Mattel Stardolls

I've been eyeing the Mattel Stardolls ever since the promotional photos appeared on the internet.

Articles started appearing in February of this year.  Check this one on Stardoll's official blog.

I don't even remember where I first saw them, but the variety of faces in the line, had me wanting one of each!   I checked frequently for any news about the release of the dolls and read of sightings in the US by several persons; but I couldn't find any online sources.  Last month, however, a few started appearing on amazon.com at ridiculously high prices (between US$60 -  $70)!  I see that the prices have now gone down now, though.

Finally, the dolls became available at barbiecollector.com on the 5th December and on the 6th, I zoomed over to the website to order.  I knew I couldn't buy one of each, especially since I did not know how big the doll boxes were and I knew that I had to keep the package as small as possible, in order to keep shipping costs to Trinidad at a minimum.   My credit card was also giving me the evil eye.

I was very happy that, in addition to the initial promotional photos, there were actual shots of the dolls in their boxes.  The actual dolls were different from the promotional photos, so I still did a search for doll owner images, to make sure that I made the right choices.

I finally decided on two dolls and placed my order, with free shipping too!  The package was shipped on Wednesday 7th and delivered by Fedex ground to Miami on Monday 12th December.  It left for Trinidad the same day and by Friday 16th, it had cleared customs and was ready for collection.

So, who did I get?

Tada!        It's Pretty n' Love - Style 2

And..........

Fallen Angel - Style 2

My pretty girls will remain in their boxes until Christmas, when I'll take them out to play!

Caffé Latté Interview

I have to thank Ms. LMB for choosing me and my blog as the focus of her first interview for the new 'Your Moment & Interview' feature on her Caffé Latté Magazine blog.

Not many local persons are interested in doll collecting and I truly appreciate the opportunity to share what I love doing.

I wish her the best of luck with this new feature and look forward to reading future blog posts about the interesting stuff that other folks like to do.

Yamato VMF50 Ami on HobbyLinkTv

It was a pleasant surprise to see a a VMF50 Ami doll on HobbyLinkTv's Toy Tengoku.

In this episode, her unboxing starts at 8:56 - Toy Tengoku Episode 2

In this episode, her dressing starts at 12:34 - Toy Tengoku Episode 3

Am I obsessed or what?

Long Overdue Doll Fun

 These are my Obitsu and Volks Dollfie Dream Dynamite hybrid dolls.

From Left to right: 50cm normal bust Obitsu body with a Parabox Megu head, 50cm large bust Obitsu body with a Parabox Sheba head, 60cm normal bust, ball-jointed Obitsu body with an Obitsu Haruka head, 58cm Volks Dollfie Dream Dynamite (DDDY) body witha Parabox Gretel head.

The three on the right have been languishing in their boxes for several months, without clothes, so I decided to make (cut and tie) bikinis for them from an old t-shirt, until I have the time to make proper clothes.

Megu has been on display on my desk for several months, wearing a top I made for my Tonner Antoinette doll (it didn't quite close at the back) and a pair of bloomers from an old porcelain doll.  She is the only one whose head is connected to her body.  The others' heads are just resting on the necks.  I still have face-ups to do, so I won't connect the heads until I've completed them, and I don't even know for sure how I'll connect the Parabox head to the DDDy body.

Here's Megu in her bikini, posing with Sheba.  Her yarn wig somehow took on an orange hue.

I find that the 50cm bodies are more aesthetically pleasing than the 60cm body, which looks awkward, with a short waist and long legs.  As for my DDDy, with her ample chest, hips and thighs, she is just va va voom!

I had forgotten how beautiful they were.  It's amazing, even without face-ups, what a difference eyes and a wig can make.

Megu is wearing the yarn wig I made for her (this is closer to the true colour of the yarn).

Sheba with a mohair Kemper wig.

Haruka with her really green eyes and a mohair Kemper wig.

Gretel, without eyes, is wearing a blonde wig (from Junkyspot).

Beautiful Gretel again.   After she has had her eyes installed, she wears a black Kemper wig.

This is the original head that came with the 50cm Obitsu body.

Installing Haruka's eyes was quite a challenge, as the openings for eye pockets inside the head were too small.  I had to cut slits into the pockets and even after heating, I had a frustrating time getting the eyes in and adjusting them to where I wanted them.  Gretel had no eye pockets, so I used Faber Castell Tack-It removable adhesive that I had on hand to hold them in place.  After that experience, I wonder how people manage to keep their doll's face-up intact while installing the eyes.

All in all, I had a wonderful time.  

A Desired Doll

I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to have a Yamato Vmf50 doll, and this week I found one at Hobby Link Japan (warning: doll nudity).

Pros:

1. She's tan
2. She's unpainted - ready for customisation

Cons:

1. She's cost prohibitive - After cost + shipping + Duty + VAT + Customs brokerage fee, total: TT$5,000.00 - YIKES!

Not even my largest BJD cost that much; but, this is the cheapest I've seen her for sale.

Sniff, sniff.  Ah well, I wanted a 1:6 scale volks doll back in the 90's and acquired two this year.   Maybe, there's hope for me yet............

New Barbies

I acquired a Rocawear Kara, locally, earlier this year and was very disappointed with the way her upper arms did not line up close to her body, so I decided then that I would pass on this line.  Here she is wearing a dress I originally made for one of my Solo in the Spotlight dolls:

Earlier this week I wanted to take advantage of a sale at Excellent Stores (a local department store) and hustled to the mall to snatch up the Fashionista Sporty I was eyeing.  Of course, she was gone and I was so disappointed, since I really wanted her because of her 'pivotal' knees.

I visited one of the other toy stores in the mall and spied a basic Jayla:

I got her because of her face and hair, which made up for the lack of articulation, her stiff hard body and her un-clickable legs.  Also, her arms did not stick out like Kara's.  One more added to my list of dark-skinned dolls awaiting articulated bodies.

Whilst there, I was so happy to get these two pivotal-knee'd ladies.

See why I like the pivotal knee so much:

New Heads - Doll Nudity Warning!

I have a lot of Obitsu heads to paint and want to do them all together.

I have two headless bodies, one Momoko and one white skin, large bust 2-part 27cm Obitsu female body.  I finally ordered a 23cm head with side-part black hair, white skin for the Momoko body and a red-haired head for the Obitsu body - so now I have no excuse.

I also ordered a marrone head - just to see the colour.  Here are the skin colour comparisons:

Obitsu white (Eek! It really isn't that white), normal and marrone and Volks Lt. Tan

Newest Fashion Dolls

After a nail-biting wait, I have my latest acquisitions all the way from the UK.  Bollywood Legends Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Kajol.

They were mailed on 27th June and probably arrived around the 17th July.  Customs was finished with them on the 28th July and I received my notification on 2nd August 2011.  Patience is the key.

Apologies for the poor quality, photos were taken through the boxes.

Candi Dolls

Many moons ago,  I started collecting Hamilton Toys fashion dolls.

I bought mostly 'baggies' - nude dolls in plastic bags.  The only dressed dolls I purchased were a Betty Page Christmas Pin-up and a Retro Cherisse  (strange enough, these dolls have remained in their boxes). Check this web site for more information on Candi dolls - http://www.dolls.de/candi/

Two of my dolls have had their hair deteriorate and fall off in my hand.  They are now scheduled for molded hair.  I'm really looking forward to that challenge.

Here are the two heads: 

Below - Body Comparison: Candi on the left, Barbie on the right.

Decisions, decisions

I was in a bit of a quandary a little while back, when I couldn't decide which head to use on one of my  Obitsu 50cm dolls.  I purchased both dolls from The Junky Spot.

I am not particularly fond of the anime heads for adult dolls, but think they're cute for younger dolls.  Since the Obitsu 50cm comes with an anime head, I purchased a Megu head for the first one and a Gretel head for the second one.

The Megu head was just right; however, when I put the Gretel head on the other 50cm body, I found that the head looked a bit too big (it really is meant for a 60cm doll), so I replaced it with a Sheba head (which is also for a 60cm doll, but looks okay).

Since I had an excuse (the 'bodyless' Gretel head) to buy a 60cm Obitsu body, I went ahead and got one.  My interest was also peaked by the Yamato VMF50 dolls and the Volks Dollfie Dream doll.   The Yamato doll is based on the Obitsu 50cm doll, but has a more sinewy appearance.  I can't afford the Yamato doll, so acquiring one will remain a dream.

When I decided to purchase a Dollfie Dream body, I had to choose between the Dollfie Dream Dynamite Base body (a fuller, curvier body) and the Base Body II (a slimmer body).  Variety being the spice of life, I chose the Dynamite Base body.  I was happy to learn that Obitsu/Parabox white heads would match the normal Dollfie Dream body and got a Haruka head for it.

While waiting for my Dollfie Dream to arrive, I started having doubts about which head I should assign to which body.  It was not until it the body arrived and I tried both heads, that I decided on switching the Gretel to the Dollfie Dream body and the Haruka to the Obitsu 60cm body.

In the top photo, the doll on the left is the Haruka head on the Dollfie Dream body.  You will notice the slight difference in colour between the head and body.  It is more obvious in person. On the right is the Obitsu Body with the Gretel head.  The Haruka head appears whiter than the Gretel. 

  The Gretel turns out to be a much better match to the normal skin Dollfie Dream.

Organising

Organising is a nightmare for me.  I have so many interests.

One of the many things that need sorting is my micro (4mm) button stash.  It's a good thing I have some extra hands to help.  Good help is so hard to find.

Here's a sneak peak at one of my newest acquisitions:

More details and photos to come.

Parabox Stuff

I picked up my EMS package this morning.   I love the Haruka head sculpt.  This will be for my 60cm Obitsu doll.  Sigh... So many heads awaiting face-ups.

Please excuse the poor lighting in my room.  The brighter light was from my window, so the bulb overhead didn't have a chance.  I was just too excited to set up my goodies with proper lighting.

I'm off to help my dad chop off some tree branches.

Yippee!

The postman dropped off a notice for collection today.  I'll collect my Parabox package tomorrow!

In the meantime, I received notice that my BFC Ink Calista (large doll) arrived in Miami today.  I should have her early next week.    Yuko will have company soon.

Awaiting new stuff

I anxiously await the arrival of dolly stuff from Parabox, Volks and Amazon.

Parabox items are coming via EMS from Japan and the Volks and Amazon items are being delivered to the US and then being freight-forwarded to me.

I anxiously await their safe and uneventful arrival.

An Idea

I'm thinking of a project I'd like to work on - a character from a video game.

I initially wanted to use a 27cm Obitsu, but because of the detail that might be involved, I think I'll create the character using one of my 50cm Obitsus instead.

The character is Oerba Dia Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII.  From what I've read and the photos I've seen, including her figure being sold on Amazon, I like the character and her appearance.  I love that she wears beads and colourful pieces of cloth.  She even has pinky/peachy hair.

Here's one of my Obitsus putting in her bid for the role.  She's sure she can pull it off.

I think she might just be able to, once I swap her current chest piece for the new, bigger chest piece that I ordered from Parabox.

My Obsession

I've collected a variety of dolls over the years and will use this blog to share them and my adventures with them.

Obitsu 50cm with Megu head, wearing a yarn wig and blouse I made myself.