Struggles that you've had with your doll?

My biggest struggle is with saving up enough money to buy all the ones I want, but who doesn't struggle with that? haha

But since I'm still fairly new to the hobby, my current struggle is coming to a compromise between clothes that I think are pretty vs clothes that I think would suit the character. I see many dresses or armour that I would love to dress a doll up in, but I don't currently own a doll that would suit those fashion choices. So either I need to pass on buying the outfits and risk not being able to buy them in the future, or have an outfit sitting around unused until I find a doll. (Such a privileged struggle, but it's real ;P)

 

As a vinyl-owner, the real struggle here are the stains. They stain much much MUCH easier than resin, and the stains tend to linger and need significant effort to remove.

 

I think my problem has been restraint as well lol. In my case I've been snatching up a few dolls this year but I haven't actually spending the time completing the girls I have like a bad girl. So lately I've been filling a little notebook of things I want to buy/make for each of my girls and plans for future dolls.
Oh and the wait time for some of these preorders are so torturous my patience is lacking lol

 

Finding (and then getting a slot with-) exactly the right face-up artist to paint any particular doll has always been my biggest issue... I'm terrible about waffling over who I want to send them to, and how to articulate what I want the results to look like. I've stalled for YEARS over having some of the crew painted because of that.

 

I keep ordering heads and not buying bodies for them. Often times I'm just not in the mood to do anything and these heads just sit there unpainted on my desk.

Another thing is that I tell myself I need to work on the outfits for my dolls and I end up buying a new doll which then needs to be dressed too.

 

I struggle with expenses of course. I just got my third doll last werk and am now doing layaway on parts for a fourth. I have terrible impulse control when it comes to money and dolls. I feel guilty about considering selling one of my other dolls to be able to pay for the new one. I'm having to choose between dolls and life expenses too now. Better car, or dolls? Better phone, or dolls? I can't have both because it's an expensive hobby as we all know...
I too struggle with styles and bonding with my dolls. Why is everything so hard

 

Literal physical struggle: one of my vinyl girls needs an armature repair, and lemme tell ya, getting the hip ball joint out of her thigh's outer vinyl is HARD. I think I may need to draft a friend for help, because evidently I don't have enough hands to do it.

If I can't get it out--or damage the joint in the fight--I'll have to get her a whole new body, because this version of the DD body never had internal parts available separately. ;_; So I'm in a physical struggle, and could wind up in a money struggle.

 

I've always struggled with getting them to look good, clothes, wigs, eyes, face ups. Just this year I finally got all my dolls done, except for two. One of those two has been my biggest struggle. I love him, but he spends most of the time 'put away' until a miracle happens, lol. Now I'm not wanting anymore dolls as the thought of getting them done....

 

Usually it's just a struggle to get him to pose since he's pretty floppy and seems tighter on one side than the other. I usually just keep him in the closet so he doesn't yellow though.

Now, money/willpower problems? Yeaaahhhh. My one full guy is almost 100% done (just needs a different pair of eyes and I need to redo his faceup after getting some enamel), but I have four floating heads (two for faceups, to be fair) with another on the way! I'm doing layaway for a 60" body for them, but that's still two bodies short. On top of that, I have an MSD floating head and an MSD head + body coming separately after layaway is paid. In the eyes/wigs/clothes department, I THINK I have enough eyes on the way, but the floating MSD head is going to be bald for a while. The 60" body has clothes set aside, but not fitting the character. The MSD head + separate body is all covered though. Oh yeah. And I'm planning on getting two full Dollshe guys.

I think that's it. Urrrgh. First step is admitting you have a problem, right? >_>

 

@plantgauze Thanks, lol. And I just realized I didn't even cover shoes. XD (Only the MSD with clothes has a pair with his name on it.)

 

Haha! This hobby is such a struggle in so many ways!!! I have to agree that money is the biggest struggle LOL T_T

But other than that, I guess I struggle with wigs the most. Uuuugh, wigs! I foolishly get an idea in my head of what kind of wig I want, and then I have to find it. 9 times out of 10, if I can find the style it doesn't come in the color I want. If I can find the color, it doesn't come in the size I want. If I can find the right color in the right size, the style comes with bangs when I don't want any. Grrr! Clothes are also a bit of a struggle since I have a couple odd-sized bodies. But since finding the perfect wigs and clothes is so difficult, when you find the perfect thing it's extra special! XD

 

SO many struggles, where do I start?? Faceups not going to plan, characters falling through, dolls not looking like I thought, bad posing, bad resin matches, flaky or bad sellers, damages, not being able to find that perfect wig/eyes/shoes/outfit/accessory, having trouble bonding, struggling to find the right name, saving money, losing money when selling.....there are LOT of struggles, but I think that makes the successes so much more exciting!

 

So far the only struggle has been trying to find a wig that will fit my DIM Flowne. Both wings I have gotten for her either won't stay on her head or won't fit up there entirely, so she's been bald a majority of the time I've had her. My Resinsoul's been fairly problem free as well so far minus finding her some shoes.

 

Finding a good place to display them is such a difficult task for me. My house is just filled to the brim with nerdy stuff so there's very little room for anything else.

 

Posing. OMG. Sometimes it's the dolls not being very good posers (Iplehouse, looking at you), but sometimes it's realizing that a pose I thought would be fairly simple, well, is NOT. I do photo books/stories so I run into that kind of thing all the time. I did a bunch of photos last fall of a group of my doll characters calling circle, outside. WELL, not so simple to get the shots I wanted! It wasn't even the posing per se - it was getting them standing up, nobody towering over anyone else, and getting a GROUP shot! Plus finding out how to make dusk look like nighttime....
So that was a learning experience, and was mostly photography problems.

 

I struggle with my elf ear mods. I haven't managed to finish a single one yet before removing the milliput and washing the doll's ears free of any residue. Maybe sculpting just isn't for me.

I also agree with the others who have said money. I'm working on my list slowly but surely. Eventually I'll have them all. Then maybe I'll have money to take a sculpting class! :P