Night Strike Has Arrived

Last week I won the lottery to buy a Night Strike ITBE doll from Integrity Toys. She arrived earlier this week and for four days I’ve been dying to photograph her. Night Strike is my first ITBE doll from Integrity.

Night Strike peers haughtily out of her box, unsure of her new surroundings

The ITBE (Integrity Basic Edition) line uses previously released face molds and body types and combines them with different skin tones. Night Strike, however, is basically a reissue of the discontinued Fashion Royalty Monogram doll, as she uses both the FR Monogram face mold and the body type. She is almost identical to last year’s FR Monogram Basic doll:

FR Monogram Basic dolls, 2013. Photo courtesy of Integrity Toys

Night Strike has platinum hair and uses the FR White skin tone. She has hand-applied eyelashes. Her makeup is surprisingly neutral. Her eyeshadow colors of silver and taupe-grey mirror her hair color, and her lips are a light shade of peachy-pink. I like how Integrity chose not to use a bold lip color for her. Her facial expression and hair color are dramatic enough. I prefer the softer-hued makeup on her.

Her dress is a variant of a dress Integrity has used on two other ITBE dolls this year, White Strike from Wave 1, and Red Strike from Wave 2.

ITBE 2014 Wave 1, White Strike. Photo courtesy of Integrity Toys

ITBE 2014 Wave 2, Red Strike, Photo courtesy of Integrity Toys.

Judging from the official Integrity promo photographs, I thought the pleated section of the skirt was a panel sewn into the center of the skirt. It’s not. The center panel of the skirt is a continuation of the unpleated center panel of the bodice. The pleated panel is sewn into the waistband of the skirt over the unpleated center panel.

I think Night Strike is very, um, striking. With her platinum hair and haughty demeanor, Night Strike reminds me of a steely, strong-willed ice queen. Just like the woman in this vintage makeup ad:

Pomp and Circumstance Tulabelle

Do you know Tulabelle? Tulabelle is a teen fashion blogger. She also happens to be the granddaughter of the famous 1960s teen fashion model Poppy Parker, so fashion is in her blood. Introduced in 2013 by Integrity Toys, the initial Tulabelle line consisted of six 16″ dolls – two basic models and four deluxe versions. Each edition was limited to 300 dolls. In late 2013 Integrity issued a special convention edition of Tulabelle, Fashion Creature 2.0 Tulabelle. Pomp and Circumstance is one of two Tulabelle dolls that I purchased last month. I’ll review the other, J’Adore Basic Edition, in a separate post soon.

Tulabelle comes in a purple box emblazoned with her name in gold.

The inside lid features a funky artist’s rendition of Tulabelle.

It also explains Tulabelle’s backstory.

Pomp and Circumstance derives her name from her pompadour hairstyle. She comes dressed in a leopard fur coat, a white blouse, and red cigarette pants. Being a deluxe edition, she comes with several accessories, including a tote bag, earrings, a ring, a necklace, sunglasses, and not one but two pairs of shoes: a pair of heels and a pair of flats. I just love a doll that comes with extra shoes.

Her feet are jointed so she can wear the heels or the flats.

She also comes with a stand. The height of the stand is adjustable to accommodate the doll whether it’s wearing the flats or the heels.

After I deboxed Tulabelle, I eagerly opened all the accessories. I put her earrings on first. The holes in her ears looked too small for the earrings to fit, but I was able to put them in with a little effort.

Next I put the ring on her finger. It’s very tiny, and slips off easily, so after a few photographs I put it safely back into its plastic bag. I can easily see myself losing this ring if I don’t keep it in its bag – forever.

Next I tried putting her sunglasses on, but in trying to fit them on her face, one of the arms of the sunglasses broke. How disappointing.

So here she is wearing her broken sunglasses. I balanced them on her face with only one side support. That’s why it looks a little wonky.

Dressed in her fur coat, with all of her fabulous accessories, and wearing her shiny red heels, Pomp and Circumstance Tulabelle is ready to hang out with some friends at her favorite thrift store or sit front row at the hottest runway show.

I love how Integrity adds some really cool accessories to their dolls. I would totally buy Tulabelle’s “LOVE” tote bag if it was available in a life-sized version. However, if there’s one thing I don’t like about Pomp and Circumstance Tulabelle, it’s the necklace that came with her. It matches the colors in her makeup, but I think it’s gaudy, it doesn’t go with the outfit, and it detracts from the overall look. It’s just one accessory too many.

Do YOU like my necklace?

After Tulabelle was all dressed up with somewhere exciting to go, I removed her fur coat. That’s when I really fell in love with her, because underneath her coat, unseen when I first opened the box, is the most adorable blouse: cap-sleeved, pin-tucked, with a Peter Pan collar.

It looks marvelous with her slim red cigarette pants. And when I switched out her heels for her black ballet flats, the doll suddenly took on a charming simplicity that I hadn’t expected from her. A little modern, a little retro, and not as “impossibly hip” as I first perceived her to be. Another thing that I love about her simpler outfit is that when Tulabelle is wearing her flats, she can stand on her own.

Heels? Who needs them?

Tulabelle’s hair is permanently plastered into her pompadour hairstyle. Seriously, this hair must have been wind-tunnel tested because it’s not budging. While it’s a little masculine, I think it suits her quite nicely.

As with other Integrity dolls, the clothes are very nicely made with great attention to detail. The blouse has tiny pin tucks and black piping around the collar. The trousers feature back pockets. The coat is lined and has a tiny label with the “W” logo for Integrity Toys. It makes it look like a designer fashion.

Tulabelle has good articulation for a 16″ doll, certainly better than My Deja Vu by the Tonner Doll Company. Tulabelle can put her hands on her hips.

She can touch her hair.

How’s my hair looking?

She can put her hands over her mouth in an expression of shock and awe.

GASP!

So what do I think of Tulabelle? In a word, surprising. As cool as I thought Pomp and Circumstance was with her fur coat and sunglasses, I really fell in love with her when I stripped her down and removed her coat, sunglasses, heels, and excess jewelry. Suddenly she was transformed from uber-hip to gamine, like Audrey Hepburn with a James Dean hairstyle. I couldn’t stop photographing her.

I don’t often collect 16″ dolls because of their size. They can be less articulated, and making dioramas for them can be difficult due to their scale and the availability of furnishings and accessories. Tulabelle is really sweet, and I really like the two that I have. Integrity hasn’t released any Tulabelles for 2014, so it looks like the line was just a one-off. I would love to see Tulabelle return as a 12″ doll, just like Poppy Parker. I would definitely collect more of her.

Are you a Tulabelle fan?

Integrity ITBE Night Strike

Photo courtesy of Integrity Toys

Ghouliette here. I just won the lottery from Integrity Toys to buy a limited edition Night Strike doll. The lottery was only open to Integrity’s W Club members. Night Strike is part of the second wave of Integrity’s basic line of dolls, the ITBE line. Each ITBE edition is limited to 300 dolls. I didn’t win the chance to buy this year’s first wave ITBE doll that I wanted, a redhead called Shimmering Copper. But when Integrity released the second wave of ITBE dolls and opened the lottery to W Club members only (unlike the lottery for the first wave of dolls, which was open to W Club members as well as members of the public), I entered for the chance to buy Night Strike. And I won. I’ve purchased it and eagerly await her arrival.

Night Strike ITBE is a stunning platinum blonde that features Integrity’s discontinued Monogram face mold. Her black and blue pleated cocktail dress is a repeat, in a different color, of the black and white dress that the Light Strike ITBE First Wave doll wore. Another Second Wave ITBE doll, Red Strike, uses this dress in red and black. It’s a stunning dress, so it doesn’t bother me that Integrity is repeating the same dress on different dolls.

I will post a full review when I receive it, so stay tuned!

Photo courtesy of Integrity Toys

Miworld O.P.I. Nail Salon by Jakks Pacific

Last week Ghoulia13 reviewed the Sprinkles Cafe set from Miworld. Miworld is made by Jakks Pacific, who are best known as the producers of the Winx Club dolls. But the Miworld playsets are smaller in scale than the Winx Club dolls. I’d say they are more in line with the 1:12 dollhouse scale than the 1:6 fashion doll scale. As Ghoulia13 mentioned in her review, I purchased the O.P.I. nail salon playset. Since Ghoulia13 set up her playset first, I was able to use hers as a guideline for setting up mine so my experience wasn’t as frustrating as hers. That’s right, I make Ghoulia13 do all the work! Unlike Ghoulia13’s experience with the Sprinkles cafe, I found the O.P.I. playset to be fairly sturdy. The legs for the manicure table and chairs snapped into place and stayed there, and the two chairs were able to support the weight of the dolls I used. The playset comes with a manicure table, a salon chair, a traditional chair, a pedicure chair and foot basin, a drying lamp, an apron, a manicure tool set, and a display stand with 12 miniature bottles of nail polish. It also came with a sheet of stickers to decorate the playset.

I also picked up one of two accessories packs for the O.P.I. nail salon. This is the gel manicure accessory pack. It comes with nine miniature bottles of nail polish, a display stand, and cardboard signage.

Like Ghoulia13, I also purchased the Miworld dolls to go with the set, but given their practically non-existent articulation, I chose other dolls to be the first customers of the O.P.I. nail salon. My Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop dolls were excited to have a day of beauty. Here Tokyo Dressed for Tea Blythe gets a pedicure.

The plastic apron fits Outdoor Afternoon Blythe perfectly. I put one of the stickers on it so you’ll know she works for O.P.I.

How can I help you today?

Can I get you a beverage while you’re waiting?

Buckles and Bows Blythe stops in to get her nails done after a busy day of shopping.

She chose to get a gel manicure.

The Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop dolls fit nicely in the Miworld playset, but they’re a little short. Poor Tokyo Dressed for Tea’s legs don’t quite reach the pedicure basin.

So I also tried the playset with Dawn doll and her friends.

Angie gives Dawn a manicure

Dawn dolls also fit well. At 6″ tall, they’re a little taller than the 4″ Miworld dolls that are sold separately. Maybe they’re a little too tall for the pedicure station, but they otherwise fit very nicely in the O.P.I. nail salon.

In addition to the Miworld playsets, you can join the virtual Miworld by downloading the app. It works with any IOS device. It reminds me of Stardoll in that you create a character and buy things for it. I found it confusing and difficult to navigate, however, so I quickly abandoned it. Maybe I’ll go back to it another time.

I had a lot of fun playing with the Miworld O.P.I. nail salon playset. It also makes a great backdrop for doll photography. You can add the other playsets onto each other to create a larger mall. I might have to get the Claire’s boutique playset next, although my girls gotta eat, so I might get the Dairy Queen playset too. The possibilities are endless.

Does this shade match my sweater?

More Fun With Fake Food: MiWorld Sprinkles Bakery

Ghoulia13 here, with another food-related playset post. Yesterday ghouliette and I hit Wal-Mart and Toys R Us and scored the Jaaks Pacific MiWorld playsets. I’ve seen a lot of buzz about these on the internet, but we weren’t looking for them specifically. I didn’t realize my local stores were carrying these until we stumbled onto them in the toy aisles. Wal-Mart didn’t have very many left on the shelves, but I snagged the Sprinkles Bakery Set, which was the one I wanted the most. Ghouliette got her hands on the O.P.I. nail salon, which was the set she wanted the most. We each bought a Shop Girl or two (sold separately) and we walked out of the stores in a great mood for having found these. Wal-Mart also had the larger Claire’s Boutique in stock. Toys R Us also had a very small selection. They were out of Shop Girls but had the small $3 add-on packs with extra pieces, which Wal-Mart didn’t have. I picked up the O.P.I. set at TRU. Both stores had a display featuring the Claire’s Boutique all set up with the brunette Shop Girl in a clear plastic box next to the shelf.

So. What’s the deal with MiWorld? These playsets are mini replicas of actual branded businesses. There are three smaller playsets: Sprinkles, Dairy Queen and O.P.I., which retail for $15.00 each. There are two larger Deluxe sets: Claire’s Boutique and the Sweets Factory candy store, which sell for $30.00 each. All the playsets come with very detailed–and very tiny–pieces such as food, nail polish, ice cream and a ton of other cool accessories.

The playsets do not come with any figures. I think that’s unfortunate. the Shop Girls are sold separately for $5.00 each. Shop Girls come in two varieties: I’ll call them “food services worker” (left) and “upscale retail associate” (right).

The dolls are cute but not very poseable. Their arms move up and down but are frozen in the positions you see in the photo. Their waists move from side to side but the dolls do not bend at the waist. Also, their legs do not bend, but their feet, for some reason, swivel from side to side, as they are on pegs. The girls are really just pieces of molded plastic.

I love the attention to detail, but putting this together was a pain because the pieces are flimsier than I thought they would be. Don’t get me started again on flimsy plastic. There are a lot of small pieces to fit together and a lot of stickers to put on, if you want to go for the whole experience. Putting on stickers is a pain in the butt. So is folding tiny, pre-scored boxes. For someone who loves miniatures, I get very impatient with setting them up. When I was done I was kind of annoyed, and I wanted cupcakes for real.

But it’s pretty cool once it’s set up! There is a counter with stands, shelves, and a glass sneeze guard, 12 cupcakes, two cupcake trays, two coffee cups, two plates, a small cash register, two large takeout boxes, two smaller takeout boxes, a table and chair, two cans of cookie dough to go, and an apron. There are two folded tee shirts to use in a retail display. There are lots of stickers to make the Sprinkles experience more authentic. The sticker sheet has instructions printed on it so you know where each sticker goes. That was helpful.

The table and chair are especially flimsy. The chair barely holds a very small, lightweight doll. The table top does not snap into the table base properly. It is very thin and does not stay on so it’s hard to balance coffee and cupcakes on it.

Since the dolls’ legs don’t bend, they can’t sit in the chairs. That’s too bad.

But other dolls can enjoy the gourmet cupcake experience. Littlest Pet Shop Blythe can sit in the chair.

In the end, I had a lot of fun posing dolls and playing with little fake cupcakes. I bought one of the add-on packs for Sprinkles, which comes with 6 cupcakes, one coffee cup, and a three-tiered display stand (and more stickers).

Jaaks Pacific released MiWorld very recently. Judging by the number of people posting photos on Flickr, there seems to be a good demand for this out there–with adults. There is a decent amount of stock in stores so please don’t pay inflated prices on Ebay. Someone was selling a $3 add-on pack for $20, and others are selling the smaller playsets for $30–twice their retail price. Twenty dollars for the add-on, come on. people!

What are my final thoughts on Sprinkes? I applaud their attention to detail and the sense of immersing yourself in the experience. I just wish some of the pieces were more substantial. I also think the playsets should come with a shop girl, but $5 isn’t a huge extra price to pay.

What do you think about MiWorld? Were you looking forward to their release? Which playsets do you have/want? For those of you with the Sprinkles set, where did you put the “Cupcake ATM” sticker?! Let us know!

Are We Ready To Embrace “Average”?

image courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Let’s face it, Barbie is everywhere. And she’s been hogging most of all the attention for the past 55 years.Now she’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition, for God’s sake, and a lot of people  are unhappy about it.  Forbes Magazine seems especially pissed, though amusingly, their anger is aimed at Sports Illustrated rather than Barbie. Even the Girl Scouts got caught in the middle. Do a Twitter search on the subject and you’ll see how many people felt the need to weigh in.

Over the more recent decades debates over her physically impossible proportions have led to an ongoing discussion on the subject of healthy body image and unrealistic standards of beauty. The Sports Illustrated debacle has fired up the conversation all over again. Always, the discourse includes proponents of creating dolls with a more healthy body image. But what do girls really want? Do they want to play with dolls that   resemble themselves? Or do they want to lose themselves in the fantasy of beauty, glamor and roleplay? There are many voices in both camps. Barbie, after all, is an astronaut/veterinarian/supermodel who lives in a big pink mansion. Most of us aren’t. Surely that’s why she appeals in the first place?

Today I came across this article in Time magazine about an artist who wants to offer an alternative to Barbie. Nickolay Lamm’s goal is to raise $95,000 on Kickstarter to develop a doll with the proportions of an average 19-year-old woman. Ladies and gents, meet Lammily.

Image courtesy of Nickolay Lamm

At first glance Lammily is noticeably heavier than Barbie. I want to say (and I hate this word) stocky, in comparison. But is that really fair?  is Lammily really overweight (like the average American, by the way) or just bigger than Barbie? There are people out there that might snicker and make disparaging comments at first glance, but let’s give Lammily a chance. She has a genuinely friendly expression, which certainly would appeal to children, and she is pretty. Her underwear (bathing suit?) consisting of boy-shorts and a non-revealing top are modeled on comfort and even modesty, rather than showing off skin. Her skin is fair, not tanned. She is, perhaps deliberately, not a blond. Let’s see another photo.

Image courtesy of NIckolay Lamm.

I really like her in this photo. I like this outfit a lot. It looks comfortable and, while it’s not high fashion, it’s cute. There’s nothing wrong with cute. I like how she’s posed with the ball, because this really does represent real girls and healthy, active play. Let’s see another photo.

Image courtesy of Nickolay Lamm.

Hmm. Okay… a two-piece jogging outfit. But really, I think this is kind of cool. I could see myself taking this doll to the beach along with the little ball in the previous photo and posing her against a tiny volleyball net. 🙂  I also dig, as Time puts it, her “advanced design,” i.e., she’s fully articulated. She can wear flat shoes as well as high heels.

Nickolay Lamm began his Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday and already people are starting to take note. This evening’s NBC News with Brian Williams ran the story. And Lamm has some pretty high-powered backers in his corner:  Robert Rambeau, a former VP at Mattel, is helping him search for a high-quality manufacturer.

There are two things about this line that I’m personally not crazy about. The first thing is the doll’s tagline: “Average is beautiful.” The word “average” sounds so…average. It sounds so second-rate by default. But what other word could replace it? Normal? Regular? I admit I don’t have an alternative. Britain’s Lottie doll is an “average” little girl whose tagline is “be bold, be brave, be you.” Maybe Lammily’s tagline could be something along the lines of being yourself, embracing who you are, etc. The second thing is the doll’s name. Lammity. Hmm… Where did that name come from?…Men shouldn’t name female dolls based on their surname. Sure, it sounds like Emily but it’s not.  A traditional girl’s name would probably appeal more to the target audience.

I’m normally not on board with crowdsourcing but I’m going to take another look at Lamm’s Kickstarter page and give it some serious thought. I can see Lammily riding a 1/6 scale bicycle, or driving a car! Not a Corvette of course, something practical but cool, maybe a hybrid. Definitely not a Chevy Cavalier. Instead of a dream house, Lammily could own a little Cape Cod, or maybe a cozy cabin in the woods.  Yes…there are a lot of possibilities here!

What do you think of Lammily? Do you like her? Do you think she would sell, or are we too conditioned to accept nothing less than plastic perfection?

Nickolay Lamm’s Kickstarter campaign is here and, SPOILER ALERT: he’s already surpassed his goal of $95,000 and raised a whopping $196,000 with 29 days still to go! Amazing!

I guess we are ready to embrace average after all.

Clear-Lan’s New Collection for 2014

Image courtesy Clear-Lan

Clear-Lan has released their new collection for 2014. The China-based producers of dolly clothing recently unveiled their highly anticipated new collection of dresses, coats, tops, and pants. Their fashions are detailed and on-trend with the real fashion world. Clear-Lan makes clothes for a wide variety of dolls, including Blythe, Momoko, Fashion Royalty, Dynamite Girls, Poppy Parker, and Pullip, as well as Obitsu BJDs. Prices range from $10.50 for a dolly turtleneck sweater to $27 for an intricately detailed denim jacket.

I’ve been drooling over their amazing miniature creations but I haven’t ordered from them yet. Now may be the time!

Image courtesy Clear-Lan