La Scala Georgiana Reviewed

This week, the first release of Monarch Dolls was sent out to collectors. The response has been tremendously positive judging by what I've seen on the boards and on Facebook.
There were two versions, each in an edition of 50 pieces. I picked La Scala. The other one is called Covent Garden Georgiana.

It's only four days from when people began to receive their dolls and I've already seen five people with both versions. (We were supposed to choose one or the other.) That's five who are either posting photos or just talking about getting both. There's nothing wrong with that but I wonder about the people who made such a fast decision and turn-around to sell theirs. Some of them are saying that they didn't bond or that the doll is too small for them. There are some who bought the doll to trade it for something else. OK, whatever.

I used to wonder about the same thing on the W Club board. There were always two or three people who posted a brand new doll for sale immediately at a jacked-up price. There's something missing with the thought process of someone who has the balls to do that. The potential buyer, willing to pay a premium for a doll, may be happy, but the one that dearly wanted a chance to have one is not and becomes resentful. I feel bad for a long time doll friend who has never been able, in five years, to get a 16" Kingdom Doll and now was also not able to get a Monarch Doll either.

That's the doll world and I suppose it goes on in every collectible milieu.

Back to La Scala. She is 12" tall and has a size 4 head. If you put a 4-5 on her, it will be too full. I have a dozen or more 4/5 wigs that look ridiculous on La Scala. Wigs made for Integrity's Monogram dolls fit quite well. Barbie has a size 4 head but I have no wigs made for her to test.
Her joints are perfectly strung and her posing ability is excellent. The resin feels like velvet and has a matte finish. It is recommended that the doll is handled only with gloves to avoid transferring natural body oils to the resin which will eventually cause the matte to go shiny.

The red silk dress with its gold insert is reminiscent of a 16" Kingdom Doll gown.

Her purse is a faux gold metal envelope with a rhinestone letter M and dangles on a long gold chain. It opens.

Her right hand is a "pocketbook holding" hand. Monarchs do not have extra hands. 

Her shoes were cast in resin to fit their ultra-arched shape.

I have them shown below with tiny rubber bands as one kept falling off while I was dressing and photographing her. I didn't want them to disappear as no other shoes in my huge collection of 1/6 scale dolls shoes will fit. They are a clear resin with shiny red sparkles.

You can also see the lovely new stand with the Monarch symbol in gold on a white acrylic base. 

Another alteration I made was to the saddle of the stand. I cut a strip of moleskin and adhered it to the surface of the saddle. It's protection against thigh rub marks and also provides a bit of resistance to the doll slipping.

My comparison photo shows (left to right) La Scala, a frankendollied articulated Barbie body, an original Silkstone body, the newer articulated Silkstone body, an FR2 body and a Dominion Doll body. The four in the middle are not resin dolls, of course. 

La Scala has a beautifully sculpted, proportioned body. 

She makes a lovely addition to my collection.

Georgiana Devonshire cost $650 plus postage.

The Kingdom Doll Monarchs' Debut

The long-awaited release of The Monarchs is scheduled for January 31, 2019. I posted previously about these gems as I saw them in Scotland at the Kingdom Doll convention last October.
https://terrigoldphoto.blogspot.com/search?q=Monarch

This 12" resin beauty called Georgiana Devonshire has been created in two versions. La Scala Georgiana has raven hair and a beautiful red gown that is a miniature version of the Kingdom Doll Elgin's.

Kingdom Doll Elgin 16"

La Scala

The other Monarch, Covent Garden, will have blonde hair and a black gown with a golden insert. The gowns' fabric is silk satin. Their shoes have been hand carved and cast in resin. Each carries a golden evening bag and wears dangling beaded earrings.

Covent Garden

The edition size of each version is 50 dolls.
The price is $650. plus shipping.

1. In order to submit a request to purchase one of the Monarchs, send ONE email to info@kingdomdoll.co.uk
2. In the email subject line write either La Scala or Covent Garden. You must pick one or the other.
3. Only one email is to be submitted per person.
4. Time to send emails is 6:00 PM UK Time (18:00 hours.) Check your time zone and make sure it corresponds to London Time. https://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_GB.aspx
5. Only winners will be notified.

More information about KD Monarchs: https://kdmonarchs.com/

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.