Saturday, August 25, 2018

You take the good, you take the bad

There's going to be trouble...

Mego has released an 8 inch Tootie Ramsey from The Facts Of Life doll.


Here she is released from her packaging.

This doll is an official limited addition action figure with 14 points of articulation. Below, she holds her composition book.

This doll does not resemble the television character to me. I asked my husband if he sees a resemblance, and he thinks that the doll resembles a young Kim Fields slightly. He said "She has that cute little overbite".

I do not normally collect Mego figures because I collect 1/6 scale figures, so Tootie is undersized compared to the dolls that I normally collect. I knew that at 8 inches, Tootie would be smaller than the tweens in my collection. It would have been preferable to have a figure a little bit taller that could accurately represent a 12 year old. Even if the Tootie doll had skates like the TV character did the first year of the TV series, she would still be shorter than the other tween dolls pictured below.

I took the chance that Tootie would make a good 1/6 scale child because another one of my Mego figures works perfectly as a child in my collection, and that's Buckwheat. 

I was hoping that with this Tootie doll's youthful appearance, she would work well as a 1/6 scale child. Tootie is about the height of Mattel's Janet, Todd, and friends.

Tootie's school uniform is fairly well made. She has on a white shirt, a skirt and matching vest, black shoes, and a blue tie. Her blue socks are painted on, as well as her panties.

Tootie does not really work well as a 1/6 scale child doll because she has a mature body. Here's a look at her articulation below. She has articulation at the wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, and torso.

I thought about rebodying the Tootie head on one of my tween dolls' bodies. Tootie is a skin tone match for Juku Couture Kana. The Juku Couture body is able to wear Tootie's uniform, including the shoes. Tootie's head is a bit small for that body, though. I'm going to keep Tootie as she is.

Tootie's hair is cute. It is parted down the middle and styled in 2 ponytails. I won't ever be able to restyle the hair however, because the head is not rooted in the areas underneath the ponytails.

Here she is seated. Her legs do not stay closed when she sits.  


 She poses fairly well.

Tootie has a special visitor in her classroom - GI Jane Vietnam Nurse. Perhaps it's career day.

My overall impression is that this is a decent doll. I was excited to add a Tootie doll to my collection because I loved the TV series The Facts Of Life growing up, and loved the character Tootie as portrayed by Kim Fields. I could tell by the advertisements that the doll would not look much like the Tootie that I know and love, but wanted this representation anyway. I am pleased with the articulation at the elbows, knees, ankles, and torso. I am disappointed with the painted-on socks and sparsely rooted hair. For folks who like to leave dolls in their packaging, I think that they will love this collectible doll. She displays well in her packaging. Mine is going to have plenty of playtime, though.

15 comments:

  1. This is a very thorough review. I also do not see the resemblance between the TV character and the doll. She is cute and I know you appreciate the articulation.

    dbg

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  2. Articulation! Yay! I saw the Mego on the shelves but I didn't grab any. I do collect smaller dolls...maybe if I get the chance, I should try to pick up a few.

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    1. Hi Erin O! Yep, the articulation definitely caught my attention. I don't have many smaller dolls, but Tootie can hang out with the ones that I do have, when she's not posing as a small child in my larger 1:6 world of dolls.

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  3. I like her articulation. I get the feeling Kim fields didnt have a hand in this design. I will probably get one if I see her. She makes a great little sister to 1:16.

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    1. Thanks for your comments The grandmommy! I'm wondering if they even tried the least little bit to capture Kim Fields' likeness, or if they used another existing mold even. Nevertheless, she is cute in her little Eastland uniform.

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  4. She's cute, even if she doesn't particularly resemble Kim Fields. I saw a Mego display endcap at my Target, and I don't think many of the dolls resemble their namesakes, if any. Looks like you're having fun with your doll, though. :)

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    1. Thanks Barb the Evil Genius! My Buckwheat and Uhura figures do not look much like their namesakes, either. I'm glad to have them all, though.

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  5. I saw a Mego display at my target too. I really didn't look that closely at them as I don't collect that scale of doll. I wonder if they would make good donors for some of the Chelsea size dolls?

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    1. Hi Phyllis! The female dolls have mature bodies and the male dolls are often muscular and have a different type of neck connector, so I don't think that they'd be good body donors. The right clothes could cover the bodies enough though, I suppose.

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  6. Nice review, I don't like the articulation all that much. It was pretty good for its day but now it feels antiquated. Heck even Barbie had released a doll with 22 points at just a dollar more.

    Anyway she does look fun & customizable. New Mego is actually pretty small so they probably couldn't afford her likeness

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    1. Thank you Chimalpahin! Yep, it would have been great if she had better articulation and a likeness to the actress that portrayed the character. I do like my little doll, though.

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