What is your grail doll, and why is it your grail?

I have four grails. I reallly REALLY adore SOOM Lucifer, but he is discontinued. I know it will be many years to find him, if I even can. The next is Dollmore Trinity. She is just sooooo freaking expensive I will have to save a long time, but that is hard when other, less pricey dolls also call my name! Spider queen Junia from Souldoll is the third, but I missed out on the chance when she was available. now I must hunt the second hand shops. Lastly is Loongsoul Miao Jun God of Water! He is so freaking gorgeous but I found him AFTER I had just bought a doll with the last of my funds. Now I must wait, and save, and wait, and save. Hard when I am currently out of work. :'( Some people say you cannot have four grails. I say you can have as many as you want. All a grail is to me is a doll you pine for but cannot have currently for whatever reason.

 

Please feel free to share your grail with us! I am super interested! What a lovely story, too. It must feel so special! Thank you for sharing!

 

I don’t need asking twice! XD



Custom sculpt of Harrison Ford from early 80s (sculpted by Switchum@Namonaki) Face up and wig by me, hence the glue on my nails...

 

Daaaaaaaaaamn I love this!!
Never hide your dolls, haha. Gosh he’s stunning! Love the face up work and wig!! Super well done!
I’m attempting making wigs myself and am sooooo afraid of messing up. Yet, trial and error is the only way to make progress. You’re pure motivation!

 

In my opinion, a Grail is a doll you love that is almost mythic in rarity or for some reason completely out of reach. My Grail is the discontinued Dollzone Anson, a very unique sculpt where the figure is more flower than person. Not a lot of people have one and I've never seen one for sale, but if one DID appear for sale I might sell my kidney to get it.

The Holy Grail is a mythical, extremely valuable item that many people want but no one has found. A Grail doll, to me, is a little bit like that.

 

A holy grail is a legendary object of spiritual significance for which you must go on a perilous quest, of course!

So when I've heard people say "such and such sculpt is my next grail" I can't help but think:

ARTHUR: Go and tell your master [...] he can join us in our quest for the Holy Grail.
GUARD: Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll be very keen... Uh, he's already got one, you see.
ARTHUR: What?
GALAHAD: He says they've already got one!
ARTHUR: Are you sure he's got one?

In my mind, a grail is a doll to rule all other dolls, the one you must have even at great personal sacrifice. If you could only ever own one doll or the rest of your collection were to vanish, that doll would remain. More than just a collection piece, its acquisition is of great personal significance. For me that was/is my Dollshe Saint. He is certainly a common sculpt, but I had so many trials and hangups wrapped up in achieving him that he is the doll for me. Never with such ardour were the words spoken: "You are my favourite inanimate object on this whole planet. "

 

X

 

I think a grail doll for me is not any specific quality (like limited, expensive, hard to get, ect.) but it's how you feel about the doll.

But I think when grail dolls are hard to get one way or another, it makes it all the sweeter! My second grail doll is Skully by Misterminou (specifically in normal skin) which was very limited and I expect I'll be searching for one for years, and I think when I get one it will be a sweet sweet victory! All those that find their grail dolls are so lucky!

 

I agree that a grail doll should be something that is particularly difficult for you to obtain, but also something that would make you immensely happy to have. I guess my grail doll would be Juri 08, she’s so cute and I want her very much, but I just can’t ever see myself justifying the price of her if she ever comes up. Especially as I am married, big purchases like dolls are something my husband and I decide is okay together, and I can’t see him being okay with $650 or more for just a doll head. Maybe if we make a lot of money in the future lol.

I hope everyone can get their grail doll someday!

 

This is a exactly what I think. 100% agreed. DollZone Hong is THE doll for me. The doll that drove me crazy for 10 whole freaking years. Who lead me into this beautiful hobby.
It wouldn’t matter if it’s rare or not, if it’s loved by a lot of people or not. It is my personal grail to find. You explained that too well.
You can only have one grail.
And if you don’t feel the urge to hunt for this doll, or don’t feel any pain if you never found it, then it’s not your grail.
Hong taught me what it feels like to have a grail doll.

 

@OnlyPaintMode Congratulations on your Hong! I hope he is everything you've dreamed of!

 

I would say difficulty. If it's a high priced limited edition that sold out then it's definitely a grail. It HAS to be hard to obtain or it's just a doll you like that you can save up for and buy anytime. But that's how I define it. Like my grails are always Volks limited editions that are freaking impossible to get unless you can throw $3000 at the marketplace AND there is actually one for sale.

 

I think it is a bit of everything - discontinued, rare, beautiful, limited (and more...)
My grail doll - Sweet Gale Cyril Hope to get him one day XD

 

Thank you so much, dear havra! He is not here with me right now, but he brings me so much joy even though he’s not here yet. In June, I’ll have him by my side.
He will be my everything.

 

For me, a grail doll is one that is almost completely unattainable for one reason or another, and that you are absolutely smitten with (and get excited/sad/excited again when you see a pic of them somewhere). For me, it's an Amadiz Studio Yolande for three reasons. One, I have NO room for an SD (no matter how gorgeous), two, they're going to be discontinued soon until the maker starts to release them through a casting company (I think that was what I read somewhere, anyway) and three, because they're like...over $1,000 USD and I just can't swing that right now.

It's really any doll that you can imagine hearing a choir singing in the background as you open the shipping box

 

For me it's a doll we fall in love with one day and this feeling never change. I'm in this hobby for many years and my grail is still the same. It's Volks Kurumi. So my grail is connected with never ending love and with difficulty to get it.

 

@Spuggey It is so fitting that he is your holy grail doll!! And he looks so amazing!

 

I never thought of that! It seems I chose wisely...

 

Yeah I think "grail doll" can mean different things to different people, but I agree with the other posts here it usually implies a journey or struggle to obtain that doll.

 

Enaibi's Satyne is my grail, and seeing as how she doesn't make more than a few, and usually doesn't sell...