66cm+ Dolls AnotherSecret ANS69 body

ANotherSecret ANS69 male body. Skintone is standard white. Bought secondhand through Xianyu/Goofish (China's secondhand market).

Time to get a body for my last floating head (Morolab2 Kaska). I wanted a 68-70cm boy. ANS69 was my top candidate for a few reasons: posing is reportedly good, and he has a 3-part torso -- not as common in this "uncle" size as 2-part torsos, but it's essential for me and has become a deal-make-or-break trait.

I'd been using Xianyu to buy BJD items, including resin option parts, for some time already, but this is the first major doll/body I bought. Xianyu can be a bit of a wild west when buying BJDs. I did my due diligence: thoroughly researched ANS's past preorders of ANS69, asked a hobbyist who owned the body to share photos of their doll and all the paperwork with me, familiarized myself with Xianyu sales listings of BJDs in general and ANS dolls in particular, and asked questions of the seller before buying.

The shipment was 80cm in length (half my height!) and over 4.5 kg in volumetric weight.



Oh no... he arrived with damage!



Always a first time for everything... this is the first time I've unboxed a damaged doll. The XY seller had sent me packing videos and the doll was intact, so this happened while in transit. The box must've been thrown around hard enough to dislodge the S-hook from the hook rest on the neck, and the tight elastic snapped it into the neck with such force that it cracked a chip off. Moral of the story: best to loosen the doll's elastic, or put a neck protector on the neck before shipping it.

I immediately put a wooden dowel underneath the S-hook to take pressure off the damaged area. I found the broken-off chip in the box.



This ANS69 body is from the August 2022 release - a head sculpt, Zou Wu, was also released at the same time and it's the head featured on the box and paperwork. ANS69 has a 3-part torso, single-jointed hands jointed at the knuckle, jointed feet, and detachable jj parts (a cap that's currently on him, and properly sculpted privates).

He's got a "dorito" shaped torso



Paperwork I received. There was no CoA, and the seller told me that it went with the head when they sold that. Fair enough - the generic paperwork and the doll box look quite legit and match my research, so I'm sure of the doll's authenticity.



The single-jointed hands... they're not as versatile as fully-jointed hands, but they still look pleasing and natural. I'm not a huge fan of jointed hands, but I quite like these and they won't be too fiddly to handle and pose.





I didn't take close-up pics of the jointed feet - I may share this later. So far he stands quite stably despite being jointed there.

Good-looking elbow! His knees are also sculpted realistically. I prefer exposed kneecaps and elbows instead of "hidden peanut" knees/elbows because they usually look more realistic and pleasing when engaged.



How it looks with my floating head (Morolab2 Kaska, in "pearly white" skintone) ... I'd just started painting him when I unboxed the body. The undertones don't quite match, but I had reasons for going for this secondhand body instead of waiting for a new preorder from AnotherSecret, where I could get a body with more similar skintone. I talk more about it on my BJD blog post.



Needless to say, I'm not stringing the head on ANS69 until I've repaired the chip. It's my next priority and I hope to get that done before Christmas. My plan is to glue the broken piece back on with Loctite 401 or super glue, and then if I feel the need to, seal the seams with two-part epoxy resin. I'm reasonably confident that this repair will hold and not deteriorate when the doll's head is put on. I really want to test Kaska on the body but I guess I'll have to wait.



I also DM'd the XY seller with this news, and they reached out to AnotherSecret for help. Apparently, AnotherSecret is willing to provide after-service replacements for damages. So I might contact them directly to organize a replacement.

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That's it! In spite of the damage, I really like this ANS69 body and my box opening impressions have been quite positive. Of course I wish the doll wasn't damaged in transit, but I have skills and tools to fix it. I'll update this thread when I've made progress on that and hybrided the whole doll properly.

For a fuller box opening experience and lots more bloggy rambling about how I picked this doll -- please check out the box opening post on my BJD blog. Thanks for looking!

 

@castironteapot Thanks. My shortlist of 68-70cm boys with 3part torsos was... very short, and that's before screening for bodies that I find appealing. ANS69 is pretty stable on his feet, he was free-standing on hard floor and carpet with no problem. I'm less sure that the jointed feet can hold poses while engaged and free-standing, I'll have to test more. As for the 3part torso, the waist joint may not be as versatile as I'd hoped, but I'm still glad to have it and will test it some more.
I hope to have him presentable by our next meetup!

@RabbidBunnies Thanks. Ahah, I didn't coin 'dorito', I learned it from others The colour mismatch isn't too bad and I feel I can live with it, and it wouldn't be too hard to blush the head to match closer. I'm also keen to complete my doll! I already have eyes and a wig, and he can borrow clothes from my other 68cm boys while I figure out his style and sew something. I hope I can get the resin repair done sometime this month.

 

@tinyflame Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you too!

Unfortunately, repairing the neck chip was a disaster I used Loctite 401 (super glue equivalent), and managed to stick my fingers to the chip and then stick my fingers together ... I got everything unstuck but did a hack job of a repair. Serves me right for being impatient





It looks ghastly, but Loctite 401 is powerful stuff - that chip ain't going anywhere, even with the head on. Not sure if it's possible to undo a superglue fix and retry again, but the chip isn't visible in normal poses, and only a little bit in more extreme head tilts. If I wanted to, I can cover the edges with Apoxie/Milliput and sand it smooth, but I think I can live with it like it is.
More about this repair and maintenance fun at my BJD blog.

I've contacted AnotherSecret about a replacement chest/neck portion. They're requesting proof of purchase to proceed, so I'm currently getting hold of it from the seller on Xianyu.

Anyway, my boy is all together and presentable! His name is Ruach, Morolab2 Kaska on ANS69.