Recasting Parts for Personal Use: What do YOU Think?

If the doll is a standard, a recent limited that is still readily available, or a common limited that is not selling for 2x+ the original price, then I say no. Get the original. Its the right thing to do and if your excuse is that you can't afford the doll, then save for it. Getting an original will make for a better base to your mod anyways.

If your doll is broken, fix it. I've seen a head that was literally run over by a car, smashed into 10+ pieces, then apoxied back together. If you need your doll to be perfect and an apoxie-fixed one won't do, buy a new one.

If it is a limited, impossible to find/get replaced part that is broken beyond fixing, try to resculpt it yourself first, ask one of the many great fixers of DOA to fix it, and if all else fails, sure. Recasting a part that is otherwise unavailable, unfixable, etc. Should be OK. But only for personal use. And to be included when you sell the doll with specific mention that the part broke and is not the original, just as someone would mention if a part were broken.

 

@Cirquemom & Ebony Rain - What is the difference between recasting a part and recasting the head/faceplate? I feel like, if there's a difference, it's a very small, wibbly-wobbly one.

The thing that bothers me about this is all the supporters keep saying "Only if you never sell it." Except there's no guarantee that it will never end up on the second hand market. On the other hand, if you go to the effort of sculpting the part you need, be it an optional hand or a replacement elbow peanut, and having it cast in resin, then you can say "I made this," and there's absolutely nothing fishy about it.

I would still probably consider the doll to be "damaged," however, unless it had a replacement part cast by a professional company or someone who had a lot of skill and practice in hand casting - like Batchix or DaisyDayes. Otherwise, I'd worry that the quality of the part wasn't all that great.

@Second Banshee: That seems like an awful lot of extra work to go through, just to create a pair of hooves. If I was going to do something like that, I would just start from scratch, and when it came time to build the joints, try to sculpt them to match the original as closely as possible.

Seconding this - some companies may have similar resin mixes, but not all. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are differences on a chemical level as well. I used to own a DoC Hoo. At a meet I compared him to a Luts mini, and the DoC, even though he was slimmer, was noticeably heavier and had denser resin. I dropped his head w/out damage; I dropped my Soom's head and she has a dent in her cheek.

 

Seconding this. I have a set of 1/3 hoof legs made by Artificial Beings; they are made from scratch and look terrific. In the case of extreme difference in form, it's just easier to start from scratch and make sure the ball or socket fits the rest of the doll, which is not that hard to do with your clay piece.

The only thing I can think that one would maybe need to recast in that case is JUST the ball or socket part, if it was a really odd shape and needed to fit that particular doll perfectly for whatever reason. And then it would just be adding the recast joint cap onto the sculpted piece.*


*not condoning, just rationalizing.

 

I feel uncomfortable on re-casting for any reason.
If one just recasts missing/damaged parts such as one left foot or an elf ear for only personal using, not for sale, I think that would be acceptable, since it is sooooo troublesome to contact the doll company and waiting for the replacing parts.
Also, is recasting harmful to the original doll? I know nothing about casting so just curious.

 

It takes more work then it seems worth to create a part out of resin then to just put a want to buy thread out or to go to the company.

Like lets say I order a green skinned RS Song or something and it arrives with broken hands. I'd likely just message the company asking if I can buy a new pair of hands or because it happened in transit if I could please have a replacement set sent to me. No need to go mixing up a batch of resin and if all else fails I'd just whip out the glue and start fixing the piece.

I've seen how people (ie: the creator of Sweet Dolls) cast their pieces...It's not easy.

At all.

Seriously.

 

Most people here consider recasting for profit is EVIL EVIL EVIL.
It is- it's called Stealing. Den of Angels does not condone even the promotion of recasting.
I am not a Moderator, but they are likely to tell you the same thing.


But what about for personal use?
Casting doll parts for your own use is copying off someone else's work and then not paying them for it.

If you lose or break a BJD part, is it alright to recast yourself a new one? Does it matter whether or not the company sells them?
No. Wrong. BJD parts cannot be broken beyond repair unless you crushed them into a powder, and parts can alway sbe repaired or bought fairly and modified, which is still in line with the artists' intent in making bjds.

Is it okay you take a mold of an item like a hand or foot and repose the fingers or create high-heeled feet instead of modding an existing part?
No. Modding an existing part is simple, easy, and it is what BJDs are made for. Duplicating work of other artists without paying them for it is NOT what bjds are made for.

Recasting then changing the expression on a face plate? Recasting an entire head?
Absolutely not. There is no ethical way to justify this. Modify an existing head.

I'm curious what the official DOA word is,
Quote: Den of Angels has taken a stand against the principle and practice of recasting dolls, therefore we reserve the right to ban those who engage in recasting, those who aid and abet recasting by procuring legitimate dolls for the purposes of recasting, and those who provide ordering services for recasters. Using Den of Angels to promote any of these actions is a bannable offense. Reference to ownership of recast dolls either in photos or in writing on Den of Angels is a bannable offense.

From Here in the Forum Rules: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...eral-Forum-Rules-(Please-read-before-posting)

 

I do not see this as an ethical issue, to be honest, because recasting is simply not going to be good enough to replace a broken part, in my mind. It would be far better to fix the broken part than to recast it, because there are the following things to consider: resin color, resin age, resin density, resin formula (to match the rest of the doll's yellowing process) and time to complete the recast.

It may sound cheaper/easier to get a recast part, but in the long run I feel those doing anything of the sort will hurt themselves. Sure, sanding down the doll and painting it and all that jazz will make it look pretty now, but any recast, part or otherwise, is never going to achieve the same quality of resin that many companies have tried to achieve over years. Volks, for instance, has spent years perfecting their formula and has changed their resin a few times in an effort to perfect it. A simple recipe for resin will not be able to compete with years of their research and evolving resin formula. In a few years, recasts (parts or otherwise) will very obviously look like recasts and there will be no hiding that fact.

There will always be issue with companies that are gone, but with a bit of luck spare parts can be obtained on the marketplace or repaired. And, there will be companies that may not sell single parts, but they may make an exception for those that are broken. And, even then, it will more often than not result in a resin mismatch. But, if all the resin is sanded down to the same color (when possible), it will start the ageing process anew and should age roughly the same depending on whether or not the resin formula was changed. But, if a thigh part, as an example, is a whole different color than the rest of the doll...? That would look even worse, I think, than many types of repairs. And that color mismatch is guaranteed with a different kind of resin... or people will need to spend hours and hours finding the right formula and it could end up costing more than simply buying a new doll, particularly when considering the maintenance that will be required to keep that recasted part the same color as the rest of the doll.

Sometimes, I feel, SOME collectors in this hobby see dolls as "right now" versus thinking in terms of the future. BJDs have an ageing process and there is no denying that. If a part gets repaired, that repair can be modded into a scar or some kind of "battle wound" of some sort. Or, the doll itself can become more of an art doll versus what it was before with tattoos or something. Better yet? Clothes and jewellery can be used to cover up simple repairs depending on the area. But, replacement parts? One needs to be very careful even with company replacements.

 

I'd say as an artist I'm absolutely against recasts. I wouldn't want anyone to take my artworks, copy them and sell them as their own or just copy them to have them either. If they want them they should buy them, and if they are not available any more because they are limited, well, that's just that. I really see no difference when it comes to dolls.

However, if you have, say, a hand and you want to modify it, in my opinion there is no real difference to recasting the basic shape of a hand you own and then change it to something that doesn't even look close to the original from modelling it completely from scratch.

I'd say a recast is stealing or ripping off another artists work only if you copy it 1:1, not if you take only aspects of it you like as, say, an inspiration for your own work.
I like to compare it to drawings in a way. I.e. if you see a drawing you really like, it would be a no-go to copy it or redraw it so your own looks exactly the same. Even if you drew it yourself it would still be stealing. However, if you only take the posing of the character or characters for example and use that with characters you design yourself, it is more like inspiration than stealing.

That's only my opinion, well ... anyway, recasting parts and not changing them in any way, or selling them - I'm absolutely against that, too. That would be the same than buying a recast doll because it's much cheaper.

I just wonder if you would consider recasting a hand, feet or any other part just to mod it, wouldn't it be easier to just model them from scratch the way you want them to look? That'd be much less work and much less controversial I suppose.
At least that's what I'd do. Some day when I have sufficient skills.

I do understand those that are absolutely against any form of recasts.
I don't want to point fingers, but a while ago I saw someone on the marketplace selling a limited doll because he or she was planning to recast it for him or herself, keep the recast and sell the limited original for lots of dollars ... that I think is wrong and I even wonder if there is a rule against that on DoA, since it's quite anti-recast?
Anyway, not pointing fingers, I don't even remember the name of that user, but that's something I would never EVER consider doing.

 

I've seen pro's and cons.
I don't think I'd ever do it so I'm leaning more that way.
I can see why it's a bit 'unethical' to do it, in a sense.
But if one desperately needs it, why not?
But only as a last ditch effort, honestly.
I guess I'm really torn on the matter. It being so late in the night, my thoughts aren't exactly straight, lol

 

"DahliaDevere, DromosMata, Kittymutt, ktk8: What about recasting to make (still personal) optional parts, and would be matter in that case if the store sold legit pieces to mod or not?"

I don't see a problem with that either really. A lot of people make drastic mods so it would make sense to cast a part just for that purpose. I would personally try to buy the part from the company because casting looks like an expensive and complicated process.
My Volks MSD has a chipped foot and I made it worse trying to sand it. I could buy a pair of new feet from their site for only $34 and that seems cheap compared to the costs of materials for casting a new part.
Obviously people are really passionate about the subject of recasting,as they should be because a lot of artists have been cheated by bootleggers ripping off their art. I just think it's different when you do such things for your own personal use in modding and repair.

 

The part highlighted in blue, I agree with. Recasting a part, even just a joint or socket, just so you can modify it or attach it to an original piece, seems like too much extra and unnecessary work - there are tons of tutorials on how to sculpt things, like hands, for example. It seems more practical and faster to start from scratch and then tweak your piece to fit where you need it to.

Starting work on top of something that's pre-made doesn't always look right on the finished product - like if someone does additive mods to a doll's face and you can still see where the mods started because the apoxie didn't blend smoothly. Those imperfections would probably show up on any cast parts made from that sculpt.

Also, agree and second everything elphsnt said. Adding to that - there are some companies, like Angell-Studio, who sell individual parts and do custom resin matching - they cast their own design in a resin color that matches the parts you have. I did that to get a matching body for my Soom Bygg before Soom started having periodic body sales.

 

All recasts are against the rules for Den of Angels, regardless of whether it is for profit or for personal use. It seems that dyeing resin to achieve different colours and modifying parts to create your unique vision for your doll are becoming 'lost arts'. Splitting a doll can get you extra parts if you need them. Recasting is completely unnecessary, aside from the fact that it is both illegal and unethical.

If you see someone selling a doll on the Marketplace that has been used in recasting, please contact a moderator. Don't just sit by and assume someone else will report it or a moderator will randomly discover it. We would rather receive multiple reports about the same post or thread than receive none and blatant rule-breaking go unnoticed. We can't be everywhere, and it is everyone's responsibility to keep DoA a safe haven. The moderators can't act if we don't know what's happening.