The Fear Factor - when did you lose it?

I'm still scared of restringing or taking heads off - even though I've had Aedon for a year. D: But I've done all my bunch's face-ups, so that's never scared me - I've only changed one face-up so far, Aedon's, but that's mostly because I'm lazy and the weather around here doesn't always cooperate; I need to do something about Tetsuya's... *plots fixes*

 

Good question! I started face-ups the day my first arrived, and everything else just sort of followed soon after. So I guess I'd say I was quick starter, but that's because I already had a lot of hands on experience with dolls (as a restorer and customizer).

Sera~

 

XD XD Fear!? What fear?? My poor boy'll be in pieces on my floor within a matter of hours when I get him! I just love taking stuff apart, and I'm not in the least worried that I won't get him back together again. Face ups, though, are something else. I'm not afraid of ruining his resin or anything, but I am afraid of doing a less-than-up-to-my-standards job. *shrugs*

 

I admit to still being terrified. I get antsy holding other people's dolls, even! What if I drop it? What if I bump something off?

I know eventually I'll get more comfortable, but Meet Ups for me are both a delight AND a torture.

 

I've had DM Kyle Reese for a couple of months now, and would like to change his eyes but I still have the "fear factor" going on, I do change wigs on my other dolls and the clothes of course, but I am too scared to change eyes.
Maybe it's still too soon?

 

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I'm buying a used head separate from the body... I don't have a choice!

Face-ups I've been practicing on fashion scale dolls, as well as swapping heads (caused some damage on them, though... doh!)... so we shall see when the doll finally arrives

 

My first doll was in pieces on my living room floor within a couple hours of his arrival. I've never been shy about restringing, sanding, modification, face-ups, etc. In my opinion its an integral part of the hobby. I find it totally bizarre when people are scared of these things.

 

I unstrung, sanded, coated, blushed.. my first girl almost as soon as she arrived ^_^.

"Fear factor" for me though really depends more on which doll it is and how much it cost. I'd be terrified to touch my Luna's face... even though I think she might look better with sanded cheeks D: ...

 

my first real resin bjd was a Dollzone Shuang, and the day I got him I was playing around with the head and cap and lost the elastic down the neck and his legs fell off...so I had a quick lesson in restringing...and I did his faceup so it was there was no fear at all...now modding a head took a little longer.

 

I've had my doll for about a month now, and I'm still pretty terrified of re-stringing her (though she needs it, she's strung so tightly!). I'm still in the 'oh-my-gosh-I-just-payed-$800-for-her-I-don't-wanna-break-her' stage. Although I did manage to take her head off, just to see if I could do it. It was very stressful. XD

 

I got over the fear of restringing pretty quickly when Ophelia's hand fell off after having her a few months XD
She was my first doll, and I've had her for almost a year now. I was absolutely petrified of getting her a new faceup because I thought it would change her, but her old faceup was rubbing off, so I had no choice. She just came back to me all new yesterday,and I am glad I got over that fear. She is just perfect in a new way to before.

 

Face up ~ still hasn't gone away lol

Stringing ~ was so mad that she wouldn't stand for me and managed all of 5 min when Alexis did it, she was restrung after only 8 days, now I pull on her a lot more than I intinally did

 

I guess I never had this fear because my 1st was a kit doll ..she came to me in pieces.

 

Um, I lost a lot of my fear after about 3 or 4 months--that was when I decided to by a Souldoll Paris for one of my characters and do his faceup myself. I remained (and I still am a little even now) a little squeamish about taking apart my first doll, and I dread the day when his default faceup will have to be redone. However, I think that's because he's my first--I don't have that problem with any of my others.

 

I didn't do my first boy's faceup but I hot glue sueded him two days after he got to me and changed out his eyes as soon as I got the ones I'd ordered for him (dollcollctr: changing eyes is not something you can mess up. As long as you can get the head cap off, it's pie)
My second doll, who arrived not too far after, had her faceup wiped right away, like within an hour of arrival because I didn't want to get attached or lose my nerve. I did a few faceups on her and gained a bit of confidence.
My third doll ( a vamp mnf shiwoo) was ordered sans faceup so I could mod open his eyes and do his faceup myself. The first day he arrived I considered sending him to a customizer but by that evening I was running my craft knife between his eyes and the next day he got a faceup along with the Nanuri07 head that came with him. I have two more planned dolls who will need eye mods and plan to do the faceups on all of my dolls.
I don't know that I've so much lost my fear factor though. My heart was so pounding when I opened my boy's eyes, but it was important to me that I do it myself, and, while I am less worried about performing it on my next boys, I wouldn't say the fear is gone completely.
The thing I've learned is it's a lot easier to customize a doll that you haven't had a chance to grow attached to. So if your doll comes to you pre-beautified, even though they might not be what you want, most people are afraid they'll "ruin" the feelings they have for the doll in the first place. But so long as you follow the plethora of info to be found on the forums it's very difficult to ruin your doll with just a faceup. Could it come out terribly? Sure, but then you have the option of trying again and again until you get it right or sending it to a customizer or the company to have a new faceup done.
I think it's a little sad that some people let their fears hold them back from experiencing that feeling of knowing that their doll is exactly how they envisioned them, which is a pretty special thing in and of itself

 

My first dolls ever were DoD Too & Bee-A, with no face-ups.

So I pretty much had to unstring them as the first thing I ever did with a bjd. .

I took apart Too first, and popped him back together, to see how it went. Bee-A screamed hysterically (inside my head, in chorus with me ) the whole time. Then it was her turn, and no problem.

However, I was Terrified of taking out eyes. That took a lot longer. I can do it now, and change their position, etc., but it is still not my favorite part.

Ann in CT

 

Well on my first doll it was only a few days later I actually started putting on piercings ^^.
I'd read up a lot about stringing so wasn't completey terrified I'd never get him back together. I had to take his head off for a face-up and I soon learned restringing was easy.
As for his face-up he came with it and I didn't like it, I didnt want to touch it myself because I didn't want to make a total mess and hate it, I'd rather live with a beautiful face-up I dont want rather than a pile of rubbish xD so I commisioned. I would easily start a face-up on a blank head myself so from now on Im getting face-upless dolls.

funnily I love taking eyes out heads off, switching unstringing its just randomly fun XD

With my 2nd dolls which was only 2 weeks apart from my first I took her head of and swaped bodies and everything xD!

And I actually have full confidence in when I start to sand my boy...its really only touching an allready done face-up that scares me xD!