Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Signing Off 2008 -- Happy New Year, 2009

It's nearly 11AM, and I am signing off.

Happy New Year all. Happy Collecting and more fun activities in 2009.

Sincerely,
D7ana

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Native American DAFs -- Hey Toby!

I received Kocoum from Disney's Pocahontas from the Jim Faraone Special Auction -- thanks Toby! Toby and I were talking about Native American dolls and action figures. I've only got FOUR Native American figures. Wow. Talk about under-representation. I am not doing a count to see that I have an equal amount of every race or ethnicity, but I am surprised that the number of Native Americans is so small.

Here the East Philadelphians (my crew) meet Kocoum:



Here's a full front view of Dragon Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach), YNU Group Mixis Emerald, Mattel Eskimo Barbie, and Mattel Disney Kocoum.



I am submitting larger files here at a medium setting to see if my photos will look better. Hope it won't take too long to upload.

Kocoum is now officially an East Philadelphian!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Photographing DAFs

I think that my photos and uploaded photos need more work. I'm using a Kodak EasyShare CX7300. I'm going to check the booklet that came with the camera and read up on digital photography.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Red Allan and Wolf Barbie

I want to see if this photo will look better here than it does on The Vinyl Lounge:



Yes, it does. I was able to save it larger. Hmm ....

Dolls Received Friday, December 19, 2008

Here are the photos of the five dolls I received yesterday:

The Southwest Stewardess doll from Daron:




The AKA Centennial Barbie from Mattel:



Sunset Edition Emerald from YNU Group:



Sunset Edition Opal with Curly Wig from YNU Group:



Sunset Edition Rosa from YNU Group:



The AKA Centennial Barbie is breathtakingly beautiful; same head mold as the Jazz Diva Barbie, but with a lighter complexion, streaked hair, and less dramatic make-up. I could have done without the glitter on her eyelids and mouth, but she's so exquisitely rendered. Mattel at their best.

The Daron stewardess doll reminds me of Maddie Mod dolls from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Round-faced, dimple-cheeked cute doll. Her outfit is nicely tailored. She seems a decent quality doll. Still ... I like her face. I am glad to have her.

The Mixis dolls. Well I can scarcely speak glowingly enough about the Mixis dolls. Emerald and Rosa resemble the Limited Edition Emerald and Rosa that I have. But the Sunset Opal with Cap wig -- wow! This version of Opal lights up.

First, the cap wig seems to be a permanently attached wig rather than the doll having a rooted scalp. I prefer rooted hair (from scalp) dolls, but the wig here doesn't scream, wig, so it's okay. Then the lighter blonde color and the frizzier, coarser/curly hair with the center part become this doll's face more than the straight-haired version. And the makeup on this Opal seems sharper, more distinct.

All in all, five new treasures in the DAF community.

Friday, December 19, 2008

New Dolls Received Today!

Today I picked up my package from USPS AND I received two packages from UPS. Such richness in one day is unusual, even for me.

I got the three Mixis dolls I had ordered from Nicennecessary. Will post photos tommorrow.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

New Mixis Fashions -- Indian and Red Vest

On the Mixis website, there are two NEW fashions. Here are the links for those fashions:

Indian outfit

and

Denim - Red Vest

The Indian outfit has a red-multi print gown with a gold-brown mustard stole and gold slippers. The Denim outfit has a cropped medium blue denim jacket with pre-set rolled up sleeves and jean legs rolled up to the knee. The denim outfit also includes some red-white gingham sneakers/espadrilles.

Wow, wow, wow.

Great Service from Wizard Entertainment

I placed an order for a 12" Final Fantasy Movie Ryan Whittaker Action Figure (ToyFare Exclusive) from Wizard Entertainment on Sunday and got the figure -- securely boxed and accompanied by a Toy Wishes magazine AND a comic book -- today. I had only ordered the ONE figure and he was on sale, $6.99 before postage at that. Now that is what I consider excellent customer service. Wizard Entertainment will get more orders from me.

The URL for Wizard Entertainment is

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A2FKHJLY04N3SH

In addition to 12" action figures, they also sell dolls and other toys.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

2008 Dolls by Month - March

March 2008 brought in three action figures and two Barbies. I bought three figures in the Battlestar Galactica, Original Series line - Commander Adama, Captain Apollo, and Lieutenant Starbuck from an online dealer. Glitter Games Teresa, I found in a Kmart store. Jazz Baby Cabaret Dancer Barbie, I bought from Angelic Dreamz.

Of the three action figures, I like Commander Adama best. Apollo and Starbuck - I don't care for their faces and I haven't "warmed to" so I'm going to keep their nifty suede jackets and their tan pants and see if I can sell the guys nude. I'm having difficulty removing their boots so I need to contact someone at one of the action figure boards - probably Men With Dolls - about HOW to remove the boots, if I will need to cut/destroy the boots to remove them.

Glitter Games Teresa has a pretty, innocent look. I don't usually like dolls using this new head mold, but this issue looks very attractive.

Jazz Baby Cabaret Dancer Barbie has the pivotal, posable body. I like her smoky, sultry face and her lean, toned build. Interestingly, she makes Teresa look almost plump. I like variety in the sizes and shapes of my figures - except for oversized heads or disproportionate limbs - so I don't mind. She'll be able to share clothes with the Barbie Fashion Model series.

Photo time ...



Tuesday, December 9, 2008

National Wholesale Liquidators - Going Out of Business

"Another one bites the dust ...."

National Wholesale Liquidators is going out of business. On the plus side, their toys are selling for 40% off the marked price. The Glitter Games Barbie, Glitter Games Teresa, and seemingly endless Playmates everGirl dolls marked or priced as $9.99 are going for nearly HALF that amount. There are also several Kellys, some of those basic ballerina Barbies, and a slew of cheap fashion dolls. I bought a Glitter Games Barbie, a Black everGirl who has better face screening than the one I bought previously, two Kellys (one with hot pink streaks; the other with black hair), and two Kelly ladybug-themed outfit sets.

On the minus side, there goes another source for reasonably priced fashion dolls and accessories. I bought some nice dolls there over the years. Sigh. Pause for a moment's contemplation.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Special Auction for Jim Faraone/Hooray For Auction Fever

New project: gathering dolls and items for the special auction for Jim Faraone, doll artist, author and organizer of the IFDC or International Fashion Doll Convention. Collectors are donating or donating percentage of the sale of their dolls to help Mr. Faraone's medical bills.

Here is a message from Larraine of the Auctionfever Yahoo Group:

By now most of you have heard about Jim Faraone's(IFDC) Medical
problems and the huge($90,000) bill he has incurred.

Denise called me and asked if I could do a special charity auction
will all proceeds to Jim and I agreed.

So the auction will be Dec. 13 to 16. You will bid as normal, but all
payments will be made to me through Paypal. Sellers will ship
directly to you. Some sellers are offering free shipping and all
sellers are giving special prices for this auction.

So come on folks help out a friend and let's sell it ALL!!!

Cheers,
Larraine
=^,^=
Please visit my site at: http://www.barbigirl.com
Tired of eBay, join us at Auction Fever:
http://www.barbigirl.com/auctionfever.htm

------------

Now I have been thinking about reducing my collection so this request comes at the best of times. Just need to get my descriptions and prices and photos uploaded BEFORE this Friday.

2008 Dolls by Month Update

The 2008 Dolls by Month Photo entries will continue after I have located some missing dolls. The doll/action figure purchase months in 2008 are January, February, March, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. There will be no entries for April or May.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

2008 Dolls by Month - February





February was a slow month: only two Barbies and two Momokos. The dolls are Mattel's Top Model Nikki and Top Model Nikki Hair Wear and Sekiguchi's Go for Victory Momoko and Sweet Poodle Momoko both from the Winter 2006 line up.

2008 Dolls by Month - January

To close out the 2008 doll and action figure buying year, I'll post a photo or two of the dolls bought/received this year by month. The first new doll of 2008 was Sekiguchi's Wake Up Momoko 2 or Daphne (her East Philly name).



Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Value City (Cheltenham Avenue) Closing Sale

The Value City Department Store on Cheltenham Avenue is closing. Barbie dolls that are on sale -- 30% off -- include:

Top Model Barbie, Summer, and Teresa -- the Resort and the Hair Wear issues
Mary Poppins, Bert, Jane and Michael
Titanic Barbie
Festivals of the World Barbie -- Irish Dance

I got the Bert doll. Out of the ice cream man suit - white pants, white shirt, orange-red stripes on white jacket, sky blue socks and white plastic loafers -- he could be a jolly school principal. I'll save the suit for a character playing an ice cream man.

Well. I'm not crying. In spite of the dirgy holiday songs that played while I shopped. (Dirgy music is any holiday song by Robert Goulet, Harry Connick Jr., that -- shudder -- sound.) I got some great deals at this Value City store over the years from the White Diamonds Elizabeth Taylor doll at $9.99 to the elusive Flavas Awards series (Tre and Liam who came with wigs!) at $3.99 each. It is sad to see this store close. Especially since the K B Toys in the Cheltenham Square Mall closed a few years ago. So the only toy spot in that immediate area is Burlington Coat Factory.

Target will be coming to the Cheltenham Square Mall. Now Target does have a toy department, but I don't think that they would ever have anything like the Flavas Awards dolls. So I'll miss Value City for that. Thanks Value City.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Liberating the Masses or the Power Team

I've opened all of my Power Team guys except Farmer Miles (aka the World Peacekeepers Trailwalker with donkey) and one guy I might not keep. I love their realistic faces and their poseable bodies. I'll take more photos of them tomorrow; not enough time to do more than trot out this one:

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