How do you pick one?

So I've built up quite a checklist of dolls I like, and even trying really hard to sort out which ones I want the most, I'm left with six. I'm gonna get one at a time, so I know it will take a while and I'll potentially miss out on the ones I leave for last.

I am both looking at company photos, the bare sculpts if possible, but also people's own photos on Flickr and other sites. Among the ones I want there are dolls who are prettier to me as a base sculpt; on the other hand I've seen photos and custom face-ups of the others that really struck me with a je ne sais quoi. Without getting into details to avoid bias, what made you happier when you were indecisive on which doll to get? Is it wiser to go with the sculpt? Is what doll owners make with the dolls potentially misleading? I discovered that there's quite a bit of photoshop going on in doll photography, so I might not be looking at something too truthful. In the end I think most people tend to follow a gut feeling but I wonder if that can lead to disappointment.

Good questions. I pay a lot more attention to images and info from the company when buying a full doll. With new releases that's sometimes the only way. For custom face ups/heads its likely that there are only the photo's available from the creator, I always pay more attention to the images of what's included in the sale and view any other pictures like where they show a fully dressed doll more like marketing shots that show what the head could look like.

Most of my dolls have been found on the used market on sites like Mandarake, and through Buyee for YJA etc. Any dolls I see that I like I usually add to a wish list and go check out the company photo's and info and any owners photo's I can find. I probably have around 10 potential purchases saved across various sites but I rarely actually buy any of them because none of them are dolls I really must have.

Dolls that I must have are usually discontinued ones so I tend to buy them as soon as they appear, but only if I am happy with the condition and price. I just managed to get one of my must have dolls a few hours ago so I'm buzzing right now. I paid a more than she was new but I'm ok with eating cardboard for a few weeks lol, I just had to get her.

I won't go into too much detail about what draws me to a particular doll because everyone's got different tastes. I'm drawn to the ones where I can see a personality. I'm not overly bothered about the body shape as long as they are 1/3 scale but the face up and sculpt is important and it also helps if they have an awesome set of clothes too.

The only time I've been disappointed was with a custom head I bought. The hole for the neck peg had been carved out into a huge slot and this wasn't shown in the sale images. I didn't take any action over it because I didn't pay very much and I was able to solve the problem by 3D printing a plastic washer that I glued inside the head.

 

I went with DDdy Towa because I thought she had the cutest sweet adorable face.

Runners up were DDS Yuriko Nanao and Uzuki Shimamura. I passed on Yuriko because I thought it was better to get a regular one and then find her some outfits later. Uzuki was a lot more expensive than both alternatives, but ultimately she became arrival #2.

I've never really had any doll disappointment. I have two MDD I'm not crazy about but they were available for a good price and at some point they'll get new heads.

Oh and some dolls look completely different with a different wig on. Here's DDdy Yor Forger...

 

26 minutes ago, Stupid_Hoomun said:

I'm drawn to the ones where I can see a personality.

I think that goes the same for me.

10 minutes ago, Xiongmao said:

Here's DDdy Yor Forger.

Faceups can indeed make a lot of difference and I think the effect on established character dolls is even more dramatic. I would've never guessed that was Yor.

Edited March 7, 2024 by Persiflage
adding a reply

8 hours ago, Persiflage said:

Among the ones I want there are dolls who are prettier to me as a base sculpt; on the other hand I've seen photos and custom face-ups of the others that really struck me with a je ne sais quoi.

Personally, I wouldn’t base my doll acquisitions on custom faceups because there’s no guarantee you can get the same or similar. A lot of artists only offer their services at random intervals (if at all—especially in Japan, many are auction or event only and don’t take commissions), and many refuse to replicate styles (whether their own work or others’). It’s a gamble where the odds are not in your favour, and it will end up costing you extra to boot.

I only ever go for dolls that I like out of the box or that I can easily customize to my liking by swapping out the eyes and wig.

9 hours ago, Persiflage said:

Without getting into details to avoid bias, what made you happier when you were indecisive on which doll to get? […] In the end I think most people tend to follow a gut feeling but I wonder if that can lead to disappointment.

I don’t buy dolls I’m indecisive on. I will only buy a doll if I really feel like I need it in my collection, and so far have had no regrets with any of my acquisitions.

Also, your tastes will probably change with time, so the things you like now might not be the things you like in the future (and vice versa). This forum will enable you a lot, and you may find yourself wanting sculpts you didn’t care for once you see their potential in the way other members style theirs. You can always sell a doll you’re not bonding with, but you might not be able to recoup the money you spent on it, and only you can decide if that’s something you’re willing to accept.

Out of curiosity, which ones are you eyeing? 👀 

Personally, the most important thing for me is that I like the face. With vinyl dolls, almost everything else can be customized later without too much hassle. If other features (body, wig, eyes, outfit) also match your taste, that's of course a welcome bonus.

If you can do faceups or have a faceup artist in mind, it's fine to get a custom too. - But if this is your first doll, I guess the logistics of it can be a bit overwhelming.

10 hours ago, Persiflage said:

I am both looking at company photos, the bare sculpts if possible, but also people's own photos on Flickr and other sites.

Definitely look at both. Some companies (including Smart Doll and especially Volks) have a tendency to not do their dolls justice in their product photos.

 

10 hours ago, Persiflage said:

Is what doll owners make with the dolls potentially misleading? I discovered that there's quite a bit of photoshop going on in doll photography, so I might not be looking at something too truthful.

I don't think, too many doll owners intentionally adjust their dolls facial features in editing. The point of the doll is to get something you like in the first place, not something you have to optimize in post processing. If you're not sure, it's probably fine to just ask.

I am not collecting fullset dolls, but for me it's like ... if a sculpt jumps out to me as fitting for one of my two boys I will be tempted to get it.

Although I try to be set as far as bodies are concerned (due to space mainly), but heads are after all something that is interchangable ... I sort of approach them with a "Nendoroid faceplate mindset".

I decided early on that commissioning a face up was more hassle than I wanted, especially because most artists will not copy another faceup.

My process was to look at company photos first, then search for user photos, and see what the sculpt & stock face up looks like from different angles, with different eyes and hairstyles.

Assuming you are collecting anime dolls. Are there specific types of characters you are drawn to? Anime relies heavily on design tropes to show a character's personality through their appearance. Like, a caring onee-san usually has droopy eyes and a smile.

I like mysterious and cool characters the most, so I chose a sculpt with tsurime (upwards slanted) eyes and a slight smile.

1 hour ago, meteorite said:

Assuming you are collecting anime dolls. Are there specific types of characters you are drawn to?

Uhm... Not really, I'm a bit of a guest here since I'm into resin exclusively. DoA won't let me register (I made an account but I never got validated despite mailing the mods several times over the past year) and this is the only active forum I've found. Due to the staining issue and complicated frames I doubt I'll ever get into MJD type dolls, so I'll be bound to the resin section here for the time being.

I definitely like the moodier dolls and the ones I decided I must have have that feel despite very different face sculpts. They're also all from the same company (Maskcat) except for a cyborg doll from DollZone. I never thought about the faceup commissioning issue because both companies' official faceups are exactly what I want.

After reading the replies in this thread I've been doing some thinking and I think I settled on the one (my second doll actually; the first one is coming soon after 5 months of waiting).

7 hours ago, Persiflage said:

Uhm... Not really, I'm a bit of a guest here since I'm into resin exclusively. DoA won't let me register (I made an account but I never got validated despite mailing the mods several times over the past year) and this is the only active forum I've found. Due to the staining issue and complicated frames I doubt I'll ever get into MJD type dolls, so I'll be bound to the resin section here for the time being.

That really sucks. I had a similar problem in regard to getting an account there. The moderators were fortunate to let me re-register because of the issue.

13 hours ago, RozenGermain said:

That really sucks.

Nevermind... I'd like to know why, though. I have been sending messages to the staff through their own internal messaging system, so it's not like my mail might've ended up filtered as spam.

I'm just glad there's a resin section here and other users who collect resin dolls. The one I've settled on is a Maskcat Agnes. I love that company's sculpts in general.

I base my decision mainly on sculpt and faceup (if I wanted a custom I'd go for a blank head instead of a full DD to erase and remake), keeping in mind that I can always change their eyes, wig, clothes, bust, etc. And I try to look at as many different pictures and media as possible: original promotional photos, user photos at the forum, flickr and collector websites (specially versions of the doll with different wigs/eyes/styles) and videos, so I can see them from as many angles as possible.

 

Also I'm curious, who are your candidates?

3 hours ago, Rheynna said:

who are your candidates?

I was choosing between Maskcat Lisette, Frances, Agnes or Margo before I settled on Agnes. I also love DollZone X-NANA but she's a much bigger investment and I have concerns that she might be fragile or difficult to handle because of the many mobile parts - plus I'm not too enthusiastic about the face sculpt. I don't know if anyone here has the DZ robot that was already released (Ji-Zero, I think she's 1/4) but I get the feeling that because of their complexity these cyborg dolls are designed to be "display" pieces rather than something you can pose and clothe freely.  Maybe I'm wrong. Maskcat bodies will fit SD sizes just fine and pose really well.

It was my favourite character Kaito getting a doll release that got me to finally buy one. I had always seen some releases of characters I like a lot (mainly other vocaloid characters) but had never considered myself a big enough fan of them individually to want to spend that much money on a doll for them. Meiko is my other favourite and I was so tempted to get her but another factor was that I didn't like how they did her sculpt, I thought she was a bit too baby faced for how I see her so I ended up skipping her despite how much I love her as a character. So for me its definitely both connection to the character and the sculpt itself that I take into consideration the most when deciding. I still am tempted to try and create a custom of her at some point. 

My other doll is one not at all connected to any pre-existing character and it was created completely on a whim while seeing a new listing for a head with a custom faceup from an artist I like. It was a perfect fit for one of my own original characters so I didn't want to miss out on it, especially because it was on sale premade and I wouldn't need to commission it specifically. I also liked it because it is a very different style and sculpt from Kaito while still not looking out of place when together. So if you ever end up collecting more than one doll it might be good to consider if you want to be consistent with any kind of style or theme just in case that sort of thing matters to you. 

I wouldn't worry too much about seeing photoshoped images of dolls making you change your mind, I would just reccomend making sure you are familiar with how they look by default before buying. Even after loving seeing images others post online, photoshop enhanced or not, I always find that to me dolls always look so much nicer in person imo   

1 hour ago, roro_robot said:

So for me its definitely both connection to the character and the sculpt itself that I take into consideration the most when deciding.

Thankfully for the wallet I prefer to make a character from a blank slate over established ones from media, so I think I'll have an easier time with that issue. I do have a few old characters of mine that I'd like to shell, but they are all fantasy non-humans, robots, etc. 😅 it might never happen.

1 hour ago, roro_robot said:

So if you ever end up collecting more than one doll it might be good to consider if you want to be consistent with any kind of style or theme just in case that sort of thing matters to you. 

Yes absolutely! I think consistency will matter. I wouldn't like to have each doll in her own bubble so to speak.

1 hour ago, roro_robot said:

Even after loving seeing images others post online, photoshop enhanced or not, I always find that to me dolls always look so much nicer in person imo   

I hope so! I can't imagine these dolls looking even better IRL. I've heard quite a few times that the size of 1/3 scale dolls is quite overwhelming, even after seeing people holding them in photos or trying to guess by measurements.