Price Aside, what intimidated you about BJDs

Hahaha resin is relatively durable but sadly the makeup is not that durable especially the body blushing

 

definitely the stigma surrounding dolls, i got into bjds as a pretty young teenager. but i was at the age where i wasn't supposed to "like" dolls or toys or whatever anymore.

i had a lot of trouble accepting that its okay to like them (and i still do), but i try to think of it a bit differently now. i try to think of it more like "sure, this may be an uncommon hobby. but you like it, and thats perfectly fine"

it also helps getting friends that love and support your interests! that helps a lot with that stigma

 

Other than price, I was intimidated by their fragility (which I now know I greatly overestimated), the number of things I'd need to "complete" a doll (the right eyes, wig, clothes...), and honestly, just opening the door to a very expensive and potentially overwhelming hobby. I was also worried that I'd lose interest after buying a doll, because the dolls themselves don't actually do anything. But since getting my BJD, I've been much more motivated to do crafty things for her; in fact, she's the very thing that got me to finally start sewing. I've also had enough hobbies over the years to know that interest/engagement in a hobby can ebb and flow over time, so even if I do go through a period of lower interest in dolls, I know it'll come back to me eventually, so the money I've invested isn't a waste.

 

Outside the price was that they were breakable (resin) or they stain/yellow (vinyl). Nowadays I have both kinds of dolls and no longer care lmao. The initial costs are also rather expensive considering I am not artistically inclined so I always pay for full dolls (clothes & makeup). I also don’t know how to string a doll so I definitely don’t want no assembly required.

 

I think the fact that I lurked so long and found so many horror stories (clothes staining dolls, dolls breaking, faceups melting...) that made me afraid to buy one because I tend to be clumsy. So far I haven't had any issues, though.

 

Yellowing! And also restringing, my first true resin dolly is going to be in my possession in just a few weeks! He’s secondhand and I’m a tad worried he’ll be very yellowed as his photos didn’t display a consistent skin tone due to different lighting, I’m always scared I’ll accidentally expose a doll to a yellowing agent and not realize until it’s too late!!!

 

It's funny because there are still things that intimidate me about BJDs, but they're different now from before I got them.

Before:

• The yellowing: Bothers me much less than I thought it would.
• The judgement: Turns out I can deal with it just fine.

Now:

• Handling my dolls in general. They're not even close to being 'finished', but just looking at them or making plans for future projects is enough for me right now. No idea why.
  
• Maintenance: Restringing, cleaning etc., because I'm still scared of breaking them / doing something wrong.
  
• Noticing so many new things I want to learn (making wigs / clothing for example) and be good at instantly stresses me out. It's like I'm having a hard time enjoying a hobby / the process of creating without putting pressure on myself. Ugh.

 

Honestly this thought still intimidates me - after making the plunge and buying the first doll when do you stop? There’s so many makers out there and they’re constantly pumping out sculpts and I fall into the completionist mindset of “I need all of these dolls from this maker or I’ll explode.” Do you stop collecting when you run out of space or do you rotate your collection and sell/buy/sell/buy in a neverending cycle I’m probably thinking too hard about it but that’s what intimidates me about the hobby lol

 

To be honest, there were a lot of things - restringing, what if I did something to make it go yellow fast or what if I stain it with the clothes I'll be getting.

And there's the, what if I want another doll, but I'm not too sure if I can focus on having a lot of dolls at a time ><

 

I remember seeing some older dolls that weren't maintained well, the owner never washed their hand before touching the doll or anything. They treated these super expensive dolls like the fashion dolls you can get for 10€, which was crazy to me. Anyways, the dolls ended up being super yellow and shiny due to all the grease from years of touching them. I found that disgusting and I was sure I wouldn't want an expensive doll to end up looking like that. Luckily it turns out your dolls can stay beautiful, clean and matte even after many many years if you treat them well.

 

When I first discovered them, it was how complex they seemed overall. For example, when I first came across Volks, they sold standard models as "kits" which you had to string yourself; a few years later when I was actually ready to buy a doll, I was totally lost as to how all the customization worked. I remember desperately googling "how to change bjd eyes," "how to put on bjd wig," etc. Just simple things that I take for granted now. But just seeing pictures of them, you don't necessarily know, for example, how their eyes are secured inside their head (eye putty), or how their wigs stay on (silicone caps, putty, or a prayer LOL). They just seemed extremely complicated! Luckily everything becomes clear quickly once you interact with one in real life though.

 

All the different sizes, companies and sculpts. I remember thinking "where do I even start!".

 

I think what intimidated me most about the hobby was how delicate they can be. The prices were definitely a factor in me waiting over a decade to buy my first doll, but how easy it was to damage the resin and faceup was the key factor in convincing me that I wasn't ready for one just yet, until I could be certain the doll would be handled and stored properly to minimize damage. If I was going to pay that much money for a single doll, it would be a massive waste if it just ended up cracked, dirty and heavily yellowed a year later. Even now I'm still pretty clumsy, and have dropped Teasel's face enough that his sealant has started to crack, but I have a much better grasp of how firmly to, well, grasp the doll, and I've got a nice shelf in a dark corner of the living room where he sleeps in his box, ready to play but safe from UV damage. Eventually they'll get a nice upgrade to a wooden cabinet with doors that will store their boxes, but for now, the shelf works just fine.

 

Maintenance, at first, yellowing, and also size.

Before I got my first doll, I went to a BJD panel at a convention, and I was allowed to hold someone's Soom boy- can't recall if he was Super Gem or Mega Gem, but he was LARGE! I was so horrified. He was so heavy and unwieldy. Then my first SD ended up being a Super Gem... (well, DiM head on Super Gem body). Guess I got over that quickly.

I also got over my fear of maintenance when my first doll immediately required a cleaning, restring, and repair. It was scary, but I was willing to learn for his sake. He was also around 6 years old when I got him, so he was already yellowed, but he still looked great (and still does). So that helped put to rest my fears about yellowing.

 

I can honestly say the things that first intimidated me about BJD when I first started still intimidate me many years down the line. Being in my mid 50s I come from an era where as a child you were told repeatedly to treat everything with the utmost care because you’d get into real trouble if you broke it. My mother was also overly precious with things so I have a real fear of damaging anything to this day.

Fragility: yes they’re tougher than you think but also behind a hard substance they can chip quite easily especially where the resin is thin regardless of how careful you are.

Size: As much as I love looking at pictures of these fabulous 70cm plus guys that’s too big for me. I’m short and can be clumsy, the thought of wrestling a pose out of something that big scares me. I’d only overcome this if the doll in question was something incredibly special to me with a design I felt at ease handling.

Body blushing: Rather surprisingly for an artistic person I find this very intimidating for several reasons. I’ve had to pass on so many dolls I really wanted because they had or would require blushing.
Main reason is ruining all of that hard work by handling (my hands sweat, especially if I’m nervous) as I’d want to take photos.
The second reason is applying it in the first place! Ideally you’d want to take the doll apart to get the best results and while that doesn’t bother me the putting it back together does. Very small tinies you get away with keeping them strung but anything bigger or complex would need dismantling ideally.
Lastly is space and time. Due to the weather where I am and lack of both work and display space it can take months for me to even complete a faceup, trying to blush various parts sprawled everywhere just isn’t practical. I’ve tried it and the poor thing years later is still in various parts, some of which have now badly yellowed.

Restringing: This intimidates me the most, the thought breaks me out in a cold sweat! Only ever attempted it once on a 1/12 tiny where the elastic was like string, I did it but not without a lot of tears and panicking. Having hyper mobility added to the problem as my fingers twist, lock or generally tend to move when they shouldn’t. Not fun!
Damaging the doll is what scares me.

 

Customization and maintainance, and then once I got my dolls, creating characters for them were and still are all intimidating for me personally!

 

Mostly the yellowing and price, and fear of ruining a face-up. I'm still fairly young so the first time I ever saw a BJD irl I was in second grade. I almost fell on my butt lol. The owner of the doll taught me a lot and answered all of my questions in detail which I'm still grateful for. I found it really scary to even hold the doll (bless the owner for being so kind), especially after hearing how expensive they are. Now I honestly prefer dolls that are a bit yellowed (aesthetic preference) and pre-loved. When I got my first BJD I didn't let myself, or anyone else for that matter, properly touch it for like a month in fear of staining it or ruining it. And like a few others said, I was afraid of people seeing it as off-putting or as something shameful.

 

I still don't restring my dolls. There was one doll that needed to be restrung and I brought her to the Volks USA store back when it was in Torrance and they did it for me which I am forever grateful for.

I also don't do face-ups or mods to my dolls. I'm still forever traumatized from residual resin poisoning back when my friend did face-ups and mods so I only purchase dolls with factory made, default face-ups. If my dolls ever need their face-ups retouched or some sort of other dolly service, I'll just wait until the next time Volks has a Dolpa nearby and have my dolls services by their Dolly Doctors.

I'm also still leery of purchasing from companies that neither my friend or I have handled their dolls before in real life. I like going to in-person events to see and handle dolls from different companies to give me an idea if I have a reaction to their resin or materials used (again, still traumatized from resin poisoning exposure), the quality of the dolls, and general experience from other owners over the years. There's like two companies where I might buy a doll from as I didn't have a bad or strong reaction to, but there are a growing list of companies where I just seem to have an allergic or asthmatic reaction to. Thus because of the having a reaction part, I am still intimidated with buying dolls from different companies.

I tried sewing and it was hard. I have better sewing skills now compared to when I first started, but I prefer pre-made by BJD companies and other talent people as opposed to sewing for my dolls myself.

 

Restring my dolls. Don't know why, just thinking that as a big proses, too big for me right now. I do want to learn, so maybe one day.

Mods to my dolls. add or remove things to the doll it self, and do it smoothly seem like too hard of a project.. At least fo now

 

Honestly almost everything intimidates me! I fear the day I need to learn to restring or suede. Doing faceups and blushing also intimidates me as I don't have any makeup or artistic skills, so I will always buy blushed/heads with faceup.

Another thing that intimidates me is sunlight and yellowing, my baby currently is in a dark room in a closed case! I know it won't hurt to take her out in the sun for some photos but STILL...