Dolls that *aren't* for beginners?

I guess it is easy to say that certain dolls are a tad too much for beginners to handle, what with restringing, sueding and any other complications that may crop up, however, not all beginners are going to stuggle. While I do agree that there will be beginners who will shy away from anything that involves anything that revolves around taking a doll apart and changing it in anyway whatsoever. I also know that some people will automatically finds these things come naturally to them, or it won't take too long for them to come to grips with things.

That's why I don't think that there aren't any specific doll that isn't suitable for newbies. It all depends on the person, not the doll.

Well, there's my two pennies thrown into the discussion

 

There is enough information on the official websites to know the size of the doll, how many joints it has, and the measurements of the body and head (for clothes and wigs). And anything not known, such as maybe the type of resin used can be found out through the doll makers via email, or their Q&A board. I mean I agree that some dolls will provide a challenge, but why should that stop anyone, new or not from buying one? Plus, if you get a complex doll as your first doll, it's not like you know the difference. You don't have an easier doll to compare with

As I keep repeating a half million times, it's about what you're willing to personally do/try/learn with your dolls, and not about how long you've been in the hobby.

 

While ig et what you mean here, i still stand by what i've said earlier and think Nefla's right. Whether you bought the dolls you'd researched, or the one you fell in love with and bought right off, you did research. You knew that the doll would be capable of coming apart, that it was held together with elastic, that the eyes came out, and so on. At the most very basic concept, a bjd is a bjd, a doll that is strung together that is completley customizable and so on. You knew that already, so technically, you'd done your homework already on the dolls and knew what to expect in that sense. You took the chance withthe mold and the company, and thats not exactly the same as just buying a doll on a whim without knowing a single thing about them at all.

What i was saying, and i'm sure Nefla meant too, was that you--or anyone with a decent amount of sense, IMHO--wouldnt be willing to spend that 500$ without knowing that the doll wasnt just your ordinary childs type of doll. It'd be kinda silly to see a doll, decide it was pretty and you wanted it, and just up and send off 500$ to the other side of the world for an item you knew nothing about, right?



Jescissa: Ok, that makes sense why you took it as an attack then >< sorry about that, it really wasn't intentional ^^; With that clarified, I do agree with you. I suppose thats what i get for being dumb and jumping into the thread without reading most of it @_@ I'll....have to take care of that and catch up. I really didnt' mean to single you out at all, and if i managed to insult/offend/attack you, i serioulsy didnt mean it

I'm curious though, when you got your first doll, what did you know when you bought the doll and if anything else surprised you when you got it or learned more about bjds? And did you get information somewhere else, rather than doa? Ack, i'm probably being too nosey. Ignore that if you want

 

True, but if you're going to experience those things eventually, why do it on an "easy" doll rather than the doll you really want? I'm personally a lot more inspired to do faceups on, and make clothes for dolls I think are gorgeous. Also, I don't know about you, but I found the process of learning and improving to be fun it's part of the whole experience.

 

I'm gonna say a Bobobie if you are not gun ho on doing suedeing and re-stringing right away. Their poseability takes some tinkering.

 

if it was me, i would get the doll i like the most even if he ore she is more difficult to handle etc.
i would find someone to help me.
i don,t think you should buy a doll that you like less just because it,s easier.

 

I'm not sure about the idea of dolls being too much to handle for a beginner... If you don't learn how to handle your doll, whoever it may be, then you'll never gain experience... Does that make sense? I guess in my case, the Unoa kit was the second doll I purchased, and quite soon after my first, and I have never never regretted it. Even though I was a complete beginner to BJDs, I learned tonnes of useful skills, like how to sand her seams and how to assemble her. Because of the Unoa kit I stopped being afraid to handle my first dolll, who I'd just left on a shelf before then. Now I can restring any of my babies without fear and I love to mod, since I've learned what a doll can or can't handle. So I'd say, rather than holding back as a beginner, do your research well but never hesitate to get the doll you really want since you'll gain experience no matter what.

 

I agree it depends entirely on the person. My friends first doll is a bobobie and I modded, restrung, and sueded that doll and that was before I had my own..Mine is a hybrid that came face-upless, eyeless, wigless- everything, but I did it all myself. Its just not a big deal to me because of the way I approached the hobby before I got one. I was a little intimidated at first but after being forced to string him because his body was sent to me unstrung, I kinda left my fears at the door after that.

I think one of the reasons people get freaked out is because of how on this site, there are tutorials for EVERYthing. When I see a tutorial, I think "oh no, that's so hard it needs a tutorial" and so I get gripped out... but truthfully a lot of things about these dolls are common sense, and after I had done them, it was a lot easier than I expected...

Well thats in my opinion, because that's how it was for me.

 

Maybe you can consider the sculpt's form for the first time ... I have seen some dolls are 'easier' to restring and take care of than others so it would be great getting used to one ... this way you can be familiar with the hobby and if you plan to have more, you will be confident enough handling it no matter the type of joints, body type, skin or resin ^^

And definitely agree with the idea ... no SOOM Monthly Dolls, french resin or special limited edition bjd's ... they're expensive and maybe won't give the owner the confidence to treat them ... but well it's just a vague opinion ... I also think it depends in the person ...

 

I actually purchased a Volkes MSD Hisui kit and assembled it myself (with little to no trouble) as my first doll. It was quite a gutsy thing to do for a beginner, but I feel confident having her now in-case something goes wrong, or I have to re-string her, or any other dolls that I may buy. Not to mention I feel absolutely bonded with her.
So yes, I guess I was a little stupid making that my first doll, but that didn't make her any less special. I think it made her more special, and a great learning experience for me!

 

Thank you! I'm apparently pretty crazy, seeing as how I got a Soom Beryl as my first doll. I know that it's a risk, getting something limited with a crazy leg system for my first, but it was that fact that helped me get used to doing anything to other dolls. Now, I can unstring, and restring Jay in 20 minutes, and helped a ton of people at the last AZ meet unstring and restring thier dolls. It wasn't a limited doll to me, to be honest. I got her totally blank, so if I wanted anything done with her, I had to jump in feet first and just swim. She was apart, modded (hooves sanded down) and fully faceupped within a week of owning her.

I think it came down to what I loved as my first. I just happened to fall for a seriously limited, new system doll, and I had to get used to all the pratfalls of being a doll owner, on top of learning all the special quirks that make up the Beryl mold. Like Luminacera, I'm more bonded to Jay because I had to learn as I went with her, had to do all the stuff to her.

Now, I will admit, if you're not a fully-hands-on type person, like I am, a Soom MD can indeed be totally overwhelming, and I'll fully admit, I've gotten many, many injuries from Jay that I don't think most owners have, but she's what I fell for first, and I don't regret it.

 

God what a load of drama and horsecrap back a page or so.

Buy the doll you want, end of statement. They really aren't that fragile, or mine would be shattered by now. Lazy is okay, you don't HAVE to do everything to enjoy a hobby in your own way. And it's damned petty of people to say you aren't a real collector/enthusiastic if you don't do this or that...

 

I was helping a friend change Sard's hooves. It was her first stringing thing. It was really difficult. I really wouldn't recommend it for beginners because of that sort of thing, but hey, you can get used to anything, right?

 

I must have missed that part. There were two sides of an argument, but I don't recall anyone saying anything of the sort.

 

I think you just need to buy what you're interested in.

I was never interested in BJD until extremely recently. There was the uncanny valley issue for me. To me, so many BJD try to look so real that they end up looking not real, if that makes sense. It made them look a little creepy and odd to me. Then a website I regularly read posted pictures of the Volks DD Rin doll and from the moment I saw that picture I fell in love. I started doing research from that very day. I had to wait a few weeks until I could actually enter into the lottery so I had time to think if I wanted to spend over $500 on a doll and jump into this hobby. But everytime I saw pictures of that doll I fell in love all over again.

I successfully won her but I won't actually get her until July. Will I regret it then? I doubt it. I'm super excited and the more I learn about her and the doll hobby, the more I want her. Also, looking at BJD more, that uncanny valley issue that bothered me before doesn't anymore. I can now see these dolls as beautiful. I think I just needed to fall in love with a doll to help me look at them differently.

I can't imagine getting into the hobby without falling head over heels in love with a doll and then going for that one. Don't let price scare you. Save up if you have to.

 

I've been curious about this for a while, while contemplating my first doll.
Soom are gorgeous, and I almost made a Sabik my first a while ago.
But ahh... the whole 'profession or hobby?' question springs to mind.
doll owning will always be just a hobby, but I certainly think that some dolls are for the more serious hobbyists.

still, doesnt mean i'd tell anyone not to buy a $2000 doll they desparately want just because its 'too pro for you'
On the other hand, and im bordering on hypocritical here, You wouldnt make your first car a Mercedes Benz, would you?
I think with all things in life, start off small.

 

Get what you like Dolls aren't cars, and there is no such thing as a 'professional doll'--this whole thing is a hobby, with all of us being hobbyists and bjds are made to be tinkered with by their hobbyist owners.

 

I would go for a 1/4th doll, I got my 1/4 doll from Angell-Studio, they are very nice and you can e-mail them at

[email protected] and they always respond.