Is it okay to mod a rare head?

Regardless of my signature, on this occation, I gotta say that it's not wrong. It could be seen as a shame but I mean, regardless of it's rarity, it's still an object for you to do as you please. But it is also situational. I mean, if it's OOAK and you mod it, you've pretty much deprived the rest of the world of possibly ever having it. ㄱ-ㄱ but this is just my take on things.

 

if it's a doll you are attached to and you think you will always keep it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

if you have --any- doubt that you might not bond with your doll and end up selling it one day, then i would definitely advise against doing this since you are vastly deprecating the worth of the doll in the eyes of most 'collectors' (even if the way you mod it may be an improvement on the original in the eyes of yourself and others).

 

It's okay to throw a rare head in the trash can if you want. Once you buy something, what you do with it is up to you. It boggles my mind that people think they should have some say over what other people do, or that someone feels like they should get permission from a forum before they do something with their own stuff. This may not be what you are asking, and I do mean general you, of course. But whenever I see a "should I..." question on a forum, I feel like having this rant XD

Now, if you're asking if it's advisable to mod a rare head.... Unless the mod is phenomenal, the doll will decrease in value. If you are sure you want to keep it, go nuts. If not, don't mod it until you are sure. Heck, even changing a limited faceup can be bad for resale!

 

One could just photoshop the head to have a preview of what it could look like before modding. It's not ours and is of little importance, thus not to be bothered.

 

If that's what you want to do with it, then yes. It's fine.

Although I would recommend not showing it to people you know will be upset by seeing it that way. (Just to to cut down on the drama.)

 

I remember when I was looking for a Marion sleeping face...there would be 3-4 around that were modded to open eyed!!! It would upset me so much, because I wanted the sleeping face as sleeping face with closed eyes and all those people with that limited face had modded them!
But, although it upset me and I generally do not like the idea of modding limited heads, I'll agree with others saying, if you're sure to keep it, then do whatever you want. It'll be yours so no one else should care what you did of it. If you're not sure and you think you'll probably sell it, better leave it unmodded since most people looking for something want it unmodded ^ ^

 

This is an interesting topic and the answers are also very interesting So to put myself into this debate as well I would say, that what you pay for, is yours so do what you will with it. Then of course you need to rememeber that the price of the head will decrease with ever little modding you make.

I do understand that it might make a person, who has been searching that head for years, a little mad that someone else has it and has decided to modd it. But if you love the head and intend to keep it and you would love it even more with some bigger eyes etc, then why not.

I don't it's wrong to modd the head even if you have the idea to sell it, but I would consider that a bit silly, since the price would go down... So why modd if you are not going to keep the head (then again, whow many of us would really do that, mod a rare head before selling ).

 

There are two ways of looking at this and I will present them:

1) Your doll, you paid for it, do what you want with it.

2) Resale: the time comes for most everyone when one has to sell a doll. Any modification, unless done exquisitely by some of the big name artists (and we all know who they are) totally de-values the doll. In the case of limiteds you would be lucky to get the real value back, depending on how professionally the doll was modified, the market at the time, and how sought after the doll is (although it is possible some buyer might be desperate enough to want the doll regardless of alterations).

I would not ever modify a limited edition doll. Example (though this isn't about a strictly limited): I could get over $2,000 for my U-Noss right now if I had not modded her face as we were encouraged to do by Volks. Even with her fugly original face up and molded brows and lashes, that ugly doll intact commands an amazing price. That kills me, and has taught me a valuable lesson.

So I would say to this: look to the future! Think before you act. People usually sell a doll because they need the money or wish to get another doll. In order to get top dollar, I would say it is best to leave it intact. If you liked the Ltd or rare doll enough to spend money buying it, why alter it? Buy a cheaper doll and mod that one.

 

Excuse me a minute.

*IOJE;L8,* *YUTV DIUHX;'* *PRUBRPOGV*

That was me banging my head against the keyboard. I'm better now.

From a collector's standpoint, if you intend to resell the head, you shouldn't touch it. From an owner's standpoint...it's yours. Bought and paid for. It belongs to you. You don't need anyone's permission or validation to do whatever you want with it, be it paint it, sand it, drill it, or turn it into an op-art ashtray.

This is not the first time I've seen someone asking permission to do something on this forum--modify a rare/limited sculpt, use this or that kind of paint or sealer, create a character that could be considered controversial...that sort of thing. Here's a point: You don't need anyone's permission to do what you want with what you own. Not everyone will approve of what you do, but no one else has the right to tell you what to do with your own property. Don't ask "Is it okay if I do this?" because it's immaterial what other people want you to do or not do. If you own it, it's permitted. Maybe not a good idea, but not a hanging offense. It's a different thing to ask "Do you think it would be a good idea to do this?" because you want feedback and you're not sure. Just remember that you can still do what you want with your purchase even if the entire rest of the planet cringes.

 

I think this goes along the lines of, is it alright to wipe a OOAK faceup? In the end, it’s the owners choice and s/he must accept that the unmodified head is most likely irreplaceable. I think it puts more weight on the decision, but doesn’t make it wrong. I personally may mod the eyes or other important facial features of a rare head if I thought it would make the sculpt better, however I wouldn’t do such mods as a ‘winking’ mod or carved in facial scars. Whenever I do a mod to my doll I consider resale value, because my dolls will likely one day be sold, those particular mods are so character/owner specific, that it could affect resale value. Overall I’m okay with it, but it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. As in, don’t use a volks limited to try your first eye opening. So good professional mods I’m okay with.

 

I can understand why some people would be upset, coming from the collector mindset.
I collect My Little Ponies and when I think about all of the rare ones that got thrown away over the years it sort of makes me sad, but at the same time it makes those rare ones that much more sought after and special. But I also get that not all collectors hold onto their rare stuff forever and there is almost always going to be a chance to buy one.

That's a bit off-topic, so back to the question:
Do I think modding a limited doll is 'okay'?

Well first of all, it is a DOLL. It's not like you're murdering someone.
It is an object. Although I love my doll and if someone intentionally tried to break her I would be furious.
As for limiteds, well I would think that people would want that specific head because they liked it as it is.
But I can see it being almost perfect enough for their character. It's really no ones business if another collector wants to make a completely unique doll like that, of if they want to cut it in half! It's their money.
And there is still some uncertainty if our dolls will even be worth anything down the road. As I said before - some things don't stay in the shadows forever. A very rare doll can still be bought in time, even if most of the heads were lost or destroyed, one untouched head will pop up eventually.

But at the end of the day, it's a doll and life goes on with or without them.

 

O good grief.....why is this even asked??

 

I would say there is one reason when it's not okay to mod a limited doll: if the mod takes away everything that makes it a limited

say non-limited doll 'poof' is available with human ears as a standard, and the company brings out 'limited elf poof'
the elf ears are just a simple mod onto the human ears and otherwise the doll is entirely the same
someone buys elf poof and sands down the ears to make them human again, thus making it non-limited poof

Or say someone buys limited poof and builds a completely new head on top, as in the only thing intact might be head cap and neck hole

those things are just stupid, and sadly I have seen it happen
and that would be a reason to say it's not okay

As for limited faceups: why buy a limited faceup if you are going to wipe it and you can get a blank doll just as easy

 

If its based on the wording? Because the asker seems to be yet another looking for validation in what they may want to do in the hobby. I think this could have been a proper debate if the question was "What do you think of modding a rare head?" and not this "Is this okay" crap that seems to annoy quite a few people.

 

If you buy the doll you can do whatever the hell you want with it.

If you mod it, then turn around and attempt to sell the modded head at the same price you bought it for, or at the same inflated price other non-modded heads are selling for, well, you're just crazy.

 

I'm probably going to take the unpopular opinion and say that, philosophically, I do think it is 'wrong' to irreversibly mod a doll head of that rarity, in the same way it's 'wrong' to paint or draw over an artist's original limited run lithograph. Perhaps the over painting or modding will make the artwork look better, or prettier, or more perfect etc, but it's changing the original artwork from the intent of the artist which can be a great shame in the case of extreme limited editions. If everyone who owned one of these works decided they wanted to change it to better suit their tastes there'd be none left in the original shape at all, and to me that's a loss.

Of course what's 'wrong' or 'okay' or not in this case is subjective and altering BJD heads isn't illegal so no one can tell you what you should do with an item you've bought and own.

 

A doll and a lithography are in no way the same thing. A lithography is made as art, to be admired as is.
BJD sculptors make these dolls with the intent to be customized. They KNOW and expect people to change them to fit their needs.

 

There's never "none" left; there's always some originals preserved. Law of averages. This is why unmodded LE dolls retain/increase in value over time. At the time of sale, owners wipe the faceups, change undesirable features, swap out bodies/limbs & split up outfit/accessory sets, to suit their needs. Things get played-with, things get changed or lost. So when a whole intact fullset of an unmodded LE doll does appear, it's in a minority, so its value has increased.

It's the same with any other vintage or antique toy you see on the Antiques Roadshow... the used toy itself can still command a great price even if its paint is rubbed off, or the shoes are missing, or what-have-you... but when that same toy has all its hair & is still in its original box, the value goes through the roof.

So, loss for some now, but reward for someone else later.

 

snow: They may expect them to change the dressing and makeup of the doll, but not necessarily the sculpt itself. I think many artists view their sculpt as artwork in itself.

Jennynemesis: Of course it's very unlikely everyone who owned an extreme limited sculpt would modify it, but the OP presented the situation where there was only 3 in existence and that's what my theoretical example was based on. Unlikely but not impossible.

 

The way I see it, it's your right to do whatever you'd like with your doll regardless of it's rarity.