Saturday, August 29, 2015

Peko-chan doll

I found tiny Peko-chan in a box full of toys in a thrift store. 


I inspected her and found out that her clothes are fastened with velcro. Nice! I asked for the price from the cashier and he said it's P10. SCORE!


She can move her head from side to side.


She can raise her arms.


That's all she could do, haha, but she is pretty cute and can stand on her own. She's around 2 to 2.5 inches tall and needs a touchup on her paint. Her tongue and slippers are fading, and there was a smudge on her head that I scratched and it turned out to be factory paint so now she has a bald spot. It's actually a quick fix so no worries.

Her costume is actually one piece, but there are two sets of velcros, one for the red vest, and the other for the inner kimono.

Speaking of miniature dolls, I also found a Dawn doll made by Topper Corp in the 70's. She is naked and her face colour is different from her body's. I didn't get her because she's so tiny and I don't know how I will be able to make clothes for her in this size. She has generously rooted hair though, something you don't see in very small dolls. I might like her someday, who knows. If she's still at the thrift store when I get back, I'll think about getting her.

Friday, August 28, 2015

I made doll shoes

I made doll wedged shoes for the first time. It was a bit tricky since I wasn't following any instruction except what I remember from this video:



So I watched this again and found out I made a number of mistakes, lol. But it's OK because it's my first time to do it. Here are the first doll shoes I've made so far.





So many rough edges! Oh well. Better luck next time.

Disney Descendants dolls

As mentioned on my previous post, I was at Toy Kingdom yesterday and saw new toys on the shelves. I was just walking past them and had to do a double take because I couldn't believe my eyes. The Disney Descendants dolls are finally here in Manila!

I haven't seen the movie yet and probably will not see it at all, but the dolls intrigue me a little. Here are pics I took. I think this is not the complete set.

New toys: Disney Descendants, My Little Pony Equestria Girls

Mal, daughter of Maleficent

This is Mal the doll. She is the daughter of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. I really don't like her outfit because it's such a far cry from what Mal is wearing in the movie. This just looks cheap. And her hair just doesn't make sense at all. It's so blunt and uneven; it's like she cuts it all by herself. Her boots are probably the best part of this doll.

I don't know why there's no coronation doll for Mal on the shelf. I didn't find any at all.

Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen

Evie is the daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White. I'm just not feeling this Evie doll either. The clothes don't match for me, haha. I also didn't find any coronation doll for her.

Audrey, daughter of Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Audrey wearing her coronation dress (Sorry, it's blurry.)

This is Audrey, the daughter of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip from the Sleeping Beauty. Her face is really cute. I think it's the cutest out of all the Disney Descendants dolls.

Jane, daughter of the Fairy Godmother

Jane wearing her coronation dress

Jane is the daughter of the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella (a Disney-exclusive character?). I don't like her outfits at all. They look matronly on her. It reminds me of school principals, hahaha.

Lonnie, daughter of Mulan

Lonnie wearing her coronation dress

Lonnie is the daughter of Mulan. She's an offspring of a Disney-only princess so I guess she's an exclusive and has no similar counterpart in other doll lines such as Ever After High, Fairy Tale High or Once Upon A Zombie.

I don't like her signature outfit. I think the red onepiece looks like a sad-looking apron, haha. But her coronation dress is so beautiful! She looks the most regal in her coronation dress. She looks like something you'd expect from a souvenir doll of China.

Carlos and Evie two-pack

These are Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil (another Disney-exclusive character), and Evie. I keep calling Carlos as Jake, hahaha. Maybe the name Jake fits him so much more!

Ben and Mal two-pack

Ben is the son of Belle and The Beast from (Beauty and The Beast). His outfit is really similar to Ever After High's Dexter Charming's.


Ever After High Dexter Charming, Disney Descendants Ben, Ever After High Dexter Charming second release

Why can't they think of a different outfit. That blue blazer makes them look related.

I don't prefer the Disney Descendants dolls (I'm still into Monster High, and okay, Ever After High, too), but if I have to pick a favourite, it would have to be Lonnie in her coronation gown.

The solo signature dolls cost P1,499.75, the coronation dolls P1,699.75, and the two-packs P2,499.75.

When will Toy Kingdom carry the Ever After High line?? :(

/Here are the other dolls I didn't see prior to writing this post:

Evie in her coronation gown

Mal in her coronation gown

Thursday, August 27, 2015

My Little Pony Equestria Girls Flash Sentry doll

I was at Toy Kingdom this afternoon and saw some new toys that have just arrived on the shelves. One of them is this Friendship Games two-pack of Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle. This is actually the first time that a boy doll has been released by Equestria Girls. Have a look:

Flash Sentry with Twilight Sparkle

Flash Sentry - full body

Flash Sentry - closer look

Flash Sentry the doll reminds me of James Dean. Or Grease.

James Dean

Grease

The face is meh. I think his box art is more reminiscent of James Dean and Grease. It's probably because his eyes are closer to his eyebrows and James Dean has that kind of brooding stare.

Also Flash Sentry's face reminds me of Captain Planet.

Captain Planet and Flash Sentry

Must be the hairstyle.

Shoe keychains at CD-R King / Kenko World

Today I passed by CD-R King and checked out their keychains. They had these shoe keychains which I thought might be on the same scale as my Monster High dolls. I've kept watch of these keychains every time I stepped in CD-R King or its sister company Kenko World. I finally caved in and got a pair of bright pink shoe keychains.

Unfortunately the shoe keychains are for the right foot only. That means if you buy a pair, you get two right shoes. It used to bug me but remember that my Madeline Hatter has two right feet, so I bought a pair of right shoes!

Here is a screen shot from the Kenko World website:



I got solid pink ones that look like that purple shoe. Sorry I have no photos of them right now. Maybe next time.

When I fit the shoes on Maddie, they are a bit large, but it's not that obvious. Also note that the shoes are flat, not high heeled, and Maddie's feet are sculpted for wearing high heeled shoes, but it's not bad when I am not particular with that kind of stuff.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Pasalubong

My sister came to Manila after being away for 10 months or so already, and she gave me TWO DOLLS as pasalubong. To think that I thought I would only get one, this is a great surprise!

Here are my two brand new dolls!!!



IT'S MONSTER HIGH'S HONEY SWAMP AND EVER AFTER HIGH'S KITTY CHESIRE!!!

Honey Swamp comes from the new line Freak du Chic and she is styled as a marionette! Her knee joints are actually very loose so her legs flop, just like a marionette!

I've never had a Honey Swamp before this so this is a cool addition to my current collection. Her hair is so curly and wild, I don't even need to comb her hair anymore. I love her detachable arms. I could actually fit them to most of my thrifted Monster High dolls with such ease!

Kitty Chesire is one of my favourite characters from Ever After High, probably next to my most favourite which is Madeline Hatter. She is the daughter of the Chesire Cat and if I'm not mistaken, she's the only EAH doll with a smile that shows her teeth! I love her face and her leggings! I'm pretty sure Kitty the doll is missing her bracelets which are present in her box art, but I don't really mind.

Now I have two Wonderlandian dolls, Maddie and Kitty!! And I have Hunter, too, so that makes them THREE REBELS!

I noticed that I have an inclination to like purple coloured dolls. This is quite odd, haha, but I guess that's what I like right now!



So cute! I am very grateful for my sister who doesn't frown upon me liking dolls even at my age. I just find them enjoyable nowadays, OK. I like toys; what's wrong with that? :)

Monday, August 24, 2015

Hunter's new foot

Out of the blue, I started working on Hunter. If you remember, my Hunter Hunstman doll is missing a foot.  Photos from the seller:





I had to remove the peg that got stuck in his ankle first. This is the ugliest and most troublesome part of the process. I used a hand saw to cut along the seams of the plastic. I even accidentally stabbed my finger with the craft knife earlier.


Then I filled in the gap with paper clay. I was too impatient to let it dry so it's crumbling a little. I should actually paint it flesh-toned then apply a coat of Mod Podge but I skipped those parts because I really want to attach the new foot already.



I bent a short piece of wire into some kind of plug and inserted the wire plug through the ankle hole then glued it down. But before I did this, I made sure the new foot fits on the other end of the wire plug.


This is the new foot I was referring to earlier. The foot has no toe definition, but it's just the right size for Hunter's right foot.


I tried to make it stand and I'm glad it can balance on its own thanks to its flat feet. Please don't mind the weird position of the lower legs.



The new foot is not as movable as Hunter's original foot, but my goal was just to complete Hunter's body anyway. And I didn't glue the other end of the wire plug to the Bratz foot because I want to be able to remove the foot if I need to dress or undress him.


Hunter Huntsman is now complete. He can finally stand on his own!

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Toy aisle photos

My sister in America told me that she finally bought me a doll. Just one. But she told me it's the craziest looking doll she could find. Knowing that she's not Monster High fan, "craziest" could mean anything, haha! I just told her not to tell me what it is that she bought, and to surprise me on the day we meet again.

Anyway, just wanted to share the photos she sent me when she was shopping for the doll she's about to give me. I don't know which store these are from but it's definitely New York. /Toys R Us Times Square

Monster High Freak du Chic. Oh Gooliope is so big, she can't even fit in this photo, LOL!

Not so sure about this Ever After High line (I see Cerise, Cedar and Briar), but that's definitely the new C.A. Cupid on the upper shelf

Styling head. Thank God my sister didn't get me this. I want a doll, not a decapitated head, LOL!

Signature dolls Kitty Chesire, Rosabella Beauty and Faybelle Thorn, and a Mirror Beach Apple White on the left. Oh and Project MC2 dolls on the top shelf!

Freak Du Chic Circus Scaregrounds playset with Rochelle Goyle! And the Ghoulebrities in Londoom 3-pack below

Royally Ever After Apple White, the School Spirit 2-pack and a Way Too Wonderland playset with Raven Queen

I will be getting my new doll on Tuesday! Can't wait!

Ever After High Hunter Hunstman and a Breyer doll

I bought a secondhand Hunter Huntsman doll from an online seller and it was my first time to buy a doll online. I kept my expectations low and when the doll package finally arrived I was pleasantly surprised!

Here are the photos I took of Hunter which I showed to the seller as proof that I received it.




Because it is secondhand, there will be FLAWS. His major flaw is that his left foot and boot are missing. Second, his flocked hair has bald patches. Third, he is missing his messenger bag and an accessory attached to his belt loop, but it's not that important anyway, at least for me.

I don't really find boy fashion dolls interesting. In fact, one time I chanced upon a broken Deuce Gorgon (Monster High) doll before, but I thought he was ugly because he is so skinny. However, Hunter's built is just right. His muscles are nicely toned and he isn't as delicate to touch so I'm not afraid that I might break him.

Anyway, I knew I have to do something with his missing foot and shoe. At the thrift store, I found a winter boot that might be a good match to Hunter's original boot. I bought it without any physical reference on hand so I was wishing so hard on my way home that I did not make a mistake in choosing that particular boot. It turns out it's much bigger than Hunter's boot, but it's almost the same height.

I couldn't find a good image of the boot online except this poor thumbnail from Ebay:


I tried it on him even if he doesn't have a left foot yet:


I'm happy that the colours of the new boot which are black and green match Hunter's outfit so much! I modified the boot in the back by creating a slit using a craft knife so that when I attach a new foot to his leg, it will be easy to slide everything into the boot.

I also found 2 left Bratz feet at the same thrift store that seem to be a good replacement for Hunter's left foot (A photo reference here). I had to buy those two because I wasn't sure which would fit. Both Bratz feet have no toe sculpt, just a rounded edge where the toes are supposed to be, but it's not a big problem for me.

I tried hot gluing the suitable Bratz foot to Hunter, but when I tried on the new boot, the foot became wobbly then got detached. I think I need to conduct surgery on Hunter so I could remove the peg stuck in his ankle. If this peg is removed, there will be more space for the hot glue. Remember what I did to Maddie? Of course it's not going to be pretty, but I gotta do what I gotta do to complete Hunter.

By the way, in the photo above with Hunter is a Breyer doll I thrifted. I don't collect Breyer dolls, so I became curious with this one when I found it. This doll was well-dressed and I only got it for P50! He is wearing a tuxedo with a coat tail. I haven't identified which doll this is, but it's not that important. I don't like the head of this doll though. Maybe in the future, I can find a doll head that I'd like to switch with this.


I photographed the doll in this position to show his articulation. I don't want to take off his clothes anymore because at the thrift store, I had a difficult time pulling the pant legs over the boots when I inspected his foot and shoe!