Ball Jointed Doll Questions?
Okay so I guess you get the point ~Pokes Title~
So I have a few questions
( You dont have to answer each one but please put what number your answering before you answer )
Some extra info –
Im 13 years of age. I live in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I am a frequent visitor to New York.
My cousin has more than 15 ball jointed dolls and is now building them there own house ( Out of a shed ). So I can get help from her.
1. Names of the sizes of BJDs ( 12 cm, 70 cm, 45 cm, etc. )
2. Any recommended Websites To Purchase Ball Jointed Dolls?.
3. Whats the best way to buy a bjd online? or clothes, wigs, eyes?
4. Best place to purchase a face-up? or people who can do face-ups that have no idea what bjds are? ( Example – Someone at a local craft store )
5. Where is a good place besides DenOfAngels.com to purchase a used doll or sell a doll?
6. First Buyer tips?
1) Different companies sometimes use different names (e.g. Lati has the color system), but generally speaking you will find designations like SD for dolls between 55 and 65 cm, MSD for dolls smaller than SDs but no smaller than 30cm, Tinies for any dolls smaller than MSD size. Some examples of company specific designations include Luts Super Senior Delf (dolls about 70cm tall) or Iplehouse’s Junior Iplehouse Doll (JID), which fall into the MSD size category.
2) Depends on what kind of doll you want, really. So far my personal favorite is LUTS. I also have a Model Doll from Dollmore and a boy from Blue Blood Doll (lovely American company with great quality dolls, but so far she only offers SD-size boys). I have friends who love Dollzone and Iplehouse. You already know about Den of Angels, so you really should take some time to read company reviews and look at company lists there.
3) I’m not really sure what you mean by this. There are very few physical BJD shops in the world and most of them are in Asia (I think there’s on Volks shop in California), so unless you plan on traveling to Japan or Korea every time you want a doll you’re pretty much stuck buying online. That goes for clothes, wigs, shoes, etc. as well as dolls, though depending on the size of your doll you might be able to fine clothes and accessories that fit them but aren’t made for them in more mainstream stores. For example, props for 18-inch dolls like American Girl may be the right scale to use with SD-size dolls, and I have heard of one small model of dolls that can fit Ken and Barbie clothes.
4) Companies usually offer the option of buying a standard faceup with the doll. Some might even do custom faceups. Other than that, your best bet is to ask around in the BJD community for suggestions of good independent faceup artists. I wouldn’t trust just any random person to do a faceup on a BJD because that person might not know about what kinds of things can and can’t safely be used on a doll.
5) I think Junky Spot has a used-doll section. There’s also always eBay, but as always, be a careful shopper and research before you buy.
6) TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH DOLLS. Seriously, there’s no rush, so go ahead and work through the entire list of shops linked on Den of Angels and find a doll you really like. Make sure you have a realistic idea of what these dolls cost before you go shopping — I’m sure your cousin can give you some help with that. Once you know a typical price for the kind of doll you want, take at look at your resources and your plans for earning more money to decide a reasonable price range for your doll, and stick to it or you’ll drive yourself nuts. But before you buy, regardless of the price, be as sure as you can possibly be that you really love the doll you’re ordering. Buying a doll that you don’t really love just because it’s cheaper is a great way to waste money.
