introduction post yippee

Hello Doll Dreaming Community, I'm Hazey.

I've been a fan of dolls in general for a few years now. despite not playing with dolls much as a child I have gained a real interest in the passion and craftsmanship that goes into making and owning vinyl/bj dolls. after stalking this website for ages I have decided to finally make an account since I am actively trying to either buy or make my first doll.

I have been cosplaying for a while as my main hobby, and am currently studying to be a 3d model artist for games and films. I have a fdm printer which I have used to print out props, but I know trying to make a doll with one just wouldn't be possible with the print lines. Hoping to own a resin printer by the end of the year tho and potentially create a custom bjd model!!

I would love to sew clothing for dolls but without a doll to own that is a bit of a struggle, I have also been struggling to find doll clothing patterns online, as they seem to be scattered about the internet or in japanese.

My current project while technically not a vinyl doll is restoring some vocaloid pullip dolls I bought cheap off of facebook marketplace. they are beautiful but have not been cared for as well as they could have and are about 10 years old now. i might post progress pics if this content is allowed on this forum, but I am not sure as of yet.

If anyone knows any websites (apart from this one) where people buy and sell secondhand vinyl/bj dolls I would be incredibly grateful.

looking forward to interacting here

welcome! 

I used to cosplay a lot myself but my focus ha shifted to customising dolls LOL! I understand the struggle for patterns 😭 it's rough out there! Sometimes I end up trying to pattern things myself but it's definitely not one of my strong suits. I know theres doll sewing books out there though! They make really good references! 

In regards to finding second hand dolls, have you looked into doll related discords, instagram or fb pages? A lot of people sell through there!

I am a part of a Facebook group for ball joint dolls but there are barely any posts, let alone people trying to sell😅. Ill def look into discords tho-

If you know anywhere I can buy doll sewing books or if theres any online that would be super helpful!! I know there's a few that are Japanese but I'm not sure how I would go trying to follow along with just pictures.

Welcome!  I'd be interested in seeing your Pullip progress (it might be fine in the Off Topic section) - I used to collect them (well mostly Dal and Taeyang), and I still have a soft spot for mine! Having 3d skill sets and a printer is a huge bonus asset to doll collecting, if I had that power I'd be printing horns and ear attachments like my life depended on it hahah.

I'm not as familiar with Aussie options, but do you have Mercari or a similar online second hand/flea market app?  I know for the US and JP versions there's usually a fair amount of dolls and their goods floating around on it.

This forum as well as Den of Angels (resin focused) have marketplaces for members, but both have membership requirements to meet first.  It's not too difficult to meet though, so just enjoy participating here and there and you'll unlock it soon enough!

You can snag some good second hand deals on sites like Mandarake, Yahoo Auctions/Flea, and Dollyteria - you just have to keep an eye out.  Make sure to account for any fees from proxies, currency fluctuations, and if your area charges customs fees.

2 hours ago, Hazey said:

I am a part of a Facebook group for ball joint dolls but there are barely any posts, let alone people trying to sell😅. Ill def look into discords tho-

If you know anywhere I can buy doll sewing books or if theres any online that would be super helpful!! I know there's a few that are Japanese but I'm not sure how I would go trying to follow along with just pictures.

lmk if you would like some invites! theres a few doll discords im in that have marketplace channels! I also second mmmuguet's suggestion for mandarake/yja/dollyteria. You can also use proxy services like buyee or neokyo to buy dolls, tools/accessories or books!

If you have a kinokuniya near where you live they usually have a small section for craft books that usually contain books for sewing doll sized clothes. I'm sure you would be able to find those same books online (ie amazon jp, ebay, etc). Keep in mind these are usually in Japanese though! Otherwise, theres lots of patterns online (for free or purchase), just have to do some digging 😅 

12 hours ago, mmmuguet said:

Welcome!  I'd be interested in seeing your Pullip progress (it might be fine in the Off Topic section) - I used to collect them (well mostly Dal and Taeyang), and I still have a soft spot for mine! Having 3d skill sets and a printer is a huge bonus asset to doll collecting, if I had that power I'd be printing horns and ear attachments like my life depended on it hahah.

I'm not as familiar with Aussie options, but do you have Mercari or a similar online second hand/flea market app?  I know for the US and JP versions there's usually a fair amount of dolls and their goods floating around on it.

This forum as well as Den of Angels (resin focused) have marketplaces for members, but both have membership requirements to meet first.  It's not too difficult to meet though, so just enjoy participating here and there and you'll unlock it soon enough!

You can snag some good second hand deals on sites like Mandarake, Yahoo Auctions/Flea, and Dollyteria - you just have to keep an eye out.  Make sure to account for any fees from proxies, currency fluctuations, and if your area charges customs fees.

Thankyou for the info on second hand websites! I hadnt heard of mecari until this moment, and it seems unless I want to put faith in a third party I cant have anything shipped to australia . We have a website called gumtree which is similar to ebay but restricted to autralia only and often times shipping isnt offered. I will definately have a look at the other sites you mentioned however.

As for my pullips, ill probably start posting about it since I have begun proper work on the restoration last night. it is a bit of a nightmare situation so I am keen to see how much I can recover and what I can try to replicate where the damage has been to much :). Ill quickly mention that only 1 of the dolls is a pullip model, as the Kaito and Len dolls are actually Dal and Taeyang body/faces. Wish me luck lol.

On 7/28/2024 at 5:08 AM, Hazey said:

I have a fdm printer

What kind of printer do you have?

 

On 7/28/2024 at 5:08 AM, Hazey said:

Hoping to own a resin printer by the end of the year tho and potentially create a custom bjd model!!

Would love to see how this turns out! I have a few friends who are into BJDs and have mentioned the possibility of 3D printing a BJD. We haven't been able to track down the 3D models for the dolls that get posted around.

12 hours ago, howasaur said:

What kind of printer do you have?

 

Would love to see how this turns out! I have a few friends who are into BJDs and have mentioned the possibility of 3D printing a BJD. We haven't been able to track down the 3D models for the dolls that get posted around.

fdm stands for filament deposition modelling- meaning the printer heats up the plastic filament to melting point and then lays out the melted plastic through a nozzle, and builds the model layer by layer- its kinda like laying cement or icing a cake. I have the ender 4 and am currently housing a flash forge guider 2 for a friend.

I will definitely be posting online if I ever figure out how to model and print my own doll! i probably would post on one of the resin bjd sites for better relevancy. if you are looking for stl files for printing a doll yourself I would recommend checking Esty and cults3d, but I would double check to see if the artists had a good reputation and hadn't been shown to steal/kitbash assets.