Is He [Gay] or Isn't He?

Integrity Toys Jordan lips pursed

How do you determine that a doll is gay? Or bisexual or lesbian or straight?

Shrug. The manufacturer's back story? Sometimes. If the doll is based on a real person, do you match that person's sexuality? Maybe. Do you decide based on a story idea you have for the character? It depends.

I have never seen any of my dolls form romantic connections. (Neither the straight nor the gay ones.) So you cannot tell from their behavior. When I was young, a cousin -- who shall remain unnamed to protect the guilty -- would bang a boy and a girl doll together and make kissy sounds. Me, I worried that I would pair the wrong dolls up. Anybody remember Attack of the Puppet People? In spite of the movie title, the creepy character was actually the doll maker who shrank people down so that he could keep them as his toys. Shudder. Suppose my dolls had minds independent of the characters I imposed on them? I never believed in Santa - ho, ho, no - Santa was Mommy and Daddy. But I did wonder if my dolls could have had secret lives. Hmmm.

Jump forward many years later. Chez adult Dana. My dolls and action figures still are not having sex -- as far as I know. I pair them up in my mind, but I seldom set up doll stories let alone relationship scenes. Even when I had story ideas, I have not acted any out with the dolls themselves. So imagine my surprise when a visitor pointed at my Integrity Toys Jordan and informed me: "That doll is gay."

"Really?" I asked her. Jordan was dressed in his original turquoise pullover and dark jeans. He was standing among other dolls and action figures. He did not seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary. I shook my head. She thought I was disagreeing.

Oh, yes. She was sure of that.

"How do you get that?" I was curious.

"Look at him: his lips are pursed."

I tilted my head. Yes, Jordan's lips were pursued. That settled the matter for her.

Now I was not going to argue the sexuality of a doll with a guest. Especially not with a guest who did not even "play with" dolls. Life is too short. I am too lazy. Jordan's official Integrity Toys' story links him with Janay. At least, they were paired together in wedding sets before Tariq and Keith came onto the Integrity Toys' doll scene. Jordan and Janay. Of course, that is the official story. For all I know, my Jordan might be involved with Tariq. Or Alejandro ... no, strike that. I don't care for that glint in Alysa's eyes.

Sometimes the responses of non-collectors surprise me. Just when I have them pegged as unimaginative, they come out with a statement like that. I mean, it takes some imagination to assign sexual orientation to a 12" plastic doll. Then again, why couldn't he be gay? Perhaps the lack is on my part.

But he is my Jordan. So I decide what his story is, right? I look at Jordan - hey, did he wink? 

Or maybe I don't.

Mattel Raquelle Found in Philly

If you seek the Barbie Style Raquelle, she is being sold in Philadelphia. I saw her in the South Philly Target. I almost bought her. Almost. Then I remembered how I am NOT buying stuff until I have reduced my current collection. So even though she was only $19.99, I left her there.

Her outfit is the cutest from this collection. The jeans seem a bit looser than I thought they would be. (Good, she can actually shimmy into them.) I love the colors - faded black, vivid black, pepper red, and natural leopard print. They look like pieces a real person might wear together. Comfy, off the shoulder pullover, contrasting vest, skinny jeans, ankle boots, and an animal print scarf.

Mattel Barbie Style Raquelle

In this store, there were six blond Barbies and two Teresas to the one Raquelle doll. I don't know if there were more Raquelles available before I got there, but I think that she might have a smaller run. Why? 'cause she is wearing something kicky but natural colored. A quick "cheat" to help you find her among the others - if you encounter a batch of them - look for the yellow-black leopard print on the sides of the box front, especially, the left side.

Box back to Barbie Style Raquelle

Here is the back of the box where you can see the other dolls in this series. Also, they are shown on the side of the box.

Two Barbies, one Raquelle, and one Teresa. No Nikki here. Sigh.

Another reason I probably did not buy this doll is that I am still waiting to find the snarky-faced Raquelle. I understand that she is not to every one's taste, but I like that her mouth has that wry twist. The expression on this doll's face is too pretty-pretty to borrow a phrase from Tyra Banks of America's Next Top Model and other fame. Come to think of it, the one I want is on sale at a few places. I ought to get her soon ... as soon as I sell some things ....

Oh my, back to that. Sigh.

Mattel Fashion Fever Furniture

The Fashion Fever Barbie and friends dolls lit my fashion doll collecting from 2004-2006. I am referring to the pre-Hobbit dolls. The dolls used many face sculpts and colorful fashions. Different hair colors and a variety of complexions. I would have liked more variety racially, but nothing can be perfect. 

I think of the dolls, but there were also furniture pieces available for the Fashion Fever dolls. Here are some of the bedroom pieces. I have not assigned them to any one doll or action figure yet. They are still boxed ... except the vanity that I opened to see the crystal lamp.

The Fashion Fever Sweet Dreams bed. Not sure I would want a bed top to curl over my head, but it is distinctive. How many beds look like this one? Also, I don't think a laptop computer is an accessory that is conducive to sleep, but the fashion magazines and tissues are handy.

The Fashion Fever Crystal Chair looks delicate and pretty. Not the coziest chair in the room, but a nice place to hold a brief telephone conversation or to jot a few notes down.

Only Barbie could pull off a pink and leopard print cat house. That's right: a cat house. And not the Texas kind ;-)  I like this unusual cat perch with the scratching post and a toy mouse for Barbie's cat to "play with." Being sociable, I don't suppose Barbie would consider having her cat house in the living room or the dining room. A litter box would have been a nice addition to this set. 

The Fashion Fever Vanity is cute. I am not so much a vanity lover, but that crystal lamp is so exquisitely beautiful, I had to have it.

This side illustration shows all the furniture pieces available for the bedroom. There are other furniture pieces that were available back in 2005.

July Challenge 2014 and Takara-Bbi Gatchaman Jun CyGirl

Back in 2011, I took a daily blog post challenge for that July. That month, I submitted 22 posts. Let's see what happens this year. I have many posts that I need to complete from previous months - oh, yes, I have posts-in-waiting in my Drafts folder. I'll complete and publish them. So I have an edge there. But what about new topics? 

July 1st Canada Day - Hey, hello, and hooray to YNU Group, Inc. for making the lovely Mixis Dolls.

July 4th Independence Day - Naomi is tearing up because Pennsylvania will be listening to Whitney Houston's version of Star Spangled Banner. You can check what the other States will be listening to here.

July 6th My Birthday - yeah, I'm celebrating this year. Stop by and wish me a happy one. Time and sentiment permitting, of course ;-D

National Ice Cream Month and National Blueberry Month, too. Maybe I will work those themes in, too. Maybe ;-D

Oh and I am going to try for a photo with every post this month. See below, Takara - Blue Box Toys  G3 Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman) Jun.

Elementary? Kitbashing [an] American Watson, Part 1

Muff had mentioned an interest in seeing a playscale Watson based on the Dr. Joan Watson character of the American television show, Elementary. Lucy Liu plays the Dr. Watson role in this update of the Sherlock franchise. (Sherlock is played by British actor Jonny Lee Miller.) I thought it would be a fun challenge.

Recast me - please!

[Re]Bodying a Doll

Lucky me, I have one of the Jakks Pacific G.I.R.L. Force Charlie's Angels Alex dolls. The best thing about the Charlie's Angels movie is that it inspired Jakks Pacific to create fashion dolls of the actresses playing the three main characters. Lucy Liu played the "Alex" character. I bought the doll because she resembled the actress. Isn't she a good likeness of Lucy Liu? Good start there. However, the body is not so great. You think the black satiny pants stained her legs? Surprisingly, they did not. However, that black and silver top under the bordeaux "leather" jacket did stain her neck and part of her chest. Dr. Joan, can you show your back, please?

Stained back of Alex doll compared to that of Jaz

Ouch, that is some significant staining. She almost looks beaten.

New Body Needed

Okay. Even if her upper torso were not stained, Dr. Joan would need a new body. First, the Jakks Pacific body has limited posing. She cannot sit; her arms only raise up and down. She cannot twist at the waist or under the bust. The Jakks Pacific G.I.R.L. Force body would be a good  one to model lingerie, but to place in scenes ... tsk. Hard. Think a softer bodied version of Mattel's StarDolls.  See comparison photos below.

Mattel Belly Button body on left, Jakks Pacific Alex in center, and Mattel StarDoll body on right

So what about a replacement body? I checked Hasbro's Miss Fear. Needless to say, Miss Fear will NOT be losing her original body. 

Miss Fear - ain't no way that head is getting on this body.

While Miss Fear's body would have a nice weight, aside from all of us being too fearful to make such an exchange, the complexion colors are off. Miss Fear's body is lighter than the Jakks Pacific Alex head. Miss Fear's bust is larger than needed in this case. Now I don't have to have an exact one-to-one inch match, but it would be nice to have her a closer match to the actual character. Maybe, possibly, there is a Perfect Body that would work?

Aside: please note, I removed Ice's guns for this comparison.

Doctor Joan thinks the CyGirl size might be a good fit for her. Only she would prefer to have bare feet rather than boot feet. Ice's complexion is too pale to match the Jakks Pacific face.  A Blue Box Toys Asian Perfect Body figure might make a perfect fit. Just need to find one of them today. Hmmm ....

New Fashions Needed

Set aside that black-silver knit top that stains. Save that for store scenes.  The burgundy leather jacket and the black satin boot cut slacks ... not so good a match. The Joan Watson character wears a lot of tunics or shirts over mini skirts or leggings. These colors are okay - the doctor's color palate seems urban: grays, blacks, dark colors and prints along with some light gray or white tops.  Blogger Lindsay of On Screen Style has a post about sources and substitute pieces for humans wishing to replicate the Joan Watson look.

I need to go through the fashions I have for pieces like those. Also need to be sure that they fit whichever body she ends up using. So we can review clothes in a future post.

Here Come the [June] Bride(s)

Here comes the Bride and yes, she's got a Groom along, too. Inspiration for this post came from an annual June wedding thread on the DollyDaily doll discussion site. Below are photos of three happy couples on their wedding day. Links to other playscale weddings follow the photos. If you have playscale wedding scenes to share, please leave your link in the comments. Who doesn't love a wedding?

Ahem ... that was a rhetorical question.



Groom: Power Team action figure borrowing the jumper from the Wedding Day Groom, 2007.
Bride: Target Special Edition Clubb Wedd Barbie (AA) wearing her original gown, 1997.




Groom: Hasbro's The Defender borrowing the tuxedo from the Wedding Day Groom, 2007.  
Bride: Malibu Christie borrowing the wedding gown of Marlena Evans, 1999.




Groom: Integrity Toys' Royal Heritage Alejandro wearing his original tuxedo, 2001. 
Bride: Integrity Toys' Royal Heritage Alysa wearing her original wedding gown, 2001.

Related Links

Dani tries on wedding dresses by VitaPlastic

June wedding display by SuperCoolDollHouse

Wedding of Danielle and Rod by Vanessa

Nigerian wedding by Limbe Dolls

Wedding of Cara and Curtis by Brini



Remember, if there are any playscale June weddings that you want to share, let me know.  Leave the URL in the comments so that I and other readers can view them.

Paris Mode Susie by RnD Dolls

I missed getting the "Sweet Freedom" Susie. I snoozed; I loozed. (Pardon the bad English.) So for compensation, I opened up one of my favorite Susies that I had kept never removed from box: RD0007 "Paris Mode" Susie from the Next Wave Collection, 2004. 

The video shows Paris Mode Susie with her light blond hair and hazel eyes and the chic green brocade suit this Susie wears. Susie is an articulated fashion doll, almost 11" tall created by Rudi Teruel and David Wu of R & D Dolls. Larraine of Barbigirl.com archives the Susie files, but that page on her site is under construction. So I'm sharing a Wayback Machine link to the original R & D Dolls site to show some of the many Susies that have been available. 

I also have the "Milan Chic" Susie doll from the same Next Wave Collection: I will debox her later this month. In PhillyCollector, you have seen Ibiza Heat Susie, L.A. Luxe Susie, San Francisco Days Susie, and Tokyo Trendy Susie removed deboxed.

Aside: the inspiration to share these photos as a YouTube video came from watching a recent video by RoxanneRoxanne of Roxanne's Dolls.