Happy Halloween - Mattel Flavas P Bo Query

Happy Halloween!

Mattel Flavas P Bo (Street wave) is dressed as a space opera starlet. Notice the improved head-body proportion? She's on a Blue Box Toys (aka Bbi) Joanna Dark body.

Her hair is a little wild - she's mussed it, she's that frazzled. She'd like to know: does anyone recall her being designated the Hispanic Flavas character? By Mattel, on any of Mattel's literature.

She thanks you in advance for any feedback.

Halloween U.K. Style: Playscale Weeping Angel Tutorials

Psst … want a new monster for Halloween 2014? Maybe you are tired of vampires and zombies. What about the Weeping Angels? The Weeping Angels are life-sucking villains who appeared in the revamped Doctor Who. If a Weeping Angel appears, you have to keep your eyes on it because if you break eye contact, it can touch you and then feed on your life-force. Shudder. Not a creature I would like to encounter, but good for scares. Another collector had shared the first tutorial for creating playscale Weeping Angels on her Facebook page earlier this year. This seems a good time to  convert one or more of your disposable Barbie clones into these dangerous creatures.

Tutorial 1 has more photos, but I like how


Tutorial 2 suggests using the "sand" textured paint instead of the "stone" textured paint.


P.S. I will not be making any of these Weeping Angels anytime soon - and no, I'm not afraid that the playscale figures will trigger the creatures. I am terribly busy. That is the story I am sticking to. May you enjoy the tutorials and do keep a mirror opposite whatever creature you create. Just in case.

Polish American Heritage Month in Playscale

October is Polish American Heritage Month. (Among other ethnic groups, but this post is about Polish American dolls.) Time to bring out the Polish and/or Polish-American dolls. Right. Cough. I have a small problem: Mattel only produced ONE Polish Barbie.

Mattel Polish Barbie 1998

Close up of Mattel Polish Barbie 1998

Yes as in o-n-e. One. Amid the many Irish, Italian, French, and British dolls. Then again, if you had asked me about Poland before I wrote this post, I would have been hard pressed to comment about Polish America. I have eaten kielbasa and pierogi. A Polish American teacher told my class that surnames ending in "ski" or "sky" were Polish. I remember being told that there was a Polish resistance movement during World War II. Oh and we have a Polish American Cultural Center in Philadelphia! No, I have never been there, but I know it exists and where it is. More importantly, for this post, though is finding playscale Polish American dolls or action figures. Where can we find them?



1. We could "borrow" dolls from Mattel's Dolls of the World Europe line from neighboring countries like Germany, the Czech Republic, or the Russian Federation.

2. Find celebrity dolls who are Polish American. Ding, ding! A few hits!

Hot Toys
Silken Floss; Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)


Mattel
Lord of the Rings Arwen (Liv Tyler)
High School Musical Troy (Zac Efron) - more than 1 version; I like the grin-faced one best


Play Along, Ltd. 
Hairspray Link Larkin (Zac Efron)


Toy Biz
Lord of the Rings Arwen (Liv Tyler)


3. Or we can find dolls or action figures from different backgrounds. Here are some figures I considered. Let me know which ones you think "work."

Mattel Scooby Doo Skipper (as Velma)

I suggest Scooby Doo Skipper (Mattel) for her fair complexion, auburn hair, and blue eyes. 

YNU Group, Inc. Mixis doll Houda

Houda? Yes, her stated ethnic mix is French/Lebanese. How about her profile? 

What about these two action figures? They are Revell GmbH& Co. KG Benjamin Lauth (left) and Jakks Pacific Van Helsing (right). Would you use them in playscale roles for Polish Americans? Let me know in a comment. (As always, thanks for your comments.)

Revell GmbH& Co. KG Benjamin Lauth (left) and Jakks Pacific Van Helsing (right)

Revell GmbH& Co. KG Benjamin Lauth (left) and Jakks Pacific Van Helsing (right)

Additional subject reading wanted? Try this article by Matt Soniak or this article by Matt Kiebus. My favorite Polish American contributions are Häagen-Dazs frozen treats and sound in film. 

P.S. Bonus link to a Barbie-clone named Joanna produced by Polish company Krawal shown on here and here.

So Mattel's Polish Barbie need not stand alone in your Polish American display.

Target 7-Doll Ultimate Disney Princess Collection 2014

Target's 7-Doll Ultimate Disney Princess Collection is in stores now.  Guess who is in the set? This year's Princess Anna and Princess Elsa - the royal sisters from Disney's Frozen - join Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Merida and Rapunzel. Now Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel tend to be "regulars" for this series; the other four dolls are the most recent of the princesses. Any comments on the line-up?

Target's 7-Doll Ultimate Disney Princess Collection 2014

Box back Target's 7-Doll Ultimate Disney Princess Collection 2014

 

Hispanic and Latino Doll/Action Figure List

Olga Tanon and Sargent Mendez

Jakks Pacific Valerie (Rosario Dawson)

Integrity Toys Street Fusion Alysa (Dealer version)

Mattel Kelly Club Tea Party Nia

Here is my list of Hispanic and Latino dolls and action figures.

ARM Enterprise

Selena Quintanilla

BBi 

Perfect Body Female Action Figure
Perfect Body

Male Action Figure
Sargent Mendez

Chic Boutique

Chicas a la Moda Arianna
Glamour Girl Flower Power

Get Real Girl

Gabi

Get Set Club

Isabella

Hasbro

G. I. Joe (various)
Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez
Carmen 'Raya' Alonso, drummer JEM
Rio Pacheco, manager JEM

Haschel Toys

Olga Tanon

Hot Toys

Bronze TrueType male figure
True Type Cuban American female

Integrity

Alejandro
Alysa
Candi

Jakks Pacific

Fashion Doll: Muneca de Mode Catalina
Fashion Doll: Muneca de Mode Damita
GirlForce Bianca
GirlForce Lola 
GirlForce Natalie (Cameron Diaz) "Charlie's Angels"
GirlForce Valerie (Rosario Dawson) "Josie and the Pussycats"
Maleficient (Angelina Jolie)

Kenya's World

Ariana* (Thanks Smaller Places for sharing this new series!)
Nicole

Kumik

Jessica Alba head

Lanard

I-Girl Rio

Mattel

Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) "Wizards of Waverly Place"
Generation Girl Ana Suarez
Barbie
ChaCha "Grease"
Barbie and the Rockers Derek
Desi Arnaz
Gabriella "High School Musical"
Jennifer Lopez
Kayla
Kelly (David's Bridal Perfect Pair)
Ken
Li'l Friends of Kelly Marisa
Model of the Moment Marisa
So in Style Marisa
Kelly Club Nia
My Scene Nia
Flavas P. Bo
Rebelde Diego Bustamante
Rebelde Giovanni Mendez
Rebelde Lupita Fernandez
Rebelde Mia Colucci
Rebelde Miguel Arango
Rebelde Roberta Pardo
V.I.P. Selena Gomez
Shakira
Teresa
Tommy (David's Bridal Perfect Pair)

Mega Star

Ricky Martin

One World Project

Prettie Girl Valencia

Play Along Ltd., Division of Jakks Pacific

Cheetah Girls Chanel
Cheetah Girls Dorinda

Playmates Toys Inc.

Ever Girl

R&D Dolls

Susie

Shindana

Disco Juanita

Smartees

Teacher Taylor

Spinmaster

Liv Daniela

Takara

Samba Jenny
Samba Kisara

Tiger Toys

A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) "Saved by the Bell"

Totem International

Carlos, Billy's Pierto Rican boyfriend  (Thanks, Roxanne, for the reminder!)

Toy Biz

Sue Richards (Jessica Alba) "The Fantastic Four"

Woolworth

Manuel, wife, and baby

Yaboom

Christina Aguilera

YNU Group Inc.

Rosa Dominguez Katz "Mixis"

Disney Signature Collection Villains Storm Supermarket

Need some villains to stimulate your playscale Disney princesses? Stop by a Shop-Rite supermarket and you might find Ursula from The Little Mermaid or The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the shelves.

Disney Signature Collection Evil Queen close-up

Disney Signature Collection Evil Queen full

Disney Signature Collection Evil Queen box back

Disney Signature Collection Ursula close-up

Disney Signature Collection Ursula full

Disney Signature Collection Ursula box back

The Evil Queen looks interesting, but I don't like the "pearlized" skin. It looks greasy.

I have seen other Disney characters at markets but this was a first seeing the villains there. Glad to see them there. Timely, too, since the villains can possibly be guests at a Halloween party.

Barbie de la Virgen? Argentinian Artists "Plastic Religion" Exhibit

Artists Emiliano "Pool" Paolini and Marianela Perelli have given Barbie and Ken religious roles for their October 11,  2014 exhibit, "Barbie, The Plastic Religion." You can see some of the dolls here. 

Some Italian catholic bishops - among others - are angered by the Barbie-religion juxtaposition. Others  consider the pairing natural. Ms. Perelli states that they used Barbies to rebel against conformity. As a life-long collector, I am amazed at the creativity and expression Barbie evokes in spite of her "plasticity" or perhaps, because of it. Think of the additional dolls and action figures ... the playscale market as stemming from one idealized figure.

But what about seeing Barbie and Ken as religious entities? First, I felt uneasy because "Protestants don't do religious iconography," but as I noted the "correct" blue in Mary's gown and other visual cues, I realized, we do. And the toothy grins? Who's to say that God and Mary and Jesus never grinned? Although probably not on a crucifix ....

UPDATE: the "Plastic Religion" has been cancelled. Thanks, Night Owl, for sharing this news. What do you think about that cancellation?

Alert for Prettie Girls Fans

Are you a fan of One World Doll Project's Prettie Girls dolls?

Are you on Pinterest?

Would you like to support the former on the latter? If yes, you can follow the Prettie Girls Pinterest boards. I am following the Cool Stuff board and the News board. Or you can follow all of their boards. So far, they only have 3 followers. You can be the fourth, fifth, etc. 

And if you are feeling particularly supportive, you can follow my Prettie Girls board. In addition to the One World Doll Project photos and news stories, I share pins from fellow bloggers who've written about the Prettie Girls dolls. Go, see, and re-pin. Spread the photos.

Thanks for your hits.

October Highlights: Heritage, History, Halloween, and Sales!

Rocking her pink, black, and spider theme costume, Target Exclusive Happy Halloween Barbie 2014

Hey, hey, it's October! Aside from the orange, black, and bloody Halloween scenes, what can you expect on PhillyCollector this month? Heritage! History ... of select dolls and action figures. Sales. Sales? Oh, yes.

Heritage, first though. Which ethnicities have the spotlight?

Black* (Character Options among others.)

Filipino American (Mostly Mattel.)

German American (I'm a little late here. Mattel, yes.)

Italian American (Mattel, yes, but other manufacturers represent this heritage.)

Polish American (Mostly Mattel.)

Whoa, you might be thinking: Black History/Heritage is highlighted in February. Why is she writing about it in October? Well ... aside from every month "belonging" to everyone, regardless of national acknowledgment, I've just learned that October is also Black Heritage Month ... in the United Kingdom*. Ha!

History ... well, it's LGBT History Month. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender representation in playscale by timeline.

Sales. Those dolls and action figures that want/need to move on? They'll be going out this month.

Last, but certainly not least - October 29th is National Cat Day. So I'll bring out some playscale felines.