Dream Valley Product Review

* What did you order?
51 cm Vine - normal pink skin tone

* When did you order?
December 19, 2019

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes! For a taller than average 1/4 doll, it is worth.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Exactly, especially the cute curl lips.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Although there's a little scratch on his face up and tight string, I am satisfied with him.

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
Positives: It is taller than average 1/4 doll so when you purchase with such price, it's worth. It also has a very beautiful body and the production period is fast (my order finished in June 2020)

Negatives: There's a tiny defected on his face up but not too serious. They have a very tight string too but that can be fixed. It's quite hard to shop for clothes due to his odd size. He can fit 1/4 shirt but not for pants.

* Would you buy more from this company?
Yes, I will when they release a matured looking doll.

 

* What did you order?
Bethel full set

* When did you order?
December 2019

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes it did!

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Certainly am!

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
Positives: Beautiful sculpting and poses like a champ, the engineering and design of the wings are fantastic!
Negatives: Some parts of the doll are pretty fragile, so when shipping out, I received some minor damage. Was able to repair most of it though. Top heavy due to the wings, but he can stand by himself if you position the wings properly.

* Would you buy more from this company?
If there was a sculpt that I like, most definitely!

 

* What did you order?
blank Chaos in chocolate resin plus matching Elvish head

* When did you order?
Order placed in September via NewCloverSinging

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes. Dream Valley's finish quality is exceptional for a blank doll. All seams were removed, all magnets come installed, the main S-hook is rubber-coated to protect the neck, and the tail came wired.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
The chocolate resin was only shown blushed, which makes it look warmer and more opaque.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes.

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
Positives: beautiful finish quality, detailed nails/fangs with no pinholes or casting defects, no seam removal marks
Negatives: very tightly strung, included glass eyes have factory defects and don't fit either head

* Would you buy more from this company?
I would not buy another special-order color from them unless photos were provided of a blank doll in that color.

 

* What did you order?
1/3rd size doll Qing, in Tan (now "old tan")

* When did you order?
March 2020 - Arrived at BJDivas May 8th, 2021

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Not really, it's a good bit high.
Her finishing is great. There's no seamlines and her color is consistent.
However for a doll that came with *no* extras beyond the choice for a different skin tone, the price is really high. Qing comes only with one set of hands and one set of flat feet. She has no fantasy parts, came with no add-on tiny dolls, no accessories. I mostly noticed this when looking at pricing for her hands, one set of hands in tan is $55 USD and that's frankly a lot compared to other companies.


* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Mostly. In my opinion, the now "old tan" looked a lot different in the samples than owner pictures looked as dolls arrived in that tan and in person.
It's a little unclear which hands she comes with, Dream Valley has now added a note that it needs to be specified at the time of order.


* Were you satisfied with the product?
* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
(Combining these two into one answer)

I am not satisfied with her. I have a few issues with this doll that mostly amount to the tan.
As above, I think they are over-charging for their non-fantasy dolls.

I ordered in March of 2020, but hadn't seen much for owner pictures of the tan around and was basing my order off of the samples they had shown. By end of July, orders in tan that were arriving were showing up as extremely orange and not matching the samples in my opinion. By mid-August 2020, Dream Valley announced they would be changing their tan because the existing tan was "Not beautiful enough" and that they'd be offering new options. I asked BJDivas to reach out to Dream Valley for me and ask about changing my order to...literally any other color they offered. Dream Valley's response was that changes to tan would only apply to new orders, and existing orders could not be changed.
To me this is pretty awkward because acknowledging the problem and not offering a solution (and I haven't seen terribly many dolls in any of the tans from Dream Valley) to the existing orders didn't feel like they were doing right by their customers.

When my doll arrived in May of 2021, she arrived with the wrong hands (BJDivas had ordered the relaxed/open hands for me, she was sent with the weapon holding hands despite my not ordering the swords). BJDivas reached out to Dream Valley again for me to ask if they could make a pair of the relaxed/open hands in the tan for me, but Dream Valley responded that they have gotten rid of the materials for their old tan and thus could not. (BJDivas refunded me the value of the hands).
The sword holding hands frankly don't look very good without items in them, as they're sanded smooth on the inside of the hands and lack details there.

In the over 14 months it took for me to receive my doll, I really think Dream Valley could have made a better effort to reach out to the existing tan orders and either offer a new tone or to offer to allow extra hands or items to be added to the order so that customers would not be stuck unable to order replacements or extras.


I was initially drawn to her really lanky shape, and still find it really different and neat. But, her sizing is extremely awkward, as she has a head is 7.75" and even my smallest SD/8-9" wig didn't fit her, and while I did order her with the small bust, it is incredibly small around her body. On the other hand her feet are comparable to my tall SD's (in particular a 65cm SD, Qing is barely 58cms tall), at over 7.5cms long.
I actually do really like how bizarre her sizing is, it's very unique but as I really only collect SD/SD+'s and Yo-SDs, so I don't have items on hand that could fit her well.

In the short time I had her out, I kept having to pick her hands and feet back up, as the magnets are not very strong and there is no locking mechanism designed.
Additionally, her resin smells so strongly I haven't been able to have her out of her box for long.
Her finishing everywhere but her hands however is fantastic, especially for a tan doll. There's little/no seam lines and her resin is very smooth.



* Would you buy more from this company?
I will not be ordering again from Dream Valley anytime soon. Dealing with the issues with the tan has left a very bad impression on me. I will be excited to see friends' orders as they come in though.

 

* What did you order?
Fullset Calle (1/6 centaur) in Grey skin

* When did you order?
May 2020 ish

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Honestly, I think she is a little overpriced. Spots being an extra charge aside from her body blushing cost seems really silly.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
All did except her wig.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes, mostly.

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product
Her body blushing and faceup are very nice, and her outfit and jewelry is unique and suits her well.

Her left eyelashes were glued in crookedly and clumped, so I'll have to replace them eventually.

Her fullset wig is patchy, cheap-looking, and is too big for her head, which is a pain because her ears and horns mean finding another wig for her is more difficult than just getting another random 4 inch one to replace it. For a fullset item that's inexcusable since it's supposed to be specially made for this doll.

I think it's harder to pose her standing than it should be for a small doll with 4 legs.

* Would you buy more from this company?
It depends. They have lots of really pretty fantasy sculpts but their non standard sizes make me hesitate, especially if even their fullset pieces may not fit them correctly.

 

* What did you order?
Blank white Rosa on the fantasy winged body. She was in-stock at Denver Doll
* When did you order?
I got her November 30, 2020 about a week after I ordered her
* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes. She's on a winged body and still costs less than similar sized dolls from some other companies.
* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes
* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes
* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
The resin is smooth, she's double jointed with foot long jointed wings. She's great at posing. Her wings are big enough to be a little awkward and were hard to put on because she's strung so tightly. I love her wings regardless. One of the provided eyes has a fixable break in it, but since I got her different ones anyway I don't mind.
* Would you buy more from this company?
Yes. I love the look of a lot of their fantasy dolls.

 

* What did you order? Dream Valley Z7 full set, NS, plus optional gripping hands and two weapons
* When did you order? November 15, 2020
* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion? Absolutely! The doll is gorgeous, the clothing is intricate, the shoes are fantastic. Well, maybe the weapons were a little overpriced (but I may be biased, cuz I have a 3D printer).
* Did the item look like the sales pictures? No. She is BETTER. Much, much better. These dolls are stunners in person.
* Were you satisfied with the product? Yes!
* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional) Positives: did I mention that these dolls are so much better looking in person? Also - the feet and hands are attached via magnets, which makes swapping so much easier. The posing is fantastic. This doll is stiff! The clothing is intricate, and thankfully, it's almost all fabric. The amount of pleather-like material is minimal and primarily for small details. Since pleather starts to degrade after 5 years, I expect that this outfit will be in great shape for a long time. And the boots are fantastic!
Negatives: The weapons are - meh. I need to wrap something around the grips, because the tops keep falling off. One hand and one foot (opposites, of course) have slightly weaker magnets, but that's an easy swap. I do not like the look of the webbed feet - but that's an aesthetic choice, and you can't see them in the shoes, anyway.
* Would you buy more from this company? Most definitely. I already want another body...

 

* What did you order?
Calle Original Fullset with fiber wig.

* When did you order?
October 2021

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
When I initially recieved her, yes. I thought she was worth every penny.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
The wig wasn't as nice at all but I went in fully aware of the issues with the wig.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes and no. Let me explain

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product
When I first got her i was in love with her. I was able to make her wig fit and it looked good on her. However, over time her spots flaked off. Now every time i touch her more spots brake off and stick to my fingers. I can't touch her any more because of this. The artists mearly globbed paint on her instead of doing it in thin layers of paint or watercolor pencil. Luckily the spots are seperate from her body blushing, which is unaffected by this. However, in time, I will need to take off all of her original spots and redo them. This knowledge makes me not want to touch her at all.

* Would you buy more from this company?
Maybe. Maybe not. Depends if they rerelease something i really want.

 

* What did you order?
Aiden II with Aiden I faceup

* When did you order?
Around September 2021

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes to everything except the painting on the tail. It looks great but if I rotate the tail parts, they leave a black scuffing on the white part it connects to. It's pretty bad on the lower parts but at least hidden by overlap. For the upper tail piece... very visible.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Sculpt-wise, yes. I mean they don't get too close to the tail so who knows about that. The faceup I received looks a bit more on the sunburn side than what is depicted in Aiden I's pictures.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
No. I don't want too be afraid to move the-- in my opinion-- center piece part on my doll due to ugly scuffing. It makes me not want to touch him.

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
It's a beautiful doll tarnished by the scuffing problem. He stands well and uses the tail as his own personal stand in a way. Just don't get that tail painted. My only other gripe is you can't put Aiden II's shirt on without removing his head, which I don't know how to do (and there's no instructions included).

* Would you buy more from this company?
Blanks? Sure. Painted? Very hesitant. I love the look of their fantasy sculpts, but I have doubts about their painting team now.

 

* What did you order?

Chaos wolftaur in grey resin, fullset blushing, and exchanged clothing for Order set instead​

* When did you order?

I forget which year he initially was released (mid 2020 or so?), but I placed the pre-order then on Alice's Collection and didn't get him until sometime around 9 to 10 months later. His COA tag doesn't have a date stamp. And my Layaway email was accidentally deleted on my own oversight when cleaning out my files. ​

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?

The doll's quality is fantastic. The resin color is beautiful and the finish is literally seamless. The box he comes in is fitted with a foam cut out that stored him beautifully with little pockets for other parts. Like the ears, head and tags all had their own little space. The clothes and wig came in a little bag set on top of it all that fit in the space over the body.​

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?

The sculpt is on point. However, I ordered an unconventional color, grey skin, with full blushing with the expectation they would complement the grey resin accordingly. They did not. Even though the resin was grey, they blushed it with the reddish browns that was in the promotional images for their tan resin example. It was a strange look on impact and I have mixed feelings looking at him even now every time I take him out. On one hand, it was not what I thought I'd get. On the other, wolves do come in mixes of greys and browns in nature so it could have been worse? It's subtle enough that it kinda grew on me, but I still wish they would have chosen a darker grey or black as their blush base.​

* Were you satisfied with the product?

I wasn't at first. But the more I worked with him, the more I got attached. He's not a bad doll. Just needs some getting used to.​

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)

Positive General: Beautiful resin and detailed sculpt. The joints have great articulation overall. He stands solid either on all fours or in "sitting dog" position.

Positive Personal: While I wasn't thrilled with the company blushing on first impact, he started growing on me and I appreciate the subtle dimension the shading did on his body. It really brings out that "wild wolf" feel the more I look at it. I think the DV make-up team have solid skill is bringing out the doll's beauty. Their color choices are questionable, but I'll assume that's more to do with their corporate decisions and not their artist team.

Negative General: His front legs are jointed in places that do not complement the joints in his back legs. You can pose him up to a degree, but the length in the foreleg-arm on his front conflicts dramatically compared to the back legs. This limits his posing, and raising the front leg puts the whole doll off balance. So in the end, he needs some hidden supports to help him stand for any "movement or action" sorts of posing.

Negative Personal: I dislike his elf ears. They are too pointy and stick out too far from the head. I've poked my thumb on them more times then I care to mention and am on the verge of just modding them off entirely. I've never liked doll heads that have humanoid ears with magnets for beast ears too. The double ear look just isn't for me. And I would have preferred an option for DV to offer the head with or without the elf ears on the sculpt.​

* Would you buy more from this company?

Most likely. What DV fails in blushing, they generally do great in beast and fantasy doll sculpts. This was the first time I paid for their body blushing fullset, and will be my last. I'll only be ordering blank dolls to blush myself from now on.

Photo:
Chaos1.jpg
Chaos 3.jpg
Chaos 2.jpg​

 

* What did you order? Dream Valley Abyss mermaid full set
* When did you order? March 7, 2022
* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion? OK - so, the full-set doll was $580 USD (free shipping with ACBJD, plus PayPal fees). I can see how some people might think that it was a little overpriced - the outfit consisted of one little piece of fabric for the top. However, I feel that the price was appropriate for what I received.
* Did the item look like the sales pictures? Yes
* Were you satisfied with the product? Yes!
* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
Positives: This doll is - shall we say - an acquired taste. She is not pretty in the traditional fantasy mermaid sense. Her tail looks like bone with the flesh rotted away. I, however, LOVE her. She is astonishingly light for her size. With a little work, she can pose in a variety of ways. It takes me a minute to figure out how to balance her on her tail, but she is a rock-solid poser. Her arms just stick in any position you want them to. Normally, I don't like heads that aren't proportional for the body, but in this case - I love the aesthetic. Her tail is long - wrap around your arm long. She came with a dainty seashell necklace, some little spikey balls for her hair (I am guessing they are some sort of sea sponge?), and Dream Valley's trademark super tight stringing. The face-up and body blushing are gorgeous. Some of the body blushing around her wrists has already started to chip, but I expect that and consider it a normal part of body blushing.
Negatives: only one for me - Dream Valley does not make human legs for this body, which is a crying shame. I love the lower torso on this doll. I wish they would make a human body with that torso. I asked Alice's Collections to please forward my request onto them for a human body with that lower torso.
* Would you buy more from this company? Always and forever. I love Dream Valley. I love the madness that is exploding out of their artists' heads. Whoever designs their dolls is bonkers. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

* What did you order? Dream Valley Rah, Eagle Version in light tan. He came with the crown which hasn't left the box
* When did you order? August 28, 2022 in stock at BJDivas I got a shipping notification later that night, and got him within a week.
* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion? Most definitely!! The sculpting has lots of lovely little details, the resin is great quality. I don't have any issues getting him to hold a pose
* Did the item look like the sales pictures? He does!! The only thing I would say is that, due to getting him blank, the details in his sculpt don't really show up in my pictures like they do in the sales pictures. They do in videos tho 8D
* Were you satisfied with the product? More than satisfied, I'm in love! Tan was not a color that I would have chosen had I ordered him myself, but it works really well for his character and is lovely in and of itself. His face has tons of personality, despite being a bird head instead of human. His talons are exquisitely sculpted, and his little hands have these lovely little pointy nails. The body is one I've admired for a long time (DV just has...the best boy bodies I swear) and it's everything I'd hoped it would be, as well!
* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
Positives? LAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE everything from his toes to how they attach his head. The eyes he came with are lovely. I could gush, and have lol
Negatives? Two things that could be better, but certainly aren't deal breakers for me. As told repeatedly on this forum, the person who strings for DV is...I swear they're not human. He is strung *so tight* that he creaks. I haven't noticed any chipping or issues with his joints because of it, but he definitely makes noise lol. Also, because of the extra bend in his legs it is incredibly tricky to get him to stand on his own. You gotta get the angle just right, and then the legs have to be spread just so and...it's a pain. I'm getting him a saddle stand. Doesn't detract from my love at him one bit!
* Would you buy more from this company? YESSSS in a heartbeat. Order (wolftaur) and Vine are on my "someday but not right now" list

 

What did you order?
Achelous human version, on B4-04 (51cm) body, white skin. Also ordered the default faceup for the human version. No body blushing.

When did you order?
I ordered in January 2023 from DV's Taobao store, using Superbuy shopping service. Dream Valley finished the doll at the end of June 2023 - almost 6 full months. This was the estimated production time told to me (through a postcard sent to Superbuy), and they fulfilled it.

Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes, it's outstanding quality for the price. Packaging and doll box are solid, I get the sense that everything was packaged with care and attention.

Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes - the faceup looked like the sales pics. Closeups:




Were you satisfied with the product?
Very, very, very, VERY satisfied. This exceeded my expectations. I'm so pleased I get to own a DV doll!

Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)
(+) Resin texture is outstanding. Volks and Dollstown are my gold standards for having beautiful, toothy but somehow also smooth resin texture -- and Dream Valley meets that gold standard.

(+) Aesthetically very beautiful. Subtle musculature everywhere, double-joint design looks tasteful in every position it's put into. The body has non-mirrored hands!! I'm in love with the hands and feet. This doll just feels so lovingly crafted.

(+) There must be some BJD design geniuses working at DV, because the B4-04 body manages to both be aesthetically gorgeous AND excellently engineered for making and holding natural poses. This is a very, very versatile doll body that can do many poses, and look natural at the same time. I pose my dolls extensively and demand a lot from their bodies, and so far the B4-04 body has risen to every challenge and pulled it off marvellously.

Some poses it can do right out of the box without maintenance:

Spoiler: 3 pics under the spoiler

(-) Honestly, I can't think of a single negative thing about this doll!
I actually had no issues with the stringing: I string my 1/3 dolls at even higher tension than this, so I had no problems with putting and on taking off Achelous' head. I'm really happy with how the doll arrived tightly strung so I don't have to tighten it or do maintenance out of the box.

Would you buy more from this company?
If they had a doll I wanted? Yes, no hesitation.

 

* What did you order?
DV MSD Cayes Head (Blank) & Girl's MSD Body

* When did you order?
October 10th, 2022; received July 1st, 2023

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
For sure! The packaging was super nice and felt luxurious. The doll itself is made of nice, smooth, quality resin.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Exactly like them!

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Incredibly so!

* Would you buy more from this company?
Probably not. Most of their sculpts don't appeal to me but I'd love to give them a shot if they come out with another doll I like!

 

* What did you order?

Flo Dragon Basic

* When did you order?

February 2023

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?

I think so, I’m actually surprised she wasn’t more considering how intricate and high quality she is.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?

Yes she did

* Were you satisfied with the product?

Very much so

* Tell us some of the positives and negatives about this product (optional)

Positives:

• Not too big or too small in my opinion
• The head plate and moveable jaw are attached with magnets making disassembly easy and the eyes easily accessible
• The wings are detachable
• She’s got good balance and articulation, she can stand in her own

Negatives:

None that I can find.

* Would you buy more from this company?

Definitely