2014 Integrity's Surprisingly Great FR16 Dolls

To be sure, there are various interpretations of the word great.  In this case, I'm calling them great as compared to other 16" modern vinyl dolls. For example, Tonner dolls generally retail in the range of $99.-$250 for a dressed doll these days.  The less expensive ones will be dressed in more basic styles. The FR16 SRP was $175. That price has dropped a good deal for some of the newer ones.
The fashions are beautifully made and come with excellent accessories.
As far as articulation goes, the FR16 win the vinyl race, their only drawback being their awful articulated toes and awkward feet. Neither the ankle nor the toe joint add anything to the doll and should be eliminated in favor of a sleek fashion foot.

I don't know whether or not it's a good thing that the current IT designer keeps bringing back altered versions of Jason Wu's designs. In one way it speaks volumes about his creativity and on the other hand, Jason's beautiful fashions always work.

Except for Afterhours Hanne, I purchased the dolls and fashions separately. Once I found that I liked them, they started showing up.

For this post I show the original Jason Wu doll promo photo, a photo of my own 1/6 scale original and the new 16" version.

Red Blooded Woman Kyori has grown to become Hot Blooded Woman.
By the time I decided that I loved the outfit, I couldn't get Elsa Lin at a reasonable price. I will continue to look for her. Modeling the FR16 fashion is  "On Edge." Avantguard. She is wearing her own shoes as the FR16 shoes do not fit. The wig is by Ilaria.
Pretty gorgeous!

Cosmetic Takeover Natalia is now Cosmetic Surrender. This Natalia was the first Natalia ever produced. She was on a straight arm body. Mine became so brittle that even though I was very careful, her neck cracked when I first gave her a new tall body. (Not shown.)  My model for the FR16 fashion is Platinum Society Hanne whose outfit follows.

Silver Society Veronique's big sister is Platinum Society. Silver Society was also a straight arm doll. Mine is now on an FR2 body and I still love her as much as the day I first got her.
My model for Platinum Society's fashion is a Tyler head on a Tulabelle body. The head switch was easy and the body is perfect for the FR16 outfits. The feet, like those of the FR16 dolls are unnecessarily articulated. She looks like she has tumors of the ankle (whatever that is.) Do not click here for a Google search on ankle tumors. You will be sorry.
I love Tyler and I always will. She needs a body like this to bring her into the 21st Century.
Anyway, this outfit is a thin pleather-like fabric with wonderful embellishment. I like everything about the fashion and I'd rather have a ring instead of doll gloves any day!
The last picture shows how I've 'repurposed' my FR outfits from the early days to adorn Silkstone dolls. The fit is perfection-even the shoes.

Purple Factor Adele has grown up to become Amethyst Factor. Again, we have a straight arm, early Jason design. This was an amazingly detailed and sexy sheath with ruching, princess seams and a lace inset at the top of the bodice. The fur had beads between the stole and the tails. Everything about it was beautifully designed and executed. My model for Amethyst Factor is Afterhours Hanne Erikson. Her hair was a frizzy mess and still needs work.

Obsidian Society Vanessa's FR16 version is Obsidian Culture.  This was a wildly popular Vanessa; they all were until they started multiplying like rabbits. Vanessa's black suit looks nothing like the new Culture version; it is so much more stylish. My model is the brunette Obsidian Culture in the "Bijou" Avantguard gown.  It's nice to know that the Avantguard, FR16 and Tulabelle bodies can share fashions.

Barely...

This is, in my opinion, the prettiest of all the Obsidian Hannes. Unfortunately, her hair was an overdone, frizzy mess. I have one side pinned back to hide the crimped, frizzed ends. Such a shame. I'll fix it one of these days. The fur is from the Hot Blooded outfit and the earrings and bracelet are from other sources.

Surprisingly great? Yes! Look back at the original 4 FR16 dolls. Three out of the four fashions are uninspired. One of the dolls looks like a corpse and another looks terrified.

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I have the blond Obsidian Culture NRFB doll for sale at a very good price on the Show & Sell pages.
While you are there, take a look at my other listings. You should definitely buy something!

Integrity Toys 2014 "Gloss" Convention

I followed the events of the convention on several social media boards and on the phone with my proxy. The organizers certainly had huge obstacles to overcome but luckily for them and the attendees, the missing dolls arrived. I think this was their largest convention at 500 people. I would have loved the Friday night Halloween event. From photos, it looks like the costumes were fantastic!

In a message from the W Club we were told that due to technical difficulties, photos of the convention dolls can't be posted yet. Whatever.

There are many people posting pictures of their own dolls but the official photos would be nice to have as in past years. You can  find them on eBay. Do a search under "Gloss Convention/dolls & bears" and you will come up with several hundred postings.

That being said, I had to decide to keep only a few dolls so I've been selling the ones that can't stay. Here is what remains.

Sheer Sensuality Vanessa (Magenta) (Centerpiece) $300.

Poppy Dark Moon  (Purple) (Convention collection) $250.

Grandiose Natalia Fatale (Convention collection) $225. (Nude $175) (Outfit $75)

Veronique Nocturnal Glow (Convention collection) $200. (Nude $150) (Outfit $65)

Simonetta Bertorelli  La Ville Lumiere  (Convention collection) $200.
Victoire “Dial V for Victoire” Mini Gift Set (Store exclusive) $200.
Both for $350.

Jolt (ITBE Store exclusive) Blonde in pink dress. $115.

Chrome Noir Erin (NuFace) (Luncheon Gift Doll) $225.

Evening Siren Ayumi  (NuFace)  $250.  (Nude $175.)

Time Served Color Infusion Homme Male Doll (Workshop) $200

Kyori  “Nightshade”  (Convention collection)  Outfit Only $75

A huge shipment from my proxy is due to arrive tomorrow. I got the notice from UPS this morning. The convention collection, coming from Integrity, will take a few days longer.

Prices do not include postage.

Email me if you have an interest. I do have some pictures.


The dolls I am keeping:

-Intrigue Elise - Saturday night centerpiece.
-LE Smoking Adele (Convention Collection)
-After Hours Hanne (She was an optional purchase.)

I'm undecided about Cold Shoulder Eugenia and Adorned Vanessa (Convention collection.) They are gorgeous but I'm holding off deciding until I have them in my hands.
I think I'm done with Vanessa. 

I had to ask myself what dolls I would have been willing to pay secondary market prices for and then decide whether or not it was worth it to have a proxy. It's a lot of work and time to sell the dolls I don't want to keep. I bought three of last year's convention dolls individually (Both Elise and one Monogram) as I did not have a proxy. This year, I got a bit caught up in the extras offered and bought dolls that are beautiful but not for me.

Such problems.

These CI male dolls are interesting. The frenzy for them is unbelievable.

Here's a picture of one I found on eBay.

They're all very different and many are other than Caucasian. They sell out quickly at the event. This is the workshop one.

New Fashion Royalty, Poppy Parker and Tulabelle Dolls

Integrity Toys revealed its new dolls to the members of the W Club last Saturday. The categories were Fashion Royalty, Poppy Parker, Tulabelle and Jem.

The Fashion Royalty theme is Urban Safari.
From left to right they are:


On The Rise Elise Jolie, 
Vivid Encounter Adele Makeda, 
Elusive Creature Natalia Fatale, 
Faded Desert Kyori Sato,  
City Prowl Eugenia Perrin Frost and
Full Spectrum Veronique Perrin

All the dolls are editions of 700 or 800 each except Adele which is an edition of only 400. Each doll's retail price is $135., a bit of a hike from last year's FR dolls. These have the FR2 version 2 body. 

Overall, this group of dolls is nice. There's nothing spectacular or new to write home about. The designer stayed close to the chosen theme in most cases and the clothes are pretty tame. My own favorites are Elise and Adele. I love anything Elise as I used to love Vanessa. However, the fashion looks very familiar to ones IT has done in the past. My other favorite is Adele but only for the outfit. I don't know why they think that Adele looks good in washed out lipstick. She doesn't. I love the outfit and the jewelry and I hope that the color of the actual lining isn't too off in real life. Also, they never should have changed her sculpt. She was beautiful.

The last doll is the event doll available to any W Club member who wishes to pre-order. The edition size in this circumstance will be determined by those who sign up to buy her. She is  High Visibility Agnes Von Weiss. It is a mini gift set as she comes with two fashions. She, too, retails for $135. but will not be available to the public.
Agnes' fashion leaves me cold. The cropped vest over the bustier is fussy and awkward and probably too bulky for the doll to wear. The long skirt is just like another early FR outfit. But Agnes is a very popular sculpt so many will order her.
I like Veronique's outfit a lot but it's not worth $135. I would not keep the doll as this is not Veronique to me.

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The Poppy Parker line gains four new characters, not all with new sculpts. The theme is the Girl From I.N.T.E.G.R.I.T.Y. Apparently they are crime fighters (or murderers) as all come with color coordinated weapons. Seriously?

Sebina Havoc: Mistress of Disguise aka Loni Lawrence joins the line. She is pictured on the right, above. This doll comes with an extra head with the Poppy Parker sculpt.

The new guy is Sebastien Havoc: Brother in Arms aka Lex Lawrence. He's a bad guy and Sebina's brother.

The third new character is Agent Kimiko Gunn aka Tina Tanaka. This doll uses the original Ayumi sculpt.

Colette returns as Agent Penelope Chase aka Jolie James. All these 'forgotten' sculpts are making comebacks.

Four others, above are from left to right: Agent Lotta Danger,  Spy-A-Go-Go,  Arm Candy Chip Farnsworth III and Mayhem in Monte Carlo Poppy Parker.

The dolls and their outfits are cutesy. The entire Poppy Parker line is on the comical side of tongue in cheek. They need to be careful not to turn them into action figures as opposed to fashion dolls. The price of each doll in this line is $120. That's a huge increase over last year's prices. Perhaps it's the tiny guns.

I like Arm Candy's suit a lot. It's a very gay James Bond look. I just don't care for Chip's sculpt. I'm wondering if Lex Lawrence is a combination of features seen previously. He's got very strange eyes.

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There are four new Tulabelle dolls. Each is an edition of 300 and costs $140. Tula's clothes will fit the Avantguard doll. I don't have any FR16 dolls but the clothes are very similar in size.

Click on any of the photos to see larger size versions.

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Jem and the Holograms

The Jem line dolls are action figures to me. They wear costumes, not fashion.

To each his own. 

Each doll is $125.

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What is your opinion of the offerings?

Did you pre-order anything?

Please include your name in your posts...if you dare. :-)

W Club Lottery Announced

Looks like there will be plenty of lotteries this year in the W Club. That means that all the cheer leaders will definitely get the dolls they want. And that's the way it goes.
The 'discontinued' tall Fashion Royalty body isn't exactly discontinued. It's being used for the ITBE (Integrity Toys Basic Edition) dolls. When these dolls first came out a few years ago they called them "entry level collectibles." We all laughed at that expression. ITBE have grown up to be basic FR dolls without accessories or fancy fashions. This year their price is $75. each.
It's a good business move to keep these editions at only 300 and do lotteries. This way the dealers don't get their cut and the desire to have them rises because it's a lottery.
The last lottery dolls were so popular, possibly because Isha, Adele and Natalia were the offerings and they don't show up often. In addition, many collectors aren't into the high prices of the FR2 dolls so these bodies are just dandy.

 The IT designers are playing mix and match with the vinyl colors of the characters. Isha was ghost-white while Adele faded and Natalia went darker.

The newly offered ITBE - or Wave 2 as they call it - is another four dolls. Vanessa, Kyori, Janay, and Monogram.

Vanessa is now a black woman with Caucasian features. They're calling her vinyl color A-tone.  Kyori is being called black but I'm not quite sure what it really is.  Janay, a play line doll sculpt, is making an appearance. She is one of Jason Wu's oldest character sculpts and I don't believe she has appeared as a Fashion Royalty doll - ever. She is on the Monogram body and her skin tone is called Miami. Her hair reminds me of the first Natalia doll, Cosmetic Takeover.  
The original Natalia's sculpt was perfection. It did not need updating IMO.
Last is a standard Monogram doll with white skin and silver hair. I like her.

There is something here for most but not everyone will get what he or she wants. I want the Vanessa a lot because she has the Vanessa 1.0 (original) sculpt and where that is concerned, I'm a completist.

In keeping with the fact that these are "basic" dolls, the fashions are not "new" or embellished. They are being repeated in various colors as are the shoes. But it's a fun line. The only problem I see is that if you like all your dolls on the same height body such as FR2, you probably won't be able to find matches for these girls.

***If you are a member of the W Club and are not entering for Vanessa, please contact me. If you win the right to buy her and change your mind, please contact me.***

Integrity Toys Convention Post #2

Here are the dolls from Friday.
The Poppy luncheon centerpiece is beautifully dressed and sophisticated.

The Poppy give-away doll has a gorgeous face.

The evening meal centerpiece was Natalia in orange! I'm not a fan of this doll but it could be worse.

 

The give-away doll was Kyori. Simple and appropriately dressed with an interesting hairstyle. I liked the old Kyori mold.

Whoever took over the reins this year has done everyone a favor...even those of us who didn't attend, (although there's less comedy involved in the review.) The dolls are prettier and the fashions aren't  immature as most were last year.

I'm wondering if Vanessa will make an appearance. I guess I'm still coming from the old school of Vanessa lovers. Perhaps she made enough appearances already in other ways this past year. What about Adele? Dasha?