Quest for Brown Bodies

In my search for action figures with brown bodies, the following two figures caught my attention.

The female figure is a Tianyimei action figure, and the male is a Wamami action figure. Both were advertised as brown, and the photos in the advertisements looked brown to me. So I purchased both.

The Tianyimei figure is nowhere near as dark as she looked in the photos that I saw, but she is darker than some other action figures that have been advertised as "brown". Below, she's pictured with a Jiaou doll brown on the left, and a Phicen brown on the right. She is darker than both.

Her skin tone is close to both the Triad Hispanic figure, and the knock-off Takara body.

My Hot Toys Sheva Alomar head is the closest match to this body. I like Sheva on her current body though, so I will not be making that switch.

Mixis Opal's head is a little bit darker than this body, but comes somewhat close. I like Opal on her current body, and will not be making a switch.

Sheva and Opal are the only two dolls or action figures in my collection that are anywhere near the skin tone of this figure, so she remains headless for now.

She came with an extra set of hands, an extra set of feet, and 4 extra pegs. 

She is a small female figure. She will not have a problem wearing most Barbie or Sparkle Girlz clothes.

She has great flexibility, she's easy to pose, and she holds her poses very well. Her torso is covered with a somewhat soft rubbery material.

Here is my video comparison and review of the Tianyimei figure.

The Wamami figure is also not as dark as he appeared in photo advertisements. By the way, the head was an unexpected surprise. I purchased the body and hands only, so I appreciate the bonus head.

When I saw the photo advertisements for this figure, I had hoped that he would be a close match for Hip Hoodie Ken. As soon as I opened the box, I saw that he was way too pale, so then I hoped that he would match Fashionistas Ken. He is darker than Fashionistas Ken.

He has about the same skin tone as the TTL brown body that came out years ago (pictured below on the left).

This was a very inexpensive action figure body. He's not a bad buy for the money. He is fully articulated and holds his poses well for the most part. He does have one wobbly foot, so it's harder for him to balance on his feet. It appears that the manufacturer wanted to make it look like the figure has double jointed knees, but he does not. 

He's somewhat short compared to other action figures. He is shorter than Ken, and his body is about the same height as GI Joe (although he's taller than GI Joe with his head). Becky (pictured below) is relieved that he is taller than she is.

Here's my video comparison and review of the Wamami figure.

Caturday

Men spending time on a Saturday playing with cats.

Boys like cats, too.

Thank you Dee Mahogany Dee for telling me about these cats!

 The cats are adorable, and the dolls and action figures in my collection love them!

DID Martin Luther King Jr

This is my review of the DID Martin Luther King, Jr. 1/6 scale figure.  Click on the photos to make them larger.

The boxes that the figure and podium come in are beautiful and I will be keeping them.  The photos below are of the front and the back of the box that the figure came in.

And here is the box that the podium came in.

The photos below are of the sides and tops of both boxes.

The photos below are of the interior of the figure box folded out and an insert.  The box art is extremely well done.

Here is the figure inside the box.  He comes with a Nobel Peace Prize, a pin, a Bible, a black hat, 3 spare hands (different poses), and a black overcoat.

Here he is out of the box.  His suit is very well made.  His jacket is lined and the pockets and buttons are real.  The pockets are also real on his pants.  He has a cloth handkerchief in his front left pocket of his jacket.  He has a leather belt and leather lace-up shoes with real laces.  He has a white shirt with cuff links.  He has a tie with a tie clip.  He has on black socks.  His pants and shirt have velcro closures.  The details on this figure are amazing.

Here is a close-up.  The likeness is not exact, but you know who he is supposed to be when you look at him.

His Bible is very nice and has printed pages.

His Nobel Peace Prize and the case that holds it are very nice.

His pin says "March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom".  You can actually pin it to his clothes.

His overcoat is lined and has real buttons.  His hat is also very nice.

Here's a height comparison with other figures.  They are from left to right:  Fashion Royalty Darius Reid, Hot Toys True Type, DID MLK, Enterbay President Palmer, and GI Joe Colin Powell.  He's about medium height for an action figure.  He "appears" to be stockier than most other action figures.

The podium is detailed and made of wood, and comes with seven microphones.  It plays the "I Have a Dream" speech.  I put one of the figure's spare hands on in the photo below.  The hands can be fairly easily switched.

There is some staining on his white shirt from the lining of his black jacket.

His long johns have a little extra padding.

I tried to remove his padded underwear to show his articulation, but the top would not go over his head and I'm not going to remove his head just so that I can get his top off.  In the photo below, he is borrowing Ken's boxer shorts.  He is a very well articulated figure.  His black socks have stained his feet.

There are places that sell a Special Version of this figure.  The Special Version has an open-mouthed head sculpt and wears a robe (and is much more expensive).

My overall impression is that this is a very well-made figure with great attention to detail.  Some of his accessories (his Bible and podium) will be useful to share with other dolls and action figures in my collection.  I'm a little disappointed that he doesn't resemble MLK more, but that may be favorable for me in the future if I want to use him as a different character.  But I am hesitant to play with him because of the cost of this figure.  I'm not a collector who typically buys figures and then stores them on a shelf.  This figure may be a shelf-sitting exception.

No he won't.  I like him too much.  I just have to play with him.  You'll be seeing him again.

Making a 1/6 Scale Fishing Pole

I wanted one of my stories to involve a fishing trip, so I checked around to see if I could find some 1/6 scale fishing poles to purchase for my dolls.  Yes, I could find some, but decided not to buy them.  I found some that were relatively inexpensive, but I decided not to spend any money at all on doll stuff that I'm probably only going to use a couple of times.  I'd much rather spend my money on dolls.  How hard could it be to make a fishing pole, right?

I started brainstorming on how I would make my poles.  So as I do almost always when faced with the prospect of making something from scratch, I asked my husband if he would make them for me.  He said no.  I asked him what I could use to make my fishing poles.  He told me to go out into the yard, grab some twigs, and tie some string to them.  I told him that I thought that I could do a little bit better than that (I asked him to whittle me some poles, but he didn't go for that idea).

He suggested using some straws, and I thought that straws would be a little big for my little people, but then I thought about the long coffee stirrers and decided to give them a try.  So my idea started to take shape.

Steps:

1.  Round up the necessary items:

• long coffee stirrer
• tape (I used duct tape)
• push pin
• used staple with one end slightly unbent
• super glue
• scissors
• links from an old broken necklace
• bead from an old broken necklace
• thread (or dental floss, or whatever)
• old pencil eraser

2.  Bend the end of the push pin.

3.  Cut the straw to the desired length.

4.  Fold the end of the straw so that it is narrower at one end.

5.  Add tape to the other end to make it wider.

6.  Tape the links and the push pin to the straw.  Be sure to tape the push pin to the same side of the straw as the links.  I did not do that, and I did not feel like fixing my mistake.

7.  Wrap the thread around the push pin a few times and glue it in place.

8.  Guide the other end of the thread through the links.

9.  Add a bead to the end of the thread (paint it first if you want).

10. Tie the staple to the very end of the thread as a hook and add a little glue.

11. Add a pencil eraser to the sharp end of the push pin as a handle.

Finished Fishing Pole

Eddie Strong is ready to test out the fishing pole.

It's flexible, lightweight, and the perfect size for him to grip.  But why does it have to be red, he wonders.

Here he inspects the reel.

Here's a closer look.  The reel is not actually functional.

Alright, it's show time.  Eddie is ready to cast out.

He's got a bite!

This must be a big one!

 Reel him in, Eddie, reel him in!  Oh yeah, the reel does not work.

Well, he got away, but Eddie swears that he was THIS BIG!