vinyl vs resin

I don't have a vinyl jointed doll, but I do have other vinyl dolls which I collect.
All my BJDs are resin. I think some of the vinyl dolls don't have the same ball joints, so I think a lot of people don't consider them BJDs.

Comparing my resin BJDs to my vinyl dolls, resin has a beautiful colour and texture - the resin almost looks like it glows with the way it reflects the light so well.
The resin poses amazingly, but not all of the cheap ones do.

Vinyl dolls are cheaper and more sturdy but they're not as popular as resin and they're not really readily available so in my opinion it's worth the extra money to get the resin.
Choose carefully. This is just my opinion so make sure to research lots.

 

There are a lot of Ball Joint "Styled" Vinyl dolls only two are considered on-topic and I have owned one of them - an Obitsu, they are fabulous if you need a body to keep a head company though they do stain very easily and dont have the luxurious feel and weight of resin. That and because of the jointing sstem they do pose better but they also dont "mould" into your hands the way a resin doll does... Either way they are both fabulous, it just comes down to personal preference

 

They are very available, Dollfie Dreams and Obitsu are easy to get hold of and competively priced.

In my opinions, I have handled a friend's Obitsu and I have a volks dollfie dream and they are both beautiful, though I prefer the Dollfie Dream and how it moves.

Everytime i would pick a dollfie dream over a really cheap resin doll, they pose wonderfully, very cheap resin dolls do not, they have a beautiful shape, sometimes cheaper resin is a little 'blocky'- if that makes sense!

I am also buying two off topic Americaln BJD dolls to make some siamese twins.They are ball joined and strung.

Saying all that, I do have a lot of resin, all of different qualities. the fell of resin is beautiful. my favourites so far being soom and volks. there is a lovely weight to good quality resin, they feel great in your arms.

Resin will stain and vinyl will stain, perhaps more easily than resin. Keep dark clothes off vinyl dolls or use a protective layer- but that is good advice for resin too.

Go for the doll that you like the look of, but if you want a cheaper doll that poses brilliantly, viynal is the one to go for. But I would never choose a doll based on cost- you have to want them and like everything about them.

Msc works on both but be careful with other sealers on vinyl- a lot yellow quicker, I believe testors should not be used (though I have used it on a head and there were no issues- but i only ever use MSC now). You can use acrylic paints and chalk pastel on Vinyl just as you would on resin- treat it the same!

 

Mind you, vinyl dolls can be as expensive as resin dolls or more -- just ask any owner of a Dollfie Dream. Just the basic bodies (without heads) are more expensive than many "cheaper" resin dolls.

 

that is true, I think my Dollfie Dream was about £200- a bit less I think!

they used to be the cheap option. BUT in my opinion I think the cheaper resin is not as good poseability wise as the vinyl. It depends what you are looking for, if you like the feel of resin and really want a resin doll that might take presidence over poseability. If you are looking for a model to photohgraph- poseability might be a priority

 

Well, it's not just that they pose better than less expensive resin dolls. Speaking from experience here, some less expensive dolls pose as well as some of the more expensive resin dolls--it just really depends on the individual companies you're comparing, the doll's original stringing (which can be very easily changed) and perhaps even more than that, the owner. However, the vinyl dolls with an internal skeleton hold poses better than pretty much anybody--it's just the nature of the beast, because they will stay put no matter how you pose them and the range of motion in the Obitsus and DDs is very very good.

They do feel different, however. It's not necessarily a good or bad thing, it depends on preference. Vinyl dolls with the internal skeleton (some vinyl dolls are strung, but none of those are on topic for DoA), don't have the 'give' that strung resin dolls have since when you pick up a strung resin doll, their limbs will naturally fall into place and move. It gives the vinyl dolls a stiffer feeling. You do have to be careful about staining with vinyl more than with resin, as the stains are more difficult to remove.

You don't have to worry about chipping or cracking with vinyl, but pieces in the skeleton can snap--Obitsu sells extra parts (which aren't expensive) in case that should ever happen. So far *knock on wood* I've not had any trouble with the two Obitsu bodies I have in terms of any breakages, but I handle them with the same care I do my resin dolls.

 

My first big doll was an Obitsu 60, 3 1/2 years and some stains later I still have him. Compared to my resins he's lighter, easier to hold a pose and no less fun. Having him helped me get use to playing with a big doll, he's hit his head on things, fallen over, and had other resin shattering boo boos. Vinals are great gateway dolls to resins if you're not sure about having one so big.

Weighing less is definately a plus with a vinal doll, my resin mini outweighs the Obitsu and the other SDs are a work out to cart around. The Obitsu is quite well traveled and no one he's ever met has ever looked down on what he's made of, for many people he's been the first dollfie they've ever seen and I could have sold a few if I was a dealer.

 

So true. My Vinyl girl does have weight but when I held that resin body a few days ago for the first time, I went: Holy Hell.
Its not dramatically heavy, but you do appreciate the weight he carries a bit more than the vinyl.
But weight isnt a huge factor unless you have a weak arm or you like the heaviness.

On other notes, I rather love both of my bjd's. My resin boy and my vinyl girl.
Vinyl stains...easily. I havent experienced it yet because Im too afraid to put my girl in the leather I got her and such...but its going to change. Dont feel limited because your vinyl-bjd will stain easily, hey! A resin bjd will break easily, so they both bare their up's and downs. Its all about your taste and preference. Its all about the sculpt you like. Price though, is a factor. Vinyl cost like $100-200 at most for the big boys and girls (SD's) and some Resin Bjd may cost that much as well and a hella lot more, their called the "Cheap" kind. But just because something is cheap doesnt mean you should just get it. Work hard for what you truly want and you'll find your happiness in whatever you choose.

Damn, that was alot to say. =-=~♥

 

Well, I'm not quite that experience (as I just got my first resin a couple of months ago, for my birthday).Though, I CAN tell you that, before my resin, I had a vinyl obitsu doll. She was 27cm and one heck of a poser! Vinyl is really smooth and all, but I ran into one problem that drove me somewhat crazy. She squeaked for about a month! Or more! Maybe resins can squeak too, I don't know. Anyway, like everyone else is saying, Vinyls pose incredibly well! I don't have experience with a Volks Dollfie dream (although,I started to get one).
I played with my Vinyl obitsu regularly and we even looked at more dolls on the computer together. But, the more I looked at pictures, the more I kept coming across Resin dolls. I hardly ever saw any 1/6 dolls obitsu that I thought of as real BJD quality (except on flickr and such, but rarely).

So, naturally,I wanted to get a resin doll (well, naturally for me anyway. lol) I know everyone else is saying not to do this,but, I did. I picked one based on price. A BBB Isabella for 105 dollars, actually. I kept feeling anxious as I looked at the stock photos (we all know that BBB stock photos suck). But, when I got her, I was amazed! As my first resin, I couldn't quite put my finger on the way she felt. It was incredible. She was so soft, almost like real skin after a while. I thought she'd be heavier like porcelain, though. But, she was actually rather light weight.

I compared her to my Obitsu and realized how completely different they are! My resin's body gets colder earlier than my Obitsu does. They also both stain-there's no way around that one (just don't put them near lead!! I don't know how many times I got pencil stains on my Obitsu and had to give her a bath).
Also, I've noticed that i'm a lot more gentle with my resin than I was with my vinyl. It's just something that gives you the sense of delicacy when you hold a resin..almost like you don't want to handle them too hard (even if you already know they're pretty sturdy).

Anyway, sorry for the long story.

 

the cheaper resins are often thinner resin- certainly I have noticed that with some of my cheaper resins (I have all sorts as I go by face rather than price!).

Dollfie dreams don't squeak wheras obistus do.

 

If you do a search, there are some threads that compare Dolfie Dreams and Obitsus which may be of help to you. Both the DDs and Obitsus pose very well, so I don't think you'd be disappointed with either in that department. I have a 60cm AoD boy, and am very happy with him, but I have no experience with Asleep Eidolon so I'm not sure what they're like in person. Most likely a search will bring up some owner pics and reviews.

It's also possible to make a hybrid with an Obitsu or DD body. Resin heads are pretty easy to put on Obitsus (my obitsu hybrid has a resin head). I think it may take more work with a DD body, but I don't know for sure, having never done it myself. If you were to consider going that route, you'll definitely want to look at owner pics and do some research as to what heads look good with those bodies. SD size heads can really differ in size and shape as well as resin color, so an individual head won't look right on every SD sized body. However, there's so much info here on DoA, that you should be able to find what you need to help you make a decision.

I missed this the first time around, but thought that I should maybe say something about it now. It is true that Obitsus and DDs don't have quite the same jointing as bjds have. However, they are on topic for DoA, since they've been allowed previously, plus they are often used as bodies for resin heads. I've never been to a dollmeet and seen people react negatively to any DDs or Obitsus that happened to be there--there's usually a huge variety of dolls, and people are very welcoming to them and their owners. Popularity is really a moot point if you like a particular sculpt (or at least, it should be a moot point) the important thing is that you are happy with the doll you choose. DDs and Obitsus are very readily available (unless you want an LE DD, of course--that might take a little more work to get a hold of, but is still very possible to do) and can be ordered through Volks USA and Junky Spot respectively or purchased second hand on the forum.

 

Thanks for the information Taco, ^__^
I learned a lot more about vinyl BJDs from reading this thread.

 

My first doll was an obitsu, and I have several more obitsus too. If obitsu had more head moulds avalable and a greater mix of sizes then I would certainly have more. Even though I do not give a perfect score for their hand posing (trying to get my 60 Haruka to hold anything is a nightmare) but I prefer them over resin dolls. I'm small so they are really light to me, especially compared to my resin 60. They don't need to be restrung to try and hold a pose, they have magnets in their feet and all come with a steel base plate so they can stand and hold poses easily, they also do not SMELL X.x I cannot abide the chemical smell of fresh resin, my bobobie girl still carries that smell if you open her headcap, urgh.

I know they do stain easily (my Obitsu 60 Gretel has several stains on him from where he was wearing dollzone clothes) but my resin dolls do also have marks on them that do not come off (my 1/4 AoD doll has a blue mark on his hand that no amount of scrubbing with anything will get it off). Obitsus squeak, yes I know very well, my Obitsu 55 squeaks terribly...all it does is just set me off into giggles actually ^^; However, though my resin dolls do not squeak, some make some rather nasty snappy/clicky noises when legs move into position (pukipuki I am looking at you) or they have their strange kicky legs (glares at her dollinian tiny, who stays upright only in one pose, and bobobie cookie, who has a strange kicky leg). Who can resist the fact that Obitsu are easier to dress, as you can take their arms off :P

I shall have to say though, I have a few 'expensive' dolls and a few 'cheap' dolls, and I have yet to see a difference in the quality of the resin. Posability differences I can see, my AoD 1/4 doll might have kicky leg syndrome, but at least he freely stands unlike my MiniFee who topples at any given reason. My DIM Achernar has the thickest head resin I've ever seen, I even showed it to people who were all surprised on how thick and heavy it was.

 

As a long time doll/figure collector, and “BJD” owner
for a few years now, I can tell you that to me price means
nothing. I usually buy dolls (figures) because of how much
I love their sculpt, the price to me holds very little importance
(whether the doll is “cheap, or expensive” is just a relative term to me).
I tend to go for the dolls that I truly want to own, and/or customize. ^____^

The main differences I have been able to see between
the two materials, is that resin is far more customizable (or
more easy to customize) than vinyl. It takes a lot more patience
(and talent), to be able to do all the things you are able to do with
resin, when working with vinyl. Resin can be sanded to a smooth
perfection quite easily, vinyl can also be sanded, but it takes a lot
more patience, and the results are not always favorable. Resin
doesn’t stain like vinyl does, and if you do get stains on resin you
can easily sand them off. With vinyl it takes a lot longer to remove
the stain, (from experience) sometimes it never comes off. Also,
some types of vinyl don’t adhere to other materials very well
(like soft-vinyl), while resin does – it is also easier to customize because
of that reason.

To me those are the true deciding factors between which dolls
I would like to own, and which I rather avoid. Owning a Volks Dollfie
Dream myself, I can tell you that its quality is not inferior to my other dolls,
but I can also tell you that I wouldn’t easily buy another large vinyl-doll,
because they do stain very easily (I still don’t know how mine got some of
those stains!). I rather stick to the smaller kind of vinyl-dolls, if it is vinyl I’m after,
for larger kind I like resin better (because it is easier to handle a small permanent
stain on a small body, than a large stain on you 60cm vinyl doll).


- Enzyme ^.^

 

Well...I have obitsu dolls, which I customized...and I have resin dolls. I notice that the obitsu bodies are easier to pose...but they are more breakable...whereas resin dolls are somewhat easy to pose and a little harder to break. The really similar thing is that they are both easily stained. But at least stains are easier to remove on resin dolls.

 

I own resin BJDs but I've had the pleasure of handling many vinyl dolls as I often see anime-inspired Dollfie Dreams at events. I find vinyl dolls are great posers, they're much lighter and have many anime-style sculpts that look just like the animated chatacter. They are really cute in my opinion!

That being said, I prefer resin dolls. I like their weight and my molds have a more realistic look about their faces that I love. I also have the freedom to make modifications to the resin and I do love doing so.

I wouldn't say resin BJDs are more "luxurious" than vinyl BJDs, I've seen some expensive and flawlessly made Dollfie Dreams but I don't see myself owning a vinyl doll. My joys with the doll hobby aren't very compatible with them.

 

iMod., if this does not go here, or is repeated, please, delete it.

I just want to ask you people, what's your experience with resin and vinyl dolls? What of this materials do you think is better in the sense of resistance and not getting stained?

Thanks in advance!