"Finishing" A Doll Before Buying Another?

This just happened to me. I definitely like to finish what I start before bringing home another doll...I'm very artistically disciplined that way. But that perfect serendipity just happened to me. I was perusing the marketplace just for my own amusement (it's a great way to learn about all kinds of BJDs after all...you see as many different kinds of dolls there as you do in the gallery.) And I stumbled upon someone wanting to trade a modded doll I'd never even heard of before for something smaller. Well, the mods were wonderfully done, and when I looked at that doll's face I literally "saw" a character I'd been wanting to bring into resin form for like...ever!) I offered to trade her an anthro I'd been considering selling anyway because the poor little thing never developed her own character around here and was currently just acting as a high priced accessory for my other dolls. Now we're in the process of trading, so it's win-win for both of us. But... my brand new lilac RS Fei just arrived, and I haven't even had time to start on her yet! And my new serendipitous doll will be here in only a matter of days! I guess if you're going to have a dolly dilema however, this is the best kind to have.

 

There's an SD13 boy's body here to string, an AiL body to string, two who need face-ups, one that needs eyes, one that needs to be dressed and three bodies awaiting their finished heads. Two have wigs on - leaving several without them. I've pre-ordered clothing that is taking longer to finish than my own pregnancies and other clothing that will be shipped in about four weeks. Stands are over the Pacific right now. I live on the Atlantic. Now what was the question? Ah, yes, do I wait to finish one doll before purchasing another?

Ummm ... no.

 

I am too fond of certain limited releases, and have way too little time, to finish one before certain others are added to the herd. Waiting would, in many cases, mean not getting the other doll at all, not just getting it later -- or likely getting it at an inflated price, and I am of a mind to not needlessly pay more than I have to for something.

 

It really depends. Some dolls take longer to finish, because it's hard to find the right wig or right eyes, so I may go onto someone else and just keep my eye out for the items I need for the older doll so I can grab them when they come up. Also, sometimes a doll will come up at a great price or a good time where it will make more sense to spring for the new doll rather than smaller items. When I plan a doll purchase I like to make sure I'll be able to get the basic necessities immediately, but sometimes stuff comes up where that doesn't happen right away.

 

i voted for the second one. i wish i could finish one doll before buying another but i dont. right now its mostly because im having trouble getting all the things i need to finish my first doll. so while im waiting im saving for my next doll. but i know if i get to the point where i have like 3 unfinished dolls i will wait till they are all finished to buy my next. because i cant bond with a doll unless its nearly finished (my first is an exception)

 

I voted for the second one as well. I WANT to finish a doll before starting another, but then I find a good price, or something I REALLY want... and I end up with a couple projects going at once.

I have 3 dolls and a head. As far as I see it, 1 of those dolls is "finished". My DZ Aimi.

My Lati is undergoing a makeover period, PKF Zoe is on the way here (hopefully she'll be done pretty quickly though as I already bought a TON for her) and my head is being painted, and I'm still shopping for a body.

So yeah... I WANT to be more like #1... but I'm a #2. lol.

 

No, I really don't. I would like to, sure, but I am rather opportunistic about doll shopping and I only have so much time for dollies. So right now there are four floating heads at cassa de Opifex. And I will probably be buying a few more full dolls before getting them their bodies because I'm worried that they will get discontinued.

Also I'm one of these people that doesn't really ever feel like I'm finished with anything. I twiddle and tweak any piece of my artwork as long as it's in front of me. One of my professors put it best when he said, "Finished is when they have paid for the painting, it's at their house, and I am not invited over with a paintbrush." And I defiantly feel that way about my dolls. They are a constantly evolving artwork, so to that end I can't really finish one before buying another.

 

Do you wait and save and "complete" your current doll before moving on to another? Or do you buy as many as you like and "finish" each one as you come across items?

It was always my intention to do this, but sometimes real life calls and that sort of money isn't always available. Right now I have a floating Ark head (discontinued, and a MNM head already ordered. Money has been sort of tight this past semester, and even more so this summer, and sometimes I just have to take opportunities while I can for unneeded items.

But even for reasons that aren't monetary...my Suiseiseki is not "finished." She still doesn't have the face-up I would like her to have, which I intend to do myself once I am better skilled. The same goes for my Rosette Doll, who still has the default as well, only I have no idea what kind of face-up I intend just yet.

So no, dolls are continuous projects, and I rather like that.

 

My dolls don't really get "finished" so to speak. I'm one of those that buys nifty stuff for them as I go. My crew wears different outfits, mixes and matches, so on and so forth, so "finished" for me technically means just getting their wig, face and eyes right. However, a lot of times i get what's out there and upgrade as time goes on. Eventually they falll into place. Sounds weird, but it works x3

 

I buy dolls as I like, and finish them when the right items come up. I really do try to make sure they have what they need before they come home, but it doesn't always work out because I'm very particular. I won't settle for something less, so they may not be completed for awhile.

 

I at least make sure my doll has a full set of clothes before buying another. Even if the doll has to borrow another doll's clothes a while... but my dolls are never actually "finished". ^_^; I like clothes way too much for one to be in the clothes for too long.

 

Such a very timely poll for me. XD I bought two dolls two years ago, and 4 so far this year. Kinda been on a spree, you could say. As long as they all have hair, eyes, and clothes I feel okay getting a new one when the money's available. But I've also acquired two of my dream girls this year and feel like I'm not appreciating them as much as I could. My new-month resolution is to not buy any new dolls this year and just focus on finishing the ones I have...after I get that EID Luo home...and maybe another LTF... I can quit any time I want!

 

Ideally, I would love to finish one doll before buying another. Realistically, because so many of the sculpts are limited to a very short time window, it's not possible. Even when a sculpt is not limited you constantly have to worry that the company will just discontinue it with little or no warning. So if you think you want a sculpt and don't want to risk paying a lot on the secondary market, you have to buy it now.

I really don't like that aspect of the hobby. In other non-BJD fields of doll collecting, basic sculpts don't become "unavailable" as quickly. There are porcelain doll molds that have been around for years and will probably be around for decades longer, and for some dolls like Blythes, the dolls are pretty much all the same sculpt or quite close to it, so no worries.

 

I finish them, even when a limited release or a good deal comes along, but it's mainly because I like having time to work on a new doll and have time that, in a way, is specifically for them. Also, when I'm waiting for a new doll, I get much too excited to think about any new dolls! I'm also not in a hurry of 'finishing' any wishlist or anything, I always figure, another good deal will come along, limited dolls are resold, etc. The only exception is when it's not in my hands, such as my puki who is not finished yet but he needs to go to a customizer so I'm just waiting for that. But he has clothes, a character, he's in the works and he'll be finished after his mods/tattoos and face-up are done.

But yeah, generally I finish my dolls before buying a new one. I think I'd get overwhelmed if I wouldn't, and dolls would become 'work' rather than play.

 

Some dolls, it takes me a long time to figure out. I can't even figure out if one of my tinies is going to be a boy or a girl! So that makes it hard when another doll comes along that I do have a definite plan for and can get complete sooner. Plus there's always the limiteds that come around, or the super awesome deal on a dream doll... So while in theory I'd like to complete one doll before getting another, sometimes that just doesn't work out.

 

I like my dolls to reflect the general chaos of my life, there are 5 SD's and 2 extra heads at the moment, all in various stages of completion and undress. It's a hobby and that to me means it's never ending... I keep them in a cabinet and that's a work in progress too... I have a horrid feeling that I will lose interest if they all wind up "finished"

 

I usually have a general time frame and order of which and when I want certain dolls (not expecting the fact that they may be discontinued of course >.>). Limiteds are pretty but I haven't seen one where the very bad "must have" feeling comes out, or I missed the doll where that feeling does come out. I'll work on one doll while making plans to buy another, I'll probably buy/put a payment on the other doll while still working on my current one. But it is nice to have variety, you could get bored or impatient with working on a doll and work on a different one I suppose.

 

Often when the dolls get here, the look I have imagined for them turns out to be totally wrong so I end up doing something else entirely. I never worry about getting a look right before buying another doll. If you can see my customhouse purchases, I wouldn't have been able to buy them if that was a problem. I bought 3 different sizes and 5 different dolls in one hit to save on shipping. My following order is 4 different sizes.

 

I kinda like the process of 'evolution' for a doll, adding things as time goes on rather than considering the doll 'finished' or 'unfinished' but I don't think I would buy another doll without having the previous ones to a certain point, eyes, wig and at least one outfit and its name and basic characteristics decided on

 

I'd "like" to finish one and then start another, but I doubt that it's ever going to work out that way for me. Right now, it certainly isn't! xD

Chaos, my first doll, was finished ahead of schedule due to parts I ordered for another doll not suiting the character it was meant to be and various sales/promotions. Even he is not 'complete' as the wig doesn't suit him, the head is a bit too young for him, and him not having the proper eyes. He'll be 'complete' once these factors change, but I don't intend to buy the different head for awhile (next year unless Souldoll has a sale or I trawl the Marketplace and run across the exact head I want for a reasonable price). His eyes will arrive in my next dollie shipment and I'll buy him a better wig in three orders from now.

My next shipment will contain the parts for two different dolls - a head for a body I already have and a body for a floating head I already have. xD; (I'll be splitting a Zaoll Luv into two different dolls.) Hopefully they'll work. If not, it's going to be a process of locating something that will. D:

Assuming the parts work, even then neither will be quite 'done'. The boy doll will need a more 'him' wig, though what will come with him will do for awhile. The girl doll will need a second wig (I already ordered the first of them) so she can switch between her human and elemental forms.

The next doll I order after that should be 'done' the first time around.

And I suppose after him, I'd be finishing up Chaos, my first doll, before continuing on. But that's assuming Soom doesn't put out a new birdie mini to interrupt the 'schedule' I have now. xD;

The tl;dr version of the above is:

I find myself constantly interrupted in my plans by sales/promotions/things not working out the way I had hoped.