Here's a somewhat long-winded intro to my journey into the world of dolls that I thought might be helpful to newcomers along with my initial review and first impressions of 秀美 "Xiumei" (pronounced, "Shou-may" according to Google, lol). If you only want to read the review part, it's clearly marked so you can skip over the preface.
First some background
My first exposure to dolls was a couple decades ago when I came across RealDolls. At the time, I was blown away by the relative realism, but back then it just wasn't the right time, so I didn't give it much consideration. Fast forward and the appeal returned, but I wasn't really ready to commit to a "life-size" doll. The size and weight were both concerns. I briefly considered pursuing a BoyToy RealDoll since they were more petite and I thought maybe that could work for me, but after finding out it would take 9-12 months AFTER paying for one, I decided to look for an alternative. Rather than dive right in, I opted to try a miniature TPE doll to see if the whole thing was really for me. I went with a WM 108L. The size and weight were obviously manageable, but between the awful TPE smell that never dissipated (I have a sensitive nose), the exaggerated proportions on such a small frame (I guess to ensure it wouldn't be confiscated in Customs), the weird hollow "rubber ball" sound of her breasts and most disturbingly, the missing TPE plug in her love hole (which I didn't discover until AFTER my initial cleaning because I hadn't done enough research here to know that was even a potential problem), I decided the whole thing just wasn't for me. Photography was pretty pointless, IMO, because finding any decent wardrobe options was a fool's errand given the proportions.
But I liked the community here, so I kept exploring and more important, learning.
Round Two
After continuing to spend more time in the forums reading about various brands, doll models, care and maintenance, etc. I decided to give it another shot, this time with a silicone doll. This time, I wanted to try a higher end doll that would be an appropriate choice for photography first and foremost and potentially a "companion" secondarily. I bounced back and forth between multiple brands before even coming across TAYU, including Starpery Tech, Irontech, Gynoid, RealDoll, Sanhui, Zelex, and Sino-doll. Despite what I had learned up to that point, it was still rather overwhelming. I was still concerned about size and weight, and even though I wasn't necessarily interested in having sex with the doll, if I *were* to explore that option, I knew I wanted excellent LHP. It seemed akin to buying an exotic car or motorcycle. Functionality was just as important as looks/amenities, even if you only drive a "garage queen" when the conditions are just right.
I liked models from many of the brands and had various dolls in my cart multiple times, but then I would read reviews for one model or another and it would cause me to rethink the whole thing. Potential skeleton issues, weight issues, durability concerns--it got to be too much. I almost gave up. I was experiencing a combination of decision paralysis and fear of making an expensive mistake I would come to regret.
I ran across a post discussing TAYU and was intrigued. I read everything I could find on TDF about the brand and doll owners' experiences with them. I scoured their website to fill in missing gaps. I liked the features and apparent quality of the dolls I saw at the time, but wasn't sold on the available models, so I went back for yet another round of scrutiny from a shorter list of brands. And then TAYU launched the 148D+. Everything about her was stunning, but she was a bit too short for me now that I was searching for a doll that was "life size". I kept thinking if only TAYU would upsize her a bit. Their 170 is gorgeous, but maybe a bit too tall (and I was enamored with the updated look of the 148's vagina--it was so realistic). It was like Goldilocks & the Three Bears...I was still searching for my "just right" size.
BOOM!
In short order, TAYU launched the 161F Peach. Were they reading my mind?? The "F" cup size on still a small underbust was a bit of a concern from the standpoint of finding clothing, but everything else was so on target: height, easily manageable weight, updated vagina design, oral head with a moveable jaw(!) for potentially wider expression options, standing feet without bolts (more on that in the review)...check, check, checkity check!
Time to find a vendor!
TAYU are selective with their authorized vendors. As I wasn't familiar with any of them, I researched what I could and opted to go with My Robot Doll. Rather than replicate my review of the experience I had working with MRD, here's the link:
viewtopic.php?t=161827
FINALLY! FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND INITIAL REVIEW OF MY 161F PEACH (a.k.a. Xiumei)!
After getting over my near heart failure at the state of the shipping box, when I finally unveiled Xiumei, two things struck me almost simultaneously: (i) her light tan skin tone was just right to my eyes, not too pale and not too dark (there's that Goldilocks thing again
) and (ii) the silicone smell was reminiscent of fresh latex paint. Not nearly as overpowering and cloying as my first TPE experience, but noticeable. Even if it doesn't fade much, I doubt it will bother me. I'm not big on fragrance, so I will not be trying to cover up the smell with another smell.
As seen in the unboxing video, I gently bent her forearms up and out of the way and was immediately impressed by the smoothness of the joint motion. This is something TAYU promotes and it was night and day different than the much stiffer joints of the smaller WM 108L. This is not to bash WM...my TAYU was 3X the cost. Everything about the TAYU
should reflect that difference. As I leaned into the box and reminded myself how to properly bend her legs to make it easier to rescue her from her prison, I took note of the slightly oily feel of her skin and the reflective sheen. She was going to need a sponge bath.
I continued to adjust her limbs slowly so I could remove her using a "bridal" carry position. I had already set up a table with a thick memory foam pad to cushion her delicate gel buttocks along with a rack with hanging bar from which to suspend her over a large storage been to catch the soapy water I planned to use to give her a gentle cleaning. I lifted her out of the box being mindful of her still-wrapped hands and feet as I carried her to the table located in another room. Despite knowing I needed to watch out for accidentally banging her hands/feet as I passed through the doorway, it was still a close call. It really is different working with a doll vs. carrying a live human who can adjust their limbs on their own.
I set her down on the memory foam and went to wash the oil from my hands. I was concerned about maintaining my hold on her as I went to suspend her from the rack for cleaning. I returned and carefully leaned her back, then slowly straightened out her limbs so I could hang from the rack. I considered how best to pick her up now that she was essentially prone and decided on the the "crotch carry" others have described, putting one rather indiscreet hand between her thighs from the back and using my other hand to support her torso as I lifted her up. Thank God she doesn't weigh any more than she does. I couldn't imagine trying this maneuver with a 45+ kg doll! I moved to hang her from the rack only to realize I hadn't installed the eyebolt in her neck. Back down on the memory foam she went. I washed my hands again, retrieved the eyebolt and threaded it in place, double checking that I had the S-hook properly positioned on the crossbar of the rack. I was ready. I lifted her up again and got her suspended. For the first time, I could really examine her entire body from all angles.
Now, at this point, if you have seen my previous post announcing my build config, you might be wondering why I didn't simply stand her on her feet. After all, I indicated in that post that I had ordered her with the hard standing feet option.
Well friends, ole Dolly, despite his best efforts, f*cked up; in fairness to myself, quite frankly, it wasn't entirely my fault...prepare for a bit of a tantrum or just skip the next section and continue with the rest of the review.
Caveat Emptor?
<rant>
Here's the dealio. At the time I placed my order, TAYU and their authorized vendors listed two options for the feet:
- Screen Shot 2023-01-06 at 3.14.23 PM.png (577.82 KiB) Viewed 901 times
In fact, this screenshot is taken directly from TAYU's 161F config page TODAY. When I built my config, I chose the "
Standing Feet Without Studs" option (emphasis mine) because I was seeking as realistic a doll as possible that I could photograph from basically any angle and I really disliked my limited experience with the studs that came with my WM 108L. I had read posts here in which people complained about how the studs damaged their floors, any shoes or hosiery they put their girls in, and for whatever reason, if I had wanted my Xiumei's feet temporarily submerged in water, I didn't want any chance of water soaking into her skeleton through the studs. When I saw the "Standing Feet without Studs" option, I thought to myself, "Awesome!! TAYU have really upped their game by offering this option!" I'd seen a few other brands starting to offer this feature for a fee, but I thought in TAYU's case that perhaps it was a promo or that given the overall cost of their dolls, they weren't quibbling over it. Keep in mind, my config ran USD $4,700. I knew there would be a slight seam where the presumably harder silicone of the studless feet would join with the ankle, but that didn't bother me. It's the wave of the future! Or so I thought.
It literally wasn't until I received my factory videos that I had any inkling of this tragic error. In fact, I was so elated having seen the photos and videos knowing my doll would be shipping soon, I didn't even notice something might be amiss. A couple sharp-eyed TDF members raised the concern, seeing how jiggly the toes were in the video and the apparent absence of the ankle seam line (which I had mistakenly attributed to a combination of excellent work and perhaps the lighting conditions in the factory). In a panic, I emailed Alice at MRD hoping my fears were for naught. Alas, I had fallen victim to EXTREMELY POOR WORD CHOICE on the part of TAYU and not paying sufficiently close attention to the MRD-specific config page, which shows this:
- Screen Shot 2023-01-06 at 3.38.40 PM.png (327.15 KiB) Viewed 901 times
When you first encounter this page at MRD, the "default" selection is the first foot image on the left of the three. You have to hover over each image to see what the option description is. Turns out, the default description (leftmost foot image choice) says, "Soft Standing Feet without studs", the middle foot option says, "Standing Feet with studs", and the rightmost image option says, "Hard Standing Feet without studs". I had spent far too long studying the TAYU page vs. the MRD page, so when I saw the first image, my mind connected it to what I saw on the TAYU page which makes no reference to hard or soft and my brain didn't even register the word "Soft". In fact, I didn't even click on the third box because all references insisted that first choice was for STANDING FEET. But guess what? They aren't. they're the NON-standing feet. I raised this concern with Alice at MRD and she went back to TAYU regarding the wording and...drum roll...(WARNING: lousy pun alert!) TAYU are
standing by the original wording and want their vendors to do the same. This is not the fault of MRD, but it is, IMO, 99% TAYU's fault. Because had I even once run across wording such as, "Non-standing feet without studs" or "Regular feet cannot stand" (Irontech, Angel Kiss) or "Regular feet without studs--cannot stand" (Gynoid), etc. I wouldn't have run into this awful situation. And I am not the only TAYU customer who has fallen for their poor wording.
SO, CAVEAT EMPTOR, I guess, but goddamnit, I wanted this doll primarily for photography and she can't stand and there's likely very little I can do about but sulk and try to help others avoid this f*cked situation. Seriously, TAYU, if you ever bother to read this, know that I think you create some of the most spectacular dolls in the market, but this is some ridiculous bs that EVERY OTHER VENDOR BUT YOU SEEMS TO HAVE PROPERLY SORTED.
Had I gotten the back hole, I would have at least a fighting chance of shooting standing pictures, but I thought I could get away without that because I mistakenly thought I was getting STANDING FEET.
</rant>
Pre-wash body inspection (hey, somebody has to do it)
There she was in all her glory (or at least her body (lol) ) hanging from the rack. I couldn't resist checking out her...erm...extra soft features, so I gently squeezed her body from her neck to her wiggly
toes. Xiumei is my first full-size silicone doll and wow, every inch of her felt amazing. The overall body seemed appropriately soft, yet firm. Definitely not "fitness fanatic" firm, though I'm not quite in agreement with Mishka's assessment that she feels a bit marshmallowy. Maybe my marshmallows are more fresh than whatever he eats
I don't know. Her breasts are incredibly lifelike based on most of the women I have known. They feel youthful and obviously nicely full given their "F" status. Certainly more than a handful. They do not feel like saline implants and are actually a bit softer than some IRL breasts that have been augmented, but that's because women in real life also have muscle in their chests. They are not as squishy and floppy as a naturally large breasted woman can be where the fat content in the breast makes them feel almost like a thin membrane partially filled with water, if that makes any sense. To my tastes, they are delightful. The soft belly and thighs feel firmer, but still quite nice, as does her upgraded gel buttocks. The buttocks aren't necessarily the most lifelike, but I honestly don't know what could be done to improve on them. They feel great. Slightly firm with give, but not too firm and certainly not too soft, IMO (Hey, Goldilocks, I'm looking at you, sweetheart!)
Her hands are DELICATE and, in my mind, quite exquisitely detailed as you can see if my earlier unboxing photos. Mishka wasn't kidding when he said you really really have to be careful to avoid finger pokes, despite TAYU claims of having an anti-poke design. It's because the silicone is so thin around the fingers, but hey, I knew this going in and I certainly was never planning to have her do handstands, though if you are considering posing her "doggiestyle" for whatever reason, you will really need to be careful with the fingers and the palms. You can feel the edges of the hand plates and the extremely delicate articulated finger bones. The fingers move and bend quite nicely and are much nicer to manipulate than finger wires.
I did a quick inspection of the love holes, and the textures looked interesting. The sculpt of the new vagina design is beautiful. The vaginal tunnel seems more snug than her rectum, not that that makes much difference to me. And as you can see from the couple of photos I posted with her legs up and somewhat together vs. spread for missionary, her love holes do gape, but not dreadfully and the placement seems good. Her arms are a bit tubelike, but she isn't meant to be muscular. Her back detail isn't quite as well defined as the 148 appears to be, but it's not a flat board either. The one thing I do find a bit odd is the sculpt of top of her butt crack. I suspect this was a conscious design choice perhaps to minimize stress in that region, but it does look a bit strange to me. You can see that in the photo I posted as part of the unboxing.
A word about her upgraded skin paint detailing: the veins and random body moles are quite impressive and if you are going for realism, are highly recommended. According to TAYU the paintwork is supposed to be quite durable, but I'm sure being paint, I will need to take care not to ruin the work.
Time for a sponge bath!
I mixed up some soapy water using mild dish soap and warm water and added it to a spray bottle. I started from the top, misting her with the sudsy water, then gently hand washed her from head to toe. I suspect it might take a few such washings to get the oily residue off, but hey, who's complaining? Her skin felt amazing. At first, I thought she was
coated in gunk because I felt this strange bumpiness all over her skin and then I realized it was the micro texture of her skin! It's actually an interesting sensation...perhaps not exactly lifelike, but soaped up, she definitely isn't unnaturally slick-smooth like a sheet of rubber, so that was actually kind of neat to discover. Full transparency, I did NOT cleanse her love tunnels. Partly due to time constraints, and partly because I wasn't really set up to go through the all important drying ritual to ensure those tunnels remain healthy and mold free. That will remain a task for another day. Once finished with the soaping, I rinsed her carefully to get the suds off and blotted her mostly dry, then left her hanging to air dry for a few hours while I moved on to other tasks.
Head inspection
The soft silicone head is a little spongy, but feels nice. I paid extra for custom makeup, which I think turned out great. Just a hint of smoky eye and subtle blush and lipstick. Lovely. Some might say she's an "Elegant Beauty"--if that someone were me when I chose her name
I went with the brown eyes and they look beautiful and move easily with just a little bit of pressure. I am still getting the hang of that and must offer my sincere props to the excellent photographers here who can position their dolls' eyes as if they are staring into your soul from almost any angle. Clearly, that takes practice. Her embedded eyelashes are well done as are the eyebrows and both should photograph well, even up close. I examined her cute little tongue and tiny teeth (thankfully soft for those contemplating oral for more than posing
). The oral tunnel does seem to angle upward, so I don't know if that will cause the dreaded eye bulge should you partake, but the tongue and textures seemed nice. Her cute little ears stick out a bit, but that will make having her wear glasses a cinch. As you are probably aware, TAYU incorporate a proprietary notch in their skull attachment receptacle, even with the standard M16 connector option that locks nicely onto the neck so that when you turn the head, the neck turns as well. Kinda cool.
I got the bob wig, and it is, like everything about her, quite lovely. It's a realistic blend of black and dark brown colors. The hair is fine and silky. The wig has those special adjustment hooks to help it fit and stays on her head fairly well, though at one point, when I had the wig on her and tilted her back, it slid off slightly. I didn't make any adjustments to the tension yet, so it was whatever they had done for the factory photos. It might require using a grippy headband thingy for wigs, but we'll see. If I had known they had such nice wigs, I would have gone ahead and purchased a couple others since they are sized appropriately and are of good quality, IMO, though to be fair, I am by no means a wig expert.
Final thoughts
Frustration over the standing foot issue aside, Xiumei is quite an artistic achievement from head to toe and should make a fantastic model for me to
develop my doll photography skills (see what I did there?
) The skeleton movement is just sooo smooth. I did notice that it doesn't take much contact pressure to leave marks and her groin region in particular seems sensitive to creasing, but I hope that won't develop into an issue down the road. Xiumei will be stored hanging, protected from the elements. It would be wonderful to have on her display, but unless I can find a creative solution to the standing feet issue, she will only be able to be fully "assembled" when I am actively involved with her as I dare not leave her lying down for prolonged periods due to her soft gel buttocks.
I'm probably leaving something out, but this has been a bit of an undertaking trying to convey everything, so I apologize for any lapses. If you have questions about any of this review, feel free to post them or PM me and I will do my best to respond. I hope those of you who have taken the time to read this rather lengthy post got something useful out of it.
End Note
Special thanks to the following TDF members who have been extremely generous with their time, thoughts, and willingness to share their knowledge (in no particular order): Mishka, Crazedcat, JustDude, and The Leatherman's. You all rock!
