Generous Smiles on Asian DAFs - A Niel-Inspired Post

Niel submitted a post about finding an Asian doll with "a generous smile". So naturally, I had to dig through my collection - wink, wink any excuse would do, lol - to see if I had any grinning or close-to-tooth-baring Asian dolls or action figures. I found a few and wanted to share them with Niel and my visitors.

Please see from left to right on the back row: Aja of the Holograms (Jem band member), Kmart's Just Girlz Jade Princess, Banee of the Starlight Girls (Jem fan), Dorinda - oops, what is SHE doing there!?

Ack! Dorinda is NOT Asian or Asian American.

Front row also from left to right: Jackie Chan, Claudia from the Babysitters' Club, Happy Family child, and Smartees' Amanda.

Just have to find out the wise guy or gal who inserted Dorinda ... But there we go. Broad Asian smiles.

Blast from My Past or East Coast Borrowing Friday Flashback Theme

This post arrives with a nod to Smidge House, author of the ever-fascinating Friday Flashback posts. Instead of reminiscing, I've found old diary entries about dolls. Typed them and leave them here as Blasts from My Past.

If you had asked me before I found an old diary, if I were conscious of the Jem dolls back in the 1980s, I would have said, just a little bit. In my early work days, I spent more time doing social things that – alas – took money away from collecting. However, after reading one entry, I realized that I’ve been “blogging” about dolls a lot longer than I thought. That thought brought a smile to my face. Here's one bit about Hasbro's Jem.


Saturday, May 16, 1987
Kiddie City has the new Jem dolls. Rock’n Curler Jem (ugh!), Gold’n Glitter Jem (if not for the gold threads in her hair, the best looking one) and another one with pink/blonde hair that I’ve forgotten the title of. Then they’ve added new characters: Clash of the Misfits, Video, Danse, and Raya of the Holograms (the first plays the Holograms video tapes, the second plans their chorography [sic] – I like her best – and the third actually backs up the Holograms on the drums.
Alarm went off. It’s 6:41.
Back to the new dolls. Gold’n Glitter Rio is mmm-good-looking. I saw Kimber and Aja (I have the latter – need Jem, Kimber and Shana) but not Shana I’ve never seen her there. I don’t know whether I should ask or if I should check back at Kay-Bee Toys – they had her.”

Aja Finds New Shoes! Ladys Mission to the Rescue

Hey, hey, hey ... it's Aja!

But is she falling? No, she's so excited about the red kitten-heeled shoes fitting her that she's hamming it up by pretending to fall. Where'd she find those red heels? Aoshima/Skynet's Street Princess lent them to her. Nouveau Toys sent me an online brochure about their new doll shoe and clothes line. So I wanted to see if any of my other DAFs could fit the Aoshima/Skynet shoes. Conclusion: only Aja of the Holograms can fit the Aoshima/Skynet Ladys Mission shoes. Other dolls attempting this Cinderella-in-reverse act were Bbi Perfect Body Hispanic, Kenner's Darci, Get Set Club's Vanessa, Dragon in Dreams' Miss Fear, and YNU Group's Emerald. So if you want new shoes for your Jem and Jem friends/foes, check your Ladys Mission shoe closet.

Can the Ladys Mission ladies wear Jem shoes? Sorry ... no. Aja's feet are a softer, pliable vinyl/plastic while the Ladys Mission feet are hard, rigid plastic that do not yield to fit the moderately stiff Jem heels. So the Ladys Mission dolls cannot borrow Jem shoes - not the greatest hardship for them since the Jem shoes tend to be purple or pink or other garish - um - vivid colors.

Which shoe knowledge brings me back to the top of my post about Nouveau Toys's new line of fashion doll or action doll footwear. They have Uggs-type boots and some other spiffy, tailored low-heeled shoes for the Ladys Mission feet. So for those Jem and Misfits fans - there might be even more shoe selection for your difficult to fit ladies.

Aside to the crafts-inclined visitors: on Nouveau Toys' Links page, they list other 1:6 scale miniaturists. Perhaps you, too, can get your Etsy/craft link there. Worth a try, hmmm? Good luck!

Goodbye to the Starlight Girls - Prelude to Body Snatching

When I first got the Starlight Girls from the Jem series, I was thrilled. I had not seen the girls for sale when the Jem line was first out in 1985. So I paid a leetle more for them than I intended - got them from eBay. Set them aside for a someday-I'll-play-with-them moment.

Well, I looked at them again the other day. And while I liked their faces, the size of their heads in proportion to their bodies ... I didn't like. The heads seemed too big. Cute faces. But the bodies should be larger.

So I am saying goodbye to the Starlight Girls as Starlight Girls. I'm going body snatching, and they'll soon be adult women. As for their child bodies, I'll check my Mattel stash to see if any of those dolls need heavier, younger bodies.

Here is the last of Banee and Krissie

Mending a Doll and an Action Figure

I've got two Hasbro figures: Misfits Roxy and Adventure Team G.I. Joe that need to be put together. Roxy's inner ring-connector that attaches her upper torso (head, bust, and arms) to her lower torso (hips and legs) broke. I don't think I can glue the broken bits together: the glue might not keep the plastic parts together - or doing so might freeze her to one position. I'll check online DAF boards to see if there are any tips on how to fix this problem.

Joe is a more difficult case. He's one of my childhood Joes, and he's been broke for years. His stringing popped. His head lopped off the silvery nail inside his neck. His arms fell off, and I only have the right one. His left calf unconnected from his left knee. Joe, I might have to send out. Sigh.

I don't like the idea of sending any of my figures out for repairs. I should be able to fix them myself. Or re-body them. But this AT Joe - African American and vintage - would probably be costly to replace. Hmmm ... will need to see what repairs I can do.

10 Series of Barbie Doll Alternatives, Past and Present

Barbie, Barbie, Barbie.

Sigh.

The playscale fashion doll scene seems to revolve around Barbie. Shorthand: fashion doll = Barbie. Non-collectors describe dolls not produced by Mattel or under the Barbie brand as "Barbie." Collectors compare other fashion dolls to Barbie: cheap playscale dolls are called "Barbie clones." Clone in this case is a negative. But is every playscale figure a Barbie clone? Usually, clones are cheaply made, poor quality dolls like some of the dollar store offerings. What about decent quality or even better quality playscale fashion dolls? Do they exist?

Yes, they do. Here are ten playscale doll series that "correct" or "improve" on some aspect of Barbie. They are less sophisticated, more ethnically "correct" or physically realistic, more brazen in three cases, more "intelligent," or otherwise ANTI-Barbie.

1. Ideal - Tammy the Doll You Love to Dress

2. Various companies - Sindy the Doll You Love to Dress

3. Hasbro - JEM

4. Hamilton Designs - Candi Girl / Candi (later designed by Jason Wu and Integrity Toys)

5. Get Real Girls

6. Get Set Club

7. Lanard - I-Girls

8. Smartees

9. Mattel - Flavas

10. MGA Entertainment - Bratz

Get Set Club and JEM Doll Bodies

I owe this post idea to ModernWizard who asked if the Get Set dolls had the Jem body. I didn't think that the bodies were the same because the Jem body would have existed when the Get Set dolls appeared. Jennifer Baker, the creator of the Get Set dolls, described in the City Paper article - City Paper article
- that she had to have the dolls sent back to the factory to have the nipples reduced and other details for a new doll body she wanted for the Get Set dolls.

However, various molds for Kenner Darci dolls were later used for Hasbro Jem dolls. (See the Aunt Darcie link under Aunt Darcie tab
) So doll molds HAVE crossed companies before. Here's my chance for an investigation. Conclusion? Drum roll ....


The Get Set Club dolls do not have the same body as Jem dolls.


Fiona of the Get Set Club and Aja from the Holograms volunteered to illustrate.



Aja has a taller body and a slightly larger head.





Aja torso close up.





Fiona torso close up.








Aja's and Fiona's upper half. Aja has smaller breasts and a more narrow torso than Fiona. Fiona has nipples. Both dolls have defined belly buttons (innies).





Aja has a more narrow crotch, and her legs are closer together. Aja's legs are slightly longer than Fiona's.





Fiona has a larger derrierre.





The feet are roughly the same size, but Aja has a higher instep. Fiona's feet are more detailed; they have painted toenails.





Fiona's inner and outer ankles are both defined. Aja's outer ankles only protrude.