April Story SD Boy & Girl Dolls - Part 2

My AS girls are on the old body, and it looks nice and elegant sitting, but I'd never trust them to stand without a lot of support. Their legs are oddly engineered, imo.

The old Star body is less complicated, but not as natural looking. They do have more range though.

 

@IngieBee they didn’t have an option for faceups during this sale, so I’m gong to have to find an artist to commission. I have another SD head (Senior Delf Blanchet) that I want to get a nice faceup for too, hoping to get them both done at once n_n
I will *definitely* post pictures

 

@susana789 , I'm in exactly the same quandary, except I need a body for Rainman's Blina. She has a smaller neck circumference and I think she would fit this body well. I do want her thin as well

I'm going to get a Star body, most likely, for my Rainman July head because of the bigger neck circumference. Or else I am going to keep my eyes open for an Iplehouse body?? I'd really like to find a YID body.

 

I’m not sure if this is on topic, but I do have a blinda and a July head, and I have an aprilstory senior body (the in topic part) as well as an impldoll star girl and a iplehouse nyid girl if you’d like comparison?

 

I would love that @djgigahertz !!! Maybe, since the common denominator is Rainman head sculpts, we should post them on that thread?

 

djgigahertz please, please, yes. It would be great if you post them to Rainmansculpst tread.

 

My girls arrived yesterday I got home so late though so didn't open them until now. Dolls were well wrapped and padded/packed, no breakage of any kind. The heads are so small compared to my dolls from Dollmore, Luts, Granado, Peakswoods and Volks. They're more in line with my old Souldoll Double line girls size.

I got both dolls in white skin, which is very nice. They don't sand the seams but neither body really has any really bad seams, what they do have will be able to be managed with a magic eraser with no problem. I got one of each body, a senior girl body and a junior girl body. I like both bodies for different reasons but do wish that the junior body would have a slightly larger bust size (like a B cup vs A cup). I got Sophia and Diana heads.

Only complaint I have is the S hooks for the hands are too big to fit in the channels so I can't actually get the hands attached (they came wrapped separately). I don't have any smaller S hooks to use right now. I'll work on getting some pictures up to better show what I mean as well as to show off the girls. Still working on determining face up artists too.

 

Hi Mu Shu, congrats on the arrival of your order!
Mine arrived today as well, and I'm very happy with both dolls.
As for what you've encounterd with the S-hooks: they're actually not too big. April Story hands always have this. You need to fiddle with the hands a bit, turning them, and then the hands will just fall into place. (Somewhere back in this thread this is explained better.)
Happy new year everyone!

 

Wolfboy thank you for the info. I went back through this thread and found the post you were talking about

 

I did have trouble with my girls hands long ago. The hooks were not flat and I had to take some pliers to them. I think I did give up and get some smaller ones for one of the girls. Dollmore is a good source as they have cheap shipping for small orders.

 

Huge congratulations, @Mu Shu it's so nice to see this company come back to life

 

When I got my dolls the S-hooks were in backwards, I just flipped them around and they went in fine.

 

Yah, I don't think people realize April Story hands are designed to have the s-hook hook on that little ledge for easy removal for dressing and switching, yet it's one of the coolest features!

 

Does anyone know if any other companies hands work on the AS16 Senior Girl body? Would like some different poses

And I ask becauuuuse... I have one ordered!! I'm so excited for it to get here! I felt encouraged with people's items arriving, good to know they're back on their feet!

 

Exciting, @Datsuki who did you order?

I like that the hands have that feature for changing them. Volks does the same thing, they call it “one-touch” and it’s very convenient. Hopefully April Story’s wrists will be stronger than my SDCs’ are... I’ve broken two wrist balls on those dolls while changing hands, but I probably had them strung too tightly.

 

Just the body! I'm hoping it will work with my LLT Edria head. Poor thing has been sat here bodyless for 6 years.

 

Ahhh gotcha! Yeah 6 years is a long time to wait for a body.

 

I agree - I really hope they get back up and running properly as I would dearly love to get Stella and Anthony. Anthony would be to re-shell a character who isn't suiting their current head/body, and Stella is a character who doesn't have form yet!

 

Yaaaay dolly arrivals! SO happy to hear this!

@MissCarrion : Anthony is actually the boy I want to get the body for. I've looked into a lot of other bodies for him but there are none I like that would fit his 10.5 neck opening so it's back to the original I guess. I was hoping to find a much softer looking body but ah well. He's so gorgeous though.

 

This thread is making me so happy! It seems that the new owners are determined to bring AS back from the brink of ruin...and the sculpts are so lovely, the loss would have been a real pity. Congrats to everyone who will be getting/has already gotten their dolls at last, and to everyone else who is taking a chance on the success of this awesome resurrection!

 

Soooo I finally received BOTH my dolls I ordered in 2017!! When I got the shipping notice I honestly only expected one doll or another issue or something to be wrong. Besides from a large custom fee, both dolls arrived, well packed and in good order. I will be selling one girl to my housemate however as I have technically left the hobby since this all happened. I will be keeping my Betty tho as she's too pretty not to. I hope that April story does come back and continues to clear their name. ❤️ Thank you for all your support everyone and all your help!

 

Wow, 2017! I must have really been lucky as that is when I had my last order, which arrived. I'm ready sad it apparently killed the hobby for you @Tashayarna but happy it's over.

 

I'm so glad they arrived safe and sound Tashayarna. Must be nice to finally have such a crappy ordeal over with!

 

I keep stalking my order page even though it’s only been like 20 business days I want my girl! In the meantime I’m trying to find a wig and clothes for her but nothing has really “spoken” to me yet. Hopefully that will change once she’s home

 

I understand that feeling. I ordered on new years eve, and it's still 'preparing'. I'm checking every single day. I know I could have another month to go before it's considered 'late' but I'm feeling so impatient!! Hope you have had some luck finding clothes/wigs. I've been planning some fabrics and patterns (not that I can sew well at all, but hoping to learn).

 

My body arrived yesterday! The website never updated to say it shipped (it still says preparing). Ordered Dec 31, arrived Feb 18, which is pretty speedy for a BJD. Everything in good condition and as it should be. Body has some posing and aesthetic issues though, most pressing to me is the neck is too short, so will be spending some time working on my girl

 

Congrats on her arrival! I agree the neck is super short, and boy is the body’s posing janky... but some sueding and a restringing later my girl is pretty solid.

 

I'm glad to know that helped! I'm thinking hotglue is going to be a must for some of these joints.

I can't quite wrap my head around the point of the chest joint - I suppose it offers a little side to side movement, but as far as forward/backward is concerned, it just seems to be permanently leant back. I'm going to take her apart and see if there's anything I could mod to improve that.

 

Has anyone managed to get a reply to emails? I've emailed them a few times now about a potential order but they never reply (this is the email on the website which is supposedly correct)
So hmm.

 

I haven’t gotten any response from email either. They sent one of the dolls in my order with the wrong bust size, and I emailed them about it a couple days after i opened the box (February 14). I sent a follow-up email yesterday but still nothing.

 

Not very reassuring is it? Well as it stands I can't get the order form on the website to work anyway. Ahh well. I don't really NEED more sd dolls, they're pretty huge. I just kinda love is it Joshua? He has an unusual face and i'm a sucker for unusual faces.

 

For what it’s worth, I had no other major problems with my order. I had asked a question on their Q&A board before I ordered and they responded in a few days, I’m going to try that now to see if I can get an answer on my bust issue (didn’t think of it till just now lol).

Also it occurs to me that I wrote about my experience some in the waiting room thread but not here!

So, I went in on a 1+1 order with a local doll friend. We ordered one Senior Girl Hannah in white skin with B bust and heel feet (mine) and a Senior Girl Lilian in normal skin with A bust and heel feet (hers) on December 30. Payment went through without a hitch and I got an order confirmation.

The dolls arrived unexpectedly on February 12, as I never got a shipping notice. In fact I checked my order page after and it still said the status was “preparing” like @Datsuki experienced. We opened our dolls together. The resin is THE strongest-smelling resin I have ever had the pleasure(?) of experiencing. Usually dolls will air out within a day or two but this gal is still (a week later) WHOA RESIN smell. As we both opened at the same time, we noticed that they both came with the A bust, which is what I’ve been trying to get in contact with April Story about. Other than that, the resin was a little poorer quality than I had expected, some pinholes on her legs, and flaking inside the channels. I had a few pieces of resin flake out when I moved the S-hooks around to put on her hands and feet. Both dolls look nice though and considering the price, I don’t think of these minor flaws as any big issue. Posing isn’t the easiest but I’ve restrung her and added some silicone rings to help with that. She also has no neck... but I’m gonna try and extend it XD

My main gripes are not having gotten a shipping notice, and having received the wrong bust size on my doll. But! I’d probably order from them again if they had another sculpt I really liked

 

Sorry for the double post, but April Story did get back to me! After I posted my question on their Q&A board, not only did they answer me there, they also replied to my emails and said they will send me the proper bust piece. I’m a happy camper

 

can someone share the april story website? I keep going to 4sdoll and getting an error so I must have the wrong site. Thank you so much!

 

It's April Story now (4s-doll)

 

Thank you Nancy!

 

Does anyone know whether the 1+1 box deal includes only the dolls on the main page, or if one can order other dolls as part of the special?

 

If you scroll down the sales page, there is a list of the heads you can order.

 

Thank you! Exactly the information I needed.

 

Those who have ordered with their "new management/owner" of the store, how is the quality?

 

@sugarcactus

Well, @Tashayarna did say her's arrived in good order . I believe the new owners have a lot invested in this, and will want to make a good impression.

My only worry is the virus. It will undoubtedly cause continued delays. I've been waiting on a doll from a company that has never taken more than 4 months to deliver, and the stupid virus hit just before my item should have shipped. They had come out with some gorgeous new sculpts and we're very busy. And boom! Shut down!

I'm on month 8!

But honestly, I really am praying that the people are safe and healthy, as it's a Chinese company. I can wait. But you might be ordering into adverse conditions here. Just so you know.

On the other hand, these companies are going to be struggling horribly. If you can afford a bit of risk, our orders now might keep these companies alive! So if you won't have a nervous breakdown from waiting, no joke intended, it would be a lifesaver for these small companies.

 

Hello! I have a question for those who recently dealt with April story
I made an order last February 4th and i'm still waiting. During February and March, April story's staff did answer fast when I posted a message for them. On 2020.03.26 they said they would ship my dolls first week of April but i have no news and they aren't answering my messages since then
I'm a bit nervous because of how they stopped replying and shipping in the past (with the previous owners...) should I be worried? should I just wait? idk what to do
I don't mind waiting a little but I don't like not getting answers :/

 

It’s possible that they may have shipped your order. I got mine without so much as a shipping notice. On the other hand, with the current pandemic situation, they may not have been able to. They do seem to be more responsive on their message board than email. I’d contact them again that way, hopefully they’ll give you some information.

 

I wish to know as well, as I am thinking of getting bodies

 

When I asked them about the covid19 impacting my order, they answered : "There is no other problem besides the problem that production is slightly delayed due to covid19. There is nothing to worry about." (they messaged me this on 2020-03-28)
And it seems korea is dealing effectively with the covid19

I use the dashboard from my profil to contact them and they were very responsive, until 3 weeks ago tho :/ and I noticed unaswered message on the Q&A board since April too...
I guess I'm just nervous because I found out a few days ago about their past fiasco of stopping replying+not sending dolls
but I'll wait a bit more and see...

I hope they don't send it without giving me a tracking number though... because in France it's chaos in the post offices and without a tracking number if the parcel can't be delivered to me I won't be able to make any claims to get it...

 

I ordered a boy body on the second of January and it arrived about two days after it was supposed to be sent. No tracking number so I was thinking about chasing it up when I got a ransom note from Parcelforce.

The doll itself was seems the same quality as the one I'd ordered before, resin seems the same, degree of seam lines was similar, well packaged albeit in a plain box. The ribbons tied around the cushions had the neatest bows though, almost a shame to undo them!

They have been flaky in the past but the new owner put up a guarantee that if the doll wasn't shipped on time they'd refund a percentage - so I put my faith in them and gave them another chance. I marked the date it should be sent by on my calendar and as I said I was about to contact them when my order arrived. I hope they have improved their service but I'd advise making a note of when you paid and when PayPal's protection runs out just in case.

 

Has anyone here replaced the hands on their Senior girl or have any companies to compare to? I don't like the hands and I am looking to replace them. I was thinking the LUTs Senior Delf hands but unsure if they'll be a good match/fit

 

@Datsuki I can't speak to fit. However, to my eyes, the color matches very well. Both my AS body and Lutz delf body are 1.5 to 2 years old.

 

That's encouraging to know, thank you! If nobody has tried I may just take a gamble on it.

 

@Datsuki
I have read somewhere on aprilstory website that their resin color is based on volks normal skin and white skin, if that can help

 

Sorry for the double post but I just saw a notice on April story's website saying that they'll discontinue all the bodies and some heads after 31th of May
here: April Story

only 5 weeks left for those who wished to make an order...

(btw they finally did answer my messages yesterday and said they'll send my dolls toworrow, so fingers crossed )

 

Discontinuing everything? Does that mean they intend to shut it down?

 

Well, they said 'some' of the heads, so hopefully that means they will be upgrading??? Well, that's what I'm hoping...

 

Has anyone gotten orders over the last few months? I really like some of these sculpts, but I don't want to order from a sketch company.

 

No, looks like they are keeping some of the heads. Maybe they are making new bodies and heads?

 

Seems unlikely, given their effort to reacquire April Story... I'm thinking maybe they have a new team and are doing an "out with the old"

I've been in contact with AS about ordering parts (I dont know if I posted here, but I was interested in some spart parts for a project, and previous management told me no). New management told me yes! I'm waiting to hear back from them about specific price for the parts I'm interested in.

I did ask them directly if new management resin will match old management resin in color, and they said, "Yes almost the same."

 

That is useful to know, thank you!
My next quest is figuring out clothes. I've assumed their Senior line is roughly similar to SD16 but not sure.

 

@sammu i ordered a body from them 12/22 and received it 2/12 with no issues (but with no shipping notice). I am interested in this event but i was hoping to hear some updates on older orders that never got sent from the meltdown last year...

 

I've bought a fitted volks outfit, a female suit for a Luts/cp head I have on my AS body and it fits perfectly. I don't have a volks doll though so I can't be certain, but it does seem that the AS girl sd16 will fit volks.

 

That’s why I’m kind of skeeved out by them. What if it happens again