My First BJD Purchase was a Recast

Recast Sunny, Latidoll Hana

My first doll purchase was a recast. No, not Diwata of course. She was actually the second doll I bought.

Here’s how it happened. A friend of mine introduced me to Latidolls, and the links I saw were from that famous recaster. Without thinking much about it, I bought the doll. She is very cute, after all!

Then I started searching more about Latidolls and BJDs in general, and I’ll be honest with you, the first information you see are about recasts and how they aren’t so bad.

I used to buy into the excuses they made: they aren’t really hurting people, the artists are not losing anything, if recasters can make it for so cheap, why can’t official companies!

And I was like, yeah, yeah. I agree!

Still, knowing I have a fake coming in, in the back of my mind I was like, I’m not too comfortable about it. 

At the same time, I found this Latidoll that I got really obsessed with, looking at pics everyday. In the end, I got myself Diwata, from a dealer in Thailand.

Diwa was the first one to arrive. I was so happy with her (if you’ve seen my unboxing video, you’ll know). Eventually, the recast arrived too. She’s a beautiful doll, well made, too, despite what others may say. But I didn’t want her, so I moved her on, to the friend who originally introduced me to Latidolls. 

At this point I considered myself neutral, thinking people had valid reasons why they’d buy recasts instead of the real deal.

Eventually, I found Bambicrony Vanilla, and discovered that her maker was Mia of Mia’s Baby Dolls. And then I found Mia’s Instagram and scrolled through it, looking at all her beautiful dolls. Then I saw this post, from years ago, in Korean. I translated it and discovered it was about how devastated she was that her dolls have been recasted. Here it is, an actual artist, voicing out how sad she was that her dolls have been illegally copied. That was the last nail in the coffin for me.

I no longer wanted to think of myself as a neutral.   I completely, 100% wanted my stance on the subject clear, I DO NOT condone recasts.

But here’s my dilemma, I have made friends who own recasts. So what do I do?

Well, I still talk with these friends. But as much as possible, I avoid all talks about their dolls. I feel like they know my stand about these illegal copies, as I’ve been quite vocal about it. I’ve encouraged at least a few of them to buy legit ones, to accompany their fakes, at least. But I never push my opinion on them.

I think there’s a way we can win. And it’s by example. Don’t be rude, don’t ostracize them, instead, encourage them, give them information, especially when they ask for it. Don’t give them generic answers like “google it,” they’d be more invested if you give them first hand information.

I’m not perfect, but because I have a strong opinion about this subject, I know there may be a few times I’ve been one of those “jerks” who was rude and unkind. They do exist in the hobby, just like they exist in every community! But I try, I truly try as much as I can, to be more welcoming.

Just know, I’m here. Please message me. I won’t bully you because you’ve mistakenly got a recast, or you got a recast now but you’re scared to go legit because you think people will only remember you for your old dolls. It’s fine that you have them, so long as you don’t plan to add more. I’m here, and I can talk. ♥️

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