Falling For Dolls

*For the love of dolls. I was rushing to work one Friday and backing my car out of the garage when I saw a package that I was expecting on my front porch. I got out of my car and made a quick decision to put the package in the garage. I picked up the package and spun around a little too quickly and fell off of the porch (I'm okay, the package is okay).

When I got to work, I texted my husband that I had fallen off of the porch. He called me later to make sure that I was okay. Then he asked me what I was doing on the porch. I said "Nuthin'... just chillin'" like Bruh' Man from Martin. He became suspicious due to my evasive response and asked me if a package had come today. I said "Could be, could be not" like Mister from The Color Purple. Later he texted me a photo of the rose bushes planted in front of our home with the message "I see where you fell." I texted him back "I beg your pardon, I did not fall into a rose garden."

Later when I got home from work, I retrieved my package from the garage and came into the house, where my husband was waiting for me. He asked me "Is this the package that you fell for?" He opened my package for me, questioned me about the cost (and I happily told him since I got a good deal), and didn't give me nearly enough sympathy for my bumps and bruises in my humble opinion.

Here are the dolls that I fell for: the Imani and Menelik African Wedding set.

I had never noticed until recently that Olmec's Menelik and Imani came in a couple of different shades. I saw this adorable wedding set with Menelik and Imani with a lighter skin tone than the ones that I currently own. The description read "NIB" so my original plan was to leave this set in the box. When I inspected the box, I saw that the original tape had been cut, so I removed the dolls and I could tell that they had definitely been removed from the box before. However, everything was put back in place, no items are missing, and the dolls are in really good condition, so I'm pleased.

I love their adorable cake and AA couple cake topper.

Also enclosed in the box is a wedding invitation, a booklet explaining the African American custom of jumping the broom, and a decorated cardboard broom.

Inside the box are cardboard cutouts with gifts, wedding bells, rings on a pillow, and a car that is obviously far too small to be an actual vehicle for the newly wedded couple.

 Todd and Stacie were already dressed for the occasion, so they've joined the happy couple here.

 Here are the happily wedded Menelik and Imani on the left, my original Menelik, and my newly purchased Music Video Imani.

Perhaps one of these days, I will throw a lavish wedding ceremony for Menelik and Imani. In the meantime, they have been placed back in their box along with all of their accessories.

*I had previously told the story of me falling off of my porch on Black Doll Enthusiast's We Love Black Dolls Anew Facebook group.

Music Video Imani

My Menelik doll, purchased sometime in the early 90's, was my first African American doll as an adult collector. Recently it occurred to me that I had never purchased his girlfriend/wife Imani. I went searching and found one that I absolutely love for an extremely reasonable price (less than her original retail price).

She was described as NRFB, so prior to her arrival, I had been trying to talk myself into not opening the box. When she arrived, I saw that the original tape on the box had been cut, so I believe that she had been removed from her box previously. That gave me all the incentive that I needed to remove her. She had never been removed from her packaging, though, so she remains secured and in wonderful condition, and I've returned her to her box. I am so tempted to play with this one, though. Her wigs are just too tempting for me. I would love to create a music video starring Imani and Menelik!

Here is a closeup of the lovely Imani. She is wearing a jeweled dress with cut-away shoulders, and she has short cropped hair. This set comes with a hooded cape, a cap with braids and beads, a crimped weave wig, short red bob wig, camcorder, camera, microphone, and hairbrush. She has gold earrings, a ring, and gold shoes. She has a "You Can Be What You Wanna Be" booklet and cut-out cover, a diary, dictionary, and cut-out poster.

She also comes with a cardboard cut-out makeup case, and cardboard cut-out makeup.

Menelik is thrilled to have his beloved Imani with him at long last.

I don't think that Imani will stay secured to her packaging for long. I'll need to think of a song that I... I mean that Imani will sing for her upcoming music video.

I remember reading the Olmec story on the side of Menelik's box all those years ago when I purchased him, and I was touched by it. I remember that I was so happy to see a Black doll on the shelves, especially a male doll. The side of Imani's box has the Olmec story.

I Love Valentine's Day

Several years ago, my husband gave me a 2006 I love Valentine's Day Barbie as a Valentine's Day gift. I remember that I was absolutely thrilled to receive her. I think that this is the first doll that he ever purchased for me. After several more Barbie gifts from him, I asked him to stop buying dolls for me. 

She's been out of her box for years, but I saved her box. She came with a teddy bear key chain, a heart shaped purse, a ring (for me), and a hairbrush, all of which have remained attached inside the box. She also came with a cute pair of heart-shaped glasses that I can not locate at the moment. I'm sure they'll turn up when I'm looking for something else.

Back then, I briefly considered leaving her in her box, but decided against it because she did have some qualities that were unique to my collection. She is the only Barbie that I have with the "Hobbit" body.

She has been a single young woman for most of the time that she's been here. She did have a brief relationship with GI Joe (with her short stature, she and Joe looked cute together), but she was never as into him as he was into her.

She has caught the eye of one of my recent arrivals. Fashionistas Ken has arrived.

He has the all too familiar Jamal face, but in a lighter skin tone.

They have been getting to know one another for a couple of months, but Ken has decided to make his move on this special day. He shows up with gifts, ready to impress.

Barbie loves the roses!

Barbie acknowledges her gift with a huge hug. And hugs are not easy for this couple, because they both have straight arms that do not bend.

They can still be very expressive, though. Barbie has clicky knees that bend and allow her to sit. Ken has a slight bend in one of his legs and sits rather awkwardly. 

Since Ken has issues with sitting, they decide to get comfortable the best way that they can.

She can hear his heart racing.

Unfortunately, the back of Ken's head was attached to his packaging, which left 2 tiny holes and what looks like 2 small bald spots on the back of his head. Why oh why did the manufacturer do that? Fortunately, Barbie is too busy gazing into Ken's eyes to notice his baldness in the back.

Ken is relieved to see the huge smile on Barbie's face, and he knows that he has just moved himself out of the friend zone.

It's official, they're a couple!

 Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

How To Do A Boil Perm

Shawn needs a new boil perm, so I will use him to demonstrate how to do one. He had previously undergone a transformation from this:

To this:

Part of his transformation was achieved by giving him a boil perm, but I wasn't completely satisfied with his look (and my husband had nicknamed him "Big Perm"). I had left him with enough hair so that I could redo his perm if I ever decided to. I wanted Shawn's hair to look less like a roller set and more like an afro. So I'll get started.

You will need something to roll the doll's hair with. In the past, I've used twist ties, pipe cleaners, and curling rods. This time, since I planned to give Shawn very tight small curls, I opted to use aluminum foil. His previous perm was done with twist ties.

To achieve larger curls, use larger sections of hair.

For Shawn's perm, I took very small sections of hair and rolled it with the foil. I twisted each section of hair a little before rolling.

I then dipped his head (completely covering his hairline) into boiling hot water for 1 minute.

I let his hair air dry completely for a couple of days. For dolls with longer hair, it may take even longer. Do not use a hair dryer on doll hair, as it may damage (melt) your doll's hair.

After Shawn's hair had dried completely, I removed the foil rollers.

I picked out his hair a little and cut off some straight ends, and his hair is finished.

This is an improvement over his previous perm. I'm still hesitant to cut his hair any shorter, just in case I decide to give him yet another boil perm at some point in the future.

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.