Another Michelle Obama Doll!

Look at these promotional pictures. They're artist's renderings. Do you remember the last artist rendering of a Michelle Obama doll? The doll turned out to be quite different and equally as unsatisfactory.

The Franklin Mint has jumped into the arena and is promoting their own "Michelle Obama Official White House Portrait  Doll" in vinyl. 

The only descriptive text they include in their strange tribute to the First Lady is as follows:

"this remarkable creation is complete with black pumps, stud earrings, double-strand faux pearl necklace and replica steel watch. An irrefutable masterpiece, our Franklin Mint artisans have truly made dollmaking history with this magnificent Michelle Obama portrait collectible. Limited Edition of 9,900 worldwide."

 I say the tribute is strange because there is no mention of her powerful intellect and impressive education only her "statuesque beauty and astonishing physique....her youthful and bold fashion choices...body hugging silhouettes and vintage-style brooches...[which] radiate Michelle's unique blend of confidence, charisma and elegance."
It's embarrassing to read.

I guess one has to write to the Franklin Mint to find out how large the doll is and about any other construction aspect.
I have sent them these questions:

Regarding the new vinyl Michelle Obama doll, I have questions. 
How tall is the doll?
Is the picture an artist's rendering or is it an actual photograph of the doll? 
Are the doll's clothes removable or are they sewn on? 
Is she wearing a wig or is her hair rooted?
Why don't you put important information in your promotional ads?



The price is $195. and they are accepting pre-orders. That's pretty clear.

Don't do it.  Wait until the real thing can be seen.  

Note: I have found out that they are 16" tall. Apparently the clothing is removable. Angelic Dreamz will be selling these dolls and several outfits as well. I am sure George will provide excellent photos for us to see. Link to Angelic Dreamz.

                                 

A Photoshoot, Finally!

Yesterday I took the time to photograph a bunch of dollies that have been patiently waiting. The time before a convention is nice and peaceful without many new dolls arriving. Next month at this time, the chaos will have subsided but there will be chaos.

Here's an assortment for you.

Tonner's Vivacious Antoinette in Summer Nights

I'm pretty bored with Antoinette already and I will not be adding new ones. This is the latest dress I received from the Cami & Jon line. They wear the same clothes. The dress is pretty vanilla - nothing new. It definitely is lacking pizzazz.

Mini  Aphrodisiac in a Pam Seeman Dress

I love this doll and she is as beautiful as her larger sister. I picked up this couch from Facets. The earrings were gifts from Facets as well. Shoes are from a Fashion Royalty fashion.

The "Egyptian" chair was purchased in a local head shop/crystal store.

Beatnik Blues Poppy Parker wearing Sealed With A Kiss

 Getting this doll's bangs to lay properly is an exercise in futility. She should have been wigged. I love the outfits being created for this line of dolls.

Coney Island Saturday Poppy Parker wearing Beatnik Blues

She looks afraid. This is not a very popular edition and perhaps the designers will take a hard look at the eyes going forward. The first year Poppy's eyes were more expressive and less anime. Teens in the era from which Poppy is supposed to come did not wear big hair rolls on their foreheads. That's from the 40's.
Am I imagining it or is Poppy supposed to be a little pigeon-toed? I don't like that Robert Tonner did that with Tiny Kitty in order to make her look more kittenish and vulnerable. Imagine a boy doll with pigeon toes? It's so sexist.

Mini Gene Wearing Look of Love Poppy Fashion

 Mini-Gene dolls sport my favorite 12" doll sculpt. It's delightful to find that there are clothes for them.

Target Exclusive Barbie Basics With Shoes from Shoe Pack

No, I still do not collect Barbie Dolls. I do buy them occasionally to see what all the fuss is about however. I purchased the big shoe pack and these zebra striped pumps were my favorites. I hoped against hope that some of the shoes would fit Fashion Royalty but no luck. It would be nice if these dolls were articulated (she said, again.)
The doll has a pretty face - she's soooo white it even bothers me. Hehe.
It's cute.

Hair is the usual choppy mess and this picture is after I trimmed and conditioned it!

Puki Puki "Rudy" Wearing Kelly Clothes and a Tabloach Wig

My poor Puki Pukis are very neglected. They sit around staring at the big girls getting changed and being played with.  Here, Ruby is examining her fishbowl and planning to take the fish out for a walk.

Traveler Innoquii Transformed!

Petra Becker from Germany sent me a picture of her Traveler from whom she removed the black eye spot. She sanded with different grits of paper and I think she did an amazing job. After removing the spot she used acrylic paint for the eye and eyebrow and pastel for the upper cheek area. Take a look at this picture of hers.

Image by Petra Becker

For comparison, here is a before picture of my Traveler doll.What a difference!

I'm torn between removing the spot and leaving it. I don't love it but it's edgy and unique. One day I'd like to get the bride doll from this series which currently is selling for about $300. That's a big difference from the $75 for Traveler!

Traveler can wear many Avantguard clothes but bottoms that are very tight on the AGs may be impossible to get on.  All the ultra short dresses are close to perfect on Traveler. Shoes will fit, too.

I wonder if her stringing will loosen up over time? Her elbow joints are extremely snappy. Every other joint works nicely. I am still very pleased with her.

We Have Received One Lovely Blog Award

 Alison in California from the Fashion Doll Review has included us in their list of blogs they enjoy reading. Thank you very  much, Alison. I also enjoy reading yours!

The rules for this prize, if you'd like to play along are as follows:
Write a post about this prize, including the photo above and link to the blog which awarded you the prize. Then award it to 15 blogs that you enjoy reading.

My picks for this award are:

1. Comatose Bunny Dreamer    http://citronrouge-comatosebunnydreamer.blogspot.com/
2  Creazione - Creation in Miniature      http://emiliacouture.blogspot.com/
3. Fashionably Plastic                             http://creativelymj.blogspot.com/
4. The ArtPoint                                       http://theartpoint.blogspot.com/
5. Miss Gene Marshall                            http://missgenemarshall.blogspot.com/
6. Paint Me White                                   http://www.paintmewhite.com/
7. Fleur de Lys News                              http://fleurdelysdolls.blogspot.com/
8. Dolldom                                              http://dolldom.blogspot.com/
9. Diane on Whidbey Island                   http://dianeonwhidbeyisland.blogspot.com/
10. Dollphilia                                          http://dollphilia.blogspot.com
11. Infidel                                                http://infidel-aquabluerose.blogspot.com/
12. My Passion is: DOLLS                     http://passionatedolls.blogspot.com/
13. Royalty.Girl                                       http://royalty-girl.blogspot.com/
14. Soultalk777 A Scarlett Reverie         http://soultalk777.blogspot.com/
15. Brooklyn Stars Forever                     http://brooklynstars-forever.blogspot.com/

Great work everyone! I want to note that there are many other blogs I enjoy and recommend. Some have already received this award so I have decided to share the wealth among other bloggers.

New Wave of Monster High Dolls

I'm a little bit hooked on these adorable, cheap dolls. I ordered the new Cleo de Nile Dawn of the Dance doll (below on the right) directly from the Mattel shop today. The list price is $16.99. I got free shipping and if you sign up for a free account you get 10% off your purchase. Because I live in taxable New York, the 10% tax was pretty much canceled out but my total was only $16.51 complete! Not bad at all.

As always, you should shop around for your best deal as many are overcharging for these dolls. There are a total of 9 figures not counting the plushies right now. Some dealers on eBay are selling the entire collection of 9. Do the math and find your best price.

Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo DeNile

Images above were created by Mattel and were adapted by eBay vendors.

There is one caution I should add. The joints on these dolls are fragile in that I've had arms fall out from the lightest handling. It doesn't happen all the time but it will happen. Additionally, some of their little accessories are attached with clear rubber bands. I suggest leaving the bands. I have already lost one leg fin from one of the girls. My Deuce Gorgon's legs were detached inside his pants. The pants are so tight that I didn't notice until I had discarded all the packaging. Luckily I have a friend who can fix this for me.
Save the boxes and the receipts.

How many of you remember the nighttime soap, Dynasty?

Two new character dolls have been introduced by Mattel. They are Krystal [Carrington] of Dynasty who was portrayed by Linda Evans (above left),

Krystal - Estimated delivery date .December 2010
$34.95

and Alexis [Colby] of Dynasty formerly played by Joan Collins (top right):

Alexis - Estimated delivery date December 2010
  $34.95

John Forsythe, himself a handsome and distinguished actor, is the man in the middle. In the show he is married to Krystle. He'd make a hot-looking doll. Forsythe passed away in April, 2010 at the age of 92.

The dolls still look like Barbie. The hair is close to the actress' styles and the fashions are very good replicas from what I can see but the faces are still very Barbie. Isn't anyone else getting tired of that body pose? Such a waste of vinyl.

Linda Evans and Joan Collins were gorgeous in that series.

Joan, at 77, still looks great.

Linda's plastic surgeon should be shot.

Picture of the Week ~ October 2, 2010 ~ Melanie Reeves

Melanie Reeves, more commonly known as CarmMeldoll, posted a series of photos on Prego and it was difficult to choose a favorite. So I went, "eenie, meenie, miney, moe..." and this is the winner.

The original doll was said to be Sushi. Mel calls her NocTa. She has had a complete body repaint done by Paul Pham.
Her outfit is a mixture of pieces from Superfrock (jacket & shoes,) Avantguard (skirt,) and Joe Tai (bustier.)
Mel uses a light tent and takes pictures with her Nikon Coolpix L100 from several different angles. She edits down to the best ones.

Her suggestions regarding doll photography are as follows:
"Keep trying to improve on what you do...I am always trying to find ways to make my pictures better. I look at a lot of photography online, in magazines and in books, working to see what I can incorporate into my own style and pictures. I think if you love your dolls, it will show in your pictures."

Mel usually posts on Prego and Sybeau Monde.
See more of Mel's photography here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11049780@N03/