Question on quality of Angel of Dreams MSD

I don't know anything about them, but I did a search and found this thread.

http://www.denofangels.com//forums/showthread.php?t=151303&highlight=Angel+of+Dreams

 

he would be msd sized, you can also get AoD dolls at Junkyspot.com, try there... I don't trust ebay, But I do trust Emory at junkyspot.

BTW: they do run quite cheap. I'm not sure why but they do. But I don't think its anything to be worried about as long as you DON'T get it off ebay...

 

As far as them running cheap, it's probably the same reason DZ runs cheap, they're Chinese, cheap labor over there and a love a dolls XD On the other hand, I never could figure out why BJD were so expensive. I mean, to make a doll takes a lot of time, effort, and money, but after the first is made... you buy silicon, make a mold, buy resin and cast. Casting I've heard can be a royal pain, but $$$ of a royal pain makes me wonder... to buy resin and make an actual doll doesn't seem like it'd be all that expensive. And silicon molds can be reused *shrug*

 

The dolls are expensive because they are all handmade, not mass produced. They are made to order & require technical knowledge to properly cast the parts & experienced artists to sculpt & paint them. Also there is a lot of loss when casting resin. A single air bubble can make a piece unusable. The molds don't last very long either. Good resin is quite expensive running about $100 a gallon & it takes nearly an entire gallon to make one SD sized doll. The Chinese dolls are less expensive because labor is cheaper there & I don't believe they use the same quality resin as the other dolls. Not that their resin is bad, it's just of a different quality & less expensive. Plus, unfortunately, their sculptors & face-up artists aren't as good. (They're getting better though.)

 

So- don't want to start a big war here, but I feel I can comment as I have not only AoD dolls, but also Elfdoll and Souldoll. The AoD dolls compare very favorably with the more expensive dolls. They pose very, very well and are more beautiful in person than in the stock photos. The resin is lovely and has a translucent quality about it. In fact, one of my other, expensive dolls does have a flaw in the resin (not saying which one), but my AoD dolls are perfect. I don't have a Volks so can't compare it to that, but holding these dolls up to the ones I do have, you would not see any difference in quality.
I think one reason they cost less is that they are a new company trying to break into a very competitive field, and one way to get new business is to start with a low price. The price has already gone up, and I think as they get more established they will become more expensive.
I have not heard any complaints from anyone who has bought one of these dolls. I was so happy with my first one (a 44 cm Chen) that I bought a 58 cm Zi Yuan, and she is just lovely.
I also disagree on the face-sculpts not being as good. I chose my dolls based on how I like them, not how much they cost. So if I like a 'cheap" dolls sculpt, that is the one I buy. I don't limit myself to only the expensive companies. The sculpts are a bit different -to me not a matter of better or worse, just a matter of personal preference or what sculpt fits the character you have in mind.
And also- you just can not go wrong with Junkyspot. The service is great and Emory will bend over backwards trying to get what you want.

 

I have to correct you for a second, these dolls are BJDs, not BDJs, it stands for Ball Joint Dolls.
As far as AOD dolls go, they are a really nice quality. My MSDoll Tely uses one of their 1/3 male bodies and he stands and poses super well.
AOD are official company dolls and there are quite a few on the forums, some of which can be seen in the AOD Database. As long as you'll be happy with him I really think that's all that matters.

1/4 scale dolls are considered MSD sized or Minis though you may want to do a bit of checking with measurements before buying clothes as 46cm is rather tall for a mini and you don't want to buy pants that end up as clamdiggers.

 

I was very impressed with the quality of my AOD when I took him out of his box. Obviously I thought I'd like him, or I wouldn't have bought him, but he exceeded my expectations. I am pleased with the detail of his sculpt, and he has such a solid quality to him--he's weighty and feels very satisfying to hold. I have dolls from a lot of different companies, and I think he fits in quite well quality wise with my other more expensive guys and gals. I do wish AOD would take some company pics with better faceups, though, just because they don't do their lovely dolls justice.

Also, I've ordered from Junky Spot before, and have had nothing but good experiences. I wish I had been able to order my Gu from there to begin with.

 

I Have DZ . I say the quality is better than some of expensive dolls. Not mentioning the sanding that you dont pay for .
I saw Luts that had seam lined that were 2-3 mm thick . Thick ! not wide. And it was ankle joint. When my friend showed me the ankle of the boy I nearly cried . She asked me that she will need my help in fixing this.
Also the posing of DZ is better .
The sculpt and face is different thing , because some people like such faces and some like the others .

 

I don't think that more expensive dolls look better, but you get what you pay for with quality. I have a DollZone mini (Bingli), and I adore her, but she's not as heavy or sturdy as my Volks MSD and SDC. For example, her fingers are much more slim, and I'm always worried about them getting broken. I'm not very fond of her torso joint - it never sits quite right, and overall, her joints seem more creaky than the Volks dolls (I should probably suede her to fix that up). She just never feels as solid as the others, so I always handle her very carefully, but it doesn't worry me because I fell in love with her sculpt, not her construction, and she has a lovely faceup. I certainly don't love her any less than my other dolls even though she cost half as much.

I'm looking at getting both an AOD and a B&G doll over the next few months because again, there are a couple of the sculpts that really grabbed me. Being cheaper means that I can afford to spoil all of my dolls with extra shoes, wigs, optional parts etc.

 

Shiro -

1/4 is around MSD height or 1/4 human size (1/3 is SD height or 1/3 human size).

However, 46cm's are the tallest 1/4 dolls, and 1/4 dolls have all different shapes. Traditional "MSD" shape is immature, stocky, and not as tall as AOD. More mature males are often taller and have an older teen shape with wider chest, etc. Other AOD owners can tell you what fits the AOD's. Your other option is to compare the body measurements (torso, shoulder width, arms length, leg length, etc) to the measurements of other tall 1/4 boys and see if you think their clothes would fit. I think Lati Blue boys are also 46cm and some of the "long-legged" versions of boys may also be 46cm.

Carolyn

 

Though I know some buyers experienced difficulties when purchasing directly from AOD, I did so and (having finally been able to compare my Chi with some of my cousin's more expensive dolls, albeit for a short while) was most impressed with him. He is very well-made, and the face-up I requested was well done.
The one I got came with the Christmas present of clothes, and they were nice too. I hope that all the dolls are like this, and I wasn't just really lucky.

 

Just an update on this post: I got my AOD from ebay from the user expert_healthadvisor888 and I had a really good experience. However something that bothers me is that the reason why I bought my Fei was because of this faceup picture posted by said user:


and later on I discovered Leahlilly who is a fantastic face up artist on flickr and lo and behold, SHE'S actually the artist behind that face up and she does NOT work for anyone but herself. (here's a link to the very same picture as well as a quite a few others, the woman is amazing). She's contacted the seller and I've contacted the seller about using her pictures and this was the lame response I received a few weeks ago : "Hello, my account fails to modify the product description. I have contacted with Ebay to solve this problem." They are still using the same pictures of her face up and it just seems dishonest to advertise that quality of face up when what I got from them was this:


(taken during her box opening)

She's beautiful but come on, that is nowhere near the same quality as Leahlilliy's work!! And yes, her eyebrow paint DID arrive chipped, and the eyelashes promptly fell off. So I would be leery, I certainly wouldn't buy from them again, pleasant transaction or not. And if I did, I wouldn't get a face up by them, I'd pay someone else because they don't deserve that money.

Please excuse me if my thought process seems a little disjointed, I've been up for quite a long time.

 

I have an Angel of Dream Fei and she poses really well. She has double jointed knees and elbows. You can order directly from their site as well, although I ordered off of ebay (I now know that was a risk) and it turned out fine. She fits slim msd clothing and I've heard that msd clothes can fit them as well.

 

I don't have a MSD, but my SD boy is wonderful! The resin is smooth, they sent my Jimi with already sanded seams, the posability is great (though he was quite tightly strung), and on top of all that, he is perfect for my character he represents. I really couldn't ask for more. I bought from their official site and they had wonderful customer service, replying to messages within two days. I'm sure their MSDs are just as great!

 

i have a Rao and she came wonderfully! Meh, quality wise, you might want to be wary of the faceups because AOD [English site] seems to have problems with that. I got my Rao from China so I couldn't say.

 

I have a Tao Hua Dao from Angel of Dream and I adore him. His resin is smooth and pretty, and his face up was impeccable. I say "was" because I've already chipped it. Go me. Regarding clothes, it's not hard to dress my Johnny. I've found things on Etsy that he can wear, and Alice's Collections also has clothes that will work. I do not regret buying an Angel of Dream doll.