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

I plan based on original characters from my own fiction . . . but there have been surprises. I bought two for their sculpts alone - Maki T. and Colin - and the former found himself reshelled as a character I've had around for ages while the latter created himself a character in a pre-existing story. Then my Crobi Nao, who I was supposed to sell, created HIMSELF a character in a story. Jeez. Lately the two tactics are merging, so that I've got a new story idea forming around sculpts I have/want to get ^^;;; And I will consider just who I might turn any intriguing sculpt into. But my collection's pretty big now, and when I made a list of the characters that I've just assumed I'll shell in resin . . . er, it more than doubles my collection. So I'm starting to rein it in even mentally.

 

My family is mostly planned, but sometimes someone new comes along and manages to fit in. My Lu-Wens, Kyulenath and Taliss, were totally random, but seem to have fount a place in the fam. Taliss seems to have made his way into it rather nicely with my Soony Yinyay.

 

I'm still trying to figure out my first doll, and things have already changed.

I have a large number of RP and story characters, but I never really planned on making dolls of them. While I can see the advantage of doing so, my stories and characters get convoluted enough only being in one medium. Also, I feel I will get more use out of the dolls in the way I want to use them if they have fluid characters. Though I am now considering modding dolls into one or two of my characters, I think they will likely be primarily display dolls.

I figured out pretty quick that I was going to have dolls that didn't "match". My taste seems to run across a number of styles and the gamut of sizes, so I've been trying to plan it out so that every doll I really plan on getting has at least one other doll I want that would look natural with him or her, and I'm trying to plan that my first two dolls will match, but other than that it's just whatever dolls catch my fancy.

 

I keep a list of dolls that I want in my profile, and I edit the order of this list frequently. The list is split into 'certain' and 'uncertain'; there are two dolls that I am certain will be my next additions, and over a dozen floating around on the uncertain part of the list. For the next few years at least, I want to limit my doll collection to less than six. So I'm always revisiting and revising this list to make sure I'm getting the dolls I really want.

So far, I have owned two dolls and sold one. The doll I sold was my first doll, an impulse buy which, while cute and quite well made, ultimately bored me. The doll that stayed is a sculpt that I had coveted for years and had never ever thought would be rereleased.

What I learned from this is that it's better to stick to my plans and to dolls that I have loved for a long time, instead of dolls that I fall in love with on the spur of the moment. Sometimes it's hard to stick to the plan when a limited edition doll appears. Limited editions force you to make a decision quickly, so it's more of a gamble whether you'll love the doll, but on the other hand if they don't work out they are easier to sell than a regular edition doll and there's a good chance that you'll get your money back (including shipping).

I do imagine stories and characters, but I never use them as doll plans. I want to own the dolls that I find the most visually appealing in and of themselves, not dolls that I like because they remind me of a character. My story ideas and character designs are subject to change all the time, so I don't want to tie my ideas down to a doll, nor do I want to sell/resell in order to find the perfect representation of my character. I keep the two separate.

 

I appear to be quite different from most of the people on here in how I plan my collection. I discovered a couple of years ago that rather than keep a written journal, I loved creating vignettes, or display spaces that are like 3 dimensional collages...a type of "visual poetry" if you will, to express my life experiences. And of course, each of these displays must be populated by a doll. So whenever I get the idea for a display, I will start working on it and envisioning what type of doll will best interact within that space to bring my memories alive in an artistic way. Then I start the hunt for the perfect doll.

This has worked out beautifully for me for several reasons. First, it is naturally limiting because each doll must have their own display space, and there's only so much space in my home to work with. This keeps my numbers (and budget) from spiraling out of control. Secondly, because each doll is so carefully chosen to fulfill a personal character from my own life experience, bonding is pretty much instantaneous...no staring at them for months waiting for them to "speak" to me about who they are. And thirdly, I am not bound by any pre-determined look, style or company...because they each have their own space, I can choose any doll I like without worrying whether or not they'll fit in with my other dolls. It's a very freeing doll collecting strategy.

 

i'm more of a "wonderful mold! waaaant" and the character comes afterwards. i might want to actually start planning though... i started off wanting a DoT code no.02 as my first doll. and then i wanted a crobidoll nao b type. and then i wanted DoC kirill. of course i will end up getting them eventually, since their characters have already started developing and if i don't, they will be very, very mad. my DoT, Kael, is already very cross with me because he won't be the first doll i get. instead, i decided that i will get a fairyland puki chuchu first and am saving up for him.... yeah. not the best planning.

 

Like many people on this forum, I choose my dolls to fill specific characters, some that I have written about for over 10 years. It wasn't really a conscious decision as the moment I laid eyes on DoD's Kirill sculpt I knew he was perfect for one of my oldest played characters, and it never really occured to me to stray outside that idea of shelling the rest of my characters as well. As my experience within the hobby has grown I've seen many, many different methods that others utilize in choosing their collections, yet even so I'm confident that my method of choosing a doll to fill my specific roles works well for me as opposed to choosing one because I find it pleasing to look at, etc.

The only real change I've made to my initial plans has only been the number of dolls I'd like to add to my collection, not my method of choosing them. When I began the hobby I had 4 major characters I wished to turn into resin. It didn't take long after joining the hobby however for me to connect with someone new who I could continue writing and role-playing with, and with her I explored some of my more secondary characters and really brought them to life, up to the point where I grew so attached that I decided they needed their own doll forms as well. They are still all connected to the original story, simply the cast has grown and I will seek out proper BJDs to fill their roles.

This wasn't intentional nor some underlying plan in order to have an excuse to buy more dolls. There are still many, many dolls out there I find absolutely gorgeous yet because they don't resemble any one of my characters I find that the desire to actually own them fades after a bit of time. My attraction to these dolls is because they can help make something once seen only in my (and my friends' as mentioned earlier, as half my dolls characters are originally created by her) head a reality, and so that is what I am seeking out in them.

As of this moment I only own one doll (not listed in my signature) that does not have a character from within my writing, but that is only a relatively recent thing. He was certainly originally bought to be one of my characters, same as all the others, but after some time of owning him I've become rather disattached to his sculpt and am now shelling that character in a more appropriate sculpt. The only reason for my still owning him is emotional attachment more than anything as he's had quite alot of work and money put into him (and given that he was a cheaper doll to begin with I hardly think he'd be worth it to sell in monetary terms anyway). I do admit that I dislike having a doll around with no character (a big reason why I no longer list him in my sig, though he is present in my profile) and try as I might to simply make one up specifically for him, there just isn't any attachment to those shallow personalities. Obviously there is something keeping me from selling him as I still own him, yet I feel this has only cemented my decision that I am not the type who can buy dolls without a concrete character that I am completely engrossed with first.

 

No set method at all, no-- I suppose you could call that the Zen method. My gut and my heart and my wallet all have to agree with each other at the same time, that's all.

Pre-set characters vs. Invented-on-the-fly characters: I have some of each. Actually I have many of each. ^^ Sometimes, a new sculpt suddenly calls out to you that he's Character X and absolutely has to come home to live with you... other times, you just fall in love with a stranger & only get to know him after he's spent the night.

Another phenomenon I've noticed in family planning (or lack thereof): The "anchor" immigration system practiced by many dolls. You may be perfectly content with the single or familyless status of one of your dolls, but then one day a new doll appears who suddenly declares that he's your doll's cousin/brother/lover/second-cousin-twice-removed/etc. And so, of course you have to have him, too. Then it turns out HE has a fraternal twin, and you have to bring him home too. Then you find out that THAT guy wasn't an only child, either. And so on. In this manner, a collection that was well-intended to be medium-sized can balloon into... a freakin' stadium on your table. XD

 

Well, I definitely plan out my family...I already have the characters, the dolls, which I'm going to get for that
character, unless I find another, better one, but I'm already quite sure, that they're going to be the ones
I'll get ok, their actually just three dolls, but at least I got my absolute dream doll

 

My girlfriend loves to plan out which doll she wants to get next, and good-naturedly bugs me into getting certain dolls next to complete a couple. I never planned on any of my dolls, usually just falling in love with their mold and needing to buy it then and there. Thank god for layaway plans!

This isn't to say that I don't plan, I have several dolls I want to get and a general idea of when to get them. Mostly, though, I fall in love and get the doll I want, and fit him/her in later.

 

How do YOU plan your doll family? I buy dolls to fit characters. I have three story lines that I have at least some characters from and I need (ok really want) a few more characters from two of those. Right now I have the dolls planned for the characters I still want. I just need to save for them. In the future as I write more on these stories there may be other characters who develop and make me wish to own them in doll form, or a new story may occur to me. I can never tell. But right now there are only two and a half more dolls in planning (1 body and 2 full dolls).

has that tactic changed? I guess you could say that. When I originally got interested in dolls it was just an attraction to their appearance. It never occurred to me to give them personalities at all let alone attach one of my characters to a doll. But I had a hard time bonding with my first doll. She was pretty to look like but that was it. I didn't feel anything for her and when you are spending so much $$$ on something you want to really love it. Then I saw the DZ Yuu sculpt and it looked just like the image in my mind of one of my characters and it clicked. Since then I have tried to be more careful about only buying dolls that fit characters. A few times I have succumbed to cuteness or limited status, but I always wind up regretting it and selling the doll in the end. Which is unfortunate.

and do you feel there is a "best" way to do it? I don't think there is one "best" way to collect dolls or plan your doll buying. For me the best way is by searching out sculpts that fit characters that I have created and am attached to. It is the only way I can justify the expense of this hobby. Otherwise I find it hard to get attached to something so human looking. But that is just me personally. I think the best way to plan your doll purchases is the way that works for you. If you can only buy MSD and tiny for space issues then that is what works best for you. If you just really love unique looking sculpts or limiteds or whatever.

 

Muah, I've never really planned all that much, or rather; I make plans but I barely stick to them. During my first round of having a doll-family I mostly went with buying what I liked and then came up with some sort of character. Now that I'm in my second round of dolls, I've kept the characters mostly, and buy the sculpts that go with them. Some have merged and some have changed but keep the same name.. : But now that I've experienced having a set of dolls completely exchanged for other dolls, I'm a bit more choosy about who I put on my wishlist. I usually take the dolls I really really like and come up with a vague character description and a name, and then they start growing. I may, or may not eventually get the actual dolls for that character, and sometimes the character just flies away. So no definite plan for life, more like a temporary guideline.

 

i, like others, have my dolls planned. I have the characters and names planned. I also have an idea of which mold I want for the character but when it come down to it if I find a better sculpt for the chracter i'll go for it.

 

My doll family is..somewhat planned but not. lol It started out with a planned character from a doll I wanted and then other characters started to form, whether it's from seeing a doll or just that the character enters in the story before the doll that fits comes out. ^^; Either way, all the dolls have to have a connection somehow at least for me to want them.

 

At first, I think it was the "I love this sculpt!" So I bought that sculpt but didn't know what kind of personality to draw on him. I built Haneul's character after deciding how I wanted him to look (and to be honest, that was extremely hard for me and took a very long time). His partner was a bit more easy, since he was pre-created vs. Haneul not being so. For my two original characters that are really dear to me, it was easier to pick out which ones would suit them and I didn't have the problem that I had with Haneul. The fact that I know how I want them to look makes me want to have them sooner. ><

In my plans, they come in pairs. If not right away, eventually. (I just feel that they're "less lonely" that way or if their character has a special other half). I don't think there's a best way to do so. Each individual will have different preferences, if not the same or nearly the same. It just depends to the person. C :

 

You would absolutely balk at my doll plans D: They are unsettlingly...ambitious XD I have a lot of characters, it will take me years to amass them.

When I first got into the hobby, I just bought dolls I thought were cute, without thinking about the characters. Now I have several dolls that, while I think they're cute, fail to really hold my interest, and I am considering selling them and putting the money towards buying more appropriate clothing to match the stories of the dolls that do represent well-formed characters.

Basically I do have careful, meticulous doll plans, and I wish I had had them from the start. I envy people who can successfully collect without a silly plan! But now I feel like I'm really on track and know what I want. Sometimes it also takes having a few different types of dolls in your hands to see what kind of body types and features you like the best.

 

I used to buy dolls that fit the characters, but somehow it didn't end up setting well.

Instead I look for dolls that I actually like. If I can find or figure out a character for that doll I really like, then it's a winner doll. 8)b I have to absolutely love everything about the doll too or it just isn't worth getting. Has really helped me reduce the wishlist, that's for sure.

 

How do YOU plan your doll family? I don't buy dolls for a specific character, I buy dolls for their sculpts. I have an extensive list of dolls that I am going to buy at some point. None of my dolls has taken the place of a pre-created character and all of them have created their own character; some as I name them, some on the flight home and others as soon as they pop out of the box.


has that tactic changed? Nope - I still buy dolls for their sculpts, although I allow myself a little bit of flexibility, especially in the face of SOOM MDs and Fairyland's habit of producing new sculpts and size lines, which always tends to result in sudden new doll purchases.

and do you feel there is a "best" way to do it? No, everyone needs to be able to do the way they do it - otherwise you'll loose a large number of doll buyers. There is nothing wrong with anyway of choosing a doll. I don't want to put limits on the number or size of dolls I buy, so I don't!
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I don't really have a set method. I do try to plan though. Or at least I'm trying to now. My first and second dolls were more or less a fluke. I wanted one for a character but it didn't turn out to fit quite so well, so he had over time developed his own personality. I got a Heliot purely because I had seen them and wanted one and low and behold one came up on the Marketplace! For him, I had a pre-existing character that was partially fitting, so I took the same and adapted a few characteristics.
I planned for my girl, Model doll Ha Yarn Cho, I had come across pictures of her and looking at her sculpt KNEW she was my Tezza right away. That at least was one easy character to resin fit.
Now for my future dolls I having what characters I want to embody in mind and I've been looking into what sculpts I want for them. Some I have a good idea of exactly which they should be, others are a little more iffy.
I guess I'm lucky in that I'm fairly picky on what dolls I like the sculpts of so most dolls from Many of the companies just don't cry out 'Buy me!'.
Obviously budget comes heavily into play for these decisions as well. I have little to no capital right now so buying any more dolls is completely out of the question. My next doll will have to wait a looong long time. So for now my doll family is frozen at three dolls and three heads. Eventually the heads will have bodies...

I don't think theres any 'best' way to go about building your doll family but whatever works best for you. Some people don't have the extra cash to splurge on a monthly doll when it comes out..So, theres always saving and planning and scouring the marketplace later to see if one becomes available. Or if you have the spare money at the time and can't resist the sculpt, then do what'll make you happy! For me, I want to try and plan my future doll family, not like..down to a T, but I have a general idea of whats to come and will try not to waver from it too far? Next up is either bodies for my heads....or Ooona, a Souldoll Hye

 

actually I first decide which doll I want to buy, make a list in mind then link them together, build up different relationship like which are brothers, which are sons.etc
of course there will be changes if I get interested in new dolls XP
but I try my best to keep it steady so to limit my expends XDDDD