BJD: Ball Jointed Doll.Is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints. These are cast in a polyurethane resin: a hard and dense plastic. These body parts are strung together by a thick elastic cord. They have been influenced by Anime and are predominantly produced in Japan, South Korea and China. I am happy to offer one American line, Lumedoll by Eva Wilson.
The modern bjd market began with Volks line of Super Dollfie in 1999. Super Dollfie and Dollfie are registered trademarks, but are sometimes used as a generic blanket term to describe all Aisan Ball Jointed Dolls reguardless of the manufacturer. In modern bjd's you see a range of style from the Anime to Hyper-Realistic. Most are anatomically correct. They are able to stand on their own and are highly poseable.
SD: Super Dollfie size is around 60cm or 22 inch. They can range up to 90cm tall.These are also refered to as 1/3 scale.
SD13: These are the same 22 inch range. They have a slightly more grown up looking face, thinner waist, jointed torsos and the girls have larger busts, like a 13 year old child.
MSD: Mini Super Dollfie sized. These range from 42-45cm or about 16 inch. There are two major catagories of minis: those that are roughly in the same 1/3 scale as full size dolls and are ment to look like children, and mature minis which are ment to represent fully grown adults and are closer to the 1/4 scale.
YoSD: These are 26cm.
Tiny bjd's: These are 15-30cm or 6-12 inches in height. There are many different types, sizes and manufactures.
U-noa: This is a great resource for this doll www.rakurakutei.com/theloft/unoa_faq.htm
Dolpa: Doll party. It's Volks regular doll convention that occurs several time during the year. This is most often held in Tokyo.
Face up: BJD paint on the face to represent natural skin or make up. This is always done by an artist using artist grade chalk pastels or acrylics. These are applied by a brush or air brush. The price for this ranges quite a bit per artist and company. You will be looking at $25.00-$60.00 for a face up. You may always try your own. Chalk acrylics are easily removable. I find airbrushing of fine make up detail to be very difficult. You will have more control using the chalk pastels and liquid acrylics.
Customization: BJD are created in a way to encourage customization. Wigs and eyes are easily removed and replaced as well as the hands, feet and heads. Resin body parts may be reshaped by sanding or applying epoxy putty. A doll may even be a hybrid of body parts from different companies.
MSC: Mr. Super Clear. This is a protective coating that may contain a UV protection additive if you choose. MSCUV. It comes in an arosol spray. You can find this on the internet. I have found one can to last through 4 dolls depending on their size and if you are sealing the entire body.
Wiring: Any thin, coated wire inserted into the joints to aid in posing. Make sure that your wire coating matches your doll's resin pretty well. You can just carefully pull the joints apart and insert. Do not be afraid! This will aid in keeping that perfect pose and stop that "kicking" that some dolls are known for.
Hot glue sueding: Adding a thin, consistent layer of hot glue to the inside of all movable joints to aid in posing. Your doll should be apart for this to be done properly. If both sides of a joint are done, it makes it a bit sticky and a pose will hold. The price for this feature ranges from $30.00-$50.00.
Body Blushing: This is blushing, or powder painting, of the body to make it look more realistic. It will have to be sealed if applied with a brush. The price for this is about $30.00. |
