Size Diversity

In this case, when I speak of size diversity, I'm referring to the bust size of the Triad Alpha action figures. Last year, I purchased a large bust Alpha because I did not have any figures of that size.

Today I had one of my Alphas out and I was photographing her because my sister (hi Pam) gave me a purse for my dolls. She wanted me to take photos and she even told me which dress she wanted my doll to wear that she felt would match the purse.

I figured that since I already had her out, I would go ahead and give her the larger bust body. Here is the result. She can still squeeze into the Barbie dress.

I am satisfied now that I have an Alpha with each bust size (small, medium, and large). The photos below are 3 of my dolls with the diverse bust sizes, from small to large.

Lammily Photographer

My Lammily Photographer doll arrived last week and I released her from her box the other day.

I've added photos of her box below. The box has lovely artwork.

Here's a look at the box and the pamphlet that came with the doll.

I was impressed by my first glimpse of Lammily. She looks better than the prototype photos. Here are a couple of shots of her still in the box with the pamphlet containing the story of how she got started with photography.

And here is a full shot of her inside the box.

Even the inside of the box contained lovely artwork. Here she is with her camera, ready to take some photos. My Lammily has a slight black stain on the back of her right hand from the camera strap.

Here she is out of the box! Lammily can stand unassisted (for a short amount of time), but I found it a challenge to balance her in her original shoes. Her outfit is not that impressive, but not too bad. I like the clips in her hair. She has densely rooted curly hair. Her articulation is limited.

She has articulation at her wrists and ankles. Her elbows and knees bend slightly (one click at the knees, two clicks at the elbows).

I am thrilled to have diversity in my doll collection in terms of size and shape. Here are some of my other dolls that are a little larger than the average female doll. From left to right they are: Dominique, Dasia, Lammily, Curvy Barbie (released from her package the same day as Lammily), and Bessie.

Warning: naked plastic ahead. Here's a look at Lammily's body. She has a rather long torso and rather short legs. She wears molded on flesh colored panties. Her ankle articulation allows her to stand in heels of various heights, in flats, and barefooted.

Lammily can fit into Dominique's clothes, although the jeans are rather short on Lammily. Dominique looks good in Lammily's clothes, but Lammily's shoes will not fit on Dominique. Lammily can wear Dominique's shoes and stand in them.

The size of Lammily's upper arms and thighs is comparable to some of my action figure ladies, but Lammily is much thicker in the middle. Below, she is barely squeezing into exercise attire from a BBI Perfect Body action figure.

Lammily can squeeze into some of the larger and stretchier Sparkle Girlz attire. She is wearing a Sparkle Girlz top below. One of the details that I like about Lammily is that her palms and the soles of her feet are a lighter color. I only have one other doll with this realistic detail, and that's Eddie Strong (pictured with Lammily below). Only the palms of Eddie's hands are lighter, not the soles of his feet.

Lammily can squeeze into the jacket and skirt of this Beverly Hills Kenya fashion. She can wear shoes made for action figures. Below, she is wearing Triad Alpha shoes. She can stand unassisted in them, but not while wearing this tight skirt.

Some of my larger action figure guys have been forced to wear these mom jeans in the past, and they are glad to hand these over to Lammily (though they will find themselves sharing these with her sometimes). She also wears JLS Marvin's shirt. I like it better on her than I do on him.

Tracy Turnblad's dress is large on Lammily, but I think she looks pretty good in it.

Dasia's dress is way too big on Lammily.

I was happy find that Lammily can fit the pants that she wears below, because none of my other ladies can wear them, and my guys balk at the very idea of me putting these on them (except Dennis Rodman - he did not object). I think the shirt is a Ken tee. She is wearing female action figure shoes from OJI Toys.

Lammily does not sit very elegantly. Her knees barely bend, and she sits with her legs open.

 Lammily poses below with my Booty Babe statue.

 And here's one last group shot. In addition to the dolls mentioned above, there's Mammy on the left of Lammily and Tracy Turnblad on the right. Lammily could not fit the pants of the purple tracksuit or Curvy Barbie's denim dress below (but she could wear the white lace top).

Overall, I like the Lammily Photographer doll very much. I love her hair. It would be nice if her ankle joints were tighter so that she could stand better, and I'd love to see some improvement in her articulation overall. She has plenty of options for clothes and shoes. I love having another doll to represent a larger size and a different shape.

An Alpha for Sheva

I remember how excited I was years ago when I saw the first promo pics for the Hot Toys Sheva Alomar action figure. I knew that she would be expensive, but I wanted her anyway. As the time came closer for her release, her expected cost became known and it gave me serious pause. However, I communicated with another collector and we made a deal that we would go half and half on the figure. I wanted Sheva only, and he wanted all of her gear. By the time Sheva was released, he was dealing with health issues, and we never followed through with making the purchase (R.I.P. Paul). 

Here is one of the promo pics that had me so excited.

The Sheva figure sold out, and her price skyrocketed on the secondary market. I regretted not buying her when she was first released. I could've sold all of her gear that I did not want. But, she was the one that got away.

Last year I started thinking about her again. I checked on eBay and the complete figure was selling for 3 or 4 (or more) times the original retail price. In some cases, her head alone was selling for what the original retail price of the entire figure was. I kept watching the auctions for her head, and finally won the head for a price that I was willing to pay.

When the head arrived, I gathered up my female action figures to see which one was the closest skin tone match to Sheva, and it was the Triad Alpha (Hispanic).  The Alpha temporarily lost her head as I tried the Sheva head with the Alpha body. It did not go well. Alphas have a cone-shaped neck knob, while Hot Toys figures have a round neck knob. Below is a photo of an Alpha neck.

I wondered if the plastic grape trick would work, but it did not. Below is a photo of the Alpha body (with plastic grape attached) holding the Alpha head on the left, and the Sheva head on the right.

I asked fellow collector Codename Silent G for help because I saw that he had rebodied Sheva and other Hot Toys heads on other bodies. He told me what I needed to do, but I procrastinated.

Sheva popped up on my blog once last year in a holiday photo, but her head wasn't really attached to her body.

I put the Alpha's original head back on the body, and Sheva's head has been languishing in my Drawer of Forgotten Heads ever since, until recently.

I decided to stop procrastinating, and I purchased Sheva her very own Hispanic Alpha body. I opted for the small bust version, since none of my other Alpha ladies have this version.

This figure came with no spare hands and no spare feet. I wasted no time in opening the figure, which had never been removed from the package. I've had problems with Triad figures in the past, so I was really REALLY hoping that there would be no issues.

There was an issue. :( Her upper torso articulation does not, ummmm, articulate. Her upper torso is immobile, as if someone glued it in place. Ok, I REALLY dislike going to the post office, so I asked for (and received) a partial refund instead of returning the figure. So I proceeded with the modification.

I had in my possession some vinyl shelf caps from Home Depot. I purchased a pack with large and small caps because that's all they had, but I only needed the small ones.

If you only place the shelf cap over the neck post and then put the head on, the head will stay on but it will not sit properly on the neck. Below is a photo of Sheva with her neck tilted back prior to the modification that I describe below. Not a good look.

I needed to make a permanent modification to the Alpha body. I gathered the items that I would need:  a vinyl shelf cap, a ruler, scissors, something sharp and sturdy enough to cut through hard plastic (I used garden shears, but wire cutters will also work), and a metal nail file (sandpaper would probably work better).

I cut off the bottom 1/16" of one of the shelf caps with scissors. Then I cut off the top 1/16" of the neck knob of the Alpha body with the garden shears. I used the metal nail file to smooth out the neck knob after I had cut off the tip.

I submerged the shelf cap in boiling hot water for 1 minute, and then I pushed it down on the Alpha neck post as far as it would go. This turned the neck post into a vinyl ball that would grip the inside socket of the Sheva head. Then I attached Sheva's head. Her head is now securely attached and she has full range of motion. 

I'm not completely satisfied because the Alpha neck looks a little thick for this head, but I'm happy for the most part. I'm going to find her something to wear that covers her neck a bit, and this is a done deal. I've finally got my Sheva Alomar!

Sheva is quickly making friends.  Pictured below are from left to right GI Joe Colin Powell, Sheva, Samuel Wilson, GI Joe [Jane] Helicopter Pilot, and Triad Hispanic Alpha. Sheva and the Hispanic Alpha both have a set of flat feet, but they will have to share the heeled feet and spare hands.

The Afterparty

Sometimes my dolls want to continue the party long after I'm done. Here's what happened after the Halloween party. Click on the photos below to view larger images.