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

My holiest of holy grails would be a Volks PS Bisque Yayoi. Likely unattainable as proxies won't buy them due to the Volks policies, and I don't live in Japan...
The somewhat more attainable (but still quite difficult to find) grails would be Volks SD Shinku and Suigintou. The originals pop up secondhand from time to time, but I always miss them. One-off models as well, but... That's a whole beast in and of itself. I've entered lotteries for a few, but no winners so far.

 

Luckily I was able to get all my grails, except one. I hope to get a Soom Narmer one day

 

My grail once was a Dream of Doll Homme Ducan... But I managed to get him several years back.

Now though, I guess you could say it's a Fairlyland Pukipuki Cupid 3

 

Venitu is my #1 grail. It’s the hands, I love well sculpted hands and his are just the most stunning hand sculpt
Venitu is also the sculpt of the very first bjd I saw that made me fall in love with the hobby.

 

Sleeping Elf Shiwoo and it's never going to happen

 

To me, a grail is beautiful but unobtainable/unreasonable to try to obtain. I found my holy grail the other day, an Aimerai Uki.

However, there are multiple reasons I can't have her:
1) She's too big for my bookcase (max size I can hold is 40CM).
2) I can't find bodies that are short enough that sorta match her skin tone.
3) I don't want a doll that will yellow faster (they only use environmental resin).

I might have found a close-enough match (with some modification needed) in SQ Lab's chibi Tsubaki. I'll need to save up for her and see if I can find someone who does eye mods on a YOSD head.

 

My biggest grail has always been Doll Chateau's male body. I have never had any spesific DC's doll as a grail, but I have always longed for their SD male bodies. They suit my aesthetics perfectly. I love their long limbs and a bit uncanny looking vibe. I also have a lot of chatacters that have this type of a body, so that makes me happy as well.

I would probably also consider Lillycat Ellana my grail these days. Lillycat's dolls have such a spesific aesthetic and it pleases me a lot. Ellana has such lovely cheeks and lips, she looks so dreamy and beautiful! I am also in love with her anatomy, she has gorgeous legs and the overall sculpting is just perfect in my eyes.

 

Lillycat Kitty Jolie, or any of the Volks Vocaloid Dollfies. I've wanted them for years but I can never justify saving up for one of them :')

 

The doll I want the most is Ringdoll’s Lan Wangji, followed by Ringdoll’s Wei Wuxian. Lamentably, I got into MDZS too late to buy the dolls, as I waited for the official English translation of the books to come out and I wanted to read the books before watching the donghua, drama, or reading the manhua. Now, I regret it, and I really hope the get re-released in the future or that I can find them secondhand .

 

My grail doll(s) are SDGr Mia and SD-F-100 tan (does that count as a grail??). I can't seem to find SDGr Mia. I guess she was either sold very limited quantities or people don't want to part with her??? The SD-F-100 tan is another one, particularly the latest one-off that Volks posted with the blue bonnet and dress. She kind of reminds me of when I was in preschool and did a ballet recital. I had been thinking of a proxy, but I'm not sure I can find one or afford one. Sorry if that sounds silly.

 

My current grail is Dream Valley dean V1 Giraffe version fullset. It seems most people who got him didn't get the fullset and I've only seen nude ones for sale, probably about 2 or 3. I adore everything about his fullset so I'm crossing my fingers that oneday a fullset Dean will pop up seco d hand

 

Looks like my holy grail changes the longer I am browsing discontinued dolls. Currently looking for a shell for an ongoing character of mine, sort of proxy etc. and DC Christina is an almost perfect match of what I imagine. Not too eerie and not too sweet, mature enough to pass for a >25 y.o.

I love lankiness and joints of DC bodies, but I also dislike how tall are female SD bodies though [would seek for something 55cm max if SD and Y-06 is 60cm] and I have no idea how much she would cost second-hand since it's an old sculpt.

 

I was able to obtain my grail, a Mori 9 Austaras but I would still like to get a Mori 9 Veles one day. I was able to get Hayato on this last order of hers so he will do tbh I am satisfied. Veles isn't a NEED, need. Just if I had the opportunity I would definitely pay a pretty penny for him.

Only other doll that is rare I want is a MBD Hobin but he isn't as unobtainable to get. I would like a The Voice Barr and Monsoon in grey and tan skin respectively and they have only been released domestically in super small quantities. Saving up now so I can try to get them both in her next international order. If I can't then they will become grails.

 

Mine would have to be a "Naiad" or as they are more commonly known as Lotus dolls by FaeWoodsDolls. In particular the kind that's got the blue or green with the white underbelly, 2-toned types. I'd die to own one of them!

 

My Grail was Soom Gluino. I have him now. It took over 7 years of me wanting him to finally get him.
He is the first BJD that ever caught my attention. He was the doll that lured me into the hobby.
I don't see me ever having another holy grail doll. There are dolls I want of course, but they are not unattainable like he was.
It's just a really good feeling to finally have that one doll I had been wanting for years.
I look over at him sometimes and just think 'Yes! You are mine!'

 

I'm so fortunate to have both dolls I considered my 'grail'. First was a Dollshe Saint..(of which I somehow ended up with 3. I don't know how that happened haha.. ) There's just something about his face that I can't quite articulate that is just...perfect. It sparks a level of joy in me I can't describe or compare. Something about his nose, his jawline, his small mouth...I don't know. it's just *special*. Even if he isn't' particularly rare, and I didn't have any issues getting him (thankfully well before the Dollshe fiasco), he still retains grail status in my eyes and I'm very happy to have him.

And my *Holy Grail* doll is Volks Williams. I....I just literally can't use words when I look at him. He is SO perfect and there is just something so so special about him that elevates him to holy grail status. It also took me waaay too long to get him (mostly due to his second-hand price tag..oof). But I'm super happy I finally did and I will always have both my Williams and my Saint(s).

Basically, it's a strong and likely irrational emotional response that is way stronger towards these specific doll molds than the rest. It's less about the character or the inspiration and customization, and more about the mold itself...if that makes any sense at all. lol I could literally put them on a glowing pedestal to be adored and gazed at for eternity. They tick all the boxes and spark all the joy.

 

I have about 5 dolls that I consider to be a grail, and two of them I'm fortunate enough to own!
Soom Gluino:
My first grail and definitely my holy grail despite the fact that I own him now! Last year I came across one secondhand for an AMAZING price (he's a bit yellowed so that's probably why) but now he's mine (the doll in my profile pic) and I cannot believe it. I spent so long thinking it would be 10 years before I ever got my hands on him. He's so incredibly perfect and every day I look at him and just feel like he can't be real!

SiCang Ahe (1/4 scale head):
This is the other that I own, he's also my second longest grail. I love his smile so much and I can't wait to finally do his faceup after being faceless for a year. He's on a Doll Chateau body and is gonna be a cute little clown boy!

Illusion Garden Unicorn Yuli:
His EARS oh my goodness that's the main part for me, plus his horn and pouty lips. He's so beautiful and I'm constantly waiting for IG to rerelease him since they seem to be cycling through their older sculpts right now!

Soom Edgar:
This one I'd definitely label as a grail due to being unobtainable for multiple reasons. One is the price, another is that I'm not a fan of the ID75 body so I'd probably just want the head, but then there's the task of finding someone only selling the head. The last reason is that I don't have a character right now that would fit him. I'm a little worried about the rapid growth of my collection, so I don't want to buy a doll unless I know exactly how they'd fit into my doll family

Last but not least... the ultimate unobtainable grail because he doesn't even exist yet... Mori 9's Heretic:
He just has such a unique and mystically beautiful face!! He was posted on their instagram around a year ago as just a digitally sculpted model, but if they ever release him I'll be punching in my info SO FAST lol

 

I've added a grail to my list recently...a Volks SD16 Diamond! I have a hard time even finding pictures of her due to her rarity (or maybe I just don't know what to search?), but since she's a newer SD I hope I'll be able to catch her next ordering period...Maybe at LA Dolpa?

I can't decide if I'd keep her on her SD16 body or move her to a DD one, though. I'm really bad with most humanoid resins, they just don't pose well for me. I'm too spoiled by vinyls!

 

My original grail was the first Soom Sard but I have him so I think my new grail might be a Spirit Doll Camphor. I haven't seen him around and I do love his face a lot so I hope I can own one someday.

 

My grail was Lieselotte but now we're just married