Guys and Dolls

From source:

MEN collecting dolls?

Some will tease: The inflatable kinds you can order off dodgy websites?

Others may start to speculate about the collector's sexual orientation. But male doll collectors here are unfazed by the heckling.

"It is better now than a few years ago. Instead of peering over our shoulders, passers-by now come up and talk to me about my dolls", said engineer Aaron Sim, 27, who has close to 200 manga-resembling Japanese dolls in his collection.

With the rise of the metrosexual in mainstream culture, the idea of males collecting dolls - a hobby once associated with young girls - has been gaining acceptance here in recent years.

Toy shops such as Dollz Inc in Wheelock Place and Magma Heritage in D'Centennial mall say about 25 to 35 per cent of their customers are guys.

Media relations executive Sharon Tan, 24, who held a doll convention last December, estimates that there are more than 15 male collectors among the 250-strong community, up from less than five only two years ago.

Most of them are earnest collectors, spending thousands of dollars and hours customising the dolls with props or weapons.

"The dolls, being expensive, make them seem less like boy's toys and more like a serious hobby", said arts student and doll collector Faith Chung, 21.

Most women interviewed agreed and said that they would judge a guy based on the type of dolls they collect and their reasons for collecting then, rather than on their gender alone.

"Some guys might be genuinely interested in the history or the craftsmanship behind the dolls", said civil servant Grace Tan, 27. "But if the dolls are in poses that border on porn, it might change my impression of him".

Said Ms Tan: For guys to be able to play with dolls so openly shows that they are confident enough not to bother about what people think about them.

After all, as they say, real men aren't afraid to wear pink.

So who are these men that collect dolls? And why do they do it?

0ne is a naval combat specialist. The others are engineers. Tough jobs, really. But after work, they go home to a bedroom full of dolls.

Guys and dolls? Strange combination.

Not for Mr He Zhixing, 28, Aaron Sim, 27, and Andrew Ho, 28.

They are part of a small but growing group of Singaporean men who collect Asian ball-jointed dolls. There are about 10 men here who share this hobby.

Originally from Japan and Korea, ball-jointed dolls are resin dolls which are gaining popularity among young adults here for their resemblance to manga characters.

Unlike regular dolls, all their joints can rotate and their facial features and hair can be customised.

A doll would set a collector back by US$200 (S$286) to more than US$1,000, depending on how customised the figurine is.

"They are life-like and much nicer to display and look at than regular dolls", said wireless engineer Mr Sim, who started collecting the dolls two years ago.

He has four of them, which cost him about $1,500 in total.

His dolls, named Shaiya, Maiya, Naiya and Bianca, each have birthdays, hobbies and favourite foods.

Shaiya, the smallest at 26cm, sits by his bedside as he sleeps.

The rest of his collection of 178 Japanese Pinky dolls is displayed across two walls of his bedroom in his family's five-room flat.

The eldest of three brothers, Mr Sim began playing with Barbie dolls since he was 7.

He still spends his weekends designing and stitching costumes for his dolls.

But Mr Sim, who orders the dolls from websites, insists he is not a sissy.

He attributes his hobby to growing up with a seamstress mum and 12 female cousins.

As a teenager, he used to do Cosplay, or dressing up as Japanese animation characters.

However, his girlfriend, Ms Kitty Koh, 22, is not worried that he "sleeps" with dolls.

The customer service co-ordinator owns seven dolls herself, and pairs up her male dolls with Mr Sim's female ones.

She said: Girls like it for dressing up, while the guys are more interested in the technical aspects of the doll.

He also helps friends and other doll collectors restring their dolls for a fee.

The doll clothes he designs are sold on his blog.

Mr Ho, who got to know Mr Sim through the Cosplay community, bought his first doll last July.

The combat specialist spends his free time crafting doll-sized swords and armour, mostly custom designed and commissioned by fellow doll-collectors.

So much so that his girlfriend began to feel jealous.

Said Ms Evon Toh, 25, co-owner of a comics shop "Andrew tends to be quite obsessed when he starts to do something. For the first two months of getting the doll, I was a bit upset that all he talked about is his doll's weapons, but thankfully now it's died down".

On weekends, the couple and their friends take their dolls to the Botanical Gardens for photoshoots.

They also took their dolls to Kuala Lumpur to exhibit them at a comics convention.

Mr He, a technical specialist by day and photographer and graphics illustrator in his free time, switched from collecting fantasy figurines like Spawn and Marble Heroes characters when Mr Sim and Mr Ho introduced him to the dolls last July.

He has nine dolls which cost him about $400 to $900 each.

Well, those are big players. My doll are not that expensive. :P