Your reaction when you received your Dream or first Doll ?

I love this thread and the stories!
So my first Japanese doll was an Obitsu I'd found rummaging through a box in a nominoichi. I'd been at an anime convention all weekend and envying all the doll collectors with their beautiful creations and was despairing of ever being able to afford a doll, even a minifee, and just as my heart was heaviest, I spotted the delicate figure wrapped in a sandwich bag. I bought her for $12 and I faced her up the moment I had time. It was surreal and disappointing at the same time because I knew she wasn't the same as the "real" BJDs.
So fast forward a decade when I'm wandering around a convention again and I spot, alone on a table, my absolute dream/grail doll, KDF Bory, with a "I'm for sale" sign resting in his lap. I held my breath as I approached the table and asked the owner if the sign was really true and not a gag or promo. She nodded and, maybe seeing the feverish glow in my eyes, said I was welcome to hold him. I was still holding my breath as I picked him up and he felt so smooth and perfect and right that I just was like "Mine? Mine. Mine!" and I was lucky that he was gifted to me by my Beloved right then and there.
So that was a much more heartening experience.

 

my first ordered doll was a custom coloured resinsoul. I ummed and ahhed so long and finally ordred him having no real idea how he'd look and hoping the colour would be right.
#i wanted him to be a sort of aqua colour you see.

anyway i was prepared for a blank doll, i'd researched like crazy and when he finally arrived it was a mix of excitement and nerves.

So I opened him up and immediately his colour took my breath away. It was perfect, just what i'd hoped for.
Then I realised they'd cast his transparent parts the wrong colour (clear instead of transparent blue) dang, but I could work with that..
but then I got him out of his bag and realised he'd been broken in transit. The tip of one gorgeous ear and the hook thing that held his cap in place had snapped off and for a while i couldn't find the hook piece.
I was devastated, like really disproportionately crushed. I remember I cried. I felt like I was being punished by the universe for daring to spend money on myself and it was pretty rough.
I emailed the company and went to bed, and the next day they emailed saying they'd cast a new head but it would take about a month to get it done.
I was so bummed out.

But I calmed down, glued the pieces back together and decided to have a go at doing his faceup.
And that helped a lot. Giving him a face made me fall in love with him all over again and actually, when his new head arrived, I couldn't bring myself to paint that and replace the damaged head, I liked how he looked already. So I sold on the spare head and put that money toward another doll from the same company lol. (so they got my money back anyway haha)

But gosh, the crushing disappointment. I remember at the time thinking "this is insanely disproportionate" but I guess I hadn't noticed how much i'd invested emotionally in that purchase.
For me, the price tag was absolutely enormous and the guilt I felt for spending it was through the roof.

I still find when I open a new doll there's that sharp intake of breath. That "oh they're just like i'd hoped" feeling. That "omg the colour!" gasp.
I tend to order dolls in fantasy skin tones and they never fail to astound me with their vividness.
And then there's just that beauty of the blank sculpt, the smoothness of that cool resin, the new resin smell, the little details to examine... every time I get that little flush of glee. "it's mine! this is MINE! welcome to the family!"

 

When I got my first doll, a Bobobie Sprite on a male body, I was honestly underwhelmed, and thankful I hadn't spent too much. I'd mainly gotten him to be a clothes dummy, and to be one of my oldest OCs, but fresh out of the box with an unstyled wig that wasn't quite the right color, he looked terrible. And then I accidentally unstrung him. It certainly wasn't the typical experience!

But I moved past that by redoing his faceup, styling his wig, and doing some mods to him. I still have him, and love him now. And I have many more dolls that generally had more exciting box openings than he did. And generally higher prices, too.

 

I got my 1st girl 2nd hand and she look nuthing like the picture the seller posted! I kinda felt cheated for a short while only! After changing her entire look, i love her so much! She is still my fave girl now!

 

What a wholesome thread!

When the first doll I ordered arrived, I was absolutely speechless with how beautiful I found her. So taken aback by how much I liked her, how gorgeous the resin was. I still fall in love every single day.

 

Hmmm. My first doll - my little DragonDoll Tiny girl - surprised me. I hadn't actually handled any BJDs except for a DD - so the resin was a shock. So heavy & solid! She stood (& still does stand) like a dream!
My dream doll - well, I had 2. I never thought I'd get the chance to get a 72 Idealian Hyperon, but I did! His brain thing really floored me LOL He was tighter strung by far than my EID boys & I thought, oh, lord I'll never get him back together if the elastic slips!
My 2nd dream doll was my Ryoma Sakomota. I liked a lot of the Volks limited SD guys, but none enough to part w/that kind of $$$ (I had been half-heartedly looking for a Hijikata) - but then Ryoma was offered. I did the whole lottery thing, didn't get it (which is good cause have no idea how I'd have paid for it in one chunk of cash) but then within a month one showed up on the MP for just about the same price (a bit more but not when shipping was taken into account) - & that guy took layaway!!!
When he came I just could not get over how gorgeous he & his outfit were LOL I had to just stop everything & get him dressed, take pics, etc. Love him!
Fun fact tho, love these two dolls a lot, but my IH Bichun is definitely my favorite doll.

 

I'll admit that I was initially a little passive about my dream doll head. It's a Dollshe Saint that I've had for two days now. I opened the package, got him out, and...yeah. He was home. No big celebrations, no OTT reaction. Just sort of 'hey...you'.

Today, it's totally different. I can see the character in him again. It's the reason I took the plunge and bought him, because of the character, and I can see him even in the blank face. I can't stop gazing at him. This disembodied blank head.

I don't know why my initial reaction was a little bit like a deflated 'welcome home' balloon, but I adore him now. He's perfect. I can't wait for his body to come in when it's paid off and see him in a bit more of a completed state.

 

I got my very first doll recently, a beautiful Ombre in pink skin. I knew the post was coming with her so I lurked at the window until they finally arrived. It was so exciting unwrapping her and inspecting every beautiful detail of the girl I had been so in love with for ages. I proceeded to carry her around at home with me all day and took an obscene amount of time padding out her drawer (Since I have cats it feels safer keeping her lying in a well padded drawer). I check in on her every day just to see her, I can't wait to start making her outfit but I need to find the perfect fabric first

 

My first doll is my Mirodoll Lili and I have to say when I received her a year ago, I was amazed or shocked or I don't know lol I guess I was just too happy to make much reactions. She may not be the best bjd but she's really beautiful to me

 

I'm always happy and excited. I can feel my heart beat was speed up. But when I record the video of box opening and go back to watch it, I found I had no countenance at all. It's so funny...

 

When I got my first doll I was kind of relieved, mostly because I was afraid that someone else was going to buy her from the lady I bought her from, and them from relief, it was excitement.

 

Unfortunately my first BJD experience was really stressful for the first day or so. My first BJD was a secondhand DC Carol, and she'd been lost in the mail for a while. So from the beginning that was stressful.

And when she finally got to me, my first task was to remove her previous owner's faceup and it wasn't until I got her that I realized what an undertaking that would be. So I was constantly scared I was going to ruin her.

And then I made the stupid decision of trying to restring her, and she was in parts until late that night/early the next morning.

AND THEN the dress pattern I'd made for her weird body type totally flopped.

But when she was finally back together and her eyes were in and she could hold a pose I was so totally relieved and in love with her. I'm just thinking that maybe buying my super-precious grail as my first-ever bjd wasn't a great idea. X'D

 

First one was an Angel Region Ren and my first reaction was, he's so PRETTY! Which was why I picked him lol. Since my artistic ability is limited to poorly drawn stick figures, this was a way to express my creativity.

 

Tan Chloe. Love of my life. First Daughter

Bought her second hand from a wonderful first owner at a marketplace. When I saw the pictures for her I noticed she was posted for 4 hours and going so I was scared I would've been too late. Luckily no one had been able to meet the buyers price, which wasn't too much but they all asked for splits or layaway. Long story short I bought her and she was sent out via the now dreaded USPS. She was late by 3 days and by this point I was super stressed out and fearing the worst. When my mailman came though he had a huge box in his hands, and immediately my body tensed. I quickly got her inside and was able to hold her in my arms for the first time. Almost cried a little. All in all I was so stressed out that when I finally relaxed I got a huuuge headache! But it was worth it in the long run.

 

I jumped around for a little while and shook while i opened her box then took her out and shook again and then showed my husband . rubbed my gross hands on her surprisingly smooth resin body and stared at her for about 20 minutes before testing out the joints. then stared some more

 

I remember being amazed at how big she was. Even though I bought msd size, she looked so much smaller and dainty in the pictures. I shouldn't of been so surprised because I had measurements lol. I also remember how awesome it was feeling the cold resin for the first time.

 

My first doll came in today and my reactions? WOW! Just wow! I loved the company photos and that’s why I fell in love with him in the first place but to have him in real life, it’s magical like what someone on DoA once told to me.
Yes my eyes were watery (I almost cried ) and the excitement was beyond what I had anticipated. It’s a bit hard to describe the feeling. But for sure there’s no regret with my purchase. My doll IRL is amazing and beautiful! I had fun dressing him and posing him.
I can’t wait to meet the rest of my dolls! It’s definitely an amazing experience. I’m not sure yet if it’s just because he’s the first, that I feel like this, but I’m hoping every doll that I get in the future (and ones I’m waiting for to arrive) will be the same if not better.
BTW if you’re curious, I got Bai Zhi from RingDoll.