Doll Faux Pas

Here's a discussion thread about pronouncing names

How do you pronounce...

 

On my first faceup I only used acrylics that were not diluted, which is why I ended up with a faceup looking VERY dark and harsh. I also ended up with her face being all flaky because apparently the air was too humid to spray MSC. Last but not least, I didn't curl the eyelashes properly, which is why they ended up covering her eyes -_-.

Oh well, even though she looks like a mess, I still love her! I'll try again soon, got some great tips here on DoA

 

I think my biggest mistake was buying a recast accidentally as my first doll. I stumbled across a recast site while window shopping and was floored by the low price, so I bought one. found out afterwards she wasn't legit and felt really dumb. I wish I had done a bit more research before buying.

 

I've definitely done the mixing up genders on dolls... two of my first three are genderswapped because I thought they were the opposite when I first saw them, and once I realized my "mistake," decided I liked my way better anyway.

I also encountered a bit of a mistake with my first doll; I'd done homework, and knew that Bobobie dolls were sent particularly loosely strung at the time. I knew the knots were all in the head, and all I had to do was open his headcap, pull on the strings, untie, retie, and put them back. Easy-peasy... until I lost my grip when retying the main body string, and instantly felt a sinking dread when I saw the end of the string disappear into his body. I had no restringing tools at the time, and BBB dolls didn't (possibly still don't?) have S-hooks on the hands and feet--they're strung directly on. I had no way at all of salvaging that string. So enter faux pax #2, where I got a long piece of craft store elastic to restring him and thought it'd work long-term. When I restrung him again last year, he was floppier than a rag doll, with dangling pieces any time I picked him up. (Alas, now his body is perfectly strung and sueded, with some very good quality elastic... but he's being turned into a hybrid, so the body is headless on the spare parts shelf. I'll get a new head for it eventually, now that it's fixed and working well for me.)

Possibly my most facepalm-worthy mistake, though, was the body I got in a trade, that was sent unstrung to save on shipping. I figured it'd be easy enough to put together, so I cleaned it up, blushed it to match with the character's looks, and reassembled it. Her arms never posed perfectly, but I figured it was just a quirk of the body that I hadn't learned yet. Wrong; a few years later I finally realized why I'd had so much trouble with her arms--they were backwards! They were actually posing just fine, but in the wrong direction! I finally restrung her with the arms on the correct sides, and she poses much better now.

 

Oh god, biggest mistake was saying, "I'm only going to save up enough money for one. I don't need multiples, just ONE doll."

/bowsheadinshame

I just pre-ordered a DollZone Miss Kitty last night >____< Can someone responsible please take my wallet from me?

 

Ahhhh, no!! I did that too, only with my ResinSoul Ming @_@ When I got him, he seemed a little too floppy, but the knot was in the head and I figured I'd just yank the strings up, tie a new knot, and be done with it.

Unfortunately I completely forgot about needing to brace the body well, and while flailing with the knot, I let go of the string and schloop! Right into the body it goes. I had absolutely no idea what to do. I'd already restrung a doll, but that was with a friend's help and multiple YouTube videos and it took hours. We ordered some replacement strings, but when I finally strung him it was a huge pain in the butt. I almost gave up halfway through and just left him like that...

 

When I was a BJD noob and was looking at images online, I came across a photoshoot where the doll had open eyes until about halfway through and then the eyes were closed on the exact same doll. I didn't see any seams around the eyelids like Pullips, so I was incredibly confused how the eye mechanism worked on BJDs until I found out later that it was an alternate face plate.

 

While I am still a complete noob for most things BJD (despite my love of them, I tend to get a little lost with technical terms and specific models - there are just so many!) I think my most noobish thing was probably wandering into an Azone store and asking if they did Volks Dream Dynamite dolls -_-; I really just wanted to find anywhere that did them new or second hand, but I probably didn't explain myself well enough *winces and sighs*

 

I did the same, but with hands. I could not figure out how someone could move the fingers like that. Haha, I had no idea about extra hands.

 

I haven't done anything serious yet, although I feel stupid for not knowing how to sew when everyone else in the hobby seems to be able to x.x

 

When I decided to take the head off of my first doll (Dollzone Clare) to give her a faceup, instead of pulling the s-hook up and turning it like you're supposed to do in order to set the hook neatly into the neck slot, I just yanked the hook straight out with a pair of pliers. The elastic shot down into the body quite violently with a super loud *SNAP* and the whole body collapsed into pieces! I was so surprised that I yelled loudly, and my face was like for a good couple of minutes. Being a super noob, I tried to fish the elastic out with a makeshift bent-up hanger which obviously didn't work too well, and my hands were super sore after many failed attempts at getting the elastic pulled all the way back through the abdomen and torso. I was frustrated as all hell after only managing to get the elastic pulled up as far as the abdomen, which I stabilized with a mechanical pencil. It also didn't help that she came strung super tight. Poor Clare was in pieces for a while until I looked up some restringing tutorials and used a ribbon to pull the elastic up through the torso and FINALLY up through the neck. Ahhhhh first time restringing is always a hilariously awkward affair. I was just so excited to start her faceup that I didn't even bother to look at any stringing tutorials beforehand. DERP

 

When I first saw Spica I was sure he was a girl. I ended up putting my Spica on a delf girl body and giving her body to an event head. I think Spica's lips look much better on a girl than a boy anyway.

 

Thinking a friend's male/female couple were both girls. I was almost disappointed when I realized they were a hetero couple. (At the time, I thought my OT gay male couple were the only ones in all of dolldom.)

Upon seeing a Pukifee Shiwoo for the first time: "That's the one! She's PERFECT for Scaramouche!" Good thing I didn't go with a LittleFee. That would have been an interesting surprise.....

 

you're not alone! I can't sew to save my life

 

First MSD came in strung tightly, as in kicked me right in the ribs. Was fine with that, accidentally took his head off. Couldn't get it back on. Had to do an emergency restringing...

Probably the biggest thing was when my mom came home:

Mom: Is he here!? 8D

Me: *restringing Avalon* Yeah and in pieces. Q___Q

Mom: WHAT HAPPENED!?

Me: I had to restring him... I'll get it don't worry.

After my dad said I'd NEVER get him fixed... I found a restringing tutorial for RS Song. Within an hour had Avalon put back together and ordered him new eye putty and elastic that same day. Three days later did it all again in under an hour. Now it's just: "Why haven't I taken an Unwind themed picture when he's all taken apart!?"

 

Don't worry, I am not crafty at all either! Which makes the hobby even more expensive I'm afraid... My only ability is to take a decent photo!

 

When I was 13 and just learning about the hobby I went to a doll panel at a local convention. The host let me hold their doll, and being a tactile person, and not knowing better, I began touching the doll's face all over because of the texture. My mom was conversing with the owner and I overheard the owner say that it was generally frowned upon to touch a doll's face. I immediately turned and started apologizing, and they said something along the lines of that doll being the one they let people handle a lot... I was stupid and interpreted that as permission to keep touching the doll's face. The subject didn't come up again, and eventually I got distracted and stopped, but I still feel embarrassed about it. Perhaps they really were giving permission, but now knowing more about the expenses of dolls and the fragility of their faces to skin oils, I feel really ashamed. I hope I at least didn't do any significant damage...

 

My biggest mistake was just not knowing how to buy the dolls I was interested in and getting discouraged enough to leave the hobby for seven years. Every site I checked said "sold out" or "preorder closed" I didn't know anyone else who had BJDs who could've helped and I was brand new to DoA. I had no idea what the questions were that I should've asked to get the help I needed. I still find it frustrating when the dolls I want are sold out or I miss a preorder. But, hey, who knows how many dolls I'd have now if I hadn't have left for those seven years?