owning the not so popular molds

I think this is the only downside to liking an unpopular sculpt.

That sculpt is gorgeous, especially with the snakes. I'm surprised there aren't more here.



OP: I couldn't give a toss if people like my dolls or not since the enjoyment of them is for me alone.I realize some people need that social aspect of a hobby though. Unless someone insults your doll, you shouldn't be offended. How would you feel if everyone said you need to love their sculpts regardless of what you really think about them?No one should force a positive reaction.On the other hand, I'm against anyone shunning or making others feel less for having unpopular or cheaper sculpts.

 

I own a mixture of popular and less common sculpts. And two of the dolls I own that receive a lot of attention are two Volks molds that for years were considered rather ugly and no one liked them. Some really talented customizers started repainting them, and good luck to you now finding either Michele or Ushiwakamaru at a reasonable price. Sometimes what was once unpopular receives an upswing in attention and vice versa.

Popularity plays no part in whether or not I like a sculpt. I love the 4 sisters headmold and plan to purchase one, and they're the white cotton fibre of the Volks world. I actually really like the challenge of taking a popular mold and finding new ways to interpret it.

 

I don't get upset anymore. I think to myself, "I am NOT in this hobby for that person or that person. Who cares what they think?" (Not meaning any offense as I thought this of course.) But, I used to get upset that the dolls I like aren't popular on here, and some of the dolls I'm not too fond of are really popular. For example, I really like a lot of Resinsoul dolls and would get them even if they weren't less expensive. It used to peeve me when people said, "Yeah, they're good gateway dolls," when I thought they were good period (of course their elastic needs some replacing...).

 

I don't think any of the molds I have (except my incoming DZ Shoyo) are particularly popular... I've only seen a couple of other AoD Wang Zes, Chun Zes, or DZ Feis around the forums. But they're not unpopular in that people don't like them, I guess, just that other people like other molds from those companies more? I get positive feedback when I post pictures, at least, especially of my Fei. I don't really mind... since I love them, it just feels like I have a special, pretty secret with a very few other people.

 

I own a mix of popular and unpopular sculpts. I love them all the same. It doesn't bother me if other people don't like them. I'm not in the hobby to please other people. It is fun sometimes talking to people who own and love the same sculpts as I do, but on the flip side it is fun introducing others to the less popular sculpts that I love. I love it when some one says "I've never seen one of those before" or "the pics on the website didn't do this doll justice, your ____ is so cute/handsome/lovely". We have a large and active doll group where I live and so I get the opportunity to see popular and almost unknown sculpts in person. If everyone owned the same dolls it would be boring. My little Kitsune for example is an AF Sheya, I don't think I've seen any others on the board and never in the local group either but he is a hit at meet ups. The only down side is it is hard to find owner reviews and pictures when trying to decide whether to buy a doll. Posing abilities are very important to me when choosing a doll and it is hard to really know what the doll will be like if you can't talk to some one who owns them.

 

Hmm... Popular or not, I really love them.
I ever posted pics of my doll and didn't get any comments, but I don't really care.
I just want to share their pics, not obsessed with lots of fave and comments. XD

We don't need to feel offended just because we have not so popular molds.
We bring them home by our money anyway, not by their money, and no need to push other people to love our dolls. It's preference IMHO... ^^

 

There are so incredibly many dolls around and they all look great, but frankly to me a lot of them kind of look the same. This especcially goes for boys. Or they have pretty blank faces (with beautiful face ups though) or emo faces. I'm not a fan of emo to be quite honest.
I like their faces either masculine, or friendly. The latter was my reason for choosing BBB Apollo (which isn't an uncommon mold though). When I thought it would be great for him to have a partner, and me for having a little lady to sow gorgious historical costumes for, I ordered the Charisma, which is not very common. My guess is because the face smirks all the time and originally came with horns and pointed ears. But she's a cheeky diva and I love how her personality is developing.
It is possible I'm the only one owning a Charisma normal head in the country.

 

I guess about half of my dolls are unpopular molds- Souldoll Lupinus, Dollshe Husky, CP Camilla, and Ringdoll Shao. Aside from my Husky, which seems to have gone up in popularity since its discontinuation and thusly gets an occasional "ZOMG you have a Husky! *insert fangirl behavior*, my dolls do not interest other people very much. I see no reason to be offended by this. There are some molds I do not find very interesting, and some I find downright ugly and/or boring. Everyone has a right to like and dislike what they want.

I have to agree with what some have mentioned about not being able to find enough pictures. I like to study molds a lot before actually buying them, and that is usually a problem for me because I like molds most people do not have (I did not get to see Shao from enough angles to decide to buy it until I came across one in the MP [the one I later bought] that had some good pictures). Fortunately for me, once I buy the doll I want and get it to look the way I want, I lose interest in looking at other pictures of the mold, with the exception of Husky. I adore the Husky mold, and it is probably one of the few I could just look through endless pictures of. Of course, there are so few, I have probably already seen most, if not all, of the Husky photos available on the web. If I want new Husky pictures I have to take some of Wolfgang.

 

popular = lowest common denominator ^_^

(Edit: I mean this in a purely objective sense, and would like to clarify that I completely disagree with Wikipedia's description of the figurative use of this phrase when they state, and I quote: "The phrase is by further analogy used to describe the most basic, least sophisticated level of taste, sensibility, or opinion among a group of people. This is most often used in criticism of art, products or media thought to be aiming itself at such a group, the implied complaint usually being that the subject has been simplified to appeal to a wider audience"
I do, however, agree with Wikipedia that it means that the lowest common denominator implies that the subject "contains only factors popular or at least acceptable to everybody".)

 

I didn't buy my dolls to please others, so I didn't bother to even think about this too much in the first place.

My Mono for example, I love him to bits! He's one of the most beautiful molds ever to me (and I've been interested in the hobby and browsing all kind of BJDs before I got my own last year for a while) and definitely the one that aesthetically pleases me the most right now. I don't see so many Monos around though, especially compared to other molds I own; like my Mihos. That's not necessarily a bad thing and I'd never be offended just because he might not be that loved by the masses as other dolls.

 

I personally feel that if you like the doll and no else does then it's their loss cause you've turned a doll in to your own unique creation so what if the mold ain't popular. it's like making fun of someone for liking different foods... it's annoying and i personally think all dolls are very beautiful, and i like the odd balls i find them adorable.

 

I think that getting an uncommon/unpopular mold shows how well you think of yourself!
If you didn't have a high self-image, you would only buy what others think is acceptable and popular.

Also, people who buy things that are popular might do it for the security factor.
Like, people are attracted to buy the highest selling cars because if so many people buy them they MUST be reliable.
-not always true- but the feeling of safety in your satisfaction is there.
Buying something that isn't popular shows that you have guts and are willing to go beyond what is safe and possibly produce unexpected positive results!

Employers look for people like us. People who have vision beyond the ordinary. Bolder than the regular joe, but not INSANE. lol

In my honest opinion, if you like a less popular mold, it reflects that you're cool, creative, and inspired by your owns thoughts!
Who cares if other's don't like it! As I see it, they just can't see past the pretty picture on the website, to the true beauty of the doll in it's raw form!
There's endless possibilities in this hobby and those who buy the 'unpopular' molds really do get the MOST out of it!

 

I own some dolls that aren´t very common, like Domadoll girls, Elfdoll Dami hybrid and Plastic Flower Misty doll, and also very popular dolls like Fairyland tinies. All dolls I own, I have bought because I´ve felt in love of their cuteness. I don´t mind them being rare or not, but there´s certainly good and bad things in both ways.

As noticed before, it´s almost impossible to find knowledge and owner pics of the dolls that seem to be only few in whole wide world. That´s frustrating, when you feel important to see and hear more or compare some things. Then again, it´s sort of fun to own something a bit more rare, as then your doll is even more unique. I haven´t been seeking for purpose to buy rare or popular dolls, just gone by my eye and heart when buying. And if your rare doll is wonderfully special and shows better than in promo pics of doll firm, it may inspire others to see beauty in it, too.

With dolls more common, you can often enjoy other peoples wonderful photos and get tips. But you may need to think your doll more just to be sure it will have something so own that it won´t look too much like someone elses. I try very hard not to copy doll style or personality, but if there´s a lot of similar dolls there´s always something a bit alike.

Must add, that it´s also fun, that some dolls even being popular here in DoA may not be popular somewhere else. I own many dolls or sculpts that are only ones in my country; seems that in here most people have different taste for dolls than me, and it fits for me well. In that way I can enjoy having rare and popular doll - in the same doll, just in different places!

 

Poo Poo to dollie discrimination!
Hehehe. I know I've seen this all around. Just because a doll isn't necessarily a mold someone personally doesn't like, doesn't mean it's bad. Maybe that's why it's so good to go to doll meets. You get to know other types of dolls first hand and get to experience the difference.
It also goes the same for the cheaper dolls. I know I remember reading a thread somewhere of a girl who let her friend hold a Volks and Bobobie doll and accidentally dropped them. The Volks broke in various places, but the Bobobie survived with barely any scratches. +1 for the 'cheap' dolls! ^_^

 

Not everyone will like the same things, nor should they. If you like those models, then they can be special to you, you don't need to get everyone else's approval for you to like them. If something is popular, usually it has mass appeal for one reason or another- which in turn means more people like that one. But who cares what the masses like- I thought this hobby was a niche and not mainstream for the most part anyway.

If anything else, having a less popular model means less people have it- and therefore yours is more unique and rare. :3

 

I recently got a Minifee Ari. I think she is totally adorable, but no one else seems to have her! Honestly, I don't care. No reason to be offended, as long as you like the doll that is all that counts.

 

I don't think anyone else has the new Dolkot Model as it seems Dolkot earned a pretty poor reputation for itself and so has become an unpopular company in general. When I saw their new Model body I just HAD to have it, and I just *knew* a lot more people would be drawn to them once it was released. I was wishing for more popularity for Dolkot, as I had been watching the company for weeks and just loved their sculpts.

Well, I guess if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak...

 

I was afraid to not own the "big" company's dolls because other people might snivel. But I have found that what makes me happy isn't what other people think or have to say. I have some expensive dolls and I have some inexpensive / lesser known dolls. And I love them all. I have given them all characters and styles of dress.
There are threads to be found for my dolls here though most are not used very often. I've even started threads for dolls. I don't care. I'll post them. Because it makes me happy to love my doll. And to love what I'm doing with the doll.

But I know what you mean. I know exactly what you mean. And I have let it get me down. I have let it cause me to consider leaving the "hobby." But then I realize these are MY dolls. And I get a lot of enjoyment out of having them. I didn't come into the "hobby" to be accepted by others. I came in because I have always loved dolls. And with these particular dolls there is just so much you can do with/for them. No matter what company made them or what their pricetag was.

 

I honestly never thought of this before. I have no dolls... yet. ;_; But I have decided my first doll will be a Little Monica Kliff. I actually find it a little annoying that not many people own him since it would help me so much if more people posted pictures of him and had discussions on him. Being a complete newbie it would be easier for me to go for a popular one since I can find everything I wanted to know. But he has captured my heart. I never really thought about me not buying him because he is not popular. I have no problems with popular or not so popular ones, or anything in between. Obviously the popular ones are popular for a reason. So it is all good. I would never buy a doll just because it is popular or unpopular. I buy what I fall in love with. I think my second doll may be DOD's Ducan. Third may be Angel studio's pink Cinderella. I already have my choices lol! Ducan is just so pretty. And many people know it. I couldn't care less if he is well liked or not. I choose the dolls I want based on if I like them or not. And when shelling out on something so expensive, you really have to like what you are buying. Otherwise you may regret it later.