Upgrade Poppy!

Now to talk about "Dream Teen" Poppy. ... She's even prettier than her promo pics.  I love that they used the same eye screening as Holiday in the Hamptons/Endless Summer/Portrait in Black/Center of Attention.  I prefer this eye screening to the new 2012 screenings that will come out later this week.  I did order all the 2012 Poppys, but I'm not sure I'm going to love the new eye screenings.  I guess I'll decide when I get them.  We should be seeing the first of the 2012 Poppy line super soon.  "Day Tripper," "The Happening," "Sunshine Games" and the two Darlas are scheduled to start shipping THIS WEEK!

Poppy's dress is prettier than I expected.  Her hair is darker than expected, too, but I LOVE dark hair. It's a very dark brown like Ask Any Girl and Reluctant Debutant's hair.  ... not quite black.  Her eyes are grey like Holiday in the Hamptons, but she has applied eyelashes.  The lashes definitely give her more of a sultry look, and it's amazing how just having real eyelashes can change the look of the face screening so much.  I put her side-by-side with Hamptons, and although they have the exact same eye screening, Dream Teen manages to look sexier.

Her hair is gelled into one giant ponytail.  I just saw some pictures on Doll Divas that showed her with her hair taken down and washed out, and she looked amazing!  Right now I don't have any plans to take down the ponytail on mine. 

Ya know I'm going to update you again when I get the next wave of Poppy Parker dolls.  See ya. :)

Dream Teen and Holiday in the Hamptons have the same eye screening.

Upgrade Natalia!

"Ready to Dare" Natalia was one of the two 2012 "upgrade" dolls that were available with a W Club membership.

She is exactly what I always wanted a Natalia to look like (although I would have preferred black hair).  I LOVE her face paint.   She looks serene and intelligent.  (Ya ever notice that Integrity Dolls almost always look intelligent?  I love that about them.)  She's kind of like a better (but toned down) version of "Hot Property" ... better because "Hot Property" Natalia had a faulty eye screening, and a lot of them came out looking like their eyes were crossed.  If it weren't for that unfortunate screening, "Hot Property" would have been incredible.  ... The eye screening on "Ready to Dare" is flawless.

I LOVE the pink and lime green bag she comes with.  *Adores* -- Love the shoes.  I'm on the fence about the dress.  It's OK, but not really my thing. The fabric is very soft and high-quality, at least, and it zips down the back.  I love the little pink earrings. 

I was never into Natalias before this sculpt came out, because I hated Integrity Toys' original Natalia sculpt and never bought a single one.  Then they came out with this nice revamped Natalia face, and I started buying them.  They don't like to stay at my house, though.  Out of four Natalias I've bought over the years, only two have stayed with me. 

Next post:  "Dream Teen" Poppy.  :)

Look what just arrived!!!

Let the de-boxing begin!

I've been in the W Club for a few years now, but this is my very first time buying the club "upgrade" dolls ... and I got BOTH of them!  

I'll give you my thoughts and more photos in the next post.  Right now I have a 4-year-old clinging to me asking for dinner. 

More later,

Comic Con's Hasbro booth

I've been enjoying coverage of this weekend's Comic Con on Shuga-Shug's blog.  I was browsing the Internet looking for more pictures, and found these.  They show the Hasbro booth, and there are pics of the new Jem and the Holograms doll, as well as their upcoming My Little Pony toys. 

Link is here. 

Review of Jade City Sugilite by Ruby Red Galleria, Part 2

As promised, here is the second part of my review of Ruby Red Galleria's "The Jade City" Sugilite.  I re-wigged her in a black Monique "Pretty Girl" wig size 5-6.  Her eyes are still her default green eyes. ... They're so pretty I don't want to change them!  When I bought her from Lone Star Dolls, the nice lady who owns the store sent me the Lone Star shirt free, so Sugilite had to model it for all of you.  She's wearing a skirt that had been made for Marley Wentworth.  It fits her in the waist perfectly.

I took some pictures of her head cap and joints, because it's impossible to find information about these dolls on the Internet.  Pretty much if the info/pics aren't there on the Ruby Red Galleria web site, you can't find them.  I don't even think there's a forum for these dolls yet.  (If there is one, please tell me.)

 You can see in the picture of her bald head that she has a head cap that opens.  You can barely make out the words "open" and "close" on there ... with arrows showing you which direction to turn to get the head cap off.  There is also a slot on top where you can stick a coin to help you twist the cap off.  The head cap came off easily for me, and I found I didn't need to use a coin at all.  There are two tiny squares of velcro stuck to her head.  I'm having a love/hate relationship with those things right now.  On the one hand, they keep the wig tight to the head so the wig won't fall off; on the other hand, the hairs sometimes snag in the velcro and if you're not careful, it could potentially pull out some hairs from your wig. 

I didn't try to change her eyes yet, but you can see she has tiny bits of putty holding her eyes in.  You can also see in that pic how her head is held onto her neck.  I love it:  Her head can move in any direction, up and down, and hold its position.  The joints in her arms and legs are also nice and tight, and hold their position when moved.  No floppy joints on this doll!

I've also included pics of her knees bent and straight.  The way the knee is designed is pretty cool.  I've seen another doll with a similar knee design (can't think what doll it is at the moment).  The bent knees are not completely attractive, but they work.  She has cute feet, at least.  LOL!

I didn't include nude pics because I didn't want the blogger people taking offense and yanking this blog off the Interwebs.  (You'd be surprised how many people get offended by NUDE PLASTIC.  LOL.)  I can tell you, though, she's jointed just under the spot where her breasts would be if she were an adult doll, instead of jointed at the waist.  She sits quite nicely and holds her position well when sitting.  I was surprised to see she can also stand unsupported!  She didn't come with a stand, and doesn't really need one so long as she's on a flat surface.  (And isn't knocked over by a cat, I suppose.) 

You might also want to note she does NOT have high-heel feet.  Her feet are flat like many Asian ball-jointed dolls (BJDs).  I think it's awesome because (1) she's a young girl and (2) she can fit perfectly into Yo-SD shoes.  (Please see Part 1 of this review for more info on that last part.) 

Well, that's pretty much it.  I hope I didn't talk your ear off.  Heh heh.  You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

If you missed it, you can find Part 1 of this review here.  

Review of Jade City Sugilite by Ruby Red Galleria, Part 1

This review is pretty long, so I'll have to do a Part 2 as well to show you some pictures of her jointing, and inside her headcap.  For now, here's an overview and my first pictures of my new girl!

I drooled over Ruby Red Galleria dolls for an entire year before actually buying one.  I kept seeing magazine ads for them, and they always caught my eye.  This one is 2012's "The Jade City" Sugilite.  I'm still learning about this series of dolls, but I'll tell you what I know.

Sugilite is part of the "InMotion Girl" series of dolls by Red Ruby Galleria.  She is 12"/30cm tall.  ... I love that size!  She is a high quality vinyl/plastic, and has changeable eyes and wigs like an Asian ball-jointed doll.  She is super-articulated, with bending wrists and ankles.  You can take off her hands if you have to if you want to fit tight sleeves on her.  Her design is a little bit like the larger-sized Obitsu dolls.

She wears size 10mm eyes and a size 5-6 wig.  I was really pleased to see they didn't skimp on quality for the wig and eyes.  The wig is soft and very well made.  ... It does NOT feel like a cheap wig.  (I can't abide cheap wigs!)  The face paint is well blended and nicely applied, and she has real eyelashes.  Sugilite comes with green eyes.  

Here's the weird thing:  I looked at Ruby Red Galleria's web site, and they have a few different types of dolls they call their "InMotion" dolls.  One kind is a doll called Lia that seems to have the exact same face and body as Sugilite ... but Lia is designated as her own line(?) and is in a separate part of the web site from Sugilite.  It's really weird.  There are also a few other dolls that also seem to have this same face sculpt and body, yet are given different names.  It's really confusing to me.  Over a week ago I e-mailed Ruby Red Galleria to ask about it, and they never answered my e-mail.  Sigh.  Maybe one day I'll figure out their dollie naming system.

By the way, I have to thank Dale from Lone Star Dolls for putting up with me and being such a great person to buy from.  Thanks, Dale!  You're awesome and I love my Sugilite.

A little bit about the clothing

The dress is wool, and fastens in the back with small hooks.  I had to take her hands off to get the dress on her. ... The hands pull straight out with a firm but gentle tug, similar to Fashion Royalty dolls.  I'm already terrified I'm going to break the posts in her wrists, but they seem fairly sturdy.  I was able to get her jacket on easily without taking off her hands, though.  All the clothing is nicely made and lined.  She also comes with an extra sleeveless white shirt (that snaps in the back) and pink shorts, and some white panties to wear under the dress.  No socks and no stand. 

The only velcro used for her costume was on her boots.  The boots open all the way down the back with a thin strip of velcro.  It makes the boots very easy to take on and off, and the quality was nice on them, too.

She also came with this shirt/shorts set.

Size compared with other dolls

Sugilite's (and InMotion Lia's) body is pretty much exactly Yo-SD sized, even her feet, so she can wear Yo-SD clothes and shoes.  (Yo-SD, also spelled YoSD, is a resin doll made by Volks.)  I just tried some Yo-SD shoes on her, and they fit perfectly!  Yo-SD has a larger head than Sugilite/Lia, so their wigs will be too big for her. 

Sugilite/Lia's chest, waist, and arm measurements are also very similar to the Tonner 12" Marley doll (although her hips are wider than Marley's), so she can wear shirts and sweaters and some dresses made for Marley.  Marley pants and shoes will NOT fit.

I think it'll be way easy to find clothing for this doll.  Yay!  That just makes her more fun.  

More on Sugilite to come in Part 2.  

The box has a sizing chart on the side showing her exact measurements.

Reminds me of a friend I had as a kid.  My friend had this exact same hair color!

Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day (July 4th) celebrates the day the American colonies won their independence from Britain in 1776 and formed their own country.  Yay!  Being both a doll lover and American, of course I have to post pictures of dollies wearing my country's colors.  

Modeling are the Tonner Doll Company's "Sugar Plum Party" Marley (I love her hair!), and Integrity's FR:16 girls Anais, Freja and Elsa.  I made all of the clothing.



By the way, when is Tonner going to bring Marley back?  She was awesome!