Resinsoul Dawn's body.


Some (terrible) pictures
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Impldoll Lydia stole Granado Jane's Embody body AND Mari's Soul Doll limited mermaid outfit.


Plays with dolls
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Dollmore Model F Ipsae took this Supiadoll Original 58 female body and accessorized it with Iplehouse YID lingerie.


MSD Comparisons
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Xagadoll Mizzle (far left) claimed a Little Monica Little Harmony body. Doll Chateau Alberta (far right) stole the Dream Valley B4-19 body right out from under Doll Chateau Bella's nose.


Random pics
by Maleficient MrsofallEvil, on Flickr
Minoruworld Jr. Leila claimed this Doll Family-H 1/5 girl body.

 

I’ve reshelled Aura 5(?) times. She’s been an f60 lacrima, an Asella dolls raspberry, an Amadiz Virginia, an elf doll Lydia, a Supia heeji, and now she’s going to be a DDD Charlotta. She’s just evolved as her character has, and I’ve never quite been able to pin her down as a particular sculpt so far. She’s definitely the most egregious example, but I’ve had a lot of reshelling lately. I’ve redone a handful of faceups as well lately—half because I want to have done most of the faceups in my horde, and partially because as I get better at faceups, I redo ones that I think I can do better on. Atropa will be on the redo list soon, because I want to make her more individual from my other Twigling Gamines.

 

Pretty much all of my dolls/characters have gone through many changes/upgrades. Only a few out of my current crew are done with changes/upgrades (for now at least lol) because I'm happy with what I landed on for them and am now focusing on the rest who need redoing/upgrading/completing.

 

The first change I ever made to a doll from the stock way was to change the company face up, it didn't quite fit what I was envisioning for her, and when I got her with a face-up I knew it would be temporary. Now I am going a step further and I will also be changing her body for one that more fits her character, the stock resinsoul wrong body is just not exactly right for my plan. Aside from that I do my own faceups and change eyes from how they come when I buy them. I will say years later that there is a very high possibility that I am going to redo her face in the future because it is just not up to my standards anymore. I think there are always some ways I can improve on the choices I made in the past with my dolls.

 

Skills improve, tastes change, new interests creep in. My dolls will never stop mutating. I've redone faceups, wiped and redesigned tattoos, altered wigs, tweaked eye fit over and over, changed wardrobes, added props, added/removed piercings, modded extensively, and bought and sold several trying to find the perfect fit for a character. I'm someone who (for better or worse) runs on the idea absolutely anything can be improved, and this hobby helps satisfy my compulsions (lol) in a tangibly documented manner.

It's fun to look back and see how far you've come. I'd post photos if I had them handy - maybe in the future.

 

I want to say that I do. But, the reality is I tend to find a look I like and leave them like that.

 

I do upgrade my dolls, when I am able that is. They usually have set clothing, so I don't change that often. But I do change out bodies if more suitable ones become available, and I've reshelled several dolls over the years, when the character evolved/changed and/or a better more fitting sculpt came out. My tastes have changed in some ways over the last 13 years, but in others it has stayed. I still got a good portion of my firsts at home, with upgraded bodies, wigs, faceups, eyes, etc.

I love pretty much all the heads of my dolls, because I feel the character is in the head sculpt, so it's relatively easy for me to upgrade and change bodies. But sometimes, heads need to be changed to, which is always nervewrecking as I am never sure the character will accept the new shell, you know? For inanimate objects, dolls sure have a lot of personality!

Faceups I redo periodically as my skill improves, which reminds me I have to repaint big Lily, I did her faceup last in 2021 and I dislike what I did, yet still haven't redone it. Maybe I'll pull her out of the display cabinet and wipe her this weekend, might as well. This year (2024) I've already repainted 7 of my dolls (9 if you count all 3 faceplates of one), and I got a few more to do!

 

I was wiping some older faceups on some of my dolls when I realized I just don’t like their old eyes they have in them and that the artist of the eyes could probably remake them way better if I re-commissioned them.

this got me thinking, how often do you guys ‘upgrade’ certain aspects of your dolls?

do you make a list of upgrades and get them done as you get money?
Do you just wait until you see what you need on the secondhand market?
Do you slowly fill a cart on a dealer’s website and purchase during an event?
Etc.

 

Usually minor things; updating the jewelry layout or eyes, horns, etc. adding jewelry or removing it, but usually not more than that.

 

It's interesting reading everyone's replies and what they upgrade/update their dolls with!

Having been in the hobby for 15 years, I've done my fair share of upgrading my dolls as well. The simplest upgrades are in the form of new eyes or new wigs -- many of my dolls changed from glass eyes to silicon then to resin eyes as the availability of more intricate designs became possible over the years. I also get them new eyes if their previous pairs have yellowed (which happens more often than I'll like...) Likewise for wigs, most of them upgraded from furwigs to fibre wigs as my tastes changed. I also redo their faceups over the years as my skill improved.

Some dolls had more extensive changes though:

Sion, my Migidoll Miho, got a new body a few years ago (changed from a Little Monica 63cm body to Volks SD17). At that time I was shifting from collecting 60/63cm to 65cm dolls and I also worked a job where buying a Volks body wasn't as much a financial stretch as it was when I first got him so I made that upgrade. Super glad for it because I've always liked the look of Volks and it feels like he's grown up as well with the upgrade.

I also had two heads that I liked so much that I moved them from OCs to OCs to find one that fits so I could keep them. These heads went through multiple faceups, eyes, wigs etc. A few years ago I made a video showing how my Volks Olivia head evolved over the time I had it if anyone's interested. ^-^

 

I'd love to upgrade their faces, body blushes, mods, etc., but I'm running into a lack of energy, time, and skills.

 

I love updating clothes and wigs, and keep the others until I have to replace them.

 

I like to try out different things, but I don't know about "upgrading." I have a few outfits that I have liked for years, and will continue to do so. One of my dolls has a fairly messed-up body, and every time I change her outfit, I think to myself how much nicer it would be if she just had like a normal SD body or something, but at the same time, it wouldn't be her body, so in the end, I never do anything about it.

 

Outfits, wigs, eyes I may start out with a temporary thing but I rarely swap bodies or do body mods. It can take me a while to get my dolls faced up and outfitted as I want them but once I do that's pretty well done.

Most of my BJDs are not like the fashion dolls for me unless they're the same slim MSD size and made to be fashion dolls. I only have a couple of those and I do change their outfits sometimes and do photo shoots.

With the BJDs mostly I find their look, dress them up and just display them. I might change one if it just didn't work for me after a while but that's very rare. I am very particular about what my dolls look like. I put a lot of work into them so when they are done they're usually done.