davidd's A Doll A Day 2018

[davidd]

27 September – Keyring Mini Figure

[neon_jellyfish]

Is she supposed to be some specific character?

[dargosmydaddy]

Interesting background!

[davidd]

Is she supposed to be some specific character?

Not that I know of. Dollar store type plastic keyring figures.

Interesting background!

J. Peterman catalog.

---

28 September – Bratz Selfie-Snaps Yasmin headed out for a mountain hike under sunny skies, but somehow ended up at Walmart under total overcast.

[neon_jellyfish]

Next time for sure, Yasmin!

[Alliecat]

Key-ring-girl's face is a bit reminiscent of Mego "Dizzy Girl" dolls...? And Yasmin looks very disappointed. Can't blame her. Hope you found something good at Walmart to make up for it!

[davidd]

29 September – Little Captain Figure navigates his ship through the clutter of the storage shed

[neon_jellyfish]

Be careful, little captain! 90 percent of the clutterberg is always under the surface!

[dargosmydaddy]

Your random dolls/ figures are always my favorites!

Be careful, little captain! 90 percent of the clutterberg is always under the surface!

LOL

[davidd]

Be careful, little captain! 90 percent of the clutterberg is always under the surface!

That is so true!

And speaking of the "clutterberg"....

30 September – Smart Doll Symphony Arrives... and promptly disappears!

That fanceh new Smart Doll who arrived a couple of days ago isn't actually still in her box, unopened, is she? And the box hasn't been relegated to storage, has it?

Sadly, yes, on both counts.

Arright, so, here's the illogical logic behind this situation, with a little bit of ranting thrown in, just because I haven't used A Doll A Day as a rant forum for a while:

As with pretty much all new doll lines, you can't have just one, now, can you? Well, I can't, anyway. It doesn't feel right. Obviously New Dolly will need a friend.

She will also need some clothes. Winter is coming on, you know. Basic Smart Dolls aren't exactly fully equipped when it comes to stock outfits.

I have decided to not open the new Smart Doll until I can afford to purchase a friend and some additional clothing for her.

So it may be a while before we actually see this Smart Doll.

(That seems kind of... stupid... doesn't it?)

Now we get into the rant portion of our program; or, to be accurate, a "poor me" lament more than a rant.

Relative to my meager toy budget, Smart Dolls are eensive. Like, freakin' eensive. Like, two and a half top-end Pullips eensive, or between four and five Pullips-in-my-Budget (aka Friday Sale) eensive, and that's for a basic doll without clothes.

Adding to that, Smart Doll clothes are eensive. Maybe not to you, but they are to me. Far more eensive than clothes I buy for myself, anyway. Like, "designer jeans" prices for teeny tiny doll clothes jeans, or I Could Buy A Classic Willis & Geiger Safari Jacket for the cost of a little doll coat, or a dozen pairs of socks at Walmart cost less than one pair of doll socks. Don't even get me started on the shoes!

Of course I made the mistake of looking at Smart Doll photos online and on Instagram... and of starting to play the mental comparison game. Smart Dolls are a rich person's hobby. Rich relative to my disposable income, anyway. Rich, as in, able to travel far and frequently to exciting and exotic destinations with a Smart Doll or three in tow. Smart Doll photos aren't just crummy little cellphone snapshots from the back porch. Smart Doll photos are carefully composed "photographs" taken in charming and picturesque European villages or in bustling, colorful Asian cities, or in artistically illuminated fields of wildflowers awash in color, or on the island playgrounds of the rich & famous in the Mediterranean, or in artistically minimalist penthouse apartments overlooking sparkling cityscapes. Smart Doll photographs are stylish and sexy, like glossy fashion magazine photo spreads illustrating the jet-setting life to which those of us not in the Top One Percent aspire, but will likely never achieve.

And nobody owns just one Smart Doll. Three seems to be a minimum. Many owners eagerly await each new release, accruing small armies of half-a-grand (in 'Merican money) dolls, each decked out in another half-a-grand in outfits and accessories.

Why do I even want to be a part of this scenario? Do I even want to be a part of this scenario? Am I even able to be a part of this scenario? Isn't the entire Smart Doll schtick a marketing scheme to part upscale millennials from a fraction of their not-hard-earned-at-all dollars/yen/pounds?

If Smart Dolls are a money-making marketing scheme, and if Smart Dolls are targeting an upscale niche market to which I don't belong, and if Smart Dolls are, realistically speaking, beyond my budget, and if I am aware of all this... why do I want another one before even having opened the box on the first one? Why, in fact, did I buy the first one in the first place?

I dunno. I can't clearly answer those questions right now. That's another reason Smart Doll is gonna cool her jets in the storage shed for a while: so I can cool my own jets, and maybe think about this more clearly.

I find it frustrating to think that I've been doing the toy photography thing for a really long time now, from long before it was socially acceptable, let alone "cool," and yet now I can't even afford to participate at the "cool kid level" anymore. I'm wondering if part of my sudden interest in Smart Dolls is feeling the need to somehow "prove" that I can still participate in a relevant way in the toy photography hobby.

Smart Dolls are currently a not-yet-mainstream niche interest that has a dedicated and extremely active fanbase, very much like Pinky Street figures had between 2005 - 2008, only at a price range several magnitudes higher than Pinky Street. If this analogy is accurate, then I am probably getting in to Smart Dolls either at or just past their peak. Being a Japanese phenomenon, like Pinky Street, Smart Dolls are likely a consumer and pop-culture fad, and the decline in Smart Doll popularity will be as sudden and as irreversible as was that of Pinky Street and other Japanese fads. Appropriately, perhaps, the box in this photo underneath the Smart Doll box contains a pair of the once rare and highly coveted "Dekapin" Pinky Street figures. At the peak of Pinky Street popularity, Dekapins were selling for close to a thousand dollars for a set of two figures. I got this pair of Dekapins earlier this year from a Japanese online auction site for less than $150 USD, including shipping and bidding service fees. I see parallels between Smart Doll and Pinky Street. It's not a matter of "if" a crash will occur, but "when."

In the meantime, will the "fun" of being a part of the Smart Doll fad while it is at its peak be worth the eense? Or will the frustration of knowing I'm a poseur, of knowing that I'm not really rich, of not being able to travel the world with dollies in a designer backpack, and of wearing clothes that cost less than those of the doll I'm carting around like some urban metro wannabe-artist dude eclipse the enjoyment, and ultimately sour the eerience?

But for right now, at this moment: what can I sell on eBay to afford that second Smart Doll and some overpriced outfits for her?

[Alliecat]

Be careful, little captain! 90 percent of the clutterberg is always under the surface!

I literally LOL'd I love this. My house is full of clutterbergs, alas.
That's a cute picture and I'd like to see more adventures with him too.

Geewhiz, davidd, I'm sorry to hear you have such a conflict over the new doll. Yeah, they're out of my budget too, and I don't even spend a lot on Pullip clothes. If they cost more than something I'd buy for me, I'll probably pass.
They say social media is one of the biggest sources of dissatisfaction in people's lives these days, because we're always comparing our boring lives to our facebook friends' exciting travels, or reading their horn-tooting my-life-is-so-fabulous-right-now posts. The usual advice that follows is to get off the screen and make the best you can of your own life.
Maybe the doll thing is similar. Is it a competition? So you indulged on a splurge, for a doll you wanted. And you take great photos, and since you've been doing it a long time it must be fun for you. So why not have that fun, and who cares what anyone else is doing? I've always said photography shouldn't be about whether you have the newest fanciest equipment, but whether you have fun with it and are happy with the results you get. (For those who aren't crunching out photos for an editor or commercial enterprise, anyway.) It should be the same with dolls. Do you have to have certain dolls because someone else has them?
So, think about what sort of photography you had in mind when you bought her, and go do it and have fun. You don't have to compete with anyone. You don't have to be part of someone else's scenario. Make your own scenario, that you enjoy. Be the only person (I doubt it?) who has "only one" Smart Doll -- and make her the star of the photos she's in.
As for clothes... well, maybe you can find someone on Etsy that makes appropriate sized things? Or check around various doll communities for people who like to sew and maybe you can commission someone for a lower price than the commercial stuff. I don't really know what their proportions are; can they wear 1/3 BJD clothes? 1/4? Bargains can sometimes be found there.
In the meantime, I'd say, take her out of the box and get acquainted; it might be easier to see how you feel about her 'in person' than looking at a box. Drape her in a pretty scarf for a gown
Don't chase the herd. Herds have been known to run off cliffs. Do your own thing and have fun with it.
Just my three cents, and all for now. I'm sposed to be writing articles this afternoon

[neon_jellyfish]

Congrats on your new treasure!

Alliecat said everything that needed to be said, so I'll just add my signature under her post.

Baby, you're thinking about it too much, when you should be having fun. Your photos are awesome no matter what kind of doll / figure and background you use for them; you, unlike many, don't need fancy view or a gazillion other eensive dolls and equipment to make a really good pic.

If you unbox her now, you might see why she's so eensive, maybe it's a strategy to get money from millennials, but maybe it's a really high quality, partially hand-made doll...

As for clothing, you don't need the official brand clothing, Smart Dolls are practically the same size as Volks' Dollfie Dreams (and they have exactly the same size of shoes), and there's a ton of clothing for them out there on etsy and ebay for lower prices.

Sleep on it and then have fun!

[Lejays17]

Echoing Alliecat & neon - you don't need to compete with the "rich" people in the photography hobby. You take lovely photos already with your not-eensive dolls, so why would it be any different with eensive one?

And you don't need to buy "designer" clothes for her either. I'll be there's about a gazillions Etsy shops who make suitable sized outfits, and probably half them would do outfits on commission if you wanted something specific.

I'm not sure how to word this, so I apologise in advance if I seem rude or harsh. You write a lot about the cost of things, and that the toys you buy don't really appreciate in price. Most toys don't appreciate that much, especially now. And things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. So yes, the $50 toy might be rare & you believe it's worth selling for double that. But if no one wants to pay $100 for it, it's worthless.
But if you have fun with taking photos or otherwise "playing" with it, then it's worth more to you. Otherwise it's a mound of plastic taking up storage room.

[Cornflower Blue]

What they all have said above me. A few thoughts: Lots of people who collect dolls don't even take any photos of them. You have some pretty awesome scenery around you for cool photos as this thread has demonstrated. I wouldn't worry about how long she'll be popular, just enjoy what you have for what it is. She's just like a giant obitsu or a Pullip with better jointing. You can find some more reasonably priced clothing on Etsy, you don't have to buy the eensive Smart Doll stuff. And maybe you can get a Cortex version for her friend, since they're supposed to be less eensive, once they are finally released.

[davidd]

Geewhiz, davidd, I'm sorry to hear you have such a conflict over the new doll. Yeah, they're out of my budget too....
Don't chase the herd. Herds have been known to run off cliffs. Do your own thing and have fun with it.
Just my three cents, and all for now. I'm s'posed to be writing articles this afternoon.

Instead you wrote an article-length reply to my rambling! Thank you!

You're thinking about it too much, when you should be having fun....
If you unbox her now, you might see why she's so eensive....

As for clothing, you don't need the official brand clothing, Smart Dolls are practically the same size as Volks' Dollfie Dreams (and they have exactly the same size of shoes), and there's a ton of clothing for them out there on etsy and ebay for lower prices.

Sleep on it and then have fun!

I've been giving this quite a bit of thought over the past few days, and even more since receiving this input here on the forum earlier today.

I'm not sure how to word this, so I apologise in advance if I seem rude or harsh. You write a lot about the cost of things, and that the toys you buy don't really appreciate in price. Most toys don't appreciate that much, especially now. And things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it....
But if you have fun with taking photos or otherwise "playing" with it, then it's worth more to you. Otherwise it's a mound of plastic taking up storage room.

Hee hee! Nothing rude or harsh about it! We're all friends here on this forum, or at least, that's how it seems to me, and sometimes friends phrase things bluntly rather than wasting time. Plus, you're exactly right on all points.

What they all have said above me. A few thoughts: I wouldn't worry about how long she'll be popular, just enjoy what you have for what it is. She's just like a giant obitsu or a Pullip with better jointing. You can find some more reasonably priced clothing on Etsy, you don't have to buy the eensive Smart Doll stuff.

A giant obitsu! That's funny... and also pretty accurate!


Thank you all for your lengthy and thoughtful responses. I appreciate you all taking the time to respond to my rambling and venting.


I'm wondering about the wisdom behind the release of the less eensive (supposedly) Cortex plastic version of Smart Dolls. The new, less eensive version of Smart Doll will likely give Culture Japan a bottom-line boost for a while; but a decade ago, Pinky Street tried to cut costs by eliminating the second body, reducing the size of the packaging, and using lower-quality plastic. Mattel tried the same thing with Monster High in an effort to broaden the appeal to a less affluent market segment. "Luxury brands" do not always fare well when they attempt to court a broader market share by reducing quality or offering less eensive versions of their premium product. Both Pinky Street and Monster High are gone. Will offering a less eensive version undercut the "perceived value" in the Smart Doll line?

Smart Dolls are eensive relative to any other "toys" I've purchased before. But I was thinking about that today, and remembering that when I first got in to Pinky Street, I thought they were fairly eensive (at $11 per figure, plus additional for shipping), and I put a fair amount of time into tracking down the least eensive price+shipping options. At first I bought only the basic figures, but over time, I was buying releases as they came out without thinking too much about it. (I waited for years for the limited edition Henrietta to become affordable on the secondary market, though. ) At the time I was buying Pinkys, I never dreamed I'd be dropping the money required to get in to the Pullip doll line... that seemed absurd to me... but at my peak, I think I ultimately had thirteen of them. (My collection currently stands at six.) Smart Dolls are on a totally different price level than any other toy or doll line in which I've been interested, but they're also on a different size and quality level, and I suspect I will eventually grow accustomed to "playing" at that level. (But I don't see myself ever having thirteen of them; two... maybe three... is the likely maximum.)

The Danny Choo Smart Doll clothes that are designed specifically for the dolls look really nice! Some of the pieces might actually be worth the price, like, in an "Apple Computers" sort of way, with excellence in form following excellence in function with an added premium for name-brand cachet. As suggested, I have started looking on eBay and Etsy for clothing options – in fact, I ordered a pair of shoes... hiking boots... that I hope will fit, for a significantly lower price than authentic Smart Doll shoes cost. But even on Etsy and eBay, the 1/3 scale clothing and accessories aren't exactly ineensive. They're less costly than authentic Smart Doll clothes, but we're definitely not talking used Barbie clothes prices here. Again, though, I have to adjust my thinking to dealing on a completely different, and larger, scale. In a larger scale, more detail is required on clothing and accessories to get them to "look right." And the market for 1/3 scale doll clothes is not nearly the same as the market for "real people" clothes, so the economies of scale to cover manufacturing costs do not apply. Many of the larger scale doll clothes are hand-made, which affects the price.

Maybe it's time I learned how to sew.

"Selling a lifestyle" is something the Smart Doll web site does well. Smart Doll uses sophisticated "lifestyle marketing" techniques blended with an approachable, seemingly personalized approach. I enjoy the chatty, conversational tone of the sales copy, and the occasional lame jokes they throw in. I like the photos in elegant penthouse apartment settings and futuristic cityscapes. And, one of the photos on the web site was taken practically in my back yard, at Bryce Canyon National Park, about a 20 minute drive from my house. That photo on the web site, along with input from one of my Flickr friends, helped convince me to take the Smart Doll plunge.

Many of the Smart Doll photos seem, to me, to be taken in exciting, glamorous, exotic locations; or at least, that's my "emotional" response. Practically speaking, I know that many Smart Doll owners live in Europe, with castles practically outside their back doors. We all have different scenery outside our doorsteps. In Europe they have castles and cathedrals, I have sandstone arches and red sand dunes and abandoned log cabins. To people who have not been here, I suppose the scenery in my part of the world is almost as exotic as castles and cathedrals and shiny chrome big city apartments seem to me.

While the initial cost of Smart Dolls is steep relative to other toys and dolls I've purchased, and while I obviously gripe and moan about that cost, I'm not overly concerned about long-term investment value. I don't know how many hundreds (or maybe more than hundreds) of dollars I spent on Pinky Street figures, and today they are largely worthless... but I still love them and will not part with them. I probably spent even more money on Monster High, and collector interest in that line is stone-dead. You know what the Pullip market is like; very few figures hold their value, and then only if they are mint in box. So I am under no delusions about Smart Dolls being an investment.

I also need to get past "feeling conflicted" over the eense. I largely financed this doll by selling stuff I will likely never miss on eBay, so in a way, she didn't cost very much at all. I simply "traded old stuff for new stuff."

What do I hope to achieve with a Smart Doll and in my Smart Doll photography? I'm not yet able to eress that in clear, concrete terms, but you are all correct in that the primary objective should be to have fun.

But two are more fun than one, right? So I will need another one. I just need to find some more stuff to list on eBay!


Thank you all for taking the time to respond with such insight.