My new tiny

Good day to y'all, it's RagingMoon1987 with something I consider myself very fortunate to have.  He's not really NEW new since he's eleven years old and I've already had him a month, but he's still new to me and new to y'all.  He's already proven VERY popular on Facebook.  My new tiny is this being called a Wishel.  These were produced during a brief period between October of 2006 and February of 2007, and they originally came in plaster eggs that one had to Hulk-smash hatch in order to get at the doll (hatching videos can be seen HERE and HERE).  My Wishel is obviously already hatched, but to have a Wishel at all is a delight.  To give y'all an idea of how hard Wishels are to find, Den of Angels's database page for Wishels has a grand total of seven posts (one of which is mine), and before I posted the database hadn't been updated since 2007.  A lack of activity on databases is to be expected when the company is long dead, but even other long-dead companies like Angelheim have more active databases than Wishel does.  Add to that the fact that my doll is the first and only Wishel I've seen in DoA's marketplace, stir all that together, and you've got a hard-to-find doll and a very happy RagingMoon1987.  He's so cute!!!

Forgive my little dolly son for nodding off; his former home in Massachusetts isn't exactly next door, and the trip has tuckered him out.  I've chosen to name my new tiny Wozzeck (pronounced "votz-eck," with a long O like "vote"), after the Alban Berg opera that is so different from the operas that I grew up with.  My father preferred Wagner's Gotterdammerung and Mozart's The Magic Flute, while I listened to Giacomo Puccini's work when I bothered with opera at all (as y'all may have figured out, I'm a sworn classic rock fan).  Wozzeck is hence a far cry from what I'm used to, and I have to admit that Berg's work is a bit of an acquired taste for those unaccustomed to atonal music, but it's not bad.  Obviously I liked it enough to name my doll after the lead character, though my Wozzeck is quite different from the mentally deranged soldier who murdered his cheating mistress and then met an unfortunate end himself.  No, this dreamy little face suggests a rather easygoing personality.

Wozzeck has a teensy bit of wear on his face-up, and the person I bought him from says he's "mellowed" a bit with age, which is a nicer term for yellowing.  No biggie; all resin yellows eventually.  Yellowing, mellowing, and face-up scuffs are part of life for a ball-jointed doll so I'm not terribly bothered with Wozzeck's signs of age.  It even gives me a chance to see what yellowing looks like next to my other dolls.  Here's what yellowed Wishel resin looks like next to Dream of Doll resin (Alistair, left) and Angel of Dream resin (Johnny, right).  Both Johnny and Alistair are relatively young by ball-jointed doll standards.

Also, here's how Wozzeck's yellowed resin compares to FairyLand resin.  Johanna (left) and Guinevere are also relatively young for ball-jointed dolls, though Johanna has started to fade some.

So this is what yellowed resin looks like!  It's...really not so bad!  Indeed I rather like Wozzeck's complexion, as it reminds me a bit of French vanilla ice cream.  I wasn't sure what to expect as Johnny and Alistair aged, but I think I can live with this.

Wishels came in a number of different forms, with my doll possessing the "Festivous" head.  If the information I read on DoA's wiki is correct then Wozzeck would thus be one of the earliest Wishels.  The Festivous head sports closed eyes and a plain headcap, as opposed to the open eyes and the halo, unicorn horn, or devil horns that sometimes accompanied later Wishel heads.  Wozzeck's back is also plain (some Wishels had angel or demon wings).

Wishels also had hand molds that varied widely.  I think Wozzeck may have a pair of praying hands, though I'm not certain.

His little hips appear to be Suwarikko-type hips, meaning that he can sit in a number of ways that most of my ball-jointed dolls cannot.  Or he should be able to, rather.  More on that later.

The aforementioned halos, horns, and wings sported by these Wishels are permanently attached, by the way.  However, they were/are small enough that they don't interfere with the dolls' abilities to wear wigs and clothes.  Wozzeck doesn't have a halo, horns, or wings, but I just thought I'd throw that out there.  Wozzeck also doesn't have anything to hold his headcap on, except for three tiny blops of eye putty!

Good grief, I've NEVER seen a ball-jointed doll's headcap put on in this manner; my other dolls rely on magnets or pegs to get the job done.  Wozzeck's headcap stays on fairly well, but unfortunately the putty does create some unsightly gaps that are unavoidable for the most part.

I'm tempted to try my luck with strips of tape, but I'm also hesitant due to fears that the tape might stain Wozzeck's resin.  Looks like he's stuck with eye putty for now!  This was a common feature of the earliest Wishels, by the way; the second wave, known as "Unbeknown," had magnets holding their heads together, but the Festivous wave had to make do with their eye putty.

Regarding size, Wozzeck is of a comparable size to my Ai Dolls and to my Hujoo nano Freya.  Here's how he looks next to Alistair and Johnny, both of whom are MSD-sized...

...and with Chloe and Ju-hwang, who are both supposed to be YoSD-sized...

...and finally, with fellow tinies Freya, Hope, and Marzipan.  Check it out, Hope has a new buddy to snooze with!

I'd like to compare a doll like Wozzeck with an SD-sized doll, but do y'all know how much those danged things cost??? Even a Smart Doll, made out of vinyl, is way out of my range...for now, anyway.  I'll have to ask Talolili to show y'all her Smart Doll; they're super-neat.  Anyway, since Wozzeck is close to Freya and the Ai sisters in size he can wear what they wear...or he could if he and I were into crossdressing (neither of us are).  Luckily he did come with a simple little outfit, perfect for use as sleepwear.  When Wozzeck arrived he was wearing this cute little onesie and a terry cloth bathrobe.

I've never seen a onesie in this size!  It's even got little ducks on it!

Not a bad little getup, but as y'all may know by now I love to dress and redress my dolls.  The DoA wiki states that some BlueFairy Pocket Fairy clothes will fit a Wishel, and I assume that PukiFee and Lati Yellow clothes will fit as well.  I also think that Luts' Tiny Delfs might be able to share clothes with Wishels, given the way that PukiFee/Lati Yellow clothes fit them.  So I kept all that in mind when I bought Wozzeck's first new clothing item:  a coat sized for PukiFee and Lati Yellow dolls, made of forest green boiled wool with faux fur trim on the hood and little snaps at the front.  The snaps are concealed with small, decorative brass buttons.

I'm just a little fond of coats with dramatic hoods, as this old photo of my factory Blythe doll will show.

Well, actually Jaylin is wearing a hat, not a hood, but it has the same effect as the hood on Wozzeck's coat.  See?

Regarding the fit, this coat fits surprisingly well considering it's sized for a PukiFee and PukiFees are a little bigger than Wishels.  The sleeves are a little too long, but coat sleeves tend to run long anyway, in real life AND on dolls.  In Wozzeck's case that serves the purpose of hiding the fact that he has no gloves (I can't find any that tiny).  That being said, the coat doesn't cover all of Wozzeck's body, and that isn't good because my little feller has naught to wear under that coat but his onesie and bathrobe, and NOTHING on his legs and feet!  This wasn't a huge deal when Wozzeck first arrived since November was warmer than usual, but now it's...well baby, it's cold outside!  I have some other things coming, stuff like some cute little outfits, a new wig, and a pair of shoes,  but none of that has come yet so I'll just settle back and wait.  I do have this cute little Pac-Man outfit, consisting of the classic T-shirt and blue jeans...

...but Einstein here ordered it in PukiPuki/Lati White size.  As I noted above, Wozzeck and my other tinies are PukiFEE and Lati YELLOW-sized.  Oh well, at least Pongpong won't have to run around naked...if I can ever get a Pongpong, that is!  Seriously, I even bought a wig for her, which I usually never do unless I'm 100% certain that a doll is coming home.  It's not here yet, but still...I'm weird, y'all.  Real weird.  I'll show y'all the wig when it comes, though; it too is weird, this bizarre mix of light orange and dusty rose.

I guess I shouldn't be coveting a Pongpong when I've got Wozzeck in the palm of my hand.  Remember I said earlier that Wishels are hard to come by (Pongpong is easy).  Now, regarding eye and wig sizes, Wozzeck can wear a size 4-5 wig, and if his eye wells were open he'd have taken 8mm eyes.  In addition to his onesie and bath robe he came with a white fur wig that his original owner admittedly didn't use much.  Speaking of Einstein, the wig reminds me a little of Albert Einstein's hair.

The wig doesn't fit very well, but it sticks with a piece of Velcro so it works in a pinch.  Just the same, I ordered Wozzeck another wig, one that looks a bit more masculine...and as with his new clothes the wig is not here yet.  It's coming from Ukraine, so it may be a while yet before I get it.  The white wig will do for now, though.

Wishels are not particularly known for their fantabulous posing, and Wozzeck is no exception.  This is his default position (notice his headcap is coming loose).

That left leg is particularly annoying; I can get the right leg in a standing position, but the left leg always wants to snap bent.  Standing Wozzeck up is thus a frustrating experience that will have to be dealt with.  Good thing fixing a kicky ball-jointed doll is an easy thing to do, provided one has wire AND a hot glue gun.  I have the wire...but not the hot glue gun.  Gobs of hot glue are necessary for wiring since the sharp ends of the wire may scratch resin parts if left uncovered.  Once I get that glue gun squared away I am wiring all of my ball-jointed dolls, resin and ABS alike, and Wozzeck will be the first one to get the treatment! 

Since Wozzeck doesn't want to stand I sit him down a lot, but that too is a chore because his rogue left knee keeps wanting to bend.  So I got him a chair, a My Life egg chair that is vaguely similar to a chair that Julie Albright once had.  This is intended for My Life's mini dolls.

I'm just now realizing that the shape of this chair hearkens back to Wozzeck's roots, and his beginnings of life in a plaster egg.  Kinda weird how that worked out; I swear it was a coincidence!  Regarding specifics, the chair is made out of thin, clear plastic with an opaque base and rim, and it has a gray plush cushion tacked inside.  The clear plastic feels flimsy and would not stand up to the errant foot of an adult (remember how we adults sometimes step on toys that kids leave scattered about), but it's a good seat for any small doll, including Wozzeck and his little friends.  There's a pretty narrow size bracket though, as some dolls that you or I think are little may in fact prove too big to sit here.  I always thought Chloe was a fairly small doll, but she's too tall to sit in the chair.  This is as close as she gets.

Since I've dragged Chloe into the mix, tangent time (y'all are so lucky!).  One of the workers at Wishel later went on to found Bobobie, the company that made Chloe, so Wozzeck and Chloe thus might be considered distant cousins.  Indeed, once upon a time there was some speculation that the tiny Bobobie dolls were recasts of Wishels due to the similarities of two particular dolls (Eric and Erin) to Wishels.  Subsequent reviews of the two dolls revealed that Wishel dolls are different from Eric and Erin in several ways, though their little faces do look similar!  Also worthy of consideration are Sunny and Moony, who are available from Denver Doll Emporium.  Both of them have tiny, single horns on their foreheads, similar to the horns sported by some of Wozzeck's Wishel brethren.  The Wishels with single horns have/had smaller horns that sit higher on their heads than Sunny and Moony's horns do, but the similarities are still interesting. 

I think that wraps it up.  I think it's a shame that Wishel folded as quickly as it did, since Wozzeck is a nice little product.  Most of the problems he has are easily rectified, though I do wish I didn't have to use eye putty to keep his head closed!  Probably with a bit of brainstorming I can come up with a solution for that as well.  But as with most of my dolls, despite his shortcomings I love Wozzeck a lot and I'm glad I waited for a Wishel to come up for sale.  Now he just needs a Pongpong to be his friend!

Happy Hanukkah,
RagingMoon1987

Time to Gripe: MGA quality control rides again

Or rather, the lack of it does.  Konichiwa, it's RagingMoon1987, and for the first time in...well, in quite some time, I have to file a complaint.  As y'all may or may not remember I'm quite fond of the Li'l Outrageous Littles, so much so that I keep going back for more even though I've got quite a nice collection already.  Today I saw a bunch of dolls from the Glam Glitter series, mistook those for the newest line that can double as Christmas ornaments, and bought one of the pods.  I was delighted to discover that my pod contained a glitzy version of my first character Spice...but look closer.

She...she...SHE ONLY HAS ONE SHOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is the first time I've had this happen to me personally, but it isn't the first time I've seen it; in one YouTube video the vloggers land an 80's B.B. that doesn't even have a dress.  This irks me though; I know there the Fashion Crush outfits can potentially supply "Cinder," as I've chosen to call my Cinderella-style Spice, with more shoes than she could ever want.  But dang it, what good is a cute little sparkly boot if it doesn't have its mate???  This is definitely NOT a surprise I want to find in an L.O.L. Surprise pod.  And unfortunately, this surprise is...not terribly surprising considering how spotty MGA's quality control can be.  Yet another attempt at a Bratz comeback is being made, and already the Facebook groups I'm a member of have plenty of pictures of dolls with sloppy paint, bad hair, missing accessories, or all of the above.  MGA had best get their act together if they want the Bratz to make a comeback, AND if they want the Li'l Outrageous Littles to continue selling as well as they are.

On the plus side, now I've got both versions of Spice!  See how cute they are together?

Dang, that missing shoe is a doggie downer!  Thank goodness for those Fashion Crush outfits, nasty jelly or no.

Yours always,
RagingMoon1987

Thanksgiving quickie

It's Thanksgiving, y'all!  This one will be different this year; once upon a time we had thirteen people crammed around Grandma's kitchen table.  But this year First Uncle can't make it down, and Sister and her husband can't make it either, and Grandma is deceased so it'll just be me, Mama, and Second Uncle.  Mama made pot roast instead of a huge turkey that the three of us couldn't eat in a million years, and we're going to eat that and watch the football game.  But since I've made it a rather slow November around here I thought I'd post something quick.  Here's my two new babies.

Mama, to my complete shock, has declared them both the creepiest I've ever brought in.  I quite like them myself, but to each their own.  The big one is a bisque doll by a Japanese company that I need to research more, and the little one is Cheerful Tearful by Mattel.  These were both impulse buys prompted by pictures on a Facebook group that I belong to (and I belong to a billion of them).  And I wonder why I'm always short on money, LOL!  Hey, I pay the bills and I keep my animals healthy!  I promise they're not going without!  Anyway, I once again have a backlog of blog posts, so it'll probably be...oh, I'll say FEBRUARY before I get these dolls reviewed!  They WILL be reviewed, though.  I promise y'all that.  My intention is to get back to posting weekly after this...or at least that's my intention!  We all know what the road to hell is paved with!

I wish our dear readers a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  Be safe while driving, cooking, and eating, and DON'T go out on Black Friday unless absolutely necessary!  Save it for Cyber Saturday...or is it Cyber Monday?  I can't remember.  Just be careful out there!

Happy Thanksgiving,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday at the slough

Today was a pretty day (if a little chilly), so Mama and I decided to pick up some provisions before bad weather moves in tomorrow.  We here in the Bootheel are only supposed to get cold rain and maybe a few errant wet snowflakes, but better to be stocked up on animal food anyway.  We decided to go to Dexter for this animal food, and on the way back we swung by one of my favorite places.

I've NEVER seen any otters here, but that doesn't mean there aren't any!  Otter Slough is buried in rural southern Stoddard County, and one has to know the area fairly well in order to find it.  It's worth the effort though, at least if you like water birds.  Later in winter there are usually plenty of ducks, coots, and geese hanging around, but today was largely a day for great blue herons.  My mother and I are both extremely fond of great blue herons, so we took a lot of pictures.

This next one was a real show-off.  He stood with his neck in a perfect S for us.

There was also this one, who was very close to the road and showed absolutely no fear of the car or our enthusiastic chatter.

The side roads are unfortunately closed until April, so we had to turn around and come back the way we came.  This allowed me a better view of the weeds and the trees.

See how calm it was?  The ponds were like big mirrors.

The most photogenic of our herons was still hanging around when we came back by.  He captured and ate a fish right after I snapped this picture.

More pictures of the pond.

This heron was hiding in some dormant cattails.  He's fairly obvious in the picture, but IRL he was very well hidden.  He flew away after I caught this picture, but he didn't go far.

Another random picture of the skyline.  I love how perfectly the trees are reflected in the water.

This next picture, of a heron that I'd photographed earlier, shows the subtle beauty of the species' plumage.

A large flock of snow geese did make an appearance as we prepared to take our leave.  Once again, they were much prettier in real life...and much noisier!

Despite the chilly weather the water was full of mud sliders.  I can only assume that they were out catching their quota of bugs and whatever else sliders eat before they brumate.  This little guy decided he fancied some sun.

We also saw plenty of red-tailed hawks, a few large ducks that were too far away for pictures, and one large doe who didn't hold still long enough for a picture.  No biggie there, since Crowley's Ridge has plenty of deer.  This was arguably the best time I've had at Otter Slough, though; we must've seen a dozen herons.  Usually we're lucky if we see two or three.  I could seriously LIVE out there in the boonies like that though; it's just so peaceful!  Snakes are bad during summer, though, and what pond wouldn't be complete without WATER MOCCASINS??????  Yeah...I don't mind snakes usually, but I'll make an exception with water moccasins.  Otherwise Otter Slough is a great place to visit.  If one stays in the car one need not worry about snakes.  This little jaunt did make me impatient to visit Mingo again, though; Mingo has everything Otter Slough has and it's just as beautiful, but it's BIGGER!!!  If I get to go again I'll have to take more pictures.

I absolutely PROMISE that I'll get back on the dolly train soon.  I've got several that still need reviewing, and I also have a secondhand ball-jointed doll on the way.  So this blog should be fairly busy between now and Christmas.  Stay tuned...

Much love,
RagingMoon1987

Green army men for Veterans Day

On October eighteenth one of my superiors paid the library a visit.  She brought with her the usual friendly chatter and monthly fliers for Story Hour, but she also brought this box.

The box invites patrons to take a little man home with them as a reminder to pray for those serving the country.  It also provides an opportunity to share photographs of any veteran friends or family members that the patrons might have.

Wait a minute...little man?  Yes, when it first came the box was full of one of my favorite childhood toys, green army men!

Well, green and tan army men.  When Daddy was a pup back in the fifties and sixties these were strictly dark green, hence their nickname.  Now there are tan ones too.  I also remember reading about these army men coming in goofy-looking fluorescent colors at one time, but those apparently went over like a lead balloon.

Oh, I never did tell y'all that I loved little plastic men when I was a little kid, did I?  I didn't really have many green army men, except for a few that Daddy saved from his childhood.  No, I mostly had cowboys, Indians, and pirates.  The cowboys and Indians came in these huge bags of about fifty or so pieces, and were molded from yellow, red, and green plastic.  The molding was a bit crude, with some of the pieces having big flaps of extra plastic hanging off, but that bothered me not.  The pirates were a Christmas gift and were a bit nicer, being molded in opaque red, black, yellow, and white plastic with no extra tabs hanging off.  Oh, what fun I had with my little plastic men!  I kept them in a wicker basket and whiled away many an evening after preschool playing with my little figures.  For old time's sake and because I like the sentiment behind my boss's idea, I picked up an army man of my own, this belly-crawling tan man with a rifle.

I named him "Floyd."  Don't ask why.  Coworker B also picked a belly-crawler in the traditional green, and Yours Truly came up with the idea to make him into a keychain!

I may do this for Floyd eventually too.  I haven't decided yet.  Right now Floyd is on active duty, resting on Ju-hwang's rather ample wig and waiting for some big bad cat to come climbing up onto my shelf.  Please ignore Momoko, who insisted on photobombing.

As I insinuated above military men go back a long way in my family.  My grandfather is the one I tend to remember since he was the only one I knew, though by virtue of some boring genealogy study I can verify that I had family members who fought in the Civil War, some for the North and some for the South.  I don't have a hard copy of Grandpa in his uniform, but I do have a picture that I copied from Mama's FB page...complete with a stupid frame that FB currently has available.

Mama says that he'd just had four shots (two in each arm) and was subsequently running a fever when this picture was taken.  Anywho, Grandpa was an engineer in the army, working for water purification.  I think I also remember Mama saying that he helped blow up enemy bridges so that the trains couldn't travel...I'll have to ask her again if that part's true or not.  EDIT:  yes, it turns out that Grandpa did help blow up bridges, but there was more to it than that.  His division would first BUILD a bridge for his platoon to cross, then they'd purify the water for the platoon to drink.  After the platoon was safely across, it would be the job of Grandpa's team to blow the bridge up so the enemy couldn't follow.  Pretty neat, actually.

Regarding the personal aspect, Grandpa reported that he saw a great many things that were either fascinating or terrible, with one particular memory haunting him to his dying day.  He was driving a large truck through a small German town, and he had strict orders from his superiors not to stop for anything.  Lo and behold, this random old man comes out on his bicycle, directly in front of Grandpa's truck.  He didn't respond to Grandpa's frantic horn-beeping, and he subsequently got hit by the back of the truck as it passed.  Grandpa wasn't certain if he killed the cyclist or just injured him, but he knows for a fact that he hit the cyclist.  In his sideview mirror he saw the unoccupied bicycle go flying, and he also saw a female pedestrian gasping in horror.  Since he was under orders not to stop he never found out what the final outcome of the incident was, but it bothered him the rest of his life.

There were other stories, of course, stories that I may share some other time since they're pretty interesting, but that'll at least give y'all a taste of what it was like in the military during WWII.  Modern-day soldiers have it a little better with their updated equipment and social media to allow them to stay connected with loved ones, but it's still a dirty job that they choose to do voluntarily.  That voluntary aspect is another improvement, come to think of it; as recently as the Vietnam War men were being drafted.  By the way, fun fact:  my grandfather was not drafted.  He chose to enter the military voluntarily so that he could choose the branch he wanted.  Those who got drafted didn't get to choose, if what I've read and been told is correct.  But regardless, being in the military is a tough, dirty, dangerous job, one that I know I'd never be tough enough to do.  In fact, even military folks who aren't in active combat face danger during certain parts of their jobs, as parts of The Hot Zone will reveal.  So if you know anyone who has served or is serving in the military, take some time to day to thank them, and if you're the praying type, to follow my boss's advice and pray for them.  They need that appreciation now more than ever, when the lamestream oops, did I say that out loud?  The MAINstream media seems to delight in vilifying the military...until the country actually NEEDS the military.  So thank a veteran today if you can, and pray for the ones that are still serving.

God bless America,
RagingMoon1987

Paola Reina Las Amigas Abigail review

Happy Halloween, ladies and germs!  One of my favorite holidays is here, complete with candy, kids in costume, and spooky decorations!  Seriously, it seems like the decorations get better every year, from this big hairy spider in one of the downtown storefronts...

...to this display in front of a house.

This home on the outskirts of Malden always goes all out for holidays, but I daresay Halloween is their favorite.  This year they've got a few new decorations up, like the wooden faces and the two skeletons carrying the body bag.

Here's a closer look at the mortician skeletons.  I think these are a riot.

Here's their fence, complete with jack o'lanterns and dancing skeletons.  The jack o'lanterns have tea lights inside that allow them to glow in the dark.

The same house also has an old favorite, back for its third straight year:  this giant spider, made of strands of orange lights.

This house near the park has some cute stuff too, but some of it was glowing too brightly for my camera to catch it.

The glowing ghost in the center looks like this when he's not lit up.  It's not a great picture, but it's still possible to see his smug little face.

Some of the houses in Campbell are decked out as well, like this one.  They've got a DRAGON!!!

In the back yard of the dragon house is this cat.  His head turns, though I unfortunately didn't get a picture of that.  I love his smug face though.

Different house, same street.  I love the fleur-de-lis ghost that lives here; he's easily the most original decoration that I've seen this year.

Bottom line, the local homeowners and businesses have been having a lot of fun with their decorations.  It reminds me of my own childhood, when we decorated our own house for Halloween, inside and out.  The inside had jack o'lanterns (fake, of course), funny-looking candles, and an obnoxious little haunted house with a ghost that made noise every time someone moved or turned off a light.  The outside had real jack o'lanterns (carved by Daddy) and wind socks in the form of a witch, a vampire, and a ghost.  The ghost was white as ghosts usually are, and one year Mama was outraged to discover that a bird had messed on the ghost.  I'll never forget hearing her yell "The nerve of that damn bird, crapping on my cute little ghost!!!"  The bird crap left a stain that never came out, and every year I got to laugh all over again at Mama's animosity towards a long-dead bird.

Now...this year Halloween has fallen on a very rainy Wednesday, and the last Wednesday of the month usually means Story Hour for us here at Malden Library.  My boss decided to push Story Hour back a week so that she could participate in a church function on Halloween, but the children were encouraged to wear their costumes anyway.  We had a surprisingly good turnout, with six little girls dressed as two witches, a sock hopper, a cat, a cowgirl, and a princess.  They all acted like they had the time of their lives, and I had quite a bit of fun myself.  I don't have a costume, so I decided to bring my newest little witch instead.  Meet Abigail, my first (and possibly only) Paola Reina doll. 

Woooohoooo, Witchy Woman, see how high she flies!!!  LOL, I can only assume that Abigail is named after the little broad who helped start the Salem witch trials.  If so then she's very appropriately and creatively named...and strangely, of the four witches Paola Reina produced, she's the ONLY one with a proper name.  The other three are referred to simply as "Witch" in their online descriptions.  Anyway, as I said above Abigail is made by Paola Reina, a company based in...SPAIN???  I know I reviewed a doll that was produced in Europe not too long ago (Hattie), and I'll be reviewing another one around the middle of December, but nowadays finding a company that's solely based in a place like France or Germany or Spain is special.  Paola Reina dolls have featured in Miss Emily's blog more than once, with my favorites being Marta and Maia (Maia has BONES!!!), but until now I've never owned one of my own.  I browsed, but I never bought.  As it turned out, when I did finally choose I chose wisely; Mama has declared Abigail a favorite, the children at Story Hour found her adorable, and a Facebook friend noted that she bears a striking resemblance to her baby daughter.  I won't link a picture of this child for security and privacy reasons, but take my word for it:  Abigail does favor the little girl.

Paola Reina makes dolls in a number of sizes, ranging from the 26-inch Las Reinas de Paola series to the eight-inch Paolitos y Paolitas line.  Four of these sizes feature a doll dressed as a witch, with Abigail being the second-smallest.  She is part of the Las Amigas collection and is thirteen inches tall, thus putting her on the same scale as Hearts for Hearts Girls and Little Apple Dolls. 

I wish I could photograph how nice this doll smells!  All of Paola Reina's dolls smell like vanilla when they're new in the box.  Anyway, once upon a time the Las Amigas had a monster-themed line, very much like the Monster High dolls, but as far as I can tell Abigail is the only character left in the series...and I don't even know if she was supposed to be one of that series.  She does have two of the same attributes to the monster-themed Amigas, though:  kid-friendly spookiness and trippy hair.  I think I count three hair colors in Abigail's hair...no, take that back.  There are four colors:  lavender, lime green, and red-orange highlights over a black base.

The fibers are nylon, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the size of the doll and the quality of the nylon.  These Paola Reina dolls have glorious hair while Meygana Broomstix, as we all may know by now, has HORRID HAIR!!!  I've owned Meygana six years now, and yet I still refer back to her when I want to talk about bad hair.  Her hair is the absolute worst I've ever seen.  Abigail's hair is mercifully straight, and it looks a little coarse but is very smooth and soft.  The fibers DO have minds of their own though, and I need to smooth them down every now and then so that Abigail won't get tangles or look disheveled.  The colors shift shades a little as the light changes, so it's possible for Abigail's appearance to vary somewhat with shifting lighting.  The lavender streaks can look gray or blue in some lights, for example.

Underneath that gaily striped hair is the rounded face typical of most Paola Reina dolls this size.

Some Paola Reina dolls have sleep eyes and some have fixed eyes, with Abigail falling into the fixed category.  Her eyes are fairly deeply set and are a lovely shade of brown, with long applied lashes and wispy brown eyebrows.  Unfortunately Abigail's right eye has some whitish crap along the top edge, but I suspect that that's eyelash glue and could thus not be avoided.

Once again, these eyes remind me of how Xenia's eyes used to look, and how Mosi's eyes still look.  For a refresher, here's Xenia's eyes before they changed...

...and here's Mosi's eyes.

While all three of these dolls have/had rich brown eyes, Abigail ekes both Xenia and Mosi out in terms of detail.  Her irises look more real and more lively with their flecks of lighter brown and gold mixed in.  These are pretty eyes.

I'd love to see how the sun makes these eyes look, but I'm not big on exposing my dolls to too much sun...and the sun hasn't been out much lately anyway, with it being the middle of fall and all.

Now to lips.  Abigail has pouty, slightly puckered lips in this lovely shade of translucent pink.

Paola Reina dolls always have nicely molded lips with little creases, and Abigail is no exception.  This is a lip color that I'd like to see used on Barbie, by the way.  If they must insist on using bubblegum pink lipstick for their beautiful dolls of color, I wish it could be shimmery like this.  Not a bad face overall.  Not the most witchy face, but then again I'm not sure if this doll is supposed to be fully witch or if she's supposed to be a little girl dressed as a witch.  I think I'm gonna go with that second option, since Abigail isn't tinted green or purple or some tripped out color like witches tend to be.

Good time to visit the clothing department now.  I hate doing this since this outfit has multiple layers, but Abigail must be undressed.  She's got a cute little body, if a mite confusing.  Her face is babyish, suggesting a child of about five or six, but her body suggests an age of about ten or eleven.  I love her little pot belly!

Of course, what would I find but stains?  Abigail has a bruisy-looking band around her waist, which I assume was where her skirt was clinched tight.

Her back is marked with the company name, and for that matter her head is too!  I just got her back mark, though.

Abigail's hands are simply, smoothly molded in a relaxed position, with little nails molded onto the tips.

Her feet are also simply molded, though they do have the individual toes that not every doll has.  She sports nails here too.

From the side it's easy to see that the toes are realistically shaped, and that the ankles have visible bone structure.

Posing is average, not as good as the strung ball joints that Mosi has.  Abigail can turn but not tip her head, and she can move her arms and legs back and forth like so.

Front-back splits look inelegant but are possibility.

Sitting is a piece of cake for Abigail, though I recommend that she be dressed in a wide skirt like the one she came in.

Not a bad little body.  Not great, but far from terrible.  If Abigail had joints like the Las Reinas de Paola dolls or an internal armature like the Every Girl line I'd be more impressed, but that undoubtedly would've made her cost more, and it might have made her less kid-friendly as well.  So I'm happy enough with this body.

Great time to segue into the outfit now...wait a minute, haven't I already said that once?  Anyway, as I said above Abigail's joints are best suited for a wide skirt, and that's what she has...for starters.  Her whole getup screams "witch," from hat to boots.

Y'all may or may not have noticed something odd about the hat.

For reference, take a look at this picture, stolen from a post dating a few weeks back.

In the original picture the brim of Abigail's hat is tipped back and a cute little swag of tulle is sewn in place.  Now...NOW it's come undone!  It found a mountain that was far too high.

I can resew this easy peasy, but it still irks me that it happened at all.  The purple trim around the base is also threatening to come off.  This hat was held to Abigail's head with a plastic tie, and when I cut it to take the hat off the ribbon loosened noticeably.   Only a second plastic tie is holding it in place.

Easy fix again, but SERIOUSLY???  Will these infernal plastic ties be the clothes fasteners of tomorrow?  One would think they are, as often as they are utilized for doll clothes.  I can understand attaching the hat to the head with a plastic tie, but not attaching some of the decorations that way.

Luckily the hat is the only item of clothing that got that treatment, but that doesn't mean our problems are over.  Abigail's blouse is, in truth, this cute little bodysuit, made of black stretchy stuff and trimmed with more purple tulle and sateen.

First and foremost, I'm not a huge fan of the way the tulle fits.  It looks like it should be worn off the shoulder, but it's floppy no matter how I position it.  On the plus side, it's not hanging on by a single stitch like the tulle on the hat is.  No, my biggest beef with this bodysuit is that it closes with Velcro.

Granted, I can see no other way of effectively closing this outfit without driving the cost up, but when a doll's ensemble incorporates a lot of tulle and knitted fabric a strip of Velcro is a snagging disaster waiting to happen.  I have to be extremely careful about taking the bodysuit off and putting it on again, lest it catch Abigail's tights and snag them.

No biggie, just put the tights on over the bodysuit, right?  Well...no.  I'm sorry to say that when I try it that way the tights don't fit as well.  They're clearly meant to be worn UNDER the bodysuit.

These are super-cute tights, by the way.  They cover everything from the waist to the foot and are made of nice, thick knitted material in three colors.

These remind me a little bit of the tights that came on one of the first dolls I reviewed, Cutie Pops Candi.  Lordy, that review is six years old now!!!  Anyway, Candi has stripey tights in a similar color scheme (she has blue bands in her tights that Abigail does not have).  I'd show y'all, but Candi is buried in storage so y'all will just have to refer back to her review.  Ah, the Cutie Pops...so interesting, and so unfortunately short-lived.

Back on topic, I can remember being a teensy bit disappointed that the stripes on Candi's tights weren't lined up, though I'll concede that that's not easy.  But just for giggles let's see if Abigail's stripes line up.

Super-cute tights, tights that I would not be above wearing even now if my legs weren't so thick.  These WILL snag, though; I already have had to detangle the Velcro from them once, so if you've got this doll keep that in mind.

Worn over the bodysuit and the tights is this tie-on skirt.  It's very similar to a ballerina's tutu.

The skirt has three layers of tulle (green on top, then orange, and purple on the bottom).

EDIT:  I miscounted, as I often do.  There are actually FIVE layers in this skirt rather than three.  Green on top, then orange, then hot pink, then purple, and then a barely visible black layer on the bottom.  Can y'all tell I was in a hurry to complete this post last night???  LOL

Regardless of the number of layers, the skirt ties on with a wide purple ribbon.  I can't tell if this is satin or sateen, but it's some sort of material in that category.

It already has snags!!!  Go figure on that, since I kept this skirt far away from the bodysuit's Velcro.  I guess such things should be expected with sheer fabrics like this.  The good thing is that when I tie the skirt on right the snags don't show anyway.

Lastly, these little boots that go with everything.

These are unfortunately made of pleather...oh, how I HATE PLEATHER!!!  Anyway, this is made of pleather and it's holding up for now.  These Velcro along the sides, and thus I once again have to be careful about shoving these on Abigail's feet.

The soles are made of foam and are marked with the company's mark.

These little purple bands are separate pieces.  I really love that; it adds to the versatility of these boots.

Not the most kid-friendly outfit, I must admit, though I'm not really sure what age bracket these Las Amigas dolls are for.  If I were guessing I'd say that if a child is old enough for an American Girl doll, then she should have no trouble dressing and undressing Abigail provided she's careful with that Velcro.  I'm also not thrilled with the stitching on that hat, though I can fix it with very little fuss. 

Regarding clothes sharing, I have several possibilities in the fourteen-inch category.  Here lately this size of doll has become trendy (thanks in part to American Girl's new Wellie Wishers), and thus Abigail could thus potentially wear clothes that fit the following the following:
*Mattel's Wellie Wishers
*Battat's Glitter Girls
*Little Apple Dolls
*Hearts for Hearts Girls
*Possibly some B.F.C. Ink clothes
*Maybe Ideal Velvet clothes, given Abigail's thin build???  I've tried B.F.C. Ink clothes on my old Crissy with negative results, and Crissy's sleeves are in turn very slim, but maybe some of Velvet's sleeveless garb might work?

I mention B.F.C. Ink clothes since Mosi can wear the sole B.F.C. Ink outfit that I own.  Not perfectly, mind y'all, but good enough that I put her in it when summer rolls around.  Now...of the list above I own the aforementioned B.F.C. Ink outfit, Mosi's stock outfit, a new Wellie Wisher-sized dress from Etsy, and Mirari's stock outfit...but I'm NOT going to undress Mirari again!!!  I went through that little song and dance once and I'm not going to do it again, largely because Mirari's hair continues to fall out.  Her tights are also a little fragile (indeed I've somehow managed to snag them on something), so my sole Little Apple Doll outfit is off the table.  I also have not manged to score a brand-name Wellie Wisher outfit (yet), and I haven't been to Target in forever so I can't try Glitter Girls clothes on Abigail either.  But...if Mosi's outfit proves too big for Abigail then all that may not matter.  Remember that Mosi is a little bigger than Abigail is, and that Hearts 4 Hearts Girls can wear the clothing of Wellie Wishers and Glitter Girls.  It is thus fairly important that I determine whether Abigail can wear Mosi's clothes.

To my great delight Mosi's whole outfit fits Abigail like a dream.  Even Mosi's boots, which are usually a living nightmare to remove, slide on and off with little fuss.  This makes me very optimistic for the B.F.C. Ink outfit.

Now...remember when I said I had one B.F.C. Ink outfit???  Yeah, I lied.  Here's the new one.

I couldn't find the one I've got, so I bought another one.  And I wonder why I'm always broke, LOL.  Anyway, since the B.F.C. Ink dolls are long out of production I took a picture of the back of the box just for grins.  It reveals that there were originally only three characters whose names I've long forgotten, and that the main idea behind these dolls was the oh-so-common theme of friendship and fashion.

I found the back of the box interesting for another reason.  The dolls in the illustrations have sweet faces with relaxed eyes and smiles.  They look a little too realistic, in fact.  The dolls themselves have choppy-looking eyebrows that can make them look like sarcastic little brats, and their inset eyes tend to look buggy.

Yuko was always my favorite B.F.C. Ink doll, as her eyes were less buggy than those of the other dolls.  Digression over, I've got this outfit to try on Abigail, but first let's see how it'll look on Mosi.  Odds are that if it fits Mosi it'll fit Abigail.  I already know I'll have to push up the sleeves, because the B.F.C. crew had loooooong arms.

I'll admit that when I first unboxed this set I had my doubts, because the tank top is a bit roomy.  But with the exception of shoes this whole ensemble fits Mosi like it was made for her.  I knew the shoes wouldn't fit since the B.F.C. dolls also had big feet in addition to their simian-length arms, and I did have to push the sleeves of the jacket up, but otherwise this is safe for Mosi to wear.

I must admit, I was sorely tempted to leave Abigail and Mosi like this.  See how cute they are???

 

Y'know, I'm just now realizing how much these two look alike in the face.  They could pass for sisters or cousins!

I often like to match dolls together and pretend that they're siblings, but in this case I think I'll pass since Mosi is Native American and Abigail is Hispanic.  Won't stop other kids from pretending, though!  Alas, as much as I like Mosi and Abigail in their current duds I must undress them both again so I can test the B.F.C. Ink outfit on Abigail.

Hmmm...looks like B.F.C. Ink clothes aren't going to work for Abigail.  Her body is only a little smaller than Mosi's, but in this case a little smaller proved to be too small.  Oh well, at least Abigail can wear Mosi's outfit, boots and all!  As an aside, I was afraid that Abigail's highlights would make outfit changes a pain in the posterior, as unusual hair colors are sometimes bad about clashing with certain colors.  For example, Billie Jean (one of my Fashionistas) looks horrid in red and pink due to her blue highlights.  She is largely restricted to blue, black, white, or outfits that have blue in them.  To my surprise and delight Abigail's hair is not obtrusive to other outfits...or at least it isn't as obtrusive as Billie Jean's hair is.

Brief tangent, but I'm going somewhere with this one.  Promise!  In one of her old posts Beastsbelle shows the height difference between a B.F.C. Ink doll and a Hearts for Hearts Girl.  I'd conveniently forgotten that B.F.C. Ink dolls are the same height as American Girls, which surprises me since Amazon is full of protests from idiots who didn't read the fine print about B.F.C. Ink clothes being too small for American Girls.  Usually when idiots on Amazon get me all riled up I remember why, but in this case I forgot.  Said idiots were mad because all eighteen-inch dolls are not created equal, but I digress.  This means a height difference of four inches between B.F.C. Ink dolls and Hearts for Hearts Girls, thus making it that much more fortuitous that Abigail and Mosi can wear B.F.C. Ink clothes.  The fit is not perfect of course, with pants and sleeves being too long on some outfits, but in this particular case it worked out fine.

Lastly, the Etsy Wellie Wisher dress, which y'all have not yet seen.  Melanie Rose Designs made this.

The Luciana Vega influence is heavy on this dress, y'all!  I've always loved celestial prints like this anyway, so let's see what Abigail will look like in it.  Luckily for both of us the purple in the print matches the purple trim on Abigail's boots and hat...but will it fit?

Imperfectly, yes.  The bodice is a bit too big and a bit too long, and the headband likes to slip down over Abigail's eyes, but she can wear this with few problems and she looks quite good in it.  Notice that her stock boots match the fabric of the dress with the bands AND without.

I think that covers it!  Good stuff/bad stuff time.

BAD
*One of the decorations on the hat came undone, and the other is threatening to.
*Hair requires some maintenance to be kept nice.
*Clothes have the potential to snag and have stained Abigail's waist.  Not badly, but I still find it worth mentioning.
*Will the eyes change color???  Jeez, I hope not.  I haven't heard of Paola Reina eyes changing color, but after what happened to Xenia's eyes I reckon anything is possible.

GOOD
*Who doesn't love a witch doll???  I certainly do, as my past reviews of the Bratzillaz and Emerald the Enchanting Witch will reveal.
*Hair requires some maintenance, but not a lot.  It's also super-colorful but doesn't clash with the extra clothes that she wears.
*Clothes are a little fragile in places, but they're still very cute and make a convincing witch image.
*What a lovely little face this doll has!  She has pink lips but manages to avoid bubblegum-lip syndrome.
*Can be redressed easily in clothes that fit Hearts for Hearts Girls and Wellie Wishers.  Some B.F.C. Ink clothing will also fit.
*Great conversation piece!  My patrons at the library love this little doll.

Were y'all thinking that I'd give Abigail a bad review because I said that she'd probably be my only Paola Reina doll?  NOPE!!!  I just need another collection of large dolls like I need a third leg, and most of the Paola Reina dolls I've seen are indeed large dolls.  Abigail is not terribly large, but a ton of dolls her size is...kinda, sorta the same as a ton of dolls the size of Ana Ming or Denise.  Hey, I haven't trotted out Ana Ming in forever.  Let's see how she looks with Abigail.

I'd forgotten how much I loved Ana Ming; Carpatina dolls are epic.  I'm beginning to wonder if Ana Ming shouldn't have a boyfriend, seeing as Carpatina's boys have vastly improved.  Adam and Carter looked borderline ridiculous with their overly mature faces on children-sized bodies, while James and Stephan are adorable.  But anyway, Ana Ming and Abigail make a decent pair.  Ana Ming is the nicer doll by far, but she also cost twice what Abigail did so there's that out of the way.  They're the perfect size to play older and younger siblings or cousins, which wouldn't be too terrible an idea since Ana Ming has two other cousins that are similar in coloration to Abigail.  Julia would make the best match, I think.  But anywho, Abigail is a must-have for Halloween fans, especially if said Halloween fan also happens to be fond of Hearts for Hearts Girls, or Wellie Wishers, or dolls of that size.  Clothes sharing is not perfect, but it can be done.  Abigail is also good for kids' games with dolls this size, and for dioramas for us adults as well.  Bottom line, I love this doll and while I may not have needed her, I'm not sorry I bought her.  She provides a bright spot on a Halloween that looks to be a complete gully-washer.

Lastly, for those of y'all who fancy a good spine-tingling story or two, check out this post by YouTuber Rob Dyke.  It's an oldie but a goodie.

Happy Halloween,
RagingMoon1987