Phicen Phiasco

Edited to remove all text, photos, and labels. Hopefully this finally resolves the issue. This post was previously about damaged dolls.

Getting Caught Up

Here are some dolls that I purchased last year that I photographed, but did not blog about. Most of these have remained in their boxes. I took a break from buying dolls for a few months, but I'm starting to add a few dolls to my collection again now. 

GFive Vanessa was on my wish list for years. I finally got her at a price that I was willing to pay.

These Bad Boys II action figures had also been on my wish list for a number of years. I had almost given up on getting this set.

I got this Tangerine Twist Barbie because I already had the Uptown Chic Barbie and thought it would be nice to own the entire Fashion Savvy collection. I thought that there were only 2, but found out there's another one. Maybe I'll add that one also one of these years.

I'm pretty sure that I've already opened this Ken outfit and given to one of the guys around here. I just don't remember which one.

Whenever I travel, I always try to get a doll from the place that I'm visiting. Last year we vacationed in Branson, Missouri, and I purchased this Barbie doll while there.

Here's a doll that I was really looking forward to last year, The Barbie Look articulated curvy doll. I will remove her from her box one of these days (probably).

I wanted this Ice Skater Barbie for her face. Her head is occupying a different body these days (I hope to post about that soon).

I liked the look of this athletic Made To Move Barbie soccer player.

I think this Tropi-Cutie Barbie was an impulse buy. I probably saw her on someone's blog and they probably put her on an articulated body and repainted her lips, and I thought that I would do the same. Maybe I will, one of these years. For now, she has remained in her package.

I purchased this Travel Friends Kenya doll strictly for her articulated body. I specifically had in mind re-bodying Pawla Wolf (see below) on this body. But when I saw Pawla's younger siblings, I decided to keep her on her original body.

Well, well, well! The Werewolf has been very busy! Meet Pawla, younger sister of Clawdeen, Clawdia, Clawd, and Howleen. I was not pleased with Pawla's little wolf body. Apparently in the Wolf family, the younger you are, the more you look like an actual wolf. I was on the fence about purchasing Pawla, but her older siblings urged me to add her to the collection. So here she is.

Soon after finding out about Pawla, I found out about little Barker and Weredith. How could I add Pawla and not add the two youngest members of the Wolf family? I couldn't, I tell you. I was confused when this item arrived. I kept thinking that the little wolf thing was some sort of toy for Barker, but no. That's little Weredith. That's the youngest member of the Wolf family. Oh my. I didn't need another Clawdeen, but one of these days I'll probably practice head shrinking on this one.

Maybe I was just in the mood to purchase Wolf dolls. I decided to also pick up this Clawdeen and Clawd set. This Clawd appears to be a little taller and more buff than the original Clawd. I will no doubt attempt some type of body swap on him at some point.

I thought that the little Monster High children could use a Monster High doll of their very own, so I purchased this mini. I didn't know which doll would be inside, but had hoped that it would be a mini Clawdeen.

Nope, not Clawdeen. 

I don't know who this is, but I'm sure that the Wolf children will enjoy playing with her.

I figured that since I was in the market to buy dolls for dolls, I'd go ahead and pick up this American Girl mini (or would this be a micro) for my AG minis.

 I still have some catching up to do. I have a few projects that I photographed, but did not blog about. Things have been hectic for me lately, but I'm going to try to find some time for dolls and blogging here and there.

Kara and Kianna

What do you do when you want to create a new blog post, but you don't want to take photos, etc.? You look at your saved drafts and pick one! I have no idea why I've had this saved as a draft for so long because I took these photos years ago. At any rate, here are my Barbie So In Style (S.I.S.) Kara and Kianna dolls.

This set spoke to my heart because of the musical aspect. So this was an easy choice over the other sets that were released at the same time (pictured on the back of the box above).

The set comes with a Kara doll, a Kianna doll, a violin, a flute, a karaoke machine with two permanently attached mics, a carrying case, a CD, and sheet music.

Kara has cute musical accessories - violin earrings and a treble clef necklace.

The dolls are dressed somewhat alike and are super cute together!

Kara has arms that are articulated at the elbow, so she can handle the instruments more easily. It is a challenge for Kianna to play the instruments, but she is learning.

It would have been nice if the mics on the karaoke machine were detachable. But, I have another karaoke machine that came with another set and a bunch of mics around here. Hmmmm, I may have to host a doll karaoke party one of these days...

I read in the description that both Kara and Kianna also love math, and that also speaks to my heart since I am a STEM chick (science, technology, engineering and math) and have been asked to mentor young ladies and try to inspire more of them to take an interest in STEM professions, since women tend to be underrepresented in these professions. Did you know that studies show a correlation between music and mathematical abilities?

But let's face it, the music is just more fun. I can't really see myself having these dolls doing calculus. I can see them having fun playing with their instruments, though!

My overall impression is that I love this set! It is good for collectors as well as children. The set displays beautifully in the box, and is also fun to play with. It does come with tiny pieces, so it is not appropriate for very small children. I love the mentorship theme of these dolls, and love that there is a focus on both music and math with these particular dolls. One of the reasons that I've been asked to consider mentoring young ladies is so that other young ladies (Black young ladies in particular) will see the STEM professions as a possibility for themselves. I hope that seeing these Black math-loving dolls has inspired girls worldwide. Even if math is not the primary focus, maybe it sank in subliminally.

Fresh Dolls Lynette

Fresh Dolls is a new line of multicultural dolls that is part of the Positively Perfect doll family. These dolls are for sale at Target and Walmart. I purchased mine from Target.com and had it delivered to my local store.

Several of the dolls caught my eye. I decided to purchase Lynette.

Here is my video review of Lynette.

Here's a look at the back of the box.

Lynette is a very cute doll. There are a couple of quality control issues with mine. There are marks underneath her right eye, and the center front of her blouse is not sewn correctly. I was planning on redressing her anyway because I'm not crazy about this outfit. Other than that, I'm very pleased with her. She has on earrings, a short floral top, skirt, and blue shoes. With a little effort, Lynette can stand unassisted in her shoes. Her head will move side to side, but not up and down. Lynette's head is a little on the large side, but not to the point of distraction.

Lynette has on molded panties. She has articulation at her elbows and knees. She is curvier than a standard size Barbie doll, but not as curvy as a curvy Barbie. Her feet are the same size as a standard Barbie.

Here she is compared to a belly button Barbie doll. Lynette has a shorter neck, and she is thicker at the arms, waist, legs, and butt.

Here she is compared to a curvy Barbie. Lynette is not as thick at the arms and legs. The waist and butt are debatable. She is not as wide at the hips.

Here she is compared to a Fashion Madness Kenya body (with a Barbie head). Lynette's neck is shorter than Kenya's. Lynette is thicker at the arms, torso, legs, and butt.

I took Lynette's hair down so that I could check out her rooting. Lynette's hair is thick and curly and appears to be well rooted. It is not very soft.

I did not get Lynette's hair back exactly the way that it was before. I'll have to work on that. Here she is in a seated position. She can cross her legs at the ankles.

She's already making new friends. 

Overall, I am pleased with this doll and with this line of dolls. I'm happy that these dolls represent multicultural beauty and that there are different skin tones, hairstyles, and fashions available. These dolls are very reasonably priced. I am thrilled that these dolls have articulation! I think that children and adult collectors alike will love these. I love the fact that these dolls are curvier than a standard Barbie doll. My doll is able to pose well and she can hold her poses. Her joints are not too stiff and not too loose. I do wish that the same face mold was not used for all of the dolls in this line. I will probably buy more of these and swap heads. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this line of dolls!

And Then There Were 3

I have previously shared the story about how my husband acquired his first Barbie doll. Now I will share the story of how he got his second and third Barbies.

Last week, I had asked my husband to look for the cornrows Fashionistas Ken at Walmart for me. I even texted him a photo and everything. Walmart did not have the Ken that I was looking for. So, I ordered Ken online. He has not arrived yet.

This evening my husband came home, Walmart bag in hand, and said that if I don't want both items in the bag, he would take the one that I don't want. I saw a Barbie box peeking out of the bag, and started clapping. He took the dolls out of the bag, and he had purchased the cornrows Ken and Zig & Zag Barbie Fashionistas.

I told him that I had ordered the Ken online and that the doll was on the way, and that I already own Zig & Zag. He told me "Well, that means I get to keep both of them then." I agreed. He said "That means that they stay in the box." I agreed again. So now my husband has a collection of 3 Mattel dolls, in addition to his Ripcord action figure. His doll collection is becoming quite impressive indeed.

A couple of days ago, I made a slight modification to my Zig & Zag doll. I removed her pink lip color and gave her a more neutral lip color. 

I removed the pink lips with acetone, put lipstick on her, and used top coat nail polish on top of that.

While I had the acetone and clear polish out, I decide to tackle a couple of other small projects that I'd been meaning to get around to. 

The black frames of Calista's glasses had faded and chipped over time. I repainted them with black nail polish and painted over that with clear polish. They look better, but not satisfactory to me. One day (when I finally buy some acrylic paint), I will completely remove all of the nail polish and paint and do a proper repaint of her glasses.

For my Bessie Coleman doll, I did the same thing that I did for Zig & Zag to replace her lip color.

Here is what Bessie looked like before.

 I showed my husband my altered Zig & Zag doll. He was unimpressed. Maybe he prefers his own Zig & Zag doll. I do appreciate him bringing dolls home "for me" tonight, though. That brought a huge smile to my face.