Versatile Blogger Award, Part 2 - Thanks, jSarie!

jSarie of Revenge of the Toy Box bestowed a Versatile Blogger award on PhillyCollector. Thanks, jSarie! I appreciate the honour. Now to complete my part beyond accepting the Award, here are my 15 nominees:

All 4 Barbie

Black Doll Collecting

Chynadoll Creations

Corsetkitten’s Workshop

Dollz4moi’s Vinyl Musings

Fashion Dolls at Van's Doll Treasures

Hey, It’s Muff

I-Luv-Dolls

Moreville Life and Times

Red Carpet Dolls

Roville’s Blog

Roxanne's Dolls

Super Cool Doll House

Toyhaven

Vita Plastica

Yes, some who have already won prizes. Please note: if you have won this Award or some other Award recently, I am not a Blog Award Enforcer. Follow through as you will (or not). I appreciate your blogs, and I want you to know that. Thanks. 

If I visit your blog often, but you are not listed here, I still value your blog. Most of these blogs I have followed for years. These bloggers feature playscale figures or playscale news. Some bloggers, I wanted to know - hey, I enjoy your work. I wanted to strike a balance to include review blogs, storytelling blogs, and craft-themed blogs. There are so many good blogs out, it was hard to choose only 15! There will be future blog awards.

Wishing those who celebrate Palm Sunday, a lovely, peace-filled day. Again, jSarie of Revenge of the Toy Box - thanks for choosing my blog. My best wishes to all. Blog on!

April Holidays Observed in Playscale

Mattel Goddess of Spring Barbie

I missed April Fool's Day. The first week of April is gone. I have yet to submit a "themes of the month" post. Well, here it is. Topics that might be covered in April - my source for these dates is the TimeandDate.com website, holiday tab.

We'll start with the obvious: Spring and Spring Cleaning. Yes, Spring started on March 20th, but we are just beginning to feel it here in Philadelphia. We survived this bitter cold and snow-suffocating Winter; now we are getting a few days of sunshine and warmth. (April showers, too, but hey, it's not slippery ice.) 

Mattel's Goddess of Spring Barbie heads this post as my [once] only Spring-themed doll. Mattel has produced many other Spring Barbie dolls. That's a good theme topic: dress dolls and action figures in Spring fashions. Banish the coats and scarves and boots. Bright and airy fashions for all!


While Spring Cleaning is not a holiday, many people observe it by cleaning and clearing out stuff. This year, I intend to celebrate my doll enthusiasm by cleaning my fine figures and forwarding (i.e., selling and/or giving away) others. Perhaps, the Goddess of Spring Barbie was not my only Spring-themed doll. Time to go through my collection to see what I have and what I no longer want so that I can make room for new characters. Collecting is cyclical like the seasons: time now to do weeding and pruning to allow for new growth. 


Here are more special April days that are or could be observed in playscale:


15th is the first day of Passover. Does anyone else find the absence of Passover Barbies odd given that Ruth Handler, Barbie's human mother/creator was Jewish? I am not making an argument for a Passover Barbie, just commenting. Dolls do not have to match the race or ethnicity or religion* of the person or people creating and distributing the dolls, right? Then again, just because Mattel has not formally created a Passover Barbie, others have.


20th is Easter Sunday Mattel has produced several Easter Barbies and Easter Kelly / Chelsea dolls. With no disrespect or malice meant towards any, I think of Easter Barbie and family as commercial, not so much religious as event-focused. Easter Bunny, Easter bonnets, egg hunts, chocolate eggs, and marshmallow Peeps aside, Easter is a religious holiday. Isn't it? Or can it be that Easter - like Christmas - has become ... more secular? I wonder.


21st is Patriot's Day. Whew, off the hot button of religion and collecting - don't ask why I open mouth and insert both feet at times - and on to a less volatile subject. I include Patriot's Day here although I drew a blank when I first read about it. It isn't a big Philly holiday - so I probably will not do any tributes here. Still, I mention it in case someone else is seeking an April holiday/observation.


22nd is Earth Day. Recycling holiday. Instead of lamenting the plastic gone into making dolls and action figures, we can make sure that none go to waste. Make something new and fresh with your dolls. One artist created her vision of an Earth Day Barbie that strikes me as bizarre because I think of Barbie as being plastic. And she's fine being plastic - that's the medium she began in and can stay in for my interests. So I'm thinking recycling projects for that day. And recycling links! Yes!


23rd is Administrative Professionals Day. As a former and possibly future administrative professional, I will acknowledge this day. Some of my ex-military action figures can have a new career.


25th is Arbor Day. Okay, tree day ... wooden furniture? Ouch! No! Dolls and action figures encircling trees? Yeah, right. Maybe playscale trees ... now that's better.


Will you be celebrating any days in April with your dolls and/or action figures? Share your links in the comments. Thanks!

*added religion to be more accurate.

Help Mattel Harry Potter Transfer to an Obitsu Teen Body

Calling DAF kitbashers around the world: Julian Syphon - né Harry Potter (Mattel) - wants to be articulated.

Obitsu neck and Mattel Harry neck

Several years ago, I bought an Obitsu male teen body to make Julian (Harry) an articulated teen. Unfortunately, I encountered two problems. First: although both Julian and the Obitsu teen body are pale, they are different pale shades. Julian has a pinkish tint to his pale complexion; the Obitsu body, an ivory tint. Not an insurmountable problem once he is dressed. But the second problem is that the necks are not readily compatible. Julian has what I think of as a cookie jar top style head/neck topping a stump neck base/body. The Obitsu body has a slender neck with a toggle to hold the head. That's the real problem: the head/neck variation.

If I remove Julian's head only, it is wider than the Obitsu neck so it would wobble around the toggle. If I glued his head to the toggle, he could not turn his head. A possible solution would involve doll surgery. I could cut Julian's head and most of his neck from his body, fit that head/neck over the Obitsu neck and glue it in place. So Harry would be able to turn his head. But would there be a gap and how to fill that smoothly? Also, that would leave the original Harry Potter body useless except for doll limb retrieval. Hmmm ...

Why bother? Well, I would like to have a more limber Julian. And the Obitsu body feels lost without a head. Every body needs a head, right? See the Obitsu body's moves in the following photos. There needs to be a head atop that body.

Obitsu Male Teen Body Mattel Harry Potter

Obitsu body and Mattel Harry size comparison

Obitsu body and Mattel Harry rear

Obitsu seated

Obitsu pulls in right leg

Obitsu extends right leg

Obitsu lifts left leg

Obitsu knees up

Obitsu knees down

Obitsu right arm bent

Obitsu left arm detail

Obitsu falls back

Obitsu crawls

Okay, you might find the Obitsu body a little delicate. A little on the frail side - compared to Julian's (Harry's) original Mattel body. Sigh. But it is fun to pose him. And since Julian has lost his wizard background and become a mere Muggle, surely he deserves some compensation. Like a limber body that he can dance in.

So, if you have any advice or know someone who could offer some advice, do please share solutions. Help make a head and a body connection.

Versatile Blogger Award, Part 1 - Thanks, jSarie!

jSarie of Revenge of the Toy Box bestowed a Versatile Blogger award on PhillyCollector. Thanks, jSarie! I appreciate the honour. I will list my 15 nominees this weekend, but I will start with sharing about me. Because that's the easier of the actions - wink, wink. So many good blogs out, and how to choose only 15!

Here are 7 things I would like you to know about me:

1.) Some of my dolls and action figures have back stories; others do not yet. 

2.) I live with an intact tom cat named Louie who has black hair and green eyes. 

3.) I will customize a doll or action figure if I think the head is too big sooner than to have better articulation.

4.) I have dolls and action figures in different races because I am curious about the world and its many peoples, but I love the comforts of home.

5.) Eating just the right brands of dark chocolate will make me feel calmer and happier.

6.) I wish my collection were better organized; I am working on making that a reality.

7.) I love using personal computers and accessing the Internet - for work or for play.

Starting a Doll Club - Helpful Sites

Barb the Evil Genius asked about starting a doll club. When I spoke to the librarian where we - me, Ms. Leo, Miya, and Kev - met last week, I used the words, "doll club," but here I wonder if I can call our get togethers club meetings? I like the sense of unity, but I don't know about charters and rules and fees. Anyway,  I found some relevant links online:

About.com offers a doll organization guide with a link to The United Federation of Doll Club or UFDC. Unfortunately, the UFDC website is not working now. I do not know when that site will be available again, but if you are on Facebook, you can get updates about it there. Note: About.com has supplied helpful doll collecting information from Denise Van Patten, the former Doll Collecting Guide, and the current Doll Collecting Guide, Ellen Tsagaris. 
 
Angelfire has advice that remains relevant although some of the links lead to empty pages. Remember Angelfire doll websites?

Mimidolls article that can be downloaded from her Classics articles. Six pages detailing steps to take. I learned about this source from Lillian Alberti's doll magazine, The Doll Club.

Does anyone else have suggestions or favorite relevant links to share? Leave the url in your comment, and I'll add them to this post along with your doll/action figure website. Thanks in advance.


More notes: Lisa of The One Sixth Scaled Dollhouse shares her doll club experience in the comments below and in her Flickr page.

Saturday's Doll Enthusiast Meeting at West Oak Lane Free Library

It was a dank, rainy Saturday in Philly. The kind of Saturday morning where you want to pull the blanket over your head to sleep just five more minutes. Had chocolate, tea, books to read, DVDs to watch, blog posts to write ... I did not have to go out. But I had something planned. Saturday was my second doll enthusiast meeting. I would get to talk dolls and action figures with others who knew the lingo. Bye bye rainy day routine. Checked that I had stuff I hoped to get rid of - doll clothes and accessories - and stuff to show - hello Opal and Rosa. 

This time we met at the West Oak Lane branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. I entered and let the front desk staff and the guard know that I was there to attend the Doll Club meeting. They sent me to the librarian. The librarian introduced herself and then lead me to a good-sized room. The room had huge windows, several long tables, and those molded plastic and metal chairs. It was clean and scentless. I would recommend using that branch again.

Ms. Leo followed, and she had Dunkin Donuts and coffee. Oh and stuff to show and stuff to trade or give away. We pulled out two of the long tables - one for showing, the other for trades/giveaways. I had doll fashions and accessories that I hoped to give away. Limited Edition Rosa and First Edition Opal were there to be seen - along with their footwear and backpack. Ms. Leo brought a Kenya's sister, Keyshia, the new Hunger Games guys, and the Divergent guy. Also some accessories and fashions to trade. 

My comments/thoughts?

I would rebody Keyshia. Her head is too big for that tiny body. 

I would use the Keyshia body to age progress one of my kiddies.

Hunger Games Peeta is cute - his face is more spread out than the actor's.

Hunger Games Finn has a craggy face - no way he's a teenager. Bet he's at least 38. And I would kitbash him to become my Peter Cushing. I mean "my" playscale Peter Cushing. And he should have a castle or mansion. He gives off a horror movie vibe. 

Next Miya and Kev came. Squeal and jump up. New doll enthusiasts. Playscale doll enthusiasts. Yippee.

They brought stuff, too. An almond pastry that I savored later that day and cream cakes that I passed on. (I try not to be greedy.) The pastry was not as sweet as Entenmann's, but it had a velvety texture, delicately crunchy almond slivers, and a subtle flavor. Good different. They came from a bakery called "Bread Top House." Are you screaming, "Shut up about the food! What did they bring?!" Okay, here goes.

Miya and Kev brought a tall suitcase. They laid it on the floor and oh the wonders that came forth. Doll clothes they made - tweedy pants, floral dresses, leggings, a mini mountain of fabrics and fashions. Ohhhh ... Then the dolls. Sakurana, Momoko, Daisy, Havoc, High School Musical characters, a Rebelde head, One Modern Circle Barbie, Fashion Royalty dolls including a new Black Kiyori, some Japanese fashion dolls I have seen online but NEVER in person, oh ... what else? These cool pop-apart fashion dolls whose names I missed. 

And we talked dolls, we talked Internet Wayback Machine, difficulties of doing doll research when sites get removed, Sindy furnishings and those uber-Seventies colors like harvest gold, avocado green, brown and orange, Gayle, Japanese fashion doll book projects, sewing by hand vs. sewing on machine, doing a kitbash with a Disney Snow White doll, etc.

Darn, but that was the day that my camera's batteries died. I'm ducking. But not for long ... cause Ms. Leo will have photos up for her blog post. And I'll update this post later this week with photos I can show with the outfits I got from Ms. Leo and Miya and Kev. Promise.

I look forward to our next meeting. Date has not been set yet, but the month mentioned was June.

Ta Da! PhillyCollector Blog Update - You Like?

I have thought that I needed to do something to de-clutter my blog's appearance. I tweaked a few things myself, but I didn't feel that things were as I wanted them. Only I was not sure what I wanted. Then I learned about this new service through a FaceBook blogging group. There were people who would test the usability of my blog at no cost. No cost, I exclaimed to myself. Sign me up, now. So I submitted my blog url to Peek and waited to received the feedback.

Because that was what I felt my blog needed - to be cleaned up. It looks Spartan now, but I like it. It looks crisp and professional. It needs additional layers - pages and photos and maybe some font tweaking. Overall though, it made me think of something that experienced a thorough spring cleaning. Or as if I had lost some weight - smile.

But about the service ... what was that like, you may want to know. Okay, I submitted my blog url and then, I received a link to an audio file. I clicked on the link and heard a man with a British accent mention my blog title. Squeal - confession - I LOVE British accents. I could listen to Roger Tabor talk cats for hours on end and smile all the while. Ahem. Well, there I was all enchanted when slam! I got knocked sideways. Because Mr. British Accent moved on from describing my blog as "quirky" (me likes), "unusual" (ditto), to "fun for hobbyists" but as not particularly interesting to him. 

WHAT!!!!

Splat. Deep breath. OMG. You mean there is someone - people - who do not find playscale dolls and action figures FASCINATING? Pant, pant. I - I - I - I am so accustomed to being surrounded by friends and allies online, that someone who could NOT understand how I and others like me feel passionate about dolls ... well, that was ... um ... startling. Shocking. I know that most of my family members and most of my friends in my vicinity do not find my hobby interesting. But to hear this Voice state that my blog was ... gulp ... whisper: "boring." Oh! Sigh. Well, that was not pleasant. However, it was good for me to hear and good for the blog.

WHY?

Because I learned that red text against a multi-colored background is difficult to read. 

Because I learned that my blog needed layering to avoid being "flat." 

Because I am aware that I need to tweak my fonts to provide visual stimulation. 

Because now I have a challenge to make my blog so fascinating to read that even the most disinterested non-collector - British accent or not - has to pause to skim its contents. 

Yes! By the wit of my mind and the manipulation of words, I WILL conquer other audiences.

Cough. Descending from my soapbox - the height was going to my head, I want to thank Arlett from the blog Chasing Joy for suggesting Peek through the Philadelphia Area Bloggers FaceBook Group. Thanks, Artlett. Thanks Peek!