Angell-Studio Youth (58-61cm) and Charm (62-71cm) Discussion Vol. 3

I already asked the local AS dealer for a quote. She said its fullset including a commemorative book. But I might check with her again just in case.

 

I think he may come with the clothes by default? I was surprised to see him costing $700+ which seems much more pricey than other blank 71cm AS dolls. It could be that you just can't get the clothes separately from him and that's why they're not shown?

 

Angell Studio left in the notice at the bottom of the product page that the price is for the basic doll only, no clothing or accessories included. If anyone wants to buy the full set, the chinese text seems to say that the full set purchase comes with a 12% discount, so it couldn't hurt to ask Angell Studio about being able to purchase the outfit along with the rest of the set.

I'm also not sure why it's 700+ aside from it being a limited release. It's nice update of the original Hua Xi, with the outfit details being more articulate and the faceup style is updated. I feel like they also changed his nose shape slightly, I don't know if that's just me? However, it's a large jump in price.

I'm still really glad to see this update of Hua Xi!

 

I've seen Hua Xi V1.0, and I didn't like him as much as this 10th anniversary Hua Xi. The difference a good faceup makes, I suppose? And yeah, the nose does feel different, but maybe that's due to the blushing?

 

Hi everyone! I found AS's Taobao shop while buying clothes for my other dolls. I ordered Charlotte's dress through Taobao Direct and it arrived safe and sound, and it's so gorgeous that I'm actually considering buying Charlotte herself now.

Is it possible to order a doll directly through their Taobao shop, or should I use a different method? I found their English website but it seems much more expensive than on their Taobao shop.

 

@Chiriesz I actually ordered my AS Chang E from their taobao site directly, It's also my first time ordering without an agent and so I'm testing it out O_o;; I'm only a month in so will be a while until I can update anyone about it >.<

I'm very glad to hear that you were able to get your Charlotte's Dress in safe and sound, it really reassures me about my Chang E >.<!

 

I thought that it isn't possible to order from any taobao shop (not just AS) without an agent. @Noodles how did you do it?

Although, one possible issue with ordering through taobao might be the after-sales service in case you do receive a doll that has issues? I remember asking with Ringdoll customer service before about the price difference between their taobao and English web stores, and the CS rep told me that the premium was because there would be an English-speaking rep to handle any concerns/issues about the dolls you receive. Taobao is domestic and kind of similar to ebay, so any complaints would need to be submitted through Taobao's system, which is all in Chinese.

I know some Chinese doll companies also won't accept after service on dolls that were purchased outside their authorized area of sale. For example, my AS dealer got an inquiry for a customer outside our country, and she replied that she isn't authorized to sell in that customer's country. If a customer bypasses these restrictions and something happens to the doll along the way, AS might not be obligated to honor any requests for repairs/replacements.

 

@fionvarre what i'm doing is pretty risky haha >.< But I do speak Chinese so when it comes to customer service as long as you speak to them in chinese they are willing to service you.

What you also can do is to use google translate to help you translate to chinese and type to them through that. There may be some weird grammer from google translate though :O

I also read up on this website to make sure that I'm doing everything properly: How to Buy Directly from Taobao – Updated for 2017
I'll definitely update you guys on how my order goes though >.<

(P.S. I went ahead and did a sample buy with Ringdoll on just a glasses accessory and also contacted them through their messenger app asking when my item will be shipped and they did reply saying after Chinese New Years.)

 

@Noodles I can read Chinese. Somewhat. I suck at reading simplified Chinese though, and I can't type in Chinese, so that means the Taobao option would be useless for me. Thankfully my local dealer gives good prices for AS dolls (closer to Taobao/China prices than US site prices. My fullset Huaxi with faceup still costs less than the 780 USD for the blank doll on the English site), so I've never really had to resort to Taobao for dolls yet.

 

@fionvarre :O Its good that you are still able to get Huaxi for a good price. Personally I just feel like the price difference between the English site and the Taobao site is so much that I'm willing to take a bigger risk and buy directly from Taobao T-T

i didn't like how for their new doll Dongzhi on their english website the only option is to buy her as a fullset for 910 and on Taobao you get more options >.< it's so weird haha

 

Yes, the price difference is pretty big. And they have stuff they sell on Taobao but aren't listed on the english site. I remember the Wei Jie in military uniform is still listed on Taobao, but not on the english site.


I think the only barrier to taobao is Chinese language ability. I've seen the mainlanders who are based in my country have stuff delivered from Taobao, so at least I know that there is an international shipment option.

Dongzhi is so pretty! If I wasn't more drawn to male dolls at the moment because I want to have them cosplay swords from Touken Ranbu, I would have sprung for her instead of Huaxi.

And I don't know if it's just me, but I seem to see more skin color options on Taobao vs. english site?

 

Yea for some of their dolls they have so many different options, their listings on the english, taobao, as well as other dealers that sell for them always have such inconsistent listings

I did order an AS outfit from Legend Doll that i'm still waiting for (the 1/3 military girl suit) since on both the english and taobao site isn't selling it, but for some reason legend doll was able to ask them to make it? >.> it's so weird haha.

 

I think AS is pretty open to accommodating special requests for items that aren't on their site anymore. I recently emailed them about Baby Huaxi and Baby Yandi (since they're listed as sold out), and someone actually responded to me. No follow-up email after that, but it's CNY so I kind of expect that I won't be receiving a reply until after mid-February.

But I'm still confused about AS skintones. Huaxi was listed on the english site as having butter skin, but when I tried to order him with that skin, the dealer dissuaded me and said the the skin in the picture is milk and that butter is much more yellow Then I checked the AS taobao listing for Huaxi, and the specs table said skin of doll in photos was 实心普肌, which translates as solid normal skin? I also showed the dealer photos of other AS owner dolls who are said to be butter skin, and the dealer still insisted that they are milk skin.

 

Butter is a lovely color and I don't like yellow skin!

 

My dealer gave me the faceup photo for ChangE European style and said the base skin tone there was milk: Chang’e European style（make up）.

And then there's the fact that the Chinese taobao for Huaxi listing says solid normal skin. I think solid normal skin *might* mean solid butter. Meanwhile, since I told my dealer I wanted my Huaxi's skin to look like the photos, she suggested milk instead, on the assumption that the light and post-processing on the photos might make the skin color different from what it looks IRL. Just my speculation though.

Does anyone own a milk skin doll and can share photos of him/her here for comparison?

Edit: In hindsight, the two other big boys I'm getting from Ringdoll (Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji) are in Ringdoll normal skin, which kind of looks like they would match better with AS's milk skin. Still want to see actual side-by-side difference of butter vs milk though.

 

These are fairly old photos and sadly I won't be able to take new ones for the next couple of days as I'm out of town, but here's the box opening album from when I got my Elizabeth in their milk skin. At the end there's also my Xi Shi in solid butter so hopefully that helps at least a bit:

Saga Box Opening

 

ChangE European style does look like milk skin and the English site says her sample is milk skin. I don't have a milk skin doll! Maybe I need one!

 

@Yuns thanks for the photos! They really helped me visualize what the skin colors would look like next in indoor lighting. The butter looks a lot more yellow next to the milk skin, though it might be fine on its own. I'd be interested to see how the milk resin ages over time though. I've seen a yellowed butter doll, and under indoor lighting it was very yellow

@nancy_schroeder_ca the milk skin looks gorgeous, so I agree, you need one for your collection. :p

 

The butter looks quite yellow next to the milk, but on its own personally I think it looks fine (and to be fair I was a bit of an idiot taking that photo on a dark background under artificial light, haha). In fact that milk skin doll has taught me I do not like white skin dolls in general, haha. She's too white for me. Here's an idea of my girl in butter on her own:
Happy birthday, Haru!

And next to other resin colors that aren't WS equivalents:
Pro BJD Artists Day


I'll be home from my trip later today, the light might already be gone by then though so I'll see if I can get some newer photos between both resins today or tomorrow morning. I've sold my Elizabeth's body but her head is still in the box. She's been kept in a box for quite a while though so I'm not sure she's yellowed much.

 

Yeah, the butter looks a lot more normal when it's next to similar yellow-undertoned dolls.

I backread the thread, and I saw @SmilesEvily has a Xiazhi in milk skin. Her doll's milk skin looks much more transluscent vs. Elizabeth's skin. Was Elizabeth Transluscent milk 08, or AS's old solid milk skin? Because I do picture Huaxi with pale skin, but @SmilesEvily 's Xiazhi has that glowy pale skin that would scream "bishonen" with the right faceup. Whereas if my Huaxi comes to me with Elizabeth's skin instead, I think he would be a lot more "lifeless" vs the butter skin. Not sure if I'm making any sense here though... But either way it's too late to change the skin on my order, so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.