Japanese Jenny and Friends by Takara

"So long, it's been good to know you ..."

I've been going through my Takara Jenny and friends dolls. Who is to stay? Who wants to go? Now Takara Jenny dolls usually have this innocent look that I find appealing even though their eyes are larger than the majority of dolls and action figures in my collection. They look sweet without being cloyingly, sticky-icky sweet. And once upon a time, they had the best looking accessories and wonderful diorama settings ... But let's get back to the subject at hand. Who is to go and who is to stay?

Here are the ones that are staying:

Prince Charles. Why? Because he is so adorably stodgy.

Jenny's Club Jane. Why? Because she's a rare grinner among Takara dolls.

Calendar Girl Jenny, July, Regggae Music. Why? Yarn dreadlocks and that over-sized hat.

Two Kisaras, two Linas, Meiren, two Mitsukis, Moe, Naomi, Rie, Sayaka, Shou, Tamaki, three Toms, and Uno Kanda. Why? Because I still like something about them. They appeal to me. They might look inquisitive (Meiren) or solemn (the Toms and the Linas) or lively (Moe and Shou).

And these are the ones that are going:




Left Francois; middle Limited Edition Kisara; and right Life Style Coordination Kisara close up


Left Kaori Chan and right, Olive close up

Angel Garden Slice of School Days Ferice. Why? Too anime. [Not shown here.]

Limited Edition Fransois. Why? Too anime.

Limited Edition Kisara. Why? I don't know. Just not "feeling" her. She's "sunburst" colored (suntanned), and she has streaked AND crimped hair. I should still want her.

Life Style Coordination Kisara. Why? I don't know. Just not "feeling" her either. And I usually like Kisara of the Side-Glancing Eyes. Shrug.

Limited Edition Kaori Chan. Why? Pretty but vacant.

Hajimemashite Olive. Why? I like her outfit, but I can't remember why I bought her.

Life Style Coordination Rosana. Why? Gee, do I really want to sell her? Pause. Cross her off this list. [Not shown here.]

Jenny's Club Tamaki. Why? Can't remember why I bought her. Possibly for her gold-coin colored hair? Now I think someone else would appreciate her more than I. So she should go. [Not shown here.]

I don't regret buying any of these dolls. It's just that my tastes have changed since I bought them. I'll upload photos of the missing Ferice and the missing JC Tamaki in a separate post to follow.

Cost? $15.00 each for the swimsuit dolls; $18.00 for the dressed Olive; and $20.00 for Angel Garden Schoolgirl Ferice and JC Tamaki who was a special order doll. Postage NOT included.

Now I am curious. Do the Takara Jenny dolls interest you? Why or why not?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, play scale or human scale.

If your play scale daddy needs cigarettes or a can opener, see One Sixth Scale King for visuals. (I have never shopped there - just saw a link to them today. That link was on Nouveau Toys' Links page.)

Catalina and Damita: Munecas from Jakks Pacific

Note: this post has been created in response to a suggestion from Limbe Dolls. Thanks for the suggestion, Paulette!

Jakks Pacific, an American toy company, has produced an interesting assortment of playscale dolls and action figures. Among the figures produced were the Juku Couture line, the WWF* wrestlers, the G.I.R.L. Force series, and the Muneca de Moda, Catalina and Damita dolls.

The Muneca de Moda dolls were "blonde" Catalina and "brunette" Damita. You could "Coleccionales Todos!" by buying all four Catalinas and all four Damitas. Since the only difference among the dolls was the outfit worn, I settled with one of each doll. Their bodies are basic Barbie clones - click bend knees, straight twist and turn waists, and unbending arms that end in gracefully splayed fingers.

Had I been given my choice, I would have bought the cowgirl Damita in poncho and jeans and the dancer Catalina in red blouse and black skirt. Instead, I bought the then available floral print dressed Damita and the cream knit dressed Catalina. Shrug.



Here is a close up of the two munecas:



And here is a full length photo of them:



Please note: the wine red dress worn by Catalina is NOT a Jakks Pacific fashion; that dress came from an Aoshima/Skynet doll set.

* At the time the Jakks Pacific Ringside Rebels Wrestlers were produced, the wrestler entertainment group was called the World Wide Federation.

Suggested Baby/Toddler Accessories at Walmart

Stepped into a Walmart the other day - please remember, I do have a cat and Walmart and Target happen to have the best prices for cat food. You do believe me, hmmm? Anyway, after I checked the Meow Mix, Iams, and Fancy Feast selections, I decided it might be nice just to see what this Walmart had available. I happened to be in one that I seldom visited so what harm could looking do?



None. I saw the new Disney Princess, Merida of Brave. Granted she is a cute doll, but she has that Disney doll failing - too big a head. So I gave a sigh. And returned her to the shelf. Saw the new Raquelle Fashionista in the gold mini dress. Well, I knew I wasn't going to get her even if I were to see her. And I was good, I did not. Saw some Bratz that were sort of cute even if they had no noses. But no, dolls must have noses in East Philly. So I passed on the Bratz Catz.



Then I saw these small baby/toddler dolls. They had molded plastic baby heads and squishy stuffed bodies. Meh faces. Nothing special, I mean. BUT the accessories ... now they could possibly be used for Mattel tots. Check the photo below. The series is called Teeny Babies; they are produced by a company called Bliptoys. Each "baby" has a different toddler accessory like a car seat, a rocking horse, and a walker. Cost? $3.00 each. Think it's time for some new toddler accessories?

Ten Disney Dolls for Less Than $100

MissSpottyJane has a blog post with interesting news about the 12" basic. I am not going to repeat it here, but I'll leave a two word teaser, "new bodies" to pique your curiosity.

Anyway, MSJ had me thinking about the 11-12" Disney dolls so I thought, let's see what the Disney Store is offering this time. Well, I saw that they were offering a Classic 10-doll box of Disney Princesses for $99.50 USD, so I had to note that here on PhillyCollector. And the companion guys are on sale for $8.00 each. So if you have been seeking Disney Princesses or their companions, now might be a good time to buy them.

Happy hunting! Thanks, MissSpottyJane, for the tip!

Joss and Tosh ... The Other Two Star Dolls

I mentioned that I had bought two other StarDolls. Officially, they are Pretty n Love 2 and Fallen Angel 1, but here in East Philly, they are Jocelyn aka Joss and Toshiko aka Tosh. Joss and Tosh are college students who model to pay for their college expenses.

Roxanne is considering her new body options. She thinks she might settle for a Monsieur Z (Integrity Toys) body. She would have liked a rounder body, but this one might suit. Hmmm ....

Paul of S Club 7 and Possible Body Styles for New 1D Band?

Curious about how Hasbro might create a member of a pop music group? Let's look at their past work - in this case, Paul from S Club 7. What body type does he have? How accurate is the resemblance? You may have seen Paul before on the Keeping Ken site, but here he is out of his box.

First, here is Paul in his box. While we tend to associate Hasbro with G.I. Joe, Hasbro has created other doll lines before - Jem, Maxi, Destiny's Child, S Club 7, etc. so neither dolls nor capturing celebrity likeness is new for them. (Aside: although the Destiny's Child dolls are not necessarily ones to brag about. Their Beyonce was on the homely side.)

Note Paul's profile ... decent resemblance to the singer.

Next his body type: can you say "fashion doll?" Why? Straight arms (or permanently bent ones) and click bend knees. Manufacturers working in "fashion doll mode" did not like the look of articulated bodies. See Paul stretching to show off his plump calves; no nasty breaks for joints.

Here is Paul goofing around with two Hasbro G.I. Joes - Lamont A. Morris (1992) on Paul's right and Marvin F. Hinton (2003) on his left to show the body variety of Hasbro's male figures. Mr. Morris can twist his arms to face in or out while Mr. Hinton has joints at his elbows and wrists. All three Hasbro males from Paul's fashion doll body (straight arms and bend leg knees) to Mr. Morris' hybrid doll/action figure body (arm direction ability and bend leg knees) to Mr. Hinton's action figure body (joints at elbows, wrists, and knees) can extend their arms out from their side and spread their legs wide. So there is some additional body posing available to Hasbro figures.

But what about the S Club 7 today? Check their updated website.