Gothic Dream Misaki Doll Collection

Photos of the new Misaki line were published today. Up first we have "Pure Evil Misaki."
Personally, I don't see the evil in that blonde hair, white costume and sweet face. She looks like an angel playing ringmaster. However her baton is black and silver and maybe it is an evil baton. ;)
I love the look of this doll. To me the edgy styling of the premier Misakis has returned and that's a wonderful thing. This collection will be wildly popular.
This is Witchie Witch Misaki. Who named these dolls? I love her hair - again it is reminiscent of Tokyo Here We Go. The boots are great-looking. The outfit - OK.
This is The Outsider Misaki. He or she is wearing a fabulous coat over jeans that are embellished with a wraparound knee strap and big cargo pockets . He or she is wearing a white shirt and a tie. I'm guessing it's a male figure but...I could be wrong. I could live without the blue/black hair but I suppose it ties in with the Gothy look. I don't see this doll as being dressed Goth, however. It's just a really sharp outfit a kid might wear to school.

All Images are courtesy Integrity Toys, Inc.

Grey Lady Gene Marshall

Michael Basala, was trusting and generous enough to lend Grey Lady to me for a few weeks in order to photograph her. It's as close as I will get to owning one.She is lovely.

On Thursday, the president spoke. 9-18-08

From the New York Times:
It was brief, two minutes. His brow was furrowed, and his words were careful: “The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence.” Then, having imparted no specifics, he once again slipped out of sight.
In the increasingly surreal world of the White House, the appearance was a sign that all pretense of normalcy is gone. All week long, with Wall Street engulfed by what analysts are calling the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, President Bush had mostly stayed out of sight, except when trying to maintain the façade of business as usual.
If you care to read the rest of the report here is the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/business/19bush.html?src=linkedin
There are several President Bush dolls on the market. This is not a review of them, just a sampling.
Our President George W. Bush puppet comes completely dressed as shown. He is wearing a very fashionable pin-striped suit complete with white dress shirt, red tie, and black shoes. Of course he proudly wears the American flag on his suit too! His entire outfit is completely removable and can be redressed with toddler size 2 clothing. Stands 28 inches tall.

Operating your President puppet is actually quite simple! The mouth is completely moveable as are the arms and hands. Insert your hand through the slot in the puppet's back to open and close the mouth. The arm rod is used to move the hands and arms. With simple movements of the rod you can make your puppet wave, salute, blow kisses, fix his hair, etc. Activate the sound box by pushing the button located in the mouth. You are now ready to perform your own Presidential speech!

George W. Bush has been sticking it to the American people for over 6 years. And now it’s your turn to stick it to him!
Whether you want to make
“Dub-ya” pay for the sins of his administration (starting a war, spying on Americans, ignoring Katrina, you name it!) or prevent him from committing new ones (your guess is as good as ours!), The George W. Bush Voodoo Kit gives you the tools to exert a little political power of your own-with voodoo!
Included in this kit are a George W. Bush voodoo doll, spell pins, and a hilarious and effective book of spells and other information the corporate media won’t tell you.

Vivette – not a beginner's doll!

Here is Raspberry Sorbet Vivette dressed in "Fashion Snapshot" and wearing one of her three wigs. It took me forever to get this doll ready to be photographed. First of all the wig comes with no 'dressing' at all. It's dry and fly-away and needs gel or some other product to tame and smooth it. Because of the deformed legs on this doll, she won't stand still for any last minute tweaking. Her head is strung tightly so it's a bit kicky. It was not a pleasant experience. She looks cute but I'm not in a big hurry to redress her.

Raspberry Sorbet Vivette with Wig-Set from D.A.E.

Several weeks ago D.A.E. Originals put all of their Vivette dolls and her fashions on sale. I didn't care for the first Vivette I had a few years ago but the prices were so tempting that I went ahead and ordered one basic doll and several outfits. I'm glad I did.
The face paint on this version has been softened. Each doll is individually painted by hand according to the D.A.E. website. The face and body blushing is done with an airbrush.
She comes with a basic pink bodysuit, flowered cap, earrings, a bracelet that I broke immediately while trying to put it on, a chain belt, very cute wedge shoes with "glitter embedded clear heels", sunglasses which I broke as well and three wigs. The wigs can be displayed on the adorable wig stand that comes packaged separately inside the shipper. Her head is flocked which keeps the wigs in place. She has applied lashes, too.
This is a strung vinyl doll. I am truly hoping that the creative team of Brian Schafer and David Escobedo resculpt Vivette's legs.

I believe that the body of Vivette has a distorted pair of legs. When I got my first Vivette, I actually wrote to the artists and asked them about it because I thought there was something wrong with her.



Link to D.A.E. Originals: http://www.daeoriginals.com

Juku Couture Doll Photos

Here are the other three characters in the Fall 2008 Juku Couture line from Jaks Pacific, Audrina, Hayley and Kana. Also shown are two of the available clothing packs. The fourth doll, Jun, can be seen in an earlier post.

Tonner's Tiny Kitty

The availability of articulated replacement bodies for Tiny Kitty and the appearance of another little beauty, Simone Rouge, has renewed my interest in these 10 inch gals. I purchased a bunch of bodies and unpacked my Kittys. They got their new bodies, were dressed up in the outfits I had saved and are now on display with my Simones.

Of course I had to purchase several of the new Kittys,


a few that I never got
and some outfits.....it never ends.

There's more but it's too embarassing. LOL

MetroDolls on Broadway 2008 Event

MetroDolls organized and held this event to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS! charity. Many creative artists and other generous people donated OOAK dolls, doll furnishings, clothing and manufactured items for raffles and auctions. This fabulous and fun event was held at the Woodbridge Hilton in Iselin, New Jersey which is a 2 hour drive from my home. I arrived in the midst of a torrential rain storm caused by the passing hurricane. The staff was extremely cordial and helpful. Check-in took less than 5 minutes and I was very pleased with my room.
The evening's event began at 6:30 PM. The tables were decorated in black and white and the centerpiece was the red-haired Metropolitan Madra dressed in a rhinestone bra and bikini bottom, long white satin gloves, silver metal rhinestone heels and rhinestone circle earrings. She was holding two large feathered fans, perhaps for modesty. :-)


I was lucky to get the opportunity to purchase one of very few.


There was a presentation of vintage clothing on Saturday night by John Davey, the owner and collector of the garments. Here is a link to my photos from Saturday night.

http://www.goldphoto.com/MetroDolls_2008/index.htm

I was very lucky in the raffle and won several outfits and a Bronze Madra.

On Sunday morning I packed up my car and went back into the hotel for the luncheon. We had been switched to a large ballroom. I was handed a goodie bag upon entering the room. It had the special event outfit and several other little goodies. All around four sides of the room were raffle items and auction items. There was a sales room adjacent to the main ballroom. I never made it that far because there was so much to see and do and so many raffle tickets to drop into little bags. I took lots of pictures, talked to many people and just soaked in the atmosphere. It was just like a mini convention. Robert Tonner gave a wonderful presentation accompanied by slides. He talked about his inspiration for some of the new lines his company is producing. And, best of all, he showed a series of slides of the sculpturing of a new fashion doll, Miss Piggy. Raffles were drawn, and again, I was very lucky. I won Film Fatale Gene and Cold As Ice Kit. These are two dolls I have wanted! I would like to have won the White Witch of Narnia but it wasn't in the cards for me. I also won a fabulous outfit called Symphony of the Heart. A DAE outfit for 16" dolls.
This is a Brian Bulkley drawing that accompanies the outfit.

Here is a link to my pictures from Saturday:

http://www.goldphoto.com/MetroDolls_Sun/index.htm

After the raffles and auctions and presentations were over we were given our event doll, Magnolia. She is a new sculpt by Tonner.

Because I am not keeping the doll I did not unpack her earrings and other accessories. The future owner gave me permission to photograph her and here she is.

Brenda Starr Look-Alike?

It's hard not to see the resemblance between Brenda Starr "Just My Type" doll and Sarah Palin, the VP candidate.

Juku Couture Dolls from Jaks Pacific

Jaks Pacific has released a new line of dolls. I heard about the excellent articulation and saw pictures and knew I must have her. There are four different dolls and several separately packaged outfits. Jaks Pacific has attributed certain personality characteristics to all four of these dolls. The character in my pictures is Jun. Jun is 9 inches tall. Her reddish/brown hair is rooted and the pink and white curls are attached to clip-on barettes which are easily removed. The hair has a lot of product to hold it's style. She has inset eyes which make her look a little cross-eyed because their placement is a bit off but her features are delicate and pretty.


Jun has 14 points of articulation including wrists and ankles and she can stand on her own.

I'm not a fan of the frilly, lacy, multi-layered baby-doll look but the clothes are cute, they fit well and are made fairly well. Fasteners are velcro. Boots are open in the back and go on and off easily. She comes with a poster which I have not removed from the box.

About the box...I always wonder why dolls in this price range have to be secured to the box with so many wires.
It took a good 10 minutes to un-twirl the wires and pull them out.

I think Jaks Pacific did an amazing job with this doll. I don't know how they managed to keep the price so low. Retail Price $19.95.

Replacement Bodies - Fashion Royalty and Tiny Kitty

Yesterday members of the W Club received "confidential" notification of a top secret body replacement sale which will commence shortly.

Here is an excerpt from the email:
"These bodies will go up for sale next Tuesday (September 2nd). To accommodate members living in different time zones and with different work obligations, we are going to put up a portion of the allocation at 10:00 am CST (Chicago Time) and if that allocation sells out we will put up the remainder at 5:00 pm CST (Chicago Time). We understand these times might not accommodate every member, but we have done our best to try to accommodate the greater majority of members.

Should bodies remain, we will open up the offer to the public sometime on September 4th- we will keep you posted, but the information should remain confidential until that time (this means no pre-selling on eBay during this Club window or discussion on the boards)."
{I am trying to figure out if I am breaking confidentiality by posting this in my blog. I'm not pre-selling or discussing it on the boards as per the above caveat. So I guess I'm OK.}
When the Integrity Toys forum first opened I posted a poll which asked about the desire for replacement bodies. The response was enormous. This was quite a while ago. At that time I had already scraped together enough tall bodies to grow my first and second generation FRs to the latest size. The only dolls that needed replacement bodies were Adele, Vero (including Vanessa & Kyori), Natalia and Isha. The other characters appeared on the scene after the bodies got tall. So all that was really needed were four different skin tones. There will be four skin tones and they are called White, Black, Latina and Japan. The "Japan" color makes no sense at all because all the dolls with that color came with tall bodies to begin with: Agnes, Luchia, True Royalty Vanessa, Mastermind Veronique and A Brighter Side Kyori. There will be no tall Isha body. The bodies will be a whopping $45. each plus shipping. That's a lot of moolah for a piece of vinyl. Each member will be allowed 3 of each color body.
But wait...here comes the funniest part of the email:
The replacement bodies will be marked on the buttocks to ensure that the bodies are authorized and authentic and separate them from the ones produced with the dolls, thus allowing future generations of collectors to distinguish whether a body has been replaced or is factory original.
As if it would make a difference to future generations. (Will the dolls last for future generations?) I have sold so many dolls that have been switched to tall bodies, I have lost count. Why would anyone care? What I care about is if the swinging hip syndrome has been cured. Picture holding your doll with your thumb and forefinger and gently rotating your wrist back an forth. Visualize the doll's legs swinging along. This means that your doll will not stand or hold a standing pose easily. Some just flop forward at the hips without the slightest provocation. If someone switches the head to a good, firm body, would you care if it is not the one that came with the doll? If I bought a doll that originally was a different body type, don't you think I would recognize that fact? Duh with a capital D.

Perhaps brand new Fashion Royalty collectors could be fooled into buying a modern head with an old body but the old body will not be labeled so that argument is worthless.

The bodies shouldn't have been priced higher than $30-$35. They probably cost less than $5. to manufacture anyway. Integrity has overpriced these.
...............................................

On the other side of the fence, Tonner has shipped articulated replacement bodies for Tiny Kitty. I picked up 7 bodies today at the Tonner store for $20. + tax each. They're not exactly the same color as my earlier TKs but they will do very well. They are priced correctly. They have been selling articulated (BW) 16" bodies for quite a while. I haven't purchased any but I think the price is $35. each.

Sister Agnes Dreary - Tonner Doll Company

I think I'm in love. Yesterday Sister Agnes Dreary arrived in all her gorgeous blackness. Upon seeing her, Hubby asked if she was going to a funeral. Tonner hit the mark because if the DH gets it, it's got to be verrrry clear.

Here is the description from the Tonner website:

Sister Dreary is approximately 16” tall, and she is a vinyl and hard plastic doll with rooted saran hair and hand-detailed, painted eyes. With 15 points of articulated movement, Sister can assume even drearier poses than her younger siblings. Sister Dreary is a NEW head sculpt on a smaller bustline 'Geisha' torso, featuring the SUPERGIRL flat-feet with jointed ankles...

She is absolutely beautiful. Her sculpt is the most sophisticated of all the Tonner modern dolls yet. Her cheekbones do it for her. I had to trim her hair because the bangs were cut in an odd way.

When the prices of her outfits go down, they're mine! List price ranges from about $80. to $95. That's a lot of green for a lot of black. I love Covered in Darkness (top below) with that crazy hat and the long coat. I think the Tea at the Morgue (2nd photo below) would look better with different shoes. Dying to Meet You (last below) is beautiful. Imagine an entire wardrobe of black and navy blue! Wonderful!

Below are pictures from the Tonner site. (No, I don't have permission to use them but I hope to get it.)

Covered in Darkness

Tea At The Morgue

Dying to Meet You

Tonner's Louise Devereaux

She is not a classically pretty doll. Her face is unattractive and the dark makeup under her eyes contributes to the gaunt look. Not being able to decide to keep her or not, I attempted to re-dress Louise last night. Unfortunately that did not work out for me or Louise and she's gotta go. I will keep one of the two I purchased just because it's the first of the new line.

I did photograph her a few days ago and those pictures are posted here.

Juicy Couture Beverly Hills G&P Barbie® Dolls by Mattel

Why do I even try? Again and again I am reminded that Mattel's products are inferior yet they look so cute in the pictures. Now I know why so many Barbie collectors keep everything in the boxes. Once you take it out, the stuff looks like crap.

This episode of "Nightmare on Mattel Street" stars the Juicy Couture Beverly Hills G&P Barbie doll set.
The dolls are tiny replicas of Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor, the designers and co-founders of the Juicy Couture fashion empire. List price is $110. I used one of my coupons and got free shipping so I thought I did OK because it was less expensive than I could find anywhere else. I wanted the dresses for my Fashion Royalty or Model Behavior dolls. I knew in advance that they were sewn on.
I pre-ordered and approximately 2 months later a crushed UPS box arrives. I am not exaggerating when I say that every single side - that's 6 sides - was bashed and/or punctured to a degree. The box actually looked as if it had been put in a compressor. The tape had begun to pop and the contents were visible!

There was no protective padding around the doll box and so it echoed the damage.

Upon writing to customer service I received a RA from Mattel with a return shipping label. Then several weeks went by and I didn't get my new dolls. I wrote to Mattel and as if they had been waiting for my letter, I was told that they received my return and would ship out the new dolls to me.
The new set arrived in a pristine box and it still looked really pretty.

The first doll I undressed was the blonde. There was cello-wrap around her body to keep the black dress from contacting the vinyl. Unfortunately they didn't wrap her arms and they are seriously stained. I was going to sell the dolls but instead she has Oxy 10 all over her arms right now. Her hair has so much product on it that it looks like chunky straw. The brunette, who is much prettier, had no staining at all.

One improvement to note is that all the jewelry was removable and replaceable. The rings and earrings popped right out. The bracelets had hook fasteners as did the necklaces. The shoes are very cute. The packaging is very attractive and the set comes with a miniature perfume bottle. As usual, one needs a hacksaw to get the dolls out of the packaging. I'd love to watch the assembly of these items for sale.

I do not recommend this set unless you intend to keep the dolls in the box.

What's up with the low prices in the Fashion Royalty secondary market?

When I got in to collecting Fashion Royalty dolls, secondary market prices were always at least 50% higher than retail. Now many dolls are selling for less than retail. Even Vanessa, one of the most sought after characters, is dropping in price! There were three issued in less than a year. Certain so-called holy grail dolls are still holding steady at many times retail.

I posted a question on one of the doll boards concerning the drop in secondary market prices and here are some of the responses.

—Just supply and demand. So many dolls, I'm just making room. Still love the girls and will enjoy what I keep. Just be more selective in the future.

—I agree with you, I paid $169.99 + tax & sh. for MD Eugenia and there is one on ebay for $150.

— I think it is just plain FR doll overload. Integrity are releasing way way too many dolls now and people are feeling overwhelmed. Plus the quality has dropped from what it used to be and the economy is not so great right now thus people are not quite as prepared to pay such high prices for dolls.

—Too high editions? Too much competition? Bad economy ?

—Too many dolls in few time, too many exclusives, the change of the bodies that even if more poseable they seems cheaper ( and maybe they are! ), higher prices, ebay scalpers, FAO exclusives almost impossible for Europeans. I do believe that all these reasons annoyed collectors. (Well, these are the reasons that annoyed me! And I was a great FR collectors!)

—The market is glutted with too many dolls from all the manufacturers...sad 'cause there are so many fantastic dollies and it seems we just get to be in awe of one for about 10 minutes and the next NEW best thing is coming out and pushing that last one aside...
We need a bit more of a break in between exclusives/collections and everything!

—I think Greed is the reason. Too many people buy to resell only... and that drives the numbers up. Higher numbers.. = gluttony.
Look at the uber "limited" WClub dolls.. they have to cover all memberships.. that includes multi-membership households.
Greed has killed these dolls.. it also gave IT the ideas that we are willing to pay anything.
And.. with that in mind.. "let's make a few more dolls, and make more money"
I am not willing to pay more.
These are only dolls.

—I'm glad! It means.... That I should no longer have to panic and buy a doll the minute she's released. I can wait to see what comes out and then pick and choose!

—For me it's just too many dolls. I am out of space and I really don't like selling the dolls I have. I love the older ones especially. Every time I think about clearing some out, I just can't find anyone I want to let go. Soooo...I am not buying too many new ones. I think IT has just released too much at the same time for the past couple of years. PLUS, I think the retail prices have just gotten way out of line. I didn't even order either one of the club dolls...I just didn't get that "must have" feeling. And I have always gotten the club doll in the past.

Joe Tai's "After Party" Ensemble for Silkstone Dolls

I don't buy outfits for my Silkstone Dolls. They wear most Fashion Royalty clothes easily. This was an accident. After I bid on it, I realized that it actually said Silkstone in the title. Maybe one day I will learn to read carefully.

It is Savadoll eBay store exclusive from Joe Tai in a limited edition of 60. I paid $53.89 plus shipping. He currently has it listed at $59.88.

The ensemble consists of the dress, gloves, boots, shoes, necklace, earrings, bracelet, beaded headband and purse. That's a lot of stuff. For a Joe Tai, this is conservatively designed.

The fit of the dress and boots is excellent. I didn't even attempt more than 30 seconds on the gloves as I could tell it would have been hopeless. I would have preferred the shoes with this outfit but the buckles were so tiny and I didn't have the patience. The necklace and bracelet were extremely difficult to secure.

Below the pink belt, there are several layers of thread fringes. I used a comb to straighten them. I would have liked to see shiny rayon thread for the fringe. This is probably a matte poly/cotton blend.
I recommend the outfit to re-dressers with patience. Be on the cautious side with Joe Tai clothes as they stain if left on a doll for extended periods.

Ryan at Savadoll is wonderful to deal with. Although located in Canada, his shipping is very reasonable to the USA. He responds to email quickly and has excellent feedback.

La Vie en Rose by Robert Tonner for the Devereaux Sister Dolls

La Vie en Rose is one of two outfits that were available at the store event this past weekend. At first glance it looks fabulous. At second glance, it came out of it's box. The third glance, after I finished dressing a doll, said FRUMPY.
Let's start with the hat. What were they thinking? It reminded me of a bonnet from Little House on the Prairie. I tried it pushed up, pushed down, net down, net up and nothing made it look as good as when it was off the doll. The trim is cheap looking. One word describes this accessory - UGH.
We'll continue with the handbag. What size doll was this made for? A Kish Riley, perhaps. Someone made a big mistake with these accessories.
By itself the coat is gorgeous. The fabric is a beautifully rose-colored woven fiber with faux fur. The top 'button' is silvery balls. The dress is a simple georgette sheath with a gathered v-neck bust-line and a ruffled hem. It looks nice on the doll but nothing special or new. The hosiery and the gloves appear to be the same fabric - there's no problem there. The shoes are a little clunky-looking but I suppose they go with the period the outfit is meant to represent. Put it all together and WTF? Where is she going? Open school night and then to the corner bar? This outfit is just horrendous. If it makes Rose Rogue look like a well-dressed bag lady, then something is seriously wrong.
I do not recommend this ensemble unless you are willing to use the pieces to mix and match with other items in your dolls' wardrobe. Retail price $89.99.

'Cacao Noir' A Devereaux Sister's Outfit

I was informed that the Devereaux dolls have a smaller bust size than the standard Tyler doll. Since I was not going to keep the dolls but I loved the look of the clothes, I decided to debox and try to fit them on one of my 16" dolls anyway. I was thrilled that the Cacao Noir fit very nicely. The model is Ghost of Christmas past whose hair has been restyled. I think this is a very beautiful doll. She has the same smoky eyes as the sisters do.
The gloves were fairly easy to put on which was a big plus. I did take Ghost's hands off in order to insert them more easily into the sleeves of the dress. It was snug but fit like a dream. The hat is perfect for the period and the outfit. And I guess the shoes are, too, but I don't like them and switched them to black pumps for display.
I recommend this ensemble to all. The big problem is the hefty price tag of $89.99.
Cacao Noir is a limited edition of 250 and is available from the Tonner Store directly.