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bjdadvice · 4 years

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I was gifted a bjd: fully clothed and everything, but it’s a recast. I knew because the previous owner collects recasted bjds and frequently buys them. When I got the recast I immediately fell in love! It was my first doll and was given from someone important in my life. However because of my recast I am not allowed to attend many events and even give aways. I also wasn’t able to post about my bjd in certain groups/platforms. I had no choice but to join a recast neutral/pro recast community-

(cont.) - but I felt very misplaced there... I simply don’t support recasting. I also feel like if I say my views on it in the bjd recast community, I will cause drama, but if I show my only doll in the pro artist community, i’m banned. idk i just feel like im not accepted anywhere. Can someone be pro artist and still own their recast?

Answer:

So here’s where I fall on this. Whether you can own a recast and still fully support artists is something you can only know in your own heart. Only you really know your intentions.

Personally, I just can’t see myself really enjoying a recast doll knowing it’s a recast, so for me it would be better just to be rid of it and enjoy my collection fully with no reservations about it. But I know my own heart, and I know that if I kept a recast I would feel that I was “cheating” somehow. Maybe you don’t feel that way. Maybe you do.

The one thing that is ethically clear is that recast owners should not try to pass off their doll as a legit, and should not knowingly attend meets or events in places where recasts are not allowed. They should not show pictures of recasts in places where they are not allowed, nor put the status of other people in danger by showing a recast doll in group pictures where it is likely to be shared to DoA or other strict groups.

If you’re not doing any of those things, then the rest is kind of up to you and what your conscience can bear.

My personal advice would be...if you really love the doll, buy it legit. Then you can fully enjoy the doll and still appreciate the sentiment that your friend had in mind when they gave it to you.

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bjdadvice · 5 years

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I'm in a bit of a troublesome situation. My mother just gifted me 2 secondhand recasts (or, at least, i am pretty sure that they are both recasts) and I just two days ago started a lay-away plan with octarine doll for my second little lady, so I'm very, veeery low on budget right now. I was thinking about buying the two dolls that she gifted me and switch them, but they are a minifee Ria IN TAN SKIN and a dollchateau Elizabeth, and I live in Europe. My bank account is already crying-(1/2)

(2/2)- and I am very anxious about being a recast owner. I've seen how agressive people can get with recasts owners and now i'm very scared about how the community will react if I post photos of them on insta, but on the other hand I am very excited to have the possibility to work on minifee-sized outfits or on body modification and tatoos without worrying about ruining the doll I'm working on. In your opinion, is it right to use them untill I have the money to buy their legit counterparts?

Answer:

My buddy, at the end of the day, only you can decide what is “right”. I think what you need to do first is educate the people in your life that the dolls you collect are often counterfeited, and that a counterfeit doll will affect your enjoyment of the hobby. Instead, perhaps suggest that you would prefer if people who wanted to support your doll hobby would instead give you gift cards or cash.

If your mother knew enough about these dolls to even buy secondhand recasts, then it suggests she knows better, and YOU know better.

It’s not acceptable to post any images of your dolls in places where recasts are banned. And yes, it will likely affect how you’re viewed in the community if you post them. Even if people can’t tell for certain they’re recasts, they could very well suspect it and keep you at arm’s length. What you do with them in the privacy of your own home is up to you. However, never sell any clothing made or modeled on recast dolls. The size can be off enough that they might not fit legits.

It’s up to you to decide what to do from here. Even beyond right and wrong, owning recasts puts you and the legit collectors around you in a very awkward position. In my experience, having them leads to a lot of negative feelings because you’re hiding them or tricking people. And others who buy recasts intentionally often justify it by deciding that the legit community isn’t worth being part of (they’re all elitist bitches, or whatever).

In my experience, having recasts just leads to a lot of negative feelings that you just don’t have when all the dolls are legit.

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bjdadvice · 6 years

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Hello there!! I recently got my first doll! And I was wondering if you had any advice of practicing face-ups? I don’t wanna start painting on my new boy before having a chance to practice on something else, but I don’t know where to start haha!

hello!! congratulations!!

i happen to be married to an amazing faceup artist, but she’s not taking commissions right now. i have her too tied-up with tasks having to do with our own dolls :D

things i’ve seen her do, because even though i’ve done faceups before too, she actually put work into the craft:

practice making eyebrows on paper with a pencil before you ever start on a face

always wear a respirator–not just a mask–when you spray sealant

get a practice head: df-a has them for sale on acbjd.com, and i’ve seen people make them into very nice actual dolls once they feel comfy with their practice

research your sealants and sealant removers, and decide what you want to use. there are several choices and most of them work in slightly different ways, but the point is to build up a level of toothiness to the naturally smooth resin, so that whatever you’re using to actually do the faceup (watercolor pencils, paint) will have something to stick to. just make sure to get matte!! you don’t want an entirely glossy face

never spray your sealants in a room without any ventilation. it’s very bad for you to breathe them in, even with a respirator it’s not ideal (testors, volks, mr super clear, and ahh, whatever that really hardcore one is that i can’t remember–these are all toxic and also bad for pets)

make sure you do a few base layers of sealant before you put down any color, or it might stain the doll

do a lot of research!! look at lots of other people’s work, you’ll see techniques you like and ones that aren’t for you

don’t be afraid to give up completely and send your doll to someone else. there’s no shame in not being an expert on faceups or not being able to get it to look how you want! the hobby needs people who would like to pay someone else to make their art, just as much as it needs people who like to do things themselves

yeah, so maybe that all helps or it was even more confusing!! sorry!! but i am happy for you and wish you the best, just try to enjoy yourself and don’t be disappointed if you have to wipe things several times before you get something you like. everything in this hobby takes more time than it seems like it should, but that’s just how it is.

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bjdadvice · 6 years

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I’ve just been perusing your blog, and as someone who’s been in the hobby for almost ten years, your advice and information is helpful and useful for even the most seasoned hobbyist. Thank you for all that you do!

Aww, thanks Anon! I took a big hiatus from the hobby just as a lot of the big drama was going down and social media really got going, so I know I’m missing a lot. But mostly I just tell people what I wish someone could have told me in the early days. We really had no information then, unless we translated it from Japanese sources.

Kids these days have it so good, with their resin matching and their 50 million companies to choose from, and being able to buy dolls in English! *shakes cane*

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bjdadvice · 6 years

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Hi, I was curious to how I should go about ridding myself of a recast doll. I want to go legit and I'm not sure if I'm able to sell recast dolls on DoA. What should I do?

So here’s my answer, but bear in mind there’s no one right answer to this question! And congratulations for making the right decision and for joining the community.

For starters, you are absolutely NOT allowed to sell recast dolls on DoA, nor in most doll sales pages on Facebook (morals aside, it’s against the rules of many sales groups). Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to sell recast dolls at all, since it sort of just perpetuates the problem of someone ELSE having a recast doll to deal with.

My personal advice would be to give the doll to a child who will enjoy it. If they show interest later in the hobby or in getting other dolls, you can point them toward legit sources. Or perhaps give it to an artist or someone not in the hobby - just explain that it is a counterfeit and if they’d like more, they should invest in a legit one. If you ABSOLUTELY cannot bear to lose the money you spent, see if you can trade it for a non-bjd item with someone outside the hobby - a camera maybe, or some art supplies. I don’t recommend giving it to someone who wants to make BJD clothing, as recast measurements are usually a bit off due to shrinkage (or a LOT off depending on the recast in question)

I consider the money lost when dealing with recasts - a tax, if you will, for not doing research first or for purchasing something unethically produced. Selling it only means that someone else has now sunk a cost into a piece of plastic that will cut them off from the wider community, and selling it to someone who doesn’t really know about BJDs is a bit unethical too, even if you explain it’s a counterfeit - they aren’t really going to understand the intellectual property theft involved in buying such an item.

As someone who has gotten rid of recasts, I know I felt much better having them out of my house and not having any concerns about someone seeing them or having a doll I had to hide away. I customized the recasts as the characters of an artist whose work I admire and gave them to the artist (with a thorough explanation of what they were and why they were worth nothing and should not be photographed or shared with friends.)

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bjdadvice · 6 years

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Hey so I was wondering if you could help me? I don’t connect AT ALL with my first BJD and all she does is stay on a shelf all bundled up, I want to sell her but I’d kind of feel... bad? Idk should I sell her?

My friend, a doll is just an expensive piece of plastic. Selling it does not erase the character, or the stories, or the memories. If it doesn’t fit you, find one that does!

It’s the memories you connect with, not the individual pieces of plastic. Nothing is diminished when you sell a doll.

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bjdadvice · 6 years

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do you know if cocoriang's human dolls have a similar neck size to their pet dolls? i cannot find measurements of the pet dolls anywhere and i was hoping to do some hybridizing

I don’t know, but maybe a reader does!

Anyone have an idea?

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bjdadvice · 6 years

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Hi. I recently purchased an old discontinued Minifee doll second hand from an honest seller in the US I had bought from before who had in turn purchased the doll second or third hand as well. It is the only BJD doll I have. I opened the head plate to see inside, and it clearly says on the inside: f.e.d.f./7.(fairyland) Does this mean the doll is legit or a very good recast?

I am sorry, but there is really no way to tell from the information you’ve given me. I would try to track the provenance of the doll on DoA, but unless you have a box or some kind of proof of purchase from Fairyland, it’s not really possible to say for certain. It’s *likely* legit, but if you ever sell it, you should specify that you cannot prove its history.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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This is a personal question - if Fairyland is recasted so much and FL still insists it's fine to send out dolls with sometimes huge gouges in them or seams that can people have cut themselves on, then wouldn't sales in recasts drop if they had better quality control of their dolls and maybe dropped prices a little? Doesn't seem fair to pay 400+ and then have huge cracks or discoloration. (I'm not a recast owner/supporter. I'm looking into a Fairyland one day as a legit.)

Anon,

I’ll give you a personal answer, if it helps.

I work with a BJD business that makes dolls, and let me tell you, the casting process is fickle as hell. It seems like the better quality the resin is, the more problems it has in casting. Marbling, seams, all that stuff is just a byproduct of the process. Cheaper resin (like those used by the recasters) seems to suffer less from some of the color and sanding issues at the cost of being lighter and slicker to the touch, and using much cheaper materials.

Now, as to Fairyland’s quality control, I assume they do things in-house, and every company has their own standards of what is considered acceptable in terms of defects. Do I think it’s good customer service to send out things that don’t quite fit, resin that doesn’t match, and issues like warped resin that didn’t cure properly? I don’t. Personally, we don’t sell dolls like that without trying to disclose all the issues up front.

But these things do happen. When a customer notifies us of flawed casts or issues we didn’t see on the first go ‘round, we always try to make it right, but it takes a huge bite out of our revenue (I won’t say “profit” because..haha...there’s no money in this industry). But that’s not how every company works.

For whatever reason Fairyland is sometimes GREAT about fixing issues, and sometimes they aren’t (they likely have multiple people working email support). As to why they don’t, I think it’s likely very possible that they just can’t absorb the costs of fixing every little not-right part and shipping them to customers. It’s also likely too time consuming to reach an agreeable outcome for everyone. It takes a lot of time and work to correct even one small part that went wrong. I also doubt they can afford the costs to the bottom line of trashing every doll that comes out less than perfect.

Something I think that it’s important to realize: Minifees may sell VERY well, but it is so incredibly costly to run a business. The margins on BJDs aren’t very good for the amount of time and effort that goes into them, and I would guess that FL has to sell an insane amount of dolls to make it worth it to even stay in business. At that point, it’s probably more important to get dolls out the door and risk pissing off a few people than it is to build a reputation as a company with impeccable construction.

Whether it’s “worth it” to pay that money for something that might be flawed is entirely up to you! Personally, I don’t mind spending that much on a doll that may be flawed (though I am less likely to be critical of companies that don’t have the kinds of resources FL does). I’ve had art dolls with some pretty severe defects, and I don’t mind it. It’s a hard process. For every ten dolls you see, at least three probably got junked.

If your money is tight and you absolutely want to make sure you don’t get a doll with any major issues, the secondhand market is quite robust. Since those dolls are already made, you can know exactly what you’re getting.

Full disclosure, I don’t ever purchase directly from FL. I get anything of theirs from the secondhand market - preferably in person from the seller so I can see it with my own eyeballs before buying.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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I can't get MSC or any of these sealants :Testors DullcoteGames, Workshop Purity Seal Satin, Zoukeimura Finishing PowderGunze, Mr. Topcoat. Would Winsor and Newton sealant spray work?

I doubt it

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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The only doll I ever wanted was Dream of Doll Pisce (HeHe). Now D.O.D seems to be shut down and I don't know what to do. Tried searching "sleeping bjd" but found nothing close to his age. I'm a complete n00b. In your expert opinion, is there a chance D.O.D will return, or should I give up on my baby? Or do you know where I would be better off searching for something similar? Thank you in advance.

Anon,

I wouldn’t give up hope. Older dolls pop up all the time on the secondhand marketplace. If you don’t have a Den of Angels account and the ability to enter the marketplace, I’d definitely work on doing that. DoA is a lifesaver for people who want very specific dolls.

As to whether or not DoD will return...I sort of doubt it, but it’s highly likely you’ll find their sculptors pop up working for another company. It happens quite often.

For similarish companies, you might try something like Withdoll. They have somewhat similar dolls also.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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hello! sorry if the question is stupid or off topic, but i'm trying to find an extremely short wig. i found some on ebay, but i think i still might need to cut/trim them and i'm not very confident it'll turn out well. there used to be those really short wigs in white and red with good promo photos, but i can't find them anywhere now. can you please suggest a place where i can buy really short wigs? thank you

If you’re looking for reeeeally short wigs, you’re probably going to have to go for faux fur or possibly one of the custom wigs made of mohair/alpaca. If you check Etsy, many people will make custom short wigs.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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Are there any websites that allow me to easily check the price of shipping for a doll to go somewhere domestically (within the us)?

USPS is the best you’re gonna find for checking postage rates. It helps to know the zip code of the place you’re going to send it.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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I'm wanting to sell my Fairyland Rus, but I've never sold anything online before, how do I go about it??

Dear Anon,

I’ll assume you don’t have a Den of Angels account, and go from there.

First, you’ll need good and accurate pictures of your doll. Note any flaws and be sure to get a shot of the box and paperwork. Choose a clean area of your home.

I’d suggest Facebook if you are new to selling. There are multiple doll selling communities (search BJD and you should find plenty). Once you join and are accepted to these groups, you can begin to list your doll.

Rus can be different prices depending on options and paint/blush. I’d suggest selling for what you paid, minus any shipping and customs. That’s assuming there are no flaws in the doll.

Make a listing for your doll in the facebook group. Look at what others do as a guide. Disclose any flaws, and let buyers know if you own pets or have a smoker in the household. Make sure you have a paypal account, and protect yourself by only shipping an insured package with tracking. Keep the receipt from the post office and photograph the box before it goes out so you can prove it was sent and that you packed it appropriately. If your buyer sends the payment as an e-check, make sure it clears before shipping.

When listing your doll, think of what kind of seller you’d like to deal with if YOU were the buyer. Be that kind of seller. Don’t ask buyers to cover your paypal fees, and don’t expect to get everything back on your doll (shipping, customs, and Paypal’s cut - don’t count on getting those back. The hobby isn’t like that anymore.)

Once the buyer makes the payment and the money is in your paypal account, then ship the doll. It’s a good idea to confirm their address with them. sometimes paypal holds onto old addresses.

If you don’t have Facebook, then you can try selling it on Tumblr, but it’s an awkward platform for selling. The same advice still more or less applies though.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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Hey there! I'm trying to sell a doll that was limited edition in Doll Chateau. How do I price her? Does the price go up at all because she's limited, or stay at the regular buying price? Also, I'm not active online at all, so is there anywhere that I can sell, or should I just log into my old tumblr and list her in the bjd tag?

Dear anon,

The price for any doll is what a buyer is willing to pay for it. Really, it depends on the demand for the doll. Some limited editions may sell for much less than their original price because they’re not in demand or weren’t popular. Others, like the Volks Lorina, may sell for two or three times the original price. Some dolls are more limited than others, and of course the condition the doll is in will affect the price. It’s difficult to be more specific without knowing which doll you’re looking to sell and having a chance to compare prices.

If you don’t have access to the marketplace on Den of Angels, I would recommend joining a few doll marketplaces on Facebook. You can search BJD and many groups will pop up.

Just be certain you document your packaging and tracking information when you sell the doll, so if anything goes wrong you can prove to Paypal that you did your due diligence as a seller.

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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Positioning the bjd eyes.

I’ve been thinking about speaking of this a while: how to avoid unnatural staring look on your doll. Trick is really simple.

As can be seen from pic on left, the doll has the empty stare. That’s because her eyes are positioned to look straight ahead, the pupil is centered on eye socket, there is no whites showing between the eyelid and iris.

On right, eyes are lifted bit upwards, so the pupil is touching the upper eyelid, and little sliver of white shows under the colored part. That’s all it takes to remove the empty stare.

Reason for this is that even if we humans have pupil&iris centered when looking forward, we see that kind of expression staring or surprised, as it makes look like eyes are open wide. Positioning the eyes upwards (or bit side according few people, I personally am not fond if that look on my dolls) makes dolls eyes to seem like she’s not widened her eyes but just looking normally or with relaxed expression.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you find this helpful!

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bjdadvice · 7 years

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How to sculpt teeth parts for BJDs! (using Tamiya Epoxy Quick Type) Completed Doll Shots || Faceup Shots Babby’s first tutorial! I hope it’ll be useful to someone out there! I’ve spent so much time editing this that it has stopped making sense to me already /facepalm

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