Inspired by Muff's Spring Cleaning? More on Doll Collection Organizing

After reading Muff's post showing her Spring-cleaned doll collection, you may be gazing dreamily into the horizon. The mix of storage and display is a visual treat. Do you wonder what that would be like for your collection? Where to begin to make a dent in the piles of dolls, clothes, accessories, etc.? Then again, where does not matter. What matters is starting. Starting someplace and continuing until the collection is manageable and "right-sized." The reward will be in rediscovering your collection, in the tidy space, and in introducing new things. 

(Because collecting is active and cyclical. Stuff leaves; stuff enters. And so on and so on ....)

Anyway, I did some checking for more inspiration. 

(That checking might seem like an excuse to not work on my stuff now. Truly, it was not an excuse. Not only did I get additional ideas for organizing, I found stuff for my readers as well. See. Bet you forgot how generous I can be. LOL Riiiight.)

Ahem. Back to additional inspiration. Let's see, there is Andrea's post about maintaining balance in collecting. Longtime enthusiasts of playscale dolls and action figures may remember Andrea from the MenWithDolls board. Then SuperCoolDollHouse shares tips on reducing by removing the "not fabulous." And I even moved onto an interior decorating site, Apartment Therapy, that I noticed SuperCoolDollHouse had mentioned before. 

My favorite posts on that site are

Doll Collection Display - the comments may leave you laughing and retorting "My home, my castle"

Toys in the Home - see how others display their collections

Organizing How To - 10 ways to organize your collection

and there are many more relevant articles on that site. However, you - like I - we should not spend too much time ogling those photos. Noooo. Some of us still have some purging and selling to do. Wagging a reproachful finger at myself. (Never came across a "reproachful finger" - lucky you, ha ha.) 

Maybe I will start at the computer desk? Sigh. Bye bye.

DID Corporation 1:6 Martin Luther King Doll

While investigating Asian dolls and action figures available from Hobby Search, I came across a new-to-me action figure - the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in PLAYSCALE! DiD Corporation produces him. (You may remember me mentioning DiD aka Hong Kong based Dragon in Dream Corporation as the producers of other action figures.) Eeek! 

Okay, vented that excitement. Now a closer look and follow-up response. Well, the likeness is a little off, but kitbashers could probably tweak his face to perfection. I am not sure where they just missed the likeness. I mean, perfection of the likeness. The doll does resemble the late Dr. King. (And a current American Black actor whose name eludes me.) The figure has multiple hands to swap. Oh and a beautiful mini Bible with red-edged pages. A podium with multiple mics is also included. All for the modest sum of $178.29 USD - before postage from Japan.

The only problem is ... he's sold out at Hobby Search. So you'll have to find him someplace else. Still ... if you ever had a dream to own the man who had a dream in playscale, know that he exists. I wish you luck finding him.

Philadelphia's Franklin Flea Market Anyone?

I have not been to a flea market in years. But I was curious about them when I saw this sign posted in Center City. The sign announces the Spring 2014 Saturday openings of the Franklin Flea Market located at 8th and Market Streets in the Strawbridge & Clothier store. Dates are April 19th until May 24th from 10 am til 5 pm. They mention COLLECTIBLES so I wondered if that meant - oh, playscale fashion dolls and/or action figures? Alas, none of the reviews I have read online - Yelp, Uwishunu, and Racked - Philly - mention dolls and/or action figures.

So here I go. Has anyone - local or visiting - been to this place? How would you rate it?

May Month: Bikes, Pets, and Heritage Celebrations

May first and such a lovely day. Here is a short list of some topics I might cover this month:

• National Bike Month
• South Asian American Heritage Month
• Haitian American Heritage Month
• [East] Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
• National Pet Month
• Jewish American Heritage Month

There are four ethnic groups to be featured this month: South Asian American, Haitian American, [East] Asian Pacific American, and Jewish American. What that means here is that I find dolls or action figures that I have that match those groups. Why? Because it's fun to see how extensive my collection is. And I get to see where I have gaps. And I get to do a search online to find the missing ethnic figures in playscale. Why again? Because ... because I can. Grin. I can do this for a long time. 

Moving on, this is also our national Bike month AND our national PET month. So I get to pull out my doll and action figure bikes and playscale pets. I have single bikes and one bicycle-for-two, but alas no unicycles. And I might not have any tricycles for the kiddies. Might not ... I have more stuff for the kiddies than I realize.

For a preview, I have photos of two Integrity Toys fashion dolls:

2001 InStyle Jade  #53250 30036 and

2002 Fashion Forward: Subtle Elegance Israeli Candi  #90024 

Integrity Toys' Jade

Integrity Toys' Candi

Late Earth Day Tribute - Zeenie Eco-Warrior Fashion Dolls

Ever feel guilty about our dolls and action figures being plastic? Well, this doll series might provide balm for that anxiety. These dolls should have been in an Earth Day post. A few days late? A year early? You decide, but in either case, the six Zeenie Dollz, produced by a mother-daughter team (Zeenie Dollz LLC), mean to save the Earth. Lead by Zeenia aka Mother Earth, the  five eco-warriors - Evee, Kazumi, Lina, Sini, and Yana - have 14-points of articulation. Twelve inches tall* and compatible fashion-wise with Barbie and Barbie clones, the Zeenie dolls are made from recyclable plastic. So you can look, buy, and bask in ecological dogoodery.

However, all is not perfect in my eyes. Here's my short list of what I like and what I don't like about them. You won't be surprised by my comments.

Good

Poseable playscale bodies - am I thinking new body candidates? (Yeah)
Fashions that I find adorable - the fashions would look great on other dolls
Brownie points for them being made from recycled plastics
Support small business/female entrepreneurs

Not so Good

BIG heads with inset eyes (shudder)
Price (BUT procedes from the sales go to a good cause)

Seen elsewhere online at

Zeenie Dolls on Flickr
Veni_Vidi_Dolli blog by Lori 
2013 review by Doll Diaries 
Toybox Philosopher blog by Emily
Pinterest   
Facebook   

to mention a few websites featuring these dolls. If you are hard-pressed for time, read Emily's review first. It is full of photos and comparisons.

*The Zeenie Dollz website lists the dolls at 12"; Emily's blog has them at 13".

How I Would Have Worked the Barbie - Girl Scouts Partnership

I was never a Girl Scout. Sure, I heard and enjoyed the "Be a Girl" song frequently played on television during the 1970s. I even flirted with the idea of uber-urban me going camping. Ah, fresh air, the smell of grass, open skies - now where is my private toilet, running water, and what's with the BUGS? Oh to be one of those hearty, healthy, wholesome girls exercising mind and body and social status. Yeah, right. Like I did not run from the ball in gym. Like I did not loathe team sports. Like I did not have my heart and my head turned against anything conformist. Sigh. While I did sing the theme - sang it off key - I could not live the dream.

So I calmly approach this union of Barbie and the Girls Scouts. Interested? Yes, I am. Heat for or against the connection, no. I collect some Barbies. I have respect for the brand - 50 years and still going? On the other hand, reading the I Can Be Anything Barbie game struck me as silly. Then again, I am not the target age group for that web page.

However, I am surprised how Mattel handled the partnership. Barbie as a Girl Scout? Huh? Isn't Barbie a little ... old to be a Girl Scout? What about her younger siblings: Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea? Wouldn't it have made more sense and been more lucrative to have them as Girls Scouts under Troop Leader Barbie? Or would that have been a bigger investment and taken more time than Mattel or the Girls Scouts wanted?

So I checked out the Girls Scouts website.

There are six levels for Girls Scouts:

Daisies  I would have put Chelsea among the kindergarden or first grade students.

Brownies I don't think any of the girls fit in this 2nd-3rd grade students group. (Go Mrs. Roberts - had a break for a bit.)

Juniors I see Stacie among the grade 4-5 students.

Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors  Last, I would place Skipper in the Cadettes and Barbie as an Ambassador.


How would you handle the Barbie and the Girls Scouts partnership? Do you think that the two icons should never have connected? Do you think that Barbie's reputation tarnishes the Girls Scouts?

Kmart Just Kidz Haunted Houses Reduced - 3 Days Only

Looking for a wooden haunted house for your Simba Just Kidz Scary Fashion doll or for your Scary Dolls or your Mattel Monster High? Well, the Kmart stores at the Gallery and at 900 Orthodox Street might have some bargain dwellings for you at the end of their liquidation sales. Think that in the last three days, there is nothing for you? If these roughly playscale settings hold any interest - as they are or customized to your tastes, then it might be worth a trip in town or out off the Roosevelt Boulevard. 

The Just Dreamz furniture pieces included in these two houses resemble the ones Muff got two years ago - with a Halloween/horror stickers attached. I saw the coffin-shaped Haunted Hall that once cost $69.99 BEFORE discount is now $28.00.

Just Dreamz Haunted Hall coffin-shaped dollhouse

The slightly larger, slightly more elaborate Spooky Suite that once sold for $99.99 BEFORE discount is now $40.00.

Just Dreamz Spooky Suite dollhouse with special Glow in the Dark effects

You could customize the fronts to create a street block. I wish I had the space and the funds to do so. Not any time soon, but I leave the idea for others ;-)

Just Dreamz Spooky Suite dollhouse back

The side of the box shows the furniture included in the 4-story house. Basic furnishings like a bed, dining table and two chairs, bathtub*, stove/sink unit, and a clothes hanger.

Just Dreamz Spooky Suite dollhouse side showing wooden furniture

I have been thinking about downsizing so much, I almost missed this sale. But I treated myself to a Moxie Girlz outfit for $1.72 - pink satin jacket and white with silver glitter pants. It was the only one of its kind there. So I liberated it from the store. It won't take up too much space.

Happy Hunting!



*Weird, a wooden bathtub? And why is the floor lamp pictured with the tub? Scary, indeed.