What do you think of "starter dolls?"

I don't think there's anything wrong with getting a "starter doll". If you're only comfortable with that type of cost as a total beginner, then you shouldn't feel bad that you chose that type of doll. I believe you should, however, make sure you pick out the doll you most love out of that category. There's never anything wrong with picking out the doll you love

In many ways, my Dollfie Dream 2 Yukino was kind of a starter doll for me. She was cheaper than a Volks SD10, and I was comfortable with that price point. However, I also liked the more mature look of her body and found her to be downright adorable. I still love her, my beloved first ABJD

 

I have a "starter doll" not because I was scared to mess up but I had never seen a bjd and I was scared to feel to weird owning a doll. Then one day a saw hujoo dolls. She was cheap and pretty! Now I know I'm ok with spending tons of money on dolls And she will always be my favorite doll

edit: I took me over a year of research :p

 

When I got my first doll, I dident knew anything about the dolls, just that I could use them in my photo work. I wanted to start right away, so I bought a used bjd in the norwegian bjd forums market place. I really liked her, but when I learned more about the copanies and different molds, I have chosen differently later. I think, for me, a starter doll made me see the whole dollworld and taking a part in bjd forums. But if you have time to wait for a company to make your dreamdoll, I think thats it a good plan too. And maybe have an extra head or too if you want to play with modding and faceup for getting experience before you domore about the first dreamdoll. Taking thefirst and"best was right for mebecause it made me start at oncec andI needed something more in my daily life as sick at hospital, and I had a model to make pictures of and knit too (and making craft to other bjd fans withsamesize, on their dolls).I justdont think I could wait. And I learn more every day. Now I have severals of my dreamdoll, and even I am not a expert, it is great having them.

 

I'm a newbie, and I don't own a doll yet, but I have my dreamdolls, that made me willing to pay money. (Now I'm 80% sure I will buy one of them in a few years :P ) If I haven't seen those particular molds, I might have stopped looking at pictures of "those interesting dolls".

Interesting, because I've dreamt about this problem a few days ago. I recieved a doll package, which contained a limited doll I remembered ordering in a hurry. He was nice and all, but I was still frustrated, and asked myself "If I had the money, why didn't I buy the girls I adore??? "
I don't think I would pay for a random doll just to own one, and while it is possible that I would start to like it, it is more likely that I would be unhappy. However, it would work for those who want a doll really bad, but don't really have a dream one, or any particular preference.

 

When I got my first doll...uh...god, 5 years ago, now? I didn't really know much about the hobby at all. He was pretty cheap, and already came to me somewhat ruined (ugly face up, chipped finger). About a year or two ago (I'm foggy on all this now), when ChronicallySpaced expressed interest in the hobby, he technically became my starter doll--even though that's not why I had purchased him in the first place. I learned how to clean off faceups and do my own, and he's usually the one I go to for practice. So, in a sense, I think it's a good idea if you're just starting out. I don't love that doll any less, either. In fact, I think I love him even more because he encompasses a lot of "firsts" in this hobby for me, and I've put a lot of time into learning how to make him beautiful and then actually going through with it.

So yeah, I would recommend some kind of starter doll. But, one should like the doll, too.

 

My first doll was a cheapo obitsu doll, and I realized very quickly that I wanted something better. Still, having her gave me a chance to play with faceups and posing while I waited for my "real" BJD to ship. And even then, I didn't spend a whole lot. The doll I wanted most was a RS Ya, and even though she didn't cost an arm and a leg, I still love her dearly.

 

My doll is what i like to consider a happy medium of starter doll and more complicated doll. My Pipos charlotte is a smaller doll, so she's not difficult to carry around, but she still has extra hands and a tail part that I had to learn how to attach/detach. She's actually fairly easy to restring, and as a starter doll she doesn't require that i buy her a bunch of wigs and such, so I don't have to struggle with figuring that out right away.

 

I'm new to the hobby and when doing my research to find my first doll (and I didnt even bought it yet), it never crossed my mind to choose a less pricey one to "test" the hobby. I'm interested in larger dolls and the less pricey ones are 300$ or so, and it's already a lots of money I think just to "test" something haha! I'm pretty confident myself that the choice I made is the good one because I did lots of research and I didnt bought on impulse without informing myself first about every aspect of the hobby and the dolls I'm interested in. But I think I'll buy a couple of cheaper floating heads to practice my face up!

 

I don't like starter dolls. If you think about it, you only get one first doll and that doll should be one that you connect with and that you know is right for you. I feel that your first doll should be special and having a starter doll just messes that up. Why should you start off with a cheap doll just to get into this hobby? It doesn't make sense to me. I'm not saying that a cheap doll is no good. I just don't think someone should buy a doll because of it's price. You should chose a doll you love especially as your first doll. If you don't chose wisely it could skew your view of the hobby. I think it's more important to do as much research as possible and to save up money for the doll you really want.

 

I had actually planned on getting a doll leaves maya as a starter doll because he wasn't as expensive as the others I had looked at and I thought he was adorable. Instead I ended up with a Volks Sakura and Dollzone Yi for $250. I'm glad that my first dolly purchases were on the cheap side, but I'm even happier that my first purchases were dolls I really wanted. Plus since they were secondhand I was able to skip the whole long waiting period inherent with buying them brand new. My advice is to do what makes you comfortable, it's nice to buy your dream doll to start with, but it doesn't mean that is how everyone has to start in the hobby.

 

This is definitely one of those things that will vary from person to person. I do not think people should receive negative criticism for settling for a cheaper doll at first. This hobby is expensive and requires a lot of work to customize and maintain the dolls. If you opt to not make clothes yourself or do your own face-ups, that just means you spend more money to have a company or DoA artisan do it. I do think you should like your starter doll XD Even if the doll is not your top pick it should still be a sculpt you want to own. Testing out the water, however, can be really important in this hobby for those who are unsure they want to throw all their time and money into dolls. On the other hand, I had intended to buy an MSD around $300 for my starter doll but fell in love with the Migidoll Ryu sculpt and decided to go all out and buy him first, just incase I never bought a second doll...clearly, I now have more than one doll but at the time I wanted to be sure the one I had was the one I really wanted.

 

I think people define starter dolls differently too. For one thing,some of the most beautiful sculpts happen to be the cheaper dolls,so I don't mean cheap when I say "starter doll". I was thinking more in terms of buying a used head from ebay to practice faceups on,or like I saw on Etsy someone was selling a very damaged head just for practicing faceups. I think that's a wonderful idea.
Speaking from experience,you really feel awful when you mess up an entire doll that you really wanted. If I had it to do over again,I would have bought a practice head at least.

 

I didn't do the starter doll thing. I just got who I wanted. Amazingly, I haven't need to restring him or anything. (Ima cry when I do, never done it before, I got him in 2006!) I'd say, get who ever you want. Just do some research and think about if you're prepared to face the challenges that may come up. If I had to suggest a starter doll, I'd say get a normal body first before getting something...like a Soom humanoid body.

 

I think that your first bjd should be one you really like. If it's a starter doll or not it doesn't matter. I don't really like to think in terms of "starter dolls". My first one is a DOD Homme Ducan. Not a cheap one. But I love him to pieces. It will probably be the most expensive doll I will have for a while, but I don't regret bying him as my first doll. If I want to do a face-up I'm sure I wouldn't do his face but then I can always buy a cheap head to try on.

 

This is a toughie. I guess If I had the opportunity to play with one, I would! I have fears about restringing, taking off the head to insert eyes/eye putty and worrying about all that other junk that I have zero experience in, it would be nice to learn. However I don't think I'd buy a doll to practice on. YES it would suck very much if I'd screwed up my 'dream doll' but that just means I'll be extra careful with it. I've thought about messing with my moms BJD Madame Alexander dolls, not gonna lie, restringing looks difficult. I don't know if the experience with be the same due to height difference but at least I won't be going into it totally blind!

 

Kinda find it infuriating.Get the doll you REALLY want. Because then you wont be disipointed.There should be NO such thing as a practice doll, that's just sad...

 

I think there's a difference between a doll you buy with the intent of experimenting on it (I got a Hujoo Yomi to practice faceups because I'm completely new to the art) and a doll you buy to get yourself acquainted with the BJD hobby in a hands-on way. In the latter case, buying a less expensive, simpler-to-maintain doll that I still really loved worked very well for me. My first doll (and my only on topic doll) is a BBB/RS Mei and she was the perfect choice for me. I had a passing interest in BJDs for years, and when I really started to get into the research, Mei was the right doll to help me decide if (as I suspected) I wanted to be in this hobby for the long haul. She was the right price that I felt I could afford and was high enough quality for me. There are other sculpts I find more beautiful now, but I wouldn't have been ready to put the time and resources into planning to buy them if it weren't for her. I don't think I'll adore her any less than other dolls I may bring home in the future. In that sense, she was a perfect "starter" doll.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with someone picking out a "starter doll" to practice on if they are afraid they might ruin the one they really want if they don't have something to practice on first.

I also think there is nothing wrong with buying whichever one you really want first, without ever having had a "starter doll".

It depends on how well you know yourself, and your own personal preference.

 

I wouldnt so much say a starter doll but rather a starter package. Like the sculpt you want with a type of lucky pack of accessories, yknow - clothes, eyes and whatnot

 

Agreed x1000. Just...don't settle. Seriously. I don't see why anyone would save up, just to spend it on a doll because it's cheap (I'm getting the impression that "starter" dolls are cheaper which is why I used that word).

Can someone please give an example of a so called "starter doll?" I'm still convinced this doesn't exist.