2/15/2011

LET'S PLAY A GAME WITH TONNER'S GUYS!

I was looking at Tonner's new and recent male sculpts and I went back to 2006.  It was around the time or shortly after the appearance of the Harry Potter line that Tonner began introducing different adult males to the line. Since then we've seen new male sculpts on a regular basis. Many of them are licensed characters. Until tonight I didn't realize how many male dolls have come out of the TDC.

Just this new season alone, besides Hogyo Yoshio, whose dressed doll version was pictured in yesterday's blog post, we now have Stefan Salvatore, a dressed character figure from the Vampire Diaries. In The Vampire Diaries, Stefan has the ability to influence people's memories with his mind. His eyes are incredibly intense and the facial screening looks hand-painted.
(To me they're dolls, not character figures.)
Paul Wesley/Stefan Salvatore Head Sculpt and 17" Matt O'Neill™ Body; Brown Eyes w/ Brunette Wigged Hair and Cameo Skintone
STEFAN SALVATORE
DRESSED TONNER CHARACTER FIGURE™ LE1000  $159.99
Stefan's brother (?) Damon Salvatore below, has already debuted but hasn't shipped yet. I think he is a great looking doll....oops, character figure.
Ian Somerhalder/Damon Salvatore Head Sculpt; 17" Matt O'Neill™ Body; Blue Eyes; Brunette Wigged Hair; Cameo Skintone.          
DAMON SALVATORE
DRESSED TONNER CHARACTER FIGURE™ LE1000  $159.99
There is a basic Hogyo Yoshio in the new Freedom for Fashion line.

Basic Yoshio comes wearing an essential knit t-shirt and fully-lined knit boxers."NEW" Japanese Male Head Sculpt and 17" Matt O'Neill™ Body; Brown Eyes w/ Black Hair and Cameo Skintone LE500 $89.99
 From the Harry Potter line, Professor Dumbledore with the Richard Harris (likeness) Albus Dumbledore head sculpt and Lucius Malfoy with the Jason Isaacs sculpt (likeness) are incredibly interesting sculpts and would make great basics if only the licensing would allow.
Professor Dumbledore
Lucius Malfoy
Professor Snape sculpted in the likeness of Alan Rickman.
Voldemort is not under consideration as a handsome adult male at this time.


We have a winner!
Congratulations to Laura/LA for her winning entry. Timestamp: Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 11:20 PM

Runner Up 
Milady Blue. Timestamp: Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 11:31 PM

Here are the answers:

Men of Tonner Game
1. Tenth Doctor - Dr. Who  (Likeness of David Tennant)
2. Aquaman - DC Stars 
3. Lord Asriel Northbound - Golden Compass  (Likeness of Daniel Craig)
4. Batman - DC Stars
5. Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean line, (likeness of Johnny Depp)
6. Torchwood Capt. Jack Harkness (likeness of John Barrowman)
7. Twilight Edward Cullen Distant Devotion
8. Dick Tracy
9. Green Lantern – Hal Jordan
10. Jacob Black - Twilight line, (likeness Taylor Lautner)
11. James - Twilight line, (likeness Cam Gigandet)
12. Jayne Cobb - Firefly line,  (likeness Adam Baldwin sculpt)
13. Jonah Hex - Jonah Hex line, (likeness Josh Brolin)
14. Jeremy Voss– Tyler Who?
15. Laurent - Twlight line, (likeness Edi Gathegi sculpt)
16. Lee Scoresby - Golden Compass line, (likeness Sam Elliott)
17. Captain Malcolm Reynolds - Firefly line, (likeness Nathan Fillion)
18. Maxwell Smart - Get Smart line, (likeness Steve Carell sculpt)
19. Perseus - Clash of the Titans line,( likeness Sam Worthington )
20. Prince Dastan - Prince of Persia line,(likeness Jake Gyllenhaal)
21. Rhett Butler - Gone With the Wind
22. Ultra Basic Simon Chase - original sculpt
23. Superman - original sculpt
24. Ultra Basic Matt Tan with long blonde hair
25. Ultra Basic Russell Williams
26. Ultra Basic Russell Williams - #2
27. Will Turner - Pirates of the Caribbean, (likeness Orlando Bloom )
28. Lord Asriel at Oxford - Golden Compass  (Likeness Daniel Craig)
29. Simon Chase in Tuxedo
30. Ultra Basic Matt O'Neil
31. Bonus question
Shared Sculpt: SEAN
The Gift ( Gianetto); University Cool;  Re-imagined Star Crossed Romeo
___

Winner : Laura/LA  February 15 11:20 PM
2nd Place: Milady Blue Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 11:31 PM

Others:
Baris; Nicole; savyuser1217; Stacy in IL; T & J Smith ; Sue Townson ; toyblahg;

 Let's play a game. 

The first person to correctly identify the character/sculpt/name of the doll in every picture below wins. For example: if the character were Tyler Wentworth, we'd need the actual name of the doll.  If the character were Ava Gardner, you would need to tell us which Ava it is. (If you find Tyler or Ava in the following list, call your eye doctor immediately.) Spelling does not count unless 99% of the letters are wrong and/or missing.
Winner gets fame and glory and the 2010 rhinestone encrusted 10th Anniversary Tyler Wentworth pin. It's really a beauty.
Please number the guesses in the same order as the pictures and submit them via email in list form. (You will find my email address on my profile page and on every Nigerian computer in the world.)

In the case of a tie, the time stamp on the submission wins. The later submission/s will get fame, no fortune.

Please don't post identifying names for these characters until the game is over. If you do post a comment and name the characters, I won't be posting your comment until Friday.

Game ends Friday at Noon EST - aka New York time.

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3
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5
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7
8
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11
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14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

24

25
26
27

28
29
30
Bonus Question: Name the sculpt the following 3 dolls share and provide each dolls' specific name.

31.

An Unfortunate Resemblance?

 I see an unfortunate resemblance.

Luxurious Antoinette
Iracebeth The Red Queen

2/14/2011

Toy Fair 2011 Picture Links

https://picasaweb.google.com/BarbieZania/ToyFair2011#   (Barbie 295 images)

Picture by Carolynn R Whitford: Van Gogh Barbie
http://www.dollattic.com/hotgossip.htm  (Front page of Sandi Holder's Doll Attic site has a bunch of fabulous photos by Michael Williams.)

For example:


Images used by permission.

Why Can't All Men Be Like Ken?

If you are of the mind, you can go to BC.Com and purchase this t-shirt for $18.
 And if you are really looking for the answers to the question I have a few suggestions.

He's plastic.
He's always silent.
He's already got a girlfriend.
He's on the small side.
He doesn't age.
He often looks dorky.
He's very limited in his movements.
He doesn't have the usual body parts men have.
He doesn't seem to have an income.
He's fond of living in boxes. 
He never eats. 

________

Or...you can purchase this set for $5. today and celebrate that Barbie and Ken are back together (at last.)

Now we'll never get a Palm Beach Sugar Daddy.

Tonner 2011 Toy Fair Release

 Today Tonner released the images and information on their 2011 Toy Fair products. I applaud the Tonner Doll Company for their extensive line-up which introduces new lines and enhances existing ones.
Everything underlined is a link.
Antoinette 
There's no shortage of fabric here. Lots of layers, ruffles, more layers and mermaid hems.
 Sweeping LE150 $249.99;       Bold LE150 $199.99;         Luxurious LE150 $219.99;        Picturesque LE150 $209.99
Freedom for Fashion.
New Japanese sculpts. Female dolls have the 16 inch Antoinette body with Cameo skintone and males have the 17 inch Matt O'Neill body and Cameo Skintone. All dolls have brown eyes and black hair.
There are two basic dolls, two dressed dolls and three separate outfits. I am just showing the dressed dolls here.
Wonderful and inspired new line. I love the dressed dolls - both of them.
Sori Aiko LE500 $189.99
Hogyo Yoshio LE500 $199.99

Theatre de la Mode
I am thrilled to bits that this line is back. One dressed doll whose fashion inspiration is waiting to be discovered opens today.  She has a new "Fashion" head sculpt on the Antoinette body blue eyes, blonde  hair and Cameo skintone.  I am going to have to order her although the price is quite high. Sigh.

  
Noir #99   LE300   $249.99
Twilight
Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen's boyfriend...he's the one who tried to 'eat' Bella when she visited their home.
Excellent resemblance. Jackson Rathbone/Jasper Hale Head Sculpt and 17" Matt O'Neill™ Body; Umber Eyes w/ Blended Hair and Cameo Skintone.
Jasper Hale  LE1000  $1149.99
Tyler Wentworth
Two dressed Tylers with the original Tyler head sculpt and one dressed Sydney. All are on the 16" Tyler BW body. Signature Statement is a name and color take off on the Signature Style Tylers of the past who wore white blouses and black pants or skirts. This one is beautiful! Fire Opal is a knockout with that fabulous wig and eye candy gown. Sydney's makeup seems to be a blast from the past with the eyeliner top and bottom and lighter lips - 1970's style.
Signature Statement Tyler Wentworth LE300 $199.99
Fire Opal Tyler Wentworth LE300 $224.99
So Sleek Sydney Chase LE300 $199.99
The other lines that have new additions are American Models, DC Stars, Disney Princess Collection, Harry Potter, It's A Small World and The Vampire Diaries.  This is a link to the index.

Happy Valentine's Day Sale from Maddie's Dolls

Maddie's Dolls & More of Canada is offering this Barbie-Ken set for free with a purchase of $50 Cdn or more. There are other items on sale as well.






...I don't know. I think I'd rather have Ken's balls.



Seriously! When will Mattel pull this item?

2/13/2011

Making Tonner Full Body Hangers Function Properly

This article and it's accompanying images was written by Miriam Shepard of Chevy Chase, MD who has granted permission for it's reprint.

Why in the world did Tonner design hangers for his wardrobe trunks that do not function for 90% of the clothing he makes? I love the look of the plexiglass body hangers but the shoulders won't hold the clothing in place so I figured out a way to make clear plastic shoulders for the hangers that make them work and aren't an eyesore. I wish Tonner would take up my idea and make these himself with cute little TW insignias to fit his hangers. Dream on Miriam.

You will need:
Strong scissors
An Exacto knife or cutting blade
Paper to make a pattern.
One clear plastic boxes that UB Tylers come in or similar flexible plastic. Cut it up along the fold lines.
Here are pics of the pattern and of the clear plastic shoulders
From paper cut a rectangle that is 2 inches wide by 3-5/8 inches tall. Fold it in half lengthwise. Trim the corners on two sides as shown in the picture above.
Use your paper pattern as a guide to cut your plastic. I find it is easiest to first cut the plastic box into panels and then cut them into 3- 5/8 inch sections and then fold the sections lengthwise and trim to 1 inch folded.

Finally, trim the "shoulders".

After folding and trimming the plastic, use the Xacto knife to cut through the fold so that the body hanger will slip through and the plastic shoulders slide down in place on the "shoulders of the hanger.


This is a dress falling off the Tonner hanger. Boo!



Finally, the dress is hanging on the new shoulders which look good with the plexiglass hanger.

Mattel Barbie at NY Toyfair 2011 by Michael Williams

Here is a link to Michael William's fabulous photos from 2011 NY Toyfair's Mattel Displays.

Photo By Michael Williams/mawphoto.com

2/11/2011

New Ellowyne and Evangeline Items at Wilde Imagination & Free Shipping

Some very pretty new items went up on the Wilde Imagination sites today. For Ellowyne there are two new dressed dolls, one new basic and three new outfits. The new dolls have inset eyes. The dolls look more alive to me with inset eyes. Both dolls are LE 1,000

Tears of Endearment $149.00        Wit's End    $155.00
 Wit's End must be channeling Daniel Boone era. Perhaps she's a dancehall girl from old western movies.

The new outfits below, seem to be toned down compared to prior releases. All are LE 1,000.
Stolen Moments $74.00        Fur Real $74.00        Ties That Bind $79.00
 For Evangeline there are 10 new outfit items that have been added since I looked last week. They are blouses, skirts, jackets a cape and a bustier ranging in price from $58. to $72. One can buy the "Attic Collection Three" for the tidy sum of $520. It includes all ten items. There are definitely four must haves in that group - maybe 5....
 

The items are gorgeous!
There is a period of free shipping until the end of February in the continental US with a purchase of at least $75. Add the promo code SPRING11 to your order form.
____
I'm not thrilled with the articulation/engineering of Evangeline. I like to play with my dolls and pose them and photograph them. These girls are awkward and difficult to pose. Their joints are kicky. Their heads do not move properly. They can't sit up. I may not buy any more dolls in the line until they improve the poseability. It's definitely not out of the range of the company's abilities. I have less expensive dolls with better articulation. I know that people were influenced by my first reviews and bought dolls. The market definitely has room to grow. The quality of the product needs to grow to meet the demands of a discerning collector. I'm sad to say that Evangeline has the least posing ability of any other fully articulated doll in my collection.

Impressions of the Jason Wu Fall RTW 2011 Collection

Jason Wu - Image from his Facebook Page
I made some notes while I was watched Jason's Fall RTW 2011 collection twice. Link to the show here. It takes a long time to load so be patient! If that doesn't work, go to Facebook and the Jason Wu page.

Slide show at WWD

All about beautiful shape of the female body and surface embellishment. Spare. Toned down. No wasted energy. Body hugging slacks. Drapey slacks. Blouses with lacey faux turtlenecks. Skinny ribbon ties around neck.
Lots of skirts and blouses; slacks and blouses.

Brown, ivory and black A few jewel tones here and there. Beautiful embellishments: embroidered, dangly crystals. Embellished shoulders and arms.
Sexy, shapely, minimally made up models with hair tied back.
The very few gowns were shiny, sparkly, flowing and gorgeous.
Overall the designs looked fabulously wearable, sophisticated and classy but nothing daring here.
Most women would love to have these in their wardrobe, me included.
Happily gone are the gladiator and heavy, clunky shoes. Classic pumps.
Could have been gone: feathered garments and some of the lace head and face covers.

2/10/2011

Even More Reinterpreted Runway Fashions

Posted by Aruam on Dolly Daily
Left: IT's Jordan "Fire Within"                 Right: Louis Vuitton Fall, 2009
I love it in black, collarless, strong shoulders, longer sleeves. It works. Jordan's outfit missed the mark.


Left: IT's Lillith "The Great Pretender"      Right: Louis Vuitton Fall, 2009

2/09/2011

BC.Com 2011 $10. off code.

I joined up for this year earlier today. It was not without frustration. When they switched their website to the current disaster, I changed my password because I could not log in with the old one. Even though I was recognized as a BC.Com 2010 member apparently that password would not allow their system to register me today. Ugh. After clearing my cache numerous times and dumping all my cookies as per the customer service person, I still couldn't get in. So I hunted down my old password and guess what? It worked. I was signed up and I was able to buy the club dolll #1. 
There is a $10. off code that worked: A29029. I used it towards the doll not the membership.
Did you join? 

More Reinterpreted Runway Fashions

These were posted on the W Club board at various times. Unfortunately there are no captions for the runway fashions. If you know the designer, please either email me or post it in a comment. I will then add to the caption under each set of images.
Enjoy!
Left: IT's Costume Drama Giselle     Right: Carolina Herrera Gown
Left: Marie Luisa Gown - Christian Dior/John Galliano Spring 1998        Right: "True Royalty"

Left: "Lap of Luxury" Convention Fashion             Right: Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2007

Left: "Discreet"             Center: Christian Dior/John Galliano Spring 2010           Right: "Smoldering"
Others have been posted but I am choosing to limit what I post here to those reinterpreted fashions that are obviously wholly inspired by a runway fashion, not the ones that have one or two similar details.
There will be more.

2/08/2011

JAMIEshow introduces their Male BJD Resin Fashion dolls

Available exclusively at Angelic Dreamz are two new and very hot male resin BJD dolls.


Alejandro $295.00

Alejandro was spotted at a South Beach hot spot when Jamie was on a photo shoot.  His swarthy Latin looks swept her off her feet, so she signed him to her agency right away.  A native of Cuba, Alejandro spends his hot summer nights at the cool and hip night clubs of South Beach, drinking mojitos and mingling with the fabulous and famous. Alejandro comes as a basic doll 16" Tall wearing black briefs. His is a new skin tone.  He can stand on his own and does not include a stand.  


Lee $295.00
 Angelica was on a photo shoot in San Francisco when she was at a shopping spree, from the corner of her eye she spotted Lee.  A native of San Francisco Lee was working in the High Tech industry before Angelica recruited him for the Fashion World.  Lee is a natural with his rugged Asian American good lucks, he has all the ladies swooning. Lee comes as a basic 16" Tall doll wearing black briefs. His is a new skin tone. Lee can stand on his own and does not include a stand.

Check out the Angelic Dreamz website for more BJDs. It's a wonderful site for an amazing array of dolls, accessories, furniture and so much more including the JIE dolls seen below. 


2011 JIE-Doll Collection of KIDZ resin BJDs with interchangeable eyes

"Up and Out" Fashion Ensemble a Cherished Friends Exclusive

Cherished Friends has a new exclusive Cami & Jon fashion by Tonner which will fit any doll with an Antoinette body. It's called "Up and Out."
It's very cute. I like the idea of a dressy jacket over a multi-layered casual jeans outfit.  The doll modeling the fashion is also a Cherished Friends exclusive. She is Rose Basic Raven. She has the Bloom skin-tone and green eyes.
Check the Cherished Friends website for more exclusive dolls, the Tonner line, the Integrity Toys line and so much more.
"Up and Out" Fashion LE150 $99.99
"Rose Basic Raven" $84.99