What kind of collector are you?

I am 100% impulsive.

My initial commitment to buying a doll was after dealing with some hard personal stuff and was trying to distract myself plunging into a new hobby. I told myself I would only want SDs (have been collecting action figures of various sizes so large would be the "new" size for me) and have mini friends all the way up to my 80cm boy.

"I think I'll shell some characters," two dolls later packs of dye and a brand new enamel pot and no idea what I'm doing with a kitchen cabinet that now needs to be sanded and repainted after dropping the dye. I have various bits of vaguely clothes shaped pieces haphazardly held together by what appears to be thread.

"I'm gonna get a full set, because people say you'll bond better" orders another blank later on a whim and now I've realized I will never love a full set as much as I love a doll I customized myself. (All action figures are now inferior. Time to downsize)

"I like the sculpt but now how do I customize" Slaps random colors together that are vaguely a pallette. Thus far I have accidentally made dolls I like but I know my luck won't hold forever. This is going to fail miserably in the future and I know I will have to completely wipe a full body blush in the future. But for now it's worked. I have never been able to do a painting that wasn't just "I wonder what happens if I smear paint here" and dolls have been no different.

"I'll just get a few here and there." I've lined them up and I realize I have bought too waaaay too many for a beginner. Do I love them all? Yes. Do I have plans for all of them? In the vague sense that I plan anything, yeah I do. Do I just randomly pose my handless wonders waiting for their turn? Yes.do I love their really dumb wigs that have nothing o do with their sort of planned vision? Also yes.

"Man I hope (blank) doesn't mess this up." Pan pastel covers all mistakes. Only me and my paralysis demon know what's under those layers. On the plus side, I know I can string dolls by myself to my satisfaction. I can dye to some degree of proficiency, body blushing is not an arduous task, tiny eye brow hairs are very fun, I did not know glitter would delight me so, I have spools of wire that have resulted in dolls that stand much better, and I've been forced to organize my art life to make doing any of these tasks complete in a timely manner.

 

The kind who impulse buys 20+ blank dolls in 3 years because they’re cute/pretty even though I don’t have much time to work on my customizing skills (and keep spending my BJD clothing budget on blank dolls/bodies for heads). I only have one single complete doll (well, she doesn’t have shoes)

Trying to make some major changes with my approach here in 2024… I am getting on my own nerves and would love for my dolls to be finished and photographable!

 

It's rare that I'll buy a full set doll but I've gotten lucky if you count buying secondhand dolls with a whole outfits worth of extras. Granted, neither kind are ever adjacent to the look or aesthetic that I'm going for but I always find ways to make the pieces work. Sometimes on that doll, sometimes on other dolls. It just depends. Either way, I am a crafty collector. Wigs, eyes, and shoes aside; or the occasional extra little something, I make everything else that goes onto my dolls. Alot of my dolls are secondhand and often come with face ups, but for those that don't, I have no problem painting them. They're not the best either, but to me, that gives them more character. Especially as my painting skills improve. I think there's beauty in buying a fully outfitted doll as much as buying them blank as I prefer to do. Or buying all the bits and bobs too. It just tends to bring me more happiness in the actual process of making everything and slowly seeing a doll go from a naked shell to a fully fleshed out persona. Good creative juju and all that.

 

Ooooh this is interestning!

I'm the kind of collector who:
1. Never has enough money on hand, so either ends up either saving up for a looong time (I've spent 6 years saving up my then pocket money before getting my first boy) or recently going for a layaway.
2. Doesn't buy huge amounts of dolls and rather opts for a fewer count to love and cherish. Honestly, right now I've been in the hobby for more than a decade and only own 4 complete dolls and 1 head, plus just started a layaway on my 5th full doll.
3. Takes ages to finish doll projects - My newest boy has been "in progress" for about a year, I'm terrified of butchering his tattoos and claws so I'm putting it off, poor thing haha
4. That being said, I'm definitely the person who buys a blank and then customizes - honestly no fullset has ever been interesting enough for me to get, I tend to see my own characters in the company photos rather than what they present the sculpts. I also absolutely adore painting the doll myself, it's a part of the bonding process for me!
5. I can't sew clothes or make eyes/wigs so I buy those though
And finally, 6. I'm the kind of owner who mostly really just owns the dolls, looks at them and occassionally attends a meetup, I'm absolutely terrible at posting doll photos regularly or interacting online haha

 

My preference is nude dolls with faceups, but I've been known to splurge on a fullset if it's interesting to me. I also will buy dolls without faceups, but since I usually don't do my own faceups, that means there's that extra step of needing to send the doll out.

I don't craft that much these days and generally prefer to commission artists for wigs, clothes, and eyes when I can or buy premade things. Most of my dolls are original characters so it's a bit of an exercise in creativity trying to get everything just right. I enjoy having the work of a lot of different artists in my collection though, so it's worth it!

 

Basic dolls, them buy whatever outfits I like .

 

Eh, just depends really on the doll and the style it has...

I use to have a Charm doll- Baron. I really loved everything about him from sculpt to outfit. Usually I'll get a fullset but it was just that once. BUT If I have the doll, and love the outfit I'll just get the outfit so yea lol.

I try not to buy much dolls unless it's an OC or I'm just loving the face sculpt...but not an impulse buyer cause it would lead to, "Oh man I don't have a head for this or a body." It will get crazy xD


But clothing on the other hand..we don't talk about that like....70% I'll buy

 

I am the type of collector who honestly doesn't mind company face ups, because often the displayed face up is part of the reason I fell for the doll. I'm also very bad at them myself, so having it done for me is always a good thing.

I try to be really good about buying resin BJDs and so far I have managed to stick to that, which is a good thing. I want to add at least one this year, so hopefully that goal will be achieved.

I'm also a bit of a sewer and my dolls tend to be great models, so... that type of collector, too.

 

I haven't gotten a fullset yet. One day, but it's going to end up being a grail type situation for me. I've gotten a lot of blank dolls recently lol. I enjoy making them my own. I've got so much work to do D: haha

 

For me it's DIY or die. I prefer to buy blank and nude dolls and make the clothes, wigs, faceups ,and sometimes shoes too, myself. (and I'm planning on learning eyemaking too, because I seem to think I have too much spare time)
I am not 100% opposed to the idea of buying a full set, but I doubt I'll ever stumble upon one that I'd fall in love with so much that I'd have to buy it (instead of trying to replicate it myself from photos, because if I want it I make it). I also like to change up the looks of my dolls very often, so I'd be heartbroken when I'd inevitably fall out of love with an expensive full set or faceup.
I'm also pretty careful about buying dolls, because while I do love buying things, I'm not really a fan of selling I prefer having a smaller resin crew who are so, so dear to me.

 

I prefer basic, to customize myself. I only have one doll though, soon to get a second.

I get very specific character ideas in mind that cant be bought. So I make the outfits myself and commission the face-up. (Though the forehead gem mod on Soraya, I did myself)

 

Not a fullsets person… I have a specific look that I like for myself and for my dolls so I would probably not find it in a company fullset. I am not a characters person either so I don’t build dolls around characters I more see them as extensions of myself and the wider sort of world I’ve built within my artwork. I am admittedly quite an impulsive person, once a doll really speaks to me then I know it’s the one… I was also a bit of a “pokemon collector” in my early days in the hobby but luckily I’ve filtered down my tastes and refined what I like and don’t like to the point there are very few dolls that I do want which definitely stops the from happening quite as much as it did at one point.

 

I only have one fullset and intend to keep it that way.
Blank dolls are fun for me since its more easy to shell my ocs into

 

I have a preferred format - SD girls, and I buy those blank and do everything myself with a rare exception. I outsource eyes though, because I'll never be able to beat the experienced creators and I don't want to bother But I did make some passable eyes that my dolls use at times.
When I get any other doll type, I usually get them with a faceup and some clothes (or full set parts) to get me started. And then I expand their wardrobe by both buying and making.

 

All of my dolls (with the exception of one) were purchased basic--no faceup, completely nekkid. Don't own a single full set. I strongly prefer to DIY/customize my dolls myself, from the faceup to the clothes. That's the part of the hobby that is the most fun to me, so I will probably never buy a full set unless I've absolutely fallen in love with it.

 

Fullsets! Simply because I'm super bad at DIY-stuff, unfortunately. I wish I'd be able to do more things myself, because I feel that my options are pretty limited thanks to my non-existing talent. On the other hand, I'm falling in love with fullsets on a regular basis, so in the end it doesn't bother me that much.

 

I started off with fullsets, and then I fell in love with customization and painting when I got my first msd. It’s been uphill ever since lol.

 

I was very impulsive in the beginning, suddenly without thinking about carefully first, was buying dolls. But I was really lucky, got perfect dolls and still satisfied with them and like them a lot.
But now, with time, I trying to plan my collection: to buy only dolls, I really-really want and need. for example, think, that for now it is enough girls, and I planned to order two boys in this year.
About face ups: I prefer basic, to customize myself. Like to draw face up, to choose character and outfit. Never ordered a doll with face-up and not a full-set person. That's the part of the hobby that is the most fun to me, so I will probably never buy a full set.