#givemethatbjdtea

[givemethatbjdtea]

blind box BJD elitism is so dumb. "not real art" my ass. if your doll has that elastic limb system it's a BJD, mass-produced or not. it's like saying Barbies aren't art because they're sold in department stores and not out of somebody's basement.

you wanna criticize the consumerism or the gambling element of blind boxes, go right ahead. the art argument just makes you a gatekeeping snob.

[givemethatbjdtea]

I think westerners' with rather harsh attitude toward blind box bjd aren't aware that most of them are from indie studios and artists and were made by crowdfunding with inputs and feedbacks from customers during the process. Big brands like Penny's Box and Come4Free exist but it doesn't change the fact that the majority of them are small, newly established brands, a lot of them couldn't even complete their bjd project because of the lack of funding. Also, for smaller brands, the dolls will be made in smaller batches and often will be discontinued after a year or so.

The blind box format, beside being popular in Asia, is also used to ensured that all dolls will be sold equally and you often can buy confirmed box of the dolls you want by buying in group orders or from retailers or the secondhand market. People only buy blind boxes when they don't mind getting any of the designs and even if they ended up with a design they didn't like, they will either sell or trade it or customize it. I've also seen a lot of westerners assuming that people buying blind box dolls won't be customizing them but that is not true at all, most people will custom or restyle the dolls they bought, in fact I rarely seen anyone keeping the dolls in their original styles. Brands also very much encourage their buyers to customize their dolls by giving spare parts as preorder freebies or selling them if you missed the preorder period, sometimes they even release 3d print files of their doll parts for free.

Just because the dolls are more affordable and sold in a format you don't like or not familiar with how it works doesn't mean they are "landfills" or "slop". I actually haven't seen anyone in the Asian bjd/doll community hating on blind box bjd for not being "real bjd" at all and was very surprised to learned that a lot of westerners hate them for being cheaper alternatives.

Apologize in advance if I made any grammatical mistakes or poor wording, English is not my first language 🙇‍♂️

[givemethatbjdtea]

I'm in Florida. Very humid. Mr. Super Clear won't cure well for me, I've tried. Plus everyone acts like touching it is going to give you smoker's lung. Basically, I need alternatives. I ask on forums and Reddit and 90% of the responses will be "You NEED to use Mr. Super Clear its the ONLY varnish that has EVER been made!" -_-

[givemethatbjdtea]

Blind box BJD often have quality problems since a lot of them are from inexperienced small brands. Oftentimes, they have to keep the production small and affordable because Chinese netizens (their main customer base) can literally cancel them into oblivion if they set the price too high.

[givemethatbjdtea]

parts of the community get really freaking weird about blind box BJDs. we get it, you're one of the "legit" BJD owners who doesn't go for gimmicks and cheap playscale-quality dolls. THEY'RE ALL DOLLS, GET A GRIP. you're not better than everyone else just because your bjd costs as much as a smartphone.

[givemethatbjdtea]

I wish there were more concrete guides online on how to edit cheaper pvc dolls (not recasts) and modify their faces and bodies.. don’t get me wrong there’s tonnnss of spectacular tutorials on doll customizations, but I wish there were more vids on like tiny details that people forget

Here are some tips for folks maybe:

- use milliput or green stuff or another apoxy type material that adheres to pvc (check safety) and then sand it down to your preferred dimensions (I use a lil drill type sander thing but regular sandpaper does the trick it just takes more time)

- use regular ol craft wire to make new hook joints if you make new limbs (pick the gauge and like stiffness and stuff depending on what you’re making, for example, new fingers and new wings would use diff wires)

- if you don’t have access to sealing sprays or don’t wanna use em cause health stuff, sand down the part you want to paint/color, then go over with a super light sheen of modge podge, do the colors and the podge again. Looks more amateurish maybe but I think you can pull it of lowk

- sometimes, key word sometimes, baked polymer clay >>>> air dry clay (ymmv but I’ve had more luck with the former)

- if the yarn thing is hard to do for doll hair, try thinning some ribbons for easier chunks of fine hair

Teehee bye

[givemethatbjdtea]

blind boxes promote gambling addiction

[givemethatbjdtea]

It's makes me sad when people have to leave the community. It feels like every community, even the BJD one, is toxic in some way that I just don't understand. It saddens me that the best way for me to enjoy a community is to interact with it the least amount possible when I crave interaction so much. I looked for local in person bjd groups or meet ups in my area, and there just aren't any. I could try starting my own local group but I'm barely a leader in any way and I don't know anyone else who is interested in dolls. This world seems hellbent on making people lonely! I won't give up trying to connect with people, but it's hard.