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the-bjd-community-confess · 2 months

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I tried to buy a recast head on Aliexpress. Up until now my dolls have been legit only and I planned to keep it that way, but I was browsing around for other stuff on Ali (as one does) and on a whim searched up an older long-discontinued Fairyland event sculpt that I've loved for awhile. Just to see. There was one listing from a smaller recast shop for only around $20. I felt very conflicted about it but I ended up placing an order because I was really curious and there was no way I'd ever afford that sculpt legitimately if it did come along on the secondhand market. A couple weeks later the shop messages me to let me know that they're actually out of stock of that one head and not planning to make more, and gave me a refund. Part of me feels kind of relieved that it didn't work out but part of me is a little disappointed too I guess. I don't plan to try again because the idea of owning such a forbidden doll feels nervewracking and I also do sincerely care about my money going toward artists in the actual hobby community. I guess it was the extremely low price of the head and the curiosity and the idea of owning such a difficult to find sculpt (even a knockoff) that caused me to cave.

I've been thinking about the whole thing a lot, I think because it's made me think a lot about the recast issue and how it plays out in the BJD community. I've read countless articles and opinions and reasons why recasts are bad--I've heard every argument--and I do agree on the whole! And yet I still I feel like I can't really find it in myself to fault people who do buy recasts. Anyway, this is kind of a half-baked confession but I guess I just wanted somewhere to dump my jumbled feelings about this whole thing.

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #Community Counterfeits #Rare Sculpts #Pos

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beedaleebjd · 5 years

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Psssst do you happen to have any tips or beginners links for newbies who are interested in getting in to the BJD hobby? 👀

*SOFT SCREECH* ALICE COME DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WITH ME... /CLAMBERS FOR

This is a very slap-dash tips post, because a full fledged crash-course would take me much longer than a day to assemble. I think this could get someone started, but I can always answer specific questions if you have them in the future. ❤️

BJD 101: For a rundown of definitions, terminology, and origins of the hobby, I highly recommend checking out the Wikipedia article. (Warning for old vaguely spooky doll photos) I honestly wish I just read this when I got started, haha. It’s not everything, but it’s definitely a start.

Study! Read as much as you possibly can!! Especially terminology and maintenance. I highly recommend watching a bunch of unboxing and review videos- it might seem silly, but they're really helpful to get an idea of scale, how they function/pose, and how they look and feel when handled by a human. I also recommend trying to find owner photos of dolls you’re interested in, because sometimes the store photos are limited!

Join a community! Consider joining a forum like den of angels or a facebook bjd group like BJD Addicts! Exposure to the hobby is really helpful and you learn way faster. It’s fine if you’re shy, you don’t have to interact if you don’t want to- I like lurking DoA for the valuable tutorials and threads on doll brands I'm interested in. Tip: You can view some of DoA’s threads without an account by searching "[subject/doll of choice] den of angels" in google, but i got tired of that pretty fast. Signing up takes a few weeks to get approved but it's worth it for all the knowledge, even old archived stuff.

Window-shop until you drop!! I think the number one regret in the hobby is 'too many dolls, not enough time to love any of them'. So I HIGHLY recommend making wish-lists. These help a lot with avoiding impulse purchases and buyer’s remorse. There are a loooot of dolls out there, so if you've seen a huge majority of them, you'll be more picky.

For me, wishlists include both dream/grail dolls, tentative desires i’m not sure about but want to remember the name of, dolls I could never afford but feel validated writing down somewhere, and also cataloging info- measurements, wig/eye/shoe sizes, resin colors, price, current availability, dealer websites, etc. it becomes such a godsend when you shop for them. you’ll thank me later!!

I spent a lot of time browsing dealer websites like Alice's Collections, Legenddoll, Denver Doll, DOLK Station, etc- I linked some of those here. This is to see what my tastes are. Not EVERY doll company will go through all or any dealers, but it’s a good start!

If you’re the social type, going to conventions or local bjd meetups can help with getting an idea of your preferences! I accidentally walked by one at sakuracon last year and got to hold an MSD and an 11cm tiny, and that was REALLY helpful for me to realize I DID like those sizes. If other doll owners will let you hold theirs, I totally recommend it! (Always ask first, of course! Not everyone is comfortable with it!)

Go!! Slow!!! if you think you're taking it easy, go even slower. i'm so serious. it's so easy to get dazzled, over-eager, or totally overwhelmed by this hobby. especially if you have a habit of hyper focus/special interest tenancies like i do.

Patience is a virtue anyway: If you’re not buying second-hand or in-stock dolls, you will be waiting a while for your doll. Anywhere from a few months to a year, depending on the company and how backlogged they may be at any given point. Dolls are usually pre-order and take time to be made.

Some people like to just buy sculpts and let a character ‘come to them’, which is absolutely valid so if you wanna just go on a feeling that’s great!! i totally can’t afford that route most of the time, so I spend a lot of time mood-boarding for my potential dolls using pinterest and my own art to see just how in love with an idea i am and highly recommend it. I’ll ramble about this in another post soon.

Budget! They are not very cheap like 10-20$ fashion dolls at wal-mart, so those new to the hobby may be shocked.This hobby is an investment and an indulgence/luxury, as with most Nice Things. But don’t be discouraged! There are affordable dolls out there, a lot of Dealer websites offer layaway plans, and the second-hand market is always circulating things!

Here is a DoA list of dolls that are under 300$.

Note: Size of dolls often scale with price, so the bigger it is, the more expensive (and HEAVY) it will be. Some videos on BJD sizing here and here, but Flickr is crawling with height comparisons as well.

Craft or Not To Craft: Are you team 'i'm gonna sew/craft stuff/do wigs/eyes/faceups for my doll' or team 'i'm gonna buy clothes/props/faceups/wigs/etc from other artists!'? I know most people end up being a little bit of both, but these things both cost time or money (or both) so you wanna think about that in the overall price when you're considering a doll. It seems intimidating, but really, it’s the responsible thing to do. I’d rather plan for it than have a naked sad doll to feel bad about. Some personal recommendations below helped me get started:

Wigs: Monique Gold Collection wigs are affordable in the 20 dollar range, and have incredibly soft fiber! (You can find a lot of these available through ebay sellers as well)

Eyes: Lemonjellyshoppe and CandyKittenEmporium have some incredible eyes and also do custom orders!

Sewing Patterns: DGRequim on etsy and SproutyDoll have both been very nice to use and easy understand and modify to fit your doll!

When you’re savvy on the sizing of your dolls and if you’re comfy with secondhand sales, Facebook groups like BJD Addicts Sales & Commissions, BJD Lovers Sales, and BJD Adoption has a lot of people selling BJDs and accessories, oftentimes discounted for de-stashing or collection overhauls!

In addition to the other dealer sites I linked before, Dollmore (which also has an ebay shop) has a lot of options on everything!

Rec@sts and the community- This is a veeery hot button topic, but you’ll probably see a lot of it the more you get into the hobby. I don’t want to talk about it a lot because of the negativity it attracts, but to sum it up: BJDs are essentially commissioned art pieces. They are hand sculpted by an artist or small group of artists, and then cast in resin and refined and strung by hand. There are people that will cast copies of them and sell them for a very cheap profit. To put it simply, it’s theft, and it effects the livelihood of people that make a living of their art. A lot of companies stop making dolls because they can’t compete anymore. Most official doll/art related conventions (LDoll, Resin Rose, etc) ban rec@sted dolls, as well as DoA and several of the facebook groups. Be sure to read all the rules of groups/forums you join them.

A lot of people come into this hobby unaware of this and buy a bootleg doll on sites like Ebay or Aliexpress, and then get turned away from the community without understanding why. There are understandable circumstances that cause someone to end up with a bootleg doll, but it’s also important to respect the artists and creators that share their art with the public.

On that note: Sometimes people will resell 2nd hand dolls as legit when they are not. Be careful about who you buy second-hand dolls from. Also, keeping certificates of authenticity (CoAs), receipts, and original packaging is must if you ever plan to resell your doll!

I... think that’s everything major I can think of... at least enough to get someone started? I know a lot of it is a bit vague, but if you wanted my opinion on a certain brand or size of doll or budgeting tips if money is tight, I’d be happy to give my personal preferences on that separately!! But otherwise, good luck and happy treasure hunting! ヾ(＾-＾)ノ

#aliceartsrwby #askbox #textposts

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general-grey · 5 years

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Heyoooo, I am not active on Tumblr these days tbh, but. Lemme just hug you real tight, wish you the best, because I believe I have missed your birthday this time, but given there top something meme and your Bloodborne - what about top of the best memories related to the game or Souls series in general?

That is alright buddy, I really hope you’re having fun over whatever other platform you’ve migrated over to

Best memories... oh boy, that is. a Hard thing to explain, I had several absolutely unforgettable moments, both alone with only me and the game, and with others.

I don’t know how many I should list, but I’ll just start somewhere and hope to finish :’)

(Under a read-more because it got LONG)

1. My very first login to Dark Souls - So, I’ve actually found this game by pure dumb luck. I don’t actually remember how it came up, I think I maybe saw some memes about it online, bunch of ThePruld videos.

I didn’t think much of it, but at one point it came up in an IRL conversation, as a passing subject and I asked, “okay but what IS dark souls” and the friend just simply went “it’s just very hard”.

I’m NOT good at games. Idk why I wanted to try it though. I guess the dingy ruined castles ticked my mind just enough to be interested.

A friend on Steam shared it with me because they had it, and I didn’t, and so I gave it a little whirl... and I fell FAST and i fell HARD. I remember struggling with the keyboard for about an hour. I remember realizing that I do have a few controllers lying around in the house, and a wireless receiver because at one point my dad ordered some from AliExpress because he wanted to play old Star Wars games on controllers.

The rest is history, now.

2. Exploring the Undead Burg - as a small continuation of the first bit, but nobody warned me that this game would be so damn BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful. I struggled in the Burg for at least ten hours, for sure. I got used to carefully, very very carefully exploring. I firebombed a Black Knight to death from the top of a house’s roof. I did a LOT of Hellkite Drake soul farming. Y’all know the one.

It was so utterly special for the first time I don’t think I’ll ever feel as alive as I did when I was doing those dumb things. I remember the whole Undead Burg by heart. The way the warm sunlight touches down on the moss-covered stone walls.

3. First flight to Anor Londo - I cried, I legit cried, when I finally got there. I don’t remember if I was aware of what was to come, but when those gargoyles lifted my dingy little knight up, and took to the heavens.... and then rose above the golden Anor Londo?

I think I had to go for a little walk after that because it felt so good, so profoundly amazing, I could not concentrate to sit and progress.

4. Oolacile adventures with @abyss-wolf - I actually rambled to her for so long about this dumb amazing game that she actually got it for herself... and then we played a lot together and then these co-op sessions turned into actual dates, adn the rest is history now... but!

Oolacile was special. Because, I think I was getting her through it for the very first time. And I was trying to direct her towards some loot. There was one particular loot that I directed her towards, but I remembered there was a hole in front of it.

I told her so.

She went “yeah yeah I know I saw”

And then she proceeded to walk straight into the goddamn hole, and fell to her death.

I think I laughed at her for like 10 minutes straight, or at least until I ran all the way back so she could summon me again.

5. Oolacile adventures, round two -

Me: “I’m not very good at shooting tbh.”

Her: -pulling out a max upgraded Dragonslayer Greatbow- “why, it’s not so hard lol”

Her: -proceeds to headshot every single enemy in Oolacile garden- “like so”

Me: -at this point actively repressing the gay thoughts like the fucking dumbass i was, there is zero other explanation- “stop showing off your big dick bro”

6. Oolacile adventures, round three - That one time when she got herself a bunch of items from item editor and she gave my knight, Caspiron, Gwyndolin’s bow

and it was so fucking tiny

and SHE laughed at me for like 10 minutes straight because HER bow was bigger than her whole character

there were lots of dick jokes, and that’s how it was all well in life.

7. Dark Souls III adventures, still with @abyss-wolf - That ONE TIME.

When we were doing the Darkened Fireling Shrine.

And we walked into Champion Gundyr’s boss room, and the FUCKER immediately used the fucking grab attack on me and Y O T E me off the FUCKING cliff.

8. Dark Souls III adventures, round two - that one time when I was AFK because I was doing something for mom and when I came back she covered the area around me with shiny pebbles.

9. Exploring the Tomb of the Giants - Something with the atmospheric part - that area is completely, utterly pitch black. You can’t see anything at all, save for perhaps the ground immediately beneat your feet.

There are giant skeletons in the darkness. They are NOT nice. You can stumble blindly into them if you aren’t careful.

You can slip off the roads and fall to your death, or into places where you have to figure aout all over how to get back up, all semi-blind.

That was such good shit, holy fuck guys.

10. Finding the Kiln of the First Flame - The gate beyond the Lordvessel opens up. It reveals a staircase, leading just a little way down. As you walk upon it, spirits of Silver Knights walk past you, like wisps of memory.

You are standing in a giant space. A bleak, burnt up desert or nothing but ash and old, warped structures. There is light filtering in, but you cannot see from where.

It’s beautiful. It’s desolate and forbidding.

And it is the end.

You’ve made it. Only one thing left to do. And you know what it is.

.......

Shit this turned into a “favourite Dark Souls moments”, huh? I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to start from the beginning and I got carried away.

But it REALLY does show which is my favourite game of the whole FromSoft lineup, huh? Can’t really ever let go of the first one you’ve played.

I adore Bloodborne, but I’ve not had all the time to collect my thoughts on it. I’ll probably write good long rambles about it too, eventually, because holy shit i’m loving it with all my heart, indeed i do

#god look at this FUCKING ramble holy shit #i love these games so much #i have no fucking words for it they mean SO MUCH to me #i love the story i love the dedicated community #i love the enthusiasm it inspires in others #i love how GOOD the gameplay too makes me feel #i love how tightly interconnected both the mechanics and the narratives are #Soulsborne games are MASTERPIECES #and i will NOT shut up about them #and also yeah that's how i met my girlfriend and honestly #the games remind me of her as well #because of all the times we've spent in them #and still do #and it's. it's important #it's so important y'all #crysdrawsthings

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