I took advantage of the Christmas sale at Doll Leaves to purchase a pair of their 16 cm tiny dolls for the price of just one – a bargain too good to ignore! The dolls, Ku and JiaJia, were ordered in white skin resin without face-ups. I received the dolls a few days ago by UPS from the Junkyspot. The delivery was delayed briefly due to inclement winter weather, but UPS sent email updates, so I knew when to expect delivery. The dolls were contained together in a single Doll Leaves box inside a much larger box filled with Styrofoam peanuts.Certificates from Doll Leaves for each doll along with cards from Junkyspot were included. Service from the Junkyspot was excellent as always.
Ku and JiaJia arrived in perfect condition. Inside the box, the dolls were partially wrapped with foam sheeting to protect their hands, feet, and heads. Even though no face-ups were ordered, each doll came with a face protector. The dolls had acrylic eyes already installed. Ku came with green eyes and JiaJia with blue. Both dolls are somewhat loosely strung and I will tighten them up in the future. Even though they were so loose, with a little effort they were still able to stand on a towel spread on a flat surface.
The resin of the dolls is completely smooth and no flaws or seam lines are visible. The resin color of my previously acquired DL dolls, Fay and babies Milk and Cherry, is in the normal yellow range. The white resin of the new 16 cm dolls is warm rather than snowy, leaning slightly towards ivory in color. The joint systems of the different size dolls vary in degree of complexity. The largest of the three, 20 cm Fay, has double-jointed knees and elbows. She has a thigh joint with four notches to lock it into place. She also has a notched back-thigh to lock her into a sitting position. JiaJia and Kuu do not have double joints. They do have thigh joints. The thigh joint has one notch. This allows the leg to swivel but not spin around completely. Even so, the pivoting can make the legs trickier to pose as the lower leg tends to move around. Tightening the stringing cord should lessen this problem. Both the 20 cm and the 16 cm dolls also have two-piece torsos. The babies 12 cm tall Milk and Cherry are both single-jointed and have no thigh joint. They have single-piece torsos.
The new dolls are blank, but Fay has a company face-up. It is symmetrically painted and well-done. There is a touch of gloss to the lips, eye rims, and upper lids. She has eye-lashes applied in a length appropriate to the size of her head. Touches of blush matching the cheeks has been added to the tips of her elf ears. Fay is the only doll that is clearly a girl. The other dolls have “angel” bodies. All of the dolls resemble their company photos.
I have developed a fondness for little dolls, and the dolls from Doll Leaves are a welcome addition to my small doll collection. While the smallest ones are not sophisticated posers, they more than make up for this with charming face-sculpts. The baby dolls are cherubic in appearance. Fay is a cute little elf. Like the rest of the 16 cm line, Ku and JiaJia are character sculpts. The expressiveness of my new 16 cm dolls is delightful! They will be great fun to face-up. Even without a sale, the prices for the dolls are very reasonable. The dolls I have received from Doll Leaves have never disappointed me, and I would definitely consider purchasing more in the future.
