Who's the Best?

You've seen the figure comparisons featuring some of my articulated dolls, and now I will let you vote on who is the best of the best.  But first, I would like to get your help in choosing the dolls that will go on to the final round, where I will pose them in yoga poses.  I have chosen 2 dolls from each group that I thought posed the best and that were the most popular based on the comments, so let me know which one from each group that you would like to see move on.

Group 1 - Articulated Fashion Dolls

LIV Alexis body (Hadley head) vs. Artsy Fashionista

Group 2 - Action Figure Ladies

Dragon Jennifer (Special Version) vs. Triad Alpha (African)

Group 3 - Blurring the Lines

Dragon Linh vs. action figure body (similar to Takara with Opal head)

Group 4 - Trendy and Bendy
Dance 'N Flex Christie vs. Monsieur Z. Wild

Group 5 - Large and Lovely

Girls Explore Bessie Coleman vs. Happy Family Grandma (or neither)

Group 6 - Fragile and Fabulous
AA Nutcracker Barbie vs. Alvin Ailey Barbie

(As shown in the photo, Nutcracker Barbie can stand on her own after all).

Do you have a favorite that did not make the cut?  If so, let me know and I will consider moving that one to the final round instead of Bessie or Grandma.  Also, let me know if there are any specific yoga poses that you would like to see.

Trendy and Bendy: More Fashion Doll Comparisons

Happy Easter, Everyone!  This is not an Easter themed post, but feel free to check out my Easter Parade video from last year.

Here is my next group of fashion dolls for comparison.  They are posed similarly to my previous comparisons.  They are from left to right:  Winx Club Layla, Howleen Wolf, Isla head on Clawdeen Wolf body, V.I.P. A.N.T. Farm Chyna, Fashion Royalty Monsieur Z. Wild, and Dance 'N Flex Christie.

None of them can stand on their own.  Layla has bendy arms and legs, and Christie is entirely bendy.  The rest are articulated.  

They can all cross their arms somewhat.  They all have high-heeled feet.  Monsieur Z. Wild and Christie can share shoes.

Here they are doing a side stretch.  Layla, Howleen, and the Clawdeen Wolf body do not have torso articulation.  Chyna and Monsieur Z. Wild have upper torso articulation and do a decent job of stretching to the side.  Christie with her bendy torso does this better than all of them.

Here they are "walking like an Egyptian".  Chyna has no wrist articulation and Layla can not bend at the wrist.

Here they are doing kneeling back bends.  Christie can arch her back quite a bit.

Here they are showing off their hands.  All of them have weird hands that are not useful for holding objects.

Here they are attempting to sit cross-legged. Christie comes the closest, but it looks like I tried to tie her legs in a knot.

 Here they are attempting to do middle splits.  None of them are successful at this, least of all Layla.

Here they are doing front splits.  The Wolf sisters do this the best.

Here they are doing a leg lift.  The Wolf sisters and Monsieur Z. Wild do this the best.

 Here they are seated.  Layla can cross her legs, but she has issues with sitting straight up.  I think that Christie does the best job of crossing her legs.

Do you prefer bendy dolls or articulated dolls?  Do you have a favorite among these dolls?  Which ones look the best in their poses?

Phicen Vs. Dance 'n Flex Christie

I wanted to compare my Phicen seamless bodied figure with a Gumby-bodied action figure, but I don't have one.  So I'll compare her to a Dance 'n Flex Christie (Gumby all the way).

The Phicen figure has rubber skin over an articulated "skeleton".  She is articulated the way that most action figures are articulated.  She has trouble holding some positions because her rubber skin restricts some movement.  It can bunch up at certain points (I'm looking at her underarms right now).  Also, you have to be really careful about posing her, because she will break if you try to bend her where she's not meant to be bent.  Christie has rubber over wire, and you can pretty much bend her any way you'd like (that is, of course, until the wire breaks).

The Phicen can stand on her own and she looks more natural.  The Barbie needs help to stand, and she has spaghetti arms and pancake hands.

 They can both sit down.  The Phicen has skin that folds over when she sits down (hmmmm, so do I actually).  I could not get Christie to cross her legs.

 Here they are doing modified push-ups.  Christie can arch her back a little bit more than the Phicen.

 They can both bend to each side.  Christie can bend a little more than the Phicen.

 Neither of them can do the splits, but Christie comes the closest.  I would not recommend that you try to get your Phicen to do the splits.  Bad things will happen (see below).

The next photo is so horrible that I could not bring myself to post it here, so I will post a link.  Brace yourself before you click here.  The Phicen figure now has a hole in her upper inner thigh.  Christie has a crack on her rear (no, NOT the one that belongs there).  They are both lint and dust magnets, as you will see.  How am I supposed to clean these things, anyway?

Overall, I like the Phicen much better.  I think that she has a more natural look, and I think that her articulation is enough to achieve most day-to-day poses.  I will not be attempting any extreme posing with her.  Lesson learned.

The Phicen that I have is an older figure.  The company has improved on the design and the new batch will be released soon.