NEW PRODUCT: i8TOYS "Xiaoqi Yuki" Movable Eyeball Head Sculpture (I8-H003)

Diana wrote:Congratulations! I've been getting tempted again and again by this sculpt, but have resisted due to the price. Happy you got one!

Thank you Diana! She arrived today and yeah, she's worth the price. Not that she's easy to find though! I was shocked that EKIA had her. She was gone within an instant too.

The head is interesting in what body it works best on from what I own and have available to use.

• The S52 is far too big (she's not a pin head, but close)
  

• The S38 is not too bad, but it's off enough that it won't be her future home.
  

• The S48 made me laugh because I thought of "Meet the Robinsons" and the TRex saying "I have a big head, and little arms" when seeing it.
  

• The S07 is my favorite TBL body for her I think
  

• I think she's a touch big for the AT201, but clothes even it out wonderfully. The skin tone is a near perfect match as well IMO. She will probably end up on the AT203 I have ordered as a result.
  

These pics are on the AT201 (ETA: Forgive the lack of actual pants. I have yet to find any that I like on the AT201)

DOAL3665 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3684 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3687 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3691 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3711 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3753 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3792 by T E, on Flickr

The head works great with that body. And I like it more than I thought I would.

GubernatorFan wrote:The head works great with that body. And I like it more than I thought I would.

It really, really does. I have a project in mind for the 201 though, so she'll have to hang out for a bit till she has a permanent home. I am also glad I went with the D version with the wavy hair. Folks, if you find her and want her, pull the trigger.

Nice pics. The movable eyes really help sell these that’s for sure.

She's a stunner! Beautifully photographed, too.

Diana wrote:She's a stunner! Beautifully photographed, too.

Thanks guys! She was a ton of fun to photograph. Easily the most photogenic one I have, even without moving her eyes around. There will be more of her in the future in a photog thread of my own.

Diana, I hope you continue to be tempted and find her at non-eBay scalper prices. Machine gun is supposed to still get some, so hopefully that can be of use in the future.

MeMyself&I wrote:

Diana wrote:Congratulations! I've been getting tempted again and again by this sculpt, but have resisted due to the price. Happy you got one!

Thank you Diana! She arrived today and yeah, she's worth the price. Not that she's easy to find though! I was shocked that EKIA had her. She was gone within an instant too.

The head is interesting in what body it works best on from what I own and have available to use.

• The S52 is far too big (she's not a pin head, but close)
  

• The S38 is not too bad, but it's off enough that it won't be her future home.
  

• The S48 made me laugh because I thought of "Meet the Robinsons" and the TRex saying "I have a big head, and little arms" when seeing it.
  

• The S07 is my favorite TBL body for her I think
  

• I think she's a touch big for the AT201, but clothes even it out wonderfully. The skin tone is a near perfect match as well IMO. She will probably end up on the AT203 I have ordered as a result.
  

These pics are on the AT201 (ETA: Forgive the lack of actual pants. I have yet to find any that I like on the AT201)

DOAL3665 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3684 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3687 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3691 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3711 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3753 by T E, on Flickr

DOAL3792 by T E, on Flickr

Hi there, which skin tone did you pick from world box bodies for this Head sculpt ?

Hi Dolls Puppet, first, welcome(!), second that is the AT 201 in Pale skin tone.

Thanks for the welcome Memyself&I and I appreciate your response.

Hello everyone! I'm late to this, unfortunately! (And freshly new into the hobby)

I found about this type of figure 2 days ago and trying to buy myself one of these heads. Talking to a vendor, he sent me these photos, and hopefully you guys can give me advice if the heads they have are original or KOs. Any help will be highly appreciated!

Welcome Gaia! Great choice of head sculpt! Can’t say for certain if what you shared is a knock off or not, though her eyes look off to me, but if you want a reputable dealer who has all 4 versions of the Yuki head sculpt, check out machinegun figures. They are French, so shipping could be a pain (so many EU laws, and it’s not exactly cheap to the US), but they’re reliable and it will not be a knock off. Frankly, the 60 euro price is worth it. She’s not easy to find!

MeMyself&I wrote:Welcome Gaia! Great choice of head sculpt! Can’t say for certain if what you shared is a knock off or not, though her eyes look off to me, but if you want a reputable dealer who has all 4 versions of the Yuki head sculpt, check out machinegun figures. They are French, so shipping could be a pain (so many EU laws, and it’s not exactly cheap to the US), but they’re reliable and it will not be a knock off. Frankly, the 60 euro price is worth it. She’s not easy to find!

Thank you!

I'm gonna take a look! I found a website (https://ekiahobbies.com/ is it a good one?) that has a few heads, but not the one i want.... (I want the one with the Hime cut people were saying was weird :p). 60 euros is a bit pricey for me right now, specially since shipping will be super expensive for me (i'm not in the USA, I can expect higher shipping - always is).

I wanted to know if the one the vendor is offering is a KO, but it probably will be ($30 on ali). TBH I thought they didn't have the head cause no ratings on most of those ali listings, people didn't really buy her there, so I had her only on my wishlist to buy at a later time, and was gonna buy another cheaper head first... But when I asked a vendor of an actually reputable store they said they had her and when I asked for photos, they sent me... So i'm really divided, maybe it's real and they just buy it cheaper straight from the manufacturer? Should I risk it? I can still buy one of those $60 at a later time, as I want at least 3 of those heads.

And on that note, what kind of body fits her? I saw this body called JIAOU Seamless body (JOQ-19B) but i don't know if the connector will work. I have zero of these 1/6 figures right now, looking into buying my first

One thing i know about some ali heads is that they are original but sold cheaper because they didn't pass QA. So they are thrown out and the workers pick them up and sell her to get extra cash (happens for example with doll Licca chan, lots of original heads for sale).

Gaia wrote:
And on that note, what kind of body fits her? I saw this body called JIAOU Seamless body (JOQ-19B) but i don't know if the connector will work. I have zero of these 1/6 figures right now, looking into buying my first

Gaia wrote:One thing i know about some ali heads is that they are original but sold cheaper because they didn't pass QA. So they are thrown out and the workers pick them up and sell her to get extra cash (happens for example with doll Licca chan, lots of original heads for sale).

You're welcome! And yes, ekiahobbies is actually where I purchased mine, so they are a solid retailer. Ships from California. Their site can be a touch weird with in stock items, so you may want to email them about the particular one you want to purchase. Otherwise they are reliable and ship fairly quickly. I'm in the US and have had no issues with either ekia or machinegun.

As for Ali, I won't deal with them in any facet due to bad prior experiences for me. So I can't really speak to them.

As for bodies, so long as they are of the pale to light tan-ish skin tones, she should match up well. I am not familiar with the JIAOU bodies personally, but plenty of folks here are. Great skin tone selection, but kinda "meh" quality compared to TBLeague/Phicen. As for body shape/type, she works well on tall, short, large bust, small bust, curvy, athletic, average and points in-between.

I know it will cost more, but I suggest getting the guaranteed legit one. She's worth it.

MeMyself&I wrote:

Gaia wrote:
And on that note, what kind of body fits her? I saw this body called JIAOU Seamless body (JOQ-19B) but i don't know if the connector will work. I have zero of these 1/6 figures right now, looking into buying my first

Gaia wrote:One thing i know about some ali heads is that they are original but sold cheaper because they didn't pass QA. So they are thrown out and the workers pick them up and sell her to get extra cash (happens for example with doll Licca chan, lots of original heads for sale).

You're welcome! And yes, ekiahobbies is actually where I purchased mine, so they are a solid retailer. Ships from California. Their site can be a touch weird with in stock items, so you may want to email them about the particular one you want to purchase. Otherwise they are reliable and ship fairly quickly. I'm in the US and have had no issues with either ekia or machinegun.

As for Ali, I won't deal with them in any facet due to bad prior experiences for me. So I can't really speak to them.

As for bodies, so long as they are of the pale to light tan-ish skin tones, she should match up well. I am not familiar with the JIAOU bodies personally, but plenty of folks here are. Great skin tone selection, but kinda "meh" quality compared to TBLeague/Phicen. As for body shape/type, she works well on tall, short, large bust, small bust, curvy, athletic, average and points in-between.

I know it will cost more, but I suggest getting the guaranteed legit one. She's worth it.

I will look into TBleague/Phicen bodies then what about the head connector? I'm afraid to buy a body and the head won't fit.

(what's meh about the jiaou bodies, can you tell me? i'm in learning mode )

i'm asking here in a discord group and people are saying that those hobby websites actually buy from vendors like ali (of course it's a bit hard until you find a reliable one), this is why they're more expensive, they're reselling. This store I found sells original toys (the other ones listed that have reviews, this head doesn't yet), it's a reputable store with many years and sales, so I'm gonna risk it and if it's original i'll come back to tell you! (or if i can't tell i'll come back to post some high quality pictures so you guys can help me identify if legit or not).

Gaia wrote:

I will look into TBleague/Phicen bodies then what about the head connector? I'm afraid to buy a body and the head won't fit.

(what's meh about the jiaou bodies, can you tell me? i'm in learning mode )

i'm asking here in a discord group and people are saying that those hobby websites actually buy from vendors like ali (of course it's a bit hard until you find a reliable one), this is why they're more expensive, they're reselling. This store I found sells original toys (the other ones listed that have reviews, this head doesn't yet), it's a reputable store with many years and sales, so I'm gonna risk it and if it's original i'll come back to tell you! (or if i can't tell i'll come back to post some high quality pictures so you guys can help me identify if legit or not).

No worries at all on the neck connector. It’s unique as it has to magnetically hold her scalp on so it’s easy to move her eyes, but the actual hole for the neck peg is pretty standard overall. She should also come with one for the smaller neck pegs as well, which is really nice.

As for Jiaou, I keep hearing and seeing where their movement isn’t as fluid as a TBL (TBL and Phicen are interchangeable FYI as they’re the same company), the skin material is not as sturdy, the sculpts can be a bit blocky, and probably other things I’m forgetting. That's kept me from buying any Jiaou personally.

Good luck with the purchase! I hope everything goes smoothly and she looks great!

Gaia wrote:Hello everyone! I'm late to this, unfortunately! (And freshly new into the hobby)

I found about this type of figure 2 days ago and trying to buy myself one of these heads. Talking to a vendor, he sent me these photos, and hopefully you guys can give me advice if the heads they have are original or KOs. Any help will be highly appreciated!

Sorry to say, but this is definitely not an original head The facepaint is different and the eyes too.

Also, I've asked one of the sellers on Ali about this 30-dollar version and they confirmed it's a knock-off.

It might still look cute in person though, despite being not original

MeMyself&I wrote:

Gaia wrote:

I will look into TBleague/Phicen bodies then what about the head connector? I'm afraid to buy a body and the head won't fit.

(what's meh about the jiaou bodies, can you tell me? i'm in learning mode )

i'm asking here in a discord group and people are saying that those hobby websites actually buy from vendors like ali (of course it's a bit hard until you find a reliable one), this is why they're more expensive, they're reselling. This store I found sells original toys (the other ones listed that have reviews, this head doesn't yet), it's a reputable store with many years and sales, so I'm gonna risk it and if it's original i'll come back to tell you! (or if i can't tell i'll come back to post some high quality pictures so you guys can help me identify if legit or not).

No worries at all on the neck connector. It’s unique as it has to magnetically hold her scalp on so it’s easy to move her eyes, but the actual hole for the neck peg is pretty standard overall. She should also come with one for the smaller neck pegs as well, which is really nice.

As for Jiaou, I keep hearing and seeing where their movement isn’t as fluid as a TBL (TBL and Phicen are interchangeable FYI as they’re the same company), the skin material is not as sturdy, the sculpts can be a bit blocky, and probably other things I’m forgetting. That's kept me from buying any Jiaou personally.

Good luck with the purchase! I hope everything goes smoothly and she looks great!

I couldn't find the jiaou body in the color i wanted, apparently it's all sold out and they're waiting to be produced more (i even asked jiaou store on Ali, which says it's official). I bought 3 TBleague bodies, one which is original and the other two were much cheaper, and I have no idea if they are or not (they don't have the nice blushing as the first one, and i thought maybe they were an older body version by tbleague... when it arrives i'll post).

I also ended up buying that head (and a few other different ones!). Thank you! Can't wait for the pieces to arrive!

Anastasiia wrote:

Gaia wrote:Hello everyone! I'm late to this, unfortunately! (And freshly new into the hobby)

I found about this type of figure 2 days ago and trying to buy myself one of these heads. Talking to a vendor, he sent me these photos, and hopefully you guys can give me advice if the heads they have are original or KOs. Any help will be highly appreciated!

Sorry to say, but this is definitely not an original head The facepaint is different and the eyes too.

Also, I've asked one of the sellers on Ali about this 30-dollar version and they confirmed it's a knock-off.

It might still look cute in person though, despite being not original

Oh no! I actually bought her and a few other heads, and a few bodies! At least one body I think is original! The heads... I'm now starting to think they may not be, perhaps any? I had a hope at least some would be... What's the minimum value for original 1/6 female heads? I paid between $15 and $30 on them. I still have others in my cart I haven't bought yet. I'm also buying some blank/bald heads so I can paint my own

Even though the one i bought wasn't original (in the end the vendor told me it wasn't by using an embarrassed emoji when i asked, but i appreciated the honesty so I bought from it anyway). I think she will still be very pretty, it also says the eyes move in the title, but i don't know if they will.

How do people view the knock off versions in this hobby? Depends on the hobby it's a big NO-NO (like BJD dolls), while other hobbies from what i read are ok when manufacturers are big companies (Blythe dolls). I try to stick with the rules of each hobby

This, or at least variant B, is now available from eBay seller lwstore2013. They warn that there is no guarantee there will be further production runs. Listing includes a new in-hand photo.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155702489303

GubernatorFan wrote:This, or at least variant B, is now available from eBay seller lwstore2013. They warn that there is no guarantee there will be further production runs. Listing includes a new in-hand photo.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155702489303

This one is original?

Gaia wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:This, or at least variant B, is now available from eBay seller lwstore2013. They warn that there is no guarantee there will be further production runs. Listing includes a new in-hand photo.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155702489303

This one is original?

Ostensibly, yes; seemingly a second run. But I cannot guarantee it. Only good experiences with the seller for me, so far.
EDIT: If the $30-something version is supposed to be a knockoff, then this might be a knockoff too, given the price. The eyebrows of the in-hand photos in this thread do look a bit lighter and higher than the ones on the promotional images (prototypes), so I really don't know what to tell you.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Gaia wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:This, or at least variant B, is now available from eBay seller lwstore2013. They warn that there is no guarantee there will be further production runs. Listing includes a new in-hand photo.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155702489303

This one is original?

Ostensibly, yes; seemingly a second run. But I cannot guarantee it. Only good experiences with the seller for me, so far.
EDIT: If the $30-something version is supposed to be a knockoff, then this might be a knockoff too, given the price. The eyebrows of the in-hand photos in this thread do look a bit lighter and higher than the ones on the promotional images (prototypes), so I really don't know what to tell you.

I would assume it's a knockoff, since they are not demonstrating the movable eyes and the price is just too good. It's still beautiful though!

Yeah, it's definitely a knockoff. I really wasn't sure at first, but then I checked the seller's other listings and found other versions of this head where it was more obvious.

Here's a comparison between my original head and the head from this seller. The makeup is darker on the knockoff and the eyebrows are lighter. Not sure about the eyes, whether they really are movable or just inserted. She seems to have more hair than the original all in all, the knockoff looks good enough for me to reconsider my life choices

Gaia wrote:

Oh no! I actually bought her and a few other heads, and a few bodies! At least one body I think is original! The heads... I'm now starting to think they may not be, perhaps any? I had a hope at least some would be... What's the minimum value for original 1/6 female heads? I paid between $15 and $30 on them. I still have others in my cart I haven't bought yet. I'm also buying some blank/bald heads so I can paint my own

Even though the one i bought wasn't original (in the end the vendor told me it wasn't by using an embarrassed emoji when i asked, but i appreciated the honesty so I bought from it anyway). I think she will still be very pretty, it also says the eyes move in the title, but i don't know if they will.

How do people view the knock off versions in this hobby? Depends on the hobby it's a big NO-NO (like BJD dolls), while other hobbies from what i read are ok when manufacturers are big companies (Blythe dolls). I try to stick with the rules of each hobby

In the official i8toys store on Taobao, the Yuki head is priced 280¥, which is around 40$ (she's not in stock though). So anything cheaper than that (new) is probably a knockoff. As for other heads, I'm still trying to figure out how much they should cost, and it also depends on the brand. I'd say ±30$ is their normal price. Except for the versions with moving eyes or heads from some set, because these tend to be higher priced.

But generally, if you look on AliExpress for a specific head and some listings are twice as cheap as the others, then they're fake. The problem with Ali is that sellers don't state that the head is fake, and I'm sure many who buy don't even realise that. Moreover, if you search for some YouTube review of Super Duck heads, for example, chances are the review will also be for the fake

As for the people's view on knockoffs, I'm still very new to the hobby (Yuki was my first also), so maybe someone else can answer this question

MeMyself&I wrote:
These pics are on the AT201

Beautiful pics! I have a question for you: how did you put the neck connector on the Worldbox body? I had to put some force to put the connector on but it still isn't very secure. And the head can't tilt to sides. Is this normal or am I doing somethin wrong?

Anastasiia wrote:

MeMyself&I wrote:
These pics are on the AT201

Beautiful pics! I have a question for you: how did you put the neck connector on the Worldbox body? I had to put some force to put the connector on but it still isn't very secure. And the head can't tilt to sides. Is this normal or am I doing somethin wrong?

Thanks!

And to answer your questions, I used a heat gun (hair dryer is fine too) on the connector. You only need a few seconds. Then it’ll go on much easier. That said, yeah, not a lot of tilting will be happening with that connector, either on the AT201 or a TBLeague. Just not something it’s designed to do I think.

For the most part the original heads are usually much better painted. Although over the years the gap between KO quality have gotten better. A lot of fellow collectors here have taken the bullet and bought the KO's to compare with the original so it's a good resource to check for comparison. It's usually better though to see if the final product is close enough for the price difference as a lot of these KO companies will advertise the original product. For example, I've been looking at the scarlet witch head , for example, from wandavision by buzz toys. You can find it on ebay and ali. The advertising photos are clearly from the Hot toys official head but the final, (there are a few pics floating around now) you can see it lacks a lot of the skin texture. However, an original on ebay is 200 and the buzz toys is about 30 bucks. If you are just trying stuff and customizing head and /or plan to try some painting/hairing, the cheaper KO is a good choice to experiment on or practice with before you commit to an original head. Also I do find the KO tend to be a different size, usually smaller cause some tend to recast them. However some just use the same digital files I think and there may not be size differences.

Rule of thumb on KOs in 1/6 is if the price looks too cheap, then it's most likely a KO. Sellers in 1/6 will mark up an original as a rule of thumb. Like the Scarlet witch head is at 200. Add 70ish bucks and you can get the whole figure from retailers.

So complicated. Add to this factory extras or unauthorized additional runs, with possibly less quality control, and the line gets really blurred.

Gaia wrote:
How do people view the knock off versions in this hobby? Depends on the hobby it's a big NO-NO (like BJD dolls), while other hobbies from what i read are ok when manufacturers are big companies (Blythe dolls). I try to stick with the rules of each hobby

I recommend using your own value system to determine across all hobbies how you want to deal with knockoffs.

I personally will always buy an original if it is available. In all honesty it won't come down to the additional 10-30 bucks as to whether I can afford it or not. And saying "I'm only willing to spend up to 30 bucks for a head and therefore I'm getting the KO instead of not getting it at all" is no good reason either. 

The only time I'll get a KO is if the original is no longer available, or only available from resellers at double/triple the price. The latter I am still torn about, because a part of me thinks that the business strategy is disgusting. On the other hand the market is all about supply and demand and an item is worth what people are willing to pay for it... 

So matter of fact I only ever bought one KO (Tariah) and it was of terrible quality, fell apart and I'm not doing it again.