Dolls you don't like/play with as much

Yes, I run into this problem on occasion. Often this turns out to be a sign that I'm not as madly in love with their sculpt as I once was or that the character isn't as important to me. In some cases I just like looking at them and it's not a big deal, but I often will carefully evaluate how attached I am when I notice that I'm not playing with one of them as much.

There's nothing wrong with showing minor characters some love though! Almost all of my dolls are characters from a story I'm writing and more than half are minor characters, some even so minor that they will only be mentioned in the course of the story. XD

 

I generally try to figure out Why and fix it if I can. Which has resulted in me selling a few dolls but I like to give attention to all my dolls. ^___^ I have too many to just, focus on a few right?

 

I have a few that spend the majority of their time in their boxes but I don't feel guilty. Often if I can stand to part with them they are sold for other dolls. Some get tons of attention but it certainly rotates. There's no reason to feel bad. No one can play dolls all the time! Sometimes they have to be put away for awhile, or a new favorite arrives.

 

Sounds like in your particular case the "neglect" is a side effect of your ovearching plot. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to do a side story or two featuring them--little stories that don't affect the main story arc, but that do show a bit what these minor characters' lives are like. Gets you some time with them without screwing up the big picture of the story, and can potentially flesh out some bits of the characters and world without getting bogged down in too much exposition.

As for me, I have kind of the inverse issue going on. I adopted my second girl a few months ago, and while I'm definitely infatuated with her and have had some good one-on-one time with her, I haven't really figured out how to incorporate her interacting with my first doll the way I'd like to. (I may have recently stumbled on a sort of transition plot point that may work that issue out, but we'll see how the next story goes after the first girl gets hew new faceup.) The two girls are so different, and originally from such different source material. I'd love to play their differences off each other, but getting them to really interact in the first place is kind of tricky. XD

 

Personally I don't like to buy dolls if I'm even vaguely conscious that I might like them less. I have some dolls that stand out from others because of their isolated stories, yes, but they rarely deviate from being a "major" character and I do cycle between dolls to ensure a fair amount of attention for each. So, short answer: no, I don't feel guilty. I recognize that I love them all and that I devote myself to each of them as much as they individually seem to need, and I leave it at that.

 

If I don't like them anymore, I sell them. It's that simple for me. I obviously get no enjoyment whatsoever out of them anymore, so I see no reason to keep them around, when I could spend the money I paid for them on other dolls or useful things.
If you still get enjoyment out of your dolls, one way or another, I don't see why you should feel guilty. Even if you didn't like them anymore. They are dolls and your property. You can do with them whatever you want.

 

I have to agree with Snow. When I stop enjoying having a particular doll around, that's a good sign that it's probably time to send that one off to a new home. I just don't keep the ones that I don't like as well.

Then again, I'm a collector more than a "story"-person, so that probably colors my answer.

 

I have this problem. I can't tell if I'm not playing with one of my dolls because it's a get-to-know-you kind of thing and will just take time, or if I'm genuinely not interested in him. I'm going to keep going with him, but if I still feel this way in say, six months, he's leaving. I don't have time/space/money to keep dolls I'm not bonding with!

 

I'm in the same boat as Snow and Brightfires, if I don't play with them I bought them up for sale. The hobby is too expensive for me to keep dolls around that I don't like as much anymore.

 

If one of my dolls is having issues with having a decent amount of clothes, or cannot pose well (for some reason) I'll gravitate towards the other one. I got my first SD-size doll, Stephen (BBB Apollo) this summer. For a good while I did include him, but because his posing is so limited right now (I haven't gotten that elastic STILL) I don't include him as much.

Emma also had this same issue because her stringing is not perfect. One of her hands won't hold its position. I can turn it all I want, but when I let go, it goes back to one position. I've had the ability of moving it a little, but you have to be really careful. I also gravitate towards her because she's the female of the two, and I enjoy sewing for her more than Stephen because I like colors and prints, and most of that suits females. I also can't sew most men's clothing.

Neither would I sell. Stephen is an oddity in himself - the biggest dolls I've had were MyTwinn's which are the same size as SDs. I love the fact that he's that size. Emma's too adorable. She might not have the largest wardrobe of any MSD, but she's so cute.

 

I have this, too. Some of my dolls I adore and feel like I could never sell, and others I know I could part with without much problem. I feel like I really should get rid of the ones that I don't feel as attached to... But honestly I just need to play with all of them more! Oops! D:

 

bronzephoenix is spot on. That's me too!

 

They're inanimate-- they don't care whether or not I play with them. Ever. Life is full enough of obligations; I don't need imaginary ones from my toys.

But, I'm not one of those people who feels they need to play daily with a doll in order to have 'bonded' with it. I adore every one of these guys, and plenty of them sit there looking unchangingly perfect for months at a time. They're display objects as well as toys: they're things I love to just have around me, to look at and admire, when I'm not actively using them.

I work all day all week, and have such limited playtime, I'd never survive if I felt 'obligated' to tend to every doll every day. Whenever I do get playtime, I play with whomever I'm into at the moment. Simple as that! In this way, everybody in their turn gets their days at meetups or in front of the camera. But many of my dolls simply don't seem to 'want' my attention much.... and I'd never get rid of them, because I adore looking at them just the way they are. They're fulfilling their purpose every day.

 

I chose dolls very carefully before buying for several months. So, the all still with me. I love them.

 

I have dolls I play with less than others in my collection, and some I pretty much outright neglect. But that happens with the more dolls I get. It's just hard to give them all equal attention. I don't particularly worry about it. They're not going to get upset with me. They just sit there and be themselves. I love their characters - I just haven't had the time to get to working on their part in the story yet (epic story is epic). But all my dolls are dressed and posed and out for my viewing pleasure, and that's good enough for me.

 

I used to feel guiltier about it than I do now. I've come to realize that I don't play with each of my dolls in exactly the same way and that's really fine. Some seem to invite more hands on interaction, while others are more there to be admired. I also keep them all in my living room, so I can look at them while I hang out, and fuss with them as I walk by their shelves, so I feel like they do get attention even if I'm not in the mood/don't have time or energy to be as hands on.

 

All of my OT dolls have been in a pretty sad state of neglect since I started acquiring resins, mostly because they're 1/6th scale and I've discovered I really don't like 1/6th that much. Fionan could use a little more love, too, but I don't feel bad about it, that's just the way it is. I always come back to them eventually, right now I just don't feel it. As soon as my little Peppermint gets here I'm sure everyone else will hit a shelf for a while as I fawn over her. Happens every time.

 

This happened to me recently with my first girl. I actually solved the problem by changing her wig and style! Instead of having a gold fiber wig and being more lolita, I gave her a gold fur wig and made her more edgy. Now I'm back in love with her because she is a whole new character!