Earlier this month, I did a quick write up on the new Nano Freya, the new anthro cat from Hujoo and The Junky Spot.  Here is the review!

Nano Freya

Let’s start off with the basics.  Nano Freya is 12cm tall and takes 12mm eyes.  While she shares the same name as the 27cm female cat, you can choose to make this little kitty male or female. Nano Freya comes in two colors– white and light grey.  Nano Freya is sold without a face up.  Also, you’ll need to supply your own eyes for these guys.

Nano Freya and Freya

I know that some of you aren’t fans of animal dolls.  I, however, am a sucker for most anthro BJD’s and these Nano Freya’s are no exception. Starting from the top, Nano Freya’s face is super cute. She has large, round eyes that fit with the Hujoo aesthetic and cat-like features.  The head is a similar size to the Hujoo Babies that were released a few years back.

Headcap

Compared to the 27cm Freya and Freyr, the headcap on these guys is fantastic.  No special tools are required to detach the head from the head cap besides your nail.  And you don’t even have to break that to take it off!  Unlike the 27cm anthro’s, the eyes you use in these must be held in with eye putty.  They do not come with any sort of ring to hold the eyes.  This works in our benefit, I think, because the head is so small that the less you have to jam in there, the better!

Baby Is and Nano Freya

As always, Nano Freya is made of ABS and is strung.  Her body is almost exactly the same as the Hujoo Babies.  The only difference I can see is that instead of hands and feet, Freya has paws. One thing I really like about this baby body is that it doesn’t have that annoying ‘ring’ around the neck that the 27cm dolls have.  It helps make poses look more natural.

Nano Freya vs Baby Is

Nano Freya’s paws vs Baby Is’s hands

Nano Freya’s feet

This tiny Hujoo body has joints on the shoulders, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees and ankles.  While the body is tiny, it poses well.  I was able to put Nano Freya in a bunch of really cute poses.  On top of that, she stands well.

Nano Freya and Is playing

Nano Freya

Nano Freya

Aiming High

Playing Together

One thing I really like about these Nano Freya’s is that they are very much ‘pocket pets’.  They’re inexpensive, which means you don’t have to worry too much about traveling with them.  Nano Freya isn’t heavy, but she feels like she has ‘substance’ to her.  These are the perfect size to put in your purse and take with you wherever you go.

Kittens at Play

Heart to Heart

New Heights

Tasty Treats

I quite like these Nano Freya’s.  They are a great size and pose well!  Better still, they’re affordable.  My only concern with this line of exclusives is how many anthro cats can you produce until the concept becomes stale.  I’m not sure, but it would be great to enhance this anthro line with a new animal or two.  Nano Freya is exclusive to The Junky Spot.

Nano Freya

Nano Freya

Playing Together Separately

For those who care to watch, I put a video review together on Freya, as well!

What do you think of Nano Freya?  Leave a comment down below!

Sample Nano Freya’s were sent to me for a fair and honest review. The opinions stated here (as always) are my own.

It looks like promo shots of Ever After High‘s Cerise Hood have hit the web!  I found these photos on the Ever After High Dolls facebook page.  I’m not exactly sure where they found them, but it is the weekend of New York Comic Con, so lots of new products are being shown for the first time!

Cerise Hood

At first glance, I think she’s pretty awesome.  I’m loving the outfit.  The bright red hood really does pop and the boots look like they fit the outfit perfectly.  Another thing I like (based on these promo shots) is the low key make up.  The blue eye make up looks great with all the reds and pinks. It’s hard to form an opinion on her hair at the moment, since it’s mostly hidden under the hood.

Cerise Hood

Promotional shots can be very deceiving, so I’m not sure if this is a new face mold or not.  It doesn’t look as large and round as the original dolls, but I won’t be able to tell for sure until the doll is in my hands. (Which it will be, for sure!)  When will she be out and about for Ever After High fans to purchase?  According to the EAH Dolls,  she’s due on store shelves sometime this winter, just in time for Christmas!  (Hopefully!)

What do you think of Cerise?  Share your thoughts below!!!

If you subscribe to the Barbie catalog, you probably received an e-mail with the new releases for the holiday season.  There are a few things I really like and there are others that I just don’t understand.  Here’s a list of what I think are there hits and misses of the new releases!

Welcome to my Dreamhouse floor mat

Hits:

Coach Barbie, $95

I love the look of this Coach Barbie far more than I do any of the Coach purses!  She has the annoying ‘forever bent’ arm (ie:  a non joined, forced pose arm), but her styling and facial design on her are perfect.   I love the trenchcoat, bright red purse and dark features! This doll actually reminds me of a grown up version of Courtney, Skippers best friend in the 90′s.  She uses the Model Muse body with the Lara headmold.  (She’s a little expensive, though, so I don’t think I’ll be adding her to my collection!)

Catching Fire Katniss, $25

What a redemption story.  The original Katniss release had a great promo shot with less than great execution.  This Catching Fire Katniss looks far better than the original ‘Hunger Games’ release.  Katniss was given an articulated body (no forever bent arms!), a ‘new Katniss’ head scupt, and was designed by none other than Bill Greening.  Her new face mold looks far more like Jennifer Lawrence than the first issue.

FAO Schwartz Barbie, $30

Isn’t this FAO Schwartz Barbie sweet looking!  Ignoring the one ‘forever bent’ arm, I love everything about this Barbie.  She has the Bebe facial sculpt on a Model Muse body.

Life in the Dreamhouse Ken, $17

Hey, hey, how adorable is this Life in the Dreamhouse Ken?!  Mattel did a great job matching his webisode counterpart!

Catching Fire Peeta, $25

I’m a bit amazed at how much this Catching Fire Peeta looks like Josh Hutcherson.  Mattel did a really good job on the sculpt.  The fashion is sewn on and he uses the new Peeta sculpt.

On the Fence

Texas A and M University, $25

I guess they have people called ‘Yell Leaders’ at Texas A and M and in this newest release, Ken gets to cosplay as one!  I like the idea of having a male in the University line.  It is getting a bit over run with dolls that all look pretty similar.  This doll was designed by Linda Kyaw with a Tango Ken.  I’m not completely sold on this guy, though, and I think it has something to do with his eyes…

Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday, $35

I think Mattel aced the Audrey Hepburn look for this Roman Holiday doll.  But they put the well crafted head on a Model Muse body with a forever bent arm.  For a doll like this, I think joints would have worked a lot better.  That way, movie buffs could photograph their this well done likeness in scenes from the movie.

Fantasy Glamour Dorothy, $100

Also designed by Linda Kyah is this website direct exclusive, Wizard of Oz Fantasy Glamour Dorothy.  I see what they were going for with this high glam Dorothy and I think it is executed pretty well.  However, $100 seems a little steep for this doll!  I also wonder about her limbs– they look a little too smooth.

Catching Fire Effie, $25

At first I really liked Effie, but the more I see her promo, the less excited I am for her.  This Effie doll is a bit tamer than expected.  She is a Shani body and a Closed Mouth Barbie facemold.

Miss

University of Oklahoma, $25

To start off the ‘miss’ category, we have this University of Oklahoma cheerleader.  I have nothing against the body or sculpt.  My main problem (and it pretty much goes for all dolls that have this) is the braid.  It is so thick.  Seriously, the braid looks as large or larger than her head mold.  It overtakes her and looks a bit weird!

Malibu Barbie, $50

I don’t know about you, but I find very little to like with this designer Malibu Barbie.  First, it has that darn Model Muse body with a forever bent arm AND leg.  Second, her face looks too ‘plastic’ for my tastes.  I know it’s strange saying this about a doll, but her face just looks ‘fake’.  Maybe it’s the Aphrodite Barbie face mold.  Maybe it’s the color palette.  And then there is the hair… I just really don’t see anything good about this Malibu Barbie.

Haunted Beauty Vampire, $100

There are some people that will probably really love this Haunted Beauty Vampire.  I, however, don’t.  It’s a bit too over the top for me and I really don’t like the choices they made for her facial design on her Glimmer/Louboutin head.

Holiday Barbie, $40

To be honest, this Holiday Barbie is a bit boring and seems really over priced. I can see the ‘snowflake’ concept, but it’s just a bit blah.

So now you know what I think of Mattel’s holiday releases.  What do you think of Mattel’s new offerings? Love one of my ‘misses’?  Voice your opinion down below!

Teddy Ruxpin is a toy that time will never erase.  Manufactured by Worlds of Wonder back in 1985, Teddy Ruxpin was an animatronic brown bear.  Teddy Ruxpin was designed to play special cassette tapes that manipulated his mouth and eyes to move with various stories.

Our Worlds of Wonder Family

Teddy was the brainchild of Ken Forsse , who together with Don Kingsborough, a past executive at Atari, created Worlds of  Wonder.  Teddy was the first of many animatronic toys to come from Worlds of Wonder, including Mother Goose and Mickey Mouse, and is arguably the most popular toy the company produced.

Teddy Ruxpin

One Toys R Us exec is quoted as saying, “Teddy Ruxpin’s are selling better than Cabbage Patch dolls did during their first year”, just after Teddy was released in 1985.  That’s a pretty awesome statement if you think about how large the Cabbage Patch craze was when they first hit store shelves in 1983.

Teddy Ruxpin Logo

Teddy Ruxpin was one of the most popular toys of 1985 and 1986, which says a lot seeing as how they were originally priced at US$70.00.  One article states the company sold 93 Million (US) dollars worth of Teddy Ruxpin bears by 1988.  It even spawned an animated television show.

Alongside Teddy, Worlds of Wonder created a companion doll, Grubby, to work alongside Teddy.  The downside of Grubby was that unless you had a Teddy and the proper connection cord, Grubby was just a statue piece.

Teddy’s popularity was sustained through a number of cassette tapes with different stories and clothing packs.  The company filed for bankruptcy in 1988 and officially closed its doors in 1990.  We can only imagine what they would have continued to create if they hadn’t closed their doors.  Teddy Ruxpin was the first of its kind and the original Teddy, I think, still holds up quite well compared to animatronic toys of today.

My history with Teddy started back in 1986 when I received Teddy as a Christmas gift from my grandparents.  I was 3.  Very quickly, he became one of my best friends!  We’d even set places at the table for him to eat with us!  Like most toys as complex as him, he eventually stopped working. Years ago I got my Teddy repaired and he’s been working great ever since.

This past month has been a very good one for my Teddy Ruxpin.  I had planned a while back to showcase him in a Flahsback post (see Dozzzy’s here) and when I was sidelined by a few of my tapes not playing as well as I remembered.  I went on eBay to try to replace the wonky tapes and then caught the eBay bug.  You know, what I’m talking about.  You look for one thing on eBay, then it leads to another thing and another, until you end up with 5 different shipment tracking codes!

My tape collection for him has grown from six to ten in the span of two weeks!  This past week, I replaced two tapes that were working less than perfect (The Airship and Teddy Ruxpin’s Birthday), purchased 3 ‘special’ tapes that were manufactured for fire stations during fire station tours, and ordered something my Teddy has wanted for, well, forever, the Teddy Ruxpin Christmas set (with Santa Suit, book and tape).

Teddy Ruxpin

Kids today have all sort of ‘electronic’ toys they play with, but none of those toys match Teddy Ruxpin.  He may not move his hands or feet or connect to wifi, but Worlds of Wonder created an animatronic marvel with Teddy and their other toys.  The facial movement on Teddy alone goes unmatched in toy releases since then.

Like with my last Dolly Flashback, I have created a few videos to show off all that Teddy is!  The video below features Teddy telling us the story of ‘The Airship’.  This tape came with Teddy Ruxpin and introduces us to the characters, Grubby and Newton Gimmick.

Do you have any fun memories of Teddy Ruxpin?  Why not share them by leaving a comment below!

Links to Visit:

Teddy Ruxpin Online

Wiki

Dr. Eeyore Hospital

Toys That Talk

I’ve reviewed a few Ever After High dolls and now it’s time for another.  Briar Beauty is Apple White’s best friend.  Part of the ‘royal’ party, she is Sleeping Beauty’s daughter and has a tendency to fall asleep anywhere and everywhere.

Of the dolls released so far, Briar has the darkest skin, which draws her apart from the rest.  I wasn’t completely sold on her at the beginning.  Of the original single releases, she was the least interesting to me.  She wasn’t bad looking– I liked the look of all four dolls– but she was just less exciting than the other three choice.

Fast forward a few months later to the Legacy Day releases, in which three of the first wave dolls were re-released in new outfits.  Color me surprised when my favorite of the line turned out to be Briar Beauty.  Why Legacy Day Briar? She looked the most different from her original first wave release, which is kind of important when releasing the same character twice in six months!

Briar Beauty Legacy Day and First Wave Briar Beauty

This post will cover both the first wave Briar and the Legacy Day release, which should make it easy for you to decide which is your favorite Briar!  Let’s start from the top.  Both Briars have chestnut brown hair, highlighted with pink.  First Wave Briar has a neat pretzel twist highlighting the pink hues, which I really do like.

First Wave Briar Beauty- Notice her hair twist!

Legacy Day Briar has a simpler style.  Her hair is done in your standard low ponytail.  The biggest difference is that her pink highlights are more apparent throughout her entire head.  The ponytail is a bit of a let down, but I think the brown and pink go well together.

Legacy Day Briar Beauty

The main thing that bugged me about the First Wave Briar was her make up.  In all honesty, I like the aesthetics of all the Ever After High faces, even if they come off as very similar to each other.

First Wave Briar Beauty and Legacy Day Briar Beauty

With First Edition Briar, though, I just feel like the color palette for her make up is just a little off.  First Wave Briar’s make up is very hot pink heavy, which I’m not a huge fan of.  I just don’t think it’s the perfect color for the doll’s skin tone, especially when you look at how pink heavy the doll is in general.

First Edition Briar Beauty

While First Wave Briar’s face has many deep colors, Legacy Day Briar has a much lighter color palette.  Legacy Day Briar’s eyes are embellished with a nice silvery/white and a much more toned down pink hue.  The make up makes her eyes look larger than the first edition Briar.

Legacy Day Briar Beauty

As far as outfits, Both dolls wear a mixture of pink and black. First Wave Briar has a dress that is definitely inspired by a rose.  All in all, it is a cute outfit.

First Wave Briar Beauty

Things I like about it?  I like the rose petal skirt.  It’s a cute idea and I love the black stenciling on it.

First Wave Shoulder Pads

I also like the plastic shoulder pads they gave her.  They make for a cool affect.  Also, I love her fish net stockings!  I would totally wear those.

The downfall of this dress for me is that it is very ‘expected’, if you know what I mean.  The fact that it’s practically entirely pink doesn’t do a lot for me, especially when a doll is from Mattel.  Mattel gave us a lot of pink in this outfit and I think they over did it a bit.

Legacy Day Briar Beauty

Legacy Day Jewelry

On the flip side, I really like Legacy Day Briar’s look.  It has much more power to it than the her original first wave look.   It seems like a much more balanced look that doesn’t over due it on the pink. The outfit also has some depth to it, with the awesome rose collared cape and the long skit.

First Wave Briar

Legacy Day Briar

Of course, each doll comes with cute shoes.  Of the two, I  prefer Legacy Day’s shoes.  They have a little more to them.

I’m happy to say that both stands work quite well.  Sadly, that is now not something I assume will happen with all Mattel releases, based on the last few Monster High releases with stands.  These stands are both strong and stay together well.

Briar Beauty

Both dolls are good, well put together dolls.  If I had to choose between the two, I would choose Legacy Day.  Overall, I think the Legacy Day release is just a little more interesting than the first wave release.  The character still isn’t my favorite of the Ever After High gang, but they definitely improved upon her doll in the Legacy Day release!

What do you think of the two Briar Beauty’s released so far in the Ever After Line?  Do you have a favorite?  Share your thoughts below!

Twice a year my mother and I go to one of the most wonderful places on earth– The Chicago Toy Show at the Kane County Fairgrounds.  The Chicago Toy Show has hundreds of vendors with antique to modern toys and dolls.  As you probably can guess, my mother and I go there for their doll room!  Inside the doll room, it’s easy to stumble upon early Madame Alexanders, Pink box Barbie’s, Patty Playpals– you name it and it’s probably there somewhere!

Every show is different.  Some shows have more of things than others.  For example, this show had a lot of pink box Barbie’s, a lot of cardboard Barbie play sets from back in the day and a lot of big baby and walking dolls.

I know many of you aren’t located in the Midwest USA,  so I thought I’d share with you a few things we saw at the show.  I’d like to thank all the vendors who allowed me to film their booths!!!  I really do appreciate it!

Not included in this video are the Star Wars character’s that came out to celebrate the shows 40th year.  This is the first time I’ve seen characters at the show.  They even had a radio station there, which is a first.

Star Wars characters from the Midwest Garrison at the show

Star Wars characters from the Midwest Garrison at the show (and me!)

The Midwest Garrison at the Show

Now that you’ve seen a little of the show, I thought you guys might be interested in seeing what my mom and I picked up during this little trip to the Kane County fairgrounds.  So, without further ado, here’s the grand unveiling!!!

My first purchase was at a booth we stopped by early on that had a $1 bin.  In the bin, there were two Barbie puzzles (from the 80′s) that I grabbed.  One is Barbie and the Rocker themed and the other is wedding themed.  They’re not mint, but the price was right!

Mom’s Purchase- A New Dress for Baby Face

My mother’s first eBay purchase was this Baby Face.  That was years ago!  Up until now, this Baby Face was wearing an outfit that was too large for her.  At this past show, she picked up a slightly more appropriate outfit for this cutie!  It fits her SO much better.

My Purchase- Skipper outfits

I try to feed my Skipper collection every time I go to the show.  This time, I ended up with two cute outfits for my dolls.  The one of the left is Ship Ahoy.  I have had my eye on this outfit for years, but never found it priced low enough for me to get it.  This outfit ended up costing me $50, which I think is pretty good, considering it came with the socks, shoes and toy boat!  (It’s only missing a few pieces, but since I can’t display extra’s, I don’t mind!)  It’s also a very clean outfit!  The outfit on the right is a mod outfit.  I haven’t dug into my Skipper price guide yet to see what outfit it is exactly.  It’s really cute, though, and was a steal at $15.

Mom’s Purchase- Little Miss No Names with new outfits

My mom has loved Little Miss No Name‘s forever.  I’m not surprised at all that she ended up coming home with new ones!  These two needed a little TLC and will need a hair job (done by yours truly), but they cleaned up pretty well.  One of these two dolls, the vendor said, was standing in his music room for years.  He’d look over at her and think ‘wow, she’s a creepy doll.’  He brought her to the show on a whim and after a bit of negotiating, Little Miss No Name ended up in my mom’s bag!

The outfits came from the same vendor we found Baby Face’s outfit at. The seamstress worked for American Girl and when she retired, she brought patterns home with her and started a side business.  The seamstress passed away last year and her stock was bought by a lady selling at the show.

My purchase- American Girl Outfit for my Amelia

My Amelia has been wanting a new outfit for a while.  The problem I’ve had, though, is that she’s not the most universal size and I have found very few outfits on sites like Etsy.  This American Girl outfit is a little big on her, but it looks great!  My mom found this in a bucket for $10.  The colors work really well with Amelia’s coloring and the brown boots match, too!

My purchase- A Skooter Case

I have a good number of Skipper cases (none of which I can display due to space), but I’ve rarely seen a Skooter case.  This came from a vendor that was downsizing her collection.  You could tell she was trying to sell her items to people who would love them.  This case is in great shape and has the boxes on the inside.  And most importantly, the graphics are great!

Mom’s Purchase- Baby Crissy

My mom’s first purchase of the day was a steal.  This Baby Crissy was priced super nice and in great shape!  I think this AA Crissy might be even cuter than the white version!

My purchase- A 14″ Madame Alexander Amy dressed as Alice in a tagged MA outfit

14″ Madame Alexander dressed as Alice

It seems like every winter show, I end up with a hard plastic Madame Alexander.  The hard plastic dolls are really the only dolls I collect from Madame Alexander, to be honest.  I’m not sure why, as it wasn’t influenced by my mom, because she only has one hard plastic Madame Alexander.  I just adore them, especially Maggie and Margaret faces.

One of the best things about this doll was her price.  She was half off the asking price, which you rarely see on Madame Alexanders!  Especially when an Alexander is clean, strung well and has good face paint!

I picked this girl up thinking she was a Madame Alexander Alice in Wonderland doll.  After doing a bit of research and only finding a Maggie face Alice, it was pretty clear that she wasn’t an Alice all of her long dolly life.  My mom saved the day by ID’ing her as a Little Women Amy, redressed in an Alice dress from a later release by Madame Alexander.  I’m thinking she’s from 1951 or so.  (Can I just mention here that I really don’t like how the Madame Alexander Price guides don’t include pictures?  It’s so hard to figure out who you have based on a one line description!!!)  That being said, if you have  seen a hard plastic Alice in Wonderland with a Margaret face that is around 14″ or you think this girl could be another Madame Alexander, let me know!!!!

My Mom’s Loot

My Loot

So, that was our Kane County Chicago Toy Show experience in a nut shell!  This trip proved to be quite an affordable one with lots of vendors offering deals.  I highly recommend you check out this show if you’re in the area!

What was your most recent toy show find?  Do you have a favorite toy show?  Do you have an item you actively search for at shows?  Share it in the comment area!

With the popularity of Ever After High and Once Upon a Time, other  doll companies were bound to hop on the fairy tale band wagon.  SK Victory, a relatively new company is one of those companies.  The Fairy Tale High gang are teen fairy tale characters who attend a fine arts school.  The characters in the line thus far are: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Belle, Tinkerbell, and Rapunzel.  Like the majority of the doll lines out today, these dolls are accompanied by ebooks and a web series.

Fairy Tale High students

I was lucky enough to be sent three of these dolls for a fair and honest review.  The three mystery dolls turned out to be Tinkerbell, The Little Mermaid and Alice in Wonderland.  These dolls are about 11.5″ tall, which is equal to a current release Winx doll.  That makes these guys a few inches taller than the Ever After High and Monster High lines.

Tinkerbell, Alice, and the Little Mermaid

Fairy Tale High boxes

I’m sure you’ll notice in the size comparison shot that Fairy Tale High and Winx seem to have very similar looks.  Their bodies are almost exactly the same proportions, minus a few differences.

Fairy Tale High Alice VS Winx Bloom

The two biggest difference are that these Fairy Tale High dolls have jointed elbows and are branded with a large, obnoxious SK on their back, which is very visible on Tinkerbell due to the low cut on her shirt.

Large SK logo

Other than those two things, though, the body types and proportions are very close.  (After doing a bit of digging, my mom found out that a higher up at SK Victory was actually part of Jakks Pacific for a while, which may account for the similar body types.)

To be honest, I do find the body to be lacking a bit when it comes to joints.  The Fairy Tale High dolls are jointed at their shoulder, elbow, wrist, thigh and knee.  They have a head that moves left and right, but not up and down. The arm joints work well enough.  I wish the elbow would bend just a little more for easier posing, but the fact that these guys have a wrist joint makes me happy.

Fairy Tale High joints

The leg joints let me down a bit. The upper leg joint allows the legs to part enough for a wide stance, but you won’t see these dolls doing the splits anytime soon.  The knee joints, just like on the Winx dolls, have a bit of a ‘cap’ on them, so the top portion of the leg overlaps the bottom portion.  Strangely, this makes the legs hyper extend a bit. They have good movement and generally look fine when posing, but I can’t help but feel like with a little tweak, they could be better.

See the ‘cap’ like knee?

On the upside, two out of three of these dolls stand well on their own.  Poor Tink was received with one leg that was slightly longer than the other, so she has a bit of trouble.  The other two, however, seem to stand pretty well, which I didn’t expect.

Fairy Tale High Trio

The dolls are rooted well and I love the hair color choices they picked for this line.  They are all colors that I, as a re-rooter, would use on my own  dolls.  The hair is easy to comb and it isn’t hair sprayed to the extreme.

Tinkerbell has a nice mix of lemon yellow and lime green hair, cut in a cute bob.  (I honestly think I’ve used these colors together one of my reroots before!)  I really like that Tink was given a bob, as opposed to just having long hair.  Sometimes I  find it to be a cop out when a doll line only has dolls with long hair.  This bob works well on the face shape on Tink.

Tinkerbell

The Little Mermaid is rooted with long orange hair with pink highlights, styled in a high side ponytale.  Her hair is one of my favorite things on her, actually.  I really like the color and the ponytail, even after being stuck in a box, still looks pretty styled.

The Little Mermaid (back of head)

Alice has long blonde hair styled in what seems like a nice throwback to Marcia Brady (The Brady Bunch).  With no highlights, her hair style is accented with a black headband.

Alice

The decal faces are cute and shockingly unexpected.  SK Victory chose some odd colors to use on the eyes and lips, but it strangely works out.

Tink and The Little Mermaid

Alice, for example, has blue features– blue lips and blue eyes.  It was strange at first, but the more I’ve looked at her and photographed her, I like it.  SK Victory was super smart in keeping her hair basic blonde because the blue facial features wouldn’t have worked well with a crazy hair color.

Alice

Tinkebell’s face is very green, which seems to work well with her hair.  The decal’s are put on evenly and the proportions look pretty good.

Tinkerbelle

The Little Mermaid’s face is a similar look to the other two, but is a little more tame and way more normal than Tink and Alice.  The Little Mermaid has bright red lips and dark green eyeshadow.

The Little Mermaid

As far as outfits, the quality is what you’d expect.  I was happy to see that the outfits fit well and while they are simple, they (for the most part) fit the character.  My favorite outfit is Alice’s, even though it is a bit see through!  Alice wears a blue striped mini dress with a  black vest.  Personally, I love her style.  Again, it works quite well with her hair and make up.

Alice’s outfit

Alice’s shoes

Tink is decked out in a pink dress with green highlights.  The pink and green go surprisingly well together.  Tink has green fishnets to finish the outfit, which are actually kind of neat.

Tink’s outfit

Tink’s shoes

The Little Mermaid has my least favorite outfit.  I can see where they were going with this sea inspired green top, but I’m not sure where the purple comes from.  I don’t think it’s the best color choice to go against dark green, myself.  The look is completed with black fishnets.  Like the other girls, the outfit is a bit basic and for me, is the most lackluster.

The Little Mermaid’s Outfit

The Little Mermaid’s shoes

These dolls aren’t perfect. I’m not a crazy fan of the large branding on the back, nor do love the fact that their head only turns left and right (as opposed to up and down, too).  The joints don’t bend as far as I’d like them to, either.   That being said, I like the fact that they have wrist joints and that they stand well on their own.  (Long enough to take a few pictures, that is!)

Tink and Alice

Fairy Tale High Trio

Also, I like their head mold, decals and hair color.  There faces may not be the most unique faces out there, but they are cute, especially when styled with fun hair colors like the dolls I received.

The Little Mermaid

Alice

The Little Mermaid

Alice and Tink

There is potential, I think, in this line.  It’s not perfect right now, but I see kids enjoying this line.  If anything, the similarity to Winx might work in their favor.  Should this line continue and SK Victory fixes a small number of things, I think this could be a solid stocking stuffer for a good few years.

Fairy Tale High Trio

What do you think of these Fairy Tale High dolls?  Share your thoughts below!

In all honestly, I haven’t seen very many new and exciting things while walking the toy aisles lately.  Supposedly, there are new Monster High lines hitting store shelves, but I haven’t found any yet. If this is how the stores will be stocked all holiday season, well, it will be a bit of a lackluster Christmas.  The doll lines, in particular, are disappointing to me. There’s very little new-ness to the aisles.

Here’s a few pictures  of some items (good and bad) that caught my eye on our most recent walk through Toys R Us.

Poor Cody Simpson

We’ll start with one of the saddest sights I’ve seen in the discount bins for a long time.  I haven’t followed Disney stars for a long time now and I honestly don’t know who Cody Simpson is, but I feel bad for the kid!  His poor doll doesn’t even sell at $1.00!

Scraps Stitched and Sewn Lalaloopsy

I didn’t know they had a large Lalaloopsy of Scraps Stitched and Sewn out!  Isn’t she great?  I’m a huge fan of the ‘different’ looking Lalaloopsy’s, like this one and the alien one that was released a month or two ago.  I’ll have to pick this girl up before she sells out!

My First CPK

My favorite Cabbage Patch Kids are vintage or vintage reproductions.  However, this My First Cabbage Patch Kid is adorable!  It was, also, way more reasonably priced than the vinyl Cabbage Patch Kids on the shelves.

Deluxe Ariel Styling Head

Most of the things in these posts are here because I found something in them that I liked.  This Little Mermaid Styling Head is here for the opposite reason.  What was Disney thinking with this? She may have Ariel’s red hair, but her face is a definite miss!  Just not good!

Canterlot High Pep Rally 5 set

This Canterlot High Pep Rally five pack includes Apple Jack, Rarity, Luna, Rainbow Dash and (my personal favorite) Fluttershy.    I’m a little bummed that their tops are still painted on and they still have the annoying knob feet, but this set is pretty darn cute.  I really like the Luna in this set!

Monster Mash

The Monster High fans here might recognize a certain someone on the front of this Moonlight Monsters box.  She’s called Starlet here, but I’d bet money that she was inspired by Mattel’s Spectra.  The purple hair, the pale white skin…  It’s just too similar!

Super Mario Bros. K’Nex

Staying on the Lego train, I thought this K’Nex Super Mario Bros. 2 set was pretty neat.  I haven’t seen many Lego or K’nex sets based on old school Nintendo games.  This set really does resemble something you’d see in a video game!

Beatrix Girls (Chantal and Ainsley)

Beatrix Girls (Lark and Brayden)

The Beatrix Girls are four friends who rock out in their spare time.  They are about 12″ tall and have really big decal eyes.  They are definitely odd looking, when compared to other 12″ dolls, but I think they’re kind of neat!

Shoe Studio

Shoe Studio

Technically, this is more of a craft project, but I don’t care.  Crayola’s Shoe Studio looks so much fun!  Haven’t you ever wanted to design your own kind of shoe?  Plus, the shoes are the perfect size to display!

Doc McStuffin’s

Sofia the First

I don’t have any children at the moment, but I DVR Sofia the First.  Why?  Because I find that show adorable.  It has great animation, good songs and has spawned some really cute toys.  The toy above, talking Sofia,  is one of those toys.  Alongside that is the Doc McStuffin‘s line, which is out in full force at my local Toys R Us.  I don’t watch that show, but the figures and dolls inspired by it are definite eye catchers.

Hand Sewn Mickey and Minnie

These Mickey and Minnie hand sewn 85th Anniversary dolls made the list because they’re so classic.  They stood out in the aisle, stuffed between Smurfs and other preschool toys. While a little pricey, they are adorable, aren’t they?  Great for adult collectors, that’s for sure.

So that’s it for this edition of Walking the Toy Aisle.  I’m still waiting for the big ‘wow’ items to hit store shelves.  They’re cutting it a little close!

Have you seen any really awesome things while walking your toy aisles?  Share a thought or two below!

There are many things about Facebook that irritate me, however, I must thank it for introducing me to a doll company that seems to be doing something pretty cool.  MakieLab is a company that allows you to make your own poseable 10″ dolls, Makies.  Based in Shoreditch, London, MakieLab “developed tech that can produce and manufacture the best kind of future-smashing toy”.

Makies Banner

The tech?  3-D printing, or more precisely, they’ve created “a system of creating objects using game technologies – 3D Studio Max, Unity, 3D objects – and transmogrifying them into 3D-printable toys complete with internal working joints.” Sounds pretty neat, huh?

Makies were awarded a Commendation in the Independent Toy Awards 2013, which essentially means they earned at least 10% of the votes in the competition and were very close to earning a medal.  Pretty awesome for a company that was only founded in 2011!

Makies

Now, onto the dolls…  Let me state first that it seems like Makies is a line that is constantly re-designing itself, so make sure to check out the company website for info on what they’re currently doing and improving upon.

Screen Capture, Eyes

Makies are 100% customizable dolls. You literally create them using a web based computer program and next thing you know, your own 100% unique doll is at your door step.  They cost roughly $110 US or 82 euro, which is comparable to other design your own dolls, like the Muppet Whatnots at FAO Schwartz.

Doll Creation App screenshot

There are four skin tones currently available for Makies, from pale white to chocolate brown.  Since the plastic they use is white, they literally dye the bodies the color of your choice.  The wigs are glued on, unless you specify otherwise while ordering.  They have a head cap that allows you to switch out the eyes, assuming you can find eyes that fit.  Currently, Makies have acrylic half sphere eyes inserted into an eye mechanism.

Makies- in what I assume is the old style faces

Makies arrive with very light face ups done in non-toxic pencils, but if you want something more powerful, they have tips on re-doing the make up yourself. They’ve recently updated their head molds to the ‘cutie’ line.  These images include both the classic and new ‘cutie’ style head.

Cutie style face with face up

They have pull off limbs, meaning you don’t have to worry about stringing them.

Now, I know you’re wondering, what in the heck are Makies made from.  Is it plastic?  Is it vinyl?  Is it resin? Well, the best answer I’ve found is that it’s none of the above.

They start out as powder and then eventually (somehow!) end up in something that the website describes as somewhat similar to an “unglazed porcelain, kind of. Sometimes a Makie can feel quite fragile or precious, and early testers have likened it to porcelain, maybe because the only toys that have a bit more weight to them are porcelain. But Makies are actually as tough as (plastic) boots.”  According to Makie’s PR, the dolls have a similar weight to ABS plastic (which is what Hujoo‘s are made of), but a totally different feel.

One of the Limited Edition Makies

The Makies creation program MakieLab designed is pretty user friendly.  You aren’t only given a handful of template choices to choose from for your doll.  You can literally manipulate nearly every (if not every) facial feature on your Makie.  Eye width and spacing, the bridge of the nose, the roundness of the nose, the size of the lips, the plumpness of the lips, the cheekbones, the chin structure.  You name it and you can probably manipulate it!  What I really liked is that you can manipulate the ears to make them elf or fairy ears!

New Cutie Faces

After making the face, you can choose an outfit and wig.  Their options for outfits and wigs are a bit limited, but those things could be relatively easy to find outside of the site.

Can you guess these celebs? (If you guessed Prince Harry for the redhead, you’re right! I honestly don’t know who the brunette is, though!)

I haven’t decided if I am going to take the plunge, so to speak, and order a Makie.  I know it won’t be before Christmas, because we’ve hit the point of the year where I have to really conserve my money for Christmas fun.

Makie’s Cutie Holiday doll/package

However, I’ll definitely be keeping this company in my sights!  And I have to admit, making digital Makies on the website is quite fun (and free!), even if I can’t put the money down for a 3-D version!  You can find the Makies app for your Apple device and/or can find the PC based creation program on their website.

What do you think of Makies?  Do you own one?  What kind of Makie would YOU make?  Share your thoughts below!!!!

New Monster High dolls have finally started hitting store shelves.  You would think it’s Christmas time or something!  For review today are two of the four Monster High Art Class dolls, Skelita and Draculaura.  Also in the line are Abbey and Robecca.  I’m surprised at how much I like the Art Class line!

Art Class Draculaura and Skelita

Draculaura isn’t my favorite Monster High character, but I like this rendition of her.  She has the smaller eyes that we’ve seen on other Draculaura’s, which I prefer over the large eyes.  Her make up isn’t too over the top.  Instead of the usual over abundance of pink on her face, we have a nice bright yellow around her eyes.  It works strangely well on the light pink skin.

Draculaura

Draculaura has, by far, the coolest hair she’s ever had.  Her black hair is in a high ponytail.  It has a row of pink and yellow highlights that start in the bang area and weave their way down and into the ponytail.  I really like the addition of the bright yellow in the highlights.  The placement seems pretty perfect, too, unlike some Monster High, where the highlight placement is just strange.  Surprisingly, the curl in Draculaura’s ponytail stayed pretty well, considering she was in a box.

Draculaura

Draculaura is decked out in an adorable dress.  The bodice is yellow and bubble gum pink and travels down to a black skirt decorated in paint splotches.  The whole look is finished with a pink apron.  The element I like most about this outfit is the paint splotch skirt.  There’s something about it that is very cool.  This is one of my favorite looks on Draculaura.

draculaura

It wouldn’t be a Monster High review without talking about Draculaura’s shoes.  As always, they are pretty darn cool.  These shoes are more tactile than the other styles we’ve seen.  The white and pink work really well with the colorful outfit.

Skelita

I own the first Skelita, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge fan of her.  She’s definitely an interesting doll, but something about how Mattel styled her just didn’t suit me.  This Skelita, though, is much better!  I love her look!

Skelita

Starting from the top, Skelita’s black hair is highlighted with pumpkin orange and teal.  The combination looks really nice together, especially in contrast to her white skin and colorful face.  Like Draculaura, Skelita comes wearing a fun headband.

Skelita

Skelita’s brown eyes are highlighted with a variety of colors including dark brown, purple and baby pink.  There’s a lot going on with Skelita’s face paint, but it works very well. With her stark white skin, Mattel almost needs to ‘fill the gaps’, so to speak, and they did it really well with Skelita.  Skelita’s mouth is really neat and completes the look.

Skelita

Skelita’s outfit plays on the idea of color, just like Draculaura’s.  With Skelita, she has a pink bodice with rib cage like designs, covered with a fun teal vest.  The dress has a colorful skirt with pink, purple, orange and teal embellishments on black, very similar to the styling on Draculaura’s skirt.

Skelita

Skelita’s shoes are up to Monster High standards. The bright orange definitely makes her bone white legs stand out.

Skelita

Skelita

If you’re are new to Skelita (and haven’t noticed in the pictures yet), Skelita has bone-like limbs.  They make for a pretty cool affect and work well.

Skelita

Draculaura and Skelita

Skelita

Both dolls come with a comb, stand, art journal and prop/accessory.  Skelita has a very large vase, as seen above, and Draculaura has this Picasso-esc self portrait.  I’m a huge fan of useful accessories and these two fit the bill!  They should look great in a doll house or in the background for photo sessions!

Draculaura’s prop/accessory

Skelita and Draculaura

Skelita and Draculaura

Draculaura and Skelita

I think Mattel hit a home run with these two dolls.  What I like most is their colorful nature.  Both Skelita and Draculaura have great color pallets this time around! Add in their cool props/accessories and these guys are winners!

For those who like video reviews, why not check out the video above?

Draculaura and Skelita

What do you think of Art Class Draculaura and Skelita?  Leave you thoughts below in the comment area!

It’s nearly Christmas and what better a time to hold a contest!  With 275 Facebook fans, over 1000 YouTube subscribers and 178 e-mail subscribers, I thought this would be the perfect time to show you guys how much I appreciate you reading, watching, commenting, messaging and e-mailing me here at Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter.

The Prize Package:

One lucky winner will receive:

The Loot

Monster High Scare Mester Catrine DeMew, Bratzillaz Cloetta Spelletta (painted eyes) and a Sol Republic/Motorola Deck (which is a portable bluetooth/NFC speaker).

If there are a large number of entries I may pick up some items so there are more winners.  That all depends on the numbers, though!!!

How To Enter:

Entering is super easy.  Whether you are an e-mail subscriber, Facebook fan, YouTube viewer or just a doll fan in general, all you have to do is fill out this handy dandy form below!  Update: This is open to everyone, so yes, it’s international!

Make sure to leave the correct e-mail address on the form.  I will contact the winner by e-mail, so it is very important!!!!  You don’t need to be a subscriber to enter, but I would love if you did subscribe via facebook, youtube, or e-mail!

If you aren’t comfortable filling out the form and would rather e-mail me the information, send me an e-mail at taps1223(at)sbcglobal(dot)net.  Put ‘Contest Entry’ in the subject and give me your name or username and the answer to the question listed in the google doc form.

The Deadline:

I will choose a winner and e-mail them on the 22nd of December.  Your prize package will be mailed out within a week of getting back to me with the appropriate information.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them down below!  Good luck!

While finishing up last minute Christmas shopping, my mom and I stumbled upon a new toy line that is pretty exciting!  Long time readers of the blog will know I have a weakness for tiny, realistic looking doll house/Re-Ment like common day things.  miWorld (pronounced ‘my’ world) is a line of small ‘rooms’ based on popular stores, such as Claire’s, Opi Nail Salon and Dairy Queen.

Deluxe Sweet Factory

Walls

There are starter and deluxe rooms, as well as expansion packs.  Each starter room, when put together, is 7.5 inches wide and includes 2 walls, 1 floor, 1 sticker sheet and over 25 accessories.   They are priced around $15.00 and offer three room choices: Sprinkles Cupcakes, OPI Nail Salon and Dairy Queen Restaurant.

Starter Sets

Starter- Opi

Starter Set

Deluxe rooms, when put together, are 15 inches wide and includes 4 walls, 2 floor pieces, 1 doll figure, 1 sticker sheet and over 50 accessories.  Priced around $30.00, there are two options: Claire’s Jewelry and Accessory Store and Sweet Factory Candy Shop.

Deluxe Sets

Deluxe Set- Claires

Besides these completed rooms, you can purchase a ‘shop girl’ for $5.00 and collector accessory packs at $3.00 that have 6-8 super tiny, realistic mini accessories that match various starter or deluxe sets.

Shop Girl

Collectors Accessory Pack

Collectors Accessory Pack

Now, what I really like about these is that even though each is its own room, you can connect the rooms teogether, even build on top of other sets!  That makes displaying them seem far easier.  Currently, these are exclusive to Walmart, but after December, they should be everywhere toys are sold.

I think there’s promise in this line.  I can’t say I’ve seen them outside of the box yet, but honestly, I like them!  I love that these aren’t just random ‘generic’ rooms, but actual storefronts.  I also love that they should stack and connect to each other so you can make your own little shopping mall!

See, they stack!

miWorld’s should be great for photo backdrops, assuming the doll is the proper size!  I’m a horrible judge of doll proportions to doll sets unless I have both in front of me, so as of right now, I’m not quite sure what doll size would fit best in these. I know the scale is too small for Barbie and probably too big for Nano Freya, but that’s as good as I can say right now!  For more pictures, check out the miWorld website.

Do you own any miWorld?  What do you think?  What stores would you like them to re-create? Share your thoughts below!

I’ve closed the contest and will be picking winners later today!  I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Another Christmas has come and gone.  As we approach 2014, I wanted to give you a peek at what dolly related things were on my birthday table and under the tree!  Come 2014, I will spotlight these each in a little more detail, but for now, here’s a sneak peek!!!

Lennon Sisters Mini Dolls

The majority of the Christmas shopping is done by myself and my mother, which means that we both receive a good number of dolls or doll related items!  My birthday happens to be a few days before Christmas.  This year was a bit of a ‘big’ birthday for me– 30!  I’m in good company, though, with the Cabbage Patch Kids also turning the big 3-0!

Birthday Gifts

Barbie Paper Dolls and NKOTB Paint N Marker book

Teddy Ruxpin and Cabbage Patch Kids puzzle

I know these gifts don’t really resemble what others get for ‘big’ birthdays, but honestly?  I love that!  I can’t wait to display the  puzzles and I love the uncut paper doll books!  Surprising was the MiWorld set I received, as I didn’t expect that at all!  And of course, there’s the My Pet Monster puzzle.  For those who don’t know, I wanted a My Pet Monster so bad when they first came out. Unfortunately, I never received one.  To this day, I think it would be neat to own my own My Pet Monster.  Having a puzzle with the little guy is one step closer!

My favorite part of Christmas is the giving.  I was lucky enough to snag two really affordable Taeyang’s for my mom (Wizard of Oz Tin Man and Scarecrow) to complete her Wizard of Oz set.  I also gifted her a Disney Princess Prince doll, Flynn Rider, a plush Cabbage Patch Kid and a Cutie Pop (amongst a few non dolly related items).  That being said, it’s always fun opening presents.  Here’s a few that I received!

Christmas Haul

Lalaloopsy Haley Galaxy

As always, my family picked up a nice variety of dolls for under the Christmas tree!  I received the Lalaloopsy I’ve been bugging my mother about, Haley Galaxy, as well as the Kawaii Crush set I’ve been looking at, the PB and J set!

Terri Lee

Madame Alexander Smurfette

Kurhn

Also under the tree was a Terri Lee from their release in 2012 and a Madame Alexander Smurfette, Picture Day Lagoona, the Barbie: A Pony Tale Sisters set with no bangs Skipper, and my personal favorite, a Kurhn Christmas doll!!!  Last, but not least, I opened up two MiWorld rooms, DQ and Opi.

New Pieces of my C3P0 Collection

My C3P0 collection grew a lot this Christmas with two C3P0 themed dog toys, some vintage soap, a tiny Micro Machine playset and a snazzy uncut key!

Merry Christmas!

Till Next Year!

I’ll be showcasing most of these items in their own post come January, so keep your eyes open!  For those who would like to see the video reveal (featuring my mom and her gifts, too!), check out the video below!

Also, if you missed my Teddy Ruxpin Christmas upload, check that out, too!

Have a safe and happy New Year.   See you in 2014!

It’s that time again.  January 1st, American Girl officially announced the newest Girl of the Year, Isabelle Palmer.  Isabelle, a dancer,  is just starting her first year at a fine arts school.  Her stories deal with being confident in who she is and not comparing herself to others.

American Girl ‘Girl of the Year’ Isabelle

Isabelle has a number of outfits and lots of separates that you can mix and match.  As you’d expect from a dancer, she has leotards, cropped pants, and wraps, as well as usual everyday wear we are used to seeing on American Girl dolls.

Metallic Dress

Performance Set

I like the two outfits above, though I don’t think they’re perfect.  The problem with putting an American Girl doll in a leotard is that you can’t miss the cloth body to vinyl limbs transition.  I know that’s an American Girl tradition, but it looks a little strange.  I like the color palette they decided on for Isabelle, though, with lots of off white, black and purple.

Mix and Match Set 15

As I mentioned before, Isabelle has lots of separates– skirts, leotards, loose fitting tops, cropped pants.  Coming from a girl that took a lot of dance as a kid, her selection of clothing is pretty close to what I’d expect!  American Girl is even advertising ‘Mix and Match’ sets, to showcase the different looks that can be created with the different pieces offered.

The coral top and purple bottoms ‘mix and match set’ is kind of cute, in a comfy sort of way!  I, also, like the color combination of the coral and the purple.  It works surprisingly well together!

Mix and Match Set 1

I like this purple leotard set because it covers most of her joints.  The neck line isn’t as low and the wrap covers her shoulders.  I, also, love the tights.  The whole look brings me back to my dancing days (though, I must admit, I never wore a wrap or leg warmers to class).

Studio

It wouldn’t be American Girl without some cool playset and Isabelle delivers on that front!  Isabelle’s (fashion and dance) Studio I like because it has some fun to it.  I love the dress form, sewing machine and ‘picture’ wall.  When closed, the fashion studio is transformed into a ballet studio with a mirrored front and a mini barre.  It’s like two playsets in one.

Barre

Now onto my favorite of the accessories- the ballet barre. This ballet bar is pretty neat.  I love that it has two barres and that they look relatively realistic.  I love it, I really do! One thing though, I don’t see this getting much use with American Girl dolls.  Unless this is smaller than scale, I would think it would be pretty hard for an American Girl doll’s joints to bend in a way that would look remotely like a ballerina.  I think this would be excellent for ball jointed dolls of a similar scale, though.

Mix and Match Set 2

I am underwhelmed by the doll herself, to be honest. Besides the ‘add on’ pink hair, she doesn’t strike me as unique at all.  One could say that no American Girl is unique, as they all use face molds that are pretty similar, but I don’t believe that.  I think my four American Girls look different and unique (and they do share the same face mold).  Isabelle, unfortunately, looks like every other blonde Just Like Me doll I’ve seen.  I can’t help but feel there was a missed opportunity to make this look a little more ‘special’.

What do you think of 2014′s Girl of the Year?  Share your thoughts below.

Mattel is cranking out Ever After High dolls at an extremely fast rate.  Not only do they keep releasing their core dolls, but they have two additional lines, Legacy Day and Getting Fairest on store shelves. Today, I’d like to showcase Cerise Hood.

Apparently, Cerise means cherry in french (thanks, YouTuber’s!).  Honestly, though, I don’t particularly like Cerise as a name.   (No offense if that’s your name!)   It just doesn’t seem to fit the character (for me, at least!)

Ever After High Blondie and Cerise

I’ve been a fan of Cerise since Ever After High was introduced.  The daughter of Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad wolf, Cerise  has, by far, the coolest look in the Ever After High line.  Her webisode character has a mysterious past and you can clearly see that in her doll design.

Cerise

Cerise

While Cerise has the same round, flat face we’ve seen on the other dolls in the line, it seems to fit her better than some.  Her large grey eyes, accented with shades of dark grey, look great on her tan skin.  She has very minimal make up, which works with her character.  She doesn’t seem like the type that would go all out with her make up to me.

When her character hit the web, many people were wondering about her ears. Would she have wolf ears like Monster High’s Clawdeen or human ears?  Inside her hood is a plastic piece to help the hood keep its shape.  For that reason, I don’t have a photo. Her ears are placed where you’d expect a humans ears to be.  However, instead of being round at the top, they have a small point at their tip.

Cerise

Cerise

I admit, I should have been slightly more observant while watching the webseries, because I thought she’d have a shorter hair do.  I really wanted her to have a bob.  As it stands, she has very long, straight, black hair with white highlights.  A small chunk of hair is packaged outside the cape and attached to her arm in the packaging, but the rest is under her hood and weaved through a hole in her hood.  Her long hair is fine, but I still think she’d be cuter with a bob!

Cerise

Cerise

Cerise has the coolest outfit of the Ever After High dolls.  Unlike the short dresses we’ve seen on many of the dolls, Cerise has a red and black checkered shirt dress and shiny grey leggings. Her outfit has a stylish punk vibe to it, which I love.  To top it off, Cerise wears a rounded red cape.  I love the details Mattel put into the outfit.  The cape, for example, is lined with a fun red fabric and is meant to have a rounded look to it.

Cerise

One big problem I have with the outfit deals with quality control.  Cerise’s hood was held onto the box with two tabs and most likely a small amount of glue.  After taking her out of the box, I noticed two really large stains centered around where those tabs were.  I feel like Mattel should have thought ahead about the fabric of the cape and how the tabs/glue would affect it.

Cerise

As usual, Cerise models some fantastic boots.  Seriously, these are some awesome shoes!

Cerise

Cerise

Cerise with Blondie

Cerise

As far as her joints, Cerise poses well and her limbs are tight.

Cerise with Blondie and Robecca

Cerise and Blondie

Of all the dolls in the Ever After High line, Cerise is one of my favorites.  I love her look and think she has the most character out of all the dolls produced so far.  That being said, I hope they don’t over produce her.  I love the vibe she gives off and I would hate to see that diminish into something more generic.

What do you think of Cerise?  Share your thoughts below!

Late December, I wrote about a new toy line called ‘MiWorld’.  MiWorld consists of miniature store fronts, like Claire’s, Sweet Factory and DQ.  As a fan of realistic miniatures, I was super excited to get my hands on a set.  This Christmas, I was lucky enough to get not only one, but three sets!

Before I get into the specifics, here’s a quick rundown.  There are two kind of MiWorld sets, deluxe double rooms and single sets.  The double room sets are Claire’s and Sweet Factory and consist of two floor pieces and four wall pieces. Deluxe sets also include a Shop Girl!   The single room sets include O.P.I, DQ and Sprinkles.  They consist of one floor piece and two wall pieces.  Each set includes realistic miniature accessories to create a fun, true to life environment.  A store with no customers or staff members would be kind of boring, right?  So the shop doesn’t turn into a ghost town, a selection of Shop Girls are available for purchase, too, along with smaller accessory packs to add to your store fronts.

Stackable!

MiWorld sets are meant to stack.  While currently the cardboard floor of the double rooms leaves no gap for single rooms to be stacked on top of it, I have heard that future sets will correct this issue.  At the moment, it’s easiest to stack like rooms on like rooms and to connect deluxe sets to single sets side to side.  Of course, those who are crafty could easily create holes in the proper spot to stack single room sets on a double room.

Each set has some smaller than average pieces.  The age range on these is seven and up, but if you have a younger child around or even a pet, you’ll want to keep an eye on the pieces and pack them away if they are in reach of those younger than seven.

Sweet Factory

Let’s dive into the MiWorld sets I received during the holidays.  We’ll start with the deluxe Sweet Factory.  Setting up the Sweet Factory was pretty easy.

Pieces

Once you place the cardboard floor on the two plastic bases or floor boards, all you have to do is ‘click’ the plastic (already decorated) walls into place.  An L shaped piece holds the walls together so they aren’t wibbley wobbley.  Be careful with the L piece, though, because it likes to pop out when moving the shop. It’s very small and easy to lose.

Sweet Factory

Sweet Factory comes with a good number of accessories to create a realistic world.  After setting up the walls, you’ll have to put a few of the pieces together.  Also, there’s a lot of stickering.  For example, the lollipops are all stickered with a rainbow graphic.

Pieces

Candy Jars

Lollipops and Gumball Machines

Cashier Station

There are a handful of cardboard accessories, namely the mints, chocolate covered raisins and the box of chocolates.  Have some double stick tape handy when putting theses together.  I found that the packages wouldn’t stay closed without tape.

Shop Girl in Sweet Factory

Sweet Factory comes with its own Shop Girl.  This shop girl is scale to the shop.  Something to keep in mind is that the shop girl comes apart at the waist.  Her feet also come off.  I think this is because Jakks Pacific wants them to be customizable.  However, since I only have one shop girl, I’m not sure!  She has limited jointing, but stands well.

Shop Girl with the Eleventh Doctor

Who else is scale to this set?  Well, that’s a bit hard to figure out.  I tried multiple dolls in the set and have figured out that, in general, action figures seem to fit.  I had the best luck with my Doctor Who action figures.  That was a pleasant surprise because up until now, they’ve only had their TARDIS to hang around!

The Doctors in Sweet Factory

The Ninth Doctor in Sweet Factory

‘Are you my mummy? Can you buy me this lollipop?’

Also scale-ish turned out to be my Pokemon action figures from years ago.  They usually reside in my AG Mini rooms.  Nano Freya, from The Junky Spot, was a smidgen too big, but still works if photographed just right!

Brock, making eyes at the Shop Girl

Nano Freya

Brock, taking a lollipop

Here are a few other size comparisons.  You may recognize the others featured in the shots below.  In general, Lottie is far too big and the Lalaloopsy mini figures are far too small.  Polly Pocket, in the end, was too small, as well.

Lottie vs Shop Girl vs Polly Pocket

The Doctor vs Shop Girl vs Nano Freya

Single Sets

O.P.I is a single room set. While it doesn’t include a Shop Girl, it is a pretty neat room.  It has one of my favorite accessories in it– nail polish!  It also comes with a salon table, two chairs and a massage chair.

O.P.I

The walls are full of color.  I love the energy that this store gives off.  The walls look great in photographs, too!

O.P.I

O.P.I had fewer stickers than Sweet Factory. Most were the O.P.I logo.  There are a few small pieces in this set.  For example, four of the awesome nail polishes come out and are very small.  The lamp on the table is two pieces, so when taken apart, those pieces are, also, small.

Nail Polish

O.P.I

Visually, I really do like this room.  My only concern is that there might be too much crammed into such a small space.  However, any toy with a miniature nail polish display scores high in my book!

O.P.I

Nano Freya in OPI

The Doctors in OPI

DQ, or Dairy Queen, is another fantastically visual set. It has far more accessories than O.P.I and feels a little more open.

DQ

DQ comes with a front counter, a table and chair,  a cardboard sign and lots of food accessories. As a fan of food related Re-Ment and Iwako erasers, this totally appealed to me!  The walls, again, are pretty great.

Mini food items

Again, you’ll want some double stick tape on hand for the cardboard accessories.

Mini food items

I love the ‘kitchen’ in the background and how real it looks when photographed.

Shop Girl (not included) in DQ

The Pokemon Gang in DQ

A Lalaloopsy Mini in DQ

Misty and Shop Girl in DQ

There is an online element to these sets.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me.  If you have an apple device, you can download the app to really make your shops come alive.

Online

My phone, the only thing I would play this on, is an android device and only has access to Google Play.  At the moment, the app is not available in Google Play.  To be honest, though, the draw for me isn’t the online element of these sets, it’s the sets themselves!

Busy at the Sweet Factory!

The Three Doctors at the Sweet Factory

Checking out at Sweet Factory

Sweet Factory

In the end, I had a lot of fun playing with these MiWorld sets.  I don’t have many figures that are scale to these, but it was so much fun photographing what I do have in these mini rooms.  I love that they are meant to stack  and am happy to hear that future rooms will  make it a little easier to stack single rooms onto double room sets without work on the consumers part.  The rooms are stable, though you’ll want to keep an eye on the L piece if you’re moving the room.  What I love most about these sets has to be the colorful backdrops they have given us and the realistic products.

What do you think of MiWorld?  Do you know of another doll that would be the right scale?  What shops would you like to see?  Share your thoughts below!

Hip hip hooray!  It’s 2014!  You know what that means?  It means Skipper is turning the big 5-0 this year!  Can you believe it?  In honor of Skipper turning 50, Mattel sneakily placed a 50th anniversary Skipper on their website.  (Big thanks to YouTuber Tina for the heads up!)

50th Anniversary Skipper

Skipper is currently out of stock on Barbie Collector, but retails for $39.95.  She uses a ‘New Repro Skipper’ headmold, which is very well done!  Skipper is dressed in her birthday best, a reproduction outfit from 1965, aptly named ‘Happy Birthday’.  If you feel like you’re having de ja vu, you aren’t!  We saw this fashion on the 30th anniversary porcelain doll, too.

Accessories

Besides the outfit, this doll comes with a number of reproduction accessories, including an adorable birthday cake!

Skipper

The fact that Mattel released this reproduction Skipper right out of the gate makes me very happy!  I have to admit, though, that I’m a little disappointed by the fact that this Skipper is in the Happy Birthday outfit. I guess it makes sense, but we’ve already seen this on an anniversary doll.  That being said, I love her cute little face!  I’m hoping we see more Skipper related merchandise as 2014 progresses!

What do you think of this 50th Anniversary Skipper? Is this enough?  Is it too similar to past releases?  Share your thoughts below!

I showcased a number of my holiday gifts in a YouTube video posted shortly after Christmas.  One of those was a doll called Kuhrn.  She’s a Chinese fashion doll.  I purchased a Kurhn last year, but have been patiently waiting to get my hands on another!  Calling this a ‘review’ might be a little much.  Really the point of this post is to show her off!  If you are looking for lots of details, why not check out the first Kuhrn post I did.

Christmas Kuhrn

This is a basic Kuhrn doll.  She looks pretty Christmas’y, so we’ve dubbed her a Christmas Kuhrn!  Isn’t she adorable?!  Kurhn comes on a basic body, which means she isn’t jointed at the elbows like some other models.

Christmas Kuhrn

She has an adorable brunette bob that frames her face.  The hair bow is sewn into her head, which is great, as I don’t plan on changing her!  Kurhn wears a fantastic dress, very classic and elegant! Under this dress is a slip that adds lift to the skirt.

Christmas Kuhrn

The dress is red and white with a pretty picture of a bird stenciled on the front panel.  I really like this dress.  It’s so pretty!  It’s something I would want to wear.  She wears white tights and finally, red open toed shoes.  The shoes make it a twinge harder for her to stand, but if you get her just right, she’ll stand fine.  I must admit, though, the shoes do make me laugh a little, as the poor girls toes don’t actually reach the ‘open toe’ portion of the shoe.

Christmas Kuhrn

The thing I really love about this Kurhn is her face. Like my other doll, she has large, round brown eyes that really make her stand out among the rest. She wears minimal make up, with slight blushing on her cheeks and light pink lips. Interestingly enough, she has a different kind of eye than my original Kuhrn.  Christmas Kuhrn’s eyes are larger, it seems, than my first Kuhrn.

Christmas Kuhrn and Living Room Kurhn

Kurhn dolls weren’t made to copy the western look or the anime look.  They have their own unique aesthetic, which if you ask me, is adorable!  This is a line that I will never get tired of!

Christmas Kuhrn and The Doctor

Christmas Kuhrn

Christmas Kuhrn

As with my first Kuhrn’s photoshoot, the Doctor wanted in on the action.  I think he’s a great scale for these Kuhrn dolls.

Christmas Kuhrn and the Doctor

Christmas Kuhrn

Here’s a video review featuring this adorable doll!

Did you receive a Kurhn recently?  Which one?  Do you have a favorite?  Share your thoughts below!

I think I really need to call 2014 the year of the Pullips!  First, there was the purchase of my own Taeyang Gackt and then there was a mystery box featuring two Pullips sent for review from my favorite online BJD store, The Junky Spot!  Needless to say, that’s a lot of Pullip‘s to grace my doorstep within one month!

Tomeo Mami

This Pullip, the first of at least two Pullip reviews, should be quite familiar to ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’ fans.  She’s none other than Tomeo Mami.  Mami was introduced early on in the anime series ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’.

Madoka Magica Characters

A 12 episode series, ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’ is a dark magical girl tale that follows a select number of girls as they are offered the chance to become more than ordinary.  I had tried to watch this a few months back and got through half of it, but it just wasn’t my thing.  Many people, though, really enjoyed this anime.  It’s no surprise that Groove collaborated with the production to create Pullip’s of not just one, but three characters.

Tomeo Mami

Tomeo Mami is an adorable Pullip.  Groove did a great job taking the anime characters look and recreating that in doll form.  We’ll start off with the basics.  Just like most Pullip’s, Mami is around 12 inches tall and is wigged.  Officially, the wig is non-removeable, however I’ve seen many reports that the wigs have very little glue holding them on the dolls head.  This makes me believe it would be pretty simple to switch up Pullip wigs if you wanted to! That being said, unless you start trying to remove the wig, it hugs her head well and you don’t have to worry about it falling off.

Tomeo Mami

Mami has pale yellow hair styled in two long sausage curl pigtails, with bangs/fringe.  I find her hair to be rather soft and it seems to be keeping the sausage curl really well!  I’m very happy she has hair that is manageable.  I’ve found many Pullips to have hair that is a bit too long for my taste, but this is just right.

Tomeo Mami

Tomeo Mami

Pullip’s factory bodies are the main reason I don’t have many of them in my collection.  I’m not 100% happy with the limited jointing on Pullips.  As it stands, the factory bodies allow for some movement, but far less than your typical bjd or obitsu body.  Mami body is put together similar to a Monster High Create a Monster, so don’t worry if you find that you accidentally pulled off a hand while changing her outfit!

Tomeo Mami (MiWorld Lollipop not included with doll)

She has joints at her shoulder, elbow, wrist, thigh, knee and ankle.  She also has a joint right under her bust, which doesn’t do much other than help her tilt slightly forward or backward.  Her head turns left and right, but does not tilt up or down because it’s not on a ball joint.  Pullips don’t stand well on their own b/c of the body proportions, but come with a stand for display purposes.

Tomeo Mami

One of the high points for me when it comes to Pullips are their faces.  Pullips faces are oversized, so while they’re on a 1/6 scale body, their heads come off larger, more similar to an MSD bjd than a 1/6 scale BJD.  I love that.  With their oversized heads come large, anime like eyes.  Another thing I love!  In Mami’s case, her heart shaped face features large dark yellow eyes.

Tomeo Mami

She has light brown eye brows, hidden by her bangs/fringe and dark brown eye shadow highlighting her lids.  She has light blushing on her cheeks and natural colored lips done up with a bit of gloss.

Tomeo Mami

There is something to be said about the simpleness of her face up.  It gives her look a sense of maturity, I think.  I also love the dark yellow eyes.  Some times, Pullip eyes are some very strange colors and they don’t always appeal to me.  However, for being a color I’m not used to on dolls, I really think these eye chips look great in Mami!

Eye Mechanism

As expected, Mami’s eyes move left and right when you move a tab in the back of her head.  Her eyes also close when you hit another tab in the back of her head.  Both functions work fine on Mami.

Winking Tomeo Mami

Eyes Closed Tomeo Mami

Mami wears an adorable hat.  It’s the same brown seen on her outfit and looks adorable with the sausage curls.  The hat is decorated with a flower button and a white feather.  The hat can be attached to the dolls wig with a hair clip that is sewn in to the hat itself.

Tomeo Mami

See the clip?

There are many pieces to Mami’s outfit.  Mami comes dressed in her magical girl outfit (ie: the outfit she wears when protecting the city from harm).

Tomeo Mami

This includes a good number of separates.  What you’ll notice right off the bat is her amazing brown buckle corset.  It is fastened with velcro over her white high neck short sleeve blouse, also fastened with velcro.

Tomeo Mami (ignore the stand!)

The blouse and the corset really bring out this doll’s large chest.  I was surprised by her chest size in this outfit, actually, because my other Pullips have much smaller busts.

Tomeo Mami

Before investigating, I assumed she was just on a different kind of body.  It turns out, however, that Mami is wearing a padded bra.  Yep, you read that right!  Under the blouse is a dolly sized bra that covers all the important bits while adding to them a twinge.

Tomeo Mami

In the box, it looks like Mami wears long sleeves.  In actuality, she wears a short sleeved blouse and arm warmers.  The arm warmers are the one part of this outfit that have given me a bit of trouble.  They looked great out of the box, but after a bit of posing, they wrinkled and stretched out quite a bit.

Tomeo Mami

Continuing down, Mami wears a mustard yellow skirt.  It works really well with the brown on the corset and the pale yellow of her hair.  There’s a little bit of tulle lining the skirt, and of course, the doll is wearing undies!  One thing I love about this Pullip in particular is that the skirt is long enough to cover everything that needs to be covered, which isn’t always the case with anime inspired dolls!

Tomeo Mami

Instead of tights, Mami wears striped thigh high’s, the majority of which are covered by her brown knee length boots.  Her boots are made of a rubber like material and are easy to put on and take off.  They stay on well, too.  I was very happy that the shoes were fine outside of the box.  Two of my Pullips purchased previously had issues with the shoes being sticky.  Thankfully, these are were just fine!

Tomeo Mami’s School Outfit

Also included in this set is Mami’s school outfit!  This three piece set includes raspberry tights, a blue checkered skirt and a light yellow uniform top with white sleeves and red highlights.  What you should also see on the top is a red bow in the top center.  This bow, unfortunately, fell off almost instantly after I tried this outfit on an obitsu body I had handy.  It seems it was only held on with one or two tiny stitches.

Tomeo Mami comes with a few flower shaped accessories. Not sure what they are!

Mami comes with a few extra’s in her box.  Besides the outfit, you’ll receive some flower like button accessories.  I don’t know what these are.  They must have something to do with the anime, though!  She, also, comes with a stand and her trading card.  EDIT: DollGirl4 said that Mami wears these flowers in her hair while dressed in her school outfit!  Mystery solved!

Mami is a very cute doll and her transition from anime to Pullip was done really well!  I think the Pullip stock bodies could do with a little work.  I wish they had a twinge more posing ability.  (I plan on switching the stock body out with an obitsu body soon to rectify this!)

Tomeo Mami

Tomeo Mami (MiWorld hotdog not included)

Tomeo Mami

Putting the body issue aside, I really like this Pullip Tomeo Mami.  She has a pretty face, a fun hair style and is a great representation of her animated character!  I think she’ll be a great addition to my (small) Pullip collection!

Mami is currently available at The Junky Spot, as well as other online Pullip retailers!

What do you think of Mami?  Share your thoughts below!

Please note: This doll was sent to me for a fair and honest review.  The opinions stated are my own.