Opinion on Fairyland, over hyped or not?

I like their styling and the design of their sculpts/bodies. Just never been one to actually buy something... Mostly due to resin match issues and that they focus more on female/msd sized category. The only time I got tired of seeing them was when I was painting faces, so many Chloe's lol. Otherwise, good job Fairyland, you have my appreciation!!

 

I would have to say Fairyland bodies have been over-hyped. I think their dolls are good for displaying and photographing in a standing position... and that's about it imho. I've owned minifee boy and girl bodies, and two F60s, and the posing is pretty bad. As others have said, the inability to slouch and the lack of mobility joints is a huge let-down to me.

For me, I had a lot of frustration from just trying to sit my Fairyland ladies at a 90 degree angle. I like my dolls to be posed naturally when I have them on display, and I could never get a good natural pose from them. Now I will say, my minifee boy is the best poser out of the lot. I don't know why, but he slouches more and holds a pose of at least 90 degrees. Overall that body just seems more natural to me.

That said, I love some FL head sculpts to death -- my Soony and Celine are so photogenic, and I adore them along with some other sculpts. They are absolutely worth owning, I just prefer them on a different body.

At this point, I've sold all but my minifee boy because of frustration with the posing. If someone doesn't care about these posing issues, then I think Fairyland could be a good choice. They're beautifully sculpted and the joints tend to be relatively smooth. However, I wouldn't recommend FL as a beginner bjd. There are so many more affordable, more satisfying options, in my opinion.

 

Their fullsets are absolutely gorgeous but their sculpts are really not for me. They all look like they have the exact same face and I can't tell them apart at all
I also have lots of concerns over their resin quality being really subpar, which is a shame since I love the idea of magnetic hands and feet!

 

I thought it was just me and didn't want to say anything. All their sculpts look the same to me too. I honestly thought for awhile they only had one sculpt and just released different outfits for her.

I heard about the poor quality resin but wasn't sure if that was true or a rumor. I have heard bad things about their quality control too.

 

I've heard moe-line minifees do have problems sitting up straight. But, I haven't had problems getting my a-line minifee girls to sit at a right angle and I have quite a few. I find they look pretty natural. Nor have I noticed sub-par resin. It's more light weight than LUTS but about the same as Doll Leaves and Soom.

I have heard of people getting dolls with crooked legs or chips. But, that was over a year ago. I can see people not feeling the sculpts. They do all share a certain aesthetic. And I also get why some people want slouching and mobility joints, so if someone wants that, minifee isn't for them. But the magnetic parts are fantastic for me. I have a lot of trouble changing out hands and feet without them. So for me, it's just a trade-off on what I want more.

 

I love what other people do with their Fairyland dolls and I definitely admire the photos I see but every time I’ve owned one (and I’ve tried owning them multiple times) I am never satisfied. I have come to realize I much prefer artist BJDs.

 

It's interesting to see all these different responses! I voted No Way and here's my personal reasons why.

My first doll back in 2008 was a Minifee, and while I have a few dolls from other companies, Fairyland has been the main company I buy from. I have mostly Minifees and a few of the smaller ones like Realfee and Littlefee. I also once had a Feeple65, but found the size just too bulky for me.

Now keep in mind, all my opinions are obviously coming from a fan of the company, though Fairyland has issues just like any company out there.

I see a lot of people mentioning the changing aesthetics, body, and same face syndrome, and imo whether you like or dislike it comes down to 1. when you got in this hobby and 2. what you personally look for in a doll. Back in 2008 when I got into the hobby, I didn't like the big eyed, chubby bodied MSDs that seemed so prevalent then. I wanted an MSD for convenience; SD was too big and a lot of companies that were active and popular then usually had more extensive SD lines. MSDs looked like children, and I wanted the maturity of an SD in a smaller form.

Fairyland at the time was the only company I could find that had a mature MSD and I liked some of their faces. Most of them then were more 'anime' styled with larger eyes, which was a popular look at the time. Now arguably more realistic and mature faces have become more popular and Fairyland's sculpts (at least in Minifee size) reflect this. I do think there are some years and some sculpts that look far too similar (for instance Luha, Ingrid, etc all have that annoyed, dead in the eyes look to me), but within the last few years they have been branching out more, especially with their event heads. I have been replacing some of my minifee sculpts with newer ones that are more interesting and less anime looking, because I like the smaller eyes with still interesting faces. A lot of people like the older sculpts from their LUTS days, like Chiwoo, El, Shiwoo, etc and that's fine for the people that like them; I find a lot of their new sculpts more interesting.

Perhaps thinking they all look similar is simply because they are designed by the same people and in the same style. I'd venture to say that all the sculpts might look similar if you don't collect largely from one company too. For example, I think all VOLKS and Dollshe sculpts look the same. I know it's not because they are actually the same, it's because they have a style and because I don't collect them or see them often enough to tell them apart.

Posing was also important for me, and despite what others have said, I still think they pose like a dream. I can get them in just about any pose I want, nearly all of the time without having to restring, wire, or suede them. The bodies look good to me too, even just standing straight they don't look stiff and unrealistic to me. A lot of their body parts are interchangeable too, so I can make some interesting combinations of bodies. I also like the fantasy parts that they've come out with over the years. My Spiritdoll can slouch and stand, but that's about all he can do; my Minifees can dance.

I also adore their magnetic hands, feet, and easy change head system. I can't imagine having to remove hands and heads of my dolls every time I wanted to change or fix something. I have Spirit Doll and Dollzone dolls that are a nightmare to dress, clean, and paint, so hats off to y'all that do it all the time!

There was a few years when there were quality control issues, but I would say those largely have been taken care of now. You might still get a broken piece or a problem, again like any company. The waiting times are reasonable. I also can't imagine waiting more than a year for a doll and not to name names, there are popular companies who are horrible about waiting times.

Overall, collect what you like in the style you like. One great thing I've seen about the hobby over the years is there are so many dolls in so many styles to choose from. If you like Fairyland, buy from them, and if you don't, there's another company/doll out there for you!

P.S. Geeez, I'm sorry for the novel! I just love my Minifees apparently lol

 

@sophiesoliday
I really appreciate your perspective on the company, especially since you have been in the hobby so long. I joined in '17, so while I knew msds used to be more childlike, I didn't realize that FL was one of the first companies to make more mature msds.

I must admit, when I first started looking at minifees, they did all look the same to me too. I'd go on Denver Doll and look at the lineup of face sculpts, and just be lost. But I managed to start learning the sculpts, and that's when I settled on Celine for my first bjd. Even though I ended up not being happy with her body and sold it, I don't regret getting her at all. I plan to rebody her at some point on a Souldoll New Soulkid girl body.

 

I can see how some would feel that way. I don't, but then I'm a big fan of being able to take off hands and feet for redressing and having options for both, their whole face plate system and the little locky-do thing inside some sizes of dolls that allow ease of head removal. A lot of these things have been adopted by other companies (which is fantastic), but FL has been doing it for a long time. So for me, it's more about the engineering... but there IS room for improvement

 

Oh absolutely, there is nothing like the ease of popping off hands and feet and heads, and just dressing my doll without struggling. Or designing clothes without worrying if the sleeves will go over their hands. That is why I even got more than one Fairyland doll in the first place, and I wish more companies offered those options. For me, it came down to whether I liked the poses they were able to do for displaying purposes, just because I spend a lot more time displaying my dolls than dressing them.

 

I have a realpuki , I bought it before 2014 ,I think it was 2012 or early 2013 it is a very well made doll and admirale in such mini scale how functional it is but yes they are very expensive and not really my style of aesthetics , beautiful dolls but not my first choice so I don't know for me they are but for others who are more into this maybe not so I voted it depends. I wouldn't buy any more though.

 

I've been in the hobby since 2006, my first doll was a minifee. You gotta remember at that time like @sophiesoliday said back then if you wanted a more mature msd fairyland minifees were basically your only option, now they're way more common! I suck at posing dolls but all my minifees (i own 6 with bodies) are solid standers and if i were better at balancing i could probably get some neat poses put of them. that being said ive seen df-h bodies able to pull off some CRAZY poses that i dont think a minifee could do without some wiring/sueding which is saying something because they usually dont need that. I will say, im mostly an old school FL fan, i prefer their older sculpts and faceups than the newer ones with a few exceptions. I like that they made tan a standard now (i remember when u could only get tan from FL during events QAQ) and when it comes to ease of dressing FL really can't be beat because they have magnetic hands AND feet now which i think more doll companies should do honestly.

 

I like their smaller sculpts, and while perhaps a little bit pricey, I don’t mind paying a bit more for what I really want. Their little fantasy-like faces are particularly adorable, with tons of unique character to them. And their company faceups are absolutely wonderful (I really marvel at the faceups on my teeny-tiny Realpukis…I don’t know how they do it that small! Egads!) I have several Realpukis, a Pukifee, and a Realfee, and I love them all because of their uniqueness. But I do agree that their larger lines can suffer from a bit of sameness. However the dolls are still quite lovely so I can see why people continue to collect them. And the ease of dressing a doll with magnetic hands and feet really can’t be beat!

 

I only own dolls from Fairyland in their smallest sizes, Puki Puki and Real Puki. The magnetic hands and feet making redressing them so much easier. And they pose well, especially for how small they are. Some of the dolls in their smaller lines have distinctive faces, though many of the Minifees or Llittlefees look pretty similar to me. Their bigger dolls aren't really for me, but if you like them, by all means go for it!

 

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They're good enough dolls, and I'm glad I have the ones I have, but in the end I feel their bodies aren't nearly as good as some people say, the regular faces often look the same, and I absolutely hate the magnetic feet because they always get stuck in shoes

But I also really like the more expressive event faces they offer, and the magnetic hands are awesome for changing outfit/getting a different mood.

 

So my feeple60 also has magnetic hands. They work with the magnet and turn to lock in place. I don't have problems with them falling off. I can't pull them off without turning the hand and wrist part first. But I don't know about anyone else's doll. Just mine.

 

maybe, but their dolls are really great.
also, yes, magnets - are extremelly perfect. so fl dolls are good looking and great for play. so i don't care about overhyped.

 

I change my stance after seeing the new Feeple65. No longer overhyped because I couldn't be more excited. She is freaking gorgeous! lol