Planning your doll family? Did you have a plan? How did it work out?

Initially I just bought a doll that I liked that I could afford. Then a few more affordable dolls followed as funds allowed. Then I started to get more money so I started buying some sculpts that I liked initially but couldn't afford. Then I went back to buying cheaper dolls because I could get more that way which was a mistake.

I've now straightened myself out, I'm rehoming some dolls that were just impulse purchases and I've got specific families that I purchase my dolls for. I now only buy the doll if I really like it - not just because it's cute and cheap.

 

I buy dolls to fill in characters~ that's really all the planning that goes into it (together with which doll I would like earlier among them I suppose, and sometimes what I can afford) but it all boils down to characters in the end.

So it's just... which character is more important to the story currently and which one gets priority. I like to keep a very short 'immediate' wishlist of about five dolls. The rest of them can enter the wishlist later or dolls from the 'far-off ' someday list can climb on the top five depending on circumstances.

 

My approach is a bit of this and a bit of that. XD;

Wraith was a character concept I'd hatched awhile back, and thought "THAT'D BE AN AWESOME BJD", and after finding an appropriate model, it kind of all went downhill from there.

Captain wound up being a case of "I had something planned for you, but I now suddenly have a better idea. Here, have a detailed background character". And next thing I knew, I was the proud mom of a steampunk airship pirate with a complicated past.

Mikael was a case of "I'm still waiting on that one order I placed with DollZone months ago....--OH HEY PRETTY SPECIAL EDITION I LOVE YOU AND I'LL HAPPILY TAKE YOU HOME ", and to this day he still gets the fragile "kid gloves KID GLOVES" treatment like a sickly child. He's kind of pampered as far as my dolls go. He was actually the first BJD to enter my home, while, amusingly, the aforementioned DollZone order(later to be named Caleb) shipped the next week. XD;

Caleb has a distinct style/image/fashion sense, but his backstory is kind of vague. You know that feeling when you're trying to work on a character(in a story or otherwise), and the harder you try to hammer out the details, the less you have to work with? Yes. That's been the deal with Caleb.

Among the dolls I eventually want to get, one is a ResinSoul Ai, that I want to modify a bit and alter her to resemble my Draenei character in WoW. But, I'll admit that she's lower on my priority list than, say, a DoD Azera, whom I just really love the aesthetic of(and am entirely too likely to just develop the character later, even though I have a vague idea of what I'll do with him appearance-wise).

 

Initially anything such it was not planned, gradually as that by itself they were bought and stole up for them pair)
Now I have incomplete three families)

 

When you first started with this hobby, did you have a clear vision on what you wanted? If so what is it and how did it work out? I got the impression that a lot of people have changed their initial likes and dislikes (or dos and won'ts).

I would love to hear what everyone had initially planned for their collections and what they have ended up with now

 

Yes! Well, my plan was to only have one doll. You can see how that worked out.

Then I planned to only have my original OC's as dolls an nothing else. My plans suck. I don't bother with them anymore.

 

Well to start with I was looking at some of the bigger, more popular companies for my first doll but the price was a bit steep. I wasn't even sure that I was going to love the hobby once I got into it so I wanted my first doll to be a bit less of a cost. I ended up going with a Doll Family doll and I love him.

As far as numbers are concerned originally I had planed for a family of 5 dolls who were all interconnected. Then I got a doll just because I liked her, then another because I liked him. He also came with a free tiny. So then I expanded the number to 10.

Then I ended up with two heads that I had not intended to have and I developed another character that I simply had to own. So now my total is at fifteen. We shall see if that ends up sticking.

 

I had wanted only one, maybe two. Then I needed to have one in every size. But, they were lonely so a boy and girl in each size. Then minifees happened, and there is no cure for minifees.

 

I'll stick to some small ones, I said. I'll stick to some cheap ones, I said. Pffft! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

I thought I had a good vision of what I wanted from this hobby. I wanted a few doll of various size whom I can dress up and take photo of. I was way too excited and ended up making too many unnecessary purchases. I realize pretty quick that SD size are too big for my taste but didn't want to let go for years. Maybe cause SD size was my first.

Parting with a bjd is tough/stressful and a bit annoying imo
So now my plan will be to have one girl. Then, maybe after I learn how to do a proper faceup and a bit of crafting, I might consider getting one more.

 

I had a plan.
It was good plan.
I would have bought a doll at the end of 2014, and then the second around May 2015 (for my birthday). Then another on Christmas and so on...

I have even chosen the first three dolls: in this order: B.I.D. Bonnie, Honey Delf Pie, J.I.D. Amy...

And I did buy Bonnie first. Then, a month later or so, I discovered a dear friend of mine was selling her J.I.D. Amy... and I decided to buy her, she actually arrived few days before my B.I.D. Bonnie...

Then I decided that I would buy Pie at the end of 2015... but I've already moved him to May 2015 and I HOPE I can stick with it, otherwise my significant other is going to lock me outside the house XD...

Oh, and meanwhile I added K.I.D. Bambi to my wishlist and I'm currently looking for a 1/3 doll to shell the character I play at Live Action Role Playing Games (I think I found her now...)

My plans suck too!

 

My only idea when I started collecting BJDs was that I was only going to have SD sized dolls & I stuck to that for a long time. But after a while being both out of room & money I sold about half my collection & fell in love with some tinies. I also dipped my toes into MSD territory but ended up selling all of those except for my Boding, Boding Sharmin & Fresh Day Alice.

Now my SDs & tinies are mostly ignored except for looking at them as I've gotten them the way I want them to look. And I'm back into slim minis & enjoying them greatly. So as it turned out I've ended up with a bit of everything. The only ones I've resisted are the 65cm & up dolls. Absolutely no room for those.

 

Hah, a plan... I was going to have three dolls.

..... NOPE.

 

This is really interesting! Initially I said I only wanted one doll. But before I even ordered my first doll I started to entertain the idea of getting two dolls. Hmm, I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it works out.

 

I had 4 dolls planed... As my signature suggests I plan 9 dolls now. All but Sheryl are in the same story. And even now I want a tiny and a another doll unrelated to the story only because she's just soooooo adorable T^T tooooooo many dolls I like

 

Ha ha ha. Yes. Plan. *chuckle* I joined here last year planning to get a Realpuki, and in the meantime subsumed my realpuki longings with zelfs. Now I've decided that if I'm going to spend $200+ on a doll, why not go the extra $100 or so for a Littlefee who can be the big fairy sister to my zelfs? (Now I'm wondering if I'll end up deciding to save up a bit more and just get a Minifee!!!! LOL) (I can already see them multiplying before my eyes and I'm months away from being able to afford ONE LOL!!!!)

 

I had 5 dolls planned, and I ended up with a bunch of different MSDs and SDs bought and sold over the years. Due to unemployment I was forced to sell all but one of my dolls (my first), but I'm slowly getting everyone back in SD size. I have 5 SD heads of the original 5 characters I planned to have, plus one tiny, so I'd say it worked out pretty okay in the end

 

I've never had a plan and I still don't!

 

I planned to own one MSD based on Sephiroth. That never happened. I bought the MSD and he turned out nothing like Sephiroth, other than starting with a silver wig that didn't last long. My crew has changed over the years from MSD to SD, stylized to more realistic, goth to detective agents to pop stars, college age to mature adults to teens.....there's been a lot of change! And the number changed too. At first, I said only one. Maybe two. Then "only 6".....then "only 13"....."well maybe 26...." and eventually, it grew to over 30. I think at the most, I had 39 at one time. Now, I'm planning to cut back to 20. Or maybe 13. Who knows. XD

 

Ohh Yes I HAD a plan as in past perfect . . . Whaaa HA Ha ha ROFLMAO