Liz

I don't pretend to be an ordinary housewife. - Elizabeth Taylor

Just to make it clear, I'm not really a Liz Taylor fan but I do appreciate her beauty which was attempted to be captured in some Barbie dolls. I know little about her. I didn't even know she had a beauty mark on her right cheek (near the jaw line) which was reflected in the doll. I initially though it was a speck of dirt or paint and I was ready to erase it. Luckily, I searched for other pictures and found out that she indeed had a beauty mark.

Being one of the few Barbie dolls with a face that resembles the actual person, I couldn't resist the beauty of the doll so I was watching out for her on eBay for weeks and finally I was able to get her at a reasonable price. I waited for someone to sell her out of the box since NRFB dolls can cost up to 5x more. I'm a deboxer anyway.

Having no back ground on her, I decided to watch Butterfield 8 (which was just laying around with the pile of disc in the house). The slip dress below and the fur coat above, although have the wrong design altogether, can still help capture her vibe from that movie. (Well maybe not the poses below... She's just enjoying her new found articulation.)

Evidently I have rebodied her using a body similar to the Modern Circle Barbie body. (Is there a shorter name for that?) I already forgot what doll the body originally was since I used so many heads on it. I wanted to give Liz ample articulation but I didn't want her to look starved so the Pivotal body is not an option. Even though I don't have an FR, I never considered the body since they are too tall for the dame (or my taste) who was supposed to stand 5'2". I'm still on the look out for better body for her.

Being a relatively new collector, I have a long list of old (not necessarily vintage) dolls I wanted. I'm still waiting to my hands on Diana Ross and Audrey Hepburn dolls (although I think the Audrey doll looks too cartoon-ish). Good thing there's not much exciting Barbie dolls for next year, except maybe for one or two Barbie Basics and maybe the Ken repro. I can align my budget for older dolls that have classic timeless beauty.

Aliesha Grows Up

It has been a while since I saw the BFC Ink dolls on local toy shelves but they don't seem to get sold. I always have wanted to buy one but only for the head. I was thinking of transferring it to a Barbie body. I specially like that they have square jaws unlike typical Barbie dolls and friends. I also like the flip flops although it won't work for Barbie's arched feet. I didn't like that their heads are too big for their original bodies which is typical for MGA dolls. I wasn't going to pay full price for a doll that I only partially like. I waited for the price to be marked down.

The long wait is over. They have slashed the price to half (at Toy Kingdom), so I bought two (Aliesha and Calista). I proceeded with my original plans and saw that Aliesha was gorgeous as a grown woman. I still don't know what to do with Calista so she stays in the box. As for Aliesha's original body, my decapitated Skipper found some use for it.

I must say that I really like a doll when lend itself to other possibilities!

vintage fashion queen barbie

Ken Be Better

Playline Ken with jointed wrists? This make me lose interest with the male basics more and more.

Seamless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECClIgcV81g *

A different bust size would have made it more interesting for me...but then again maybe not. It definitely doesn't have that fashion doll feel to me.

More talks about that here and here.

_________

* Thanks to Otaku for sharing the link to the video.

Sophisticated Lady fashion repro on vintage Fashion Queen Barbie

Sense of Size

Is my Lois Lane doll head really big? I thought it looked good on a skinny model muse body. I saw pictures of the same doll head on a belly button body and the head looked out of proportion. Then again, it could be just the angle of the camera or the way the hair was styled.

I had to try placing a big head on a model muse body and check if it can look "okay" on a skinny body. The big head (rightmost above), to me, seems okay on a model muse body. The angle of the camera may have something to do with it again. I was asking before if there is something different about my Lois doll worth noticing. I tried shrinking it, that's why. I guess the shrinking for that doll head was not noticeable enough.

I have learned the three basic words (acetone, soak, overnight) associated with shrunken Barbie heads even before I started repainting. I was just afraid to try it since I know acetone can be bad for dolls. I try to avoid it even for erasing the factory paint on my dolls. I don't know the long term effect of acetone on dolls and on my health, more importantly. With the recent abundance my big headed dolls in my collection, I had to give in. I was fine ruining them since I don't feel like playing with them in their current state anyways.

I tried soaking the big heads from the Fashion Fever line. That didn't work! They remained big. One of my later attempts was on the Sporty Fashionista doll head. I thought it didn't work... again. It was really hard to tell if it I cannot compare it with a same doll in the original size. I guess the shrink was not noticeable so I kept her stored for a while. I got the chance to look at her again after a while and that time I noticed that her head has shrunk.

Having found success on that Fashionista head, I tried it on another one, this time the Artsy doll. The middle head (below) is in the original size (although the mouth was closed). The doll on the right is from the Barbie Basics. The shrunken head (left) now has almost the same size as the Basics head.

Other that the three basic words on shrinking Barbie head, one must also be concerned "concentration" and "airtight". I failed to cover the acetone so the acetone must have evaporated over time losing its effect. Simply covering the container won't do. It had to be airtight since acetone is volatile. The concentration also affects the outcome. I read some people had bad results with this procedure but some attributed it to the high concentration of acetone. It is best to use a lower concentration although it may mean having to soak longer. I soak my Artsy head for 48 hours. The reduction in size will be noticeable after about 24 hours drying and the head feels more rigid. Head swapping and rerooting will be a little more difficult.

Going back to my Lois doll, she was soaked for 24 hours with low concentration acetone. She may still have a slightly bigger head and I can further soak her but I thought that won't be necessary.

Notice Something?

Below is a comparison photo of a doll using a Steffie face mold and the Lois Lane doll (with partially repainted eyes on a model muse body). The dolls were posed back to back but judging from Lois' arm, she is slightly in front.

Do you notice anything? If you notice anything, I'll explain next week on another post. If there is nothing worth noticing, I guess it's not worth blogging about, right? =)

Clues:

1. The grid lines were superimposed on the image as a clue.

2. Here is another photo including the same head molds as above. I didn't took it but I thought it is another good comparison photo.

That will be all the clues I can give for now. In the mean time, you might also enjoy this photo. (It's from an old event but if you have been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that this is not a "what's new" blog.) I just thought that using human size Blythe dolls in a fashion show was a cool idea! Whether you love or hate those dolls, I must say the size of their heads are really interesting, to say the least.

I was wondering...

Lois' eyes were partially repainted.

... if the Zac Posen Barbie uses the same face mold as the Lois Lane doll. The Lois Lane head doesn't have the Mattel mark (only the original body).

Update:

I now think they are not. According to this site, the Zac Posen doll uses the Nichelle II face mold. Clearly this is not Lois Lane's mold.

tags: Courtney Skipper 1987 Barbie Mattel

Mixed Emotions on the Asian Ken

It has been a long wait for the first Asian male doll in the Barbie line. Now that he will be released soon as the first male doll in the Dolls of the World line (representing Japan), it is difficult to tell if I should be pleased or not. Clearly authenticity nor cultural accuracy is not the goal here. That being said, he looks like an anime villain sans the big eyes. He also looks fat (not that it's bad).

I guess I was expecting the first Asian Ken to have that oval face and androgenous look like a lot of current Asian male pop celebrities. I'm not a fan of the wide jaw in earlier Ken dolls. This is of course a personal preference that does not reflect all Asian doll hobbyists' view. The mean looking sword wielding doll, of course, doesn't help with the image that Asian men are traitorous.

This doll was made to be sold so the more important question should be, will I buy it? Had it been just another Asian Ken, I definitely won't, but this is the first Asian Ken and judging from the things that went wrong with that doll, there might not be another one, so I guess I have to buy it. I did ask for an Asian Ken and Mattel might get the idea that Asian dolls don't sell like what some blogger proliferates (although I'm doubting if ethnicity has something to do with it or there might me something wrong with the design or the marketing strategy), so I guess I have to buy it.

She doesn't look her age

Midge: Are you sure she's THAT old???
Barbie: I know, right? She doesn't look her age.
Skipper: Hmpf! Repros...

The Skipper doll above was soaked in bleach and then her lips was retouched.

Basics Sneak Peek?

Thanks to Jason for the link...

http://myscene.freeforums.org/barbie-basics-t2899-325.html


03Sep2010 update:
Whoops! The 12 Barbie Basics Jeans are now available for pre-order.

Random thoughts on each models:
#1 Um duh!
#2 I actually like the hair cut although I think it's bordering on plain.
#3 The AA dolls decreased. If they made #4 white, they could have at least made #3 dark skinned.
#4 She reminds me of this. I do like her brightly colored hair.
#5 I didn't really like #3's hair from the 1st collection.
#7 When sequels look like a repackaged 1st version, chances are, they won't sell but who am I to know?
#8 I like her hair but at the same time don't like it.
#11 Have I seen her in the FashionFever line before?
#14 Like
#15 Like
#16 QaF
#17 Like

The dolls will be out by December 2010. Just like the 1st collection this may reach Asia and the Pacific next year by March, that is if they want to release them here. If not, then it's not really my loss.