She's Here! Calista at a Price Even I Could Afford

Big Lots! sold her for $8.00. How could I resist lovely BFC, Ink. Calista at that price?

Most of My Kens Gathered

Here they go. A little late - my fault ugh. Had a cold, started a new job, etc. Good thing my Kens are good natured. Three are hiding among dusty boxes: Malibu, Mod Hair, and Free Movin'). Two could not fit themselves in the photo: Straight leg Ken and Fashion Insider Ken. No, Straight leg Ken is NOT still embarrassed that he tricked his longtime friend, Alan, into being the subject of a previous post. He just felt too dirty and greasy-faced to appear. Fashion Insider Ken loathes crowds so he could NOT appear on that account.

Happy Birthday, Kens! The Once and Forever Gentleman.

New Ethnic Playscale Doll Series: Prettie Girls by Stacey McBride-Irby

Thought your wallet and your credit cards were safe?

Ha!

Black Doll Enthusiast recently interviewed Stacey McBride-Irby about Ms. McBride-Irby's upcoming, new doll series, the Prettie Girls playscale fashion dolls. There will be five ethnic dolls in this series: Sophia, Lena, Kimani, Valencia, and Dahlia. There are sketches of the dolls at their new website, but nothing is like seeing the actual dolls in the vinyl. Sigh. And they are to be articulated, too. With lots of new fashions and oh, accessories. Dreamily gazing off.

Vanessa also submitted a post on this new doll series. In the spirit of sharing such good news, this is my contribution to the new fashion doll series. I wish Ms. McBride-Irby the best of luck with this new venture.

New Swappin' Heads for Artsy! Seen at Target

So I suppose that there will be different heads for the Artsy Fashionistas doll to swap with. Pretty much the same face though.

Well, that's something I suppose.

At Last ... Barbie Basic AA Male (Steven?)

He's finally here in EastPhilly: the Black Barbie Basics male - possibly the new face of Steven? I haven't deboxed him yet, but I saw him in Target and before I knew it, he leapt into my shopping cart. (Cheeky fellow? Yes, indeed. I had NOOO intention of buying him at this time.) Moreover, he mesmerized me long enough to have me pass my credit information to the salesclerk. Then I bagged him (him being the Barbie Basics doll - of course!) and took the same him home. What a male doll!

Well, as long as he is here, he can help me gather the Kens and the Mattel Brothers of Ken together. He needs to do something to make up for his early entrance here ... something other than a "Wow, is he amazingly manscaped!"

By the way, does anyone know if this gentleman is "Black Ken" or the new "Steven?"

New Budget Line Dolls at Big Lots!

Okay, they aren't from Mattel or from Spinmaster or from Integrity or from R and D Toys ... these Paula dolls are from M and C Toys. Budget toy time ;-D

I am posting one of the four sets I saw at the Norristown Big Lots. The other three, I will upload to my Webshots folder.

Poor Kitty ... what drugs was he given to get his eyes to bug like that?!

I love the plastic wicker dog/cat holder. Might get the set for $6 just to get that. That and the dogs and the pet bath ....

Supermarket Easter Sweetie Barbie

Interested in the supermarket and/or drugstore Barbies? Check your local supermarket aisle. Aside: No AA version was available in the supermarket I visited. Could the AA dolls have sold out? Possibly. I will look for other versions of this doll.

Happy Seeking, folks!

Are There Two Liv Jakes?

I saw Jake at a local (Philadelphia area) Target. "My" Jake resembles the doll shown in the promotional photo. However, it seems that there may be another Jake as shown online at Amazon.com . Interesting, hmmm?

Now I want to get BOTH Jakes.

Groan. I really need the girl Liv dolls first though because some of my older dolls NEED new poseable bodies. (Like my Baggie Francie ...)

Decisions, decisions.

Twist & Dance Liv Dolls Seen at Wyncote Walmart

More new in 2011 dolls: the Twist & Dance Liv dolls. I saw all four of the girls at the Wyncote Walmart. No Chase - the boy doll - there today. (Perhaps he was the first to be bought?) More bodies, more fashions ... what more could a DAF Dr. Frankenstein require? Here are the girls ....

Further information about this new series can be found at these links:

Liv in Wikipedia
Liv on zooLert blog
Livworld
Liv on Facebook

P.S. Who else has Dancing Liv dolls? Target with their Exclusive Moonlight Dance dolls.

Momoko Outfits for Sale Next

These Sekiguchi Momoko outfits are next to go. Suggested price anyone? Offers - even better, lol.

My e-mail address is d7ana @ yahoo.com

Thanks for looking!

Photo Past

Marx Sindy Scene Setter backdrop

Back row, left to right: Disco Wanda, Mod Hair Ken, Tuesday Taylor, Beauty Queen Tuesday Taylor, Baggie Francie, Michael (formerly Young Sweethearts)

Middle row, left to right: only hair visible but that’s TNT Julia, others seated in chair, TNT PJ, Taylor Jones, Fashion Photo P.J., Malibu Christie

Front row, left to right: Straight leg Francie, Francie Hair Happenins, Bend leg Francie blonde, Bend leg Francie - only a little of her hair shows - is TNT Francie brunette, TNT Casey, backside and feet below to Kate Jackson; arms and feet belong to G.I. Joe , last is AA G.I. Joe with no beard.

Reconnecting with eBay: A Prodigal Seller Returns

Over the weekend, I submitted some items on eBay. Yes, I did.

One set has a bid -- whoo hooo! -- and that's good to see. Someone suggested I use eBay and I thought, hey, maybe I should. So they held my money until the buyer gave them feedback last time I used them. So they get me with fees on entry, when the item is sold, at the end of the month, and with PayPal. The remains from that financial gouging will leave me with something more than the nothing I had before. Plus I will have more space. Just don't think of the fees as removal of flesh closest to my heart, lol. Pretend I just didn't get as much as I did.

Oh, the items I have for sale? A set of Francie outfits, the Happy Family female Neighbor and her toddler, and three My Scene Rebel Style dolls (Chelsea, Madison, and Nolee). You can see the dolls here:

eBay

Spring Cleaning ... hmmm.

Answer: Do You Know Your Male DAFs Legs?

Here they go - the DAFs whose bare legs graced yesterday's photo.

They are from left to right, Rocker Ken, Hasbro Basic Training Heavy Duty Lamont A. Morris, Dragon Mong Kok C.I.D. “Wai" Sir, Magic Jewel Ken, Integrity Fashion Insider Tariq, Hasbro Tuskegee Fighter Pilot G.I. Joe.

Do You Know Your Male DAFs Legs?

Below are two photos showing the legs of six male dolls and/or action figures. Can you guess which legs belong to Kens?

I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Happy viewing ;-D

Poser Kens and Knowing When to STOP Adjustments

This is Ken's 50th anniversary month so various Kens will appear here at PhillyCollector. In this photo, we have some of the poser Kens. There are others, of course, like Speed Racer, etc. but these are the guys I have now. In the first photo, I took the photo and only cropped the original. It looks fairly clear to me.

Then I thought, but doesn't the darkness of their pants run all together? Wouldn't it be nice to see the difference between their pants and the background? And that's when the trouble began. I started fiddling with the contrast in my Kodak software. Slam! That's when things went wrong ... That's when I got this bleary, dreary, washed out photo:

Moral of this post? In addition to allowing for plenty of light for your photographs, it's better to reduce or to avoid using the software adjustments. What looks "good" to weary eyes on the computer screen does not necessarily translate to a good photo online.

Aside: for some reason all my Black Kens are non-posers. So I could not include them in this photo. They will ALL appear in my Ken Birthday post.

New Barbie Stuff at Walmart

Saw these TWO Chelseas today and the following accessories.

I like the closed-mouth Chelsea, but the others I can pass on. Previous accessories were more realistic; the pets seem to have come from some fantasy zoo. Pass.