zettaichan wrote:I'm sure most plastic is visibly affected by time and lots of it turns yellow. But vinyl Barbies from the '60s aren't notably yellow, as far as I know. I have some vintage late '60s Barbie heads that still have a pink tone.
It does seem weird to me that this whole industry of BJD makers has built up around resin dolls, charging lifelong-collectible prices for dolls that may turn from stark white to jaundiced banana-yellow within just a few years. I know some dollmakers put UV protection in their resin but as someone pointed out above, oxidization will also cause yellowing.
I mean, I know the reason doll artists still make them in resin is because people still buy resin. And I guess resin may have some qualities that make it easier to cast dolls in it, and it definitely has qualities that make it easier to customize the dolls once they're made.
But this is one of my most consistent sources of cold feet. I fall for a doll, I convince myself that I value it as a work of art and craftsmanship enough to pay several hundred dollars for it, but then I worry about what it's going to look like five years from now. But I have to admit, a well-sculpted BJD body looks a lot nicer to me than an Obitsu or Hujoo body, so I may get over it yet.
Actually, I've had 1/6 vinyl dolls that have yellowed significantly in just a couple of years, while the oldest resin BJD that I own, who's almost 10 now, is still close to his original color. Not to say that severe yellowing on resin doesn't happen, but as a face-up artist, I've worked on literally hundreds of resin BJD of various ages and the only one that was close to 'banana yellow' or 'jaundiced' was one that had been in a house fire.
Resin is an interesting material. It isn't as fragile as porcelain and doesn't stain like vinyl, (and if it does, is INFINITELY easier to clean). It's easy to modify, (which is a huge component of the resin BJD hobby). It's easy to paint and repaint, (another huge component of the hobby). So, I don't really think BJD being cast in resin is a matter of people blindly buying it because it's how it's always been. It's just that, for this particular hobby, it's the material that tends to make the most sense for the most people.
