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Your opinion on dolls who are made into celebrities or fandom characters

Feb 17, 2013

    1. I've been a Gackt fan for many years, so a lot of his style has crept into my dolls. He's worn everything from visual kei to samurai costume to sexy black leather ensembles. He looked different at different points during his career, and on different tours, with maybe his eyebrows being a constant. It isn't hard for a doll to look like him, since he has such a symmetrical face. I would love to have the Gackt minimee, (or just the head,) but the only one I've seen come up for sale was around $1,000. Nope. I can't see why it should cost more than any other used minimee. I've seen the head available on AliExpress, but think I'd have to mod the cheeks to be less full.
       
    2. I think it's really cool - especially when the doll looks exactly like the celeb. It's not easy to reproduce an exact likeness of a real person in doll form and I admire anyone with this sort of modding talent.
       
    3. Even before I got into the hobby I thought I wanted dolls of the FFVII characters Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa and Genesis.
       
    4. I can appreciate dolls that aim for a character's aesthetic or style, or even to embody a pre-existing character itself. I personally wouldn't do the "totally embody a pre-existing character" thing; I'd rather create something original and put a lot of work into something that I can call 100% my own creation, rather than a fan-art to something else.

      But honestly, those sculpts that are exact replicas of REAL people's faces... sorta creep me out. Because it's not just a concept-fiction thing anymore. It's sort of literally an idol, which gives off the bad kind of creepy vibe for me :sweat. I just think, "what if a bunch of people were making dolls out of ME?" I guess some people find that appealing, but I find it kinda stalkerish! That's just my feeling though, obviously it doesn't hurt or stalk anyone x'D.
       
    5. I sometimes think that too. But then, many celebrities do have dolls and toys made to look like the characters they play. So I don't know if they actually feel as weirded out as most non-famous people would. I do appreciate that some dolls can look so real that it's hard to tell the difference. Wax museums amaze me. But they also fling me far right into uncanny valley territory. I don't know if I could have one in my house.

      I do love dolls and toys with simpler features made to represent characters though. They have just enough props/clothing so you know who they're suppose to be.
       
    6. Slightly off topic but going along with what brightberry said above, I do know some celebrities who are doll collectors. I do know that Demi Moore collects dolls, or used to. I was selling at a doll show many years ago (pre bjd) and she was a customer. But I agree, if I were a celeb I'd be flattered at first if someone made a doll of me, but then it would get kind of creepy if people went overboard with it.
      When I worked at Mattel back in the late 80s, we did lots of celebrity dolls. For the most part, the celebs were flattered, but I thought it was kind of creepy.
       
    7. [MENTION=68827]brightberry[/MENTION] That's very true, celebrities would probably be used to having toys made after them. But it's a little different when it's for a kid, vs. when it is something purely for a mature crowd like BJDs. Having adults drooling over your face rather than kids getting excited by it (or toddlers drooling on it too, lol) is sort of a different feeling. But I guess celebrities must also be used to it; lotsa them are aware of fanfiction and so on, so I suppose it comes with the territory! Simpler is better, I agree; better it embody the character than embody the actor/actress, I think. But it makes sense that people would carve out the faces of beautiful people, whether it's in a wax museum or a doll. I guess it's all about difference of comfort levels.
      [MENTION=68795]ParlourGoddess[/MENTION] That's really cool that you got to meet a celebrity doll collector! I'm surprised there isn't more of them.. it IS an expensive hobby, PERFECT for a celebrity's salary $_$. Also really cool that you worked for Mattel! But I suppose the celebrities are flattered that they're figures for kids to look up to and play with. I could also be flattered by that, I think.
       
    8. They are really like having your own customizable action figure. There are figures made to look like celebs and characters that they play. I don't see the bjd versions as any creepier than the figures as they are just another form of fan art.
       
    9. [MENTION=66599]BioniCandy[/MENTION] - actually, there are very lifelike action figures meant solely for adult collectors. Just check out Hot Toys 1/6 scale figures, they're pretty great. They look more like the actual person than any BJD ever will, and you can find pics of the actors playing with their respective figures.
       
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    10. [MENTION=3679]Kim[/MENTION] Oooh, very interesting! The detail is really nice there. But I guess it's still a bit different from a BJD, because you can't really customize those figures. It's one thing to have someone buy a set figure of you, it's another thing for someone to make and buy a naked doll of you, paint you and dress you up in ways you didn't exactly expect and so forth. Still, didn't know about hot toys! So cool how poseable some of them are, good to see adult action figure fans get products aimed for them, just as adult doll fans like us get BJDs aimed for us : D
       
    11. Hot Toys are brilliant and some of them are scarily accurate, my hubby has a few so i call them his dolly collection.
      the down side is they only come in 6th scale, so BJD lookalike dolls are a fantastic idea. I love the fact that you
      can customise them to that celeb or a number of characters they portray. I have a body for my first celeb doll on
      order for my Angelina Jolie head, she is 70cms and i am particularly happy as she will be a Lara Croft tribute doll
      in a decent size.
       
    12. I agree and disagree with this. For some people it's a fad, for others it's a bit more "true" fandom. I remember when everybody got LOTR Aragorn and Legolas Minimees. Where are they now? Are there any of those left that are still loved as much today as they were 5 years ago? It honestly depends on the owner. I saw a lot of Johnny Depp dolls donning Pirate or Sweeny Todd gettup. I simply had a Johnny Depp doll, not one of his characters. I only sold it because I was in a pinch at the time. As for taking general sculpts and turning them into specific celebrities or celebrity characters I don't see the harm in it. We love what we love, whether it fades at any point or not. People do lots of things with their dolls that they change later and it's still "a lot of money to invest."
      I sort of feel like what difference does it make between making a doll into Glenn Danzig or making one into a fairy? Is it because the fairy wasn't portrayed by a celebrity on television that it's more acceptable?
       
    13. I have a few fan dolls. I have a Bambi Crony Elf Pepe who I have set up as Link from the Zelda series. He was kinda an accident... he was originally an OC but the sculpt and the way I painted him just looked so much like Link that it stuck. Then I have two Chiclines who are Altaïr and Malik from Assassin's Creed but they are both still works in progress. I've been planning them for years. I also have a Volks Black Cat Lucas who is heavily inspired by Dylan O'Brien for his faceup although he isn't supposed to be a Dylan O'Brien doll... I just think the moles are adorable.

      I really love seeing fan dolls as they are characters I more easily recognize than OCs. It's like you see that doll and you immediately know what their personality is. (not that I don't totally LOVE OCs as well!!!)
       
    14. I think it's okay, I guess. It isn't my thing since some of these dolls I've seen just don't fit my liking, but if the owner is happy with their doll, then so be it :D
       
    15. The one "celebrity" I would LOVE to have a doll of is Nefertiti, the exquisite sculpture of Akhenaten's queen in the Berlin museum. That has to be the most beautiful face in the world. Ideally the head should be sized to go on an Iplehouse EID female body in a resin compatible with Iplehouse's light brown resin. A girl can dream, can't she?
       
    16. Oh man, I'd buy that! Given their new release Isis, that could be a possibility some day! Maybe... can you imagine an Iple Egyptian line? SQUEE.
       
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    17. My dolls are heavily influenced by my favorite singers. Their style, personalities, and quirks are all drawn from my favorite singers. Music is so important to me creatively and emotionally, my inspiration to create dolls stems from songs, albums, etc. So yes, I think it's awesome when dolls are made to look like celebrities/are inspired by celebrities.
       
    18. I tend to obsess over fictional characters A LOT, and I was thinking a good way to pay tribute to my favorite characters would be to model a BJD after them. There are a couple Telenovela charecters I would LOVE to have in BJD form. :love I would also love to have both Heath's Joker and Leto's Joker as BJDs. Maybe Bruce Wayne...Momo from Peachgirl...The list goes on and on!!!

      So I was just wondering, have any of you done this? Do you think of it as "cosplay" for your doll or is your doll literally meant to be that character?
       
    19. My 5Star Tumnus was supposed to become Genesis from FFVII, and he is still named Genesis, but he prefers to be just an ordinary young man instead. So I gave up the idea.

      If I had the money I really would like to have Genesis, Sephiroth, and Cloud dolls. I've seen some modded dolls that look absolutely amazing. But they are out of my price range regretfully.
       
    20. My dolls are my characters. Mostly cause I own said characters.

      In terms of modeling them after other characters (I'd love to have an excuse to buy a doll and model it after Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service) I'd probably think of it as cosplaying if I don't want it to be a permanent look, but if I did I'd consider the doll as the character...kind of. I'm not really sure to be honest. Guess I'd have to try it and find out.