Science and Mattel's Blue-Eyed or Green-Eyed Black Dolls

Magic Jewel Ken AA, Cali Guy Steven, and Skate Date Ken AA

First, I want to state that I have brown eyes. I have NEVER wanted any other eye color. Why not? Because I was born with brown eyes. They allow me to see - a little less sharp than many - but I see. I love my imperfect brown eyes because they are mine. Nothing against blue or green or hazel or any other eye color. If I had been born with any of those colors, I would have loved them. Genetics gave me brown. Period.

I mention this stand because I do not want to be compared to Pecola Breedlove of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. No longing for another eye color here. Any eye color has the potential to be beautiful.

(Sounding defensive? Cranky? I have a cold. Insert wry face. Aaahh chooo. Sniff.)

Yesterday, I was clicking cat-themed pins on Pinterest when I came across this infographic that reminded me about several of my Mattel black dolls with blue or green eyes. Well, I assumed that those dolls depicted people wearing contact lenses. Because … black people do not have blue or green eyes unless they are mixed race. Blue or green eyes are only found in White people. Right? Cough. Wrong. Any race can have [almost] any color eyes.

When I did not find the original source for that pin, I delved a little further to uncover these sites about the odds of eye color and the science of eye genetics. I'll leave you to digest that information. Short story: it is possible.

Oh ... so maybe those black dolls with blue or green eyes are not wearing contacts. Check out these black people who have blue or green or hazel eyes. Now why did I not remember them when I thought of my Mattel dolls?

Do I think that having blue or green or hazel eyes makes a person more attractive? No. Any eye color has the potential to be beautiful. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Which - if Any - of These Dolls Do You Think the World Could Have Done Without?

Short post: this author shows eleven dolls she feels the world could have done without having. Do you agree? 

Me, I disagree. I think that all of the dolls - even the out sized Steve Urkel doll - pause to shudder - have a place in American culture. So they have meaning and stir fondness for someone. Maybe they bring memories or reminders of some event in our lives. Moreover, even if people were not or are not fond of the dolls as representatives of bygone television characters, the dolls can provide variation to current collections. While I was never a fan of either Saved by the Bell or Beverly Hills, 90201, I like the faces on these dolls. I would re-body the Saved dolls onto taller bodies - of course - so that their heads and bodies would better suit my taste. 

Well, that is my opinion. What is yours? Would any of these be welcome additions to your collection?

Happy New Year 2014

Hi, it's me again.

Yes, I just left a post yesterday. I want to start 2014 out with action so here's a post about blogging and collecting goals. New Year's Resolutions? We can call them that although the ideas have been percolating in the back of my mind since my fifth anniversary date, August 21.

Blog overhaul/update

What features will stay? Which gadgets can I eliminate? I am referring to the side bar links: AddMe, BlogCatalog, Bloggapedia, etc.

Write more posts

Share information about dolls and action figures I have not previously covered here; research more new dolls and action figures; try out tutorials and comment on them.

Improve photo quality

Take more photos so that I can choose the best; be more aware of light; schedule photography practice daily; get a tripod; clear space for setting up photos.

Promote blog more often

Use Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and DAF forums to gain more readers.

Share For Sale/Trade Lists

 Anyone else with hobby-related resolutions? Please share!

Integrity Face Mold Correction - Not Alysa But Icon Sooki

My final post for 2013 features a correction to a face mold identification. The dark complected fashion doll in the center of this post's photo is NOT Alysa as cited, but the Icon Sooki aka Jade (used by the last Jade dolls). I learned this information from a long-time Integrity playline - Janay et al. - collector on Facebook. So please update your notes on that matter, if you have not done so already.

May you all have a Happy New Year.

Collectors Three, Mixis Three, and PrettieGirls One

Last weekend, Ms. Leo invited local doll enthusiasts to a doll play meet. She brought coffee and Dunkin' Donuts doughnuts. A date and location were set. Cyndy Bee and I were able to attend. I cannot speak for the others, but I had fun. How often do you feel free to discuss dolls and finding things for them? We discussed other collector-enthusiasts whose work we admired and learned of "new" photographers and artisans. Shared blog addresses and Flickr accounts.

We unpacked the Show and Tell items we had each brought. Cyndy brought a charming hostess gift for Ms. Leo - which I will leave for Ms. Leo to describe - and a well-constructed wooden doll trunk created by her husband. Cyndy explained how he put together two shadow boxes and how she decorated the interior of the box.

Ms. Leo brought some of her new dolls: Max, Marie, and Lena of the Prettie Girls. (So Cyndy and I got to see a Prettie Girl doll in the vinyl. Very helpful. Now I want at least THREE of those dolls ... sometime next year, but THREE. Pleased to have decided that.) Ms. Leo also brought a doll clothes pattern book, some accessories, and two neat rug coverings that I claimed along with a pair of men's sneakers when we made trades. My printer is out of ink so the rugs were a welcome accessory since I would not have been able to print them online anytime soon.

I brought a NRFB YNU Group Inc. Limited Edition Emerald, a LE Rosa, and a First Edition Opal as well as accessories and my extra Mixis doll fashion. Ms. Leo had wanted to see the Mixis dolls and the series was new to Cyndy. I got to see Lena of the Prettie Girls. Yes, the Prettie Girls and the Mixis dolls can wear each other’s clothes with only two off elements:



The Mixis dolls are a little wider in the torso so more fitted Prettie Girls fashions may not fit them properly. Lena's blouse barely fit Opal. The Prettie Girls' torso is closer to Barbie's with an inward curve at the lower back similar to the new JLo doll and/or the early Shani dolls. The distinction between the waist and the hips on the Mixis dolls is not as exaggerated.







The Prettie Girls have slightly longer legs so Opal’s jeans might seem high-water on Lena. However, Lena’s pants (which I thought were high-water) fit Opal's leg length.



See how the Prettie Girls body dips at the lower back.




As I mentioned, I had fun. Thanks, Ms. Leo for making the arrangements for this meet and for bringing me out of my home doll cave ;-) Thanks Cyndy for coming along and contributing to a jolly time. See you both next year.

Winter is Coming ... 2014 Update

Hey, Game of Thrones fans - yoo hoo! Gather near. Guess what famous franchise is going sixth scale? Yeah, baby - Game of Thrones! But didn't I say that Dark Horse was NOT producing sixth scale figures? Yes, I did and no, they aren't. So whoa - who is?

ThreeZero. Who? A toy company called Threezero has the license to produce sixth scale Game of Thrones figures. Eeekkk! Excited? One of the first figures likely to be available next year is Tyrion Lannister. I first learned this news from The Rebel Page and found additional confirmation at ActionFigureFury.

You can like ThreeZero on Facebook.

So it seems we will have Game of Thrones playscale figures. Only problem ... the cost. Something tells me that these figures will not be cheap. Unless Mattel or a similar company also gets permission to create them ... now that would be fun.

Happy Kwanzaa!

Four years ago, Deidre shared this greeting duty with her friend Keeya. Since Keeya was featured on another blog, we decided that Deidre could go solo this year. So here is our East Philly Kwanzaa ambassador. Alas, she is too pooped to answer any questions tonight. I took the photo a few hours ago; little Deidre has long since gone to sleep. Sigh. In addition to the Black Doll Collecting blog post, I offer this link to an Integrity Toys' Kwanzaa family. 

And here is a Pinterest board dedicated to Kwanzaa. Enjoy!