When I first started collecting, there were a lot of dolls that I wanted, dolls that called to me, dolls that at that time were beyond my (then) budget. Sadly, a lot of these companies (and dolls) no longer exist.
Photos taken and belong to respective companies: Angelheim, Dream of Doll, Impldoll, Integrity Toys and Souldoll
Had I known what was to come, I might have tried a lot harder to save up and purchase at least a few of them. But I wrongly assumed the companies and dolls would be around for a long time to come.
Now if you've followed my collecting habits since the beginning, you might already know that rarely do I like more than one or two dolls from the one company so when a company comes along that I like almost all the dolls they release ... well, that should tell you something as it rarely happens (at least with resin dolls anyway).
Angelheim was one of those companies. They came out with the types of dolls I love - fantasy and lots of it. Their dolls pictured above were those I coveted. I almost got Luka: The Werewolf and Luka: The Pan a few times but I always ended up getting something else instead and by the time I had decided, the company had gone quiet and not long after closed their doors. Which was a real shame. I don't know what happened with them and why they closed (anyone know the story? Please share). I did get the hooves at one point. The resin was really nice. I think I ended up selling them as they didn't quite work with the Minifee boy I had at the time.
Souldoll are still around but they have such conflicting feedback that I've always hesitated a little in purchasing from them. When they came out with their Souloid line, I fell in love with Ier. Although I couldn't get her during her release because my doll funds were not at a great place. Later, after she had sold out, I was given the opportunity to purchase her second-hand from someone but sadly did not have the available funds at the time and had to decline. That was a bit annoying but what can you do? I loved her because she was a cyborg and I've always wanted a cyborg doll. I may turn one of my Monster High dolls into one maybe ...
Impldoll Christopher was among the first resin dolls I came across when I first started collecting these dolls. I was enchanted by her appearance, the not quite so traditional feminine look to her, the gorgeous grey skin and those elf ears. I was saving up for her but then she sold out. Sound familiar? Story of my collecting life it seems! I really wish Impldoll would re-release her. Maybe I'll ask them if they ever will. She would make an awesome dark elf.
Who hasn't heard of Dream of Doll? I was first introduced to them when I came across a custom Sim skin that was inspired by one of the dolls from DOD. I naturally went and had a look at their website and boy was I impressed with what I saw. I later discovered how much I liked Shall and decided to try and save for her. And then DOD went quiet, then there was some confusing news about them revamping their website and then nothing. Even the site has disappeared. At least I can't seem to find it.
And last but not least is Poppy Parker Day Tripper by Integrity Toys. I've mentioned this doll a few times on the blog. Back when IT actually produced dolls of quality and detail ... I haven't been as enthused by their crop of new dolls this year. Think I might have wasted the cost of a membership as I have liked absolutely nothing they've released so far this year. This doll is hard to find second hand but also harder to find with everything she originally came with. She's really pricey anyway if she does come up.
So there you have it. My biggest dolly regrets. I think my collection would be so very different had I been able to purchase these dolls when they were available. What could have been?
What about your biggest dolly regrets?
I agree with you - if I would have known that some dolls and companies would 'vanish' just like that or that those special ones just came in limited edition, I would have saved harder and kept my eyes open a bit more. It is always easier to be wise afterwards. But lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteThere are some different looking dolls and bigger dolls that I regret I didn't order. One is a dollmore catish and another one is dollmore alexia. Sold out and will never come back. Then there are a couple of MH, but that does not 'hurt' so much as the BJD's.
Mostly I thought that it is not me, the dolls are too big, they don't suit the others. But who knows, as you wrote, what would have been!!? Maybe it would have been me?
Oh well. Gladly there will be more dolls....
I think it's a good lesson to go through. I now check to make sure things aren't limited. I don't tend to buy a lot of limited dolls anyway as I normally just don't have the funds at the time.
DeleteWhich MH dolls were you wanting but missed out on? Is that because of the face and body change to that line?
And sometimes you don't really know if a doll will be too big or not until you're holding it unless you're lucky enough to go to meets and have a test run first. Especially if you're used to smaller dolls.
Great post, and what an interesting compilation! Are these all the dolls you once wanted and missed out or there are others that you wanted at some point but you don't have any interest for them now? For me it mostly happens that if I can't have them I lose the interest fairly fast, so there's not many regrets that have lasted to this day. I think my biggest one is Bygg/Beyla, I just didn't have the funds when they came out and every re release finds me in the same state.
ReplyDeleteI was sure DoD website was back up, but now I can't find it, I wonder what happened there, I remember they disappeared for quite a while! They used to be such a popular company back then, but these days I don't seem to find any doll owner photographing their sculpts, I find that so sad, how a trend can come and go, even with dolls. SOOM was also super popular at some point, but at least they are still making dolls.
Hope IT releases some nice things in what is left of this year, so you can make use of that membership.
Have a great weekend!
Those were dolls I had wanted but missed out on (my doll fund timing is always bad!) I still like them but because the company is gone now, if they do come up (which is rare), their prices are pretty high. They weren't overly popular anyway when they were around. But then again, Soom were at the height of their monopoly on fantasy dolls so it was tough going up against them I guess.
DeleteI'm not sure I could get them anyway if they ever popped up on the second hand market as my cabinet space is getting pretty tight now. It was a shame as I think my collection might have gone in a very different direction had they been a part of it.
It is sad because DoD have been around for ages. They were there when I first discovered about bjds and that was in '05 playing Sims 2. So really, the Sims brought me to bjds!
I won't hold my breath about IT releasing anything I want to part with my money with. I'm just glad I at least have the upgrade doll but still, year is almost half over and their releases have been a bit so-so. They'll probably leave all the good stuff until the end of the year as per usual when people don't have as much money. It's frustrating when they have several nice releases at the same time and you can only get one of them.
Hope you have a great weekend too!
Ahh, it so sad when companies shut down without notice! I also didn't know dod were gone! I checked their new website a while back, and I remember getting tender shall as one of my first SDs! I kinda miss that sculpt too. However their new releases all seemed super awkward to me.
ReplyDeleteThat poppy is also very nice, perhaps you could customize one to look like her?
It's so very strange what happened with DOD. I wonder what the story was there. Maybe they just weren't getting enough sales?
DeleteAh, I didn't even think about trying to customise a Poppy to look like Day Tripper. That's a good idea although I would have to find a face up artist and a re-root or wig artist because my track record with re-roots are really dismal at the moment and wig making isn't any better!