Ball-jointed doll

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Ball-jointed dolls (BJDs) or Asian Ball-jointed Dolls (ABJDs) are dolls made of resin, and predominantly manufactured in Japan and Korea. They are fully posable with ball and socket joints in the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, torso, hips, knees, ankles and sometimes even fingers. Body elements are held together with one or more elastic cords that attach to hands, feet and heads, creating tension between the parts.

BJDs are readily customizable. Wigs and eyes may be removed and replaced, as well as heads, hands, and feet. A doll may even be a 'hybrid' of parts from different companies. Doll manufacturers often base dolls upon popular characters in anime or manga. Owners often achieve a similar effect through customization, creating one-off representations of these characters, or those from books or movies. Some BJD owners or customizers re-shape existing parts through sanding them to change their contours.

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[edit] History

The history of ball-jointed dolls is many centuries old and is centered in Western Europe, particularly Germany. The artist Hans Bellmer created many art-dolls using ball-joints, during the 1930s through 1960s, although these were fine art objects, not toys. Modern BJD history began in the 1990s with the Japanese company Volks. They produced 1:6 scale articulated figures for hobbyists, particularly for the "garage kit" market, for customers to finish to their own taste. Volks named these figures "Dollfie", a portmanteau of "doll" and "figure". Dollfies proved to be very popular and, in 2001, Volks decided to produce a larger (57cm tall) ball-jointed figure sculpted by Mr. Akihiro Enku. These were produced in four variations, and known as the "Four Sisters". Named "Super Dollfie", they were also a successful venture for Volks. Volks has subsequently greatly expanded their sizes and characters of BJDs. Their success has spawned a number of competitors, particularly in Korea.

[edit] Vinyl vs. Resin

Ball-jointed dolls are initially modeled in a substance such as clay. When the sculptor is satisfied with the result, the hardened clay body parts are used to form molds for multiple parts to be cast in polyurethane resin. Cured resin has a hard, smooth, skin-like feel and is readily finished with paints or pastels, which is usually coated with a sprayed-on layer of clear sealant to protect it from smudges or ultraviolet damage.

Some BJDs such as the Obitsu 60 cm and Volks "Dollfie Dream"/DDII dolls are made of vinyl. Vinyl dolls are injection-molded in soft vinyl, and thus lighter and less expensive than their resin counterparts. However, vinyl dolls also tend to be less realistic, with a more anime-like style.

[edit] Sizes and Prices

There are three main size categories for resin ball-jointed dolls: 'Tiny' (20cm range), 'Mini' or 'MSD' (40cm range) and 'SD' (60-70cm range), although they have been produced in many more sizes as the market for BJDs has expanded. Some dolls are human-sized, such as Paper Moon dolls. Tinies are usually in the area of $250 USD, Minis are often $400-500 USD, and SD's generally begin at $500 USD but can easily reach to more than $1,000 USD for limited-edition dolls.

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