Since we were only able to attend a few doll shows this year, I decided to splurge and order a ball jointed doll (BJD) during AliExpress’s 11/11 sale, also known as Singles Day. Singles Day is basically the Black Friday of China, so AliExpress stores go all out offering fun discounts, just in time for Christmas.

A Present To Myself

I decided to try a new recast shop on AliEpress and browsed HeHeBJD. It was there where I saw Ruru, a 1/4 scale BJD that looked like she stepped right out of an anime. While not a full set, I decided to go for it and ordered HeHeBJD’s Ruru with a face-up and green eyes. Ruru is a recast of Puyoodoll’s Kumako Ruru, released in April of 2020. Ruru is sold with a normal human body and a less traditional body, which I picked up. Her characters backstory is that she was a bear who woke up from hibernation with a more human appearance. So, why not go for the body with the adorable bear legs, chubby YO-SD style limbs and claw like bear hands?

A Word on Recasts

So, a quick disclaimer here. I know there are some people who take issue with recast dolls. I personally think that if you like a doll and find it at a price you can afford, you should buy it. As long as you own up to the fact that it’s a recast if you’re selling it, buy whatever speaks to you. Your collection is meant to bring you joy– that’s really all that matters when buying pieces for it. So, please don’t hate on me and even more so, please don’t hate on, discourage or put down others for choosing to buy a recast.

Back to the post, Ruru arrived safe and shockingly fast! Because I knew her body was going to be different than other MSD sized dolls I own, I decided to hold off on buying her an outfit in advance. She has very thick legs and huge bear feet, so I wanted to make sure I understood the scale of it all before spending money on clothing that may not fit. I plan on doing a bit of shopping later to pick up a cute wig and outfit for this half bear/half girl 1/4 scale doll soon.

First Impressions of HeHeBJD’s Ruru

For now, though, let’s talk about the doll’s face, body and quality. HeHeBJD did a great job on her face up! I love it. The brown brows and detail around the eyes is done really, really well. Her lips are painted delicately, giving her a youthful look. Between the pretty brown tones and white paint placed under her eyes and mouth, the face up is perfect. Ruru also has the cutest elf ears, which I didn’t even notice in the promo photos. It was a happy surprise to see that. I love elf ears on dolls.

Ruru’s body is very cool. It’s so different from my other dolls looks. I am happy I decided to not buy clothing until seeing her first, because she has a round behind, thick legs with very round feet and a good amount of thickness to her torso. Ruru’s arms aren’t as thick as her legs, but they still have some bear elements in her hand sculpt, with pointy nails on her stubby fingers.

The only thing I don’t love about HeHeBJD’s Ruru is the stringing. Ruru is strung way too tight and will need to be strung a little looser to pose properly. Her arms don’t bend at the elbow right now, her torso is tight and her legs haves issues moving as they should. This is probably an easy fix– I just wish I was better at restringing! I think maybe her thighs are on backwards, as well, unless this recast’s body was designed differently than the original mold.

My mom also picked up a few BJD’s from Aliexpress. Her reviews are below.

Overall…

That being said, even with this slight disappointment, I would order from HeHeBJD again, because Ruru is adorable! I’ll update you all on Ruru’s final look once I find a good outfit and wig for her. You can find more BJD posts here, including this one about the Ins and Outs of BJDs. Until then, let me know what you think of Ruru in the comment area!

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