Hollywood Dolls

This image is wrong on so many levels. It's not that it's nude but the fact that it is a likeness of the President and he's posed in front of an American flag. It's downright disrespectful in my opinion. I don't know much about Sideshow and Hot Toys but I'm guessing it is not a country based in the US. Feel free to correct my assumption if I'm wrong.
I actually think it's a great looking doll. The thighs are removable which makes me laugh. Seems they've already removed several other parts. And what's up with the ankles? This doll would look great in a good suit or sports clothes.
Here are the specs as put forth by the manufacturer:
The True-Type Figure Body 12 inch Figure features:

* Newly sculpted head
* Newly developed body
* Two (2) neck styles
* Muscular arms and thighs with detachable thigh muscles
* Two (2) sets of bendable and interchangeable palms, including one (1) pair for holding gun and one (1) pair of relaxed palms
* Over 38 points of articulation
* Suitability for 1/6th scale fabric costume and accessories
* Figure display stand
Price at Angelic Dreamz is $49.99. Item is available for Pre-Order.

Are you going to order one?
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After I published the above I did a search for Obama doll. What a variety! There are actually a few that are more offensive than the Nekkid POTUS. (POTUS=President of the United States.)

Joe Tai has created a body for 16" dolls that can be purchased as a replacement body for your dolls. I pre-ordered one from Manika and received it in January. I was so surprised at it's heft. It's at least 3 times as heavy as a Tonner or Gene body.

The other features of note are not hard to see. They're right out there - large breasts standing at attention. There is a great deal of body blushing all over including the palms of the hands. Joe doesn't design anything with an eye toward moderation. Joe may have gone overboard with the breasts but he got the articulation right. This body can pose like a dream.
I had such a good time posing her and taking pictures that I didn't even want to dress her. But here she is in a Tonner fashion created for Tyler's body. It fits perfectly. The ankle joints have a great range of movement and I'm guessing that Deva, Sybarite, Avantguard, Gene, Antoinette and pretty much any high heel shoe made for a 16" doll will fit.The skin tone matches the "Exceptional" Antoinette head perfectly.
The price of the body was high at $62 plus $10 for shipping. You probably won't be replacing all of your doll bodies at this price. Cherished Friends will be carrying them but I don't have a date or price.
Recommendation - get one just for the experience.

It's time for a break from the world of sophisticated fashion dolls. Here's a picture of my tiny bjd, Puki Ruby. She's from Fairyland and joins her sister, Puki Puki. I know; it's such a silly name.
Tiny Puki dolls are just under 4.5 inches - pocket sized. They stand very easily on their own and their articulation is wonderful without kickiness. Ruby's wig is a FairyLand product. (Bobbie/Black/$21)  I've ordered several less expensive tiny wigs and none of them fit as well.
 The dress is felt and is a Boneka product as are the shoes. Denver Doll offers a nice selection of Boneka dresses for these dolls.  Prices range from $17 to $42.

The shoes are handmade leather and certainly worth $18.

Basic (nude) Pukis cost $138. If you purchase directly from FairyLand, you will pay a hefty shipping fee. I buy from Denver Doll Emporium. Their response time is excellent. If an item is in stock, it often ships the same day you order.

Check out FairyLand's website and then go to Denver Doll Emporium to buy.

Tonner has the license for Gone With The Wind dolls for some time now. They released the first pictures this summer, to much dismay from collectors. That was due to the fact that the Scarlett O'Hara sculpt did not meet expectations. After all, it had to confront the successful and much applauded Franklin Mint doll, which looks particularly like Vivien Leigh, the actress that immortalized the heroine.



It was easier with Melanie Hamilton, which is the first doll to be released from the series. They did not secure the rights to portray Olivia De Havilland (the dolls are to be tied-in with the film), so they had free reign for the sculpt. The result: a very good and unusual doll face, realistic looking and very convincing as Melanie.



Her face is nicely sculpted, with a kind and thoughtful expression (thankfully not that pity-me look the actress had in the film at many times). The only drawback here is the make up: her red lipstick and blush as well as the eye shadow are too accented for the era and the character the doll portrays.



Her hairdo is a lovely knot at the back of the head, with a center part and hair gathered at the sides and pulled under the knot. It fits perfectly with the film's style and the character. Her hair color is a lovely shade of brown, not dark but not light either. She has a hat on that looks like a cross between a hat and a snood. It does not look much like the snood the actress was wearing in the film - first the doll's hat:



And this is a scene from the film with it:



The costume is the one Mellie is wearing at Scarlett's wedding: light blue silk, with applied diamond motifs on the skirt, a big v-neckline with a bow and a lace trim, short puffed sleeves with lace trim. The dress is fully lined in white. It closes with snaps at the back, which is not very appropriate for the style of dress and the era, but makes things easier for some people. It is a faithful reproduction of the film costume and looks very impressive-the volume the skirt has is huge:



And this is a photo from the film:



Here is a close up of the diamond motif:




The skirt of course has to have the proper support. I was wondering what Tonner would put under the skirt, as Franklin Mint's crinolines did not get anything more than a tulle skirt (and out of scale fabric too) with a wire near the hem, which is notorious for it's lack of cooperation. Here, Tonner pulls out all the stops: we get 2 (actually 2 and a half) skirts under the dress. And of course pantalets and stockings for underwear as was proper at the time (unfortunately no corset with this outfit under the bodice, although it looks like it can have one and still button up without problem). Here are the pantalets and stockings:



Over the pantalets is a nice underskirt with wire hoops sewn in - three of them. It is made of cotton. The bottom wire hoop did seem to have a mind of its own and turned up a bit.



Over the hoop skirt is another under skirt made of satin and tulle (hence the 2 and a half layers: one is the hoop skirt, one and a half is the satin and tulle one). The satin is trimmed with lace at the hem and the tulle is in ruffled tiers sewn over the satin. It looks great and adds to the look of the undergarments, not to mention the volume of the skirt:



Here is the lace trim detail:



The whole system works very well under the dress and it gives its skirt a huge volume, looking very faithful to the era. The accessories are fantastic too - the shoes are to die for:



She has a lovely point d'esprit lace shawl - here is a detail:



And of course she has short white gloves like a proper lady at that time would.



The worst thing is the stand: the doll comes with the infamous circular wire stand that has all of the Tonner collectors in fits. In this case it is more inappropriate as it cannot hold the doll in its place for too long due to volume and weight, plus it makes the skirt seem a bit puffed near the waist. I cannot understand how Tonner could make such a blunder and not have the newer saddle stand included with this doll. Here is a back view of the doll:



She comes in a huge green box with gold letters on it. The box is not very sturdy, probably because of weight issues, but it holds well. The doll is very good in general, and if some details were taken care of, she would be excellent. Of course, the stand makes the whole experience of having her too painful (mine has fallen countless times already and now stands on Shinyuu Mina's new saddle stand.

2007 saw a new addition to the basic body in Tonner dolls. The Basic Black dolls had an extra articulation feature: changeable feet. They come with two different sets of feet that can be changed to give a different look and pose ability to the doll, not to mention more outfit options. Fashion feet (aka high heeled arched feet) and flat feet. It is very easy to change them and the articulation is borrowed from action figures. They are an edition of 1500 pieces per character.

Basic Black Layne is part of that line, comprising of four basic dolls. Her face sculpt is the original Mameha sculpt, first used in the Memoirs of A Geisha line. She comes with a black one-piece swimsuit, with a semi-transparent panel on the front, all lined in flesh colored fabric inside. A pair of sunglasses, and two pairs of shoes complete the outfit. One pair is high heeled plastic mules, the other is flat rubber sandals with a fabric strap. Here's Layne in high heels:



And here she is in flat feet:



Her hair is auburn. It could have been a bit more dense, as it can be difficult to change the hairstyle a bit due to the quantity of hair plugs she has on her head. She has an elastic hairband too. Her face screen is nice but a bit bland for a red head. I think she needed stronger eye and brow color. Lips are painted a generic red, which could also have been a bit more adventurous. Here is a close up:



The flat feet articulation is not that good looking or functional. She cannot stretch the foot to become a straight line with the rest of the leg, as she should. She can stand on her own with them though. That makes her stand redundant. It is the worst stand I have ever encountered on a Tonner doll. If she has her arched feet on, the metal circle of the stand cannot reach her waist - she's too tall for it. If she has the flat feet on, she can stand by herself. Plus it is a cheep looking stand, with a clear plastic base that is not the solid one most Tonner dolls usually get, but a hollow one that is not heavy enough to support a doll properly. And of course it cannot be used with full skirts or gowns. Utterly useless. Here is the flat foot detail.



She is versatile enough to provide lots of fun re-dressing and photographs nicely. I like the Mameha sculpt a lot - Asian ladies are so beautiful. They could have made the ethnic characteristics more pronounced though - it would have been so much more interesting to see that in the Geisha line too. But I guess it is all a matter of marketing.

Layne has also been released as a dressed doll, which we will see in the next post. Here is a photo of Layne seated:



And one in her sunglasses-star material for sure!



The earrings on this photo shoot are courtesy of Toni Brown from Bordello Dolls.