Doll in Kits Yay or Nay?

I think it would further add to the experience of customizing my doll, which is what I'm trying to get into.

 

I love kits
but I like to make up my own and do my own face-ups etc

 

Ive noticed i dont seem to bond with dolls i dont put together or paint myself, and with my unoa comming i cant wait to get hands on. kits are love

 

I am with all of you who are pro kits. I simply adore kits. My first doll was a volks mini kit, and I do believe that that the hands-on experience helped me to bond with him. Not that I don't love my non-kit dolls, but sometimes I feel like I don't get as much satisfaction from them because I am afraid to play with them or customize them (especially limiteds). But I am really into art/craft, so kits are definitely for me (but I understand if not for everyone). Although I must admit it is cool sometimes to get a beautiful, fully assembled and painted doll in the mail. However, it is definitely a plus if kit dolls are cheaper than finished ones.

 

More fun and "bonding time" with the doll, and a lower price to boot... I can't see a negative side here.
I'd leap on a kit of my favorite dolls! ^_^ No hesitation! It would be great as far as I'm conserned!

 

I don't know...I have one who came as a kit, but I got her at a literal steal of a price (even *I* was shocked that I won the auction that low), fully assembled with faceup for lower than the kit cost...

Thing is, Volks MSD kits? Cost the same as many finished dolls elsewhere...so where's the incentive, I ask? Unless you love putting everything together (and I know plenty do!) then it's simply easier to buy a finished doll. Me, I find I'll just have a faceup done to my specs (like I did with my DOD) so painted or unpainted makes no difference to me!

 

I'm in the minority here.
I think I would have bawled up a storm had my first doll been a kit.
I still haven't tightened or restrung my first doll. Too nervous about it.
I'll eventually get over it once I'm used to the idea, but I still am a nervous wreck every time my Narin comes apart. He's the only one I've had to restring. And he's my fourth doll or so.

Anyway, I would have been too uncomfortable with the idea of putting him all together as my first doll, I probably wouldn't have even bought him if he'd only been available in a kit.

I'm hoping to get a B-el eventually, but I know by then, I'll have been messing around with dolls long enough that it won't be such a trauma for me.

So, while the option would be nice as a kit, I'd still want the option of getting them all together and ready to go straight out of the box.
If my Jace had been a kit, I probably wouldn't have gotten him either. Too intimidating! Too paranoid that I'd put him together wrong, and break something.

 

I am perfectly happy putting a doll together myself if it will save me a bit of money, at the same time however I am also quite willing to pay for finishing services. (seam sanding is not something I enjoy). It's really a matter of how my budget is running at the time the doll is available for me to buy. I'm all for kits as an option though.

 

I'd love kits as an option (especially if it lowers the price of the doll). I take my dolls apart when they get here, anyway (for restringing, sanding, face-ups, etc).

 

i don't paint face-ups so it's a little anoying for me to get a oll without a face up. Althought I absolutly loved stringing my shulze, who came as a kit, so i say we should have a choice, If i could paint face ups myself, I'd definitly buy kits all the time

 

If you don't mind I'm bumping this up, 'cause I'm interested to see if people still think the same about kits three years later. A lot can change in a few years time. And I have a feeling that the modification part of the hobby has become less important than it was some time ago. More people than ever expect companies to sand the seams of their dolls for them. I'm not saying this is wrong, but it shows the hobby is evolving slightly.

So: What do you think of doll kits? Do you love 'em? Hate 'em? Or would you rather buy that doll on the after market when it's fully assembled?

Why?

 

Yes, gosh @_@ I would at the least prefer the choice of a kit... saves on a lot of stuff! I like performing esthetic duties myself, and I find that "bringing a doll together" improves my chances of getting along with it, as I feel like I had a hand in its creation and final look, which is important to me.

I'm... sorta surprised that not many companies offer the choice of kits. Volks do for a couple dolls, don't they? And I think Soom have done events in the past where you can buy kit dolls to put together yourself, but AFAIK they only did it for a short time (correct me if I'm wrong on any points).

But yes.

It's something I would really appreciate.

 

It would be great as an option and possibly one I would go for. I am quite confident about my doll being strung and sanded by myself so if it was cheaper and shipped out faster, it would be a pro.
For instance they did Soom Super Gems as kits for a limited period, if I hadnt have got my doll by then I would have done that. It would be a nice project when it arrives.
I guess it would depend on what sort of doll and if its complictated to put together and whether I would want it with face up by company etc.
But its something that companies should offer as an option perhaps?

 

I liked sanding and putting together my Unoa. To me, that was where a lot of the bond formed for my girl.

 

I posted here three years ago, and still feel the same -- more kits please!!! I really like kits -- it's rewarding to put the doll together myself, it saves money (I already have faceup supplies and a restringing kit, so it's not like I have to run out and buy lots of stuff in preparation), and it really brings the customization aspect of the hobby front and center.

My Soom Gems were kits, but Soom hasn't done anything like that as far as I can tell for quite awhile. Souldoll did a basic kit event back at the end of 2005, but they got so swamped with orders and didn't do it again. AR offered kits for awhile, but I'm not sure if they still do since they are now owned by Soom. Very few companies have this option, and when they do, it's usually just for a special sale. I would think it would be worth it for them to offer, since it saves them having to assemble dolls.

Lots of customization still goes on, but at the same time it does seem like what was once the big thing in the hobby has gotten pushed to the side somewhat in the past few years. And while of course people can play with their dolls any way they like, I will admit that it makes me a little sad. The focus on customization is one of the things that makes this hobby so unique, and I'd hate to lose that. Kits would be a great way to encourage people to try their hand at being, well a little more hands on.

 

I'd buy all my dolls in a kit if I could. Remarkably only one soom tiny and an unoa body were kits for me and everything else was assembled. I do love saving the extra money and the inner workings of an unassembled doll are kind of what drew me to the hobby in the first place. Having an engineer for a dad kind of leaves me with the tendency to want to see things in parts. lol

 

Kits sound pretty cool to me, actually. I like the idea of that "bonding" that happens when you string up a doll. I just recently had to restring my MNF because I couldn't do a good gorramn thing with him he was so tight, and so I wasn't enjoying him at all. After loosening him up and cleaning him and spending all that time really getting to know the doll, itself (jointwise and stuff), I felt much better about him.

'Sides, the shipping cost cuts would be nice...

 

The fact that these dolls are made to be taken apart, fiddled with and put back together is what drew me to this hobby and after 4 years it's still what appeals to me. I'd love to one day buy an Unoa kit, just to be able to put a new doll together once it arrives. I've had people ship doll bodies to me unstrung and I didn't mind putting them together.

I'd wish more companies would offer kits and I wouldn't even need a lower price (although, I would still like that). "Building" your own doll from the beginning is fun, in my opinion.