where do all the old dolls go?

Good question! Though I suppose the older BJD sculpts are like any other "old" doll, stuffed away in boxes and closets. Wonder if some have/will make their way to thrift shops? Thankfully, there aren't as many ABJDs out there as old Barbies!

Tastes change; the early BJDs were more anime/childlike/stylized, and now there's so many "real" (albeit idealized) sculpts, as well as changes in posing abilities/engineering. Still, I miss the old Soulkids, who, like Volks' MSDs, looked like children. Now the "mature" mini has taken over; I guess that's a niche that wanted filling (but not by me, LOL).

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore? Yes, from Happydoll in particular, as they are gone, gone, gone. And some of the older Souldolls, like Clara and Eckstine.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA? Oh yes, because they are definite characters in my story universe, although I've only recently been posting pics/stories on DoA; I've regularly posted my stories on other BJD boards the past 5 years.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand? Yes, two Volks heads -- an Isao 2nd ed., and an oldskin F-13.

What state are these dolls in now? Good condition, and I'm pleased to have them -- the Isao as a "spare"/older self for my original fullset Isao 2nd ed., and the F-13 as an older version of my old Leeke Ching.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why? n/a

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
The two that come to mind are...
CP Kid Delf Bomi (only seen one on the marketplace)
Mythdoll Little Leroi (I've actually seen this one twice on the marketplace)

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
I photograph my dolls, but lately I've not had a lot of time (since I started writing, I kinda fell off, so for a couple years it's been sloooow photostorying...) and I don't post here a lot because it always fell off the page quickly since no one commented. I posted over at their journal.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
I love yellow skin and banged up cuties. I bought a first version Rengemaru last year who's "mellowy" and I like to buy older yellowy toned dolls because they're pre-loved and have a need, I think. I'm also into antiques, so maybe that's just me. XD

What state are these dolls in now?
Most of my dolls are in various states of snuggle. Which means they need a little dusting if I haven't cuddled them in a little while (having almost 50 is hard to maintain at times!) but they're all still basically the same as they were when I got them. They're cared for and, I hope, happy.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
I'm not a big picture poster as it is, but I do post comparisons and shots when needed by others. I also post swap pictures for when they get things. But I wouldn't ever /not/ post a picture. I don't think I have anyone I'm ashamed of. Not even Fidelis. And he's a whore. (He's not, I just tease him because he was one. :p)

 

Good Question! You're right, I don't really see a LOT of older dolls up for sale or visibly on the Galleries... But I think it's just because the owners still have them but aren't posting them or aren't much on DoA, etc. And maybe some are being sold outside of the usual places... Maybe given to others or gone off to second-hand shops...

Also--the bjd world was smaller back then... fewer people and fewer dolls, so there really weren't THAT many of the older dolls sold in the first place, particularly outside of Japan and Korea, since they were harder to get.

But it does seem as if we should be seeing more older dolls. Maybe the owners figure that the market price would be low on them and are just keeping them?

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Pre-2006 dolls...
From 2005:
CP Elf Yder, limited
CP Juri 05, limited
Volks Cyndy2, limited
From 2004:
CP Elf Lishe + Vampire + Sleeping heads, limited
CP Elf El + Vampire head, limited

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
Yes, I do! Not often, but when I take photos, I'll post them somewhere.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
No. I mostly buy newer dolls (because I have the older dolls I wanted).

What state are these dolls in now?
Well, I think they are as good as new! There is some yellowing on the dolls I've had out and about a lot. What is interesting is that the heads that were wrapped up are still very white (my early dolls were mostly white skin, so it's more easy to notice yellowing). I don't notice it much or bother much about it. They don't have chips or faceup problems, so I treat them like my other dolls. I haven't even had to re-string them yet (the old kicky-legs meant that they were pretty tightly strung for ages... I've just had to tighten the elastic a bit so far).

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
Hmmm... not really. I have a lot of dolls, so they don't always get show a lot. It's just whatever dolls I happen to have at meetups or take photos of... some dolls get ignored for a while, but not because of age.

I love ALL my dolls--older and newer!

 

Well I have my Soulkid Miryu who was one of the last to still have the old style Soulkid body but I upgraded her body to the new one, she is my oldest doll so is over 5 years old, also my Minifee Shiwoo girl who is the same sort of age. I guess the reason I don't put up pictures of them any more is that I think everyone's seen enough Shiwoos by now! Ditto the older Soulkids. I think maybe people still have these dolls knocking around and still play with them but maybe they just aren't in more up to date galleries etc because people are thinking like me 'no one needs to see that doll anymore, they know how it poses, what its' body looks like, what size it is etc etc'. I also have a very old Minigem uyoo who is very yellow, I've had her years and she was second hand when I bought her but I love her to bits
I'm not very good at photographing my dolls in general, it's not an aspect of the hobby I'm particularly interested in so I tend to only put up comparison pictures people have requested or maybe if I bought a new doll that not many people had and wanted to see. I guess the older dolls get a bit left out of that! Very interesting thread, I'd love to know where all the Tiffee's and Leroi's are (I've had both in the past!)

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Yes, I have a Cutie Delf Cory, AR LF Present Jade ver 1, and I have an old SoulDoll 60cm boy body that I'm using with a hybrid -- ditto with a couple of other bodies I have. I also have an SD13 Megu head on an SD girl body. It gets hard for me to count dolls, because I have a fair amount of hybrids so I have some with newer heads and older bodies and vise versa.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
I don't tend to take lots of pics of anybody -- it's not a matter of being old or new or whatever, I just don't get around to it often.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
My most recent purchases where newer dolls. I actually bought one straight from the company and have another one coming which is unusual for me, since I usually buy off the market place. However, I like the look of a lot of older sculpts, so I could easily see myself ending up with more.

What state are these dolls in now?
Very good shape. I have a lot of dolls that I've either had for some years or I purchased second hand and are older (I didn't mention them all above as some are still made). I find that my abjds age quite well. My oldest is an SD Sara who I bought second hand a little over a year ago, but who was manufactured prior to Volks putting the head plates on their dolls. She's yellowed, but it's a very even color and not extreme -- she really looks quite nice. Some of my NS guys have mellowed out somewhat, but they really don't come off as all that yellow per say.

I like a lot of older sculpts. I actually in most cases lean more towards single jointed bodies, and I have a preference for the more stylized heads. Even though none of my minis' characters are children, I still have them as the older 'immature' mini sculpts, because I've just not been drawn towards most of the slim minis that have come out. I guess, I really like that old school abjd sort of look. When it comes to new dolls, I tend to veer towards that same look, though there are always a few exceptions.

 

I don't think the problem is that "there are no old dolls on DOA"-- it's that people don't SEE them.

There are more newbie members than there are active oldtimers... people's eyes are not "tuned" to read & recognize the older sculpts, even if they see the names in Gallery threads.... and people don't like to click on what they don't know. So they skip these threads, & go click on threads with modern sculpt names that they do recognize. Which is why so many sculpts seem to go through a heyday of popularity & then fade into obscurity; these sculpts may still have the same amount of fans here, but this number gets dwarfed by the number of new people who don't recognize.

But, I have noticed that old sculpts still maintain a "core" following of the faithful, people who keep coming back to view those sculpts year after year. There's always somebody who's happy to see your oldster! The comments are usually so happy and thankful-- "Oh thank you for posting, I haven't seen this guy in years!" or "Wow, I never see this sculpt anymore! cool!"

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

Sure! Many. I only buy a doll if it's True Love, so these guys are here to stay, barring all disaster.

Volks Arashi, Isao 1 & 2, Shiro 1 & 2, Tsukasa, Yukinojo, School Head A, Sakaki... Dollmore Amos... Soom Namu... AngelRegion Present Ren... Iplehouse Soo Ri...

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

Yes, regularly.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

Yes - Volks Sakaki, a longstanding Grail. I was happy to bring him home this past New Year's... but I still would have been happy to bring him home ten years from now.

What state are these dolls in now?

Beautiful + adored.

Their resin has mellowed, and the white guys have yellowed a little, and there is the odd faceup-scuff here and there... but these guys have been living like kings for the past 6 years, so they're still in beauty shape. I am especially careful to keep the tan dolls draped, so their color is still good.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?

N/A. I can't imagine why anybody would do such a thing... but I suppose those who do have their reasons for it.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Yes, my Volks Kohya was made in 2004 and my CP Yder was made in 2005

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
Very rarely, but I've never posted a lot of pictures of any of my dolls

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
No, but I definitely would! There are many older Volks limiteds that I would love to own.

What state are these dolls in now?
They both look great, and my oldest doll is my favorite doll

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
My dolls are usually in a state of half-dress with unfinished things that have pins all over, etc...since I'm almost always sewing for them. I take pictures somtimes but I don't usually post them.

 

I would think that most of them are sitting around in collections, or sitting in boxes, though some are certainly more treasured than others, and not necessarily forgotten. I'll admit that I will still check out galleries for my old favourites, or ones of dolls I haven't heard of before.

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
Yes, a Mythdoll Little Leroi (he seems to be popular here) I bought mine as the company was going under, it wasn't a terribly pleasant experience.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
Not really, though I rarely seem to take pictures of any of my dolls, so it's not like he's singled out. My MSD-size dolls don't get as much attention, I found out that they're just not the size for me, but I'm far too attached to them to sell them off.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
Yes, though the sculpt is still made today, my CP Moon.

What state are these dolls in now?
My Little Leroi is in the worst shape of all my dolls, I'll admit. I need to finish sanding his aesthetic and mobility mods, and he really needs a new head and hands, and I've wiped his faceup (which wasn't sealed ). His hands are rather poorly sculpted, and I can't do much of anything with them. His head, it also has issues, and doesn't really suit the character. His original head will probably end up in a box until I can figure out what to do with it.

 

Oi oi!

I've still got my AR Glow in the Dark, whom I love to pieces and post up regularly (By my lax standards of regularity, at least). Old sculpts just tend to sink in the gallery, and with the high volume of new releases nowadays, even "New" sculpts get buried. MY Glow doesn't seem to have yellowed at all, and the only damage is that her body was modified by a previous owner, who sanded her chest flat but never finished the job.

I've also got an oldskin MSD Myu, whom I don't think is still made. She's currently in such horrible condition that I don't think I'll be posting her for a while. I found her in a Closet Child, buried at the bottom of a display case below a fleet of better-preserved, newer, and better-looking dolls.

 

Dolls that have stood the test of time in my collection are the ones I got in 2006: Volks Kun (though she's still made and still popular), my Pippitan, my Liebchen...even the Secretdoll Yomo I bought last year is actually one from around 2006 or so when I had fallen for her but was afraid to buy anything that spendy from overseas.

I still remember when a friend got one of the early Soulkids as her first BJD and to this day I remember the looks from their promo photos at the time better than any other line. Admittedly, I was wondering not all that long ago what happened to those older dolls I saw when I first got into the hobby, but I don't have a lot of time to spend online so I don't spend as much time in the galleries as I'd like, so I'm not sure how often they crop up. I still have hopes of coming across a Dollshe Salubia one day who needs to come to my home.

 

Hmmm, I just came back yesterday, after being away for 5 years. I still have the 4 dolls that I had when I left. I am not sure which ones are still being made. I have a Lati White, Luts Cutie, DollZone Megi, and a Mythdoll Leroi. I enjoy everyone's pictures, but I have never been good at taking my own, and I don't have a lot of time for it. I just got the dolls out and redressed and worked on them a little. I am still in awe of three of them. Not sure how I feel about the Mythdoll, am playing around with her a little to see if I can love her.

 

Welcome back! It is nice that you could return after so many years and still feel excitement toward (most of) your dolls.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?

Yep, my Dollshe/Tensiya Tan Hound IM is definitely not being sold anymore. D8

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?

Definitely! He's so striking.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?

Nah, they're a bit expensive, the ones I want. /pines

What state are these dolls in now?

My poor Camui has the joints in one knee worn down, probably from his tight stringing, and his ankle was cracked from an accident, but he still poses perfectly (as perfectly as an old Dollshe can pose without sueding or wiring ). His colouring seems to have stayed pretty constant too, in spite of all the fears about 'greening' tan resins back then.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?

Nope~

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
I've got my ghaleon~ He's a shiwoo elf i bought through Liria when they were first sold. He was my first doll.

I think Nathan, my hound, is nearing five now.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
i rarely post photos. i haven't had a good place to photograph since i moved to california and he doesn't have a whole lot of clothes atm.


Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
No, but that doesn't mean i wouldn't. i'm just not looking right now.

What state are these dolls in now?
Ghaleon's dirty and needs to be cleaned. he just got a new wig recently tho. he's a sort of bone white now. still beautiful. he did break an ear once, but it's been glued back on. since then i've had nightmares about his ear breaking.

Nathan's dirty too and needs a bath. they both need new face-ups... something i've been out of practice with since the move to LA. there was no where to photograph them and nowhere to do face-ups.

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
not really. I think a lot of people like to shoot the most recent acquisitions. I don't keep dolls i don't like, so it's not like the boys aren't getting love, I just haven't had time to photograph them.

 

I have a volks Madoka and SwD Lucas, I own a Domuya Flexi-body that is no longer sold, and I own a gomidoll Iru-HS, sold out in... 2006 I think. All of these, aside from the Domuya body, were bought second hand and all of them are in good shape. I wouldn't dream of selling them.

Since I rarely take pictures, there are not many photo's of my crew here on DoA, but that doesn't mean that the dolls don't interest me. I'm very proud to own them.

 

Do you own any sculpts that are over five years old and not sold anymore?
I have a few that are older than that, but that have been "reduxed" in more recent years by the companies in question, and at least one that's no longer sold and probably older than 5 years at this point.

Do you still photograph them and put them on DOA?
I shoot them all pretty equally tbh, depending on my mood. All the shots go on DA.

Have you recently bought an older sculpt second hand?
I'm forever picking up the older heads in particular second hand, I don't know what it is about them that appeals to me, but I seem to have a weak spot for the early end of CP in particular.

What state are these dolls in now?
Same as the others tbh, little bit more yellow perhaps, but over all, they've aged amazingly well I think!

Do you own old doll sculpts and dont put them on the forum, why?
I don't put any photo's on the forum, so I can't say this is exclusively down to their being the older sculpts. I don't post to here because I'm not a fan of the galleries and much prefer DA.