What exactly is a 'grail doll'?

[SoapBubbles]

Wow I feel so ignorant for not knowing this... I've been into dolls for a few years now and I'm still not sure what this means. *Ahem* Anyway, from the DoA term search I did it only said: "Grail doll" is a term used when a doll is earnestly pursued or sought after.

But from the posts I've seen about grail dolls, I got the impression that each person seemed to only have 1 grail doll. I see posts like, "-insert name- is my grail doll! Saving up to get him/her," or "-insert name- is my grail doll" <-- and this is 1 of the MANY dolls they have listed in their collection. If you ended up obtaining your 'grail doll' (using the above definition), then isn't it possible to have another grail doll afterwards..?

Was I just getting the wrong impression and coincidentally just read posts that seemed to imply people only had 1 grail doll? Or what do you consider your 'grail doll'?

[Yanagi-sen]

Granted this is my interpretation and I don't have a 'grail doll' really... well, MAYBE when Kiki-chan78 makes me my Taki which will be in her line of MSD Sweet Dolls... But I consider a 'grail doll' to be that ONE doll, you REALLY REALLY WANT!!! The one you know you might never get for various reasons (cost, limited availability, out-of-production, company died, etc); but you would love to have it. Or it might be that one doll spirit you haven't found the shell for yet and are HUNTING for the right sculpt or body. I suppose as feelings shift and different dolls come on and off the market the 'grail doll' could change, but as I haven't had my one 'grail doll' experience I can't really say.

[Iwa_Hoshi]

This one confuses me too. Would appreciate it if someone gives a good definition

I consider 1/6 Mamachapp Chun Li to be more of my grail doll than Soom Mecha Angel Sabix or Soom Topaz or Iplehouse LE cowboy Dexter

I like Sabix but not as a highly Favorited character. I have basic edition common blank Dexter, he knocked Sabix off my want list. Would have gotten Mega Gem version Sabix but promotion happend after I got Dexter.
I like the Topaz because she's so fairyly pretty but not as my character. I don't have that feeling of 'I must own her!' Like with the Mamachapp (I'm a Chun Li fangirl, so yeah)

I actually spent time looking for the Mamachapp, searched the internet, Ebay and Yahoo.jp. Enlisted my often used Toy hunting company, spent part of my Japan trip looking for her. And i sort of did gave up looking for her and settled for a wrongly customed Obitsu(who became my fave doll and started the doll hobby). and Obitsu in question made me wonder how much do I still want Mamachapp version? But I didn't get Mamachapp when it pop up on ebay years later.
This part confused me after all I went through for her. Especially now that Obi50 Megu-Chun is even more Chun Li looking than the Mamachapp and is a fave doll that looks like my starter Obitsu too.

I dunno, Would 12 inch GI JOE Ryu be considered a grail since I can't get him back when I was a kid but now that he could be found on ebay and my reaction is 'meh'

Unless of course the unconfirmed shell of a character is considered a grail

Edit
At the point of writing this, the Alpha/Zero/teen/younger version of the Mamachapp showed up on Yahoo auctions. I'm still seriously undecided even though its no longer about replacing the Obitsu in my Avatar pic

[Stormlight]

I think my idea of a grail doll may differ from other people in that I believe it's quite possible to have more than one grail doll. I do believe it's "that one extra-special doll that you may possibly never obtain". But, on the off-chance you DO obtain it, who says you can't find yourself a new grail doll afterwards?

For example, I used to have a grail doll, Luts Elf Lishe. She was for a character who'd started out as a minifee Lishe, I re-embodied her as an Elfdoll Aurora, but the look never quite fit. I always envisioned her with Lishe's features, only since she's half-elf, she needed pointy ears. Thus, elf Lishe. Anyway, I always saw her pop up on the marketplace, but always at $900 or more, which is more than I'm willing to pay for a secondhand doll. So, I figured I'd never get her. Then, someone who was leaving the hobby sold her 2006 type 2 version for a really cheap price (in comparison with the usual), so I snapped her up. Thus, I obtained my grail doll.

NOW, I have at least two more grail dolls I'd love to get my hands on, but probably won't.

The first is a Dollmore Lusion Dahlia, the elf-eared limited girl. First off, she's HUGE. Not much room to put her at the moment, although I'm hoping that will change in a year or so. Secondly, she's EXPENSIVE. Over $1500 if I recall correctly. Thirdly, she's limited to like 30 or something? Which means by the time I can save up funds, get a bigger place, what-have-you, she'll probably be sold out. Or maybe she won't, I dunno, but right now I'm not holding out hopes of actually obtaining her (for a good long time, at least).

Second doll is Luts Elf Shiwoo. I want him for another character of mine, but he's even harder to find than Elf Lishe, and tends to be that much more expensive. Just his head goes for as much as a full SD. Luts never released a second version of him and the first version doesn't come up for sale very often (and I wasn't even in the hobby yet when he was first released). But I'd love to get my hands on one *for a reasonable price*. Shiwoo is one of my favorite sculpts (thus the four Shiwoos I already own of varying sizes, all but one with elf ears), and this particular elf character of mine would never work with any other sculpt but his. I keep holding out hope that Fairyland will release a new version of elf Shiwoo as one of their limited heads or something, but who knows if/when that will ever happen? Until then, he's definitely on my "grail doll" list.

[quidam]

In a more traditional sense it would be one that is nearly impossible to get and will probably never be obtained. It comes from the idea of the Holy Grail, the legendary one of a kind object that can be sought for a lifetime but never found. In that case you're looking at maybe something that has been limited to only a handful of pieces that may never show up on the secondhand market or one that will probably cost you a small fortune that is well outside of your budget.

I think the idea, though, has become one of personal definition. I've seen some use it for a very easily obtained doll, say a RS Song, in which case it is just a doll they really, really want. Others use it for a doll that they may need to save a bit longer for than other dolls.

Personally I prefer the traditional use of the idea, but do not have any doll that fits it for me. I don't know if I ever will.

[Vetinari]

My own definition of grail doll has been - the doll that I adore and really really REALLY want - but never thought I'd be able to find/afford...

Having said that I just about managed to budget for a Soom Sabik... (Via the painful Layaway process) ...So my 1st grail doll is on his way... And I'm signed up to a Bowie MNM GO so my other grail is a distinct possibility...

...Actually I think "Grail Doll" in my case can be rewritten to "Looks like Bowie!"

[Greyhaunt]

Your basic Grail doll is, as some have said, that doll that you really really really want but because of cost, limited numbers, etc... you believe you will never be able to have it. For some people there is only one Grail doll, for others there may be more than one - it's an individual thing.

I had two - a tan Dollzone Yuu and a B&G Aurora. Neither is hugely expensive, but for me they were more than I really could pay most of the time. Eventually I was lucky enough to get together the money for a Yuu and then someone sold an Aurora on the marketplace for a great price and I unexpectedly aquired both. At the moment, I don't have a grail doll, but I imagine it is entirely possible that another may come along one day. To a certain extent its a personal thing.

I do believe that a lot of people on DoA toss the term around too casually. Seriously, an RS Song is not a grail doll unless you are 13 years old with a tiny allowance.

[Nella]

There's actually a few discussions on DoA right now talking about grail dolls.

My definition of the term is:
Grail Doll (noun): A highly desired but hard-to-find doll. Seen as unobtainable or unlikely to be acquired. Often limited and/or expensive.

Part of what makes a grail doll for me is the quest to get find it and bring it home. I think it's entirely possible to have multiple grail dolls.

It annoys me when I see people tossing around the term when really, they're talking about a different concept.

[TurtleJen]

Maybe we need to use grail dolls like the goblet in Indiana Jones? XD /kiddingkidding

I think the term could be subjective... But generally is what everyone else has said.

Ah, I have one grail doll that I can think of right now. He is mostly unobtainable to me because he's discontinued, was out before I was even in the hobby. A Doll Leaves Xavor, such a lovely elf. He was my first pick for Todd.

[richila]

My Orient Doll Tae, Girard, is my grail doll. Orient Doll was no longer in business when I discovered him. He is the closest I will ever get to a Dollshe Hound-my hands and wrists can't do more than 5 pounds without a wrist brace. It took me months of marketplace searching to find him. Even though Leekeworld did release some later, I prefer the resin of my boy. I have never wanted any doll as badly as I wanted him from the first time I saw him.