What rules do you follow to curate your BJD collection?

What is your Ultimate Doll Plan?

 

I was focusing only on MSD sized dolls and had no plans to get an SD sized doll at all but then I saw LLTs Roderich and all my rules went out the window because I can't just have a big boy. I've got to get him a daughter and a female partner. The search for the "right" partner led to me acquiring two other SD sized girls who didn't fit with him but that I just really liked anyway and that I got fairly cheap.

So now I have 3 big girls and a big boy and my whole crew of minis when I had no intentions to go SD sized whatsoever!

My old collection of dolls I had a crew of both sizes and that was fine because when I had a house I had tons of space. Now I'm living in a studio and all the big dolls have taken up my work desk and I really need to figure a better display for them so I can use my work desk.

It is what it is and I don't regret them. I really missed the dolls that I had left that got stolen when my life went upside down. As many nice MSD dolls as I have I just missed having SD sized dolls to play with and cuddle. I love my small dolls too but my SD dolls I can take them in my lap, you know? It's just a different feel compared to MSD sized dolls.

I've given up saying I won't do this or that because tiny to large if I see a doll that really appeals to me and I can actually afford it I'm not going to let size stop me from getting it and enjoying it.

 

I have to be (nearly) obsessed with the doll before I allow myself to make the purchase. Kind of liking a doll or ''I think I can make this work'' isn't enough, because I know I'll end up selling them, and that I want to avoid.
I tried to limit myself to one size only, but that flew out the window pretty fast

Other than that- my tastes are pretty particular, so my doll collection is automatically pretty cohesive. Also because I paint their faceups and make all their clothes and wigs myself, they automatically end up having a sort of red string connecting all of them.

 

I spent about a year doll-less in this hobby and saw people had a lot of the same issues, especially with the size of their collections. I only have three dolls, but they're all different sizes(SD, MSD, and 1/6 YOSD) and before I even consider hitting the button I HAVE to "sleep" on it and outline a whole plan for what the doll is gonna look like/their aesthetic so they don't just sit in a box untouched.

Of course there are exceptions where I have no solid plan but that's where the "sleeping" on it thing comes in and sometimes I even leave it up to fate regarding the price, especially if I'm buying secondhand

I've also got a list of all my favorite qualities and attributes of a doll like I prefer softer features etc.

This is the one thing I'm super meticulous about in my life lol

 

My only rule is not to keep buying dolls that look similar (human doll with the duck kiss). Otherwise the skies the limit to how I am feeling and what I want.

 

No rules, I just don't want too many. I need to focus on the ones I have, and if I find another I MUST have, I've got to weed one out..

 

I started out with rules, then kept finding exceptions. I try to insist on boxes when I purchase a doll (that's how I store them) but if I find one at a good price, I will get a carrier. I do keep a spreadsheet and records, and am working on a document to explain the dolls to my heirs that will go with my will/trust papers to make sure they don't get dumped at a thrift shop. (I had to settle my father's estate when he passed a few years ago. He did a lot of work to make things easier for us. I plan to do the same.)

 

Just a few for me:
1. The mold has to fit my existing dorrie crew (ie. no ultra-realistic head sculpts).
2. 70cm is the max size of the doll I can have.

Of course the rules I impose on myself can change, depending on either new releases of the perfect molds for my original characters, or re-releases of sculpts I fell in love with that were long gone.

 

I started out with no rules, but now that I have two dolls of different sizes and types I think I've learned some things about rules I'll need to follow for future dolls!

1/3 (55-60cm range) dolls only
My first doll was a slim MSD, and while I still love the look of that doll and find the size very convenient in some ways, after getting a 1/3 doll I realized I much prefer 1/3 scale overall. Clothes and wigs look better, clothes are easier to make, there's more mature sculpts and the bodies are pretty much always adults, whereas with slim MSD a lot of stuff like clothes and shoes are made for kid-style standard MSD which I really didn't like. 1/3 also feels more substantial and just overall I like the feel of the size more. I won't be selling my MSD but I won't be getting anything smaller than 55cm ever again!

Only dolls of characters I am absolutely obsessed with
Getting two dolls made me really aware of hard it is to balance more than 1 doll when it comes to buying and making stuff for them. I used to think I could handle a big collection, but I definitely need to keep it small, so I've decided to only get dolls of characters I really really like, whether that be official collab dolls (like Volks limited DD) or custom ones of OCs. I've also found I tend to care more about a doll if it's supposed to be a character I really like. I've tried making up characters for dolls I already really liked the sculpts of, to see if I should buy them, but those characters never stuck around, so I'm sticking to existing media characters and my already existing OCs that I know I love.

Only 1 custom project at a time
My first doll was meant to shell an OC, and finding the right stuff for her was honestly very tiring and took a lot of dedicated searching, so I want to stick to only working on one project OC doll at a time. I have 3 planned, but even if it takes a while I think it's worth it to avoid the headache of remembering what stuff is for what and from where. I feel like this is the rule I'm most likely to break...

 

I have no rules when it comes to dolls, an this is a huge problem for me ha ha . I lack space and funds, yet, I keep seeing cute dolls and sculpts I want. I usually don't have characters in mind that I want to shell into dolls. Those stay in my head, and I don't feel the need to make them into dolls. I usually buy a doll because it's cute, or the sculpt speaks to me (the character comes after). This makes my collection very diverse, but also overwhelming at times. I tried to limitate myself in the past, but I found that even more overwhelming than just keep on buying what I like or what makes me happy, because it made me feel guilty to even enjoy my dolls. So I decided to never restrict myself again, unless I really don't have the money or the physical space for the doll. But that doesn't mean I will never buy it. I just postpone the thing .

Okay, come to think of it, maybe I have one rule : none of my dolls should look similar in terms of sculpt (I don't mind the size, but if I own two dolls with very similar facial features, I feel like I wasted money on the same thing, unless they have different skin colours).

 

I typically go for the more fantasy body styles like elves, lambs, beasts, so really I just try to make sure I adore it and that I don't have anything too similar! I mainly use dolls to dress up for photos, so if I have too many similar dolls it gets kind of boring!

 

I'm starting this process after five years of Pokémon collecting (gotta own them all!), and I'm working on some general guidelines:
1. My aesthetics range to mature and big, but I have a few smaller dolls as "kids", I guess?
2. The secondhand market ain't great. Before buying a replacement, try:

a. modding (come here, Dremel) - everyone is getting cheekbone hollows
b. swapping parts (Frankendollies!)
c. painting a different color
d. creating parts (come here, Apoxie Sculpt)​

3. Start thinning out stuff I don't want, which usually ends up being frilly, pink, or a hat.
4. Do I need to buy it? Or can I try making it with my baby-learns-to-sew skills?
5. For stuff I know isn't going to sell, go to doll meets and dump gift.

Editing to add: my "keepers" have tons of optional hands, heel feet, heel legs - so I can constantly swap out parts and feel like I have a "different" doll, if that makes sense. Same with outfits and wigs. Doll looking a little tired? Been sitting on the shelf for too long? Time to wash and restring it, swap out the outfit, give it a new wig, and if I'm still bored, let's go to town on that face-up.

Edit #2: Can't believe I forgot this part: what helped me decide on my aesthetic was doing group photos. I put all of my dolls together and took pictures. The ones that just didn't "fit" got rehomed. Maybe it would help you too?

Edit #3: picture tax for edit #2 -

Family portrait sans cats

 

Unlike most people here, I don't have any OCs or media characters to base dolls on. Instead, I buy what I like. When I'm bored, why not a new doll? Or I see several that I like, so why not a group of friends? The problem is, I really prefer concentrate on just a couple of dolls at a time, otherwise I get overwhelmed.
After all this time, I have so many dolls that I seriously need to sell many, many of them, and I can't just buy any doll I feel like. For example, I was browsing around and found a very pretty doll. The body was good, the company was fine according to the thread. Why shouldn't I buy her?
This doll was not a "grabber". I didn't need her, and there are many cute dolls out there. It was hard, but I said no.
Now I'm trying not to look at new dolls.

 

1) Nothing bigger then 65cm or smaller then 15cm.
2) Vibe check on if it's the doll itself or the fullset that's appealing.
3) Buy outfits for dolls, not dolls for outfits, no matter how cool (or a pita to get on) the outfit is.
4) There better be a dang good reason for not getting the faceup and no "it's cheaper" doesn't count. The WIP list is ridiculous enough as it is.
5) No hybrids unless you already know what head and body are going together, poor Succor took years to get put together.

And the final rule:
6) Understand and accept that the rules will be broken if the doll is cool enough.

At this rate I'm gonna have to instate a one in, one out rule, jeeze.

 

I have a few, not super strict on these but like a general guide I made for myself based on how I have felt about some of my doll experiences so far.
1) Stick to MSD dolls. Some months ago I got my first SD doll second hand and while I really like him, he is my hardest doll to dress. I also feel like he is a bit much at 66 cm, so right now I don't really want anymore dolls this size or bigger...
2) Any future dolls should have a pre existing character or concept. My first doll is an exception to this, but the rest will follow this rule.
3) No buying without letting myself really think about it. I give myself a couple of days to a few weeks to "sleep on it" and if after that long I'm still really interested I will buy.
4) Since I prefer to not have to sell dolls, I need to be VERY sure this doll matches the concept I'm thinking of. I will not compromise on key features, especially since I don't really have an interest in modding my dolls.

I do try to follow these, but sometimes there are some newly released dolls that challenge these. I just need to remind myself that I follow them to help me give a lot more thought as to whether I actually want the doll or just like looking at it.

 

This is my doll plan I keep updating to see how they might work in my space. I have various rules for my collection. I haven’t sold a doll yet in 13 years of collecting. I’m only now considering how many is too many and maybe I should let go of some in order to make my collection feel right together. Doll companies and artists have grown lots and now there’s much more variety for bodies, sizes, sculpt styles etc. I used to have Kings planned for my queens but the collection plan felt too big.

1. Talk to my partner if a doll will cost more than my ‘personal allowance’ from our budget for the year. (Which is now basically every purchase)
   
2. Dolls only come home to shell characters
3. Must have a range of resin colours
4. Since they exist partially in Wonderland, ok to have different sizing.
   
5. Less than 30. Trying for less than 20.
   
6. Every doll must have at least one other doll as a partner that looks good for photos together. Either 2 from the same artist/company or from similar look.

 

This is such a neat and detailed way to organize things! How did you make the silhouettes for each doll, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Thanks, I’m a visual planner. I trace the bodies of photos with a vector illustration tool (Affinity Design). But for personal use only. In a past life I was a graphic designer.

 

I think I only have one, which is "I have to have an idea/plan for how I want this doll to look before I buy it". If I can't imagine anything I want to do with it, I shouldn't buy it, because then it'll just sit around forever. If I find myself ever not interested in a doll anymore, like I don't want to make things for it or take pictures, and looking at the doll doesn't make me happy, I know it's time to sell it.

 

My only rule originally was for everyone to look relatively cohesive together since they all sit together, so I picked SD and largely stuck to that with a few MSD who are just younger characters.

As my collection has gotten bigger I've found myself following some more loose rules.
1) I always have to ask myself before buying a doll if they are too similar to one I already have and if I'd rather have the new one more if they are. I'll just keep buying slightly different variations of the same thing if I let myself, this has saved me from several doll purchases I didn't need. Sleepy eyes+pouty mouth has me in a death grip.
2) I also added a no impulse purchase rule; I needed to sleep on it at least a few days and then show my partner. I don't need their permission or anything, it's just a good way to test if I was just dazzled by pretty doll or if I really truly wanted that one. They're very good at sussing out what brand of excited I am, and I am not.
3) I didn't originally shell characters, I just wanted pretty dolls to look at and didn't have a lot of OC's, but I've recently started to develop characters for the dolls I have so I'm trying to me more aware of if a doll inspires me to develop a character
5) I didn't think I'd ever set a hard size limit but 70-75cm is in fact the limit. I really don't want to go above that and I've found I prefer dolls to be closer to the 60-65cm range. I like SD's but that is just too big for me.

I've also started to ask myself when I browse dolls if I have one I'd be willing to trade for a new one. If the answer is yes, it's time for that one to go. It's only happened twice, but it's helped me keep a better pulse on how I feel about my dolls.