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• What are those dolls? •

Those wonderful dolls are called Asian Ball Jointed Dolls (ABJDs/BJDs), and are made of polyurethane resin in mostly Japan, Korea & China. Many people call them Dollfie or Super Dollfie, but those are actually brand names by Volks, the Japanese company which released the first BJDs in the late 1990s.
But still, if you talk about the sizes of any BJDs, it's quite normal to use terms like "SD-size", "MSD-size",... which still refers to "S"uper "D"ollfie.

The dolls are hand made and hand painted and so the waiting time for a doll can be up to 2 months or more. If you order your doll you can sometimes select between company faceup - this is usually the faceup you can see on the promotion pictures of the shop, or custom faceup - here you get the faceup customized to your own wishes. Often you can also buy the doll blank so you can make your own faceup or send it to other artists.
Due every part of those dolls is hand made and resin is a very expensive material, the prices of BJDs will shock most people.

BJDs cost between $200 - $800 depending on the companies.
But there are also many limited and hard to get dolls which being sold for much more than $1000.

WHAT?????? Why are you paying so much money for a doll?

"Why do people pay lots of money for vacations, clothes, computers, games, other expensive hobbies...? For me it's a great hobby. First I don't see them as regular dolls like Barbie. I never liked to play with dolls when I was a child, still I don't like baby dolls and Barbie. For me BJDs are sculptures of fine art.
The look like real people (no, better than real!), I can customize them with faceup, sew clothes, take pictures, making stuff like little books, furniture,... it really is a great expanding hobby where I can never get bored.
There are no other dolls or figurines which are detailed or customizable like BJDs. Even their clothes are indescribable detailed - usually they are made like real ones, with closeable buttons, zips, real pockets,..."

You can buy different clothes, wigs and eyes for your doll and customize it the way you like to create an unique masterpiece.

Also it's common to create names, stories and character infos for your little housemate to give him more life.

Childish?

Are grown up men who love model railways or remote controlled planes childish? Or people who collect those tiny figurines from Ferrero Kinder Surprise?

• Lexicon •

ABJDS/BJDS: Asian Ball Jointed Dolls

Bodyblushing: This makes a doll body look more realistic. It makes muscles more vividly and gives nipples more flesh.

DOA: Den of Angels. The best place for information and help for ABJD lovers!

Doll Care: Don't let your dolls enjoy too much sunlight - this could cause yellowing of the resin. Never touch a faceup directly, it can rub off. Don't get oil or greasy stuff on your doll, this will stain the resin. Be careful when you touch your doll when you use nail varnish, you could leave marks on the resin. Don't leave your dolls stand all alone - use doll stands! Usually most BJDs can stand by themselves, but it's much safer with doll stands.

Dolpa: Doll Party - special events held by Volks where you can get the latest Dollfies, Limited Editions and Outfit

Eyes: there are many different sizes and materials for doll eyes. You can get high quality eyes made of urethane, glass, silicone and acrylics.

Faceup: a doll's makeup

FCS: Full Choice System. At Volks stores (Tenshi no Sumika, Tenshi no Sato), you can choose between different head molds and different body types to create your ideal doll. You can only order them directly at Volks stores, but there are also some people which offer their service and place the order for you (you can find help at DoA)

Kips: small rubber slices which Volks uses between the joints of their dolls. It's good for better posing like sueding.

Magic Block / Magic Ereaser: great sponge to clean your doll. Sometimes you can even repair little scratches of the faceup with it. Also good for cleaning the body if the clothes left stains.

MSC: Mr. Super Clear - this is a special varnish to seal a faceup and prevent Resin from staining. Usual you should use MSC flat, if you don't like your doll shining like plastic. There is also MSC UV cut which also prevents the resin from yellowing too fast. Please use a mask when using this spray.

Modded: modified, with sanding or additions to change the way a doll looks

LE: Limited Edition

Resin: the material which is used for BJDs

Sanding: With the use of sanding paper you can remove seamlines which every doll usually comes. Also you can do modifications like sanding a slimmer nose,... But be careful: never do sandings without a face mask - the dust of Resin is toxic!

Skin: You can get dolls in normal skin, white skin and tan skin - depending on company and offered dolls

Strings/Restringing: The BJDs are held together with elastic strings. If the tension get's loose it's time for restringing, so your doll can pose better. There are good tutorials for restringing at DoA.

Suedeing: A customisation that helps with posing. Cool melt hot glue or fine suede can be put in the wells of the joints to stop them slipping.

 

Sizes:


SD/SD10: Super Dollfie. 55-56 cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

MSD: Mini Super Dollfie. 42-43 cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

Yo-SD: Yo Super Dollfie. 26,5 cm cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

Tenshi: Like Dollfie, Super Dollfie and Yo-SD, but asexual and genderless angles. They come with wings to attach. Created by the Japanese company Volks

SD Cute: Super Dollfie Cute. 42-44 cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

SD13: Super Dollfie 13. 57-62 cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

SD13 long leg: Super Dollfie 13 with a little longer and slimmer legs. About 63 cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

SD16: Super Dollfie 16. About 63-65 cm mature dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

SD17: Super Dollfie 17. About 67 cm very mature looking dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

SDGou: Super Dollfie Gou. About 67 cm very mature looking dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

SD Graffiti: Super Dollfie Graffiti. Like SD13 long legs, but more mature looking body, 63 cm dolls created by the Japanese company Volks

Hound: about 70 cm dolls by the Korean company Dollshe

Delf: 60,5 cm dolls by the Korean company Luts

Kid Delf: 41 cm dolls by the Korean company Luts

Honey Delf: 26 cm dolls by the Korean company Luts

Junior Delf: 56 cm dolls by the Korean company Luts

Senior Delf: 62,5 cm dolls by the Korean company Luts

Super Senior Delf: 70,5 cm dolls by the Korean company Luts

Mecha Angel: 80 cm dolls by the Korean company Soom

Super Gem: 65 cm dolls by the Korean company Soom

Gem: 60 cm dolls by the Korean company Soom

Puki: PukiPuki. About 12 cm tiny dolls by the Korean company Fairyland

The sizes vary from company to company. It is possible that one doll is called SD size, but the body (hips, chest, shoulders, lenght of arms and legs,...) differ from Volks SD. The sizes mentioned above are popular sizes and there are many different other sizes, depending the companies.

 

Volks: Japanese company and creator of the Dollfies

Where Angels lie: Best Super Dollfie Database. You can find lots of information for all Volks dolls including FCS.

Wig: There are lots of differnt styles and materials. From Fur wig to synthetic and even real human hair.

Wig Cap: Small stretchy cap which will prevent your doll's head from stains of wigs. Dark coloured wigs can stain the resin if the doll wears it for a long time.

Wig Stopper: Velcro can help the wig from slipping off the doll's head

Yellowig: UV will cause the resin to change its color when time passes. All resin dolls will yellow eventually due to oxidisation, but the process is speeded up by UV. Sunlight, usual daylight and even household lights can speed up this process.

Zoukeimura: this is one of Volks' affiliated companies. Zoukeimura designs, sculpts and builds Volks Super Dollfies. They also make the special Zoukeimura glass eyes that come with Volks FCS dolls.