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Dollfie Hyves

Fashionista Ezine

About Ball Jointed Dolls

LEES OVER BJD IN HET NEDERLANDS

BJD's are resin dolls that can almost move like a real human being thru the use of ball joints. This isn't a new concept, though. What's new about it is that the first BJD were made in Japan with an Asian esthetic.

The first company to bring BJD's on the market was Volks. They started out with the Super Dollfie line. Mind you, Super Dollfie are the large resin dolls, while Dollfie are the 1/6 vinyl dolls. Most people hear about BJD's under the name Dollfie, which is technically incorrect but a lot easier to remember.

The fun thing about BJD's is that they can be customized to one's own taste. You can change the eyes, the wig, clothes, accessories, etc. Some companies even offer different hands, leg parts, feet, bust parts, etc. Besides the standard option of customization, many people choose to give their dolls a face-up (facial paint) of their liking.
Other people venture out into modding, this means they will change the basic appearance of the doll by drilling holes, sanding down parts, adding parts with apoxy sculpt, etc.
The end result is a doll that is made to the owner's personal taste.

Ofcourse, you can also just choose a default (standard factory) face-up on a doll and be done with it, if you're not the customizing type. Many companies have gorgeous full set dolls as well, where the doll will be shipped to you with everything you need; wig, eyes, clothing, shoes, face-up, accessories, etc.

The whole idea of these dolls is to give them a personality and a fictional life. It's kind of like role playing, only you're voicing it thru a 3-d character. Sometimes you choose the doll's character up front or buy a doll that suits your character.  Other times, you wait untill the doll arrives for their character to develop over time. Either way is fun! The doll's characters can interact with eachother thru websites, forums, on meetings, etc.
The main reason most BJD owners carry their dolls close to them or on their arms, is because they like the doll's character to interact with the rest of the world. And because many people respond in an interesting manner to them, be it intrigued, confused or horrified ;)

And then there is the personal fun you can have with them by making photostories or simply trying to capture their beauty on film. Because they pose so realistically, it's a challenge to modify them to look even more real. This can be done by wiring ( pulling a coated metal wire thru the limbs) and sueding ( adding something like hot glue to make the surface between the joints a little rougher ). This causes a doll to be able to pose in almost any position, within the limits of the dolls posing range, ofcourse.

Another fun aspect is the community, all around the world there are meetings for owners of BJD's. They gather together to take pictures, talk, swap gifts, play storylines and whatnot. People like admiring eachother's dolls when they attend meetings, and showing off theirs. The fun thing is the individuality of each doll at meetings. Even if there are more dolls of the same manufacturer and mold, people recognize each doll's character and enjoy the differences in taste.

In general, BJD's that were made in Japan, China and Korea are considered true BJD's and they are also referred to as ABJD ( Asian Ball Jointed Dolls ) . There are also some American and European companies and artists that have started offering BJD's, but to some circles and fora they are not admissible as BJD because of their drastically different esthetics.
Also, BJD's have to be resin to be considered an actual BJD, dolls like Obitsu, Azone and Dollfie Dream are often collected by the same people, but not considered part of the 'family'.
And last but not least, BJD's need to be strung with elastic.