bjdbaby? Probably not legit, but asking just in case...

[Kirahfaye]

Well, for most countries, piracy IS theft, regardless of how we layman look at it. If you take something, whether it be a physical item or intellectual property, it is stealing.

[Kirahfaye]

Well, for most countries, piracy IS theft, regardless of how we layman look at it. If you take something, whether it be a physical item or intellectual property, it is stealing.

And .... I'm so done with this discussion.

[iron_dog]

The recasters won't hire sculptors to create their own dolls because they would then need to wait months for just a head to be finished AND they'd need to pay an artist, which would cut into their profits. Its faster, easier and cheaper to steal someone else's work and copy the daylights out of it. And pirates are all about fast, cheap and easy.

[Kyia Kyia]

yeah, I can tottally understand why someone would buy a recast, like buying bootleg videos or knitpicks yarn that every yarn store hates because its cheap. granted if I got a recast, I prolly wouldn't broadcast it around, but I wouldn't look down on anyone that would pay full price, nor look down on someone that knowingly got a recast. it comes down to economics and supply and demand, really.

:'D This made my day. One of the owners of my yarn store are quite verbal when it comes to using cheap yarn/needles. Things from Knitpicks is on their "list".

[Wardah]

The recasters won't hire sculptors to create their own dolls because they would then need to wait months for just a head to be finished AND they'd need to pay an artist, which would cut into their profits. Its faster, easier and cheaper to steal someone else's work and copy the daylights out of it. And pirates are all about fast, cheap and easy.

I really really can't believe it takes months for just a head to be finished especially the way Soom churns out dolls. Maybe it takes a hobbyist sculptor that long since a hobbyist has a life and often a job outside their hobby. And once they have a sculpt they can churn out as many as they want.

With the recast MH torsos it didn't bother me as long as they were different colors from the ones Mattel made since paint is a lousy way to match colors. That being said if a recaster ever decided to make a doll that was previously only available in normal colors in fantasy colors I would see it differently than just recasting them in the same colors. At least they are putting a little creativity into them then. I mean how many times has someone thought something like "oh that would be really awesome in green".

[Evelien]

Um, a BJD doesn't just come with a head, you know. I'm sure months and months are put into sculpting a body that's both beautiful and a good poser. Like someone else said, I'm sure you have never tried it for yourself.

[Kd_Bunchanumbers]

scrapdoodles in to say the recasting process has gotten so good, resin quality *can* be very comparable to the original, in certain case even matching in colour and quality to the original company. So saying good resin =/= original doll.

[Evelien]

Speaking from your own experience?

[Kd_Bunchanumbers]

i haven't collected dolls in almost a year, let alone BJDs i just lurk in a lot of places like here. I think if we could rationally discuss recasts, how to identify them and have as much information as possible available it'll be insanely useful in keeping on top of the recasts rather than creating a stigma about owning or shaming others for coming into contact with them, especially if people are unwittingly buying them.

[Kd_Bunchanumbers]

I mean look at this comparison set of a Unoa recast next to the real thing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gienath/se ... 991855235/

The resin quality looks almost identical and to the untrained eye could easily be passed off as the real thing, especially if someone refined the product a bit. So saying "YOU CAN TOTALLY SEE SOMETHING IS FAKE ZOMG CUZ OF THESE SPECIFIC TRAITS" is kind of dangerous cuz a quick search shows recasts have gotten much better. It may not be exact, but unless you specifically collect a certain company and know the nuances of the company's stuff, you could easily be fooled. Heck, some companies don't even have consistent skintone/resin matches within their own company (like Soom and Luts).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjdmuse/7652348086/ Here shows a recast of a minifee part next to the real thing and the match is frightening close.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/l-espirit_ ... 971646538/ And here's a comparison of Soom next to recasted parts.

It's not that hard to find this sorta info, but being informed is key here. I mean if we did not have a frame of reference here the recasts could easily be passed off as the real thing especially dressed up in a custom face up or poor photography.

I dunno, having a specific, well researched recast thread with good *unbiased* information would really help out a lot of people in the hobby, but since recasting tends to push a lot of buttons in the hobby I think it'd be a thankless job to try maintaining the thread.