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Are you bothered by seams????

Apr 12, 2010

    1. I have just started this new hobby and have a Dollzone and waiting for my second.
      Yesterday was the first time I went for a Meet Up and saw such beautiful dolls but what bothered me were the "seams".

      Since my doll is so smooth I was very surprised . Some of the smaller ones had seams that made the doll look cracked which one owner said that when she got it she also thought that.

      I know some owners will sand them but what is confusing to me is that ....these dolls are expensive and not exactly "pick one from the shelf of a shop doll" so how come these companies send their dolls like this or even charge for sanding ??
      What I'm trying to say is that if you are paying that much , don't you want some better finish for the price ?

      "ARE YOU BOTHERED BY THE SEAMS ????? "

      Would love to hear from other members and find out their opinions.
       
    2. I'm a bit bothered by seams. Like you said, they're high quality dolls and shouldn't really come with any "blemishes" as such. Also, a beginner (like myself) might not have the courage to sand their doll and will have to leave the seams on the doll. This is such a shame, because the dolls are so pretty and the seam lines spoil them. :(
      -Massive seam rant over. Lol.
       
    3. I just noticed seams on a lot of pictures that I was looking at yesterday, and I was wondering about that. So you say that Dollzone sands their dolls. That is a plus for me, as Jade says, being a noob, I don't want to venture into sanding resin, let alone on something as expensive as my doll! I don't really mind much if they charge for sanding, but they should all at least offer the service. Does anyone know if Iplehouse sands their dolls or sends them out with the seams? I really love their dolls, but I want to be prepared to not be disappointed if my doll gets here all "SEAMED".
       
    4. nope. i never got dolls with seams so bad it actually looked like cracks. and usually the most visible ones are covered by clothes... :)
       
    5. Short answer? No. If I want them seamless, I'll shell out for some other poor soul to do it and not even whimper a complaint because I've sanded seams, I know what a time consuming, messy, dangerous on the lungs job it is and under no circumstances do I EXPECT a doll company to send a doll out to me fully sanded without a charge. There is a reason companies and people charge for it and honestly, until you've done it, much like with many things in this hobby, you'll never fully appreciate what a total PAIN in the backside it is to do!

      Think of it this way, would you rather have the doll within a month or end up paying for the sanding with both a longer wait time and an extra $50 hidden in the price?

      ALL OF THIS SAID...some companies have ATROCIOUS seamlines that really are more like untouched flashing...(you know who you are Fairyland, Serendipity et al), and those I do think should have at least a passing glance with sandpaper before they leave the company, yes, because they're a danger and I have cut myself on them before now. Normal seamlines tho, nope, I'll pony up the cash for them to be stripped if they bother me.
       
    6. Seamlines don't bother me too much, but maybe that's because the seems on all my dolls are hardly noticeable. My resinsoul Mei came completely free of seams, apparently they sand their dolls. My puki puki has some seams visible, if you look for them. My Afi has some seamlines too, but they are hardly noticeable, you really have too look for them and the only ones that stand out a bit more are the ones where I blushed her. I was afraid that they'd be really bad on my Afi, and they couldn't be sanded (tan doll), but I was pleasantly surprised. So as long as they don't stand out too much, I don't mind them. Most of the time they'll be covered by clothes anyway.
       
    7. Pretty much what Lulu said to be honest... the sheer amount of time it takes to completely remove seams on dolls... let's just say since I tried it myself, I'm not so bothered by them being visible now ;)

      Also, some people see seam removal as a part of bonding with their doll,and anyhow if companies offered seam sanding as standard they would likely add the cost to the basic price of the doll anyway, better to have the choice to pay or not imo :)
       
    8. Can't say that they really bother me at all. I would be mad if, as mentioned above, I injured myself on them or something. The most they bother me is the fact that they sometimes catch dirt, but that's usually easy to get rid of.
      Also, I'd hate to pay for it from a company, partially because I've seen cases where the company's idea of a $50+ seam removal does not match the customers. It's really just not worth the fuss for me to wait from them, though I do think they should remove the worst of any seam spillover.
       
    9. Seams don't bother me in the least. The reason companies charge for removing them is that it is time-consuming and dangerous (because of the toxic resin dust) to do. BJDs are meant to be interactive - you customize them, you change their faceups, their eyes, their hair. You mod them and yes, you sand them.
       
    10. There has already been a debate thread concerning this topic, and my answer here remains the same.

      No, I am not bothered by seams. I like my doll's seams. I would be extremely unhappy if I ordered a doll that came to me with its seams sanded because that is customization that cannot be changed and can lead to uneven yellowing over time. I would never pay anyone to have my doll's seams removed, and I certainly would not appreciate a raise in a doll's price to accommodate seam sanding that I have no desire for.
       
    11. I think I agree with the overall opinion. I don't miind seams at all, so long as they don't hurt me. I haven't had any of those dreaded types of seams as Lulu describes. Alot of my seams are barely visible...and covered by clothes if anything. My girl has some seams on her legs that make me sulk a little bit, but I still love her sooooooo much! I might decide to get her seams sanded.

      It would be awesome if the companies offered the option to sand the seams. But it would probably extend the wait time. I don't know if I could do that to myself. But it would be lovely if they gave that option to people if they wanted.
       
    12. I don't like seams much, but am learning to live with them since I now have a RS Luna.. I also had an Elfdoll Ruru that you couldn't sand seams so I learned to live with them.
      But I have had dolls that had the really rough seams...I do sand my WS/NS dolls...
       
    13. Only in extreme cases. When seams are essentially just lines, I am not bothered. When there's a marked discrepancy in the height of the resin on either side, I am bothered. I've sanded some of my dolls. Most of them, in fact. I have a few who cannot be sanded, or whose seams remain visible after sanding, but I'm really not overly concerned.
       
    14. My BBB Mei came completely seamless, but my two Custom House Ange Ai's have some slight seaming - nothing I can't live with, although the collecting dirt thing does bother me. I knew there was a concern with sanding the seams, but I didn't realize how dangerous it could be, so I think I'll just live with the seams! LOL!
       
    15. There are a bunch of threads on this, i believe ^^;


      Anyway, nope, seams don't bother me at all. I've never had a doll with a glaringly obvious seam, though only a few of my dolls appear to be sanded. Honestly, as long as the seams aren't horribly obvious and thick, i prefer that they have them! Sanding any part of a doll can cause discoloration, so there are some pretty good reasons to not sand them, especially on older or special colored dolls (tan, grey, blue, green, etc).

      As Lulu said, seam sanding is a long, difficult, and dangerous job, which is why it always surprises me when i hear about companies that do it by defualt and don't charge for it.

      Dolly Debate thread: "All About Sanding"
      Dolly Debate thread: (this one's a little older, but a good read none the less) "Hand-made" doll flaws
      General Discussion thread: Sanding
       
    16. They don't bother me much. Most are covered by clothes anyway.
      Also, I have a tanned doll which I will not be able to sand, so I simply have to live with it. As long as they don't cut me, I'm not bothered by it.
       
    17. I like seamlines. I appreciate them as evidence of the workmanship of the mold. There are "good" seamlines and "bad" seamlines, and I always suspect that companies that sand automatically, without offering the service, must do so because otherwise the seamlines would be atrocious. There are also companies (Fairyland comes to mind) who have "bad" seamlines and really ought to adjust their molds.

      I wouldn't want a doll sanded automatically, because removing that upper surface of the resin exposes other layers that aren't cured/settled/what-have-you exactly the same way. Sanded areas can yellow faster, dye unevenly, pick up dirt differently, etc. If someone is bothered by seamlines, they can have sanding done when the doll is received, but you can't undo sanding if you didn't want it. :3
       
    18. Hm, i'm confused as to why fairyland keeps getting brought up as an example of "bad" seams o_O; i've got 4 minifees and 3 pukis (and a littlefee that belongs to a friend of mine), and none of them have bad seams. in fact, most of them half almost none. The pukis have the worst, and they only look more obvious because the dolls are teeny.
       
    19. So long as the hands and face are seam free it doesn't really bother me very much.

      Occasionally I'll notice them again and it will niggle at me, but not enough to prompt me to get out the sanding pads and do something about it.... My girl with the most obvious seams to date didn't get sanded for well over a year after she arrived.

      Although sanding is such an aggrivation that, if buying a new doll, I'll generally spring for the extra cost of getting them sanded so I don't have to add it to my "to do" list.

      I can understand the companies offering them unsanded and charging extra for the sanding - it's a way of making them available that little bit cheaper to those who that-little-bit makes all the difference between affording and not affording the doll. Those who can afford the extra, pay it and save themselves the hassle of sanding, those who can't take the plunge and sand for themeselves (or learn to live with visible seams)...Those who can afford it but do't think it's worth paying when they can do it for themselves don't pay the extra... etc.

      I'd rather save for longer and pay the extra than have the task looming over me on my to-do list YMMV

      Teddy
       
    20. I really don't care about visible seam lines at all. It's nice when they're not that noticeable, imho, but otherwise .. no big deal. My Miho's Delf body has pretty bad seams, I must say, I thought about sanding them once but forgot about it pretty fast because I realized that they don't bother me when I handle him. And for my Mono .. Actually, I'm not even sure if he has seams ...

      Okay, I went to check :XD: Yes, he does, but they're so delicate, you can't really feel them. And I had to look real close to even see them. That's how much I care ._. I even forget if my boys have seam lines.