Lady Revealed as Street Fusion Janay

I did promise to show the Street Fusion Janay without her sunglasses. She has the prettiest reddish coloring ... auburn curls, red-brown eyes, and a warm reddish-brown complexion. I have to give Integrity Toys kudos on how well they changed the looks of their Janay and other play line dolls.

Lovely, hmmm?

Princess Catherine Engagement Doll Provokes Giggles

I was investigating the Toys R Us March Clearance sale to be held this Friday and Saturday, when I saw this header: Princess Catherine Engagement doll. Huh, I thought. This must be one of the 16-20" dolls. One of the reviews compared this doll to a Barbie. So I clicked to enlarge the small picture of a brunette doll wearing a dark blue dress. Nothing about the height of the doll is in the description. But when I checked under the Additional information tab, I found the box size: Product Dimensions (in inches) 13.4 x 5.1 x 2.6. That sealed her size for me. Barbie-sized. What in that information is there to giggle about?

Actually, there were two things to giggle about. First, the spindly legs of the doll. Cheap, cheap, cheap. No birds chirping there. I have previously confessed to being a doll snob. Cheesy-dolls give me something like hives. My eyes even hurt. Ouch. It seems cruel that the doll was made with legs like that. But that can happen to celebrity dolls. They need to be re-bodied as soon as possible. 

I mean, her face is not too bad. I like the wide grin that bears every tooth Princess Catherine ever had in her life - in one fell swoop. There is a trickle of a resemblance. The eyes show mascara and liner. And she has a decent nose. I have seen worse doll faces. So Arklu Ltd. did a fair job. I'd give them a B- for the likeness; a D though for the body.

Clothes? I won't even comment on her bargain basement dress. Many a decent doll has been buried in frumpy or cheap clothes. We won't mention the Pink Princess here. Zips lips. But the COST of the doll ... $49.99 USD for that doll. Please. Too much. Too high. That strikes me as funny ... and here, I wag my finger at Toys R Us. Tsk, tsk and shame on them.

Fortunately, there are alternatives for the Princess Catherine fans: r-e-l-i-e-f is spelled A-m-a-z-o-n. I joke not. You can get the same doll through at least three Amazon dealers for half the Toys R Us price. Think, $49.99 OR $21.32, $21.12, or $22.88?

Who's That Lady?

Can you guess who this lady is? Whose head has been placed on this articulated body?

Momoko Video - Momoko at the New York Toy Fair

Yes, we have a video showing Momoko at the New York Toy Fair 2012. We because I saw it and now I am sharing it with you. So "we."

Winscott Corporation, a Toronto-based company that serves the Specialty Retail Toy market in the US and Canada, will be selling Momoko dolls to those North American countries. There are no prices shown on their website nor is it clear whether they are selling lots of six dolls to retailers or to individuals. I have sent them a query asking which customers they expect; when I hear from them, I will post the answer here.

Target Sale - Star Dolls and Accessories

Target is having a sale on the Star Dolls and their accessories.

Woweeeeee! Pause. Okay, it's been a long, hard, dry run for me. No new dolls since Renee in February. Yes, it has been that long. The Star Dolls are either old news to everyone else or they never made a dent in your collector heart. I like their faces and some of their outfits so I am all-over giddy glad. Why? Because I allowed myself to get two of the Star Dolls. Yes, I surrendered again. Here they are ...

I don't have names for them yet. I don't have back stories for them yet. I haven't tried the online StarDolls website. And I have not found new bodies - the better to pose them - yet. But they are here, here, here.

Course now I have to do some selling to make up for my indulgence. (And to allow for further indulgences ... sigh.)

For those similarly tempted, the Target Star Doll and the Star Doll accessories sale began on March 18th and ends on April 7th. The dolls cost $14.99; the accessories are at $12.99.

I didn't get any of the accessories. Dolls first, then accessories.

Query: Seeking the American Teen[s] Online

Four years ago, while scrounging for information about Mattel's Rebelde series, I found the Mixis dolls. The year after that, I "found" the Bollywood dolls. Then last year, the British boy groups and Star Dolls. This year, the "found" series is the American Teen Collectors' Series. Only I am having a little more difficulty finding out about them.

Known:

It may or may not have been a dark and stormy night, but the product description on Amazon and in the public relations release both state:

"The first American Teen was sketched by Dieter Meuller in a Hong Kong hotel room late in the evening of November 22, 2000."

A September 25, 2004 press release announces that artist Dieter Meuller's fascination led to the creation of a series of 10 inch dolls based on his sketches.

Zoom forward to March 2012 and note that Amazon.com seems to be the go-to place to find this "American Teen" series. The dolls are described as being 10" tall. They look chubby - an interesting size, hmmm? And they look gothic, bohemian, ethnic (at least 3 seem to have "real" cornrows), and one guy has a red mohawk. I am still investigating - give me a new series and I have to find out about it.

Has anyone ever seen these figures? Read about them?

Color me curious, wink.

Want to See DAFs Kung Fu Fighting?

No, I have not gone that creative. But Philip Lane has. And he has for many years now. So let me give you his url so that you, too, can discover or rediscovery the best 1:6 scale martial arts-inspired, faith-dusted movies.

Enjoy.

Welcome Renee

First doll of 2012: Renee.

I held out against other dolls, but I could not resist Renee's charms so she found her way into my Target basket and out of the store. Sigh. Here she meets some of the East Philly kiddies - from left to right, Darla, Abby, and Tawny Tommy. They stand outside the Barbie Teen Dream Bedroom.

I like the side, but I need to redo that flooring. Next time, folks ;-D

Star Dolls 2012

Flickr again or more precisely, tru_fashionista_luv and chocliteluvr4evas share promotion stills about the new Star Dolls series, Viole and Rio. Hurry, hurry. Check out the new dolls. Do you think they are as attractive as the first run of the Star Dolls by Barbie or not?

Dana in enabling mode.

Irish-American Blonde

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Okay, Belated

How many of you were expecting a red-haired, green-eyed Barbie? I dote on Barbies. I like red-haired dolls. But if I see one more red-haired, green-eyed doll representing Ireland, I will ... see one more red-haired, green-eyed doll representing Ireland.

Sigh. Okay, she is not play scale. Yes, that's true. But she's s doll from my youth so she's a giant among the play scale folks. Her name is Kerry, and she is part of Ideal Chrissy's world.

Pinterest Anyone?

Open Letter to Fellow Bloggers and Followers:

Hope all is well with you.

I've recently "discovered" Pinterest, and I am rushing to submit my favorite DAF sites to my DAF boards there - DAF being "Doll and Action Figure" - would you mind if I posted a link to your DAF-related review? I had added Roville and Cherisdolls before the thought occurred to me that maybe I should ask permission first. Anyone else interested in having their URL linked to that site?

Thanks either way. Whether you say yay or nay.

Sincerely, Dana

P.S. This is a no strings request so you do not have to do more than grant permission.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Martha and the Moon Photo - Got It!

Behold! Character Options' Martha Jones from Doctor Who gazes up at the moon.

Yes, folks, that's my photo. And I captured the "moon" on film. How? I borrowed aneky43251's trick of using a computer screen for backdrop. In this case, the backdrop was the screen saver "Starfield." My shadeless lamp reflected against that screensaver. Cropped the photo to eliminate the screen frame. Ta da. The photographed result: the moon! I am pleased.

Online Liv Reference

Many of us are worried that our new favorite body donor, the Liv series, might be discontinued. Well, I have nothing to contribute to that anxiety now. But I have found a website FULL of Liv photos of the dolls and their accessories from their beginning to late 2011. It is called ShopLivDolls, and I confess to have browsed almost the way I used to pore over the Sears Christmas catalogs of my youth. Sigh. Lots of "I wants" as I looked.

The only sticking point is some of the prices. Daniela with her drum set for $49.99? I breathed a sigh of relief that I got mine on sale for less than HALF that amount. But the collector's heart knows what he or she is willing to pay. And I appreciate what the website creator - Lisa? - has done in pulling together this information about this series that has added additional fun to other doll lines.

Let the browsing begin!

Recycling a Dresser for a Barbie

Want to combine recycling with the creation of a Barbie dollhouse? Visit this site for inspiration. Sigh. If I only had the space ... wink.

New Asian Female Fashionista?

While on Facebook I saw a tip from fellow collector TS that shows Cool Toy Review 2012 discoveries. One of the Fashionista dolls looks Asian. The black-haired one with a red gold dress and who is standing next to Nikki. What do you think?

A Monster I Could Like ... Torelai

I have remained steadfast against buying any of the Monster High dolls. Their heads are too big; their bodies, too emaciated. Sigh. Well, I may have met the one Monster I might not be able to resist. Isn't she the cutest? Red hair, green eyes, and orange complexion. She's a Were-cat.

Repeat: I have not yet succumbed to Monster High Fever. I have not yet succumbed to Monster High Fever. I have not ... zzzz

Link to Examiner Article on Ethnic DAF Hair Plus Sideshow

For those interested in the postponed blog post about Ethnic DAF Hair: B is for Braids (and Locks and Knots), I have submitted an article as the Philadelphia Doll Collecting Examiner on a similar topic. Yes, me having that title is old news to some of you. I have not been so active on that site, so many - okay, ALL of you might have forgotten.

The photos in the accompanying sideshow were taking outdoors. OOOoohhh ... so you get to see some East Philly dolls and action figures in a Philadelphia park.


P.S. The braids article for PhillyCollector has been postponed because my star model - Naomi - is missing. No, she didn't go out with the others. Sigh. I have sooo got to sell stuff. Too overcrowded here.


P.S. 2 Yes, that is an OLD photograph of me. It was a favorite of mine.

RIP - Davy Jones, My Favorite Monkee

I have a Remco finger puppet of Davy Jones. I cannot find him to post here. If I find that head puppet, I will post it later.