Another post regarding the Bratzillaz

On a couple of past posts I've noted similarities between Mattel's Monster High dolls and MGA Entertainment's Bratzillaz dolls.  Both times I've noted that one seems to be copying the other...and this latest product has me convinced that MGA is desperate for ideas.

This is Vampelina, and she's a new character that may be released with the Magic Night Out series.  I say may because I've only seen publicity pics, and no photos of actual products.  Sometimes the product gets made for publicity pics but never gets released, like B.F.C. Ink Lily.  But that's not the point.  All of the original Bratzillaz characters are witches, right?  Vampelina is quite obviously A VAMPIRE!!!  Hmmm...where have I seen a school-aged vampire before?  Who was it?  Oh yes...it was DRACULAURA!!!  I mean sure, Vampelina isn't pink like Draculaura is; in fact, the two couldn't look more different!  Vampelina's coloring is more like Abbey Bominable's than Draculaura's, and she's nowhere near as innocent looking as Draculaura.  But for heaven's sake, I thought the Bratzillaz were solely witches!  That was the one thing that I felt distinguished Monster High from Bratzillaz (to my knowledge there are no witches at Monster High).  

And if that weren't enough, check THIS out!

The picture speaks for itself here.  Fianna appears to be a mermaid or something of that sort.  That idea looks hauntingly familiar...where have I seen that before?  Oh yes, I have her in my collection right now...it's Lagoona Blue!  Like Vampelina, Fianna is not in stores yet.  According to bratzillazdolls.com, where I got this image, our fishy friend is to be in stores around Christmas.  She is part of the Midnight Beach line, which I talked about in my blog about Meygana's new clothes, so that probably means she'll glow in the dark.  Lagoona Blue definitely can't do that, but it's still a pretty close resemblance!

Please do not get me wrong, I like both Monster High and Bratzillaz.  I flat-out love them, in fact; it's nice to have an alternative to overly-pink Barbie and the Disney Princesses who live in their sparkly fairytale lands.  It's just the principle of the thing; MGA Entertainment has the Bratz and the Lalaloopsies, and both of them have made a fair amount of money for the company.  Maybe MGA is more desperate than I thought.  Maybe the discontinuation of Moxie Teenz and B.F.C. Ink was a bigger loss for them than I am aware of.  Or maybe MGA is just still mad at Mattel for that lawsuit and wants to steal their audience away!  Either way it's going to be fun to watch.  At least neither Draculaura or Vampelina sparkle like that idiot Edward Cullen.  I hate Twilight.  

I would elaborate on this further, but it's starting to thunder where I am!  My computer is not on a surge protector and I don't want it to fry, so I'm saying good night.

Happy second night of Hanukkah!

RagingMoon1987

Just some random updates

I have nothing really pressing to discuss, I just thought it would do to give you, my dear followers, a what's up.  I have eight followers now and I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me here.  Your comments and your input have made things very interesting and enjoyable, and I am grateful to have you aboard.

Okay, first update.  I had my dentist's appointment today.  I can't remember whether I told you or not, but I had a tooth going south on me and causing me some mild pain.  Nothing earth-shattering, but enough to concern me.  So I went to the dentist today, but instead of doctoring the tooth that I THOUGHT was the source of my problems, he discovered a cavity in another tooth!  It turns out that the cavity tooth was probably the source of the pain, and given the fact that it would need to be looked at in the future anyway I had it filled right then and there.  The procedure was arguably the best one I've had with regards to dentists' visits; I didn't even feel the shot!  I usually do but I didn't this time.  So now I've got a fresh filling that I need to be careful with for a day or so.  No biggie, really.  We'll see if that was what was causing my pain; if that was it, then no problem!

Secondly, my final grades from accounting class are in.  I got a full 100 on one test, and an 83 on the final.  That lifted my grade from a 71 to a 75, so I'm on cloud nine right now.  I worked hard and prayed hard for that C, and I got it.  Glory be to God, and to my family and friends for praying for me and keeping me in their thoughts.  Oh yeah, and I also studied really hard.  LOL

Thirdly (and this IS doll related), my law final is this Sunday.  After I get that sucker done, I'm going straight to Super Wal-Mart and snagging a C.A. Cupid.  Cupid was released earlier this year (or last year, can't remember which), but I never saw her at the local Wal-Mart.  I figured, oh well all the others got what few Cupids there were, so I'll just have to suck it up and go home.  Then, lo and behold our local stores are full of Cupid.  Or they were the last time I was there...I hope they still are, because I WANT THAT CUPID!!!

Lastly, and most importantly, tomorrow night is the first night of Hanukkah.  I am a Christian, but I love the Jewish people dearly.  Thus, I would like to wish any Jewish/Israeli followers I have, or any who might read this, a very happy Hanukkah.  May this time of the year be a blessed, safe, and enjoyable one for you and your people.  God bless y'all.

Tender love to all,
RagingMoon1987

Meygana's new clothes, plus some other odds and ends

Finally...at long last, I'm getting around to discussing Meygana's new outfit.  Remember a few posts back when I promised you a review of it?  Yeah, I didn't forget.  The past couple of weeks have been nuts (again) but I'm finally getting around to actually picking apart something I own, taking pictures, discussing all the good things...and the bad things.  This particular post won't consist entirely of stock pictures, though there WILL be a couple...there's been a new development that relates indirectly to Meygana and directly to the Bratzillaz in general.  There's also the subject of finals, but more on that in a bit.

Now to the point.  As I mentioned in a prior blog post, each Bratzillaz character has their own customized outfit and accessory set.  I mentioned liking Cloetta's clothes the best, but since I have Meygana I bought her particular outfit and accessories first.  Here's what she looks like in the full outfit:

What you're seeing is a combination of the main outfit and the accessory pack.  The main outfit looks like this.

Like Meygana's stock outfit, this wouldn't have flown at my high school.

The dress is a two-piece set in different shades of blue.  The top part is made of a satiny aquamarine fabric that compliments Meygana's fiery hair beautifully.  It has three silver "buttons" down the front and a sky blue bow at the top.

The skirt has two layers.  One layer is black and blue tulle with some glitter painted on, and the lower layer is made of this stiff sky blue stuff.  It has a canvas-like texture that I'm not in love with; when it comes to dolls canvas is usually reserved for small childrens' toys.  Like the top layer, the blue layer has a light sprinkling of glitter.  Not too much, just enough to catch one's eye.

The skirt also has sewn-in underwear.  I must say that this is a massive improvement over the older Bratz clothes, which left the dolls au naturel underneath.

Along with the top and skirt comes a blue cropped jacket and a matching hat.  Both the hat and the jacket look like either denim or faux denim.  The jacket is nicely hemmed.

This fabric has no stretch at all, but the sleeves have Velcro closures at the cuffs.  This helps those skinny sleeves fit over Meygana's huge hands.  A huge help it is, too!

I can remember a time when MGA used real denim in their products, but I can't tell if this is real denim or not.  It feels substantial enough that it could be, but just thin enough that it might not be.

Now let's take a gander at that hat.

It's trimmed with sky blue ribbon, which helps tie the whole outfit together.  There's also something pretty critical that's MISSING!!!  Can't tell from that pic?  We'll come back to that.

Finishing off the outfit are a plastic purse:

Plastic boots, typical of the Bratzillaz:

And a matching "outfit" for Wingzy:

It's the same denim-and-ribbon combo as Meygana's hat.  It looks pretty good on him.

Now to the add-ons.

There's a shawl, a backpack, a hat, and a pair of shoes.  Notice that this time the base color is green instead of the blue that was used on the main outfit.  Now I love green...it's my favorite color, in fact.  But does it really go with aquamarine and sky blue???

You be the judge.

I'm going to go through this piece by piece, as usual.  First, the shawl.  Or maybe it's a scarf.  I can't tell, really.  It doesn't really matter, either; the...OBJECT functions as either one.

Whatever it is, it's green and blue plaid with fringe at the ends.  The material is thin and stiff, and it doesn't really drape like either a scarf or a shawl.  It's covered in glitter, much more glitter than the dress has.  But it doesn't shed much...yet.

Now the hat.

It too is made of the glittery plaid material.  I don't mind the stiffness so much here since that helps the hat keep its shape.  The hat is decorated with the school crest and some navy blue ribbons, one of which is tied in a minuscule bow.  It also has THESE!!!

Those ribbons help keep the hat on Meygana's head!!!  Let's take a look at Meygana's other hats and compare.

None of these hats have any stretch to them, and even if they did it would be impossible to cram such a tiny hat onto Meygana's huge head...especially with that mass of hair!  So those ribbons are a tremendous aid in keeping the green hat in place.  Meygana's original hat has a thin elastic band which holds spectacularly well.  I worry about how well that elastic will hold up over time, but that's not a huge issue.  The blue hat has...nothing.  No ribbons, no elastic band, no clips, no Velcro, nothing.  This is, in my eyes, a huge oversight.  How on earth does MGA expect us to keep that hat on Meygana?  For it certainly doesn't stay very well by itself!

That definitely doesn't look right.

I wonder why MGA did that?  I would assume that they wouldn't just give us a hat that simply rests on the top of a doll's rather large head.  But they did.

Moving right along...the backpack.

It's large and made out of stiff black plastic.  Not hard plastic, just stiff; it does have some flexibility in it, just not a lot.  The backpack has some gold trim on the sides, and what appears to be a green and gold school crest.  Not the school colors, but green and gold.  Interesting choice.  Maybe MGA decided that putting the school crest on two different pieces was enough.

Lastly, the shoes.

They're not the boots one would expect for Bratzillaz, but rather a high-heeled wingtip or oxford.  Hmm...high-heeled oxfords?  That's something I've only heard of.  Anyway, they're green with blue toes and blue heels, helping tie the whole outfit together.  They're also of a softer material than Meygana's other two pairs of shoes.

So that gives Meygana two outfits and an accessory set to play around with.  That may not sound like much, but it has more options than you might think.  Heck, I wish I had that many options for some of my other dolls!  My copper-topped beauty can do quite a bit with those extra little pieces.  But that blue hat really bugs me, for some reason.  It probably shouldn't; the hat (and the whole outfit) is sturdy, after all.  And there were no missing pieces.  It just surprises me that MGA will do one thing for one outfit, and not for the other.  It really makes me wonder.

Poor little hat, it's too cute not to be worn!

Oh well, I suppose I can always find some ribbon of the correct color and sew it on.  I've always been good at such things.  I'll probably do that once I can find some ribbon in sky blue satin.

Now, on to other Bratzillaz news.  Remember when I said that I was probably going to only buy one doll?  Yeah...there may be a possible ixnay on that.  Check these out:

This is the line of new Bratzillaz; obviously this is a swimsuit set.  There are no new characters, just Cloeta, Jade, Meygana, Yasmina, and Sashabella.  Okay, admit it...how many of y'all are looking at these and asking "why on earth are they GREEN???"  Well...you can probably figure it out when you see other publicity pics of these dolls.  (I hate Sashabella's swimsuit, by the way...it looks more Jungle Girl than Beach Bunny)

Yep, you probably guessed it.  These dolls are glow-in-the-dark dolls.  Interesting choice for a gimmick; I haven't seen a glow-in-the-dark dolls since Mezco Toyz released Revenant (a Living Dead Doll, in case you are wondering).  And just between you, me, and the coconut tree, I had no idea Revenant existed until maybe eight months ago.  LOL

Anyways, MGA Entertainment is releasing a second line of Bratzillaz.  But wait!  Does anyone notice anything?  We have a horror theme and a swimsuit theme.  Where have I seen that before???  Oh yes...HERE!!!

These are two of my Monster High girls, first wave Gloom Beach Cleo and Clawdeen.  So far Mattel has had three swimsuit/beach-themed lines for Monster High, two Gloom Beach lines and one entitled "Skull Shores."  None of the Monster High beach dolls glow in the dark; indeed, I can't name any MH doll that DOES glow in the dark!  My black-and-white Skull Shores Frankie Stein appears to glow in certain lights, but it's just an optical illusion.  But that's way off the subject.  The new Bratzillaz are cute, and I'm probably going to want one (in spite of the terrible hair I'll probably stick it out with Meygana).  But it's looking more and more like MGA Entertainment is scrabbling for ideas.  First they released a jointed, wigged doll (Moxie Teenz) to compete with the LIV dolls.  Now there are these Bratzillaz, and they appear to be imitating the hugely successful Monster High dolls more and more!  I may take a severe verbal stoning from die-hard fans of the Bratzillaz saying that no, they're not imitations, that MGA would never do such a thing, but you can't convince me of that.  MGA must feel threatened.  Why else would there be so many similarities?  Backstories, individual personalities, pets, individual colors and appearances, a school theme, a horror theme, and now this swimsuit line?  Definitely sounds like MGA is hot and bothered and itching to compete.

Not that that upsets me, of course.  A little competition can be a very good thing, especially in the doll world.  The competing companies are kept on their toes, trying to come up with a cute new idea that will sell.  That allows for some really cool items...and some spectacular flops as well.  Both add to the fun of being a doll collector.

Regarding other dolly news, I've spotted the third line of La Dee Da dolls running around in stores.  So far there's been the first Dee (the New York-themed doll), a candy theme (Sweet Party), and a foreign lands theme (Runway Vacay).  I like all three lines; the New York Dee, Sweet Party Sloane, and Runway Vacay Tylie all have tempted me during past shopping trips.  But I never bought any of them and since I would really really REALLY like to stick to my one doll rule this time, I'm glad I didn't.  The newest line is SO CUTE!!!

This is the Garden Party line.  I had no idea they were being released, but they're already hitting store shelves; Poplar Bluff, Missouri's Super Wal-Mart has them.  I went there to find do-dads for my Cutie Pops doll, but I almost threw those down and walked away with Dee (the bumblebee second from left).  Frankly there isn't a doll in this particular line that I wouldn't have, so I may have to draw straws to determine who to pursue.  Or it may boil down to whatever I can find...these look like they're going to be popular.  But I can't help but pine for the La Dee Da dolls' predecessors.  Why, oh why couldn't a line of LIV dolls be produced with this theme?

Hey, it just occurred to me...do these new La Dee Da dolls have BENDABLE ARMS???  They certainly look like they do.  That will help fill the void the LIV dolls left...a little.

I do believe that's enough blogging for tonight.  Oh wait...I should probably tell you...I passed my accounting final!!!  With a big fat B, no less!  I'm hoping and praying that'll keep my C.  I aced the last two tests, but kinda sorta flunked the last quiz.  We'll SEE about that C!  Haha.

Happy St. Nick's Day,
RagingMoon1987

Time to gripe: Blonds Blond Barbie, Mattel's latest controversy

I'm going to be perfectly honest:  I have no idea what "The Blonds" is about, nor do I even know what it is.  I don't know if it's a television show like "Mad Men" or if it's a movie.  <hesitates to look it up so she won't look like a complete dunce>  Apparently it's an Argentinian movie about...hmm, the plotline is rather shoddily described on Wikipedia, and I'm in no mood to look up another more respectable site.  Do your own homework on this one.  LOL, can you tell I'm not in the best of moods right now?

Anyway, Mattel released a doll that is in the likeness of one of the characters.  Here she is:

Now, what do you see when you look at that???  Do you see a blonde doll in a sparkly dress and a fur coat?  Do you see a run-of-the-mill Barbie that's been a little more bimbo-ized than usual?  OR...do you see an object that glorifies animal cruelty and the wearing of fur?  If you answered yes to that third one, turn around and bend over so I can kick you around the block.

Yep, that's what some folks are saying.  Animal rights activists and the anti-fur lobbyists are all up in arms over this doll's fur coat.  Some are swearing up and down that the fur is real (never mind that they probably don't own this doll themselves), most are saying that this "glorifies animal cruelty," and some are even saying that this doll is telling children that it's okay to wear fur and abuse animals.  Check out some of the comments folks have been leaving on The Blonds' Facebook site; some of 'em are downright nasty!  Not all of the animal rights activists I know are up in arms about this doll; they are the ones who actually bother to use their heads.  But a lot of folks are and it's insane!

News flash, sheeple:  this doll is NOT for children!!!  She is intended for adult collectors, like me.  If you don't want to expose your kids to this, then DON'T BUY THE DOLL.  Show some common sense...oh wait, most animal rights activists have no common sense.  They've never even heard of it, probably.  Furthermore, Mattel doesn't normally use animal products in their wares, and they haven't in some years.  Oh sure, there was a time when Barbie and Ken probably wore real leather jackets or belts, but not anymore (thanks again to animal rights activists for that little hit in quality).  But I'm willing to bet that in this case the doll is wearing faux fur.  Some lobbyists will tell you that faux fur is real fur from dogs and cats, but I don't believe that nonsense either; I believe that's just another lie that the lobbyists made up to try and prove their point...and they have done that in the past.

But then again folks seem to like throwing darts at Barbie.  This is the fourth big controversy that I can name in the past two years.  In the summer of 2011 there was a campaign done by the idiots at Greenpeace, called the "Barbie, It's Over" movement.  Basically they took Ken hostage, claimed that he broke up with Babs because she destroyed rainforests in Borneo, and refused to get back with her until she stopped utilizing Indonesian lumber.  It prompted a huge protest and a boycott, and lo and behold Mattel actually stopped using Indonesian lumber!  Never mind that Indonesian lumberjacks are now out of a job.  Never mind that Ken was packaged in the same kind of box as Barbie.  Never mind that Barbie sales actually went up, thanks in part to devoted collectors like me who saw through Greedypeace's evil little agenda.  As long as tree-huggers have their ugly old orangutangs to fawn over, then never mind anything else.

Yep, Ken left Barbie for this.  What a looker!

Then in the fall there was Tokidoki Barbie.  This is her:

Tokidoki Barbie was a stunningly beautiful Steffie-faced doll with pink hair, a Japanese-inspired outfit, a cactus dog, and a full-sleeve tattoo that stretched across her chest and back.  She was a work of art...and thousands of mommies and daddies flipped the heck out.  I assumed that the source of controversy would be over the dog (his name is "Bastardino"), but no.  It was over that tattoo.  This surprised me since just about all parents are against swearing in front of children, but not all of them are against tattoos and body mods.  Heavens, one of the best mothers I know has a full sleeve tattoo, just like Tokidoki Barbie!  But the criticisms flew fast and furious anyway.  Barbie promotes risky lifestyles.  Barbie advocates deviant behavior.  Barbie encourages kids to get tattoos at an early age.  It was unbelievably stupid, and this did have some adverse effects, not for the company, but for collectors.  Tokidoki Barbie had been advertised for half a year before finally being released in October of 2011 (just in time for my twenty-fourth birthday).  And then, two days before she was to be released...BOOM!  All the flack hit and the doll sold out in two days.  Most of the dolls were snapped up by jack wagons who don't collect dolls at all; they just wanted to pay fifty dollars for a doll and then jack the price up on Ebay.  I saw some morons advertising their Tokidoki dolls for SIX HUNDRED BUCKS!!!  That's a pretty far cry from the fifty she originally was going for.  Meanwhile, hardcore collectors were left with nothing, and one of those collectors was me.  I set aside fifty dollars to buy and pay for that doll myself, and she sold out before I could get my hands on her.  No Tokidoki Barbie for Moony's twenty-fourth birthday.  I got the Japanese DOTW couple instead (and they're a great pair of dolls...I owe y'all a review on them).

Needless to say I was not eager to repeat the Tokidoki debacle with the next doll that I wanted from BarbieCollector.com.  As luck would have it, the next doll that I absolutely had to have was the Katniss Everdeen doll.  

My lovely Katniss.

I figured that since there hadn't been a big fuss over the last line of dolls based on books and movies (that being the Twilight line) that Katniss would not cause a huge fuss either.  WRONG!!!  Folks had a fit again, claiming that the doll glorified killing and violence and war, and it didn't help that the Katniss doll carries a bow and some arrows.  Uh, no...that couldn't be further from the truth.  If you read the books then you know that they DO NOT glorify killing; in fact, the books are downright grim and glory is about the last thing you think of when you read them.  Furthermore, the Katniss doll is not intended for children.  She, like Tokidoki Barbie and Blonds' Blond Barbie, are for adult collectors and shouldn't be allowed within a mile of destructive little kids.  And frankly, I originally thought that some of the Barbie-haters out there would be pleased with Katniss, since she's about as far a cry from uber-feminine Barbie as a doll can get and still be an appealing product.  But noooo, we have to have a stupid fuss anyway.  Ignore the positive, magnify the negative, vilify the whole thing.  At least this time I didn't miss out; the picture above is of my Katniss doll (apologies for recycling a pic from a prior post), and my review on Katniss can be found here.

Oh yes, there is another one I forgot!  Earlier this year a bunch of parents got a bee in their bonnets about a bald Barbie for kids with cancer.  Barbie's Facebook page got inundated with posts like this:

And this:

Name her Hope, and she ceases to be Barbie.  Sort of defeats the purpose.

In truth about 99% of the bleeding hearts who saw this DID repost this.  It quickly got to the point where I wasn't sure whether the page was about Barbie or about kids with cancer!  Some even went as far as to boycott Barbie until Mattel complied with their orders, which I think is ridiculous.  Mattel STILL hasn't complied, so there are some poor schmoes out there who are boycotting Barbie to this day.  Don't get me wrong, I support this idea.  I love it, in fact; I'd own one of these in a New York second if they were produced.  It just got extremely annoying...I'd jump on Barbie's page hoping to see pictures of other folks' beautiful dolls, and instead I got the images above.  Some folks were so obnoxious with their posts that I even reported them for spam!  I wanted to hunt up the people who started the movement, shake them, and scream "YOU are the parents!  It's YOUR job to build your children's self-esteem, not Barbie's!"  It was all too much.  

Frankly, as long as Barbie isn't too risque I'll always support her.  If I were to draw lines I'd draw them at Porn Star Barbie or Junkie Barbie (LOL, hopefully those will never come to be).   Blonds Blond Barbie is neither a junkie nor a porn star so I support her.  I don't find her particularly attractive; in fact she looks to me like a glammed-up version of Nancy Spungen.  Imagine Nancy, below, with permed hair, a diamond-studded dress, and a white fur coat, and you've got Blonds Blond Barbie.  <chuckles>  I can hear thousands of punk fans demanding my head on a silver platter for that analogy!  

No offense, Nancy!  No need to malign the dead!

It's just the principle of the thing.  Blonds Blond is a doll, meant for the pleasure and joy of collectors like me.  She does not glamorize animal cruelty.  She does not glamorize the wearing of fur.  She is not supposed to be a political symbol.  She is merely something rich and decadent, pimped out with all the luxuries of life.  And what says luxury more than FUR???  If being luxurious is a crime then ninety percent of modern day collectors' Barbies would be behind bars, with their diamonds and furs and gold and such.  If you are dim-witted enough to think that a Barbie doll would wear real fur, then YOUR LOSS!!!  Instead of protesting Barbie and insisting that she be pulled from shelves, stick to your normal modes of lunacy by stripping down naked and throwing red paint on the rich folks in Manhattan (which, by the way, can be considered vandalism).  You will be making your point that way...and I'll have my Blonds Blond Barbie.  Everybody wins.

Unfortunately Blonds Blond Barbie will probably be one that I'll never have.  She costs $125, which is pretty steep for a doll, especially one the size of Barbie.  I DO have that money, but as I've said before that money is probably going to pay for schoolbooks...or for that infernal dental exam that I have to have this coming Friday.  So Blondie may get away from me...but I still support her and Mattel and will continue to do so.  Oh, and if she does get to come home with me, you know the drill.  I just hope she's as awesome in real life as she is in her publicity pics; Mattel sometimes likes to fool around with images of their items to make them more appealing.

Check out those eyelashes!!!

As a final note, I'd like to point out that not all animal rights activists, vegans, and PETA-pushers are dumb enough to boycott this Barbie.  In fact, some of them actually like Blonds Blond Barbie.  A vegan friend of mine recently mentioned a desire for this doll, and was shocked when I told her of the controversy.  When I told her why, she said "it's just fake fur."  Well said.

Courage!

RagingMoon1987

UPDATE:  According to a couple of my collector friends who somehow have already obtained this doll, the dress is plastic and snaps on and off!  How chintzy can a toy company get???  Especially since she's supposed to be so luxurious!  <sigh>

A couple of follow-ups

For the first time in thirteen years, I have set foot in a Toys R Us.  Today was my sister's induction ceremony into an honor society (she got into Omicron Delta Kappa), and after that we ate out and gadded about.  I reminded my mother of the B.F.C. Ink predicament that I am in, and the possibility that TRU might have some dolls on clearance there.  The manager of the store in Cape Girardeau happens to be a dear friend of my sister's, so that was an added incentive to go.

As it turned out, TRU was out of B.F.C. Ink dolls and had been for sometime.  Discouraged by this news, I went off to see what I could find, and I ended up coming away with this:

Remember when I said that Moxie Teenz clothing and accessories are hard to come by?  Well, I finally found a place that has the stuff I so desperately crave.  This is a Moxie Teenz wig, quite obviously.  It is the very wig that I have been wanting for a long time (remember that I'm a sap for unusually colored hair).  It is a pink chin-length bob, and it comes with its own mannequin.  And unsurprisingly, it has a flaw.  Check this out!

This is how the wig looks after being smooshed in its package for God knows how long.  The hair gaps open at the part and reveals the plastic wig cap underneath.  This wig cap is clear and thus shows whatever color is beneath it, be it the white of the mannequin or the black of Tristen's painted head.  It wasn't hard to extract from said packaging, but getting it to look halfway decent is another story entirely.  It looks great from the front.

But from the back, not so much.

Like I said above, this is a side effect of the packaging and not an error or a poor root job.  I am hoping that with some time and TLC the hair will relax and cover the rest of the wig cap...and Tristen's head.  Tristen, however, is not griping.  She's pretty pleased to have a break from the same-old, same-old that her black stock wig was giving her.  And finding any wig at all has been a real chore for me so I too am pleased.  Plus, it matches both Tristen's stock outfit and her pink nightie quite well.

In addition to the pink wig I saw this wig, this wig, this outfit set, and a jewelry set.  But best of all was Gavin.  I finally saw him today, for the first time since his release!  He's very attractive, almost like a grown-up version of LIV's Jake.  Yes, I do believe I've FINALLY found a place where I can get things for my Tristen.  Hopefully I can get back there before all the other stuff is sold out.

Now, an update on my blog entry regarding Lala-Oopsy dolls.  I saw two of them at TRU today; Princess Nutmeg and Princess Anise were both there, and they were both cute.  I did not think to photograph these unusual creatures for posterity, but I did get a good look at Princess Nutmeg through the box.  Here's what they look like in the box (please note that this is NOT the doll I saw at TRU; photo credit goes to lalaloopsydollhouse.com):

Notice that Lala-Oopsies are billed as having a "soft, squishy head and bendy legs."  If you own a Lalaloopsy doll then you know that these dolls have very hard, very heavy heads.  Heck, I've even biffed myself in the face with Blossom (due to klutziness on my own part), so the soft head of the Lala-Oopsy sounds like a good idea.  Or does it???  Since I didn't buy Princess Nutmeg I can't give you a detailed review of her head (or her bendy legs), but her head looked suspiciously like FOAM!!!  The appearance reminded me of some of the old balls Nerf used to sell.  Nerf called the balls "Poof" balls (chuckle), and I had several during my childhood.  They were soft foam rubber and covered with a layer of latex paint, like this:

You see how that looks?  Lala-Oopsy heads look just like that, sort of shiny but sort of matte at the same time.  This is significant because if that paint peels even a little bit (and it will during the span of play), kids will pick at it and create big unpainted patches with just sponge rubber showing through.  Once again, I know this from personal experience; my sister ruined every Poof ball I owned during my growing up, to the point that I stopped asking for them.  If a Lala-Oopsy head is made out of the same material as a Poof ball, then what's to stop a nosy little child (like my sister) from peeling the paint off?  If this happens then voila!  You paid thirty bucks for a doll for your child and now it has a featureless head.  Or no head at all; another of my sister's favorite things to do with my Poof balls was to pinch small plugs of foam out of the ball.  The last one I had looked like Swiss cheese before we declared it a loss (the family dog also helped that one along).  I could be wrong; I wasn't able to directly examine Princess Nutmeg's head through all that plastic, but this will definitely be something interesting to see.  If the Lala-Oopsy dolls have foam heads then I can't see them becoming a hit...and that makes me want one all the more!  Today's flops may become tomorrow's collectors' items!

Speaking of flops, sweeping change of subject.  The entire time that I was scouring the shelves looking for bargains, discounts, and rare finds, my sister and her boyfriend were talking with the manager of the store.  Remember back at the beginning when I said that Manager and Sister are friends?  Apparently they are pretty close, because Manager promised to hold back any B.F.C. Ink dolls that she might come across...AND she said she might let me have one free of charge!  As an added bonus, she also told my sister that I'm not the only one who has come into TRU searching for B.F.C. Ink dolls.  Apparently their discontinuation made them popular with collectors, so now I feel less like a complete dolt for having waited.  I only feel like a partial dolt.  LOL

Whatever happens, I'll keep you posted.

Tristen says bye-bye!

Cordially yours,

RagingMoon1987

I wanna new look...and I got it!

This blog entry will be short, sweet, and to the point.  I've done a mass re-hashing of the blog's overall image.  Basically I thought that the old style was a little too...well, I thought it was too generic.  It was also a little too cutesy for my taste, so I darkened it all down a bit.  The green font that I had been using got a little painful on my eyes, and I'm willing to bet that some of my readers feel the same way, so that's been changed.  No more blinding acid-green, except for the title of the blog.  I may also change the title of the blog, so be prepared for that as well.  I just need something that will fit the topic of the blog.  Originally there were to be multiple topics, namely dolls, freight trains, and sundry other items that I can't get enough of, but the dolls took over.  And frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.  So I'm probably going to change the name, as soon as I can think of something a bit more creative.

Also, this week is Finals Week for both my sister and me.  Sister has A's and B's in everything, which is hardly a shock, but I'm hoping and praying she can hold on for one more week.  As for me, I'm barely holding on to a C in accounting, and I have a solid A in law.  The law final shouldn't be hard, but the accounting I'm freaking out over.  That class has been a difficult one from the start, and I humbly ask for your prayers and best wishes on both of our behalf.  Oh yes, I also have a tooth that's chosen now to go south on me.  My dentist's appointment is one week from today.  I despise visiting the dentist.

If any of y'all reading this are or know any college students, I wish you all the best in your final studies as well.  Cheerio!

Yours truly,

RagingMoon1987

The search for B.F.C. Ink dolls

I have to ask:  what comes first, the doll, or the outfit for the doll?  Do you by a doll first and then a ton of cute little outfits, or do you buy the clothes first in anticipation of bringing home a new arrival?  For me, the answer is usually the former; I buy the doll first and then spend the next few weeks, months, and years scouting out clothes and accessories.  In fact, I'm racking my brain to recall any times when the opposite was true, and I'm drawing a complete blank.  That means that last night was the first time I bought a dolly outfit without buying the doll beforehand.

In short, I have this:

This is an outfit for an 18-inch B.F.C. Ink doll.  It consists of a blue top, a pair of shorts, some yellow flats, and a purse.  Now you may be saying "no biggie, it's a cute outfit but that's all."  Except that I bought this outfit without even seeing a B.F.C. Ink doll in person!

The B.F.C. (or Best Friends Club) Ink dolls were a group of dolls that MGA Entertainment had out; they came in ten and eighteen-inch models.  There were several different races and personalities in the mix, and there was even a boy.  The big ones were kind of like giant LIV dolls without the awesome wigs; they had joints and inset eyes.  They were cute dolls...and MGA has pulled the plug on them!  In fact, they probably did so back in the spring; Miss Emily's review of her B.F.C doll was in early April, and she mentioned the difficulty then of finding any B.F.C. Ink dolls in stores.  She eventually had to order one online.  Fast forward to last night, when I went to one of the local Wal-Marts and found this outfit in clearance for seven bucks.  My hopes were high that Wal-Mart might have just ONE more doll, but the sales rep politely told me that no, they didn't and hadn't since July.  MGA's cancellation of the B.F.C. line apparently was swift and final; as of writing the Moxie Teenz still have their website (remember that MGA has pulled the plug on them as well).  Type in the URL for the B.F.C. dolls however, and you get a redirect site.  One can't help but wonder why MGA abandoned the line so quickly.  Maybe B.F.C. wasn't producing the horde that Bratz and Lalaloopsy dolls have.  Hey, as rich as those two lines have made MGA Entertainment one can afford a flop or two!

So why do I bother now, you ask?  Well...I have Miss Emily to thank for this, of course.  Sort of.  Some of it is my own doing (LOL).  I had never even heard of these dolls until I saw her review of B.F.C. Ink Britt, from the Pen Pal line.  Britt is a cute doll but didn't quite make the cut in Miss Emily's eyes.  Her word is very trustworthy so I decided not to pursue any of the dolls.  Then I saw Yuko.

This is a stock photo of Yuko.  She popped up in a search on Amazon for...I forget what I was looking for at the time.  Oh yes, it was Karito Kids, yet another doll that Miss Emily reviewed.  She has Ling and Ling is a gorgeous doll.  I love Oriental dolls and thus embarked on a search for Ling.  She turned out to be way out of my price range, but Yuko also appeared in the search and she IS in my price range.  The B.F.C. dolls do have some qualities that Karito Kids (and most other dolls currently on market) do not; they are jointed all over.  Miss Emily's doll Britt has fourteen joints, for example.  Also, the eyes are inset.  They aren't glass like Moxie Teenz, LIV, or Bratzillaz eyes, but they ARE inset.  Plus, Yuko is Oriental.  All that together sets the deal for me.

So that's why I bought that outfit, in preparation for the possibility of adding a Yuko doll to my collection.  Well, that and the fact that the outfit was on clearance for seven bucks.  I love a good clearance item, especially if it's like this.  I am fully aware that finding any B.F.C. Ink doll is going to be a challenge, and finding a particular character like Yuko is going to be even more tricky.  Does it absolutely have to be Yuko???  Heck to the no, I'd be happy with any of the other 18-inch characters like Gianna, Noelle, or Aleisha.  Or even Britt; beggars can't be choosers, after all.  The only requirement here is the type of doll.  It absolutely has to be an 18-inch B.F.C. Ink doll (the only exception I'll make is C.J., because he's a boy and would thus look ridiculous in the outfit).  These outfits will not work on any other doll, or at least, not the ones I have.  American Girls are out of the question; they're the same height as B.F.C. dolls, but their stuffed bodies are much MUCH thicker, something which has a lot of the folks on Amazon irked (never mind that they don't bother to read the product description).  One doll that I personally own looked like a possible candidate.  This is Ideal's Look Around Crissy, a relic from 1972.

Found her at a thrift shop for ten bucks.

Crissy is taller than a B.F.C. Ink doll, but short shorts were becoming popular in the 1970's so I was willing to take a shot.  Plus, it's getting cold and Crissy needs some shoes on those poor little feet!!!  Haha, anyway my particular Crissy has two things sticking out of her back, which had me concerned about the fit of the top.

The round knob is supposed to make Crissy's hair grow (this mechanism doesn't work with my doll) and the butterfly is a pull-string to activate a twisting "look around" motion (this does work and scared the bejesus out of my sister).  I was still cautiously optimistic in spite of these gimmicks, and as it turned out the top fit.

I did have a little trouble fitting it over those knobs, but it fits.  

The shoes were another story.

Too big, but this didn't surprise me too terribly since the shoes are ill-fitting on some B.F.C. dolls

Here is the real test.

As long-legged as Crissy is these would definitely look like Daisy Dukes.  But the length of the shorts proved to be the least of my problems.

That's a spirit-breaker

Too small, so sad!  In truth the whole outfit is too small, except for the too-large shoes.  The shorts are obviously way too tight, and the shirt fits but it too is tight, especially across the chest.  Oh well, the outfit didn't really suit Crissy's personality anyway.  Crissy's long hair suggests a hippie theme or something like that, and this is certainly not hippie!  It also highlights Crissy's large head and comparatively small body, something that her old dress hides.

Here it is on her.  Doesn't really suit her.  

Seeing that top on Crissy does give me an idea, though.  It would look adorable with some love beads and a handmade bracelet.  The dolls that this outfit is intended for are modeled to resemble young girls, and what girl between the ages of 11 and 18 doesn't love jewelry???

With regards to that outfit fitting dolls I already have, Crissy was my only candidate.  Oh yes, I could also try it on some of my porcelain dolls, but with most of my girls that's an impossibility since the clothing is sewn on. It would look weird anyway; all my porcelain dolls have fabric bodies that would show too much in this outfit.  None of them have feet big enough to fit those shoes, either.  So that leaves me back where I started, with one outfit and no doll to wear it.  It's not a huge travesty, really.  I'll just put it back in storage for the first B.F.C. Ink doll who comes along.  Or Lorifina; according to Miss Emily some of these B.F.C. outfits do fit Hasbro Lorifina dolls, but I have no Lorifina and the various outfits are hit and miss on Lorifina anyway.  This particular outfit would probably work just fine since the top stretches, but I can't try it out right now.  It's an idea worth remembering, though.  Who knows, I may stumble across a doll that can wear these clothes at the next junk shop I go to.  After all, that's how I ended up with Crissy!  

In other news I saw no Lala-Oopsies at the local Wal-Marts yet, and it may be a long time before I do.  It's been almost a full year since Mattel released C.A. Cupid and she's just now making it to my area.  But boy, has she made it!  I saw no fewer than thirty of them last evening and almost walked away with one of them.  Keep your eyes peeled for her in a future review.  Also regarding future reviews, I have Meygana dressed in her new outfit and she's ready to talk about that (she's getting a little impatient with me about it, in fact).  I absolutely promise that unless something very weird comes up I'll talk about that next.  That may be awhile since finals are approaching and I really need to study for them.  I have a C in accounting and have struggled with that class all year so this final is really going to be what makes me or breaks me here.  It's time to batten down the hatches!

See you soon,
RagingMoon1987

Update:  A friend of mine on Facebook suggested that I try Journey Girls clothing for B.F.C. dolls.  Journey Girls can't wear B.F.C. clothing because they're American Girl-sized, but some JG pieces will fit B.F.C. dolls.  This is definitely something I want to remember.