Integrity Toys' ITBE "Reflective" and the FR16 Ankle Problem

Of the four available ITBE 16" dolls, I was immediately drawn to Reflective because of her sculpt, her hair and her coloring. As of right now, she is the only one that is sold out. Marl & B does have 2 available for $150. each.

Her one-piece dress isn't the nice quality we're used to with FR16 clothing but the price of the doll was right. I applied my $25 W Club coupon and she cost me $74. plus postage. She came with panties, shoes and stud earrings. I'm looking forward to redressing her.

I do want to have her cartoon brows and possibly her eyes repainted to make them more realistic.

Now let's talk about the ankle joint/foot problem. This is not a new issue but I was hoping it would have been fixed by this time. Elsa Lin and Platinum Society had it in 2014.

When the doll is set down on flat feet, she is fine.

As soon as the ankle joint is enabled the foot turns inward. The doll becomes pigeon-toed and each foot tilts outward.  From left to right: on tip-toes, with toes bent, with shoes.

One can see it in every doll in the promo photos. Some might say that the photographer posed their feet that way to make them look cute.

The issue is that the joint was engineered incorrectly. I have no idea if any collectors have taken issue with this. I'll bet Alain is aware of it but if collectors say nothing, the problem will not go away.

These are very nice dolls. The body needs fixing.

If you have access to the W Club announcement repost thread, go and look at the larger photos. If you have FR16 dolls, how are their feet? Perhaps it was just my three FR16 dolls that had the issue plus this new one. Maybe I'm the only one....

A tutorial on how to replace doll eyelashes by Laurie Lenz

Lashing Out! Eyelash tutorial.

What you need:

*Eyelashes...preferably a strip without glue on it. (Dollmore, or Volks sell them.)

*Aleene's Quik Dry Tacky Glue 

(I recommend the Quik Dry, or you'll be waiting for FOREVER.)

(Never EVER EVER use Crazy Glue! It's from the devil.)

*Angled tweezers

*Angled scissors (that little piece of yarn is there to warn my family--"touch & die.")

*Toothpicks

*Damp Cotton Swab (not pictured.)

Hold your eyelash strip up to the doll's eye to get a rough estimate of how much you'll need.

Cut the section off the strip and gently roll your lash around a pencil to give it some curl.

Take the Quik Dry Tacky Glue and apply it to a toothpick.

(This is a water based glue.  If you ever want to remove the lashes, just wet a Qtip and dab on the lashes and they will come off. Never use any glue but a water based glue. )

Dot dot dot the glue from her tear duct to the center of her eye. (Do not go past the center.)

Apply tacky glue to half of the eyelash.

See that Q-tip? I always have a damp one there just in case I get some glue on my doll

so I can quickly wipe it off.

Allow to sit for a few seconds and then with your angled tweezers, place the lash against the eyelid -glue to glue.

With a clean toothpick, gently press the lash into place.

Go make a sandwich, waste time on Facebook, place a bid on a doll, or move your wash to the dryer, and allow the glue to dry.

Once the glue has set, press the eyelash down, so you can judge where it needs to end.

Pull the lash up gently, and cut to fit.

Pull the lash back and run a bead of glue on her upper lid, 

and run a bead of glue on the back of her eyelash.

With the clean toothpick, press down and position.

Allow the spider lady's eyes to dry.

Once they are dry, take your angled scissors and trim the lashes.

From ordinary to extraordinary. Love those lashes, Daphne!

___

All text and photos in this post are by Laurie Lenz

http://etsylaurielenzangels.blogspot.com/2014/07/lashing-out-eyelash-tutorial.html

Laurie's website is called "Laurie Lenz Angels Doll Studio" and you can see her fabulous work at this link:

http://www.laurielenzdollstudio.com/

Integrity Toys Basic Edition 16-Inch Capsule Collection

Four new 16" dolls were offered to W Club members for early purchase today (May 11.) They will be available to the public depending upon availability on May 12 at 10 AM.

Using the FR16 body, three of them sport Avantguard sculpts and one uses the Elsa sculpt. The clothes are rather basic but do not look trashy. Their hair is rooted. The price of $99. + postage seems reasonable as well. Each has a very low edition of only 200 and they are available without a wait.

Decisive

Head Sculpt: Elsa 1.0

Skin Tone: New Hispanic

Hair Color: Brunette

_____________________________

Forward

Head Sculpt: AvantGuards™ (Open Mouth)

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Raven

_____________________________ 

 

Reflective

ITBE 16-Inch Capsule Collection

Head Sculpt: AvantGuards™ (Open Mouth)

Skin Tone: Light Honey

Hair Color: Light Brown 

_____________________________ 

Illusive

Head Sculpt: AvantGuards™ (Closed Mouth)

Skin Tone: New Hispanic

Hair Color: Sable (Dirty Blond)

_____________________________ 

 

I do plan to order Reflective as I am a fan of the open mouth AG sculpt and I like her hair and skin tone. I may eventually have her cartoon brows repainted.

It's interesting that Forward who they say is also using the open mouth AG sculpt, doesn't look it. She looks more like a giant Poppy with duck lips. Perhaps it's the lighting that's making her mouth look like that. 

I wonder if anyone else has noticed on their FR16 bodies that the right foot turns inward slightly. I can see it in all of the pictures and both my FR16 bodies have the same thing going on. Even looking back at all the previous releases in which one can actually see the ankle on the dolls, they all have the same thing going on. It is a defect in the ankle joint, not a photographer style although he does turn the feet in in many photos. This is different. 

 _____________________________

If Integrity started designing and dressing their 16" dolls to look like these again, I'd be in trouble.

 

Integrity Toys "How To" Videos

Integrity has several how to videos, several of which may be applicable to other dolls as well. I'm listing the most often asked about here and ultimately they will migrate to the right hand column of this blog site for future reference.


How to Safely Disassemble the FR2013 or NuFace Body

How to Safely Switch a Doll's Head

How to Safely Enlarge or Create a Doll's Earring Holes

How to Tighten Loose Knee Joints on a Doll

How to Reshape the Sole of a Shoe to Make the Heel the Correct Length

 

 

Superdoll Collectables: "Columbia"

A new Gen X Sybarite was revealed today. Here is the description from the Superdoll website:

I think I'll wear flowers.
Taking in the neighbourhood sights while strutting her stuff in Trendiest East London.

Venus knows her way around this part of town... it's home!

NEW! GENX.2 body!
NEW! Cosmetique skintone!

Her waist length wig is a delicate blend of black, dark chocolate and copper with subtle V cut fringe, serving 'edge'! Eyes of marigold and triffid surrounded by shadow in rose, olive, vanilla and charcoal. Heavy olive liner on her lids. Brows of coffee accentuated with a stroke of black. Lips the colour of summer begonia.
Her Cosmos print uber mini wrap dress bears delicate ties in olive silk, firstly to show off her waist and secondly to hope the wind lifts her wrap to show off her leopard print panties! To keep her cool, she wears a floral lace printed cardigan, just tight enough to show off all her curves.
Coffee coloured hose, a pair of gorgeous leaf and mocha platform open toe lace up sandals , bearing lazer cutout detail. These along with a long sling leopard print pouch bag dripping in gilt accessories emblazoned with a gilt union jack are her accessories of choice.
Just when you thought that was enough she picked up her oversized multicolour enamel tassel necklace and popped on her divine chocolate coloured wide brim hat.
Good to go, she then added multiple hippy bracelets... just because she should!

The sun is shining outside Darlings!
Clone: 1000 Venus d'Royce

Of course she comes with the following standard accessories:
-manic_cure hands (see booklet for hand change instructions)
-booklet
-stand


*PRODUCTION MAY VARY FROM PROTOTYPE SHOWN
In stock.
Shipping will commence 11 May 2016.

In stock and ready to be delivered

Price: £245.00 (Excluding VAT at 20%)

 

She has a pretty face but is not a must have for me. The fashion is not my taste. I love that adorable handbag, though. 

 

245 British Pound equals $354.91 US. Postage is usually $65 for a doll.

 

Misty Copeland Barbie® Doll

 Released today, a lovely new Barbie Doll with a body that actually has volume in the bust, thighs and calves. The retail price is $29.95  Impressive!

Mattel's Promo: 

As the first African American female Principal Dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland is an inspirational star, paving the way for future dancers all over the world! Her fire red bodysuit, with sunburst orange tulle cutouts, stretches over her perfectly poised body, while layers of red and orange tulle tease a luxurious red tail. A vibrant tulle headpiece tops off her elaborate look, adding drama and flair. The doll features a brand-new ballerina body, with a face sculpted to Misty's likeness!

She looks preggers here.

The doll is dressed up in Copeland's Firebird dance costume. It's "articulated," which is Mattel speak for extremely flexible and able to be posed in various ballet positions. To truly capture Copeland's likeness, the company took numerous photos and sent the dancer various prototypes to critique.
"We looked at her nose and made sure it was a little bit wider than Barbie's actually is, and that her lips were fuller and that she had a little almond shape to her eyes," she says.
"Something I kept saying was 'make her bust bigger!' I wanted it to really represent me, and for it to really, truly be like my body."
The doll has strong muscles, which Copeland says was important to her. She's glad that Barbie is "truly representing" a real athlete.

 Excerpt from an article by Yohana Desta

 The real dancer is a true doll.

 Available now at: http://www.thebarbiecollection.com/shop/misty-copeland-barbie-doll-dgw41