Computer Internet Connection Problems

Argh! I am having Internet connection problems. So the fun posts I have stored cannot be uploaded - I can upload text at the Library, but not photos. So I have not abandoned this blog or my wonderful online pals. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Thanks for understanding.

Sincerely,
Dana

Mixis Houda in the Wind

I took Houda out today. I was not crazy-pleased with the photos I took; they could have been better. But there's this one shot where the wind played with her hair a little in this photo. It's my favorite from the ones taken.

Happy April, Houda.

New Mixis - Facebook Alert

Three new Mixis dolls are shown on the Mixis Living Facebook page. Two of the dolls resemble two of the mystery dolls shown in an earlier post. [Note: you will need to scroll to nearly the bottom of the "Future" link to see the Mixis dolls; they follow the too-pretty-to-eat-but-I'll-try food photos.] The other doll resembles a doll in an early Mixis doll photo: I am ecstatic to think that she will be PRODUCED for the doll-buying market.

Introduction to the New Philadelphia Doll Collecting Examiner - ME!

Uh ... the ME is Me as in Dana aka D7ana aka the voice of A Philly Collector of Playscale Dolls and Action Figures. Me.

I now write for Examiner.com -- yippee! Here is a link to my first article.

Progress? Oh, yes! I will maintain Philly Collector as my personal blog and online play pen, but the Examiner writing will cover local events and personalities. Wow. Imagine that.

Payment? Eventually. Philly Collector has been up for two years, and I have not received anything from the ads clicked here. (Not that ad income is or was my primary goal here.) I do want to earn from my writing, but I do not expect to become rich overnight. However, this writing assignment will help me improve my objective writing skills and productivity. I will need to be more socially active to meet the local association criteria. I will need to write more concisely. That's all payment of a different kind.

So join me at my Doll Collector spot on Examiner, too.

More Sindy and the Power of Words (Collect)

Late 1970s. I'm a teenaged doll collector. Everybody knew that I was "too old" to play dolls. Everybody meant my family and friends. Mercifully, Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner published Collectors Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls & Collectibles in 1976 - yippee! I could continue my fun under another verb. Collect. A more mature verb. Collect. A socially more acceptable verb. Collect. And with this maturity and social acceptance came a new responsibility. As a collector, I was archivist of a plastic and vinyl world. Dolls I had once disdained, now I looked at in a new light. I might even have bought an Ideal Tammy doll were those dolls still available. They were not. Instead, a Pedigree Sindy - yes, British Sindy - in spite of her larger head - entered my collection.

Note, I said a Pedigree Sindy. The blond Marx Sindy and her Black Friend, Gayle, were not going to work. I doubt I ever saw Gayle to buy her. I might have, but I think I didn't. The Marx dolls reminded me of the early Tammys with their large, rounded heads. But when I saw the Funtime Sindy, well, she was brunette at a time when blond Barbies and blond Barbie-clones dominated the fashion doll world. Maybe the darker hair made this Sindy's head seem smaller. And this Sindy by Pedigree was a British doll; the Marx Sindy was American. Score two for diversification.

Now the Marx Sindy furniture was another matter altogether. I preferred the Marx Sindy furniture than the cold modular furniture available for Barbie. The Marx Sindy furniture had realistic colors like mustard yellow kitchen appliances and off white dining room and bedroom and wine armchairs. So the Sindy furniture went to my Barbies. (Made sense at the time; the best dolls with the best furniture.)

Moreover, Marx was so cool that they issued special giftsets for Sindy. Here's a link to a Sindy website, showing the furniture and giftsets. The giftsets were special order only. If you bought Sindy doll items, you could get doll accessory awards. Example for each Marx Sindy furniture piece, there would be some Sindy tokens on the outer box. The number of tokens was based on the price of the item bought; larger items provided more tokens. A correct amount of tokens, the order form on the booklet packed with the items, and fifty cents for shipping costs, would win you one of four giftsets. I clipped and hoarded those Sindy tokens until I had enough to get the three sets that I wanted:

Let's Style My Hair - 1286 included a "heated" hair curler unit, comb, brush, mirror

Let's Go To The Beach - 1291 included a bath towel, beach umbrella, plastic cooler

Let's Bar-B-Que - 1285 included a barbeque grill, meat, utensils, aprons

Here's a photo of my Pedigree Sindy using the beach set minus the original swimsuit - Sindy borrowed the swimsuit from 1726 Twiggy Turnouts. I am including a link to some of my other figures using the Sindy Bar-B-Que grill here.




Additional Sindy sites are Sindy.org and previous post.

Hot Toys Presents ... Michael Jackson: BAD

Michael Jackson's Bad is my favorite Michael Jackson song/video. So when I saw that Hot Toys is offering a third Michael Jackson figure - previous MJ figures were Thriller and Billie Jean - well, I had to share that information, didn't I?

ToysRevil offers exhaustive details.

Hobby Search offers these photos.

Bigbadtoystore has the lowest price I have seen $189.99.

This figure has moving eyes AND multiple hands for different poses. MOVING EYES?! The resemblance is striking; would you say that it looks exactly like Michael Jackson though?

Hot Toys ... nobody does it better ...

Funny ADULT Article About Twilight Edward

I found this article comparing the Mattel Twilight Edward doll to other glittery male fashion dolls. There are photos of past he-babes like Hasbro's Rio, Mattel's 80s Kens, and T.HQ's Vanilla Ice doll.

Here is another funny doll celebrities article. NOTE: the second article also has ADULT humor.

Ethnic Defa Lucy in Window

I was walking down Chelten Avenue the other day when I noticed an ethnic Defa Lucy doll in the window of a discount store. Pulled my camera out to take her photo. (Defa Lucy is produced by Guangzhou Lebay Children Articles Co., LTD. Yes, she is a Barbie-clone.) What struck me was how her complexion seemed gray-toned. I had had that thought when I wrote my earlier post on this doll, but I don't recall if I mentioned that.

I have seen someone who was literally gray-colored, but I thought he was an exception. Hmmm.

Momoko - Momoko - Momoko

My Momoko collection to date. (Missing Day-off Delight who will go for sale soon.)




Momoko rock group, Black_Blue, and four admirers in denim. (Black_Blue members are kneeling Fro on the left, standing near center Pink Grrl, and half-seated Jagged on the right.)

Their number used to be greater, but then tastes change.

Big Lots and Doll Pricing

The first set of Liv dolls and the Rocawear Barbies are available at the Norristown Big Lots! store.

You can have either Alexis or Katie for $18.00 EACH OR the So in Style Rocawear Grace, Kara, or Trichelle for $12.99 EACH.

Usually, Barbies and other dolls sell for less than retail price at Big Lots! - these dolls are nearly at the retail cost. I wonder if that is due to the popularity of these doll series or to the economy.

Young Sweethearts Wishing Well Park - Parts

You can see additional photos of the Young Sweethearts' Wishing Well Park in my Webshots folder titled Mattel Playsets.

Additional items I would use to extend and to improve this playset are 1 or 2 "grass" mats for flooring, at least two 20" tall "park" backdrops (photos of a park) that would look better than the current backdrop of other dolls draped across boxes, etc, and additional "trees." Perhaps the Young Sweethearts tree is a fake tree amongst some "real" ones. Perhaps? Ha. Okay, it definitely is a fake tree. Perhaps I could cover some empty Mattel Fashion Fever tubes with papier-mâché to simulate tree bark? What to do for lower branches though? Need to consider it.

Any thoughts or additional ideas for the Park? Let me know.

Michael Puts Together the Wishing Well

Mattel Michael of the Young Sweethearts attempts to put together the Wishing Well Park with a little help from his new friends - Integrity TJ, Volks Who's That Girl Kana (aka Kat), Sekiguchi Momoko, Aoshima/Skynet Girls' Mission Mai, Volks Who's That Girl Kana, and Petworks Momoko going clockwise.

New Momoko Doll: City in the Sea

Thanks to Rudi's post on R&D Spotlight, I now know that Petworks Dolls is on Twitter. And guess what's new? City in the Sea Momoko.

Her mouth differs from the Momokos that I have; the vibrant red color seems to extend below her natural bottom lip so she seems to pout. Her hair color has two-tones - ashy blond and some darker color - burgundy, black? The outfit has a sailor top and short bottoms. She is cute, but I can't say that I am overwhelmed to buy her. Still, it's interesting to know.