Ringdoll introduced their first Ring Grown female BJD, Carmilla, at the beginning of this year. Last spring they released a second girl, Aya. Both dolls are posted on their Classic line website. I recently acquired Aya in a full-set version for my collection.
The box Aya was shipped in has a cut-out window that frames the words “The Classic”. (The words were partly obscured by the certificate and a brochure when it arrived). She was well-packed and everything arrived in perfect condition.
Aya is a big girl at 68cm. Mine is cast in white skin. She included a face-up, costume, heel shoes, painted bunny ears and both regular and pointed nail hands. Aya came with heel feet only. The full-set is features pastels contrasted with red including an under under-kimono and obi-like sash and a pair of very lovely red shoes with velvet ribbon ties, plus a deep blue faux leather laced body suit and leggings. The material used for the outer kimono sports white rabbits among a field of flowers. The outfit is very well made. The wig is not made of heat-styling fibers, but it is pretty and full with long loose curls cascading down the doll’s back.
Aya’s face-up is dominated by pinky-red shades but has a blush of blue underneath her eyes. Two tiny “rabbit” teeth can be seen between her parted lips. The two tiny teeth are painted on, not sculpted. The eyes that came with my doll are deep blue, and I think they appeal to me more than the pale blue eyes used in the company photos.
Once I had finished admiring her costume, I got down to examining the joints on her Ring Grown body. My Aya is tightly strung, and due to her size, posing the joints took a little more effort than for a smaller doll.
First I tested her double elbow joints. As they should, the joints allowed multiple poses and they held each position well. The elbow part is almost lozenge-shaped and no part of the upper or lower arm juts far out in an unsightly way when bent.
The torso has a joint under an ample pair of breasts. The company does not offer breast size choice for Grown line girls at this time. While the joint is not super, flexible, it does move at the side and back, although it barely moves forward. There are ridges to hold the upper torso forward in the back, but the little shelf is a bit narrow and the upper breast piece tended to slip off, but it does not move far from position.
The leg joints work well. There is a cup piece that is separate from the upper thigh part that allows the lower leg to swivel and move to various positions by allowing the elastic to slide through it’s grooves. I was able to pose the legs in various combinations. The only minor problem I had was with the cup of the right leg slipping out of the upper thigh piece. I was able to replace it when it did. It just took a bit more effort to pose that leg without dislodging the cup.
The knee joint is a lozenge shape. It holds poses well and does not have much excess thigh or lower leg jutting out beyond it.
Like its Grown line male counterparts, the Grown female body is a carefully thought out and poses well. While more breast options would be welcome, the doll essentially does all a BJD needs to do, and does it well. Aya’s face is prettier in person, as is her face-up, and her outfit is lovely. (At some point, I will need to give her pointed nails a manicure to match her outfit!) If you are looking for a larger scale female doll, I can definitely recommend her. I look forward to seeing more Grown girls in the future.
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Photos and concept art from Ringdoll:
