That's The Time I Feel Like Swapping Heads

I had been wanting my Brandy doll to have an articulated body for a while, but none of my articulated dolls seemed to be quite the right color for a match. But then I saw this post from Muff, and I saw that the Artsy Fashionista Barbie's body would be a good match. And I figured I'd swap Dance ‘N Flex Christie's head also just for the heck of it.

From left to right, here are Dance ‘N Flex Christie, Brandy (I don't know which version), and Artsy Fashionista Barbie (the first wave).

I wanted Brandy to have an articulated body because her face is unique in the Barbie world. I have other versions of dolls with the other two heads. I have a bunch of dolls using the Asha sculpt and another doll (Nikki) that uses the Desiree/Adria sculpt that is articulated. She's still in her package for now.

So, off with their heads. I followed my own instructions for head removal.

Nothing too unusual with the removal of the heads. The Dance ‘N Flex Christie doll had a little piece of paper in her head. Hmmmmm, could this be the code to unlock some great Barbie mystery? I don't know, so I put the piece of paper safely back into her head for now. I've made a mental note not to wash or boil perm her hair.

So here are the results. The Dance 'N Flex Christie head is not at all thrilled to be on the non-articulated body. The Artsy Fashionista head is having fun with her new bendy body. And Brandy is thrilled to finally have the articulated body that she's yearned for. She's singing, she's dancing, she's performing like never before!

Pretty Lacy Frilly Things

Sometimes when shopping for one, the group benefits.  

When Janay arrived, she had a list of demands.  I will not comply with all (right away), but I thought that I could at least look around and see if I could find some pretty lacy frilly things for her.  I found the items below on eBay for $7.99.  That's $7.99 for all 6 ensembles!  Free shipping!

The seller describes these as handmade and 100% new.  The quality on these is good.  There are a few flaws here and there, but nothing substantial.  These fit normal sized fashion dolls really well, and are stretchy enough that Pregnant Midge can wear them, as demonstrated in my previous post.

The models are from left to right:  Dance 'n Flex Christie, Fashion Royalty Adele, Artsy Fashionista Barbie, Kenya body with Milan Barbie head, Jam 'n Glam Christie, and Janay.

All items have velcro closures in the back.

So I couldn't leave out my curvier ladies.  Previously, I did not have a bra that would fit my action figure ladies, so when I was shopping for a suit (that Zalika wore in a previous episode of Grown Folks Business), I chose one that came with a bra.

I bought some panties for my curvier ladies as well.  The suit came with stockings, also.

The suit has splits up both sides which expose the thigh, so the stockings above didn't look right with the suit.  I bought a different pair of stockings, but they don't fit quite right.  They look okay under a suit, though.

The ladies are all prepared to look cute under their clothes, sleep well in comfortable sleepwear, or whatever.

Who's the Best?

You've seen the figure comparisons featuring some of my articulated dolls, and now I will let you vote on who is the best of the best.  But first, I would like to get your help in choosing the dolls that will go on to the final round, where I will pose them in yoga poses.  I have chosen 2 dolls from each group that I thought posed the best and that were the most popular based on the comments, so let me know which one from each group that you would like to see move on.

Group 1 - Articulated Fashion Dolls

LIV Alexis body (Hadley head) vs. Artsy Fashionista

Group 2 - Action Figure Ladies

Dragon Jennifer (Special Version) vs. Triad Alpha (African)

Group 3 - Blurring the Lines

Dragon Linh vs. action figure body (similar to Takara with Opal head)

Group 4 - Trendy and Bendy
Dance 'N Flex Christie vs. Monsieur Z. Wild

Group 5 - Large and Lovely

Girls Explore Bessie Coleman vs. Happy Family Grandma (or neither)

Group 6 - Fragile and Fabulous
AA Nutcracker Barbie vs. Alvin Ailey Barbie

(As shown in the photo, Nutcracker Barbie can stand on her own after all).

Do you have a favorite that did not make the cut?  If so, let me know and I will consider moving that one to the final round instead of Bessie or Grandma.  Also, let me know if there are any specific yoga poses that you would like to see.

More Kenya Fun

Last month during Family Dollar's half-price sale, I went and picked up another Kenya doll.  I chose Rock Star Kenya.

I love her guitar, hair, and fashion.  She's staying in the box for now, but I will open her one day.

Meanwhile, I deboxed Beverly Hills Kenya.

I think that she is cute, I like her fashion, and I am somewhat impressed with the quality of the doll. I love the articulation of this doll.

Here is a close-up.

I decided to change her outfit.  She fits Barbie's clothing quite nicely.

Kenya's head is a bit oversized.  Here she is pictured with other dolls with big heads.

Kenya has tiny feet, even smaller than Barbie feet.  She can not stand on her own, which is sad for me, because I like to pose my dolls without the help of stands.  However, she can stand on her own with certain shoes.  Here she is standing on her own in Artsy Fashionista's boots.

 I want to swap the heads of these two one of these days.

Kenya has made a lot of new friends here, and one very special friend indeed.