Welcome To The World of Ball Jointed Dolls

It looks like Barbies' reign as Queen of the dolls could be coming to an end, the new dolls on the block are the latest craze from Japan known as ball jointed dolls or BJD's for short. These strange and disturbingly life-like dolls are fully poseable and anatomically correct, ball jointed dolls are hand sculpted and painted with great care.

Ball jointed dolls have become the hottest, must have, culture item in the last 12 months, with sales stretching into the many millions, there are already BJD clubs and conventions being organised worldwide. The recent rise in popularity of Japanese Manga and Anime appears to have been carried over into the styling of some BJD's, as can be seen from the extra large eyes and some wigs.

Although ball jointed dolls are enjoying a major surge in popularity, they have in fact been around for several hundred years. Egypt and several European countries, most notably Germany and France, have all produced BJD's although not in such a fine and detailed way as they are made today. These early forms of ball jointed doll was mainly used for artistic purposes and even today there is still a lot of interest and use of these dolls by artists and photographers due to their flexibility and realistic looks.

The sudden increase in popularity of ball jointed dolls has created a whole new sub-culture, consisting of clothing designers, wig makers and even specialist eye makers, who can ask and indeed get very high prices for their products, such is the demand for individual and one off designs.

The ball jointed doll is not regarded as a toy by its owner, but rather it is seen as a friend or even a family member, with some even going to the extent of purchasing a "brother or sister" or even a boyfriend/girlfriend for their existing BJD. These hardy fans will think nothing of traveling great distances to attend a convention or meeting, and will in the process, spend large amounts of money to acquire new outfits or wigs and eyes.

Ball jointed dolls are not cheap but it must be remembered that these dolls are lovingly made with extra care and attention to detail. It is not uncommon for an owner to spend the doll's worth of money on clothing and outfits. In some cases it not unknown for the cost of the BJD's outfit to be significantly more expensive than the human owners outfit.

Many enthusiasts of BJD's also have a keen interest in styles such as, anime, punk, goth or fantasy and will style their dolls accordingly. For some this styling will take the form of clothing chosen for their dolls, whereas with others it will be in the actual composition of the dolls face or physical shape, elements such as wings, fangs or pointed ears are often added.

Tips for buying ball jointed dolls

Before purchasing a ball jointed doll you should do some careful research as there are now dozens of manufacturers and equally dozens of different prices, an average price range is between £150.00 - £400.00 GBP, but for a special customized BJD, the price can be much higher.

There are different stages of finished when buying BJD's, some come complete, which means fully finished and dressed, and then there are some which will need to be finished by the purchaser. The level of work needed to finish a ball jointed doll can vary from simply having to find a wig and clothing right through to having to sand the body seams down to ensure a smooth finish and fit eyes and wigs. The latter type of BJD also requires the face to be painted.

Another choice to be made when buying your first ball jointed doll is whether you want a resin or a vinyl made doll. A resin doll is much more expensive than a vinyl doll and has a porcelain like feel, it is also heavier than the lighter vinyl doll.

Choosing the size of BJD to purchase probably sounds like an easy task, but, you should take into account the cost and availability of accessories such as clothing, wigs and jewelry. Ball jointed dolls come in several sizes ranging from mini to large, the majority of BJD's are in the more popular 15 to 17 inch size, whilst 22 to 27 inch are the largest size range. 15 to 17 inch BJD's tend to be the most popular due to the wider range of clothing and accessories available for these sizes.

Buy several wigs at the same time that you purchase your BJD so that you can experiment with different styles to see which is more pleasing, you should also purchase a wig cap to stop the wig from sliding around.

How to Select a persona for your BJD is a matter of choice, you may be one of the many that choose the Japanese manga or anime style, maybe a fantasy figure from a book, or a normal regular child-like figure. Whatever you decide, you will be sure to find a wealth of ideas from within the BJD community.

For some people it is all about the way the face is finished, a dolls make-up is known in BJD circles as a "face up", and the face up can be the deciding factor in choosing your dolls personality. Most shop bought ball jointed dolls come with minimal face make up, although for a price that can be changed to be as detailed as you wish. There has been recent emergence of make up artists whose face ups are considered as works of art, so fine and painstakingly done is the work. With time and effort you to could achieve the same fine results, or at least to suit your own personal taste.

There are a great number of eyes available on the market, made from a large variety of substances; glass, acrylic, silicone (known as soft-glass) and poly-resin being the most widely available. These eyes come in a very varied range of colors, styles and sizes, and although eyes can be one of the most expensive accessories for your ball jointed doll, you should try to add several different colors and style to your collection. The simple act of changing your dolls eye coloring can totally alter the dolls persona.

Making your own ball jointed doll

Many collectors of bjd's have started to take an interest in making their own doll, as more and more people become aware of these dolls the desire to create a truly authentic original one becomes their goal. In the past, just giving bjd's a wig, clothing and make up was seen as creating an individual doll, but now the real avid collector wants a doll that is a one off and the only way to do that is by designing it themselves.

There are several guides for making bjd's to be found online and some of them are very good, they list suppliers of materials and detailed instructions for creating a doll.

Ball jointed dolls versus the Dollfie

BJD's and ABJD are terms usually used in reference to modern Asian ball jointed dolls and which are intended for the adult collector and customizer. ABJD's are mainly produced in Japan, South Korea and China.

Some people who are new to the world of the ball jointed doll have confused the Dollfie as a BJD, although there are similarities they are completely different dolls. The Dollfie is made by Volks and is much smaller than most ball jointed dolls.

The Dollfie is a highly-poseable cross between a fashion doll and an action figure, they were first created in 1997. They are roughly the size of a Barbie doll and like the ball jointed doll, they are highly customisable. Dollfie dolls generally come with a blank head, an artist paints a Dollfie face on, usually referred to as a "face up" and the finished doll is mostly used for photography shoots.

The most noticeable difference between the Dollfie and the BJD is the size, in general, ball jointed dolla are much larger, also the finished Dollfie doll more often than not will look like a fashion model style doll ( for example, Barbie) whereas ball jointed dolls are usually finished to look like a real live person.