The Final W Club Exclusive Doll of 2018

The final W Club Doll of 2018 has been announced. She is called "Secret Garden" Eugenia Perrin-Frost and is a mini gift set.
The edition size will be determined by the number of member pre-orders IT receives.

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From the Promotional:

"Visiting her favorite fashion hot-spot for Couture Week, Eugenia Perrin-Frost has been invited to be the star model of an ultra-edgy secret photo session set in a long forgotten English garden. While the setting may seem gloomy to some, everyone from the stylist to the artistic director involved with the project agreed that this would be THE best spot to create the perfect mood for the gown being featured in the glossy magazine spread!Eugenia couldn't wait and as usual, she showed up for the shoot on time, looking as fresh faced and fantastic as ever!!

Included:

• 12.5" fully articulated doll with fully rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;

• Two pairs of hands (one with long nails and one with the regular manicure);

• Frothy, ruffled black tulle gown with a crinkle texture bodice, cinched at the waist by a narrow black ribbon belt;

• Tan trench coat dress with drape and belt detail on sides;

• Chocolate brown flocked hat with black grosgrain ribbon trim;

• Black tulle neck scarf;

• "Silver" cuff bracelet, chandelier earrings and statement ring with "diamond" and "pearl" accents;

• "Silver" necklace with nature-inspired "diamond" and "pearl" stone charms;

• Alternate pair of asymmetrical small charm earrings;

• "Metal" clutch with sculpted leaf detail and skull clasp;

• Pale nude "pearlized" faux-leather purse with quilted detail and "silver"/"diamond" flower charm;

• Black and tan faux "patent leather" boots with "silver" zipper closure;

• Black holographic glitter high heels with clear bead detail;

• Doll stand;

• Certificate of authenticity.

The doll pictured is a prototype. Final fabrics, colors and textures may vary slightly. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only."

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The text mentions that one extra pair of hands has long nails. That made me think of the dragon lady nails that several Kingdom Dolls come with. 

I love Eugenia's face and hair. She is a gorgeous doll. I like the hat, the shoes and the silver accessories. As far as the gown, it's a "been-there-done-that" style and another black tulle gown. In my crowded collection, there's only room for uniquely beautiful and/or different. This doll is beautiful but not so unique. 

The Best and The Rest: My Collection 2018

It goes without saying that life has a way with our hobby for which we don't always plan. I started out the year recovering from bilateral knee replacement surgery. Going up and down the staircases in my house was not my favorite activity. Then, somewhere around July, we were going to move. The first thing I packed was my dolls. Needless to say, we did not move so I had to unpack and I'm not quite done. I made the difficult decision to sell off my large Tiny Kitty collection. Tiny Kitty dolls were the ones that brought me to the 16" Tonner dolls and from there...well, you know how it goes. I must admit that this is not the first time I have begun to sell my TKs. This time I'm determined as there is no room and I don't keep dolls in boxes.
It's time to review what I've added to my doll collection during 2018.

The Best

An interesting turn of events was my buying several of Integrity Toy's 12" dolls.  I had cut back almost entirely for quite a while but IT really brought it to Fashion Royalty this past year.

Eugenia Modernist was a 2018 W Club Membership Registration Upgrade Doll. This doll is stunning with her dark skin tone and sleek light blue mini dress with matching round handbag. Her open-toed silver thigh-high boots and silver accessories made her a perfect doll to add to the tribe.

I wasn't going to go for her but every time I looked at her picture, I loved her more and more: 

Elise Jolie "Perfume Blond" W Club 10th Anniversary by Jason Wu Doll.  She was quite pricey as she came with a full-sized bottle of Jason Wu perfume which I don't particularly care for. I tried it at a department store. She also comes with a miniature of the perfume bottle which I love. Her pastel peach, sparkle-embellished gown is one of Jason's creations as well. I was able to sell the real perfume and so brought the total down somewhat.

Isha Kalpana Narayan "Divinity" W Club Doll was irresistible to me because of all her jewelry accessories and the pretty style of her lace and tulle dress. I think the henna designs on her forearms and hands are a beautiful accent.

"Hot To The Touch" Bellamy Blue is an Industry Line doll. I don't collect guy dolls any longer (or so I say) but when I saw this one's fashions, I caved.  I'm still on the fence about keeping him and that's why I don't have a free-standing photo of him.

Victoire Roux's "Divine Evening" fashion was added. It fits my Monogram dolls perfectly and it's not black.

It's close to impossible for me to choose the best of Kingdom Doll 2018. I love all of them.  I can't choose a favorite. The Seren giftset, The Eden Atelier doll and Vanbrugh are all gorgeous.  Seren came with several outfits and many accessories and props. Eden's gown and wig are truly miniature works of art. Vanbrugh is a classic stunner. She looks amazing in every wig and every style I put on her.

Seren

Eden

Vanbrugh

The Kingdom Doll Convention Dolls all had the newly redesigned body. Like most conventions, there is a souvenir doll and often an optional companion doll. In Scotland, our souvenir doll was Rosalind "The Red Queen." She has dimples and is so cute.

There were two companion dolls. Attendees had to decide in advance, without seeing her,  if they wanted the white or the black. We were told that their outfits were the same but their effect would be very different. Normally I'd go with black but I decided to let fate decide for me as I knew both would be fabulous. The black sold out and I am happy to say that I was thrilled with Raphaella, The White Queen. This gal has freckles and a very youthful vibe. That was unexpected.

This gorgeous doll was a surprise gift from Kingdom Doll to the attendees. Her name is Realm.

Another Kingdom Doll I added to my collection prior to the convention last year was Electra. In this photo, my skeleton is playing with her. She is about to lose her patience. Electra was the first doll released with the new body.

Kingdom Dolls are my favorite dolls.

Fashions from other sources deserve special mention in my "Best of" category.  I purchased 7 outfits from Aquatalis, a company in Vietnam you can find on Etsy. Two haven't arrived yet. of the other 5, one stands out. They call it Chandos. It is embroidered all over with flowers and leaves. Nimue models.

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This one hurts to write about because she was not an inexpensive doll and I had very high expectations of this company. The doll is Dominion Doll's new 12" creation, Aura.  Before I buy another, I will make sure the following has been taken care of.
First of all, her earring holes are too small for any of my earrings (and I have hundreds of pairs) to fit. It's a fairly minor issue if I wanted to get out my jeweler's drill and fix it but do I? I'm not about to send her back to Russia for such a minor issue.
The major issue is that her ankles do not support the weight of her upper body. I recall having this issue with the early Numina dolls. The joints are always going their own way when I try posing her standing normally and this is unacceptable. I'm going to have to wire them.

However, she is gorgeous but she does need better engineering. Ease of posing a doll is very, very important to me.

I have spoken with a collector friend and apparently, her Dominion doll does not have this issue. Hmmm.

I'm going to try her in a lighter-weight fashion such as slacks or simple sheaths. That could make a difference. But still...

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The Rest

I have already written about how disappointed I was with the Outlander Dolls, Jamie and Claire Fraser. Claire was one of the most unattractive dolls that Tonner has ever produced IMO.  I gave that doll a lot of chances and nothing made her look good. She did not look at all like the actress who plays the role of Claire. Not a wee bit. The face and body of this doll are huge. Her clothes and shoes are way too large for Tyler or for any other doll I own. Both had to go.   

 

As far as Jamie, he has an attractive sculpt. The jury is out on whether or not he looks like the TV Jamie. His hair came in a dorky style. I washed and restyled it, sold his outfit and redressed him. Not great but he's staying.

 

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All in all, it was a very good year. I love my collection and enjoy gazing at each doll. My dolls live a great fantasy life with the finest fashions, jewelry, hairdos and accessories. They don't get wrinkles, gain weight or get sick. They always look wonderful and they get to have things like tiny liquor bottles filled with real Scottish whisky!

Season's Greetings

Wishing all my readers an Exceptionally Meaningful Holiday.

For the New Year, my hopes for you are good health, happiness galore, abundance, peaceful coexistence with others and beautiful dolls!

Live long and prosper.

My next post will be my collection's best of 2018.

Holiday Photos with Kingdom Dolls Guinevere, Rosalind, Envy and Eden

Guinevere is wearing her original wig, a dress by Aquatalis and shoes by Superdoll.

Here is Rosalind. She's wearing a Tonner Antoinette gown. KD earrings. Dimitha fur. Wig by Ilaria.

Envy is wearing an Integrity Toys gown, Dimitha fur, KD earrings and Wig by Ilaria.

Rosalind, Eden and Envy. Eden is wearing her own wig, jewelry and gown. Fur by Dimitha.

Wishing everyone a beautiful, happy and healthy December, 2018.

Robert Tonner Revives Evangeline Ghastly and Ellowyne

I was pondering whether or not to put a question mark at the end of the title for this post. This is a surprising announcement by the Tonner Doll Co. I thought the TDC was finished and had been replaced by Phynn & Aero.

Released yesterday was one gorgeous Evangeline, dressed all in red and two Ellowynes.

Drop Dead Red Evangeline @ $235. Limited Edition 175. 
Her head is a new mold and she has a new body as well.  I think she's pretty fabulous looking.

Two Ellowyne Wilde dressed dolls made a debut.

Ruffled Up Ellowyne @ $225. LE 150

Wistful Rose Ellowyne @ $225. LE 150

She has a newly molded head and the RTB101 body. I have no idea what that body looks like. 

Some other dolls I found on the Phyn & Aero website:

Nancy Ann Abbott, UFDC Meal Event Exclusive Companion $225 LE 75

 Nancy Ann Abbott was, in real life, an actress and dress designer. She started the Nancy Ann Storybood Company in 1938 and was extremely successful. 

http://www.phynandaero.com/Nancy-Ann_c_19.html

American Beauty $235. LE200

This is Annora. I'd like to see her close up.  She, too, is on the RTB-101.

The dress does not impress me. It's been done over and over. The doll's face looks pretty. 

Apparently body sizes have been standardized. That's pretty great for those collectors who like to switch clothes between dolls but it's a major change. Evangeline is now 16.5" tall. 

RTB-101 Body Measurements:

Bust - 7 1/4

Waist - 4 7/8"

Hip at Top Joint - 6 1/2"

Hip at widest part of thigh - 7 1/4"

Waist to Knee - 5 1/8"

Waist to Floor - 10 3/8"

Divot to Waist - 3 1/4"

Shoulder Across Back - 3 1/4"

Arm to Wrist Joint - 5"

Overall - 16 1/2"

Kingdom Doll 2018 MONARCHY Convention, Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland was the site of Kingdom Doll's "Monarchy" Convention. From October 12 through October 14, 2018, seventy-five doll lovers met at the DoubleTree by Hilton, most of us from other countries, to celebrate with each other.
My husband and I made a 10-day vacation around this event, many pictures of which are on my regular FaceBook page.  https://www.facebook.com/terri.gold.3?ref=bookmarks.  (Beware, you will have to wade through many political and other posts to find these photos.)
Photos from the actual convention events are posted on my Fans of Kingdom Doll FB page and the Monarchy page. You would have to be a member to see them.

Friday:
The first event took place from 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM during which time we were treated to a talk by Patricia Henry on photography. I can listen to her 'lectures' over and over again. She is so informative and funny. Everyone in the audience, no matter their photographic skill level, was able to take away hints to improve their photos.

We got to see the companion dolls and take the one we ordered.

Ravenna (left) and Raphaella

We had a buffet lunch in the hotel restaurant and returned to the convention space for more fun.
We voted on the competition entries which were amazing and very numerous.

During the mid-day break, the competition entries were set up. They were extremely impressive as you can see in this video:

We viewed the silent auction dolls and bids were taken.

Tribal Belgae OOAK 

Artemesia OOAK

We were introduced to the new 12" Monarchs. These little beauties are fully jointed 12" resin dolls. They will be sold dressed in copies of 16" Elgin's gown. They have their own website: www.kdmonarchs.com.

Kingdom Doll Photo 

The first Monarch to be released this December is La Scala Georgiana dressed in red silk. The second Monarch will be released sometime in 2019.

Finally, the shopping began.

Saturday 7:00 PM — Late:

Attendees arrived at the ballroom laden with gifts for other attendees and ran about distributing them. We oohed and aahed over the centerpiece hoping to be one of the ones lucky enough to have the opportunity to purchase her.  After dinner, we received our convention souvenir, Rosalind of Durham which some are calling The Red Queen. She has a new sculpt, complete with dimples, called Canti. I don't know who took the first photo but it does show Rosalind in her original wig with her crown. I took the second photo of her wearing a different wig.

The centerpiece doll LE 12 is called Raven. She has the Dumnonii sculpt.

The evening went on into the wee hours with dancing and partying.


Sunday 1:00 to 4:00

Afternoon tea was served and then a presentation with a whisky tasting took place. Since half of the collectors at our table are non-drinkers, we had a good time trying to get the others to drink more. The Scottish presenter was delightful and funny. I learned one little fact and it is that only true Scot's whisky can be spelled without the e.

The centerpiece is called Reign of Durham LE 8 .

Reign of Durham photographed by Machelle Dubriel

Her sculpt is the same as Rosalind's. Her gown is a black version of the Red Queen's while her fur epaulets are a pink version.

A big surprise of the event was our gift from Kingdom Doll which was a doll. She is called Realm. She came nude. Here are some photos I took of her when we got home. She's dressed in one of the optional purchase dresses which is part of a larger outfit.

More shopping opportunities finished off the afternoon with goodbyes and hugs and kisses.

Random photos I took once I arrived back home.

VanBrugh got to wear a British flag pin and carry a bagpipe when we came home.

Optional fashions available. Defense of the Realm was available for pre-order.

Blue Safari (Above) Defense of the Realm (below)

The Hamish Bag Set and There's A Snake in Your Sporran

Slay Another Day 

Holyrood Sapphire and Garnet Outfits