Why just a head?

In addition to some of the more common reasons listed here, I also buy heads when I am unsure which will work best for a character--it is much cheaper to buy multiple heads than multiple full dolls.

 

I bought heads separately before. In some cases it was because the head was sold separately by the company, like my Switch Seolrok and Esthy Peroth heads. On other cases it was because buying the head was the only option... I bought both my Williams and Reisner heads separately because that's what was available at the time and they were both much cheaper than buying them as a full-set. Half the time, I prefer some other body over what the heads come with as a default anyways so it's a win-win situation. I don't have to spend the extra buck on a rare body (SD17 body in my case) and I don't have to worry about selling it afterwards because I wanted a different body for that particular head to begin with. I also recently got another head separately and I prefer the default body for that head but at the time, I could only afford getting the head by itself so now I'll have to go on a hunt for the body...

 

Well it's already been said, but for me, it's either because only the head is available (eg LLT dolls are usually released as heads-only, Youpla Dolls Zenji, etc) or because I don't like the body it comes with.
My Volks Shiratori is bodiless because that's the way I found her on the MP, and I didn't want the original body because it was Volks' old single-jointed tenshi body. My Bluefairy mini is bodiless because she was my first doll and it was before I knew about single vs double jointed dolls, and pretty quickly realized I hated her single joints xD so now she is waiting for a replacement.

 

I have 2 spare heads that came as promotional items with whole doll purchases. My 3rd head I bought intentionally without a body. It's an Elfdoll K and I love his pouty/angry look but I didn't like the way their bodies looked. So I'm still searching for a proper size body that I can purchase so that he will be complete.

 

One reason I bought my k-doll Kamyu head without a body is because the company wasn't producing bodies at the time lol!

 

I have a couple of hybrids with a lot more planned. For me, it's usually the result of finding the head for the character I have in mind only to realize the body is too short or too tall for that character in relation to the rest of my crew. With the females it gets even trickier finding the right bust size as well as body type/height. With hybrids, I can get the body I want and the head I want. I only need to worry about neck size and resin matching.

 

I feel like the main thing you look for in a doll is its head. Like you don't buy a full doll just for its body. But sometimes the body just doesn't fit the head right for what you're looking for. So you go shopping for bodies!

 

I've done both, and between the two it is a lot easier just to get the whole thing together if you can. I did that for Resinsoul since their dolls are already financially friendly. She showed up all put together and ready for pictures, so that by far was the easiest purchase between the two.

I mainly made my MSD a hybrid because it was cheaper to get the DIM head on a cheaper Mirodoll body, and the skin tone happened to match without color match service so that was extra fantastic. The head itself was still expensive since I got the faceup with it, but man did I still save a good amount by going with a Mirodoll body! Plus they sell shoes so they are a guaranteed fit.

 

I found the sculpt l'Armoire de DanDan Sculpt: Harlan (Gore Version) and instantly saw the Phantom of the Opera in that head. I just had to have it. I finally found it and have it being sent to me. I was first looking into taking an existing sculpt and deforming it, using any method I could find, but this took the work out of it. It was perfect. Finding a body was a bit of a challenge, but I feel this will be the best doll in my collection. Even found the perfect outfit. Needs a little tailoring, but that is simple.

Sometimes we just want the perfect head for a character and the right body for it.

 

Hmm... my personal experience is, I like Fairyland heads... not a big fan of Fairyland bodies... so I want to hybrid the head onto a dollzone body. nothing about money or price. just preference.

 

So, I used to be afraid of making hybrids.. That didn't last. In my current collection, I have four dolls that aren't hybrids, and three hybrids, with three bodies waiting for heads (all of which will be hybrids). I really like making hybrids, actually, cause if you can blush dolls, you can hide the colour differences, and then you get heads and bodies that suit characters better. The reasons for my three complete hybrids were mostly to better suit characters. Frost needed a blue body, but a smiling face (April story spring/withdoll Cecily body), and Jo needed fins (soom cass body that I scored second hand, f65 Angela head), and darkness came as a spare head with Katherine, so she needed a body (withdoll non-cracked Adriana/rs 60 cm body).

 

If I or you have spare body, It can share..

 

What I don't get is why some people sell doll heads for the same price as a full doll. Not even limited edition, just....a regular head.

 

I have three motives for wanting just a head. First and foremost, the desired mold in question is a FairyLand Juri 2012, an event head. Second, Juri is pricey enough on her own without a body in tow. Third, Juri fits on a body that's still relatively easy to obtain. Based on those three things I'll just buy a Juri head when and if I get the chance, and then a body.

 

First, the price.
I buy just heads because getting a full doll is just way too much money... heads are easier to afford.
I can afford a ~200$ head every now and then but not a 800$ full doll each time...
They often are sold out fast, limited edition, only on sale for a couple days, etc... getting that head right away and then later getting a body is just more reasonable.

Second, the sculpts.
I sometimes love heads from companies that have hideous bodies, and bodies from companies that have only ugly heads... so I like to hybrid a lot. I would never want a doll that I liked the head of but absolutely hated the body of, they both have to be good.

Third, duplicate bodies.
I don't like the thought of having two of the same body even when I have a lot of heads from the same company, so I will avoid getting a body I already own! I prefer diversity in heights and body builds so I'd rather buy a completely new body later.

Fourth, body sharing.
Unless you absolutely want all your heads to have permanent bodies for themselves so you can pose them together and all of that, it's really easy and nice to have several heads share a body. They can take turns, you can have the head you currently like most out on the body, etc.
I am not sure which heads I will keep right now, so I do not need a body for each of those heads. Maybe if I were sure and had a smaller collection, I'd want them "complete" so every head has a body and that's it, no spare parts, but right now I don't really care.

 

It's worth noting that some heads are ONLY available as heads--either they were an event thing, or the company only makes heads at that point. The latter case is how I wound up with a disembodied head in a mason jar for over two year. XD (Well, and the fact that she wound up switching characters eventually, that accounts for the sheer amount of time she was in the jar.

 

At present, I've got the following reasons for my floating heads:
Event head, Limited head, gorgeous heads but bodies not good enough, different heads for one body, and, head I don't like (though I thought I would) for body I do like.
Basically, I'll need to sell some because they take too much space.

 

The head is typically the important part. You can get a body for it later or if you already have one. For Dollfie Dreams, a lot of the allure of the head only is buying a custom face up that's beautiful. The sellers of these typically buy the head for under $100 with blank face, work their magic, and then sell the head. Some sculpts and faces are running over $2000 USD on yahoo japan auctions for just the head. But they are one of a kind items.

 

I usually only buy just a head when it is limited or may be discontinued soon.

 

I have seriously almost bought 3 heads because I liked the mold, the type and in particular the faceups that were done on them. I figure finding bodies to match wouldn't be that hard. I like the idea of the whole doll but I have seen heads I really liked but their bodies weren't want I wanted