Black everGirl Found!

Checking for the Rebelde Diego-Roberta set, I went to the Aramingo Kmart, Toys R Us, and National Wholesale Liquidators. No Diego-Roberta sets yet. Sigh. But as if to compensate, the Black everGirl with the curly black hair popped out from the end of a column of everGirl dolls in National Wholesale Liquidators. (Technically, she was the last doll in the row AND the only one with the center part, black curly hair.) So that's one off my doll wish list.

Box Project

I broke down one extra large moving box worth of doll boxes: 14 outer shipping boxes and 4 doll boxes. I have 4 more extra large boxes of empty doll boxes and shipping cartons. After photographing the ones I wanted to retain, I threw them out.

It wasn't as hard as I had thought it would be.

Diego Close-up on Doll

You can see a close-up photo of Diego of RBD on this doll blog:

http://thedollcafe.blogspot.com/

Check the entry for Saturday, August 9, 2008. Sigh. Diego has the handsomest face screening, I think. I'm still waiting to find him locally.

I'll have the complete school set AFTER I get him. But more, he's just gorgeous.

AKA Centennial Barbie at Walmart

The AKA Centennial Barbie was at the Walmart in South Philly. Her cost is $59.99 -- ten dollars over the price of the doll at Barbie Collector online

http://www.barbiecollector.com/

Yes, I am tempted to buy her from Walmart, but I have her on back order at BC. And I need to slow down my spending given my current situation. Sigh.

FR Moods Collection: Body Double Veronique Query

Does anyone know when the FR Moods Collection 2008 are due out? I ordered a Body Double Veronique. I am looking forward to receiving her. Had to pass on the gorgeous white gown and the incredible black wool coat, but a tanned Veronique? Sigh. Could NOT miss.

Jazz Baby Diva and Queen of Hearts Barbies Arrive!

They're here! Jazz Baby Diva Barbie Gift Set and Queen of Hearts Barbie.

These are two of the dolls I bought during Mattel's Customer Appreciation Days Sale (sale ends 11:59pm CT 9/30/2008). I had admired both dolls but I had not wanted to pay the original prices for them. Then I heard about this wonderful sale, submitted my order, and bang. Two new beautiful dolls.

Jazz Baby Diva Barbie strikes a dramatic pose with her right gloved arm thrown up in the air and her microphone before her. She has three wigs: dark brown, dark red, and golden blond. She also has a black sheer mini robe, black sheer stockings, a half-dozen red roses, silver brush and beauty accessories, black formal heels, black bedroom slippers and a black-silver gown.

The clear plastic box presents the doll and her accessories attractively. Jazz Baby Diva Barbie appears to be on stage on the left side while the right side appears to be the diva's dressing room with a shelf to hold two wigs, a hook for the diva's black chiffon robe, a table to hold her silver hair brush, mirror, compact, and sheer black stockings. She also has a half-dozen red rose and some slippers right before the (cardboard) dressing table that holds her makeup accessories.

The Queen of Hearts Barbie does not have as many accessories: aside from her red queen-themed dress, she wears a gold (plastic) tiara and holds a pink flamingo croquet mallet. However, she has a lovely Roman nose. (Most Barbies have tiny turned up noses; then again, Bratz have NO noses. Shame.)

I look forward to finding suitable clothes for this doll. Although -- wait -- there is a thin tape on the lower right corner, on the back of the box stating that the outfit cannot be removed. Ha. Off with the Queen's head then, and onto a new, poseable body. A My Scene Nolee or Delancey would match the Queen's complexion.

I'm very pleased with these purchases.

G-Five Fiona Returns to Philly

When checking eBay for the Mixis dolls, I noticed a G-Five Fiona for only $12.50. Wow. Pop's Variety and Collectables is the eBay store that sold her to me. Now Fiona was not an A List doll for me, but seeing her at that price, I felt that I had to get her and bring her home to Philly. She arrived yesterday and now she's joined her buddies Gia, Isabella, and Vanessa.

I would just need Eva to complete the set -- not that I always complete sets. Shrug.

And for any G-Five fans reading this blog, Pop's Variety and Collectables presently has Isabella for $12.50. Bonne chance!

No Finds: Cedarbrook Walmart and Toys R Us

Since I found a Rebelde set at the South Philly Walmart, I thought that I might be able to find another set at either the Cedarbrook Shopping Mall Walmart or Toys R Us in Wyncote. Sigh. No such luck. If any Rebelde sets were out, they were all bought before I got there. I saw Catwoman Kelly and Batman Tommy at Walmart and some of the new High School Musical dolls and the Hannah Montana dolls at Toys R Us. Kelly and Tommy were adorable, but I'll wait to get them when the stores are having a sale. They are B List for me. Can't believe that I didn't see even a single Rebelde girl in concert outfit doll. Eh well.

So the hunt for the Rebelde Diego and Roberta set continues.

Gotcha! One Rebelde Set at Walmart, South Philly

The point of getting the Rebelde sets in a brick-and-mortar shop was that I could look through the various sets and choose the perfect -- among the choices -- face screening that I wanted.

Well, I saw a single Rebelde set of Giovanni and Lupita at the South Philly Walmart earlier today. And I bought that set. Sigh. I'm not crazy about the head mold Mattel chose for Giovanni ... or for the one that they used for Miguel. I think that the actors playing Giovanni and Miguel have narrower faces than the molds used for their dolls. I'd have liked a new headmold for these two at least. But I suppose the company couldn't have produced the dolls as quickly or as reasonably as they did had they created new head molds.

Nice to see the Rebelde sets trickling in ... maybe Toys R Us has multiple Miguels waiting for me. Perhaps.

Surprise Find at E-Z Discount Store on 60th Street

Yesterday, I went to E-Z Discount Store located on 60th Street below Market Street in West Philadelphia. Sometimes you can find older dolls and action figures in small stores, not part of a chain. There were no older Barbies -- or any Barbies -- but there were some 11.5 fashion dolls by Totsy that belonged to the Legends of Yesteryear Series: Emeraude. The 11.5 fashion doll resembles the Disney/Mattel Esmeralda from The Hunchback on Notre Dame film. She's the sort of cheap doll that I would usually bypass, but ... Emeraude did not come alone. No, and I am not referring to the $20.00 set that included her and the Quasimodo counterpart. I'm talking about the $9.99 Festival Emeraude who comes with a 1:6 scale GOAT. Sure the goat's eyes need work, and why are his inner ears and nostrils fuchsia? This has to be a first for me ... a playscale goat.

I have a donkey with the Power Team World Peacekeepers Trailwalker aka Farmer Miles. My Lanard I-Girls have two toucans, a panda, and a brown lab retriever dog. Not a single goat though. Now we have a goat. Just what every urban farmer needs. Chevre cheese a-coming next.

Aside: maybe the pink ears and nostrils on the goat are not unnatural. See the goat photos shown at this web page:

http://www.goatladydairy.com/News_Recipies.htm

Mattel Customer Appreciation Sale - September 2008

Mattel is running a Customer Appreciation Days sale from September 15, 2008 until September 30, 2008. The dolls for sale are shown on this web page:

http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/shelf.aspx?shelfid=150160&view=all

Information about the sale is shown on this page:


http://www.barbiecollector.com/news/promos/

Happy Collecting!

Bane of Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes

They are a weakness for me: boxes. I have several boxes full of empty doll and action figure boxes.

My collection is NOT all never-removed-from-box. I prefer to have the dolls or action figures OUT of their boxes so that I can pose them. However, I like the boxes for their art and story notes. In a way, the box "completes" the doll or action figure. A well-done box can almost "sell" a doll or action figure. Sigh.

So what's the problem? Space. The more empty boxes I retain, the less room I have to display my growing collection. So the time has come. Some boxes must go.

Flattening and throwing out the boxes seems like a terrible waste. All that art. All that history. All that effort for naught?! I can't do it. I couldn't. But I have to.

Problem, solution. I am going to photograph the empty boxes. If I can find the doll or figure that went in the box, I will include that doll/figure in the photograph. Then I will leave the mostly empty boxes outside on a certain day and time. Whoever wants them, that person or persons can have them. And I'll have more space!

Reflection: I'll post notice on a local doll and action figure mailing list. If I hear from someone about the boxes first, I'll "hold" them for that individual. Or if I don't hear from anyone, I'll -- horror of horrors -- leave them out for the trash people to collect. In the best interest of my entire collection though, I'll have to sacrifice the less exciting boxes.

Mixis Dolls -- Rosa and Opal Here!

Draft from September 13, 2008 Posted Today:

September 13 at the Black Latino Expo in the Convention Center, I saw the Mixis dolls, Opal and Rosa. Dolls Like Me were selling those two dolls at the Expo. (Emerald is on back order at dollslikeme.com so they didn't have any Emeralds to show.)

The Mixis dolls resemble the Fashion Royalty dolls in that they have collar bones, but they also remind me of prettier versions of the Get Set Club dolls that were produced/sold by a local doll maker, Jenny Baker back 1999-2000.

Rosa's knee boots are amazing: they have a center seam down the front of the boot and they have a full zip back. The boxes are sturdy enough to hold the dolls and several outfits and accessories.

At Last ... R&D Gothic Momoko!

Some collectors on the Yahoo Group GoGoMomoko shared links showing photos of our favorite jointed doll, Momoko (by PetWorks and by Sekiguchi). One of the dolls photographed was the R&D Gothic Girl Momoko. What can I say? The photo launched a quick search, purchase, and capture of this beautiful doll.

I had seen this Momoko before -- I have been on-and-off collecting Momokos since I learned about them through another Yahoo Group -- Biscuit's Club -- around 2002, but I didn't care for the froo froo Gothic outfit. And she was more expensive than the regular Momoko line so I "passed" on her.

Zip forward four years. I see her photo. She didn't literally sing, "Take, take me home," but the geas descended and behold. Another Momoko in the house. The R&D Gothic Momoko, too. At last ....

New Series: Mixis Biracial/Multiracial Dolls

Late last night, while tormenting myself with the low cost of the Rebelde sets on Amazon.com and seeking online photos of the actual dolls, I discovered a new series of dolls. The doll series is called Mixis, and they are created by YNU Group, Incorporated.

(Aside, it is the nature of doll and action figure collectors to seek new figures to obsess over. Keeps the thrill of the hunt alive. Always something on the horizon.)

(Aside 2, actually, I was checking for Rebelde photos when I came across a blurb about Kmart seeking ethnic dolls. So I HAD to investigate -- collector = curious -- and zap! I saw these gorgeous new-to-me dolls. I HAVE to have them, of course. But I was not actively seeking them. They came to my notice.)

Here are the website links for the company and for the website showing the dolls. The dolls are available at Dolls Like Me.

They remind me of the Get Set Club dolls produced locally around 1999. Sigh. Those dolls weren't out long; they didn't take. I liked and like them. They aren't as pretty as Barbies, but they have definite noses and intelligent faces. Not that all Barbies look like bimbos. (Better watch myself; might get in trouble with Mattel. And I tithe to them so often, that would be a shame. Note the Rebelde obsession.)

Someone has to go through her collection and start purging.

Hands Up, Surrender ... Rebelde Online Purchase

Okay, I don't know how to explain this but knowing that Amazon.com had two of the Rebelde sets for sale for $16.99 ... that was driving me crazy. I really wanted to wait to see the dolls in the vinyl. I really wanted to buy local. Cross my heart and all that. Or if nothing better, I wanted to pick the facial screening and hairline that I liked best from the store assortment. Sigh. Then I checked today and instead of seeing Roberta and Diego AND Mia and Miguel on sale for $16.99 each pair, I saw only Mia and Miguel at the sale price.

AAAaaaiiiiieeeee!!!!

Ran for my credit card, typed the numbers in, and secured Mia and Miguel for my collection.

I mean, suppose they NEVER reach Philly? Would I wait until they are 5x the original price on eBay? Or never have them at all? No. So I had to buy them now.

Well, at least I don't have any Mias.

And I will be able to get Diego and Giovanni locally. Sigh. Although I think that Giovanni will be elusive.

Seeking Rebelde Guys in the Vinyl II

The Rebelde Guys are not available at this time at the Toys R Us in Wyncote yet. I haven't seen them in the South Philly Walmart or the South Philly Target either. I think that they might not be available until later in the year here in Philly. Closer to the holidays, perhaps ....

Asian Barbie for President 2008 and Others

Anyone looking for the Asian Barbie for President 2008? I found her at the Toys R Us 2045 Cottman Avenue. Her cost? $16.99. That Toys R Us also had the America's Next Top Model dolls on sale for $7.98.

Further down Cottman Avenue, at 2343, the K B Toys has the 80's Cher Bob Mackie Doll on sale for $24.98 or $24.99.

They also had re-issues of the Barbie-scale BUT generic brand furniture sets that they sold a few years ago. The furniture sets are not technically described as "re-issues," but they look like the same pieces that were issued under the "Sweet Home" grouping that came in yellow with pink and white graphic boxes. The new sets are in hot pink boxes labelled "Home & Garden."

Among the furniture sets was a living room setting that includes a grandmother clock and a painting/wall safe attached to a partial wall. I intend to re-paint some pieces to more natural furniture colors and to slipcover the chair. Only a few pieces are pink, but the cream and periwinkle blue china cabinet and the magneta fireplace don't appeal to me.

Scanned Jade Princess

Feeling very pleased that I've added a photo of the Jade Princess from Kmart. There's nothing like actually seeing the doll or action figure. This photo was scanned using an HP Deskjet F4240. I would have felt more comfortable tweaking a photo from my digital camera, but the printer/scanner/copier is already attached to the computer I am using now.

Jade Princess from Kmart