Sharon Sews Sixth Scale Stuff

Sharon Sews Sixth Scale Stuff. Try saying that swiftly seven times.

Found a sewing blog that has tutorials for Barbie stuff. Whoo hoo! Here is the link to Sharon Sews post about sewing for Barbie-sized dolls. Hope you find the tips useful.

There are tips for people scale fashions, too, as well as other crafts. Me, I am mostly about the playscale stuff. If I can adapt the other tips to that scale, great. If not, shrug.

Reflections of "The Queen of Motown": Mego, Mattel, and Diana Ross

Diana Ross is a well-known American singer and actress. So it is not surprising that two major toy companies created likenesses of her. Mego created their 12 1/4" Diana Ross in 1977; Mattel produced their 11 1/2" version in 2004. I like both dolls: they both capture different aspects of the singer.

Both Diana Ross figures are dolls although Mego usually produced action figures. Back in the mid-seventies,  Mego had plans to have a doll series bigger than Barbie so they made their fashion dolls 12 1/4" tall. Okay, you can recover from laughing. Barbie before Bratz was a juggernaut. But Mego had the license and they produced their Diana Ross doll first.

Mego's face is larger and stronger than the Mattel face. Oddly, in spite of the hugeness of the doll - which bears no similarity to the physique of the singer-actress - I find her face looks more like the real person. Something about the half-mast eyes, the nose and the mouth shape, and the complexion. And what talons she has for nails.

Mattel's Diana has more grace

... but her face doesn't capture the vividness of Mego's Diana

Here the two are side-by-side

Which do you think - if either - best captures the likeness of Diva Diana Ross?

Related links with additional links

Diana Ross on Facebook

IMDB - International Movie Database

International fansite

Wikipedia entry

New Blog Alert - Celebrity Doll Website - Recalls Older Website, Famous Figures

I was curious about Ms. Leo's Kristi Yamaguchi doll so I did a little research. Playmates created dolls of Ms. Yamaguchi and a few other female ice skaters in 1998. Go, Playmates go, I thought. Seeing some of the faces, I thought ... hmm if I were them, I'd go very far. Like a place where I can hide in plain view ... Sometimes, it must be difficult to recreate 1:1 scale features in 1:6 figures. Not all of the figures are flattering. Eh but some people are just happy to be immortalized in plastic at all. Accuracy might not be as important as having your own action figure or doll.

One of the websites mentioning the Kristi Yamaguchi doll was a NEW doll site called The Celebrity Doll Museum.

This website has a list of many celebrity dolls and action figures. It's a new venture - since 2010 - so they have yet to have photos of all the figures they acknowledge exist. I think it will be fun to see them develop and to send them messages about dolls and action figures they might have missed.

Longtime online doll and action figure collectors will remember Famous Figures. Yes, the website that clued countless collectors into which doll or action figure resembles the star or famous person you needed for your diorama. While Famous Figures does not seem to have been recently updated, it has YEARS of photos of celebrities and dolls and/or action figures who resemble those celebrities. I bring this link forward for any newer DAF collectors.

Warning: the Famous Figures website can be addictive. Happy viewing!

Query: Do you have any favorite celebrity DAFs? Or are you working on a figure of yourself as the next UNDISCOVERED DAF?

New Ethnic Playscale Doll Series: Prettie Girls by Stacey McBride-Irby

Thought your wallet and your credit cards were safe?

Ha!

Black Doll Enthusiast recently interviewed Stacey McBride-Irby about Ms. McBride-Irby's upcoming, new doll series, the Prettie Girls playscale fashion dolls. There will be five ethnic dolls in this series: Sophia, Lena, Kimani, Valencia, and Dahlia. There are sketches of the dolls at their new website, but nothing is like seeing the actual dolls in the vinyl. Sigh. And they are to be articulated, too. With lots of new fashions and oh, accessories. Dreamily gazing off.

Vanessa also submitted a post on this new doll series. In the spirit of sharing such good news, this is my contribution to the new fashion doll series. I wish Ms. McBride-Irby the best of luck with this new venture.

Prongs aka Harpoon Connectors on Mattel Fashion Dolls

Below is a photo illustrating what I meant by "a prong on top of a blob." Usually, Barbie's necks are topped by a small tapering knob. With the Flavas girls and some other fashion dolls, the neck ends and instead of just a knob, there is a blob of "flesh" on which a brown harpoon-looking device is fixed. So fitting a new head to the body is that much more trickier since the new head has to cover both the prong AND the flesh blob.

Selling More Fashion Fever Dolls: See Flickr Folder

Here I go again, trying to reduce my Mattel dolls. This time, I've got some Barbie Fashion Fever dolls for sale. Please see my Flickr folder.

Thanks in advance ;-D

Other Hispanic Dolls and Action Figures

Below are some non-Mattel Hispanic dolls or action figures that I own. I don't have the Selena or the Ricky Martin dolls so they are not included in this list.

BBi Perfect Body Female Action Figure
Perfect Body

BBi Male Action Figure
Sargent Mendez

Chic Boutique
Chicas a la Moda Arianna

Chic Boutique
Glamour Girl Flower Power

Get Real Girl
Gabi

Get Set Club
Isabella

Hasbro
G. I. Joe

Haschel Toys
Olga Tanon

Hot Toys
Bronze TrueType Figures

Integrity
Alejandro from the Janay line

Integrity
Alysa from the Janay line

Integrity
Candi

Jakks Pacific
GirlForce Bianca

Jakks Pacific
Fashion Doll: Muneca de Mode Catalina

Jakks Pacific
Fashion Doll: Muneca de Mode Damita

Lanard
I-Girl Rio

Play Along Ltd., Division of Jakks Pacific
Chanel of the Cheetah Girls

Play Along Ltd., Division of Jakks Pacific
Dorinda  of the Cheetah Girls

Playmates Toys Inc.
Ever Girl

R&D Dolls
Susie

Woolworth's
Manuel

Yaboom
Christina Aguilera

YNU Group Inc.
Mixis Rosa

Please write if you are aware of other Hispanic fashion dolls or action figures.

Action Figure Line-up at StinkersStuff

Have you ever wondered how action figures stand against fashion dolls, particularly the taller Fashion Royalty dolls? Well, Johanna of Stinker's Stuff offers this fun visual aide plus review of several current action figures.

She also has an impressive line of fashion dolls here.

Sigh. That's how I want to collect once I have downsized.

Chic Boutique Dolls, Ubiquitous BUT Mysterious

I cannot find much information about Chic Boutique, a doll manufacturer with several inexpensive doll series sold in Toys R Us, Kmart, possibly Walmart, and probably not at Target. These are NOT expensive dolls and they have limited articulation. (Think straight legged and straight armed vintage Barbie and friends. Yes, that's the picture.) However, mystery aside, here are a few photos of these dolls.

Sewing Samples from My Past

Back in the 1970s, I used to "make" my dolls clothes. Funds were limited: I had an allowance of $1.25 a week and daily lunch money. Even skimping on lunch, I needed to choose between dolls or action figures and accessories for them. Dana the budding collector would usually choose a doll or an action figure. I had about three patterns for doll clothes OR I could trace the outline of outfits my dolls wore. My pieces were serviceable. I could "make" the outfits more like what a real person (i.e., ME) would wear.

Here are some pieces I made. I photographed them and then turned some of them inside out to show seams and hemming. In the first photo, I have a rose polyester blouse, a brown corduroy jumper, a white cotton full slip, a denim miniskirt, a gray midi skirt, a white polyester shirt for Michael of the Young Sweethearts, and a reproduction of a 19th Century set of white cotton bloomers.






I didn't have a sewing machine. Nor did I want one at the time. I used old clothes or small fabric swatches from fabric stores. Nothing elaborate. But I had fun. And my dolls had "original" clothes ;-D

Deboxed Cheetah Girls in Webshots Folder

Finally deboxed the PlayAlong Cheetah Girls. I have a few photos of them in a new Webshots folder.

I like their faces, but their hair is a little sparse in the back. They have different types of boots - but each has at least one pair of T-strap high heels that fit them well. The clothes are less than average quality: mostly velcro closures AND cheap, polyester fabric. Oh and never have I seen so much leopard wear in ONE doll collection.

Where are the Asian Fashion Dolls?

Recent posts on doll blogs I follow (Dolls of Color, Niel’s Dolls) inspired me to see what playline Asian fashion dolls are available today. During the late 1990s and early-mid 2000s, doll companies created Asian fashion dolls as part of their doll line up. I am thinking Get Set Club (Gia), Get Real Girls (Skylar), Smartees (Amanda), and I-Girls (Asia). What Asian fashion dolls are available now?

There were three criteria needed for my Asian playline dolls:

1. that the dolls were by any company OTHER than Mattel (removes Disney/Mattel from the list)

2. that the dolls were under $25 USD

3. that the dolls were in playscale or 1:6 scale

4. that the dolls could still be purchased today


These four dolls met the above criteria:

Playmates’ Asian everGirl who remains on sale at Nick.com

Yue Sai Wa Wa available through mail order from ChinaSprout and possibly still available from local toy stores. (I bought mine from a K B Toys stores several years ago.)

Mei Ling also available from ChinaSprout

Jade Princess (under the Just Girlz line by Sears Holding Corporation) is still on sale at some Kmart stores.


Playmates everGirl and Kmarts Just Girlz Jade Princess




Yue-Sai Wa Wa




Mei Ling




Related online articles:

China Doll entry from Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture

Multicultural Dolls: 101 - by Ellen Fitzenrider article from 2004

Yue-Sai Kan article

Note: there used to be a website called "Asian Pacific American Toy Chest" that had extensive information about Asian Pacific dolls and action figures. Loren Javier was the site author; unfortunately that website is no longer directly accessible. Using a trackback website might show images from it.

Darker Shade of Black - Mattel's First Malibu Christie

Mattel has had its share of "regrettable" moments in doll history. By "regrettable," I mean moments when the toy buying and critiquing market responds with anger or outrage. The bottom line is selling product so that the company continues. So few companies actively seek to alienate their clients. Here are some examples we can look at:

Ken - absent penis which lack provides constant negative commentary.

"Colored" Francie - OMG! Barbie has COLORED relatives!

Growing Up Skipper - budding breasts are EVIL!

Kissing Barbie - we won't investigate what she is selling, tsk.

Earring Magic Ken - lavender vest + earrings on a male doll - not for my kids!

"Oreo" Barbie - Oreo is not JUST a cookie, Tom.

Pregnant Midge - nobody's fooled by that silver ring on her left hand, get out the stones! Add pregnant married women to the EVIL list.

BUT I have to give Mattel a hand for an act of quiet significance. Back in 1973, somebody actually paid attention to details. Somebody looked at the Mattel doll line and then looked at the world. So when the Malibu Sun Set dolls were created with suntan (light brown) complexions, Christie also got a darker complexion. Oh. Pause to allow the significance of this event to penetrate. Someone at Mattel recognized that brown Christie could become a darker shade of brown after spending a lot of time in the sun. See the original Christie and the first Malibu Christie here:

Christie: Shades of Black

Is that paying attention? Thanks mysterious somebody or some bodies at Mattel for taking the time to get that detail right and to see that Christie dolls went out suntanned, as did Barbie, Ken, Skipper, and Francie. I don't know if anyone else noticed that "getting it right" moment so if they didn't, then 36 years later, I write, THANKS!

Mattel to Produce 12" Twilight Jacob in February 2010

I learned this exciting news at Denise Van Patten's Doll Collecting Blog, that

1. the Twilight Edward and Bella dolls will be released this November

and

2. that Mattel will release a Twilight Jacob in February 2010.

Here is the link: Denise's Blog

I think that Jacob is the Native American young man. It will be interesting to see Mattel do a new ethnic figure ... wonder if he will use an existing head mold or a completely new one.

Honing the Collection

When I was a child, I dreamed of having rooms and drawers full of dolls. Some action figures, too, but mostly dolls. Doll clothes, doll vehicles, doll houses, doll settings. Some out of box; others in boxes. I would have a modern fashion doll museum. People would come to see my collections.

Fast forward a few decades. I have dolls and action figures and vehicles and outfits and furniture. I even have a decent-sized room to hold my mini people and their things. What more could I possibly want?

Less.

Fewer dolls, fewer action figures. Toss the boxes holding outfits and bring things out of the boxes. Appreciate what I have. Pass on - by selling or donating - the things I am not crazy about. Bring in new things, yes, but let go other things.

I have a lot of dolls and action figures and stuff that I like. It would be better for me to retain the ones I LOVE, the ones I wouldn't live without. Maybe that's why the economy has taken this rough turn - the universe is forcing me to choose my figures.

Oh, okay, that's going melodramatic. Crazier than usual. As if.

Let's just admit, the time has come for me to hone my DAF collection.

Smartees: Smart Friends for Smart Girls

Ten years ago - 1999 - the Smartees were introduced to the doll-buying public. These dolls were "smart friends for smart girls." Though Barbie-sized, they were not beauty-glamor focused. Each doll presented a different career. Career-related accessories were included with the dolls as well as the standard comb and brush.

First there were four:

Ashley the Attorney
Destiny the Doctor
Emily the Entrepreneur
Vicky the Veterinarian

Then there were six:

The original four plus
Alexis the Artist
Jessica the Journalist

And then seven:

Taylor the Teacher joined the group

Nine - two more professionals:

Amanda the Architect
Caitlin the Chef

And finally, ten:

Nicole the Nurse

I have all except Alexis the Artist. You can see photos of my Smartees dolls here