DS 160 Thera Samantha Heads

[Woekie]

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After years of doubting and quite a long search (http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=72394), my DS160 arrived today. I ordered both the Thera and the Samantha head. They are called Narumi (Thera) and Yumika (Samantha) .

I ordered the doll from DS Doll Europe (Doll Studio). The communication with Sandro has been good and I'm very glad I ordered the doll there and did not import it myself. Most of my mails were answered the same or following day .

Due to the lack of a proper export license and seriously bad paper work the doll was held in customs for two weeks (See http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=227&t=72886). For those who did not click the link: These problems originate at the manufacturer and have nothing to do with DS Doll Europe. Luckily customs are known to be very careful with packages . So the carton was torn at several places, the neck pin poked through the foam etc . Fortunately the dolls are constructed well and the boxes are made from a sturdy double layer carton. Having seen the pictures of the package when it arrived at DS Doll Europe I was seriously worried . Sandro reassured the doll itself was fine. He repaired and strengthened the box.

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The reinforced package...

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Sleeping-bag-beauty and two heads well wrapped.

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Cute socks? He don't show that!

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My solution for storing: a bag normally used for kite surfing. To strengthen the bag a wooden plate is placed at the bottom of the bag. On top of that the perfectly fitting foam of the original DS box.

And then (after being properly dressed) the first look into her eyes.... mesmerizing, hard to describe...

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For now I'll complete this post with a short review:

Ordering through DS Dolls Europe:
- Would order there again without a doubt.
- Adequate response to questions.

Shipping from manufacturer:
- A very sad story. As I browsed this forum I read previously the time between order and delivery to Europe has be around three weeks. Mine took almost two months! DS Dolls: Please try to get a proper shipping license and fix the paperwork.

The doll:
- More beautiful than I imagined. During the long wait I became a bit worried. Did I make the right choice? I appreciate details a lot. Should I have chosen a 4W instead? Now the doubt is gone. Of course there are seams and some very small pieces of silicone at the fingers and toe's. But they are forgotten easily when you see the shape, color and details of the body and the heads.
- Weight: A little bit heavier that I had hoped. Still good to handle though. I had the feeling the 145 would be too small for me. Glad I listened to that feeling
- Body measurements: I really looked forward to dressing her and taking pictures. The right measurements would mean I could easily find and buy clothes for her. I can only say the DS160 is perfect in this respect. So far all the clothes I bought fit perfectly. She was really made for this!
- Joints: Stiff. It does take some time to get used to it. Glad I choose the stiff once for posing.

That's all I can think of right now. If you have questions feel free to ask. Might post more pictures later...

[Dollstudio]

Hi Woekie,

thank you for posting this review. I am very happy to hear that you like your girl(s)!

Due to the lack of a proper export license and seriously bad paper work the doll was held in customs for two weeks (See http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=227&t=72886). For those who did not click the link: These problems originate at the manufacturer and have nothing to do with DS Doll Europe.

To avoid any misunderstandings: Doll Sweet was for a long time the only Chinese manufacturer capable of doing regular exports with proper paperwork and without involving any middlemen.

All other Chinese manufacturers and vendors rely on so called shipping agents respectively "shipping consultants". AFAIK, Doll Sweet can (or could) ship through shipping agents as well. I am not sure why this shipment was sent directly from Dalian with TNT. It might have been an attempt to fulfil an order "by any means necessary" under changed circumstances (like changed export restrictions) not under influence by DS.

Steven has promised me that they are working to resolve the export permit issue; the expected timeframe is "a couple of weeks", so this should happen approximately until August. To state this clearly: Doll Sweet is the only Chinese company bothering to obtain respectively renew their export permit. After this issue has been resolved, everything should be back to normal in regard to shipping andeffective lead times.

Sandro

[Woekie]

hey thanks for sharing that kite surfing bag is genius.
Imma look that up now

I was amazed myself how good the foam fits, it's really a perfect match.
I have the 160cm version of this bag: http://www.mysticboarding.com/products/ ... th-wheels/

[Woekie]

Can anyone help out? What is the best way to share a photo shoot? This forum or the doll album?

Here's a starter. Any comments to improve my photography are welcome... I've just started with this new hobby

[Woekie]

I think the preferred method of showing photographs is to load them into the doll album and then reference them in your photo shoot post on TDF.
One reason for that is because attachments take up more space on the server whereas the referenced ones are on the Doll Album server.

Thanks...

Let's see if I can make this work!



(Thanks to the admin who fixed the link!)