DS 145- 1 Year Video Review

[kabuki]

This link loops back to the original purchase thread: http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=68578


It's been one year since I purchased my Doll Sweet 145 minus doll, and rather than giving an initial in-depth review one year ago, I thought it best to give an analysis after the initial excitement and honeymoon period had passed, and enough time went by to formulate thoughts about what I liked and didn't like about the doll, especially in comparison with other manufacturers' similar products at this price point. This video will focus on what I liked and disliked about my experience so far.

The entire body has noticeable seams from the silicone casting mold, which is often unavoidable but for a company that prides itself on fine details, this could have been made less noticeable by using curved scissors to carefully trim down the seams as other doll manufacturers do before the airbrushing step. I've grown used to these seams and appreciate them as a feature, not a flaw. This doll is great to look at with her curvy shape, athletic build, and the detail and shading on her face and body. Her smooth but naturally tacky skin texture does not leak as much oil as other manufacturers' silicone blends do, so I don't have to worry about putting down a cloth under her. It's fairly typical for doll owners to apply either baby powder or cornstarch to the skin to reduce that sticky feeling from silicone, but I've only done this a few times when I first got the doll, and have since grown to like the tactile feeling of something resembling clammy skin.

I've previously owned dolls that had built-in genitalia, and in this doll there is a gap between the vaginal insert and body if her legs are not closed. This makes for easy cleaning but cuts down on the realism a bit. Her internal metal skeleton is available in either loose or tight joints, and I chose tight joints for posing and photography. Her overall build quality doesn't make her feel too delicate that I have to treat her gingerly. The durable skeleton has special features that cheaper dolls forego, such as joints in shoulders that allow for shrugging poses, and thick finger phalanxes instead of skinny internal finger wires that tend to poke through the end of the fingers. Her fingernails are glued on well and won't fall off easily.
Her face has been artistically detailed and gives a convincing sense of personality when posed different ways. Her thick eyelashes look natural compared to lower cost dolls that look cartoonish. DS Dolls offered planted hair eyebrows years ago, but received too many complaints from the hair falling out and now only offers painted eyebrows. Some doll heads with open mouth expressions come with a removable tongue which is also silicone, as well as silicone teeth painted white.

She does have some oddly large collarbones that could have been sculpted more subtly. Her breasts are on the smaller side, but there is a lack of boob jiggle. This is partly due to silicone being the base material used in this doll, which is more durable but also more rigid than Thermoplastic Elastomer, also known as TPE. Her bellybutton is too indented to easily pierce it and give her a belly button ring, although it does make her look like she spends a lot of time at the gym.
She has a cute bubble butt and her breasts are realistically sized with correct nipple placement. Her nipples are a different consistency and are a bit too hard for my taste. I mean I know she's turned on, but these don't feel as squishy as the real thing.

Her eyes don't roll around, but they are hard to adjust sometimes. You have to push them in to get them moveable, but the cornea is slightly convex, just like a real eye, which makes the eye easy to slip to the edge of the moveable range. It takes some trial and error to get it right, and helps if your hands aren't already oily from handling the doll.

Generally speaking, it is now easier than ever to find information on dolls with online video reviews, blogs, and detailed message board posts to help give potential doll owners enough content to make an educated decision on which doll to purchase, and where you can get the best reliable doll for your means.
I had great email communication and attentive customer service with John at DS dolls. He had good English and was pretty quick to respond. Payment was either through PayPal or bank transfer. I chose PayPal because it's a more familiar payment method to people in the USA and my purchase was covered by PayPal insurance. Some vendors do not accept PayPal due to fees or a negative experience they had with the service, which ultimately makes for a less attractive option to prospective buyers.