where do all the old dolls go?

Another year has passed, meaning more of my dolls are five years old. So weird! Soom Deneb, Light Onyx, Shadow Onyx, Bix and Volks Genji were all limiteds from 2008. And I did win that auction, so I have a Volks SD Ushiwakamaru from 2005. I had to patch up his cracked knee and he's a little yellowed, but his default face-up is still intact. I also bought a Volks Cristal from the NY Dolpa release. Can't remember what year that was but she was first sold in 2007.
I have since let go of my Gomi Igon because he no longer fit in with my more realistic crew and I never photograph my Shiwoo anymore because his newer alternate head fits in better as well. I guess that's generally the reason I don't post particular dolls anymore - it's not that I don't think others won't want to see them in photos, it's just that I don't particularly want to see them in photos! O__o

 

I think also as some dolls change hands over time, and are modified and frankensteined, they can loose their identity and then eventually they wind up in someones hands as a damaged yellowed anonymous doll that could be from anywhere?? Then what do you do with such a doll?? would anyone be interested in seeing pictures of or owning such a doll??

Case in point about a year or so ago I came across a BJD on a local auction site, in quite bad condition, with no identity at all. Just listed as a BJD. So I decided to buy it as a restoration project, and to "rescue" the poor needy doll and attempt to find out what it was. Well she arrived to me spray painted brown as the seller decided that since she was badly yellowed and uneven that she should paint her before sending her???why??
After a week of careful wet sanding I had removed all the spray paint and decided to post a thread trying to find out who this doll was. Eventually it turns out the doll is a very early Angel Region doll, the closest I can see is that the head is probably an Angel Region Lucyel on an Angel Region fair girl body, but apparently Luciel was meant to be a boy, and if as it appears it is a Lucyiel, there were only about six of them made! It is a wonder what has happened in these years for a milky white Lucyiel head to turn up here in New Zealand on a big clunky early normal skin Angel Region body, but it saddens me that such a rare doll was treated so badly, and lost it's identity.

I have restored said doll to a good condition, and have wanted to sell it as it is too stylized for my doll family, I feel I have done my part with this doll, and want to now find it a home where it will be loved, but how do you sell such a doll?? this is another dilemma, how do you prove such an old doll is what it is?? It seems like it would be very difficult. I think that may be another problem with the sale of old dolls, packaging, cirtificates etc can be lost over time, companies dissolve, sculpt names can be forgotten and then a doll becomes an anonymous relic.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

-- Well being that it's 2013 yuuuup XD

AngelRegion NT Kai (2004 ish) -- back when they were their own company XD
Soom - Tan Godo (2008)
" " " - Topaz
" " " - Vesuvia
Luts Delf - El (2006 ish)
Musedoll - Thalia (2006ish)
Luts Delf - Moon (2007)
Dollzone - Orlando (2008 ish at least)

I don't remember if there's anybody else XD But yeah a lot of oldies. :3

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

-- On occasion but I don't usually put the pictures up on DoA. Most of my crew is hanging out in the closet nowadays :3

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
-- Nope, but I haven't really bought many second hand dolls recently period. The last doll I bought 2nd hand was my DZ Orlando, and that was years ago, up until recently where I got a couple of tinies second hand :3

What state are these dolls in now?
-- Just as wonderful as when I got them. They're hanging out in their boxes, but dressed nicely with beautiful face ups and wigs.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
-- I keep them put up for space, but also because I know that if they get damaged or break I'll never be able to replace them at this point in time.


@ OP's Topic Question: I think a lot of the people that own these older sculpts have either just left the hobby or at least the community aspect of it. I don't post pictures of much of anything anymore but that's because I work now and juggle a hecktic family and social life. A lot's changed for me since I brought my first boys home in 2007, but whenever I bust them out, I take a billion shots of them because I still love them to pieces. Just like the first day I got them. xD

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Most of my dolls are older than 5 yrs but only a few are no longer sold;
- Luts (Cerberus Project) - Woosoo Delf (2005)
- Volks - Emma SD13 (2005)
- Volks - Anne Yo-SD (2205)
- Bambicrony - Grey Elf Pepe (2006?)
- Volks - Cristal SD13 (2207)

I don't really post them on DoA but that has little to do with their age. I usually share pics through flickr etc.

They're all in pretty good condition. Obviously there is some yellowing but all the volks dolls age really well. The only one out of the bunch who hasn't is my Elf Pepe. At the time they were one of the first companies that released their molds in different colours. He has NOT aged well
Very uneven yellowing that looks quite sickly and odd with his natural grey colour.

 

.....

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

Yes, a DIM Sergei girl, a Dream of Doll Bee-a on the original body and I think my Elfdoll Vampire Red and LE Soah are just turning five.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

Yes. I put up pictures of my Sergei and my Bee-a just recently, in the discussion threads.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

Yes. The Bee-a just a few months ago.

What state are these dolls in now?

Just fine. The Sergei has has a lot of work done because both the head and body were damaged. She recently got a full body sand. My Vampire Red is yellowing a bit to a creamier tone, and has a broken finger I've pinned, but other than that they're in great shape. The Bee-a came to me in like-new condition.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?

I do put them on the forum. I don't necessarily expect a lot of response, but I still like to show them off! My new and old dolls are treated just the same.

I've got a weakness for the old Iple YIDs as well and might acquire one of them eventually.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

No. It's because I started this hobbies just over an year ago.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

No since I don't have them right now. But I definitly see myself taking photo of the dolls I currently own 10 years later.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

No, but I'm willing to. Some of the older models are great buy won't come out anymore.

What state are these dolls in now?

I always wondered the same question as you. And my theory is that the head and body get splited during the transactions on marketplace and eventually they get abandoned seperately.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
2006
1 IH Cocori , 2 Elfdoll RuRu, 1 DM Mellow

2007
2 Aaron's
1 Souldoll Lee Jun Ki

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA? Yes, but not as much as before. I don't have the same amount of time as I had 5 years ago.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
I have but that sculpt is only 4 years of age now.

What state are these dolls in now?
I still have them out and I take group pictures at times, I like the new sculpts and I see the diffrence in looks from the anime features to the more realistic human features which I prefer.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why? N/A

 

Not really on topic because his mold is stilll being sold, but I have a doll who's about 6 years old and a second hand event doll that's 4 years old. I'm really interested in the responses to this topic. I'll never sell my dolls given the choice, so they'll probably always be on my shelves, being photographed or posed etc. It's strange when certain sculpts seem to slide off the face of the Earth.

 

My oldest doll is 9 and my newest is like 2 but I don't post pictures of any of them. Besides, the asthetic of the old dolls isn't popular any more, who would even look but me?

 

Dollshe Mai, I have two of these sold out already, Ndoll Petit but not sure if its 5 yrs old yet, Baby Pipos Alice , Custom House Enfant and Bebe (is custom house still open?), Happy Dolls 8inch, Leeke D heads I collect a lot but they are still in production though at leeke..

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
I have a Serendipity Nightmare Sharmin (LE of 30 from 2005)- who still has her original face up/ original clothes/wig/etc.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
No

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
No

What state are these dolls in now?
This doll is in amazing condition- her resin is still paper white even after all these years! I see how some of my other WS dolls have gone a little creamy-yellow over the years- but not little Nightmare Sharmin, she's still white as snow.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
I have never been one who likes to post many photos- even though I love taking pictures! I felt more at home on DOA back in the old days where the forum was 'smaller', these days I feel I don't know a single soul on here! So yea, I'm a little too shy to post pics! :/ Anyways, I still take many pics- including pics of my older dolls- but I just keep them pics to myself :3

EDIT:: I have a KooDoll Blue too...which I totally forgot about (and now he's grumpy because I didn't remember him!) However, this doll has yellowed quite a bit from his original white resin- other than that he's alive and well :3

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

Yes, my Souldoll Tiffee, my Serendipity Alice and my Unidoll Chabi

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

Yes, but because I have a lot of dolls and try to photograph them all equally, up to a year can go by between pictures of them!

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

A few months ago I bought my Serendipity Alice (my grail doll!)

What state are these dolls in now?

My Tiffee is on a MNF body by now. Her head is in good shape. Alice is in almost-mint condition. Chabi was very yellowed when she got here, but I have dyed her back to a more peachy color.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?

I don't own any dolls I don't post here.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Yes, lord yes. All my Delfs are not sold anymore, and my first is from 2005, and one might be late 2004 or early 2005. Maybe even more, like my Volks Ken and Maki T.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
In their discussion thread but not usually alone in a gallery thread.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
No, but I'm about too!

What state are these dolls in now?
I'd say in pretty good condition, if not very good. I know some have yellowed, due to the age, but other than that, they're in great condition!

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
Yes and no. In the threads discussing them...but not beyond it. Most members are so new they don't know these dolls and ignore them. So it makes me feel I wasted my time posing them, taking the picture, uploading to the comp, fixing it, then uploading to photobucket, then making the gallery thread here. So I enjoy them myself.

 

Even if I'm not particularly active on DoA, I've been in the hobby for many years now and my dolls' ages reflect that XD.


Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
2004 Hypermaniac Choyangbi
2005 Delf Breakaway
2005 Elf Yder
2006 Dollzone Xi
2007- Limited "Queen Ellie" WS Elfdoll Sooah

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
I've never been that great at photographing them, and rarely post photos on DoA, but I still play with them pretty often.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
Most recent was my Choyangbi, who I probably grossly overpaid for judging by other Choyangbi that appeared on the market afterwards. However, I had fallen in love with that particular doll and was pretty devastated at missing her the first time she was sold. Thus, when she appeared again, I ended up accepting the price and buying her.

My breakaway was also very overpriced (though the mold was pretty popular back then so it was more reasonable rather than comparing to prices today), but he was the first doll that made me overcome my paranoia of buying secondhand and to this day remains my favorite doll.

What state are these dolls in now?
Well, my Breakaway and Choyangbi were both yellowed when I bought them. My dolls are generally kept in display cases or rooms away from any sunlight, so if they have yellowed in the years I've had them, I haven't noticed.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
Yes, because I never did. I enjoy my dolls a lot and generally don't feel the need to take photos or post anything. When I "play" with them, it is more changing their clothes/occasionally wigs for kicks and admiring them or holding them. I will sometimes take them out for photos or events, but I'm lazy and don't like posting...

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
I have an original oldskin Volks Nana from... 1999? (still sold of course, but one of the oldest BJD around, I think)
Original Volks Lucas I got used in 2000 (I think)
Volks:
Hewitt (original)
Myu (original)
Swd white Nana (bought used)
SDC Renee (bought used)
Hypermaniac:
Rui (2003)
Choyangbi & Hahanbi (2004)
Gye-Do (2005?)
Ishta & Skadi (2006?)
Choyangbi renewal (2007)
Kakiva (2007)
Muse (bought used)
Sirang (bought used - 2003 release)
Bambicrony colored elves: 2 blue, green, pink (original year - forget when)
Sooah and Soah and original Limhwa
Soom Beryl (2008)
Customhouse Uriel, 2 others (can't remember dates/names)
Original first release Unoa (forget date)
I am tired so I am sure I am forgetting some.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

I still photograph them but I don't post.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

I bought a Hypermaniac Sirang from 2003 a few months ago. And (another) Hypermaniac Rui last year.

What state are these dolls in now?

They vary drastically. Oldskin yellowed much more than more recent skins (so far anyway). Most of my Hypers have mellowed without going TOO yellow, although the used Rui I bought was distinctly yellower than my own which I had cleaned regularly through the years and not exposed to much light. The old Bambicrony elves yellowed a lot a first and then I locked them away in dark, closed places and they don't seem to have yellowed much /more/ although they still rather appear to be zombified. Oldskin Volks (the ones that are over 10 years old) are pretty yellowed by comparison to newer dolls but still look fine on their own (except my first Nana, who was exposed to more light than the rest before I knew better). The SWD whiteskin Nana I got was pretty yellow, and I admit I was rather disappointed about that because I'd asked the seller repeatedly about yellowing and they said 'consistent with age' but I have dolls the same age and older that have not yellowed so much. More recent resins seem to hold up better (although let's give them ten years before we say for sure).

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?

I own tons of old doll sculpts and don't put them on the forum because I don't put any of my dolls on the forum. If I had time, I probably would, but I've got so many thing that are demanding my attention first, I just don't get around to photographing and posting the way I always intend to, especially since some of my dolls have really spectacular faceups by Angeltoast and Sdink among others. I want to show them off but I seem to never get around to it.

 

That's really interesting to me, ryochan, because I would have said exactly the opposite, from my experience with Volks oldskin. My 1999 Sara looks much "newer" and fresher than my Tony, and as far as I know there hasn't been any significant difference in their exposure to light. My oldskin, pre-headplate Nono, Ryo, and F-06 heads are all on pureskin bodies, and all three heads have yellowed less than the much newer bodies they're on. On the other hand, I have an oldskin Michael who is nearly French-resin yellow all over, poor thing--I can only wonder what happened to him before I got him!

One thing I have noticed, in the conditions where my dolls live, is that faceups sealed with Testors Dullcote yellow much faster than those sealed with MSC. This is probably completely different from other people's experience; I've learned, over the years, that there's no single answer to any question about BJDs' aging process. There's so much we don't know about BJD resins' variability under different conditions, isn't there? Maybe temperature and humidity factor into yellowing/aging, just as much as light does?

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

Yes I have a Volks SwD Nana LE in beauty white who was made in 2004 which I bought second hand

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

Yep I have some photos of her in the gallery at the moment.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

Yes I only got her a few weeks ago .

What state are these dolls in now?

She's in great condition, the beauty white skin was more yellow than the other white skins that volks released so she was always a little yellow toned anyway and she doesn't really look to have yellowed much since compared with any of my other dolls, damage wise etc she is perfect no chipping or anything and she has a gorgeous custom face up which I much prefer to the original.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?

I don't own any dolls I haven't posted about on the forum.

 

Where do the old dolls go? Well, for me, they're packed away safely and come out as they have been for the last many years. Just because they're old doesn't mean I love them any less and in fact I cherish them even more.

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
A few! Volks Suiseiseki, Volks Carol, Volks Emma. My Lati Blue Shaina is the only tanned skintone incarnation Lati ever released and is also over five years old although the sculpt isn't retired.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
I'm a slacker with photos LOL, even when they were new I never really took any pictures and I semi regret it, but taking photos and posting them just isn't how I enjoy the hobby for the most part. The only dolls I've ever photographed a ton are my Lati Yellows and White because of the ease in traveling with them versus the bigger dolls.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
I haven't but I totally wish I could!

What state are these dolls in now?
They've beautifully yellowed. I don't get what the fear is with yellowing, maybe I'm just not exposed to "bad" yellowing but all of my girls are a creamy yellowy color and I actually prefer it. I think yellowing is inevitable as I kept these dolls completely away from sunlight in a cool room and it still occurred. The tanned Lati Blue who is over five years old has stayed the same as she arrived and her tan hasn't changed color with time.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
I tried to answer this above; I think some people find great enjoyment in taking and posting photos and I used to be this way a long long time ago, but it isn't how I enjoy my older dolls who are all a bigger size than my tinies. My tinies are the ones I take pictures of as I can easily pack them and take them on plenty of misadventures in nature (Taking pictures while I'm out is literally the only way I enjoy photo-taking), any of my bigger dolls are just epically beautiful to look at and not many photos have been taken over the years, and it has nothing to do with age.

 

I love this topic!

It's been several years since I've become a part of this hobby, and I get sooooo nostalgic when I see dolls that were popular when I was a newbie. This extends even to dolls whose aesthetic appeal I didn't "get" at the time - I definitely appreciate them a lot more now!

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Yes. I have around 20 BJDs now, and all but three or four are discontinued molds (and the ones that are still open edition are not big sellers; see Secretdoll Yomo, for example).

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
Oh, I am the biggest hypocrite about this! I get super excited when I see the old sculpts in the gallery, but I never post any myself! I am not the world's best photographer and have yet to share photos here...

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
Yes, nearly all my dolls are secondhand and I am always on the lookout for sculpts I missed back during their original production.

What state are these dolls in now?
Like all BJDs, they've yellowed a bit, but they aren't shut up or locked away. I keep them all out on display where I can enjoy them!

Do you own old doll sculpts and don't put them on the forum, why?
See above! The hobby though, for me, has always been about my own enjoyment and love of these dolls. I don't adore them any more or less for not photographing them. However, I think that from this thread's existence alone that there are many other people in the same boat who might appreciate seeing these "old friends" again in the Gallery, so I might be picking up that camera soon...