Barbie Creatable World dc-725

Being unboxed today is doll dc-725 from the Barbie Creatable World line. This line features a new body design and is marketed as something that is slightly more customizable than the standard Barbies as, in addition to different outfits, it comes with two alternate hairstyles. A short default haircut and a long wig. The dolls sell between $30-$40CDN.

The dolls have also received quite a bit of publicity due to being of indeterminate gender, meaning that kids can decide if they want their doll to be a male or female character (or neither). Some people have called this the non-binary Barbie, but based on the height difference between this doll and standard Barbies, it seems more like a pre-pubescent one. Either way, if you’re looking for a Barbie-line doll without the exaggerated chest or Barbie or Ken, this fills that gap.

Barbie Fashionista #121: blue dress & prosthetic leg

As promised in my post about Fashionista #133 (the new release with the wheelchair) weekend before last, today I'm unboxing Barbie Fashionista #121.

Fashionista 121 is distinguished from the rest of the line by her prosthetic left leg.  Unlike 133, who came on a multi-jointed body, this doll has the standard five points of articulation that most of the Fashionistas have by default, however there is some rotational movement to the hip on the left leg that we don't see in the standard bodies (or on the right leg of this doll).  Some dolls in this line are noted by being shorter, taller, or chubbier, but (leg aside) this particular model is on the standard height/size body.

This doll is in a medium skin tone and has long brown hair and green painted eyes.  Her accessories include a sleeveless sweatshirt dress, hoop earrings and white flat shoes.  Her prosthesis is an above-knee one, and seems to be sculpted to resemble one with a microprocessor-type knee. I'm mildly surprised that they went with an above-knee style, since below-knee amputations are so much more common, but either way it's an interesting design.

Let's take a closer look!

Barbie Fashionista 133 & her blue wheelchair

Earlier this year I saw the announcement that the Barbie Fashionista line would be adding three dolls featuring visible disabilities: Two in wheelchairs (both in the same outfit, but one white with her blonde hair down and one black with her shorter hair up) and one with a prosthetic leg (in a medium skin tone and a different outfit). As someone who specifically looks for disability representation in children's/playline toys, I knew I'd be bringing at least a couple of these home. Today I'm opening up #133, one of the wheelchair-using dolls.

This doll is currently retailing for just under $15CDN online and locally. And while that is higher than the average price for most dolls in the Fashionista line (which usually retail for $10-$12CDN), considering the size and detail of the wheelchair and the fact that this doll comes on a much more elaborately articulated body, I was impressed that she isn't being sold at double the price.  Considering the additional cost of Monster High's wheelchair-included doll, and the extra cost of wheelchair accessories for American Girl type dolls, I was pleased to see that this doll will be affordable for a wide range of families.

Now let's take a closer look!

New Arrival: Volks Yo-SD Tinatsu/Chinatsu v. 2

I was browsing Mandarake (the Japanese second-hand chain) looking at doll outfits the a few weeks ago when I came across a listing for a YoSD Tinatsu (also called Chinatsu, but I'll be using the former since it's what appears on her paperwork). While I debated buying her, she sold.  But a few short days later another Tinatsu was listed, this one at 3000¥ less because her eyes had been swapped and were no longer the default brown.  Since I can't resist a good deal, I decided to add her to my cart.

Unlike some of their larger dolls, there are no standard dolls in the Yo-SD size (26.5cm), so all of the releases have been limited run for the various Dolpas ("doll parties") and other events.

A Good-Bye to a House (with Lumedoll Atik)

If you ever scroll far enough back to my first few posts on this blog, most of the photos in those posts are of BJDs in the garden in my house in Burlington, Ontario.  It's been five years since I've lived there (it was rented out while I was living in the US), but this past summer we decided to sell the house.  As of yesterday, the house is now in the hands of its new owners. 

The week before closing I took my Lumedoll Atik along and shot a few final doll photos. I wish I could have photographed him from a few other angles, but unfortunately his faceup was damaged during our relocation up from Houston. The weather is too damp to redo his faceup right now, so he'll have a "good side" until the summer.

These photos aren't as good as the older ones as I was using my phone (if you'd like to see some of the older photos, check out Dolls in the Snow or Dolls in Springtime) but I wanted to commemorate the event regardless.


As I was outside, snow started to fall, which added to the mood.

DC Super Hero Girls Roller Derby Bumblebee

Being opened today is a playline doll from the Roller Derby release of the DC Superhero Girls by Mattel. This doll is the last of the three toys that I picked up at the Samko/Miko warehouse sale in Richmond Hill, ON last month.

I've talked about the action figure versions of the DC Superhero Girls before, but this is my first time picking up one of the fashion doll-type releases.  While the action figures are more in-line with my general tastes, the dolls do have a charm that I think can cross over between both fans of the figures and fans of playline fashion dolls.

The gimmick of the Roller Derby Roller Derby release is that each doll comes with a pair of rollerskates, a helmet, and a sportier version of their standard outfit.  In Bumbee's case this included moulded bright yellow socks, which limits the versatility of the doll but does mean that the socks won't droop with play (which does tend to be an issue with playline - and even some collector - dolls).

Random Toy of the Day: WellieWishers MegaConstrux Kendall

It's been a complicated summer, which is why I've been away. I'll probably post details in my annual wrap-up at the end of the year, but in the meantime let's get back into the toy chest!

I'm staying in Toronto at the moment, and I recently visited the Samko/Miko toy and children's book discount warehouse that's north of the city.  While I was primarily there to pick up books as gifts for friends, I did pick up a three toys for review.  The first of the three is an American Girl WellieWishers mini block figure from Mega Construx (a version of Mega Blox).

These figures normally retail for around $8CDN, but at the warehouse they were on for $2CDN.  So of course I had to bring one home!  I was tempted to pick up Ashlyn (since that's the full size doll I own), but I wasn't a fan of the way her long hair translated to the block format. So instead I brought home Kendall.

Let's take a closer look!

A Visit to American Girl Place New York City

Back in November, we took my niece on a trip to New York City to celebrate her 13th birthday.  While we were there, I had a chance to pop into AG Place NYC (which is in a new location while the original is under construction).  I thought I'd share some of my photos from that visit.

The historical line, including archived dolls.

Out of the Box: Disney Couture De Force 20th Anniversary Esmerelda Hunchback Notre Dame

While I've never been a big Disney collector, so many of my friends are (both real life friends and online doll/figure collectors) that occasionally I get swept up in their enthusiasm.  One recent case of this was the number of people I've seen collecting the Couture De Force resin figurines, which led to me picking up their Esmerelda figure, which was released to mark the 20th Anniversary of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 2016.

I've always thought that Hunchback was such an odd candidate for a Disney adaptation, and so even though it wasn't a completely successful movie I've always had a soft spot for it.  Perhaps it's because it was so oddly-themed that there's relatively little merchandise out there for it (I've long said that I'd love to buy a villain-themed snow globe that plays the Hellfire song).  Seeing this pop up, I decided to give it a try.

This figurine, in line with most of the Couture De Force line is 8 inchces/20cm in height.  The retail prices on the various figures in the line range between $44 and $90 USD, and Esmerelda landed right in the middle at $66USD.  The marketing promises that "faux gems, encrusted crystals and opalescent paint bring each sculpture to life".

Out of the Box: Cabbage Patch Kids "Taylor Audrey"

A few months ago I'd been thinking that I was wishing I'd brought one of my old (mid-1980s) Cabbage Patch Kids dolls back home with me after my last visit to my mother's place.  In a fit of nostalgia, I discovered the wide variety of sizes, constructions, and styles of new CPK that are now available.

A few casual searches later, and I found a listing for a "cowgirl" variation on sale. While the store listed her as being short-haired and dark-skinned, the doll that I received turned out to have long hair and the medium skin colour.  While someone looking for a look-a-like doll for a child would probably have been disappointed, that was ultimately a neutral for me since my main goal was just to see what one of these new P'tits Bouts De Choux (sorry, the Canadian in me couldn't help it) would be like.

Incidentally, while this doll has fibre rather than yarn hair, the original style yarn-haired dolls are still available. They seem to be about twice the price though!

2017 in Review

Happy New Year! It might be a little late for that, but since it's still January I feel like I can still sneak it in.😉

I'd gotten out of the habit of blogging regularly last year, but I'm hoping to get back into the routine of posting at least twice a month for 2018.  I'm already getting off to a slow start since the month is already half over, but hey - better late than never, right?

As with 2016, I'd planned to spend 2017 streamlining my collection. And while I did buy fewer dolls and figures overall, I also only sold three dolls (and zero action figures) over the course of the entire year (down from the 18 figures and three dolls that I sold in 2016).  But enough about the numbers, let's take a look at the toys who entered and exited over the year!

Photos after the cut:

Better Late Than Never: Made To Move Barbie

The soccer player waves hello.

Before I get to the dolls, I thought I'd let you know that my house stayed dry during Hurricane Harvey. I was out of the country (my five day trip to visit family in Belgium ended up doubly extended), but my husband and the dog were in town - one of our cars was flooded, but other than that we were lucky.

And now on to the dolls!

It's been almost two years since people started reviewing the then-new Made to Move multi-jointed Barbies. At the time I'd been planning to pick one up at some point, but I'd never thought it would take quite as long as this!

But last week I found the "Soccer Player" edition on clearance, and since I can't resist a bargain I decided to bring the doll home.

A quick look at Granado's Vinyl VINDOLL Udell

Granado's Udell

It's been a while since my last post: we've moved house, gone on a family holiday to the UK and Ireland, and I'm off to another family event in Belgium next week. And in between I've been organizing and selling off some of my doll collection.

But in between all of that there was one new arrival: Granado's Udell, the first doll in their new vinyl VINDOLL line. Granado has been putting out lovely large resin dolls for a number of years now, and this new line is an vinyl interpretation of one of their existing resin lines (the 70cm line).  Being vinyl, they're a third of the weight and half the price, which is nice.

I'll be attempting to do a more thorough look at the posing of the line (once I have some extra free time - and once I figure out where the best light is in this new house), but until I get to that I thought I'd share the unboxing of this guy.

Not for the sensitive: there's one photo of an unclothed anatomically correct doll beneath the cut.

On the Move Again

It's been quiet around here, primarily because I'm about to move house again. We're staying in the same region this time, so while there's less stress than our last couple of moves we're also doing this one ourselves (versus having a corporate-sponsored moving team helping out).

So I probably won't be around for a few more weeks, but I did want to say hello to you all!

The playline dolls are preparing for the move.

Diya in the Garden

Last summer I unboxed Carpatina Diya, then the newest doll from Carpatina's slim 18" doll line. Since I'd opened her on a rainy day and then was away from home for nearly 4 months, I never got around to taking some proper outdoor photos of her.  So today I decided to remedy that!

Retro Week: Random Toys of the 80s

I just got back from a weekend in Toronto, so it's time for another retro week post!

Does anyone remember what these toys were called?
They have articulated arms that move up and down
when a button on their base is pressed.
Thanks to an anonymous commenter we have an answer: He's a Hub-Bub! 

Tween Scene Dolls On Clearance

Just a quick post to let the US-based readers know that the Tween Scene dolls seem to be on clearance in some markets. At my local store they were reduced to $11 - 66% off the original price!

Lena

Valencia.

Prettie Girls Tween Scene Outfit Sets: Rockstar Rage

Back in late August I took some photos of one of the Prettie Girls outfit sets. The lighting was less than ideal so I didn't post them at the time, but I've since noticed that there aren't many reviews of these floating around, so I thought there might be some worth to putting them up regardless of the photo quality.

The particular outfit that I picked up is called "Rockstar Rage". It includes 6 pieces: a t-shirt, dress, pair of socks and pair of shoes. The dress is faux leather, the top has a shiny pink body with leopard print sleeves, and the socks are camoflage.  The shoes are pink converse-style and made of the same soft plastic as the doll's default footwear.

The clothing quality is in-line with the default outfits that the dolls arrive in and fits the doll (in this case, Dhara) well.

But enough talk, let's look at some photos!

2016 in Review

January already! Even allowing that I was away from home for three months at the end of the year, I still can't believe how quickly 2016 seems to have flown by!

Since we're now into the first week of 2017, it seemed like a good time to look back on the dolls and figures that entered and exited the posse.

The biggest group of arrivals came over the summer, when I went on a bit of a playline-size buying frenzy:

Ellowyne Wilde Cinnamon, Capratina Diya, Wellie Wishers Aslyn,
H4H Surjan (the lone older purchase), Corelle Cecile, and Las Amigas Carol

The Canadian Tire Wow Catalogue's Toy Section

It's been ages since I've posted now - I'm still staying with my mother as she's recovering from surgery (and thanks to everyone who sent her well-wishes! :)) - I did manage to fit in a holiday in during November (which will soon be highlighted over on Project Evil Bunny), but instead of going home, I cam back to Toronto. And since I'm here, I thought it might be fun to share the toy pages from the annual Canadian Tire Wow Catalogue (90% of which isn't toys, so just a few photos here).  So here they are!

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