Sunday, January 26, 2014

Tall Girl Doll Comparisons

This comparison features dolls representing girls in their late teens.  They are from left to right:  Wild Sexy Tune Momoko, Liv Alexis body with HSM Taylor head, Clawdia Wolf, Basketball Nakia, Prettie Girls Lena, and Lollipop Girls Bebe.
Momoko, Taylor, and Nakia can stand without assistance.  The others can stand in certain shoes.

Here they are showing their elbow flexibility.  They all have articulation at the elbow.  Bebe has the most flexibility here.

Here they are sitting on the floor trying to cross their arms.  Bebe comes the closest to being able to cross her arms.  Momoko, Taylor, and Nakia all have articulation at the ankle and can wear flat or heeled shoes.  Clawdia, Lena, and Bebe have heeled feet and it is harder to find shoes for them.

Here they are doing a side stretch.  Momoko has upper torso articulation that allows her to rotate, but not to bend from side to side.  Taylor has lower torso articulation and can rotate and bend.  Nakia has articulation at the upper and lower torso that allows her to rotate and bend, and she does this pose the best.  Lena has articulation at the upper torso that allows her to bend and rotate very slightly.  Bebe has a twist and turn waist.

Here they are in the "walk like an Egyptian" pose.  Momoko has articulation at the wrists that allows her to move her hands back and forth, but not to rotate.  Taylor, Clawdia, and Nakia have wrists that are fully articulated.  Who do you like the best in this pose?  I think that Taylor executes this pose the best, but Momoko just looks adorable. 

Here they are doing kneeling backbends.  All of them have jointed knees with the exception of Bebe, who has clicky knees and can not kneel.  Taylor and Nakia have double-joined knees and do kneeling poses quite well.  Taylor and Nakia's torso articulation also allows them to arch their backs.  Nakia does this pose the best.

Here they are showing off their hands.  Nakia's right hand can grip objects, and her left hand has a magnet that allows her to hold her basketball and other magnetized objects.  Bebe's right hand has a small hole that allows her to hold her lollipop, and other objects small enough to fit in the hole.  Clawdia has claws.  I don't have a favorite here as far as hands.  I like the looks of Lena's and the functionality of Nakia's.

Here they are attempting to sit cross-legged on the floor.  None of them can do it, but Clawdia comes the closest.

Here they are doing middle splits.  Taylor does this the best.

 Here they are doing front splits.   Momoko, Clawdia, Lena, and Bebe all do this very well.

Here they are doing a leg lift.  It looks like Lena can lift her leg the highest.

 Here they are sitting down.  Lena can not close her legs in a seated position.

 Do you have a favorite among these dolls?  What makes that particular doll stand out for you?  Which ones pose the best?  Which ones look the best?  Which dolls are the most realistic?

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Clawdia Wolf

Well, the Werewolf was very prolific.  Another Wolf sibling has joined the pack.  Frights Camera Action Clawdia Wolf joins her siblings Clawdeen, Clawd, and Howleen.


She comes with a stand, brush, diary, iCoffin, and pen.  The box has a cute insert of the Black Carpet.  She wears a gold and black accented outfit, red and black jacket, red knee socks, golden Mary Jane heels, golden necklace, black earrings, black glasses, and a black bracelet.

Clawdia has arrived on the Black Carpet and the photographers are going nuts!  She strikes a pose.  She can stand without assistance in her shoes.

As much as she is enjoying her moment in the spotlight, she'd much rather share the moment with her siblings.  She checks her iCoffin to see if she can get an ETA from her siblings.

Meanwhile, Clawdia poses for a close-up.  Unlike her siblings, Clawdia has a toothy grin, and her fangs are molded instead of simply painted on.  My Clawdia has a little bit of lipstick on her teeth.  Click the photo below to enlarge.

Clawdia's siblings would not keep their big sister waiting long!  Pictured below are Howleen, Clawdeen, Clawdia, and Clawd.  Howleen is the youngest, then Clawdeen, Clawd, and Clawdia is the oldest at 19 years of age.  Wait, isn't she kind of old to be in Monster High?  She seems like a smart girl, so I couldn't imagine that she would still be in high school at her age.  I had to read her journal to find out all about her adventures in Londoom as she sits through lectures at school, writes screamplays, and navigates through life on her own for the first time with the support of her family.

Clawdia is taller than her sisters.  She has a slightly longer torso, longer legs, and she is more developed.

Clawdia is slightly shorter than Clawd, even in her heels.  He will always be Little Brother to her, though.

Clawdia takes a moment to strike one last pose on the Black Carpet without her jacket.  She finds that she is able to pose much better without it.  I wish that her necklace and shoes were more of a metallic gold color, like her dress.  But her necklace and shoes match her golden hair, so I won't complain (much).  I really like her dress.

Later on, the family relaxes together and they talk about all of the things that are happening in their lives.  Clawdia is able to sit quite naturally and cross her legs.  The way that Clawdia's and Howleen's legs attach differs from how Clawdeen's legs attach.  Clawdia's and Howleen's legs have plastic attachments, while Clawdeen's legs are attached with elastic bands.  One of Clawdeen's legs fell off, and it was difficult to re-attach it.  Clawdeen does not pose as well as her sister, so I am glad that they have made this improvement.

The Wolf sisters can not share shoes.  Pictured below from left to right are Howleen's, Clawdeen's, and Clawdia's feet.  Clawdia's feet are longer and wider than her sisters' feet.  

They can share clothes, but the fit will vary from one to another.  Below, Howleen wears Clawdia's dress, while Clawdia is barely able to squeeze into Draculaura's dress that Howleen had previously been wearing.  Clawdia can put on Sashabella Paws' boots and stand in them, but her heels hang out in the back.

Like her sisters, Clawdia has articulation at the elbows, wrists, and knees.  A comparison post with Clawdia as one of the featured dolls is coming soon.

My overall impression is that I think this doll is adorable.  Some of you may remember that I never did bond with Clawdeen, and in fact had another doll's head on her body for years until Clawd and Howleen joined the family.  But I bonded instantly with Clawdia.  Maybe it's because I can see myself in her.  I was once a bespectacled teen girl who kept a diary and dreamed of becoming a writer.  Hey, maybe I should feature her diary entries on this blog.... wait, been there, done that.  :)

Clawdia's hair is well-rooted, she has cool accessories, her clothing is well made, and she poses really well.  The only quality issues that I can see are with some of the stitching on her jacket and the lipstick on her teeth.  Clawdia is a nice addition to my Wolf family, and to my doll collection as a whole.

Check out my video review of Clawdia and her siblings.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Teen Girl Doll Comparisons

Here are some teen girl doll comparisons.  A couple of them were in previous comparisons, but I wanted to put them with other similarly sized dolls.  They are from left to right:  Wee Three Friends Janet, Super Model Bel doll with Calista head, Hispanic everGirl, Flavas Kiyoni Brown, V.I.P. A.N.T. Farm Chyna, and Sashabella Paws.
Calista is the only one that can stand on her own in bare feet.  The others can stand in certain shoes.

Here they are showing their elbow flexibility.  They all have jointed elbows.  Sashabella Paws has the most flexibility in this pose.

Here they are sitting on the floor trying to cross their arms while showing their feet.  Sashabella Paws comes the closest to being able to cross her arms.  Janet has very large feet and can share shoes with Ken.  The others have doll friends that they can share shoes with.  Calista has arched feet and articulation at the ankle, so she can wear flat or heeled shoes.

Here they are doing a side stretch.  Calista and Sashabella have articulation at the lower torso, while  Kiyoni and Chyna have articulation at the upper torso.  Kiyoni's side arch is the most impressive.

Here they are in the "walk like an Egyptian" pose.  Calista and Sashabella have articulation at the wrists, while the others do not.  As previously stated, Calista also has articulation at the ankles.  I think that Sashabella does this the best.  What do you think?

Here they are attempting kneeling back bends.  Janet, Hispanic everGirl (does anyone know which one she is - Joy, Hope, Skye, or Starr), and Kiyoni have clicky knees and can not kneel.  Chyna does this pose the best.

Here they are showing off their hands.  None of them are able to grasp objects in their hands.  I like Calista's hands the best.

Here they are attempting to sit cross-legged on the floor.  Calista does this the best.

Here they are attempting to do middle splits.  It's close between Calista and Sashabella, but I think that Calista does this slightly better.

 Here they are doing front splits.  Kiyoni does this the best.

 Here they are doing a leg lift.  Janet does this the best.

Here they are sitting down.  Since Calista, Chyna, and Sashabella have articulation at the knees, they look more natural in seated positions.  

 Do you have a favorite among these dolls?  What makes that particular doll stand out for you?  Which ones pose the best?  Which ones look the best?  Which dolls are the most realistic?

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Small Girl Dolls Comparisons

I have a request on my Comparisons page to do an articulation comparison with some of my younger dolls.  The girls below will get us started.  They all have the ability to bend at the knees and elbows at the least, and they are the shortest girls that I have that have this ability.  They are from left to right:  Mattel Janet, Juku Couture Kana, Only Hearts Club Briana Joy, Kenya Fashion Madness Keyshia, Bratz doll with Hottiez Kiara head, and Winx Club Layla.  

I am posing them similarly to my previous figure comparisons.  Some of these young ladies have appeared in other comparisons, but they wanted to come back for comparisons with dolls their own size.  Janet, Kana, Keyshia, and Kiara can all stand on their own without assistance from a doll stand.  Briana Joy can stand with shoes and her feet can adjust to heel height, so she can stand in both flat and heeled shoes. 

Here they are showing their flexed arms.  Janet, Kana, Keyshia, and Kiara have jointed elbows.  Briana Joy has a cloth body over a wire armature.  Layla has vinyl over wire for her limbs.  Janet is able to flex her arm further and hold it in position better than the others

None of them are able to cross their arms completely, but Janet comes the closest.  Janet, Kana, Briana Joy, and Keyshia can share shoes.  Kiara's Bratz body has large feet (shoes) that can be removed.  Layla has heeled feet and can wear some of the larger Barbie shoes.  Janet and Kana have articulation at the ankle.

Here they are doing a side stretch.  Janet and Kana have lower torso articulation, while Kiara is articulated at the chest.  I think that Janet has the best range of motion here.

Here they are in the "walk like an Egyptian" pose.  Kana and Kiara have articulation at the wrist.  Briana Joy's feet can be flexed.  Kiara's removable feet can swivel.  I think that Kana does this move the best.  What do you think?

Here they are doing kneeling back bends.  Janet does this the best.

Here they are showing off their hands.  None of these dolls can grip objects (no big surprise there).  Janet's hands are my favorites from this group.

Here they are attempting to sit cross-legged on the floor.  Briana Joy does this the best.

 Here they are attempting to do middle splits.  Kiara does this the best.

 Here they are attempting to do front splits.  Keyshia does this the best.

 Here they are doing a leg lift.  Kana and Briana Joy do this the best.

 Here they are sitting down.  Kana's legs will not close while seated.  Layla has issues when it comes to siting down (she might do better on a higher surface.  Keyshia looks the most natural to me in her seated position.

Do you have a favorite among these dolls?  What makes that particular doll stand out for you?  Which ones pose the best?  Which ones look the best?  Which dolls are the most realistic?

Friday, January 10, 2014

Weekend Hang TJ

Well, it's a happy day for Kenya.  Her boyfriend TJ has arrived!


Weekend Hang TJ is part of the Kenya Fashion Madness line of dolls.  He comes with an olive colored warm up suit with a jacket that zips up the front, black undershirt, sunglasses, and sneakers.  Here he is out of the box.

He has a large head like his girlfriend Kenya.  He is handsome and has a nice smile.  Here is a close-up.

Kenya and TJ are thrilled to see each other again.  TJ remarks that Kenya has lost weight since the last time he saw her (Kenya has been rebodied on a model muse Barbie body).

Keyshia is also glad to see TJ. Kenya, Keyshia, and TJ are pictured below.

Here is TJ with some of my other male dolls.  They are from left to right:  Flavas Tre, Texas A&M Male Cheerleader, TJ, My Scene Sutton, and Fashion Royalty Darius Reid.

Below, TJ is pictured without his jacket.  His black shirt has velcro closures in the back.

He has been working out!  TJ is pictured below in Ken's boxer shorts.  He has articulation at the elbows, wrists, and knees.  He has flat feet and he can stand without assistance.  He's a little bowlegged.

Here he is seated.

Ken fashions are a little tight on TJ.  The shorts that TJ is wearing below will not completely close in the back.  TJ and Ken can share shoes.

TJ also looks good in action figure apparel.  Below, he is wearing GI Joe's shirt and some action figure jeans.

TJ's suit fits my Heroik Muscle Body figure Terry pretty well.  Even though the suit is a little short on Terry, TJ almost did not get his suit back.  I may end up giving this suit to Terry since he has such a hard time finding clothing.  I can easily find TJ something else to wear.  I hope that the company comes out with fashion packs for TJ and Dwayne.

All of my Kenya dolls, Keyshia, and TJ came with this Proud 2BU Lifestyle Guide, which I never bothered to debox until now.  I'm glad I did, because I am glad to see that this book is full of positive and inspiring messages for kids.  

I feel good about supporting a company that has such a positive message for kids.

Excerpt from the guide:
 "Project Pride is big and it's for everyone! Pride has no barriers: it's being cool with our differences and enjoying the ways we are alike. Pride honors heritage and respects our world. Join us as we rally with kids everywhere to show pride in our unique backgrounds and cultures, our families and communities, and especially ourselves!"
My overall impression of the doll is that he is a good buy for the money.  I don't usually care much for big-headed dolls, but I like TJ just the way he is.  I want to find an articulated version of his cousin Dwayne next.