Monday, June 30, 2014

Elementary? Kitbashing [an] American Watson, Part 1

Muff had mentioned an interest in seeing a playscale Watson based on the Dr. Joan Watson character of the American television show, Elementary. Lucy Liu plays the Dr. Watson role in this update of the Sherlock franchise. (Sherlock is played by British actor Jonny Lee Miller.) I thought it would be a fun challenge.

Jakks Pacific Signature Looks 2 Alex (aka Lucy Liu) Charlie's Angels movie
Recast me - please!

[Re]Bodying a Doll

Lucky me, I have one of the Jakks Pacific G.I.R.L. Force Charlie's Angels Alex dolls. The best thing about the Charlie's Angels movie is that it inspired Jakks Pacific to create fashion dolls of the actresses playing the three main characters. Lucy Liu played the "Alex" character. I bought the doll because she resembled the actress. Isn't she a good likeness of Lucy Liu? Good start there. However, the body is not so great. You think the black satiny pants stained her legs? Surprisingly, they did not. However, that black and silver top under the bordeaux "leather" jacket did stain her neck and part of her chest. Dr. Joan, can you show your back, please?


Back view of two Jakks Pacific fashion dolls
Stained back of Alex doll compared to that of Jaz
Ouch, that is some significant staining. She almost looks beaten.

New Body Needed

Okay. Even if her upper torso were not stained, Dr. Joan would need a new body. First, the Jakks Pacific body has limited posing. She cannot sit; her arms only raise up and down. She cannot twist at the waist or under the bust. The Jakks Pacific G.I.R.L. Force body would be a good  one to model lingerie, but to place in scenes ... tsk. Hard. Think a softer bodied version of Mattel's StarDolls.  See comparison photos below.

Jakks Pacific "Alex" doll stands next to 2 Mattel bodies: Belly Button on left, StarDoll on right.
Mattel Belly Button body on left, Jakks Pacific Alex in center, and Mattel StarDoll body on right

So what about a replacement body? I checked Hasbro's Miss Fear. Needless to say, Miss Fear will NOT be losing her original body. 

Jakks Pacific Alex on the left, Hasbro Miss Fear on the right
Miss Fear - ain't no way that head is getting on this body.




While Miss Fear's body would have a nice weight, aside from all of us being too fearful to make such an exchange, the complexion colors are off. Miss Fear's body is lighter than the Jakks Pacific Alex head. Miss Fear's bust is larger than needed in this case. Now I don't have to have an exact one-to-one inch match, but it would be nice to have her a closer match to the actual character. Maybe, possibly, there is a Perfect Body that would work?



Jakks Pacific Alex doll on left, Takara CyGirl on right
Aside: please note, I removed Ice's guns for this comparison.
Doctor Joan thinks the CyGirl size might be a good fit for her. Only she would prefer to have bare feet rather than boot feet. Ice's complexion is too pale to match the Jakks Pacific face.  A Blue Box Toys Asian Perfect Body figure might make a perfect fit. Just need to find one of them today. Hmmm ....


New Fashions Needed

Set aside that black-silver knit top that stains. Save that for store scenes.  The burgundy leather jacket and the black satin boot cut slacks ... not so good a match. The Joan Watson character wears a lot of tunics or shirts over mini skirts or leggings. These colors are okay - the doctor's color palate seems urban: grays, blacks, dark colors and prints along with some light gray or white tops.  Blogger Lindsay of On Screen Style has a post about sources and substitute pieces for humans wishing to replicate the Joan Watson look.

I need to go through the fashions I have for pieces like those. Also need to be sure that they fit whichever body she ends up using. So we can review clothes in a future post.