Rough Play

I only worry when I don't really know the person and that person isn't a doll-person. I, too, don't carry my doll in a padded carrier (usually in a tote without a face mask), and I touch her face (but normally around the jaw area) to move her head, and I take her everywhere. If I'm the one in control of the situation, then I don't feel I have to be uber-special-careful of her. I know I will not drop her, I know that she's safe in my bag, and I know she will be OK.

 

I'm careful with my minifee the same way I am with just about everything I own. I've not had her a year yet so I'm still a little freaked about damaging her, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying and playing with her.
I carry her around the house they way you would a baby doll sometimes, though I make sure her face and lashes are not squashed against me. I'll sit her on the table edge next to me, but make sure she's not going to be bumped off by anything.
I handle her for posing and fitting clothes without gloves, I touch her pretty face if I can't blow stubborn dust or lint off.

And I've left her in the living room (brightest room in the house) for hours. She isn't going to be ruined instantaneously because of that so while I kept her pretty box, I don't worry about her living on a decorative trunk on the floor of my room especially since it's not a naturally bright room.

The few times I've taken her places I've either put her in a boxlike purse I have, but she has traveled stuffed carefully in a bag a couple times and survived unharmed.

Clearly this means she wont be perfectly perfect forever, but I didn't pay the money I did to stare at her from the other side of a dark glass case.
And accidents happen I bumped her nose once when she folded in half while trying to get her to pose so there is a little MCS chipping, and she slipped off the coffee table during a dress fitting and snapped some fingers on my steel sewing scissors.
The nose is not noticeable unless you look for it (and the face up can be redone someday if I choose to spend the money) The fingers were glued back on, dedicated to experimentations, and will be replace eventually.
That's life!

 

Some of my dolls get treated a bit better perhaps, because of the way I think of them. My Liebchen is a rare doll and she's sort of a treasure to me and would be very hard to replace, so while I do play with her, she really doesn't leave the house other than for a few photos. My Domadoll Cooki is my tiny who's been "manhandled" the most, as I've taken her with me many places, stuffed in a purse or bag (though usually with a clean towel), stuck in dirt and random places, etc. My Lusion Dahlia is the only doll who sits under a pillowcase to protect her from light. My Volks Kun gets manhandled compared to how I treat my Bianka, who somehow strikes me as more delicate than my Kun even though they're from the same company.

 

When I took my brand-new boy to my first doll meeting, I brought him in an old-fashioned, long knitting bag. I just put him in there fully clothed, with his arms folded and his legs drawn up and some velvety cloth around him. When I took him out, I noticed a few glances from other doll owners, who had put bubblewrap around their dolls' hands and put veils in front of their faces. I felt like some kind of dolly butcher - even though my boy had really travelled quite securely...

I leave my dolls standing on their own (provided they seem quite stable), I allow my cat near them (I've noticed she doesn't 'cathandle' them) and I keep them in my bedroom which is quite full of light. I wouldn't leave them sitting in direct sunlight for hours, but I'd rather have yellowed dolls than hidden dolls. It makes me happy to see them all the time.

I'm probably a little rough with my dolls when I need to remove their heads/hands/feet - I'm pretty new to BJDs, plus I'm not very strong, so doing anything that involves the dolls' elastics is a wrestling match for me. But what's the alternative? No touching, no maintenance?

And yes, I'm one of those people who touch the dolls' face-ups with my fingers. Also, since they are sitting around uncovered, they get dusty. I just clean them up when necessary.

It was actually quite important for me to overcome my dread of possibly harming the dolls. It's a joy to handle them, work with them, have them around. That's what makes them interesting to me. At the same time I do take special care of some things, like for example my DZ Aurora's fingers. They look quite delicate and I wouldn't want to break any...

 

I'm quite rough sometimes..I tend to be careful on their hands (it might break), but I'm not really that careful in general..I don't play them often..I'm not really that careful when fitting a new sewn clothes on them..I sometimes put them everywhere..right now I have a disassembled body, the torso, bust and left knee is on my shelf, the head is somewhere in our living room, and the rest is in a box..

 

I'm sometimes pretty rough with my dolls, for example I've broken my Obitsu's elbow three times already (she gets over excited) and have replaced it. Now I've finally gone in and taken her ball joints apart to loosen the screw in them so that I don't break her elbows as easily. Also she's toppled over and dropped her head several times on me. It makes me cringe but only because a friend of mine did her face up not me.

Now with my Resin crew I'm a little more careful, though I have dropped Zephyra's horns before and Talulah has a nice bite mark in her tail from my cat Siggy. I do not put the dolls away, they all sit together on my dresser out in the open, but out of direct sunlight. I will also take them on walks with me in the park. I don't care to keep their value up, I love them and want to be able to see them in day light. I'll man handle their bodies at times and pull their limbs to check on the elastic. I almost snapped Val's elastic once because the S-hook slipped out of the pliers grip and snapped down in the head/neck joint. Scared the crap out of me but nothing happened ( no chips or dents).

Either way, I do treat them well most of the time, but sometimes I will lift them by a hand or leg, as long as they don't face plant onto a surface other than something soft. I'd rather not deal with a chipped face.

 

People have called me out on 'mistreating' my dolls before. Once I went to a ren-fair/fantasy type of event, dressed up, but also with a camera. If I wanted my hands to be free to take pictures, I would hang one of my dolls from a hook I had on my belt. I had just put an elastic around her, under her arms, so she could just hang there, but apparently I was abusing my doll that way.
I know my dolls well. I know what they can take and what they can't. That's why some dolls get treated with some extra care, while I pick others up by their arms or necks. These dolls are sturdy and they have no feeling, so I don't see why I should feel bad because I am rough with my own property. I am not slamming them into walls or anything.
When it comes to other people's dolls I am extremely careful though. It's a crappy situation to get in if you break someone else's property or vice versa. I also appreciate it when others are careful with my dolls, but from some people I don't really mind a bit of roughness.
I do my own faceups, so I tend to touch their faces a lot, because I both don't have dirty hands usually and I can re-do the faceup anyway.

 

I don't have my doll yet, but I guess I'd kind of be in-between. I plan on making sure my hands are at least clean before playing with her and have no intention on touching her face, since it' s a default and I don't know how to do my own yet. I do plan on playing with her quite a bit and carrying her all around the house, though I probably won't take her outside much. Mainly because I'm a farm kid and a yard with livestock tends to be gross.

I have no intention of keeping her in her box though. When I get her, she's going right on top of my doll shelf where everybody who comes into my room can see her. And the littler kids and their grabby hands won't be able to reach her.

 

People thought you were abusing your doll because you had her attached to your belt? Did they think it would be a better to risk dropping her or something?

 

Haha, I suppose she looked a bit scruffy hanging there, but she was secure and not bumping into anything, so I have no idea why they reacted that way.
Plus, my camera cost 4 times as much as the doll I was carrying, so I would rather not try to juggle them both at the same time

 

Indeed, that sounds like it would be a recipe for disaster. If she's not just banging and flailing around then I don't see what the problem would be.

 

For me, I sort of delved into this hobby without much experience with dolls, and I treat my dollie with kid gloves and make sure I never left her unattended with anybody else unless they had doll experience too.

While I haven't had any major spills, I'm happy that I haven't seriously damaged my doll. (Which is a good thing since I only have one right now and I wouldn't be able to pay for repairs or replacements.) however, I still managed to do something wrong because I got her face-up all chipped, and my painting skills and materials are inferior, so I had to get my friend to fix her up a bit before I eventually just gave up and sent her head over to a face-up artist.

I don't want to keep my dollie in a box or carrying case all the time, but I really got to be careful with the face-up now, because I don't dare have it chipped up again.
I think I don't have sufficient transport protection... don't travel with your dolls in a bag or something. (I got one of those "Bobobie sleeping bags.") Get a serious carrying case. Seriously. And a face protector. And carry your doll with you during the trip if you can.

 

In general I'm gentle with my girl, but sometimes she forces me to be rough with her.
Since I'm a DD owner I often take her apart to get her clothes on.
I remember being scared the first time I took her apart but now I will take her apart without any doubt.

 

My personal dolls lead hard lives. They were or are sewing models and they've got to work for it. XD

My hound has several pin-marks from when I've accidentally scratched him while making his clothes. He's also gotten sharpie on his face-up when I was making a fur wig pattern. It cleaned up just fine but I did have to redo his face-up. He's also been left in black clothes for a while and needs a bath... But I still think he's gorgeous. I still love to make clothes for him. His stomach joint is so worn from popping out that he can't stand at all. Instead Nathan just sort of slumps and curls up around you like an old cat. i love it.

My narae has a chipped ankle from when a pair of boots got stuck on her feet... she also the yellowest doll i've ever seen. THAT isn't my fault, she just suddenly turned that color over the course of a year- she is/was a white french resin doll. But I still like her. In fact she's getting a new face-plate soon to replace her current one that has mods that went bad. I did the mods when her face was white and when it turned yellow... well they don't look good now. My limho boy is also rather yellow-ish. He's not nearly as banana-flavored as she is. But I still enjoy them both greatly- i just no longer take them outside my room.

I'm careful with other people's dolls and I'm gentle with dolls I'm not sure I want to keep or that have been specially painted(I have Unoa 2 that I airbrushed green, I don't want her to chip). But... I have more fun with my dolls that i don't have to worry about breaking or hurting. I've taken the best photos of them and have the best memories of them. They're like the old patched teddy bears you could never leave behind.

 

I'm definitely not very gentle with my dolls. I keep them out on my dresser rather than hiding them in boxes like some people. I don't take them out of my room, generally. I'm just not that type of person. They can dirty from all my finger grease, so I wipe them down every once in a while with a magic eraser. Sometimes I forget how expensive they are and I'll just have them lying naked somewhere in my messy room.
I remember how surprised I was when I got my first bjd and found they were quite similar in strength and sturdiness to plastic. From the way some people describe resin, I had thought it would be thinner and more delicate, like porcelain or something.

 

well... *couch couch couch*

I acctually carry Sakarias in my handbag, when I take him to meet or out to photograph. No padding what so ever, just make him sit and there he sits, my hadbag is quite big. It's not like I trow my handbag around, and I rarely trip so why not.

My both under 3-year-old kids have been handling him, undersupervision of course. He has enough material to keep his makeup safe, and it's more like petting and hugging in my kids part than anything else. When play gets rough dolly goes away. Taking wig on and of is their favorite game.


When I get pissed of by bad posing, I usually get pissed of and drag Sakarias from his leg.

He has no pumps, no scracthes, nothing. He has dropped from table ones, that is worst thing he has had to face. I don't hit him to things, and keep him safe, put it doesn't mean I should cary him a round on velvet pillow. He is made of resin after all, it's not like it would hurt.

I do allso hug him and poke his nose. He is mah buddy.

 

I try to be careful, but I do treat my doll... not so much as a toy, but definitely not as just a collectible (No offense to people who DO see them that way.). I take him around places with me, take him outside, sometimes put him in slightly dangerous positions for photoshoots, etc. I'm pretty gentle, though.

The one thing I'm really careful with is his faceup; since it's a company faceup and I couldn't really replace it, I'm a little paranoid about keeping it safe. so far, so good, anyway.

 

I just make sure not to drop them. Otherwise I just treat them as I would any breakable thing, gently but, not as if it were glass. Though I do have to get a bit rough with some pliers when its time to put one of my boy's head back on.

 

I treat my boys pretty preciously because I want them to stay nice. I have a lot of tan resin & LE faceups that I don't want getting effed up, so everyone lives on draped shelves. I'm never home during the weekdays anyway (I work like mad), so it makes no sense to have these valuable things soaking up the airborne soot & UV light when they don't have to. If I'm changing their eyes or otherwise handling the faceup, I put on 1 cotton glove first, because it makes no sense to get a limited faceup all scummy when the protective glove is right there. And for meetups & transport, only doll-carriers with pillows and straps and a facebubble and bubblewrap-- because I demand peace of mind and I don't wanna have to think about them once they're packed.

But when it's time to go adventuring, there's some dolls who're built for travellin' and others who aren't. If I want a doll to go tree-climbing on Mt. Tamalpais or balance on the edge of a cliff on Pt. Reyes, I choose Rainey the SD10 or Sora the SD13 or Rowan the SDC-- those Volks guys are built like brick houses, and can take a few bumps. ^^ I don't bring, say, the Mecha Angel Vega merman with his delicate fins & spectacular iridescent paintjob, or the fragile little handmade Lotus Nears with their 8 tiny arms. Not all dolls in the collection have the same career requirements.... some only sit on their shelves & pose for photos, others get schlepped around to social events, others have fabulous careers as action heroes. Call it division of labor!

 

I handled my doll quite roughly sometimes even my friends are scared of the way I handle him. XD
But I try to make sure he didn't hit anything hard when I play with him. 8)