Your view on 'Grail Dolls'

Have you ever had one, or not? Yes. Actually, I have two. Soom Ender and Volks F-16.
If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection? Yes! I have both. It took me two years to get Ender as a hybrid, and four years to get F-16.Do you treat it differently to your other dolls? Yes. Ender is my Pharaoh Ay, and he does not fit in the storyline of my other dolls. He does not get role played, and does not interact with other dolls. He's more like a doll just for show, and stays displayed on his own table. Eirnin, my F-16, is a cousin to one of my main OCs, but he also has no major relationships or plotlines with other dolls. I've had bonds with dolls ruined before when roleplay went wrong, and I didn't want any one else's influence changing my feelings for my grails. They also get more expensive clothes and props, since they need to be 'perfect'.
Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls? Kind of, but it also has to do with availability. A free event doll could be a grail, if it's extremely hard to get. I think a "grail" generally needs be very difficult to get, something you can't just buy straight from the company at any given time. Usually due to either a very high price, or limited time to order. I've had others I greatly desired, but due to them always being available or being on the less expensive side, don't consider them grails, even if it requires some saving up.
Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?
Not really. My biggest disappoint with Ay was that I love the Ender head but I don't like the very buff Mega Gem body. Finding a body I liked that matched was impossible, and so he requires lots of blushing to match. Eirnin is perfect.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
I have two, Dollzone Pag and Olga

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
I'm still searching for someone selling one

Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?
Would I treat it differently? I don't think so since I love the dolls I have because of how i have developed their characters.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
I'm not sure my Grails weren't expensive when they came out, I think it's more a case of how much you want to own it not how expensive it is. I really like Loongsoul Emily but she is a bit expensive for me but I don't class her as a grail.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?

Yes! But I accept I may never find it, either because of cost or availability.

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?

No... not yet.

Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?

I probably wouldn't. I have a feeling my others would have been "grails to me" if they had been as hard to get.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?

No but scarcity can make a doll more expensive unless no one else wants it. I wish.

Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?

Disappointed? I hope not.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?

Not exactly, but I feel like I understand the experience because I had a doll I had to wait three years for because I hit a challenging patch money-wise and employment-wise and didn't have the money for her. She was neither expensive nor rare so she wasn't a grail doll in that sense, but I know what it's like to wait.

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?

The above doll is ordered and in production but not here yet.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?

Not necessarily, but I do think a grail doll is one that is for some reason hard to get and takes time and patience, like a "quest." If you can just get it any time you want without a significant effort, to me it's just a doll you like a lot, not a grail doll. The reason it takes effort doesn't have to be a high price, though. It could be lack of availability or just some circumstance in your life that makes it harder for you.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
I suppose I'd say I have a small handful, currently. I'd love to have a Soom Afi/Ai Winnie Dee, because I passed that sculpt up when it was first released in favor of the larger version Amber, who turned out to be an unsuccessful addition to my collection. I don't have a place for Afi/Ai in my current collection, though, so I tend to view that sculpt as "the one that got away," as having to get it secondhand now makes it a very low priority for me.

I'd also like to add two FairyLand F60 boys to my collection; however, the F60 line has been unavailable for an extremely long time now, and one of the two sculpts I want has never been re-released into the F60 line anyway. And as I want the two as a set, not as two separate dolls, as long as one is not available, even if the other one comes up he'll still be "unavailable" to me.

And lastly, because of my love of all things Fullmetal Alchemist, I would love if a Bluefairy Automail Jerome would fall into my lap! But at the same time, I never felt the actual sculpt itself (aside from the automail additions) really fit the character well, which is why I've been creating my own Edward instead! Still, if Jerome ended up here somehow, I certainly would find a place to tuck him into the collection, even if it was as a shelf baby like my Edward MNM head.


If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
None of the above have been added to my collection. I generally don't quest after fullsets or unavailable dolls, since I'm working more with set characters than set sculpts, and there's a lot more flexibility there.


Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
No. A Grail doll, to me, is one that's not easily available. Any doll can be expensive, even one that's easy to order, and an unavailable doll can go for any price, depending on condition and the current state of the market. The price isn't a factor in whether or not something's a Grail, it's whether or not, if the money was available right now, you could actually get it.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
In terms of BJD grails, I'm about to have one of them! In terms of general doll grails, I think having a BJD-period- is like having a grail.

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?

Yes!


Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?

She's not here yet, but I will love her as much as the girls I have now. Maybe a little bit more as I didn't think I would ever have her!


Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?

I think a Grail is a doll that a person wants very much, whether or not that are rare or expensive. For example, a plastic doll that I wanted a lot was considered a grail to me because I never had the means to get her, even though she was quite cheap. I eventually got her and I love her very much and think of her as a huge accomplishment!

But in contrast, one of my BJD grails is the Volks Chii from Dolpa, and she's very expensive and rare.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
Yes! It's Soom Dia Male c:
If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
Mhm! Recently got a tawny Soom Dia male and I've love to add a few more Dias to my collection to be honest heh
Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
Eh. I consider it a personal thing. For me it was a hard to get doll. Which was a Dia male. And then I saw the tan version and then got mad at myself for missing the ordering period haha. But yeah. Now I have him!
Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?
Nope! My doll is pretty perfect? And the sculpt is sooooo gorgeous in real life. Oh my gosh I love him so much.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
Yes, the first doll I really liked (iplehouse Claude) was my "grail" for a long time

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
No, but I don't feel the same way about him. He's still gorgeous, but I'd rather have another female doll.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
For me, a grail has to be a doll you want much more than any other doll. Price isn't really a factor

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
Oh yes, I've had grails. In fact, I've had several!

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
I've had several grails, but so far I've only managed to catch one.

Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?
Right now I do. Johnny is my only on-topic BJD so far, so I really have no choice but to treat him differently.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
Absolutely not. Johnny was relatively cheap. I was in it more for aesthetic than I was price.

Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?
Not yet. That story may change when and if I get my new grail.

 

I've tried out the term with regards to my wishlist, and some of the dolls on it that felt difficult-to-obtain, and decided that I don't really have 'a grail'. I have a lot of dolls I would love to own, some more obtainable than others, but of the ones who have gone out of production or whatnot, I don't really have a strong desire to hunt them down on the secondary market or feel really wrapped up in the idea of 'that one doll'. I might be sad if a sculpt is retired that I had seen as the perfect embodiment of a character I wanted to shell, before I was able to afford another doll, but I tend to just refocus on finding a different sculpt that would work, or saving for a different doll on the wishlist.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
Yes, just one.

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
I just did! He's on his way home to me right now.

Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?
I don't have him yet, but I don't think I will. My dolls are all very precious to me, grail or not, and I love them all the same.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
I would look more at their availability than their price. To me, a grail doll is a doll that's extremely rare or hard to find. It's also something you have been wanting for a long while, and there should only be one. (My grail is limited to only 16 in the world.) But this is just my opinion; everyone in the hobby defines what a grail is differently! :3

Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?
Honestly, I've seen one in person before and I'm not very happy with the way his torso is sculpted. He only has a hip joint, but it's quite stiff and not very poseable. I'm also not to big on hybridizing my dolls, so getting him a different body is out of the question. It would be difficult anyway since he's in tanned skin. But that's fine! Ultimately it's the sculpt that I fell in love with, and I'm sure I will come to love his flaws just as I have with my other dolls.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
I have had a grail doll. He's Ringdoll's 2011 Frankenstein. However, I know I'll never have him unless I can find someone selling him second hand or Ringdoll re-releases him. I don't feel very broken up about it though considering I can still look at pictures. Plus, he doesn't fit into the story I have going for my dolls and he'd probably end up taking a character away from my DZ Virgil, who, to a certain extent was my b-team grail doll.
If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
N/A
Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?
I find myself handling Virgil a bit more than others from time to time, but I tend to rotate around who is the current 'favorite'.
Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
No. A grail doll can be any doll, even if they're from an inexpensive company. If I find a different doll to be my grail, I'd actually love for them to be less expensive because then I'd have a much higher chance of being able to get them!
Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?
In terms of Virgil (now Raico), I was completely happy with him and he's been lovely for his character.

 

Have you ever had one, or not?
Yes DZ Hanhan & Guoguo

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection?
No, but it doesn't mean that I haven't been trying.

Do you treat it differently to your other dolls?
I would if I was able to get her.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls?
No price doesn't mean a lot to me as long as I like her.

Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it?
No I haven't got her yet, but I would never be disappointed with her. I just love this doll.

 

Have you ever had one, or not? Yes, It was Volks Suigintou and Unoa Zero.

If you have, have you finally managed to have it in your collection? Not for a long time because some problems with my finance.

Do you treat it differently to your other dolls? Nope. All my dolls have the same treatment.

Do you only consider the very expensive dolls as Grail dolls? Hmm it depends on my target. Love at first sight.

Have you managed to buy your Grail doll, but then been disappointed in some way with it? Yes I bought them and loved it so much. Surprisingly like what I wanted.