January - A Slippery Slope for Collectors

With IDEX and New York Toy Fair just around the corner, new doll lines are set to debut. Dealers and manufacturers are anxious to make room for the new products and the sales abound. Collectors are "winter cleaning" their collections and offering up some great stuff. What's a helpless collector to do?  Here's a rundown (read: admission) of my January activities so far:

FR16 Spring Kissed (nude) It hasn't arrived yet but my motivation was that I would use the body for an older Avantguard and sell this giant Poppy face.
FR2 Dominique Makeda Impossibly Beautiful. It was on sale for $50 less than the original retail. I wanted her body and outfit. Sadly, very few want her head so I will probably be stuck with it. Pictures follow.
Superfrock Testament Fashion - Second time around. I sold my first before I ever had Sybarite dolls.
Superdoll iBean sunglasses
Sybarite Blade pantsuit and miscellaneous accessories.
Superfrock Pet Carrier from Automatic
Ponytail wig from Cheryl Wood.
Two reroots and a custom jacket.
Monster High Cleo de Nile’s Vanity and a lot of Monster High Odds and Ends: Although these are adorable, I think this has cured me from buying any more MH stuff. What a waste!
W Club Memberships: We'll see. I did not order any of the upgrade dolls as I didn't care for them.
Perfectly Purple Poppy: This was a pre-order that was delayed for about 8 months.
Theatre de la Mode ROYALE #82: Another  delayed pre-order.
Tonner Deluxe Fashion Closet: A great bargain.
And then there are the dogs. Sigh. 

Meet Krypto.

 This is a Tonner product and was made to accompany his Superman figure from several years ago. Sadly he is stained from the red cape but I may have him painted eventually. Why did I buy this? I loved the original Superman comics and Krypto was such a great dog. January fever got me so Krypto moved in.
If that weren't enough...

Obitsu makes these jointed dogs and in a January mindset, $25. each seemed like a good idea. I bought a white one as well but I can't find it and it's not even out of it's box. Sigh, again.

No she's not a dog. Miami Glow Vanessa was the recipient of Dominique's body and fashion. I like the gown now. There were some problems with the product, however. The beautiful silk (?) gown was stitched to the box and even with ultra careful removal, thread holes remain. I even steamed the fabric to no avail. Sad. It's really a beautifully designed and carefully constructed garment. The body itself is the first FR2 body I have received that was wobbly. There is a huge space at the thigh joint which allows the legs to swing loosely. Going backward? My temporary fix is to put tape around the joint (not inside) to hold it. The seams on this body are not finished nicely. She's got stripes on her arms and neck and probably on her legs, too, where the seams are joined.  I don't know if I will seek a replacement body.

 __________________________________

I was ill all week and I thought I'd feel better if I deboxed something. I am a deboxer but occasionally I will get a Mattel product and put it somewhere without opening it. Too bad I was able to find this one - the Grace Kelly Trousseau. This has to be one of the least attractive of all modern Mattel sculpts. Not only is it unattractive, they forgot the matte finish. 

The second outfit is a very nice navy sheath. Unfortunately the coat is not made properly. The empire seam which should be under the bust, hits almost at the largest part of the but. It was cut too short for a silkstone body. There is a big white hat but it never made it into the pictures. It's probably hiding with the white Obitsu dog somewhere.

Needless to say, deboxing this set did not make me feel better. 

Did you all have a good January (so far?)

Seen on Prego

Today Jurrie de Vries posted several pictures of  his vintage bubble cut Barbie wearing the Grace Kelly gown from the movie To Catch A Thief.

Photo by Jurrie de Vries

 I like it so much better here than on the Grace Kelly doll.

Mattel's To Catch A Thief Grace Kelly

 The model muse pose is so tiring.  Jurrie's picture has movement. Gorgeous work!

Grace Kelly The Romance Doll and Update on Goddess of the Galaxy from Mattel

Grace Kelly The Romance Doll looks verrrry nice. She will be available from BC.Com on 10/01/11. This is a Silkstone doll and the first new sculpt for a female Silkstone.

I love the dress and the additional ensemble.

 

Here is the full description from the BC.Com website:

When American actress Grace Kelly arrived in Monaco to marry her prince, she was the embodiment of 50's elegance and class. The exquisite Grace Kelly The Romance doll, the first new character in Silkstone®, recreates her exact outfit in amazing detail. She wears a deep navy blue coat with matching skirt and white blouse paired with classic black pumps. Her golden blonde hair is pulled back and neatly tucked under a white, wide-brimmed hat, while sunglasses shade her lovely blue eyes. A simple strand of pearls encircles her glove-covered wrist, and she carries a delicate bouquet of white violets.
She also comes with the fabulous floral print dress Miss Kelly wore when she first met her future husband at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. From an "easy to sew" pattern the actress modeled for McCall magazine, the dress features long sleeves and a tight bodice that flares out into a full skirt, and is styled with a coordinating headpiece.

So I don't see a navy skirt and white blouse. I see a navy sheath. What's it going to be? Don't you love surprises? NOT.
___________


Goddess of the Galaxy
She's $100. and on back order until 6/30/11 but you can order now at BC.Com. And more good news is that you can get free standard shipping on orders of $50 or higher. Free shipping expires on 7/19/11 at 11:59PM Central Time.

___________
While we're on the topic of shipping, our Canadian friends to the north have no postal service for two days now. The workers are on strike! I feel for collectors north of the border. Canadian mail service wasn't that great to begin with and now it's non-existent.  I hope it gets resolved soon.

___________

Here's an annoying factoid: Palm Beach Coral Barbie Doll that originally retailed for $150. is now on sale for $75.

But the Palm Beach Breeze Barbie which originally retailed for $74.95 has been reduced only slightly to $65.  Somehow it does not compute.

Barbie as Grace Kelly

BARBIE AS GRACE KELLY - "TO CATCH A THIEF GRACE KELLY" 2011   
I love the gown; the doll, not so much. She's probably sewn into it. But I would buy it for the fashion anyway.  SRP $39.99

Grace Kelly is a global icon—a famous princess, bride and an Academy Award-winning actress who starred in the 1955 romantic thriller, To Catch a Thief. Grace Kelly looks stunning in her blue gown inspired by the opening scene of To Catch a Thief, set in the French Riveria. This dress truly captures Grace's elegant style.

Barbie 2011 BARBIE BFMC GRACE KELLY BRIDE GOLD LABEL Collection 
I would love to see a real-life image of this doll.  MSRP $179.99  Holy Crap

One place to pre-order with a 30% deposit is Angelic Dreamz.

In doing a thorough (?) search for the trousseau prices last night I came across a low pre-order price of $129. As always, do your research. Lower prices can mean higher shipping in some cases.
Ridiculously over-priced IMO.