Recasting a company's doll in unavailable resin

I dont think it would be okay. People seem to be forgetting that these dolls are customizable. They are blank bases to be changed. Personally I think making a mold of a doll in a differant color just because it isnt SOLD in that color is extremely LAZY. These dolls are made to be painted, and changed.

...And yanno..if an idea wont work....if the colored paint would chip at the joints and whatnot...then change your plans. These dolls arent magic. They arent the end all answer to all things character creation.

 

Personally i reckon if you're not going to sell the doll EVER and is only going to be personal use it's not completely morally wrong. But i personally wouldn't recast the doll to be another colour. Maybe it would be better to dye or paint the doll? Or maybe to cast one of your own inspired by say F-16 (if that's the mold you like)

But as always this is only my personal opinion. I would dye the doll. Or remake one that is similar. Either way i would avoid recasting if possible and in any of the 3 cases. I would not consider reselling, it would be personal enjoyment.

 

It would be fine. Its like making a back up of a cd. If you don't sell it, you havent' hurt the companies copywrite laws and it is legal. Or like copying a famous painting to see if you can do it or for your own enjoyment or for your wall.

Now it you recast dozens and sold them it would be wrong because it would hurt Volks profits and break their copywrite for the production of that mold.

 

It's ultimately the persons decison whether they want to recast or not.
I don't think it's a very wise choice but it's not mine to choose.

 

I have an artist head coming to me in the mail that wasn't offered in white resin... and I would love to recast it in white. However, I believe it's both legally dodgy and really... artistically unethical. For this reason, I'd never do it.

Also worth mentioning, dolls that have been recast for any reason can't be posted on DoA. So if someone were to recast, they wouldn't be able to share it here anyway.

 

Artistically unethical is the right word that I've been wanting to say about this...thank you, armeleia ^^;

And I personally don't believe that anyone who casts a doll in an unproduced but desired resin color isn't going to be tempted about selling it and/or casting it for a friend, etc....it's like if you compare it to copying a CD (which really isn't okay either legally), then it becomes very easy to make a second copy for another person.

 

I don't know if this is okay either. Even if one will keep the mold and Resin Blue head for own personal uses, that doesn't mean someone else won't steal it and use it for more nefarious purposes. It's most likely better to try to make a head/doll resembling an existing doll from scratch (clay, mold, etc) and do it that way. Besides, it would suck if one got in trouble by posting knock-off doll on various forums and let's say Volks discovers it and sues, you know?

 

Since I received permission to hijack a little- I'd like to pose the question. What about dolls one buys that then change
2 examples- First: The colored bambicronies. People chose to buy them because they came in interesting colors. Then the colors faded. These are not being made any longer in these colors- What are the ethics of recasting in this case- One would just be trying to get back what you had originally.
The second- Recasting a doll that has yellowed to the point of having much lowered value.
What ethical responsibilty does one have to a company that sold you an item that is flawed? Or is that even the correct question.

 

My opinion is that you can do exactly what you want with your own property, including recasting it, as long as you don't sell your recasts. I've often thought it would be fun to try recasting a doll in weird/different resins just to see how they work. We also regularly recast stuff in jewelry class (for example, take a button with a design, recast it in metal and incorporate it into a piece) for pieces we make in the class - again, not to be sold, just for fun, artistic license and learning about the process.

edited to add, it's like my teachers say, "copy all you want for the learning experience - just not for profit".

 

Hmmmmm... I'm not sure I'd necessarily consider a doll that yellows a company flaw (I am not speaking of the cases of the BC elves however, because I haven't kept up with that...). For many doll owners, we realize that part of owning a doll is knowing that eventually over time it will age in some way or another. But that's pretty much the same with anything in life, our cars run down, our houses get ware on them, our clothes tear, our pets die, we know this when we buy them... I don't think anything is meant to last forever x= ... but that's just my thoughts ^^"... anyways if someone is more worried about the depreciating value of a doll than the emotional attachment, they can sell it before its value goes down too much? I don't think any of the abjd companies try and put out the same vibe like some other hobbies where you collect and save it in a box to try and make money off it in the future...

However... that's not to say I don't believe that companies should sometimes be more sure of their resins or do more testing so you don't get magical color change elves or beauty green tanning dolls...

 

What about partial bits? I want to make a four armed dolls but it's highly unlikely that the company I was getting it from would sell me a pair of extra arms? Would it be okay to recast extra arms for use of customizing?
(add on that the guy needs to be an inky black but I'd been hoping to do dying for that)

Personally I don't my skills are good enough to even attempt it and I'd much perfer to have the company just sell me extra arms but I thought I'd throw it in for discussion.

 

Even if it wouldn't be for profit, just the thought of recasting simply gives me a sense of wrongness. I can understand the reasons behind it, but that far from convinces me that it is ethical in any way.

Smaller things and paintings. Making copies when you're not profiting monetarily, and profiting only through learning...I can support that, I suppose. It's simply the fact that these dolls are art. In a way, it would feel like disrespecting the artist and defiling the doll itself by making a copy.

But I would never send "hate mail" or persecute anyone for choosing to do such a thing. I just personally would never make that decision.

 

People copy the masters all the time and keep the art for themselves. Here's a major example: When I was little and visited the d'Orsay museum in Paris for the first time, I totally fell in love with Degas' ballerina paintings. My mom, who's an artist "copied" part of one of those paintings for me and it's still hanging in my room back home. I will never ever sell it. So, I do believe that if you can't get the original or one the way you want it, it's okay to make one yourself, as long as you don't sell it or claim that you are the original creator or artist.

 

A good point, but if you play with or work on your dolls for your own personal enjoyment, then whether or not it can be shown on DoA or anywhere else is a moot issue. A lot of people on the forum already have dolls that don't "fit the criteria" and can't be shown on the forum, yet enjoy them very much.

 

May I add to this debate, about recasting parts of a doll. Not say in particular the head, but say an arm or a leg. to says to have a spare to custimize yet still have the original. Or have a part that keeps breaking or has something wrong with it. (and the company won't help), so making a replacement for when it's no longer fixable. (if that's alright with the orignal poster if not please say so and i'll edit this)

 

True, but I was thinking more in terms of the people who said that they'd get hatemail if they posted it here... or talked about the possibility of having to sell it on DoA if they were strapped for cash. Those are moot points.

 

I also think that it would be OK to do, with all the stipulations you listed before. :] Nothing wrong with it if you're not making money off of it and/or bringing down the original company's doll's value.

It would just be something you'd probably totally have to keep to yourself which wouldn't be much fun, to be casting this awesome colour of a cool doll and not be able to share pictures on the forum. xD It would suck.

 

If you were to destroy the original and the mold (as much as that pains me to say) to completely ensure that your recast was ONLY a modified backup (like someone said, like a backup of a CD that was legally acquired) then I think it's OK because it's not really different than painting a doll, only you've done something more permanent--and since no one seems to have a problem with permanent modifications, I don't think it's that bad.

 

So you are not allowed to cast any part of a doll, and mod it, and post in DOA. This is good to know. Not even a four armed doll? . Which I would love to see. Just as an FYI you can sometime find extra arms and legs made by Volks on ebay or YJ.