Don't have a Grail Doll?

I never really had a grail doll...I think...to be honest I have yet to find the one that would make me stop considering any other sculpts at all.

A doll I thought I'd never own was a Crobidoll Yeon-Ho mainly because he was expensive and I hated the body he came with. I didn't want to mess around with hybrids. I absolutely adored his face though and melted everytime I saw one. I wouldn't have called him a grail though. Yet 5 years later there's a Yeon-Ho head in the house waiting to be connected to his new body.

So for me there are 'buy if I happen to come across them cheap' dolls and 'maybe someday if I'm not too lazy to bother' dolls. Don't get me wrong, all the dolls on my wishlist are must-haves but I don't fixate on them. I take it slow and am grateful for every little piece of resin that happens to enter this house.

In my opinion a grail doll is pretty sad because the word has negative connotations for me. Hence I'm currently glad I don't have an obsession with a certain sculpt.

 

I've had brief infatuations but never anything that I felt super extreme / obsessive / devoted to. Like you, I can't exactly relate (yet?) to the folks who talk about The One.

 

I have one (DoD LE Elf Ducan fullset) but he isn't something I'm in the position to actively seek out right now and I know I may never get him but really I'm okay with that.
At the same time, I think there is nothing wrong with somebody not having a grail, and like others have said not having one does make you lucky that you don't have to worry about acquiring it.

 

I entered the hobby ten years ago, and the definition of grail doll has definitely evolved over time, or I guess just become used much more loosely? I've always taken "grail" to be like to Holy Grail, where the term comes from--that one thing so special, that shines brighter than the rest, than you covet more than anything---but is next to impossible to get because it's discontinued/limited/only available in a country other than your own and almost never pops up secondhand. If it's readily available and obtainable with saving up, it's not technically a grail because it's not so rare.

That being said, I've had two grails in my time in the hobby (yes I know there is only ONE Holy Grail...>.> ) : Soom Ender and Volks F-16 (who was nearly impossible to get for awhile and now is pretty easy to find). I have owned them both, after years of searching and waiting, and...I sold them both. Ender turned out to be much more exciting as a fantasy than a reality, and while I did love F-16, I felt like he was too "special" to play with and write a character for than my other dolls, and I ended up selling him because I was too cautious to fully enjoy him.

I no longer have a grail, and that's perfectly fine with me!

 

As much as I love looking at pictures of new dolls, most of the ones who have spoken to me were secondhand - they just seemed to have more character, and it was more the creative spark of serendipitously coming across something that grabbed me rather than a planned search for a particular sculpt. There are many sculpts I admire, but so far anyway, none that I have to have no matter what. I really admire people who have grails or similar goals and work toward them, though! The hobby just hasn't been that way for me yet.

 

I don't have an actual grail doll. I have plenty of dolls I like and would enjoy having, but as an actual "grail," no. I think it's great when others do and are able to get them. The closest to a "grail" that I have would be my Luts Dark Elf Soo that I bought second hand and one of my off topic doll in mind girls. But even then, if I had never come across that find, I would have been perfectly fine without her. So no grails. Just lots of dolls I like and love.

 

There is a discontinued doll that I abselutly adore and would love to own... but to be frank... I really don't feel like going trough the process/the stress of finding it. So I don't consider it a grail since I'm not "dedicated" enough to find it.
If I ever would stumble upon it I would be willing to buy it, but to be honest it's not my top priority and I think I would still feel pretty content even if I never get to own it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I can see why some people have grail dolls though, specially the people who are in the hobby for the collecting aspect

 

I don't have a grail. I've gone down that road a few times in the past with other collections, and for me personally, it never ends up working out in a healthy way. Either I fixate on the grail item, and feel as if I'm wasting my time with any other part of the collection, or I put too much emphasis on getting the grail item, and the stress and sacrifice removes whatever enjoyment I would have gotten from the process.