Afraid to touch my new doll...

[Alopecia No Hime]

I don't want to sound like I'm not bonding with my Dal, I love him to bits and wanna sew, dress him up in little themed outfits and photograph as usual but...He feels so delicate and his faceup and little hands are so delicate too that I am terrified of ruining him and he's one of my dream dolls...I didn't feel like this when I got Kaname my last doll already faced up.

Anyone got some advice? I really love my little guy but I'm terrifed of ruining him and I have zero confidence in my face up skills to restore anything if it did get messed up.


Anyone else feel this way when getting a doll like that?

[paladinari]

I don't have a Dal, but when I got my RS Mei (my first BJD) I felt like you do. I took her out of the box so nervously and held her like a newborn baby for about a month! But then, I found out that she wasn't quite as delicate as I thought.

If his faceup is done correctly, it should be sealed and you shouldn't have to worry about smudging it with normal touch. I avoided my girl's face like the plague until I realized that it wasn't going anywhere, so you don't need to worry about accidentally brushing it off. Remember that the doll made it to you with the faceup intact in the first place, and the post office is a lot less gentle with your doll than you are!

If you feel like it is a particularly delicate kind of Dal, maybe you could contact someone you know who owns one and ask for handling tips? But otherwise, just remember that there are many, many owners out there who love and handle their little ones, and it seems to me that a company wouldn't want to make a doll that couldn't at least be interacted with without fear of destroying it (though normal means, I don't mean someone who takes their doll and outright abuses them, which I'm sure you wouldn't)

Hopefully someone will reply to this that knows more about this type of doll. Good luck!

[quidam]

I will preface this by saying I don't own a Dal, so I could be wrong, but faceups don't come off that easily. If you constantly touch and rub his face everyday it may start to wear off in a few months. Even if you want to take them off on purpose it can be a bit of work, as some are very stubborn.

As for being afraid to break him, as paladinari said, the shipping company probably handled him a lot harsher than you ever will. I can assure you that UPS, Fedex, and the post office really don't pay attention to fragile stickers and don't care what is in the box. They throw them, set heavy things on them, put them in precarious places, and, most of the time, they still manage to make it to us in one piece. If he didn't arrive you you broken then he is probably more sturdy than you think.

Now go give your boy a great big hug!

[DollyKim]

In general I try not to touch faces but otherwise I agree with everyone else and don't be afraid to love him. I'm not the gentlest person on the planet, I don't use mine as tack hammers, and let them knock around in piles a bit but no one has ever been hurt that way. Only four dolls in my collection, no Pullips, have been injured and not counting the Volks the other two were design flaws.

[Kirahfaye]

For the most part, simply pulling clothing over his face shouldn't cause problems for his face-up. Most face-ups have been double and often triple sealed. You don't want to touch his face too much because the oils and acids in our skin can affect the sealant and face-up, but there are time where that can't be helped.

As far as his body, he is tougher than you might believe. Try not to drop him or knock him over, but don't freak out if you do. Resin dolls are more resilient then they seem.

[embyquinn]

1. Take a deep breath.

2. Sit down.

3. Exhale and keep taking slow, deep breaths.

4. Close your eyes.

5. Recite the following mantra: "Resin is plastic...resin is plastic..." *

6. Realize that plastic is one of the most durable substances ever created.

7. Repeat these steps as necessary until you feel your anxiety dispersing.

8. Enjoy your doll!

=-=-=

*I point this out not to denigrate the value or beauty of polyurethane resin BJDs, but to reinforce the fact that a "resin" doll is not made of some ethereal substance that will deteriorate if you breathe on it. Polyurethane resin (PUR) is the stuff that car dashboards are made out of. It's not indestructible, but it's not spun glass either.

[Lamia of the Dark]

Well... I'm actually pretty clumsy so my dolls tend to get dropped or knocked over once in a while, no matter how careful I try to be with them.

I've done more damage to them by attempting to mod them than any of them got from hitting the floor

[quidam]

*I point this out not to denigrate the value or beauty of polyurethane resin BJDs, but to reinforce the fact that a "resin" doll is not made of some ethereal substance that will deteriorate if you breathe on it. Polyurethane resin (PUR) is the stuff that car dashboards are made out of. It's not indestructible, but it's not spun glass either.

Actually a Dal is made of ABS.
While you are right that resin isn't as fragile as some might suppose, I believe ABS is a bit sturdier when it comes to the breakable sense.

Either way little Dal isn't going to break that easily!

[OkamiKodomo]

I won't reiterate what has already been said, but I'll ask you this: Would you rather have your dream doll sitting in a glass case, only admired from a distance, but in pristine condition, or would you rather your doll be a little smudgy, but well-loved and enjoyed?

Perhaps I don't have the same fear as my first doll to arrive did a face-plant practically right out of the box (I didn't know about the notorious "Bobobie Flop" at the time; 5 RS dolls of my own, later, and we're old pals) with no harm done. Then there's also the fact that, even if you personally don't feel capable of giving your doll a face-up, there are plenty of artists who can!

[Alopecia No Hime]

Thanks everyone...I'm not gonna be afraid to love him anymore...Today I'm gonna look at pullip/dal sized white shoes to replace his boots. (Ten times too big on the little guy.) And then find some patterns to make his servant of evil outfit. Thanks again.