Imperfect dolls being 'perfect'?

My second doll came with this excess lump of resin on one of his fingers. It didn't really bother me so much, though I don't particularly like him more because of it.

 

My best friend in this hobby has a story that would be good for this thread...

One of her 3 dolls was purchased off the marketplace. My friend is pretty trusting of people so she didn't bother to check the seller's feedback before purchasing it. When the doll arrived, she was wrapped in colored bread bags that had started to melt (since it was a hot summer). When she finally freed the poor doll from her melty wrappers, she discovered that the original owner had not been honest about the doll's condition. The doll's back was covered in rather deep scratches that we later decided must have been from large grit sandpaper.

My friend burst into tears and a mutual doll friend who was with her at the time proceed to log on to DOA and contact the seller for a refund. At first the seller wanted my friend to send the doll back, and she almost did, but then she realized that she would be "sending that poor baby back to an abusive home." So in the end, she kept the doll and the seller gave her a partial refund. Now she brings this doll with her to every convention I do a doll panel at so that she can warn people about what can happen if you don't check seller's feedback. She likes to joke that her doll got in a fight with a puma. I think she's happy that she kept her and has grown to accept the scratches.

 

catw07 Oh!! Poor doll! I'm glad that she kept her and took good care of this poor baby! Even though dolls can't talk nor have soul like us but...to see them get damage or be abused... It hurts doll-lover so much. I also owned imperfect dolls and guess that "Real Perfect/Flawless Dolls" don't exist because if I concentrate to scan my dolls, I find so many imperfect things like seam, small bubble, discolor, thin resin, etc... Even I also have imperfect part, how do I expect my dolls to be perfect? So I just accept their imperfect parts too. A boy which I adopted, can't sit/stand without supporting, even though I let him restring and fix joints. In the end I solve this problem by buying a chair to let him sit. And almost all of them have scratch, bubble, discolor, joint problem from manufactures, I just let them be and forget what they have on their body.

 

Aww, cat, that is a nice story in the end. I think as long as I knew about the flaw, I could live with it. I got a head that has a tiny chip in the chin, and I plan on saying it's a hot scar, ala Indiana Jones. It's also hardly noticeable. XD

 

I have a Fairyland Minifee that is technically "severely yellowed" and his skin is GORGEOUS. It's this amazing golden color I couldn't match to anything newly cast, and I just adore it so much.

 

I love imperfections! While I would prefer to do all the "breaking in" myself on a doll, I still don't mind imperfections. Gives the doll character. If one of them broke a foot or leg or something I would just roll with it.

 

I love seeing dolls with imperfections. Small scratches, small discoloration...

 

My dolls eerily have breakage that lines up with their stories. For example, in Mikko's story, he was shot in the thigh and almost died. I ordered his doll a few months later, and when he arrived----broken thigh piece! O_O Though it wasn't broken in any way that would have made sense for his gunshot, so I did get a replacement piece. Because the piece was cast separately, one thigh is slightly longer than the other, so he stands unevenly....which is actually perfect because the character does have a cane and walk with a limp.

Amir got a huge scratch in his bicep when I was putting his armband on. Months later, in role play, my partner's character attacked him, stabbing him with a knife "In the right bicep"....which just so happened to be exactly where that deep scratch was! So...I blushed it up and turned it into a scar mod.

Justin's story worked the other way around. He arrived with two broken fingers, so I wrote it into his story that while being chased by fans, klutzy boy tripped and broke two fingers. I then glued them, made him a bandage, and let him "heal" while waiting on the replacement hand. Oddly enough, the wait time on the replacement was almost exactly the same amount of time it takes for real broken fingers to heal!

 

A couple weeks after getting my first doll, I noticed the teeny tiniest pinprick of a black dot on the side of her nose. At first I thought it was dust, but it didn't just disappear after blowing on it, so I thought I had gotten her dirty, and very gently wiped it with a magic eraser. That didn't work either. I finally realized it was under the sealant, and was poo-pooing about it when my husband said "I don't see what the problem is, it's like she has a little freckle or beauty mark." He was totally right, I have no idea why I got so bent out of shape about it, and it doesn't bother me at all anymore >&#969;<

 

I do! My CP Luts El. When I left my parents house to go to university I forgot to pack my dolls away, it didn't even cross my mind until I came home for a holiday. I always left my curtains closed but my mum opened then when I left It was then I noticed that he seems to have some uneven yellowing on his nose. It may be dirt cause I always touched his nose, but I think it's kinda cute! Like a little bit of sun burn hehe!

I had a friend who got a doll with a freckle finish in his resin, he was cast a bit wrong, maybe not vacuum pressured enough to get the bubbles out of the resin. She couldn't get on with him and when she changed his hands his wrist chipped and she decided to sell him because she'd had enough.

Depends how much those imperfections that you notice bother you

 

My first doll is a tan Mini Gem from Soom, and she has some subtle marbling that actually makes her skin tone more life-like. Her legs tend to cross when she's seated, due to her single joints, so I just say she likes to sit cross legged like I do! I think it's kind of cute.

 

I'm a bit weird. I've had things in the past with imperfections like a psp that has a pixel missing. I still have that psp and still love it because only mine has that specific pixel missing. I also imagine imperfections on a doll might make you more willing to do more with it.

 

I haven't really received any 'imperfect' dolls, unless you count unsanded seams. I don't think small imperfections would bother me, but I would fix them if I could, and I don't think they'd make me like the doll more than if it arrived 'perfect'.

 

I have 2 very beloved dolls with faults - my B&G Sandra in my avatar was a used bargain off ebay - she has no ears as her previous owner decided to mod her into a cat, so she came with some home made clay ears, attached by sticky taped magnets - and her lovely human ears sanded off! Amazingly in spite of the appalling lack of packaging too, she was unscathed - something to be said for old, single jointed dolls is they are sturdy! Her faceup is still beautiful and original too, surprisingly undamaged. She's very yellow, but since she's dressed head to toe in lolita, it's not noticeable

I also have a dollzone nyu, which is cross-eyed due to the eye socket not being properly bevelled out in the factory - but somehow I love my squinty little girl more for it

 

One of my more recent SD dolls arrived with some sort of residue of his forehead... I don't know what it is, we're thinking residue from the bubble wrap he came in.. But it isn't really a bother for me since the spot is small and can be hidden under his wigs easily enough. He is still perfect, and a dream to work with. Since that is such a minor detail.

 

I don't own any BJD's yet but I can say that flaws seem to make me more attached to things. The flaws make them special. When I was little my favorite baby doll lost all of her hair in a tragic scissors accident. I would wrap her head in bandages and pretend she had just come home from the hospital after a long surgery. From that point on she became everyone's favorite and it wasn't because she was the prettiest. Her flaws made her the doll all my sisters wanted to play with and made me very protective of her. Still have her!!!!

 

catw07 , that's a very sad and happy story. I'm glad that your friend is now happy with the doll and the doll is in good hands!
As for me I don't mind imperfection. The oldest doll one has longest at home, the most yellowed with time and with small scratches, has travelled and just has been with the owner through many years - the most perfect doll ever.