New doll owner advice!

[Epic-chan]

On the 8th of April, I order a Bluefairy Louis GIRL on a blossom body. She'll be my first doll, and -- of course, I am increeedibly excited :-D

Okay, so, getting to the point. What should I be expecting and how should I prepare for my lovely girl's arrival? I'd also like to hear what you guys think of Bluefairy International (Minoruworld, too!) and the quality of their dolls. I've found buttloads of pictures, (thank you, flickr!:-P) but no reviews.

Can't wait to see everyone's posts ^^

[timid]

I don't have a Blue Fairy doll myself, but I've seen and handled a friend's TF Tommy, and I like the quality a lot. The company itself has been around a while and has a good reputation.

Hm, there are really no mandatory preparations to be made. It's nice to have clothing, wig and eyes in hand when the doll arrives, so you can play with her right out of the box -- unless of course you've ordered those things with her or plan to use what she comes with. Maybe make a few decisions like where her box will go, where she'll be kept, which needs to be a reasonably safe place with no direct sunlight on it. There are a few items that are handy to have, such as eye putty (white tack and kneadable eraser are good alternatives), string pullers, forceps, a magic eraser sponge, wig spray, wig caps and/or wig velcro, a doll stand, but you don't HAVE to have any of it. Another nice thing to have figured up is a place to take pictures, or pick up backdrops or props to use for that.

As for what to expect, production and shipping times will vary quite dramatically by company but two months is probably fairly average. What you get is usually a doll box within a shipping box, and inside is the nude doll wrapped in bubble wrap with a plastic face cover. There will probably be some form of pillows or styrofoam protection around the doll as well. If eyes come with the doll, they'll be put in already, most commonly with eye putty. If a wig comes with the doll, it'll be wrapped or boxed. From what I know of Blue Fairy (not much!), I suspect she'll be strung well enough that she'll stand right out of the box.