New Michelle Obama 2013 Inaugural Ball Doll

The Danbury Mint continues it's questionable practice of posting an artist's rendering of the doll they are marketing. Mrs. Obama looks gorgeous in her red gown. Danbury Mint posts, in small print, that the "actual doll will vary." Notice they say WILL VARY, not might vary.

So you are forewarned. I know many of you purchased earlier DB dolls and were sadly disappointed. Avoid that by waiting until the doll is released in the Fall of 2013. You can be sure there will be enough to go around.

Price $149. plus $9 shipping.

I have sent a query to customer service to find out the size and other details about the fashion and her hair.

Get Your Princess Kate Bridal Doll. Looks Nothing Like Our Picture.

So there will not be a great wedding for the rest of the century? We might as well just curl up and die now. 
The Danbury Mint is proclaiming the coming royal wedding as the wedding of the century. Sigh.
They are promoting a Kate Middleton doll dressed in a wedding gown that will not actually be on the doll and does not look at all like the one she will wear because no one but she and her designers and fitters knows exactly what it looks like right now.
The head is a photo of the bride. It's all a fake.

I think they should have posted a nude doll with a different face. What would be the difference?

The last few days...

I have been crazy busy sewing a costume for the Fashion Royalty convention. It was finished today and a few hours after it was finished I decided to wear something less costume-y.  The husband unit cracked up. He actually liked the costume I made and was also impressed. I'm entitled to change my mind, aren't I?
I will still wear a 'costume' and part of it is something I made but it's better and more me.

I received a reply very quickly after sending an email to the Franklin Mint regarding their Michelle Obama doll.

Dear Terri,

Thank you for your email.

Please be advised that the Michelle Obama doll stands approximately 16.5
inches in height, and the image online is a photograph of the actual
doll. This doll does not have a wig, but rooted hair, and the clothes
are not sewn on, as there will be interchangeable ensembles offered in
the future.

If you need additional information on this matter, please call our toll
free Client Service number at 1-800-843-6468 and one of our
representatives would be more than happy to assist you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Jennings
Client Service and Satisfaction Representative

I do not believe that the promotional image is an unretouched photograph. I think the face is Photoshopped.  Time will tell. George of Angelic Dreamz told me that release of the doll will not be too soon.

Of the three 1/4 scale Michelle Obama dolls either released or proposed so far I think that Ashton Drake's doll is the best. Their image is also touched up - hey, most of mine are touched up as well. The difference is that I am not selling dolls whose faces I have altered to make them look better.  A-D's version has more articulation and looks more natural. I think the price is also better. First Lady of Style Michelle Obama Fashion Doll Collection will be the first doll in a series that Ashton Drake plans.



I hunted around the internet with a search "Michelle Obama  Dolls" and I found a few interesting options. Each title is a link to the site where I found it.


Michele Obama First lady of Fashion Figurine Collection

Michele Obama Action Figure Set of Three
These figures are available separately for about $12.95 elsewhere.

Designed and manufactured by Jailbreak Toys

Michele Obama Action Figurine (Awful but her arms look great.)
If you put this doll in the sites shopping cart and then attempt to navigate to another page or go back, you will be offered a 7% discount.

Michelle First lady Paper Dolls

And that's that!

I'm hoping to find some time next week to take a few pictures of the Mini LiveWire I just got.

Michelle Obama Doll - FAIL

This is the promotional photo that was advertised for the Michele Obama Inaugural doll. I blogged about it on June 1, 2009.

A fellow collector sent me these pictures of the actual doll that she received:

What a complete disappointment but not a surprise. When a company advertises with an artist rendering rather than a prototype or a production sample, you can be sure you will not get what you see in the ad.

Seriously, some of Mattel's $39.95 celebrity dolls have more of a resemblance to their human counterparts than this.

Michelle Obama Inaugural Doll

Is this a picture of the doll or a picture of the real Mrs. Obama? I'm guessing it's mostly a touched up photograph. If this is what the real doll looks like, I'm getting one. She looks like she will start moving at any minute in this picture. The doll is 16" including the stand.

She is from the Danbury Mint and here is the description from the website:

An exquisite, all-porcelain collector doll capturing the very essence of our nation's First Lady.
Our skilled artisans have perfectly replicated Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ball attire down to the very last detail. Her white, one-shouldered chiffon evening dress has been hand-tailored and features all of the touches that made the original gown so spellbinding.
We've also expertly re-created her stunning diamond bangles, drop earrings, and sparkling cocktail ring. The result is an elegant porcelain sculpture that radiates with the First Lady's uncommon strength and beauty.

No mention of the gown's designer, Jason Wu? How do they get away with that?

The doll retails for $149 plus $9 for shipping and handling. The website says the doll is on back order until October 2009. (Are they coming from the same factory as Valia?) That's odd. How did it get on back order if it was just released? I don't think it's even been produced and my guess is that it won't look like the picture at all.


Link to the Danbury Mint