Asian-Pacific American Playscale DAFs, Part 1

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage month in the United States. The purpose of heritage months is to acknowledge and to celebrate a racial or ethnic category distinct from the overall American population.

Initially, I thought this Asian and Pacific American DAF post would be an easy one. Just select the Asian American action figures and dolls, copy those names, and then paste the names into a Blogger post. Easy, yes and no.

The technology was the easy part. The problem was choosing which characters to include as Asian and Pacific American. I realized that when I counted my APA dolls and action figures, I had been including not just Asian and Pacific American characters but also the Asian DAFs from other countries as well as DAFs by American companies whose dolls’ storyline anchor the dolls overseas. Puzzled?

Take Asian action figure Linh by Dragon. Dragon’s background for Linh is that she is Vietnamese. So Linh cannot be an Asian Pacific American figure. She is a Vietnamese action figure. What about many of the DAFs produced by American companies? How about Integrity Toys’ playline Jade? On the back of a Janay/Jade/Alysa box, Jade is described as being Japanese.

So I have below the DAFs with specifically a Asian American background. Why does the story origin count here? I mean, for my personal storytelling, any doll can be assigned or re-assigned any ethnicity or race that pleases me. My DAF world, my background. I restrict my criteria here to show how few Asian and Pacific American dolls exist. Oh my.

I will list Asian dolls and action figures with overseas Asian identities, in a separate list. Please refer to that post-to-come for DAFs that can be borrowed/usurped into an APA collection.

Photos of Asian and Pacific American dolls or action figures that I own will follow in a separate post.

Get Real Girl

Skylar Ron (Technically, Ms. Ron is Canadian Asian. For the purists.)



Get Set Club (GFive)

Gia



Hasbro

Aja from Jem

Banee from Jem

G.I. Joe Special Response Team

Additional reading about Asian and Asian or Pacific American DAFS by LorenJavier and
Peter J. Chen's homepage



Jakks Pacific

Alex from GirlForce
Jaz from the G.I.R.L. Force series
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Kenner 

Claudia Kishni from The Baby-Sitters Club series.



Mattel

Information about Mattel's Asian-American and Pacific-American dolls came from Wikipedia, KattisDolls, BarbiesAsianFriends, and Peter J. Chen's homepage.

Hawaiian Barbie
Hawaiian Superstar Barbie (Canada only)
Hawaii Barbie from the 2012 Dolls of the World collection
Becky from Barbie and The Sensations
Dana
Delia
Jenny
Kira
Lea
Lorena
Mari Nakano from Generation Girl
Miko
Nia
Nikki
Raquelle
Renee



MGA Entertainment

Jade from the Bratz
Sidney America's Next Top Model



Playmates Toys Inc.

1998 Kristi Yamaguchi Stars on Ice



R and D Dolls

Susie



Sideshow Collectibles

Odd Job



Smartees

Amanda



YNU Group

Emerald (Technically, Emerald is Canadian Asian. For the purists.)

Kenya and Friends Online

For those interested in the Kenya fashion dolls, in addition to Limbe Dolls' posts and Black Doll Collecting's posts Kenya, her little sister, and 3 friends appear on the Kenya website and on FaceBook. Kenya actually has a longer history than the fashion dolls that launched in late 2012.

Enjoy!

Asian-Pacific American DAFs List Delayed

The Asian-Pacific American (APA) fashion doll and action figure list will be published in two posts. First post would be manufacturers 21st Century to L; second post would cover M and C Toys to YNU Group. I am trying to decide whether to post photos separately - text and links in the post with the photos separate in another post. Hmmm ... Also, I am trying to decide whether I want to list dolls and figures that are specifically APA or if I am going to cheat a little by including Asian-looking dolls and figures that can become APA for enthusiasts wanting more representation. Sigh. Maybe my using the verb "cheat" answers my problem.

Barbie Look Previews from a Big, Bad Toy Store

Big, Bad Toy Store has some Barbie previews of the Ballet Wishes doll, the 2013 City Shopper dolls, and two new The Barbie Look fashions. The pre-order cost is $29.99 for each doll and $24.99 for each outfit. Expected issue date for the dolls and the fashions is June 2013.

Ballet Wishes has blond upright hair and what could be the Mackie face mold. Her knees might be jointed bend knees. Her arms seem straight, no bend at the elbow.


City Shopper 1 has brown straight hair and what could be the Mackie face mold. Unfortunately, she looks as though she has the Model Muse body as 2012 Barbie Look dolls.

City Shopper 2 has blond straight hair and what could be the Ana/Drew face mold. Model Muse body.


The new Barbie Look fashions are called Ski Fashion and Grand Ball. If you have not seen the dolls or the fashions elsewhere, you can find them at BBTS.

Wishing for a Directory for Doll Enthusiasts?

Well, save your wishes for something else. There is a new online doll yellow pages created by Simon Farnworth that you, my fellow doll enthusiasts, can likely join. At no cost. That's right - it's called Doll eDirectory, and here are three reasons to join.

1. More doll enthusiasts can find you. The Directory has 600 members since it opened in February 2013. Maybe you know them all; maybe not. Isn't it worth getting more readers for your blog or Etsy shop or website. Free advertising.

2. You can find other doll enthusiasts. Need a nude, good condition Integrity Toys' Ayumi? Check the Buy and Sell Group. You might find her at a good price.

3. We doll enthusiasts can imprint our hobby online. Collecting and playing thrives online and off. Hooray for us.

So do stop by and see the Doll eDirectory.

Trichelle's Plum Ride

Last year, Grace got one. This year, it's Trichelle's turn. Alas, it seems to be the same purple convertible that Grace got, maybe in a little bit lighter shade of purple. Plum? Sigh. This time though, the car actually belongs to Trichelle, courtesy of the back of the box photo shown here.

Here is a close-up showing the new Animal Print Trichelle seated in her purple convertible.

Anyone else of the opinion that the So in Style gals could use another color and style of car?

Barbie's New Career Involves a Rabbit

No, I did not find a pregnant Barbie. Barbie never has taken on the role of "Mother;" my guess is that motherhood would impact her role as fashion model. (Really though? What about Cindy Crawford, etc. But that's never been an option for Barbie ... probably because it would bring in the taboo of sex and a children's toy. Shhh.)

No, the new career is Magician. Alas, I cannot upload my photo of the new "I Can Be ... Magician" Barbie doll. Yet. But this Barbie has a cute rabbit companion nestled in a purple top hat. It is the third playscale rabbit - after Liv doll Hayden's brown rabbit and the thin white rabbit that accompanied one of the 2009 "Think Pink" Barbies - that I would like to add to my collection. The rabbit is the best part of this doll set even if its head is slightly oversized.

I suppose the purple gown and accessories could be an improvement over the omnipresent pink, but not by much, I find. I would have given this doll a black sequin dress with a black felt top hat and a black or silver wand. But I suppose purple is a preferred color for the target audience that begins at 3 years old. (Wince. I forget how young the current Barbie doll target age is.)

So if you have been waiting for a magician Barbie, there is one in the "I Can Be" group. What do you think?