Mothership Dania Zarr™ Dressed Doll The Fashion Royalty® Collection: RETROFUTURE

 Mothership was a W Club exclusive doll offered in December, 2019. Those who pre-ordered experienced the longest delay ever of more than a year before she was actually delivered in January of 2021.

She does not disappoint!

Here are  two of IT's promotional photos:

Gorgeous, right?

Everything is exactly as it looks. 

The bodysuit is a weighty metal as is her neckpiece. I have not removed her arm coverings so I'm not sure what they're made of. Her eye shield is a flexible, thin metal item. It's cool for the alien look. if you're going for that, but otherwise it messes up her hair.

Everything is constructed beautifully except the boots. They are a nightmare. 

Mine had a part of the surface eaten away by excess glue. Not only that, when I put them on, keeping ALL THE STRAPS OPENED UP, one strap near the front of her foot broke. They do not stand flat on a surface. 

I have written to customer service for a replacement. They've contacted their factory in China. I suppose I'll be waiting for another year. 

It took nearly 40 minutes to close the straps on the boots. (There are five straps with buckles on each plus a zipper.) Then I found another defect. One of the buckles was not attached properly so it couldn't be closed at all.  I have the loose straps taped to her leg and/or boot for now.  Sad!

I like the black coat. The belt that is supposed to fit around the waist of the coat is not large enough. There is a lot of fabric that gets gathered when the belt is on and it just doesn't make it. Of course, if you were to attempt to use that belt, you'd have to remove her bodysuit.

Both the bodysuit and the neckpiece are two parts that snap together via magnets. They are beautifully polished. The bodysuit is embellished with inset rhinestones front and back. 

Another design touch I really like is that the earrings are facing forward. So often one has to look at the side of a doll's head to see what the earrings look like. 

I recommend adding this doll to your collection if you have not done so already. The current average eBay price is just south of $300. It has dropped from about $400 in December.

Her original price was $175.

Introducing "Lam, Dalat Holiday" by Aquatalis

 I've posted many photos of my 16" BJDs dressed in fashions by Aquatalis and now, there is a doll from them. 

Lam is a 16-1/2" resin BJD gift set in a limited edition of 15.  In her first iteration, introduced in October 2020, she is on holiday in Vietnam at a place called Dalat. The gift set consists of three distinct fashions and accessories as you can see below.

Photo by Aquatalis

This is her back story:

Dalat is one of the most beautiful destinations of Vietnam, which is located 4,900ft above sea level, known as a gift of nature since it has four seasons in a day, yes in a day! You can have the spring in the morning, summer in the noon, autumn in the afternoon and winter at night. Doesn't it sound wonderful? Dalat is also where Lam was born, so she decided to go back to her hometown with fashions and excited to transfer her feelings to you all. The first place that Lam visited is the King Palace of Dalat, she chose the classic brocade suit set to reappear the image of Nam Phuong - the last and the most beautiful, fashionable Empress Consort of Nguyen Dynasty - Vietnam back in the 40s. This set was made by our very talented best friend, Hoàng Anh Khôi, who is also well known for making classic style garments for fashion dolls, he used the blue shade brocade with golden thread flower to create the royal feeling for Lam, comes together with golden tone accessories to complete the look, that also matches perfectly to the context of King Palace and the cold weather of Dalat. Lam is deeply in love with that place and she's played the Queen role very well with power in the eyes but still remains the elegance.

Pham Anh Quan's photographs show her visiting three places dressed in one of the fashions each time.

The cost of the gift set was $1230  ($1080 + $150.) including EMS shipping from Viet Nam to the United States. It arrived several days after sending the payment which was really nice. I don't like having to pay for doll weeks (or longer) in advance. IMO, sellers should not get the total payment until the doll is actually ready to ship. 

I have dressed her in each outfit and wig (and several other wigs) and photographed her in everything and here is my opinion. 

Lam has a very pretty face. Her makeup is perfect. Her applied lashes are even. I loved the fact that her earring holes were large enough for most of my doll earrings. 

The clothes fit very well. There was no struggle to close any item and there were no awkward hems or clumps of fabric. Her shoes stayed on when I moved her.

Her necklace closes by tying ribbons. I do prefer a hook closure but this was fine. 

The wigs were carefully made, hard-cap type. I had trouble with the long wig as far as placing it on her head properly. I have to work on that. It's the reason that I don't have a photo of her wearing it.

The wigs shown below were made for Kingdom Dolls (except the last one.) Not all KD wigs fit properly. It depends on the wig itself. Lam's head is a bit smaller. I have an IT AvantGuard wig that fits her. 

Her lingerie:

Her suit:

Lam comes with two sets of hands and changing paddles. Hooks were not attached to the hands and should have beeen. I took the hooks off the paddles and put them on one pair of hands and used the extra pair of hooks for the other set of hands. Unfortunately, they fall off when the hands are not on the doll. It's kind of a balancing act to change the hands. I'm sure that is something that will be fixed in future dolls. 

Her hand-on-hip pose is easy to do and her holding hand works as you can see above. I pinned her hat on as I wanted it to tilt and the wig had a lot of height itself so the hat could not sit the way I wanted it to sit. 

Comparison to two other resin BJDs in my collection:

 

Size:

Lam is taller by a full half inch than Kingdom Doll. She is the same 16-1/2" tall as the Superdoll Sybarite.

For this photo, I made sure that each doll's foot surface was even with the others.

Note the differences in shoulder height, length from knee to hip, length of neck and the shape of the calf and the ankle. 

Kingdom Doll's body is beautifully refined and proportional. They have improved and made changes often. The finish is matte. The blushing is appropriate. Their joints work well. Occasionally, the arms are snappy and do not hold position. Nothing is perfect.

The Sybarite body is a joke. It is possibly the most unattractive resin body currently on the market. The blushing is ridiculous - look at the knee joints and around the breasts. Seriously? However, they have sold tons of dolls probably because of the fabulous clothes, makeup and hair. 

Lam's body needs some refinement and I'm sure they will be working on the body as time goes by. One change I'd like to see is to make the calf and ankle more shapely. 

The joints work very well except for one area - the knees. When bending the knees, I had to manipulate the center joint by hand. It will probably loosen up with a bit of time. 

The rest of her body is very shapely and slim.  It's an excellent doll for the first.

Her feet are wider than KD's but the soft, as opposed to the resin hi-arch KD shoes, will fit her. I haven't tried the Superdoll shoes but there may be some that fit. All three of my comparison dolls have a very high arch.

I think there's a great market for Lam amongst those who tend to prefer a more conservative-looking resin doll. Think of the first 10 years of Tyler Wentworth and friends...toned-down make-up, classic clothing, no see-through fabrics - a girl you'd take home to Mother. 

I recommend trying to purchase one of Aquatalis' dolls if you can. The reception for Lam was excellent. She was sold out very quickly. The second iteration is already sold out. Keep an eye out for their announcements on Facebook. 

Phạm Anh Quân 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/363616768415708/user/100000214926326

Kingdom Doll's Siddal Arrives

During this pandemic, many dolls and fashions have been added to my collection. The most recent doll is Siddal.

Siddal wears a Kimono inspired gown of imperial silk satin in a richly vibrant indigo hue, lined in berry silk habotai with an open wrap neckline edged in silver lame. A waist-cinching belt adds further silver lame accents. The dramatic kimono sleeves are embellished with unique silver Celtic dragon embroidery, a first for Kingdom Doll. The resin shoes are created with a sparkly silver to mimic the lame texture of her belt and neckline. Finally, her jewelry is a sterling silver necklace featuring sterling silver tassel details and a clear Swarovski crystal butterfly charm. 

Siddal's wig is of blended silver/grey tones. In addition to applied upper lashes, she has bottom lashes as well. Her eyes are pale sapphire blue and are framed with cool-toned smokey shadows of charcoal and taupe with pale lilac under her brow.

She is an edition of 50 dolls.

The mirror is a Wilde Imagination product made for Evangeline dolls.

Last week, a fashion order I've been awaiting from Viet Nam, was delivered. 

Avarice models "Perle Noire"

Destiny models "The Signature"

Liberty models "Forgetmenot"

Pandemic shopping can be very dangerous. I list below the dolls and related doll stuff purchased since 5/1/2020.

Wigs by Ilaria (TBR)

Assorted Studio Props

Assorted Doll Props

Beaded Outfit for Kingdom Doll by Kha

Rococo Shoes for Kingdom doll by Eikollander

Tonner Tyler 16" "Carol Barrie Hollywood Treasure" Outfit

"Lady Penelope’s" Outfit

Tonner Tyler "Checker Bold" Boutique Coat

Wigs and a fashion from Chewin

Tonner Tyler Boutique "Winter White Coat"

Robert Tonner Hollywood Glamour "Dancing on a Cloud" NRFB Outfit

Valet/stand chair, Bar Stool, Shell Chair,  Doll Lounge Sofa  (From Russia) (TBR)

"The Best Look" Doll & Gift Set Silkstone

Outfit from "Poppy Sizzling in Paris" Doll

"Afterglow" Keeki Adaeze (FR)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Action Figure

"Dressing Barbie: A Celebration of the Clothes That Made America's Favorite Doll and the Incredible Woman Behind Them"   Book

Barbie Signature Jean-Michel Basquiat x Barbie Collector Doll

Superdoll Outfit "Picollo"

Filip of Filmideco 3-piece display furniture

"Let's Sew: Wardrobe for A Wood Doll"  E Files

29cm (11.41") Grödner Tal Wood Doll with curls (TBR)

16" doll shopper from La Boutique

Traded "Taeus" for "Evan"

Kingdom Doll "Siddal"

"Le Flamant Rose" Gown by Kha Hoang (TBR)

BFMC "The Gala's Best"

Couture Fashion by Taras Kozak (TBR)

Looking at the list like this can be disturbing.

It Sounds Like a Menu Item...Tofu in Piccolo

Superdoll Tofu is the doll. Piccolo is the doll whose ensemble she is wearing.

Keeki Adaeze, A New Doll from Integrity's New Meteor Line

The new line of dolls from Integrity Toys looks to be quite unique. The one doll that I was very attracted to was "Afterglow" Keeki Adaeze. Her spectacular coat did it for me. I did not order her when the W Club offered her to members but after I saw her IRL, I was lucky to find a member sell her to me for retail. She is here now and I'm mostly pleased.

She was not easy to photograph only because her boots are just soles with woven everything else. Her feet keep slipping off the soles. I need to come up with a solution - or not - but it's not a supportive type of foot covering. It should have been a slip-on shoe with the stocking attached. There had to be a better way that was not considered.
Her hair came with a product on it that I'll eventually wash out and I could have done with much less glitter on her eyelids.
She's wearing a flimsy mini dress that appears to be over a shirt but it's all one piece. Her neckpiece is a 2 piece magnetic rhinestone covered creation that is my favorite part of the fashion after the coat. The earrings dangle below her shoulders and her sparkly ring is lovely.

The new box is very attractive.

The Meteor body has been reworked thus:

"We know that for many customers, compatibility between brands is extremely important. After careful consideration, Meteor ladies feature a newly assembled doll body composed of the following components:

East 59th upper torso

Slightly re-engineered Color Infusion lower torso

Fashion Royalty/NU. Face arms and hands

Newly developed legs compatible with Fashion Royalty and NU. Face shoes."

Quite honestly, I wouldn't know the difference between Color Infusion torsos and East 59th torsos if they were to fall on me.

Here are some of her promotional photos.

The following are mine:

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Adonis Fashion Male Doll from JHD Toys - A Review

Adonis is part of the Mizi Doll line.  He is the second wave which consisted of three "Hormone" dolls.  Each of the three had a different skin tone, hair color, face-up and brief color. The regular retail price was $110. Then prices went wild on eBay, reaching heights of over $300. for one doll. The going price right now is under $200 if you buy all three and about $225. if you buy just one.
I find it so funny that someone is selling his EMPTY box with the stand for $11.50.
The box is on the flimsy side. My doll's sandals were loose and floating about in the box.

This is the first 1/6 scale doll I've purchased in years. Something about his hunkiness and his popularity intrigued me.

BUT...simply put...don't rush out to buy them if you are used to Fashion Royalty Homme quality.

Yes, there's a bit of a price difference but for what you get, these dolls are overpriced. Their articulation and posing abilities are far inferior. The quality is lower. For a nearly nude doll with meh face-ups and wonky lower legs, the price should be way under $100.

Google "nude Superman Ken doll" to see his body. He's not as edgy, has fisted hands and painted hair but he was only $39.99 originally.  All I'm saying is that Adonis is over-priced and over-hyped. It is not competition for Fashion Royalty.

But I digress.

I also purchased a fashion called "The Boy Next Door." The fashion pack was $68. That's about right.

I like the overalls and the t-shirt. With the sneakers, I recommend removing his feet, including the joint, and after loosening all the laces, insert the foot all the way into the shoe. Then you can push his feet back on. 

Why is his pack on so his name reads upsidedown? 

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