Hello. Completely new to the hobby and seeking guidance.
Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 10:01 amHello,
So as the title says, I'm completely new to the hobby and I'll probably be asking all sorts of obnoxious noob questions. Don't get me wrong, I've been lurking this and other forums, and I've also been researching as much as possible online, but I could still use some guidance.
That and I kind of wanted to be able to talk about this with other people. Currently I'm feeling very self conscious because I'm a guy, and I hear there are other guys into this stuff, so here's hoping to let the nerd flag fly surreptitiously over the interwebs and get the reassurance.
I used to have action figures when I was a kid, but most of those are long gone, except for my collection of Babylon 5 action figures. I love the show hard, so even though the figures are really crappy and crude, what the hell.
During my college years I had a buddy that was a huge anime figure fan and he gave me two tiny PVC freebies. That got me down a rabbit hole. The guy was awesome. He was an embalmer so he got to live on top of the funeral home where he worked. He had converted the attic into a museum of anime figures. It was amazing.
After he set me down that path I veered away and got too busy going into the working world. I got into miniature wargaming because I thought the models were amazing and I really, really wanted to learn how to paint them. I became addicted to sites like http://www.coolminiornot.com and still try it.
I then drifted back to anime figures and also discovered garage kits - because hey, you get anime figures AND you get to paint them. Still have to learn that properly though.
That led me to sites like Figure.fm, where I started seeing dollies, but I ...err...I admit it. I thought it was weird. I thought the dolls looked amazing, but the concept of taking them to photo shoots and talking about "adopting them" made me nervous, so I did the guy thing and scoffed. Meanwhile, I discovered Figmas.
Those were a revelation. Anime figures! You can pose! In all sorts of cool ways! WITH PROPS!!
I know. Kettle: meet black, right?
I mean, hell, I even bought off of eBay a Japanese apartment for my figmas, which basically amounts to a fancy doll house.
Anyway, I was sitting here all smug about how I wasn't into dolls, while clicking on every photo shoot thread. You know. To make fun of them. Because I'm cool. Not because I really liked them or anything.
Then I saw it on AmiAmi: a preorder for a 1/3 Obitsu Azone Kuroneko "Hybrid Action Figure" as they label it. Yes, it has real hair, and articulated joints, and real clothes - but it's not a dollfie. It's a hybrid action figures. Besides, it has painted eyes, and according to Den Of Agels, it's CLEARLY not a doll (and how do I know that, you ask? Damn good question I'll masterfully dodge in 3...2...1...)
I love that character. I have a figma, I have the PVC of her dressed for the anime convention, I even have a preorder of her in the white outfit she wore on her first date on the light novels FOR THE SAME MONTH. So I clearly should not add on top of a $100 order an incredibly expensive 1/3 hybrid action figure. But I did.
So fine. Not a doll I told myself. Then something funny happened. I started researching proportions, comparative sizes to other obitsus and dollfies.
Then I caught myself window shopping online while at work. Because, you know, it would be totally awesome if I could recreate her school uniform. Buying a few articles of clothing doesn't make it a doll, right? And I mean, it doesn't hurt to stop by the art supply store and see if I can get the perfect color and material for the uniform's necktie.
Before I knew it, I started planning buying an alternate head so I could try glass eyes of her real eye color with glasses. Except I'm going to have to learn how to to her faceup, which makes me nervous. And wouldn't it be cool if I could make her outfits too? I mean, I have an amazon gift card lying around. Nothing wrong with buying a few books on sewing. Sewing is a useful life skill anyway. And I do have access to a sewing machine...
So here I am. It's ridiculous to lie to myself at this point. I just pre-ordered my first BJD. It's not a typical dollfie so the size has me all messed up for clothing purposes and have tons of questions. I don't know how to even begin with faceups. I read a bit from the care and maintenance section, and now I'm terrified of messing her up.
Anyway, I apologize for the the infobomb. I'm here to learn and maybe meet people I can talk to about BJDs. I guess I like pretty things, and it's really hard when you don't know many other people who do. I mean, my wife is incredibly understanding and supportive, and while she likes my anime figures (and thinks my figmas are really cool), she would never buy any herself. She's also a bit wary about the BJD thing, but she admits she just doesn't understand it. It doesn't help that Figure.FM has some NSFW photo shoots that gave her the wrong idea.
And my friends? Yeah. Try telling other young professionals that you suddenly discovered an interest in dolls and see how far that gets you.
Sometimes with hobbies you kind of want a community, you know?
And since everyone does it here, I'm from Florida, though I'm trying to move before the year ends.
So as the title says, I'm completely new to the hobby and I'll probably be asking all sorts of obnoxious noob questions. Don't get me wrong, I've been lurking this and other forums, and I've also been researching as much as possible online, but I could still use some guidance.
That and I kind of wanted to be able to talk about this with other people. Currently I'm feeling very self conscious because I'm a guy, and I hear there are other guys into this stuff, so here's hoping to let the nerd flag fly surreptitiously over the interwebs and get the reassurance.
I used to have action figures when I was a kid, but most of those are long gone, except for my collection of Babylon 5 action figures. I love the show hard, so even though the figures are really crappy and crude, what the hell.
During my college years I had a buddy that was a huge anime figure fan and he gave me two tiny PVC freebies. That got me down a rabbit hole. The guy was awesome. He was an embalmer so he got to live on top of the funeral home where he worked. He had converted the attic into a museum of anime figures. It was amazing.
After he set me down that path I veered away and got too busy going into the working world. I got into miniature wargaming because I thought the models were amazing and I really, really wanted to learn how to paint them. I became addicted to sites like http://www.coolminiornot.com and still try it.
I then drifted back to anime figures and also discovered garage kits - because hey, you get anime figures AND you get to paint them. Still have to learn that properly though.
That led me to sites like Figure.fm, where I started seeing dollies, but I ...err...I admit it. I thought it was weird. I thought the dolls looked amazing, but the concept of taking them to photo shoots and talking about "adopting them" made me nervous, so I did the guy thing and scoffed. Meanwhile, I discovered Figmas.
Those were a revelation. Anime figures! You can pose! In all sorts of cool ways! WITH PROPS!!
I know. Kettle: meet black, right?
I mean, hell, I even bought off of eBay a Japanese apartment for my figmas, which basically amounts to a fancy doll house.
Anyway, I was sitting here all smug about how I wasn't into dolls, while clicking on every photo shoot thread. You know. To make fun of them. Because I'm cool. Not because I really liked them or anything.
Then I saw it on AmiAmi: a preorder for a 1/3 Obitsu Azone Kuroneko "Hybrid Action Figure" as they label it. Yes, it has real hair, and articulated joints, and real clothes - but it's not a dollfie. It's a hybrid action figures. Besides, it has painted eyes, and according to Den Of Agels, it's CLEARLY not a doll (and how do I know that, you ask? Damn good question I'll masterfully dodge in 3...2...1...)
I love that character. I have a figma, I have the PVC of her dressed for the anime convention, I even have a preorder of her in the white outfit she wore on her first date on the light novels FOR THE SAME MONTH. So I clearly should not add on top of a $100 order an incredibly expensive 1/3 hybrid action figure. But I did.
So fine. Not a doll I told myself. Then something funny happened. I started researching proportions, comparative sizes to other obitsus and dollfies.
Then I caught myself window shopping online while at work. Because, you know, it would be totally awesome if I could recreate her school uniform. Buying a few articles of clothing doesn't make it a doll, right? And I mean, it doesn't hurt to stop by the art supply store and see if I can get the perfect color and material for the uniform's necktie.
Before I knew it, I started planning buying an alternate head so I could try glass eyes of her real eye color with glasses. Except I'm going to have to learn how to to her faceup, which makes me nervous. And wouldn't it be cool if I could make her outfits too? I mean, I have an amazon gift card lying around. Nothing wrong with buying a few books on sewing. Sewing is a useful life skill anyway. And I do have access to a sewing machine...
So here I am. It's ridiculous to lie to myself at this point. I just pre-ordered my first BJD. It's not a typical dollfie so the size has me all messed up for clothing purposes and have tons of questions. I don't know how to even begin with faceups. I read a bit from the care and maintenance section, and now I'm terrified of messing her up.
Anyway, I apologize for the the infobomb. I'm here to learn and maybe meet people I can talk to about BJDs. I guess I like pretty things, and it's really hard when you don't know many other people who do. I mean, my wife is incredibly understanding and supportive, and while she likes my anime figures (and thinks my figmas are really cool), she would never buy any herself. She's also a bit wary about the BJD thing, but she admits she just doesn't understand it. It doesn't help that Figure.FM has some NSFW photo shoots that gave her the wrong idea.
And my friends? Yeah. Try telling other young professionals that you suddenly discovered an interest in dolls and see how far that gets you.
Sometimes with hobbies you kind of want a community, you know?
And since everyone does it here, I'm from Florida, though I'm trying to move before the year ends.
Yay! Another one gets sucked in! You picked a great forum here. Everyone is very nice, with very little drama going on. I dunno much about figures. Only one of those I own is a black Escaflowne figure I got with my boxed set. But the hybrid you described sounds really neat. Post lotsa pics.