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Keeping Spare Heads as Replacements?

May 3, 2019

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    1. Hi! I don't think I've seen a thread that talked about this before, but I was wondering if any of you keep around spare heads to use as "replacement" for the same sculpt? I understand some people may have the same sculpt to use for different characters they have, but is it common to keep around spare sculpts in case the current one you are using gets damaged? I'm curious to see what the community thinks because some of my absolute favorite sculpts are getting discontinued at the end of this year, and the primate in me wants to own one more copy of each sculpt in case the need to pull them out arises.
       
      #1 April_Tears, May 3, 2019
    2. I have seriously considered doing this. I have an Impldoll Glenn that is the perfect sculpt for my character Bug. I worry about damaging the head, theft, house fire, etc. If I would get a duplicate head for backup, I would like to store it in a safe deposit box. He's just that special to me.
      So, I could definitely see others doing this as well. Even more so with limited/rare dolls.
       
      #2 Mangakaotaku911, May 3, 2019
      • x 2
    3. I've seen many people have many of the same head that they faceup different, whether it be for different expressions or for things like sleeping faces. Some companies even make the same heads in different expressions as well. I'd love to have extras of my favorite heads, but have no plans to buy them at the moment. If I see one secondhand, however, I might not be able to say no though. :whee:
       
      #3 Cap'n, May 3, 2019
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    4. I like to keep the sleeping heads so I can change my BJD if I want to. I have one that came with event heads one was sleeping and the other a different expression those were a bonus and good to keep
       
      #4 Sheltie, May 3, 2019
      • x 2
    5. Part of me can't help wondering . . . what are you doing with your dolls that makes it likely for a head to be damaged beyond repair? :sweat ;)

      I understand the "need a backup!" impulse, believe me! I've done backup buying of limited-edition wigs and clothing items, which are a lot more fragile than heads. And in 15 years in this hobby, I have NEVER used any of the backup items, some of which cost me serious money (*cough* SD16 Yukinojo default wig bought in 2006 *cough* ) Now I regret sinking that money into things that I've never used and can't even sell because no one wants them anymore. But at the time, I couldn't see that far ahead; the dragon-hoarding instinct drowned out my common sense.
       
      #5 Cynthia in FlintHills, May 3, 2019
      • x 6
    6. I like the idea of having heads with different expressions and makeup (and for some reason I've fallen down the rabbit hole of "GET MULTIPLES OF MY FAVOURITE SCULPT NOW NOW NOW") but I don't think I could buy multiples of anything. I'm on a limited budget and also (more practically) I have no storage space left!. Except my Bory, and only because my impulse control dies a hard death around Borys.
       
      #6 A Wee Tiefling, May 3, 2019
      • x 1
    7. I do this. When I buy a sculpt, I’ll generally get a spare head where possible. Some of my dolls have second hand spare heads (such as iplehouse, who won’t sell just heads). It just worries me that if one got chipped or badly damaged it’d really upset me, & the spares stop me from being so paranoid that I won’t touch them!
       
      #7 Spuggey, May 3, 2019
      • x 1
    8. Yes. I have 2 migidoll Cho heads. One really yellowed and one is newer. I keep both because I like the face sculpts and he is a discontinue sculpt. I also use one as my personal faceup and the other as commission faceup. :3nodding:
       
      #8 Kohaku31, May 3, 2019
      • x 1
    9. I don't do it, but I have considered. A few of my favorite dolls are either limited sculpts, discontinued sculpts or from defunct companies, and I do worry about things like that. It's very unlikely I'm going to do anything to my dolls to damage them beyond repair, but I do think about things like fire, sinkholes and tornadoes possibly destroying everything I own or if one gets lost in the mail to an artist or if one got stolen (though I rarely ever am in a situation for that to happen). I've also considered getting duplicates to send to my RP partners so they can take photos of my character with theirs.

      Most recently, I left Amir in a hotel room while I was out doing activities, when I got back, we were locked out of the room because I had gotten the days mixed up when reserving the room and had overstayed my checkout time. I panicked and started crying immediately, since Amir was my first doll and I've had him for 11 years and couldn't stand the idea of losing him. They let me go get him, thankfully! If they hadn't, that would have been a time when I wished I had a duplicate, as AoD has changed his sculpt since I bought him.

      But in the end, I don't because I'm a fickle doll owner. Just because I love a doll right now doesn't mean I will in a year or two. In my time in the hobby, I've restarted my crew about four times. I'd rather spend the money on new dolls rather than duplicating those I might not even like in a year.
       
      #9 CloakedSchemer, May 3, 2019
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    10. A couple of my faves have two (*cough* maybe three) heads. I paint them differently so they have different expressions.
       
      #10 Amet, May 4, 2019
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    11. Small scratches, nicks and dents can usually be removed with two or three submerges in boiling water, and if they're bad enough that they don't smooth out completely, followed with a light sanding. I honestly can't imagine myself damaging a doll head so badly that it needs to be replaced entirely, so I'm unlikely to spend the money on an expensive spare "what if I drop him from my full height onto cement and he breaks in half" head. I just don't see it happening. But, that's me...and I can certainly see the logic of doing it simply to lower your personal anxiety over the potentially irreplaceable nature of a beloved doll.
       
      #11 celga, May 4, 2019
      • x 1
    12. I couldn’t, because I would see those additional heads as money for potential new purchases lying wasted. The one ‘extra’ I do have is the sleeping faceplate for my Saint, but even that is hard to justify keeping because it took me 5 years of ownership to even get around to painting it, and it’s still never been used. I try to keep my hobby involvement as streamlined as possible so my dollars stretch to do everything I want to do.
       
      #12 Havra, May 4, 2019
      • x 1
    13. Sorry I guess I need to clarify, but I would never even dream of doing anything to my dolls to make them damaged beyond repair! I guess what I meant by my first post is to say, they are very very yellowed (or if an accident happens and a huge chunk of the nose or something is super chipped) and the backup I have is nowhere near that state since it has been kept away in the dark. I do understand that resin will eventually yellow with age whether it be kept in the dark or displayed in the light, but that need to "stock up" on the same sculpt is present knowing that it will never be manufactured ever again, so I was curious to see if the rest of the community has ever had the urge to purchase duplicates and if so, why or why not :3nodding: it's a shame what happened to you, but I think that dragon hoarding sense is something innate in all of us. It can be hard sometimes to know when to listen and when to not though *_*

      @Mangakaotaku911 ooh I feel you on this! Some of those kinds of disasters are on the extreme end of the spectrum, but nevertheless they can happen! I think there was a thread here on the forum about lost and stolen dolls and after reading that, it's hard to not think of more "What if that happened to me" kind of scenarios!

      @Cap'n @Sheltie @Amet oooh I've seen those too! That's an ingenius way to make your dolls come alive if use the extra sculpts to change expressions! Think it'd be even easier to do if your dolls worked on face plates instead of how heads traditionally work??

      @A Wee Tiefling that may be a good thing?? Typically when we have a lot of spare room, we tend to have the urge to fill it up with more belongings, but if there is no more space then that also means no more room to fill up with extra purchases? Maybe this could help with managing budgets too haha!

      @Spuggey I understand how owning duplicates may help ease your anxiety with being afraid of damaging your doll! Oh man especially if the sculpt is LE or discontinued! It would be such a shame to not enjoy the hobby to the fullest because you are too afraid to handle and play with your doll, that would be the worst :( it's so nice to hear how everyone is enjoying the hobby in their own way!

      @Kohaku31 that's such a great idea! :o I have been torn between doing my doll's faceup or sending them off to my favorite artist instead, and i think your idea has solved that problem! Thank you, I never even thought of that! That's one more reason to buy a duplicate sculpt if you are torn on who should give it a faceup haha!

      @CloakedSchemer what a terrifying situation! What a relief that the staff let you go back to the room to pick up Amir before leaving! And that is some great input, if your taste in dolls change on a more frequent basis then it would not make sense to buy a duplicate of a sculpt. I like how that insight on your tastes allows you to be more thoughtful on where your money would go in the hobby!

      @celga thank you! That is some useful damage control info that could help out in the future, though I hope I hope it won't ever be needed haha! Also I can see how it would not make sense to buy an expensive duplicate sculpt if you take extra good care that your dolls will never be in a situation to ever need one in the first place! This is a pretty expensive and niche hobby, and in your case that extra head will be the same as unusable money lying around!

      @Havra this!! This makes perfect sense! Sometimes I would browse the MP and I would see owners listing up old but brand new and unused heads for sale that have rarely seen the light of day. They haven't even been painted, but locked away and passed around to newer owners as it gets sold, but none of those newer owners would ever do anything to the head either except keep it stored away in the dark, only to resell it again to hopefully someone else who can give it some love. I totally get this, and with how this hobby has a lot of artist and limited releases of dolls, sometimes we make many impulse purchases to the point where it becomes difficult to divide our attention between all of the dolls we have. Also this hobby isnt cheap either, so the things we have in store for our dolls can take quite a bit of time and money to achieve :sweat the more dolls we add to our crew, the more time it takes for each doll to be completed and then you gotta stretch out those dollars to extend them to the other dolls if you can!!

      Everyone's responses have been very enlightening and interesting to read! Thank you for those of you who have shared your opinions and experiences! Hope there will be others who would like to post up their inputs in the thread!! :XD:
       
      #13 April_Tears, May 4, 2019
    14. I only got one "spare head" for one of my dolls, and that one's a Mimimee head Denny made after my own design (well, "design" is saying too much, I suck at drawing but Denny did an awesome job bringing that character to "life"), so there's only those two heads world-wide. In case something drastic happens to my doll collection, about half or so I reckon won't be replaceable anyways (cos the company's gone, for example, and the dolls are rare, cos they're too expensive or due to the sentimental value), so I guess my only option is to be careful with my dolls ... ;)
       
      #14 Khell, May 4, 2019
    15. I'm saving money to get a spare head these days. I feel insecure without a backup.
      I have already put the head and a new doll in the basket and going to clear it during the Black Friday sale. =P
       
      #15 Kurtssingh, May 5, 2019
    16. I have a few heads sitting around from characters that were reshelled that I either plan to keep for whatever reason, or will eventually be sold.

      To answer the question specifically, however, I did get a spare Dollshe King Corey head in a separate order. The reason? He's (supposedly, considering this is Dollshe we're talking about) going to be discontinued soon, and I wanted a backup since I planned to mod elf ears onto one of them. The extra was for if I ever, by some unexpected circumstance, had to let go of King Corey I'd be able to sell him in full, unmodded, and at least be able to keep his head and re-body him if it ever came down to it.

      Hopefully that'll never happen :kitty2
       
      #16 jade-eyed-cat, May 5, 2019
    17. I actually did buy two extra heads "just in case" when Iplehouse discontinued two of my favorite sculpts. I wouldn't have done it if they were still going to be available (or if they were less dear to me), though. My resins have taken some significant falls with little to no injury, so I'm not all that concerned about it, usually.
       
      #17 Sianserais, May 5, 2019
    18. A curious question, because up until my DC girl was discontinued I took comfort in if the worst possible thing happened I could replace her. She was discontinued, however, and I am okay with the fact that she's not really replaceable. If she breaks I'll just repair her. Besides, there were changes to the resin since I got her so I wouldn't like a mismatch anyway.
       
      #18 FirecrackerSparks, May 5, 2019
    19. I recently ended up buying a second Dollzone Raymond head when I found out that he was going to get discontinued. Part of the reason why I decided to get him was that we're currently doing some renovation at home and... well, let's just say that my poor Raymond's integrity was put at serious risk D: so yeah, I figured that it might be a good idea to have a replacement in case something bad happens to him D:

      I'm still unsure what I'm gonna do with him, though: part of me would like to use him to either recreate an alternative version of my character (since he's supposed to use magic to alter the way he looks, it'd be nice to have a head with his "non-magical look" as well) or maybe create a new character altogether (I've seen some beautiful Raymonds with black hair and I'd totally love to try a black haired look on him!), buuuuut... since he's supposed to be a spare head to be used for emergency, I don't knoooow D:
      Anyway, guess I'm gonna have plenty of time to think about it, since I only just ordered him and usually DZ takes at least 6 months to ship, lol.
       
      #19 Astraea Nevermore, May 5, 2019
    20. I've never had "replacement heads" for any of my crew, but I *do* have a box of assorted "replacement hands". Those are a lot more prone to breakage in my experience.
       
      #20 Brightfires, May 5, 2019
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