Would you mod a grail doll?

I would, but thankfully for me, all the sculpts I like aren't limited. So there is little stake for me to worry for (worst case: buy the head again)

In your case, however, if you have your grail and you always think about the mods you want to do, would you enjoy your grail, or would you just see "what it could be" and feeling perpetually unsatisfied? I'd say: sleep on it, you are doing a layaway so there is still time before taking a decision.

 

It depends. If it's a really hard to find doll: no way. I don't even plan to change the factory face up on my grail doll.

 

Speaking generally, I don't see a problem with it. But, thinking about it using my actual grail as an example - I definitely wouldn't myself. My grail and all time favorite doll is Volks Rinon and part of the reason that this is my favorite doll is because the doll is perfect to me at base. I also have a strong emotional attachment to my Rinon and I know I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I messed anything up.
If modding is what you want to do though, I don't see a problem with it. At the end of the day, it's your doll and what matters is that you love it and you have fun with it. I just recommend that, for anyone reading this, you don't start modding for the first time on your grail. That's just a recipe for heartbreak

 

Yea generally there is no problems with modding it but personally would rather not.

My grail has only 100 made in korea and another100 available worldwide. I personally believe there's only 40-ish of her leff going around. (Most people quit with them) it was made in 2011 and earlier so

I wouldn't want to mod my grail doll but I'm close to owning 3 copies. 2 non-modded and one modded (from sleeping to open eye) i bought her that way

I'm considering modding it back to sleeping head but I'm back not sure if i should either. Resin matching etc.

I wouldn't recommend modding it unless the grail is easy to get second hand. You won't know if you'll regret it

 

I personally wouldn’t, but that’s because I don’t usually have a want to. I think semi-permanent or non-permanent mods are also very cute in their own way, too! Like perhaps, detachable elf ears or something similar. I think it’s lovely to see modded dolls of all sorts of walks of life (discontinued, one offs, etc). But I think what’s most important is that you enjoy your doll. Plus, there’s plenty of mods that can be reversed with some careful resculpting as long as you have a good reference and steady hand!

 

I absolutely would and have. I had to really hunt for a Volks Saki back when she came out, and when she arrived her face was a little too puffy for my tastes so I sanded her down a bit and she was even more gorgeous. My wife has a Delf If we handed over to a talented friend who wanted to try eye closing mods, and she’s honestly perfection with dreaming eyes.

If you’re confident you can do it well, I say have at it. It’s your doll, and it’s supposed to make you happy.

ETA I think it’s tricky to have this conversation when it seems like everyone here has a different idea of what “grail” means. I read OP’s post as like, would you mod a doll that would be hard to obtain again if you decide you liked it better the other way, not this big emotional manifestation of the perfect doll that should not be sullied.

 

I wouldn't trust myself to do it, but if I had a vision I felt really attached to I would probably find someone I could trust to enact that even on a grail doll. I would think of it the same way as any other customization options! Like, if I'm still considering it a week or more after the thought occurred to me, it's probably worth it to try.

 

I would absolutely not hesitate to turn a grail into the doll of my dreams, and I have! It took me forever to find my Luts limited Baby Delf Daisy Elf in tan skin. The first thing I did when she arrived home was to drill holes in her headcap to inset magnets for antlers to turn her into the deerling of my dreams. Hey, my doll, my dream! Nothing else matters.

 

Easy answer first: heck, yeah. When I'm getting a doll, I'm shelling a character and that character is more important to me than any sculpt.

Long answer: I think the whole notion of a "grail" doll is a problematic mindset to get into. If you get it set in your head that this is the perfect doll for you, then find it years...or even just months later...you're not the same person you were when you first set your sights on that doll. You gain experience with other dolls. Your tastes change. You grow older. I think we can dig in our heels a little too hard sometimes. But...if it still utterly rings your chimes, and your gut still says "this is the one", the question becomes how do you make it something you will always feel that way about.

Because you're thinking about things (open mouth, elf ears) that have become highly popular in sculpts in the last year or so...I'd take a look at WHY you're wanting to make those changes. Is it because these types of sculpts have appealed to you and because you now have a chance at your grail, you're trying to make your money serve a dual purpose? Is your grail a doll you have a character all set for? Is that character still active in your head? Did he/she have elf ears? Are you planning on doing photostories? Will an open mouth limit the emotions the doll can portray in a story setting?

I'm very much a "make it my own" kind of person. I'd change it without regrets. And yet, having said that, I'm preparing to try to duplicate the default faceup my Wiishu came with because the little faceup was the look that captured me from the moment I saw it, and it still has that power...he's just gotten dinged up in the last ten years. OTOH...I purchased a second faceplate on which I will attempt to copy his original faceup. His original faceplate will never be erased.

So...There you go. I don't think the answer is easy and I think it's very personal. I wish you well. If you've just made a downpayment, at least you have plenty of time to think about it!

 

I write that way in case anyone new to the hobby is lurking or digs up these posts in the archives in the future. I didn’t mean to imply anything by it.

 

OMG! YES YES YES!

 

Yeah, I’d mod my grail. Twigling Ingenieuses are hard to com by, and I don’t think I want any mods for her, but if I decided she’d look better with mods, I’d do it. I might make additive mods removable if I wasn’t sure, but nothing is above modding to me. This is a hobby I use for creating, reinterpreting and bringing to life characters.

I also at this point can’t jump on board the idea of a grail. It’s just a really romanticized notion, if some infinitely perfect, unattainable doll. I’ve wanted unattainable dolls (most of which I’ve found, honestly) and I’ve considered dolls perfect (most of which were good, great even, but few perfect, you know?) I think there’s a lot of heartbreak associated when you just don’t click with a doll you considered a grail, or a lot of emotional investment in the search, that I’m just not up for. Ingenieuse is a doll I want to have, who I think looks amazing, who is hard to find, but I’ve missed out on two, and it stung but I rolled with it. It isn’t sustainable for someone like me, already prone to big ups and downs to sink that much emotional energy into a doll, so my answer here is limited, because I don’t really vibe with the understanding of grails.

 

I think it is inherent in a Grail doll to embody our greatest vision in doll form, so I would absolutely mod a grail doll if it brought it in line with that vision.

That said, I also know how nerve wracking such an idea can be! Grails are grails because they are hard to attain, but still chased after because we can't let them go. I think in the end, you have to weigh what you really need from your Grail. Is it the pristine concept of the original artist? Is it a vessel for your own aesthetic ideals or ideas? Is it a canvas to enact your inspiration on? Is it a sense of completion? These are all valid. At the end of the day, if you look at your grail and see ghosts that you are afraid to chase...I know for me...I would find that unsatisfying. It might take me a while, but I think I would want to see my vision to the end.

 

I feel exactly the same. My dolls are there to serve a purpose (being a visual representation of a character), which is why I even own some dolls I personally don't think are THAT pretty but I accepted are just perfect for the character in question.
Some dolls I think are perfect in every way, and I would probably own them without the OC attached if I'd be that kind of collector simply because I love their aesthetic. Others I know would not be here without having that role they are serving.
I also get rid of dolls when I feel another does the job better, or when I am no longer interested in this story/character.

Because of that I to this day also don't have a grail doll. There is just no doll that makes me go "I have to have this, it's super hard to get, it's the one above all the others for me".
I have rare dolls, hard to get dolls, dolls that mean a lot to me...but they all serve a purpose. If they wouldn't, a lot of them would probably be sold off
Which is also why I would have no qualms modding, when it's required for the job.

Thirding this, definitely follow that advice.
Never do anything for the first time on something that is hard to replace and/or could be permanently damaged. People don't learn a craft with expensive materials first either.

 

Yes, if that was what would make me happiest. At the end of the day that's the only thing that matters. So if you are happiest to buy a fullset doll and keep them minty, do it. If you are happiest to get out the dremel and use them only as a base for your own artistic vision, then do that! I have modded plenty of very rare dolls because what would be the point having them and constantly wishing they were slightly different when I could just do it?

 

This has really turned into an interesting thread! I'm really enjoying everyone's comments.

Thinking about whether I have/had a "grail" has become interesting. Certainly, once I decided I was going to shell my two main guys from my books, I found myself in a quandary, trying to find sculpts that would work. I never expected to find one that was perfect, especially for Stephen, but in the way of things, I had no hard and fast idea of what they looked like. I certainly spent many hours on a quest seeking the faces that "spoke" to me...and I mean a lot of hours. I found a couple of possibilities for Wesley, one of which recently showed up on the MP (YAY), but nothing currently available said "Stephen." Then, out of nowhere, his head showed up on the MP. Wrong color. Straight hair rather than curly. And not...quite...perfect, but OMG, there he was. It was a ten year old plus, long since retired sculpt. Not only have styles have changed immensely, but the faceups I've since seen of the sculpt would never have "grabbed" me (certainly not the default...and I'm pretty good at looking past the faceup to the sculpt) None of them let the simple purity of the sculpt shine through the way this one did. So, the chances I'd have found him, if not for that chance sale, are very slim. I was prepared to buy (and had bought) a sorta kinda like him sculpt and planned to try to "find" him through modding. (Thanks to the "right" one, I now have something to mod that face into, for a different expression) Finding him on the MP was a little miracle.

Even so, I'll be sanding some of the rounded curves into planes.

So, if a grail is the prize at the end of a difficult quest for a certain thing of great emotional investment, I guess, yes, I understand the concept, and, yes, I wouldn't hesitate to mod it to make it perfect...for me.

 

I don’t currently have a grail, but if I needed to mod the doll to make it truly what I wanted, I’d commission someone to do it, since I’d probably ruin it myself. However, I probably wouldn’t buy a modded doll unless the mod was professionally done and fit my character. I’ve passed over some sculpts I really loved because they had mods I didn’t like—mostly amateur elf ears and scars.