Jem and the Holograms Anthony Julian

A few months ago, I purchased Anthony Julian, who is the director of Jem's video clips in the Jem and the Holograms line of dolls from Integrity Toys. Here's a view of the box.

I did not waste any time in removing this one from the box, and I was pleased with what I saw.

The doll comes with the a watch, an extra set of hands, a cardboard clapboard, and a megaphone. He also comes with a stand.

So here he is out of the box, and with his shoes on. He is fully articulated, and he can stand on his own. He is well dressed (in an 80's sort of way) and he is handsome.

Here is a close-up view. His hair is flocked on the sides and rooted at the top.

He comes wearing a blue jacket, a gray V-neck sweater, a pink turtleneck, and plaid pants. In the photo below, I have removed his jacket.

And here is a view from the back, without his sweater.

At 13" tall, he is taller than Ken. He is the same height as my other guys from Integrity Toys. Pictured below are Anthony Julian, Darius Reid, Tobias Alsford, and Back to Brooklyn Remi.

My tall Integrity Toys ladies are thrilled to have another tall guy. Below, the guys are joined by Nadja, Adele Makeda, and Janay.

And here he is relaxing with his new friends. He poses well.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this doll. He is a high quality fully articulated doll. His clothing and accessories are also high quality (with the exception of his clapboard - I think it looks rather cheap). He makes a wonderful addition to my collection.

Animated Doll

Several months ago, I decided to create an animation based on one of my dolls. I searched the web for software that I could use for free, just to find out the capabilities. I found software that allowed me to have a 30 day free trial with limited software capabilities. The doll that I chose was my Phicen seamless figure (resembling Halle Berry's Jinx character). Below is the actual photo that I used for my animation.

And my results are below. I tried to get her to lip sync to a song that I was singing. The trial version of the software did not have much in the way of hair, clothing, or background options. And I was limited to a 30 second video.


So what do you think? I thought this was pretty decent for a first attempt, so a few days later I decided to try again using a photo of my Kwanzaa Barbie doll.

You'll have to take my word for it that my second animation was way better than the first. I downloaded an add-on with more hair, clothing, and background options. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and she had realistic eyes. I was finished with the animation and was in the process of adding the song to the animation so that she could lip sync (it was a much better song recording too, but you'll just have to take my word for it). Then, my computer locked up. The trial version of the software does not allow you to save your work, so I lost over an hour's worth of effort. After that, I lost all interest and removed that software from my system.

My overall impression of this process is that animating dolls could add an interesting layer to the videos and storytelling, but it's much too time intensive for me right now. I'm not willing to purchase the full version of the software, and I'm not motivated to try any more free trials or possible free software out there (unless I get some good recommendations on free software that works well).

What's In The Box?

I have some recent arrivals, still boxed. Some will come out eventually, though it may be a while. Let's have a look, shall we?

Uhura

Claudette Gordon

Misty Copeland

Made to Move Barbie

Star Wars Finn

4th of July 2016

Happy 4th of July!

Curvy Fun

My two curvy Barbies - Emoji Fun on the left, and Dolled up Denim on the right.

Dolled Up Denim arrived several weeks ago.

Here she is out of her package. She can stand unassisted in her shoes. 

Emoji Fun arrived this week. She comes with a couple of extra outfits, and an extra handbag and shoes. 

Here she is out of her package. My doll came with hair that is much straighter than the photos on the packaging. She can stand unassisted in both pairs of her shoes.

And here she is close up. Her glasses have made small indentations below her eyes. I like her in her glasses and intend to keep them on her. I wish that the glasses had lenses.

Brace yourself for upcoming plastic nudity. Here is a look at the curvy bodies. They both wear molded on flesh colored panties. Their arms can raise up and out. Their legs can move back and forth, and can open a little. There is no articulation at the elbows or knees.

The dolls can wear Barbie bras and negligees, but they can't wear Barbie panties. Below, Emoji Fun wears a pair of Mixis Opal panties, and Dolled Up Denim wears a pair of action figure panties.

Here they are in Emoji Fun's extra outfits.

Here they are in action figure active wear, compared to other dolls with curves. The dolls are from left to right: Dasia, Hot Toys TrueType Cuban American, Emoji Fun, Dolled Up Denim, Happy Family Grandma, and Lammily.

And here they are with more dolls with curves. The dolls are from left to right: Tracy Turnblad, Dominique, Emoji Fun, Dolled Up Denim, Opal body with Monsieur Z Wild head, and Bessie Coleman.

They can share clothes with my action figure ladies. Below, the suits that they wear fit tightly, and the skirts fit high on their waists, making the length of the skirts appear shorter. My action figure ladies are thrilled with the clothing options that their new curvy friends have provided. The dolls below are from left to right: Opal head on a Takara clone body, Sheva Alomar head on a Triad Alpha small bust body, Emoji fun, Dolled Up Denim, Triad Alpha (dark skin version), and Hot Toys TrueType Cuban American.

The purple dress below is usually worn by my Happy Family Grandma or one of my action figure ladies because it is slightly too large for Barbie. My new curvy ladies can wear it, too. Below on the right, Dolled Up Denim is wearing Grandma's original clothing. The top and sweater fit (although the top is a little short), but the pants will not close in the back. Grandma looks good in Emoji Fun's dress and shoes. Grandma can not stand unassisted in their shoes, and they can not stand unassisted in Grandma's shoes.

 On the left, Emoji Fun wears Dominique's clothes. The turtleneck and coat fit, but the jeans are way too short. On the right, Dolled Up Denim wears Opal's original dress, which fits fine. She can put on and stand unassisted in Momoko's boots, but they gape open in the back.

They are wearing Sparkle Girlz clothing below.

They are posing with Mammy below because Mammy did not want to be left out of any post featuring curvy ladies. Both curvy Barbies are wearing boy jeans. Emoji Fun wears a pair of glittery jeans that none of my guys would wear, and a Sparkle Girlz top. Dolled Up Denim wears a pair of action figure jeans and a guy's T-shirt. The jeans are too long for her. 

Overall, I love these dolls. I love the size diversity that Mattel has introduced in the new line of dolls, but the size difference isn't huge so they still have plenty of clothing options. I wish that these dolls had articulation. I see in Mattel's promo pics that there are curvy dolls with articulation, so I really hope that those dolls will be released.