Glossary

This is a basic glossary of terms I may use in "Shiwooed" and other terms that may arise in the Ball Jointed Doll world. It's a continually growing project, so if you have any suggestions or corrections please email me at admin@indollgence.com or sent me a PM on DoA- Lilly Kitten

A-Line- Active Line. A range of double jointed Fairyland bodies that are known for their posability

ABJD- Asian Ball Jointed Doll.

Agent- Someone who represents a number of doll companies, buys in dolls and sells them on at the same price companies offer them. Agents are favoured by collectors because they often offer things the main companies don't, like Layaway or Paypal. They're often also used because their postage is local to the country.

Art Doll (Re- Luts)- Art Dolls are highly limited dolls released in fullsets by Luts. They've been known to limit them right down to three at times. They're VERY hard to get and highly sought after

Art Doll (In genenral)- Generally one off hand made Ball Jointed Dolls

Asian Ball jointed Doll- See Ball Jointed Doll

B-Line- The original CP bodies. Single Jointed.

Ball Jointed Doll- A generally resin cast doll that has ball and socket joints at their articulating points- elbows, wrists, knees, hips etc. Sometimes called Asian Ball Jointed Dolls for their point of origin, and the vast amount of Asia based companies that make them. Highly collected and often expensive, they have changable wigs and eyes and can be fully customized to each owner.

Basic- A doll in it's simplest form, no face up, no wig, nothing. (companies often provide eyes even with basics, however)

Beauty Green- Tongue in cheek term for Luts' old version of Beauty White. Known as Beauty Green for the slightly greenish yellow tinge to the resin

Beauty White- Dolls cast in white resin. In most companies, this is a creamy white colour.
BJD- Ball Jointed Doll.

Blushing- Colouring the resin tone of a doll with powdered pigment. Often made from grinding up chalk pastels and brushing them on with soft paintbrushes

Body Blush- Painting/Airbrushing/Blushing the body of a doll. It doesn't have to ACTUALLY be blushed to be called this

Box Opening- The joyful moment when a new doll owner opens their new doll's box. Open documented in a photostory

BW- Beauty White

Cabinet Baby- A term used in several ways. It can refer to a specific, very expensive, very precious doll an owner displays. It can also be used to refer to a delicate fullset with impractical feet or outfit that makes it difficult and stressful to take around (often used in conjunction with Soom MDs) Or it can be used as a term for a specific kind of collector that doesn't like to take their dolls around, have them handled or changes them often. (the opposing kind of collector is a "Playthings" collector)

Cast- Both the actual process of pouring and setting the resin, and a word used to refer to a specific doll's face (see Sculpt)

Cerberus Project- The artisan company/group that originally designed and made the Shiwoo

ChicLine- A range of MSDs made by Fairyland. They're more realistic than most MSDs and shorter in average, standing only 37-40cm. Find them here

CL- ChicLine

CP- Cerberus Project

Dealer- See Agent

Default- Default face up, this is the face up done by the company a doll was purchased from

Delf- Luts' 60cm line. Originally sculpted by CP and still cast by them through Fairyland

Den of Angels- The main forum for Ball Jointed Dolls. A large portion of the English speaking BJD community have an account here. Joining is restricted to certain times, and by invite. Find it here

DoA- Den of Angels

Dollfie- The original concept that led to the creation of marketable Ball Jointed Doll (which had previously been limited to art dolls) Invented by Volks, these were hinge jointed anime fashion dolls. This term is often used for all Ball Jointed Dolls

Dollpa- Doll Party. Unlike a meet as it tends towards being more of a market with things for sale and trade

Double Jointed- A special kind of jointing system alloing more movement and posability

Dreaming- Doll with their eyes half or almost closed.

Event- Held by companies, these occur generally at Christmas and Mid year, though they can occur at any time for any reason (new doll, new sculpt, sale etc). A company often provides some kind of deal to entice you to buy a specific product or to generally spend. This can be a discount, a free item or a specially made limited item just for the event.

Event head- A doll head made and released ONLY for an event

Face Plate- Refers to an unusual and innovative Fairyland doll feature. Instead of having removable heads, certain lines (specifically the Real Puki, PukiPuki, PukiFee, LittleFee and Chic Line) have a removable face, leaving the head back attached.

Face up- The painting/airbrushing/blushing on the face of a doll.

Fairyland- The company Cerberus Project set up after their split from Luts. Sells dolls of many sizes and is well known for their almost unmatched jointing. Find them here

Fantasy Parts- Non human doll parts, like hooves, tails, horns etc.

Fashion Dolls- Dolls like Tonner, Barbie, Momoko etc, that are designed more for their fashion than the actual doll.

Feeple- Fairyland's 70cm range. Known for their very long legs and posability

Floating Head- A humourous term coined in the early beginnings of BJD collecting to refer to heads a collector owned. As heads and bodies are available seperately, it's not unusual for a collector to have several floating heads around. The name caught on.

Full Set- Dolls offered by most companies that come with everything, outfit, shoes, wig, face up. Sometimes limited.

Head Cap- Removable part of a doll's head, usually the top (though in anthro dolls, often the back) where you can access the eyes and the S hook or mechanism that keeps a doll's head on

Head Back- Like a headcap, this is a feature fairly exclusive to certain lines of Fairyland dolls who have faceplates rather than headcaps. This is the part that remains attached to the  doll's body when the faceplate is removed.

Jointing- The doll's ball joints, often used in conjunction with how well it stands and poses.

Layaway- Paying for a doll in deposits.

LittleFee- Fairyland's YoSD range. They're 25cm tall and are proportioned like children. Find them here

LE- Limited Edition, can refer to a doll, a sculpt, a part or even a fullset

LTF- Little Fee

MD- Monthly Doll

Meet- A get together of doll collectors where they bring along their dolls to show, chat and generally socialize with other collectors.

Meet Up- See Meet

Mini Meet- A small Meet, sometimes just one or two other collectors.

MiniFee- Fairyland's MSD range, 41-42cm in height, their A-Line bodies are known for their posability. See them here

Mod-  Modification. Any kind of modifying done to a doll, from teh most basic- ear piercing, to adding pieces with epoxy, carving into the resin etc.

Monthly Doll- An invention of Soom referring to a fantasy range released for only a month.



MNF- MiniFee

Mr. Super Clear- A sealant favoured by face up artists and body blushers to seal their doll works.

MSC- Mr. Super Clear

MSD- Mini Super Dollfie. Dolls ranging in size from around 37cm to around 50cm

NS- Normal Skin

Normal Skin- A basic flesh tone resin, this differs from company to company

Photo Story- A series of photos telling a story, like comic panels. Dolls are posed in each photo to act out a scene. Very popular passtime of doll owners.

PKF- PukiFee

Playthings- BJDs that are taken out and "played" with. This can be taken to a meet, having their clothes changed frequently, carried around a lot, etc. Generally refers to a well handled doll or an owner who doesn't mind their doll being handled.

PM- Personal Message. Used on DoA (and most forums) to send a message to other users. Like an interforum emailing system

Posability- How easy it is to stand a doll, and how realisticly it can be posed.

PukiFee- The largest of Fairyland's Tiny range. Standing 15.5cm, they're proportioned like toddlers with large heads. Their bodies are genderless.  Find them here

Resin- The stiff polyurethane plastic most dolls are cast in.

Resin match- The colour match between two different companies. As most comapnies cast their dolls themselves, or through subsiduary companies, the colours often differ, even though the colour name is the same. For example, Luts' Normal Skin (for everything except the Delfs) is a noticiably different colour to Fairyland's

Sculpt- The face mould of a specific doll or doll line.

SD- Super Dollfie. Refers to dolls who are around 55-65cm tall.

Shiwoo- A specific sculpt designed by Cerberus Project. Very well collected and comes in many sizes and types. Defined by their pointy noses, full lips and slight smiles, they're just as often made into girls as they are boys

Single Jointed- Simple ball socket joint. Not as posable as Double Jointing, but sometimes preferred for the aestetic

Sleeping Plate/Sleeping head- A doll head often used as an accessory head with it's eyes closed, as if sleeping

Soom- A highly popular company known for their Monthly Dolls. They have a number of differnet lines, but their SuperGems are what they are known for (and the section their MDs are in) find them here

SSD- Senior Super Dollfie. Dolls that are 65cm and taller

SP- Sleeping Plate/Sleeping Head

Tiny- Dolls that are around 19cm and smaller

Volks- Seen as the first Ball Jointed Doll makers, in truth they were simply the first to commecialize them. They're the origin of many of the sizing terms, such a SD and YoSD. Find them here

Wig Cap- A thin silicone cap that goes under a doll's wig to keep it from slipping around. Looks kind of like a clear swimming cap.

Yellowing- An inevitable fact of owning dolls. The resin yellows over time. This is sped up by sunlight, and often inspires people to keep Cabinet Babies. It is inevitable, however.

YoSD- Young Super Dollfie. Dolls ranging from around 20-35cm