October Theme: Filipino American Representation in Playscale, Pt.2

Here are some dolls or action figures I have "borrowed" to expand a Filipino American collection. Which ones do you think "work"  for this role?

Asian/Asian American Dolls and action figures

Let's meet them, going from left to right:

Hasbro Special Response Team G. I. Joe - yes, he is an Asian American G.I. Joe.

Mattel Captain Li Shang - per the Disney Mulan story, he is Chinese. Maybe he has
Chinese Filipino background?

Jakks Pacific G.I.R.L. Force Kulture Shock Jaz - I need to find her box, but I don't think she was assigned to a specific Asian group.

Dragon New Generation Mong Kok C.I.D. "Wai" Sir- okay, he is assigned to a specific part of Hong Kong, Mong Kok, so he's Chinese or a Hong Konger.

New Desi Barbie, Kiyaa Celebrating Girlhood

Looking for a new Desi (Indian) fashion doll? Welcome Kiyaa, the newly touted Indian counterpart to Barbie, created by Hima Sailaja Theerdala. The former software engineer and present entrepreneur created Kiyaa to represent Indian looks and values. Kiyaa is a sixteen-year-old, "girl-next-door type." While the doll's height is not explicitly stated, she does look Barbie-sized in the photos I have seen of her online. Kiyaa is presently up for pre-order from the entrepreneur's new design house, Shel Studio, which also offers designer fashions for children. Price? 698 rps ... magic of xe.com translates to $11.21 USD.

Would I add a Kiyaa to my collection? Yes. Once I have thinned my present collection. I am waiting to hear if Shel Studio will ship to the U.S.A. If there were a limited issue of the dolls, I would leave them for their intended audience, Indian children. If they were religious icons, likewise. But mass produced, playscale, fashion dolls? I am in that line.

Anyone reading this post have a Kiyaa doll now or plan on getting her? Do write and share the link to your photos. I LOVE new dolls. 

Competition comes to Mattel's Indian Barbie

Glue-head Barbie Information Requested

Does anyone know if there is a list of glue-headed Barbies online? Are the dolls issued from one or more countries? Does anyone know which dolls started with this problem? Any links - including your own - smile - to blog posts or online articles about this problem.

Why do I want to know?

1. so that I can not buy those dolls

2. because I was asked about it.

Thanking you in advance for any feedback.

P.S. Does anyone have the url of the petition demanding Mattel eliminate the glue-filled heads problem. Thanks again!

October Theme: Filipino American Representation in Playscale, Pt.1

According to Wikipedia, only 1.1% of the United States population is Filipino American. Guess how many Filipino American dolls and action figures I found? Two. (Anyone with additional finds, please share those names and manufacturers. That is playscale dolls and action figures; there are likely available dolls in other scales.) That includes Mattel's 2012 Philippines Barbie. Who is that other doll? Drum roll ... High School Musical Gabriella!  Yes, actress Vanessa Hudgens has Filipino ancestry. 


Mattel

Philippines Barbie 2012

Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical Gabriella) various models. Below is the first, Barbie-sized - 11 1/2" Gabriella; later Gabriella dolls were on shorter, 10" bodies.

Mattel High School Musical Gabriella, full length

Close up of Mattel High School Musical Gabriella

Box showing actress Vanessa Hudgens

Richwell (Mattel fashion dolls sold in the Philippines)

Various Barbies, Kens, Barbie family produced for the overseas Filipino market.


You will remember that I could only find one explicitly Polish doll from Mattel. However, I could tick off Polish foods and some Polish American facts. Aside from recognizing that Pinoy is another adjective for Filipino  - and one that I would not use because it might be considered derogatory - I know little about the Philippines and the Filipino people. An Internet search uncovered a local group, the Filipino-American Association of Philadelphia, Incorporated (FAAPI). But ... this post is about Filipino American representation in playscale. Lacking explicitly labelled Filipino dolls and action figures, where can we find substitutes?



1.  We could "borrow" dolls from Mattel's Dolls of the World Asia line. Or your choice of Mattel's Kayla/Lea, Goddess, Oriental, or other head mold dolls. Mattel has non-specific "Asian" dolls that might do.

2. Find dolls based on Filipino American celebrities. Other famous Americans with Filipino ancestry include Tia Carrere,  Phoebe Cates, Mark Dacascos, Bruno Mars, Nia Peeples, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rob Schneider, and Hervé Villechaize. I do not know of any playscale dolls or action figures based on those celebrities or any roles that they played. (Although it does seem as though there should be figures of Mark Dacascos and/or Lou Diamond Phillips.)  

(Aside: more relevant to playscale doll and action figure fans Noel Cruz, master doll artist, is Filipino-American. Not that that means a doll and action figure of the artist.)
 
Next, I would offer substitutes. However, I was not able to photograph the dolls and action figures I would offer as potential "stand-ins" today so I am saving that part for tomorrow.


RELATED READINGS

Manika's Filipina Barbie Guide

Amazon review of Mattel's Philippines Barbie

Click these links for additional information about Filipinos in the United States, Vanessa Hudgens,or  Noel Cruz.

Hasbro to Produce Disney Princesses Soon

You may have heard that Hasbro will begin producing the Disney Princess line in 2016. That's right, the Frozen sisters, Elsa and Anna, will no longer be part of Mattel's stable.

CNN take

MediaPost take

Wall Street Journal take 

What I wonder is, will the current molds used by Mattel be transferred over to Hasbro? Or will Hasbro start a new doll line? New bodies, new faces? Anyone have any ideas about that?

Disney's Frozen sisters - and the entire Disney line - bid Mattel adieu

Must-See Barbie 2015 Doll Line

Down side: The Fashionistas have limited articulation

Plus side: Three Black doll characters: Nikki, Grace, and "Christie(?)"
                   Several brown-eyed dolls
                   "New" Barbie face

Photos up at

Fashiondollworld   

Kendoll  

We'll have to get the bodies from another source - if you want more varied and/or natural posing. Enjoy! 

Happy Veterans Day

Thanks to all veterans for their services to the United States of America. 

Some of the Power Team members gather to support 1:1 scale veterans.

Gathering of M&C Toys, Inc. Power Team members

Disney Snow White Rebodied Shows Marx Sindy Wardrobe

A few months ago, I got this Disney Snow White in a trade with Ms. Leo. The Philly Fashion Doll Club members were making over a Disney Snow White doll. I had not found "the right" body then. Mattel Flavas P Bo's complexion almost matched, but the funky vibe did not suit this doll's face. The Mattel Frank Sinatra Barbie body seemed too thin. Mattel High School Musical bodies were too small. Mattel My Scene My Vespa Chelsea body had too long a neck. My more substantial action figure bodies were all used with heads I wanted for those bodies. Not a single spare body. So I set Snow aside to be rebodied in the future.

Then I came across a query in the comments of The Toy Box Philosopher. What about a Liv body for a Disney doll?  


 

Snow: Behold! The Marx Sindy Wardrobe #1232 from 1978.

 D7ana: Snow, can you get in the picture with the wardrobe? Thanks.

 Snow: Sure. Here I go.

 

Snow: Howdy, folks! I'm Snow White.

 

Snow: Okay, let us open this wardrobe.

 

Snow: Aaaiieee! Scared myself.

 

Snow: The wardrobe interior. Yes, it has some yellow age spots.

 

Snow: Shelf space for hats or bags.

 

Snow: Some shoes can fit here.

 

Snow: "Snow-in-a-closet?" Ha ha. No. Three drawers.

 

Snow: Well, I'm done here.

 

Snow: Oh and the back is plastic like the rest of the wardrobe.

D7ana:  Thanks, Snow. You did a good job.

I think the Spin Master Liv body works well with this Disney face. I had ruled it out before because I thought the Liv body was too jeune fille. It has enough weight to balance the larger Disney head. What do you think?

Note:
Pullover by M&C Toys, Kari Mitchell
Skinny jeans by Jakks Pacific, Cheetah Girls
White sneakers by Mattel, Flavas

November Means Native American Heritage, Holidays and Sales!

• Native American Heritage Month
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving
• Black Friday
• SALES, SALES, SALES!
  
  
  Above I list possible topics to be covered this month. Something new I'd like to add is a theme word for the month: abundance. And how about manufacturer of the month? Integrity Toys. Think Alysa, Jade, Janay, Candi, Adele, Lukas, and T.J. for feature posts.