Repeat offense

Doll collecting has few set rules; it's often up to us to make our own rules...and then break 'em as well!  So it is with me.  One of my rules is to buy the doll first, see what clothes fit her, and then hunt up clothes that will work.  Go figure; it's just a hangup that I have.  I'm just not a huge fan of spending money on an outfit and then being unable to find a doll that can wear it.  That's the situation I found myself in the LAST time I broke that rule.  You may recall from a post last November that I purchased a B.F.C. Ink outfit without ever having seen one of the dolls in person.  I thought it might fit my old Crissy, but it didn't.  So now I have an outfit that's been lying around my room for almost a year, and still no B.F.C. Ink doll to wear it.  The folks at the local Goodwill stores have gotten to know me quite well, though.

So after that incident I swore I'd never buy another outfit before getting the doll first.  Now, fast-forward to August eighth.  I've done it again.

My odds of finding a doll for this dress are far better this time around, because this dress is for a Novi Stars doll.  It's the blue dress that the packaging refers to as a "galactic gown."  Hmmm...I thought ballgowns were long???  Oh well, doesn't really matter.  It's a cute dress, regardless of the length.  Anyway, I've spoken of the Novi Stars in past blogs and I think they are extremely cute.  Originally there were four characters, and my favorite was Una Verse.  However, the fact that she had no leg joints was off-putting (Stardolls are/were that way, and the lack of leg joints made them virtually impossible to play with).  The Toy Box Philosopher made another interesting observation when she reviewed Alie Lectric; she initially considered Una as well but dismissed her, citing the possibilities that the water in Una's body could either dry up over time or find a way to leak out.  I wasn't overly impressed with the rest of the dolls, but I knew that new Monster High wave often introduced new characters, and we ALL know the fierce competition between Mattel and MGA Entertainment, so I decided to wait and see what MGA would do with the Novi Stars.

The wait was well worth it.  The first Novi that I really fell for was Sila Clops.  This is her; her eye lights up and she sports a wig.

Online response to Sila was mixed; some loved her, and some dismissed her as "ugly" or "creepy."  They also weren't huge fans of her darker color, which I personally like (I think it sets her apart).  I also like the fact that she's glittery, but in a different way from other sparkly dolls.  Some dolls have the glitter painted or glued onto them, but Sila appears to have glitter directly molded into her plastic.  The glitter gives her a rough feel, but I could live with that.  Since she's the first doll in the line that I truly loved, I may come back to her.  Una is cute, but I didn't see her and think "OMG, she's so awesome!  I've gotta have her!"

As much as I like Sila, I haven't bought her.  I may eventually, but right now my eyes have been too dazzled by the Novis that waiting in the wings.  Thanks to them, it looks to be a very interesting fall.  There's the Invasion pair, Ina Ferna and Anne Arctic.  Ina's hair lights up, and Anne's legs are filled with water and "snow," similar to Una Verse's gimmick.

There's these hair play dolls, dubbed Curl and Coil dolls.  Their individual names are Roe Botik and Tily Vison.

The prototypes of these Curl and Coil dolls were super cool, by the way.  These are nice, but the prototypes were even BETTER!!!  They had joints.  

And lastly, there are the Super Novas.  These are my favorites.  These girls are named Vera Tabray and Mimi Merize.  Vera's wings flap and Mimi's eyes spin.

Odds are that the doll I choose will be one of these.  Vera has glorious silver eyes, and Mimi is eye-candy for this hippie at heart.  Mimi also has a slightly creepy vibe about her...check out this picture if you don't believe me.  I have a special fondness for dolls on the creepy side, especially those that aren't intended to be creepy in the first place!  Lastly, in some pictures Mimi appears to be wigged; Vera may be as well.  If these dolls are wigged then that's a great feature.  No extra wigs are available for Novi Stars right now, but a little girl who has Sila Clops or Mae Tallick (both of whom are wigged) can swap the hair around to get different looks.  We'll see how that little idea flies.

I'm not sure when these newest dolls will hit the shelves; Flickr already has some owner pics, so I know that they're already available in some places.  However, I live in an area that could be considered a "dolly dead zone."  Abbey Bominable and C.A. Cupid didn't start showing up in the local Wal-Marts until a year after they were released, so I guess patience is a virtue here.  I'm going to behave myself and wait until these dolls pop up in stores, then I'll examine them in person and make a final decision.  In the meantime, I'll get those other two outfits!

Now, my usual end-of-blog subject change.  I got my eyes zapped on August second, developed complications on August third, then got them fixed and got a clean bill of health on August fourth.  The experience itself was terrifying (I spent much of the time reciting the Hail Mary), the immediate aftermath was painful and somewhat messy (my cheeks looked like Niagara Falls, my eyes watered so much), and the recovery has been interesting.  The overall ordeal required three 234-mile round-trips to and from Marion, Illinois.  I still am not 100% healed; everything I look at has a hazy halo around it, and I still can't see the stars clearly when I look up at night.  BUT...I can see the stars without my glasses!  And I can read the road signs without having to squint!  And I don't have to worry about my dog slobbering all over my glasses!  And...I could go on forever.  Bottom line, I'm extremely pleased with the results so far, and I'm also pleased with the service I got.  The doctor was so intent on giving me the best possible results that he came to the office on a Sunday (the clinic is usually closed Sundays).  One of the techs even held my hand during the procedure; yes, I'm that big of a pansy!!!  That was BEFORE I started praying aloud so she must've just known I was nervous.  Either way, I thought it was very kind of her.

I have a review in the wings.  Stay tuned!

Yours somewhat-blindly,

RagingMoon1987