the doll theft at Dolpa NY 3 - info post.
I figured there was some use in compiling the info as much as possible in one place, even though it's useless for it to be me doing it I suppose . . . I will edit this post with whatever else comes up.
The story as far as we know it: Seven one-of-a-kind display dolls were stolen from the Dolpa in NYC, from the room being used for the event at FIT. This happened some time between lockup Saturday night (around 8:30PM), and the staff's arrival the next morning at about 7AM. All of them were displayed on the same table; not all of the dolls from the table were taken. Matters are complicated by the fact that the room was unexpectedly in use for a breakfast by an event which thereafter moved next door; the Volks items were moved and locked up in one of the back rooms by someone unknown. The general consensus seems to be that the dolls were still set up for display when they were taken, and the boxes were left behind (there was some conflicting info earlier). None of the dolls have headplates; all of them are signed by their artists.
What I can tell you: Putting at the bottom since none of my info is "official".
Compiled Info for your reference:
Relevant Threads:
On DoA: Dolpa NYC news thread, with email from Pat Henry @FDQ after the event
On DoA: Theft thread, including additional photos of the dolls
On DoA: discussion thread, all bazillion pages of it if you really want to look :P
If you find something:
Post to DoA "I think I found something thread"
Alert Volks USA (service@volksusa.com) and copy Pat Henry at FDQ (fdqmag@mac.com)
The Stolen Dolls and Photos:
1) SD16 girl Ruby in black lingerie outfit
Full body 1 / Full body 2/ Closeup 1 / Closeup 2
2) SD13 boy Irvin in default elf outfit
Full body 1 / Full body 2 / High res closeup (more closeups in the photostream)
3) MSD F-21 elf/fairy girl in blue dress; with E-03 ears
Full body / closeup
4) MSD F-13 elf/fairy boy in blue outfit, with E-05 ears
Full body / F-13 closeup
Cassiel's page for F-13, doesn't have blank head (I have blank Malcolm shots, will dig those up, F-09 is same diff except the ears)
5) SD13 girl F-29 in yellow dress, with E-02 ears (? I have E-01 and they stick out quite a bit but she did have a lot of wig)
Full body / closeup 1 / closeup 2
Cassiel's reference for the F-29 head, includes unpainted head shot
6) MSD girl F-22, in yellow dress, with E-05 ears
Full body / closeup 1 / closeup 2
7) SD13 boy tan F-31 in light gray cloack outfit and hood; with E-04 ears (I'm pretty sure it was E-04 and not E-05 but I may be wrong)
full body / closeup 1 / closeup 2
Cassiel's reference for the F-31 head, includes unpainted head. When I can figure out what I did with the photos of Drift's blank head, I will upload those.
I didn't post Cassiel's page for the MSD F-21 or F-22 since the pics from the Dolpa are better than the BBS pics we had before! I should send mine to her in case she'd like them . . . I may sit down also and try and figure out what eyes they have, I wonder if that would be potentially useful. Hmm.
How the dolls may be sold:
- Fullset. It may not occur to the seller how recognizable they are. I think this is most likely.
- Doll and outfit separately.
- I think it's unlikely the body and head will be split, or that the head would be wiped. Again, this is the sort of thing only a BJD owner would think of.
Places to Look:
- Pawn shops in the NYC area. I can't help with this. Needle in a haystack though. :|
- Doll shows in NYC region. Also can't help with this.
- General doll forums - a possibility, I believe most of them are winding up being alerted, I have no clue where they are. I found one doll listing/auction site which is free and a top hit on Google - which means it might be easily found by someone outside a doll community.
- eBay. I think this is the most likely. Someone should be checking eBay Canada as well, for sure. My physical therapist says eBay UK but I'm not sure a US seller would bother - Canada, however, is close to NY. Best shot keyword imho - "doll" and sort by price, should catch the majority of possible titles for listings.
- Other auction sites - I only found two that are not specific to something weird (like jewelry or overstocks). Online Auction (search keyword "doll"), eBid (Dolls Subcategory). Of course you can try other searches there too.
- Yahoo! auctions - I don't actually think Y!J is likely, again because I think this is not a BJD-side theft, but there's nothing NOT worth checking out.
- Craigslist. Unlikely for high-price item, but possible.
- Classifieds in NYC area paper?
- Any other sales/auction sites? I will have to Google to see what else. Garagesalejapan has already been alerted.
The major key with looking is going to be continued vigilance, I think. They may sit on these dolls for some time - if everyone loses interest, they will slip by. If a number of people are willing to keep up with looking, you only have to check eBay say, every three days (people could even take different keywords). Those of us who are looking for things to buy usually spend more frequent time on Y!J than that. ^^;
What I can tell you: Yes, there were security cameras, but the only one I am *certain* of was in the lobby. The room for the Dolpa had multiple exits - two main doors with small windows in them, a door that led out into a courtyard with large windows, a back door which led to the street, and an elevator which went down to the basement. I was the fourth person (as far as we know) - who was not Dolpa staff - associated with the event to arrive on Sunday morning; we were in the hallway outside the room at about 8, but this was of course after the theft . . . we didn't know about it at all until about 11:45 when they finally decided to make an announcement. Certainly on Saturday I can tell you that there were a lot of waitstaff and assorted security people in the room - a lot more than in previous years, it seems like, though that may have nothing to do with it. I will say those people seemed highly interested in everyone's dolls - they were looking at dolls on the tables, very interested in the displays, and even taking photos. In the BG of one of my photos there is an individual talking to a security guard clearly not associated with the event. I'm not accusing Random Guy, but my point is things were not particularly locked down - I don't envy anyone sorting through suspects, because there were a lot of people who could have assessed the dolls' value, since aside from it being apparent they were "expensive", there were price placards around.
I don't personally believe this was an attendee. They simply wouldn't have known about the opportunity - and I think this was a crime of opportunity. If the dolls weren't taken because of the mixup with the room, then the culprit had a key - there doesn't seem to be any evidence the room was broken into. The fact that it was seven dolls (why take the Ruby but not Garnet, for example) doesn't indicate to me that it was intention - it seems more likely that the window of opportunity closed before they could take more. I'm not trying to play amateur detective, but I think it's important to have some thoughts for the sake of targeting the search to try to find them better - who stole the dolls will make a huge difference in HOW they're sold (if they're sold, which I think they will be). It's a question of thinking - what would a person who could tell the dolls were valuable, but also knew nothing about them, do with them?
I don't know that these dolls will ever be found. But personally, I don't think that makes it not worth trying.
The story as far as we know it: Seven one-of-a-kind display dolls were stolen from the Dolpa in NYC, from the room being used for the event at FIT. This happened some time between lockup Saturday night (around 8:30PM), and the staff's arrival the next morning at about 7AM. All of them were displayed on the same table; not all of the dolls from the table were taken. Matters are complicated by the fact that the room was unexpectedly in use for a breakfast by an event which thereafter moved next door; the Volks items were moved and locked up in one of the back rooms by someone unknown. The general consensus seems to be that the dolls were still set up for display when they were taken, and the boxes were left behind (there was some conflicting info earlier). None of the dolls have headplates; all of them are signed by their artists.
What I can tell you: Putting at the bottom since none of my info is "official".
Compiled Info for your reference:
Relevant Threads:
On DoA: Dolpa NYC news thread, with email from Pat Henry @FDQ after the event
On DoA: Theft thread, including additional photos of the dolls
On DoA: discussion thread, all bazillion pages of it if you really want to look :P
If you find something:
Post to DoA "I think I found something thread"
Alert Volks USA (service@volksusa.com) and copy Pat Henry at FDQ (fdqmag@mac.com)
The Stolen Dolls and Photos:
1) SD16 girl Ruby in black lingerie outfit
Full body 1 / Full body 2/ Closeup 1 / Closeup 2
2) SD13 boy Irvin in default elf outfit
Full body 1 / Full body 2 / High res closeup (more closeups in the photostream)
3) MSD F-21 elf/fairy girl in blue dress; with E-03 ears
Full body / closeup
4) MSD F-13 elf/fairy boy in blue outfit, with E-05 ears
Full body / F-13 closeup
Cassiel's page for F-13, doesn't have blank head (I have blank Malcolm shots, will dig those up, F-09 is same diff except the ears)
5) SD13 girl F-29 in yellow dress, with E-02 ears (? I have E-01 and they stick out quite a bit but she did have a lot of wig)
Full body / closeup 1 / closeup 2
Cassiel's reference for the F-29 head, includes unpainted head shot
6) MSD girl F-22, in yellow dress, with E-05 ears
Full body / closeup 1 / closeup 2
7) SD13 boy tan F-31 in light gray cloack outfit and hood; with E-04 ears (I'm pretty sure it was E-04 and not E-05 but I may be wrong)
full body / closeup 1 / closeup 2
Cassiel's reference for the F-31 head, includes unpainted head. When I can figure out what I did with the photos of Drift's blank head, I will upload those.
I didn't post Cassiel's page for the MSD F-21 or F-22 since the pics from the Dolpa are better than the BBS pics we had before! I should send mine to her in case she'd like them . . . I may sit down also and try and figure out what eyes they have, I wonder if that would be potentially useful. Hmm.
How the dolls may be sold:
- Fullset. It may not occur to the seller how recognizable they are. I think this is most likely.
- Doll and outfit separately.
- I think it's unlikely the body and head will be split, or that the head would be wiped. Again, this is the sort of thing only a BJD owner would think of.
Places to Look:
- Pawn shops in the NYC area. I can't help with this. Needle in a haystack though. :|
- Doll shows in NYC region. Also can't help with this.
- General doll forums - a possibility, I believe most of them are winding up being alerted, I have no clue where they are. I found one doll listing/auction site which is free and a top hit on Google - which means it might be easily found by someone outside a doll community.
- eBay. I think this is the most likely. Someone should be checking eBay Canada as well, for sure. My physical therapist says eBay UK but I'm not sure a US seller would bother - Canada, however, is close to NY. Best shot keyword imho - "doll" and sort by price, should catch the majority of possible titles for listings.
- Other auction sites - I only found two that are not specific to something weird (like jewelry or overstocks). Online Auction (search keyword "doll"), eBid (Dolls Subcategory). Of course you can try other searches there too.
- Yahoo! auctions - I don't actually think Y!J is likely, again because I think this is not a BJD-side theft, but there's nothing NOT worth checking out.
- Craigslist. Unlikely for high-price item, but possible.
- Classifieds in NYC area paper?
- Any other sales/auction sites? I will have to Google to see what else. Garagesalejapan has already been alerted.
The major key with looking is going to be continued vigilance, I think. They may sit on these dolls for some time - if everyone loses interest, they will slip by. If a number of people are willing to keep up with looking, you only have to check eBay say, every three days (people could even take different keywords). Those of us who are looking for things to buy usually spend more frequent time on Y!J than that. ^^;
What I can tell you: Yes, there were security cameras, but the only one I am *certain* of was in the lobby. The room for the Dolpa had multiple exits - two main doors with small windows in them, a door that led out into a courtyard with large windows, a back door which led to the street, and an elevator which went down to the basement. I was the fourth person (as far as we know) - who was not Dolpa staff - associated with the event to arrive on Sunday morning; we were in the hallway outside the room at about 8, but this was of course after the theft . . . we didn't know about it at all until about 11:45 when they finally decided to make an announcement. Certainly on Saturday I can tell you that there were a lot of waitstaff and assorted security people in the room - a lot more than in previous years, it seems like, though that may have nothing to do with it. I will say those people seemed highly interested in everyone's dolls - they were looking at dolls on the tables, very interested in the displays, and even taking photos. In the BG of one of my photos there is an individual talking to a security guard clearly not associated with the event. I'm not accusing Random Guy, but my point is things were not particularly locked down - I don't envy anyone sorting through suspects, because there were a lot of people who could have assessed the dolls' value, since aside from it being apparent they were "expensive", there were price placards around.
I don't personally believe this was an attendee. They simply wouldn't have known about the opportunity - and I think this was a crime of opportunity. If the dolls weren't taken because of the mixup with the room, then the culprit had a key - there doesn't seem to be any evidence the room was broken into. The fact that it was seven dolls (why take the Ruby but not Garnet, for example) doesn't indicate to me that it was intention - it seems more likely that the window of opportunity closed before they could take more. I'm not trying to play amateur detective, but I think it's important to have some thoughts for the sake of targeting the search to try to find them better - who stole the dolls will make a huge difference in HOW they're sold (if they're sold, which I think they will be). It's a question of thinking - what would a person who could tell the dolls were valuable, but also knew nothing about them, do with them?
I don't know that these dolls will ever be found. But personally, I don't think that makes it not worth trying.