Live from MeTV!

Okay, it's not so live since I'm sharing it, but while looking for information on Ideal's Lazy Dazy I found a list of thirteen dolls from the Me Decade that were listed as "funky" and "bizarre."  Granted, some of 'em were a little on the odd side; one of 'em was a talking Redd Fox doll.  Too bad he didn't ask his young owners "How would you like one 'cross yo lip?"  Lazy Dazy was there too, for reasons I'll never know.  Maybe the fact that you had to "spank" her to get her to work added to the bizarre bit.  But mixed in with Redd and Dazy were a few friends I've shared here in the past.  The Rock Flowers were on the list.  Remember Heather?

I went through a brief period where I wanted to find every Dawn competitor I could think of, but thankfully that phase didn't last too long because those tiny dolls lose their shoes too easily!  Anyway, music was amazing in the seventies, ranging from Glen Campbell's smooth country baritone to Deep Purple's proto-metal wailing.  There truly was something for everyone, and...well, I hesitate to say that ALL the toy companies got in on it, but Mattel certainly did!  Heather and her Rock Flower friends were essentially Live Action Barbie and her friends shrunk to Dawn's size and given a stand that could fit on the spindle of a record player.  Seeing as lots of little girls of the seventies loved both music and dolls, I fail to see what's so bizarre about this bunch.

Softina, on the other hand, I get.  Here's Softina; mine looks a little different from the one in the article, and indeed the article shows their Softina as being eleven inches.  Mine is bigger than that.  Pardon the honking watermark, by the way; the blog was having trouble with photo theft at the time.

Okay, Softina herself isn't so bad.  She's essentially just a foam-filled baby doll that was and still is good for cuddles.  No, what landed her on the list was a swaddling that was available for her.  It was...a shoe.  Not just any shoe, but apparently a Converse-style sneaker, the kind that I often wear and the kind that the Tenth Doctor loved a bit too much!  WHYYYYY would anyone put a baby in a shoe???  That's...that's just weird.  I guess that a shoe is kinda tame compared to the ice cream cones and bumblebees that swaddled the Baby Born Surprises, but it's still pretty out there.  

The Sunshine Family also made the list, and I've talked about them in the past.

The list called them the most seventies dolls of the seventies, and...yeah, I agree.  Stephie, Steve, and their revoltingly-named daughter Sweets were hippies to the core, living in a motor home and selling handmade stuff.  Now I'm not knocking that.  I love handmade stuff, and if folks want to live earthy-like, the more power to them.  The Sunshine Family did that without being repulsively preachy about loving the Earth, reducing-reusing-recycling, all that jazz.  There's just something kinda...since I'm a modern-day woman there's just something kinda weird now about all that.  Probably back then it was NBD since just about everyone was doing it.  More concerning to me about these dolls is how they're aging; Stephie's feet melted to her shoes, and their Southern belle friend Rosa Lee Linden had to have a new body altogether.  But these were sweet, wholesome dolls that put some emphasis on family and togetherness, something that a lot of folks take for granted nowadays.  They're dated, I suppose...yeah, that's it!  They're dated!  They're not all that weird, they're just very, very, VERY old-school.  I wouldn't mind finding their truck, by the way!  I've got the family, so why not give 'em wheels?

Lastly, there was Baby Beans.  This doll is NOT mine, though I do have my own Baby Beans doll on the way.  This one belongs to Tam, and this photo was used with her kind permission.  The link to this doll's post is HERE.  Thank you, Tam!

Again, I can kinda see where the article was coming from, but the only weird thing about the dolls is their name.  And even then it makes sense, because they're full of plastic pellets or "beans," just like Beanie Babies were and are.  Some of the individual dolls also had goofy bean-themed names like "Green Beans" or "Navy Beans."  Thank goodness there was never one named "Kidney Beans"!  Oh, and guess what?  Some of them came packaged in shoes as well.  I fail to see the connection between shoes and beans, but at least Softina isn't alone.  Besides, I'm working on a post that involves two small dolls that reside in plastic fruits, so it's all good.  Baby Beans were ridiculously popular and came in a wide assortment of colors, expressions, and sizes.  There were even Mama Beans and Daddy Beans, each with a small Baby Beans of their own.  Daddy Beans was the one who made MeTV's list, by the way.  Wait 'til y'all see the one I picked; he's pretty goofy himself.

Do any of y'all remember these?  Did any of y'all own any of 'em?  Do you still have any?  Discuss.  As for Lazy Dazy, she will come to live at Casa del Luna someday, but it won't be anytime soon.  She's expensive when in good shape!

Love to all,

RagingMoon1987 

National Ice Cream Day

Once again the heat is on here in the Bootheel, and the coming week looks to be worse.  I'm getting to the point where I hate summer even more than I hate winter, which is quite a concession on my behalf.  But it's been humid again, and the nights are no longer dipping into the sixties, AND like I said above it's gonna get hotter around the middle of the week.  So I'm holed up with Uncle Man-Child AGAIN, and when that happens I try to stay away from him as much as possible.  I've been outside a lot despite the heat, looking for good places for dolly pics and for cicada husks.  One of the trees in the backyard has a nice big knothole at the base, perfect for an American Girl-sized doll to sit. 

Why is that a big deal today?  Because today is National Ice Cream Day.  While Mama and I enjoy small cones of chocolate soft serve (the only stuff that doesn't make us sick), Rita Cheryl is indulging in a cone of her favorite flavor, mint chocolate chip.  Mmmm, I like that combo too!

Not too long ago I made a long, largely pointless discussion on my bow blog about how I like ice cream, but how it doesn't like me much.  Not in large amounts, anyway.  No one should be eating large amounts of ice cream anyway since that much sugar would make ANYONE sick.  But anyway, Rita Cheryl likes her ice cream with bells and whistles (almost literally, LOL).  It's got a gummy bear and a few other items that one might see on one of those freakshakes at Walt Disney World.

Disney doesn't stop there.  One of their eat joints has something called a "Kitchen Sink Sundae," which has everything INCLUDING a small kitchen sink!  Ordering one is such a big deal that the restaurant makes an announcement for everyone inside to hear.  Don't try to tackle that bad boy alone, though; the menu states that it can feed at least four people.  Blech, too much sugar for me, AND they put in those nasty gummy orange slices!!!  I prefer my ice cream the way Simply Orange prefers their juice:  "simply un-fooled-around-with."  My favorite flavors are chocolate, chocolate's cousin rocky road, and butter pecan, the last of which is growing increasingly hard to find.  I also like Neapolitan and those mint shakes that McDonald's puts out during St. Patrick's Day, and the occasional Drumstick, but usually I'm a plain old chocolate girl.

Eat and enjoy, Rita Cheryl!  Unlike me you don't have to worry about counting calories or getting an upset stomach...unless I decide to pretend the latter.

"You wouldn't do that, would you???"

Oh, mayyyyyybe...LOL.  No, I wouldn't do that.  I want my kiddies to enjoy their food.  Besides, Rita Cheryl has been a busy lady lately, and I think she deserves a treat with no strings attached.

Happy National Ice Cream Day,
RagingMoon1987

A very big surprise!

Imagine coming home after being out late and seeing a three-foot figure standing on your porch.  That happened to me about an hour ago. 

I thought at first that he was a big Howdy Doody, but when I got close I saw this.

He looks a little like a big version of Skipper's friend Skooter, or Charmin' Chatty, but according to Doll Reference he is Sandy McCall, Betsy McCall's cousin.

He's a very big doll, about the size as the Playpal family.  Here's his hand with Rita Cheryl's...

...and with mine.

My friend Donna gave him to me.  She's the same friend who gave me Belka/Lucy and Lady Diana, and the one who rescued Eddard and Arya.  She's a unique friend, and a good one to have.

Now I'm going to get Sandy settled and turn in for the night. 

Much love,

RagingMoon1987 

Throwback Thursday review: some kind of Lotus doll

This doll is NOT a Gali Girl, as her heavy eye makeup shows, but she's got the same face so I gave her a Hebrew name and I identify her as Jewish, like I do Denise.  Her name is Shifra, and she's another Ohio girl.  Madge came from Mansfield, and Shifra hailed from Piqua.  Piqua is a respectable distance from Mansfield, but is not too far from Xenia, LOL.  Anyway, here's Shifra...or rather, how she looked shortly after I got her.

Phew, too hot to be thinking of snowflake sweaters, as cute as that sweater is!

Much better!  Lotus is not the juggernaut that Mattel and Hasbro are, but the company has been around longer than I have, and Just Magic lists their dolls as respectable and affordable alternatives to American Girls.  They are responsible for the Jewish-themed Gali Girls, for Laura Ashley dolls (whom I'll be discussing next week), and for a number of other lines that Mommy's Doll Club touches on.  

Let's dive in.  As I said above, Shifra's hair needed some work when she arrived, just like Madge's did.  Unlike Madge, Shifra's hair was more responsive to water and my dog brush.  It only took forty-five minutes to brush it all out, plus a couple more minutes to find and restore the part...and then I waited the rest of the night for her hair to dry.  The picture on the left shows Shifra fresh out of her shipper, and the one on the right shows her immediately after I fixed her hair.

Of course that was November and this is July, so Shifra's hair has frizzed a bit since then, but that's nothing the squirt bottle and the dog brush can't fix.

Poor Madge, I wish it had been that easy for her, but can't have everything!  Shifra doesn't look fresh-out-of-box either, so Madge needn't feel too bad.  Regarding nitty-gritties, Shifra is an obvious blonde, and her hair is rooted.  The rooting is pretty good, good enuff that it doesn't show when I tie her hair back.  That's not the case with one of my newer dolls, but we'll cross that bridge in...oh Lordy, it'll be at least November before I get that review up!  As is the case with most of my dolls, Shifra's hair is tightly rooted close to her face...

...and further back it's more gappy.  Pigtails could happen with this doll, but it would take very careful parting.

Shifra has a side part so I've added my usual hair do-dad.  This one came with the outfit, but when she's not wearing this outfit she relies on those mini-JoJo Bows that are too small for my head.

Not bad hair overall.  Not AG-caliber, but definitely better than Madge's.  It does require some maintenence to keep it looking nice, so if you have one of these Lotus dolls keep that in mind.  As an aside, Little Raven Creations notes that she's only found one red-haired doll with this particular facial sculpt, and she was a Gali Girl.  Since Shifra is blonde she's probably NOT one of the Gali Girls...at least, not that I know of.  Miriam had red hair and Reyna was essentially Ana Ming with bangs, so Shifra is neither of them.  However, there were blonde dolls and some of them had left-handed side parts, so I can't rule out Gali Girls as Shifra's brand.

Good time to segue into the face.  Like Meritus's Girls on the Go, Lotus dolls have some variation in their paint, and in their head molds.  Some of the dolls look similar to the Journey Girls, but Shifra has this head instead.  No other doll that I have owned looks quite like this.  Shifra appears to be in awe of something, rather like my sister and I did when we were her presumed age...and younger.

<sings off-key>  It's enuff for this wide-eyed wonderer/that we got this far...I've always preferred "Circle of Life," myself.  But speaking of eyes, Shifra's eyes give me a bit of an idea about which line she may belong to, because they're fixed in place.  Two lines, Today's Girl and My London Girl, utilized this head with fixed eyes.  Shifra's eyes are bright blue, similar in shade to Famosa Nancy's and to the blue-eyed My Life As dolls.  Her eyelashes are long and a little heavy for a small child.

They've also got a little makeup, more than I would've worn when I was Shifra's age.

These eyes are fixed, so Shifra looks a little weird when she joins Madge and Katherine for a sleepover.  Please forgive Shifra's wardrobe change, LOL.

According to Little Raven Creations, Lotus's Today's Girl and My London Girl lines had fixed eyes, so that may help me figure out who this doll is and which line she belongs to.  Indeed, I found a My London Girl on Etsy who looks exactly like Shifra...and I mean EXACTLY.  Same part, same eyes, same eye makeup.  Regardless of the brand, this particular head has big, detailed lips with molded creases and a slight opening.

The lip paint doesn't covr the whole lip area, especially on the bottom lip, and as a result the lip looks a little funny.  Just a little; it's not noticeable from a normal distance...nor is the red blop of paint on Shifra's lower lip that looks like a blister.  Yee-ouchie, I get mouth blisters from time to time and they are no fun at all.  Anyway, as I was fooling around with this mouth I noticed that Shifra's teeth are legit molded in.  They're not spots of paint like an American Girl's teeth are.

Hmmm, looks like I need to bust out the canned air...and maybe the fine-grade sandpaper as well, since Shifra appears to have a ding on her chin.  I don't know how well this plastic would handle sanding, though.  It's higher quality than Madge's vinyl, but it's still not like the tough stuff that Denver-era My Twinns are made of.  Overall this is a nice character face, though some collectors might be bothered by the eternally gaping mouth.  I personally could do without the eye makeup, but it's pretty subtle.  I can see why Lotus used this face for so many doll lines.

Shifra's body is quite a bit like Madge's, but there are a few things that I'd like to point out.  First here's what it looks like; it's a little "weebly," meaning that the torso looks like one of those Weeble toys.  Miss Emily invented that term when discussing Our Generation dolls.

Like Madge, Shifra's joints only swivel, meaning that she can sit, stand, wave, and turn her head like Madge, but also that she has no sideways movement in her hips and shoulders.  She is more firmly stuffed than Madge and thus can stand more easily, but her posture isn't great.  Also, and I'm only making note of this because I think it's interesting, but look how tan Shifra is compared to Madge and to Katherine.  Madge's vinyl has a pinkish tone that's bordering on unnatural, while Katherine is very fair.

Regarding molding, Shifra's hands are shaped like an American Girl's hands but are a little smaller all over.  

Shifra's feet are a completely different mold from American Girl feet.  Her little toes are a bit more well-defined, complete with creases and nails.

Look at the soles of her feet!  They've got lines molded in!

Usually larger dolls like this have soles that are flatter than the Oklahoma panhandle, with the main exception I can name being the My Twinn squad.  A pretty average body overall; Shifra can't move her joints sideways or out, just like Madge can't, but she's stuffed a little better and is a pretty color all over.

Regarding clothes, Shifra didn't come in her original clothes, and I have no earthly idea what she originally would've worn.  She arrived wearing a sweater dress from American Girl and a pair of jeans from goodness-knows where, so I knew right off the bat that Shifra could share clothes with the AG crew.  With summer being in full swing, I've now got Shifra clad in this cute little Etsy number that is kinda Easterish.  It too is sized for American Girls.

I hate those shoes, by the way.  They're cute enuff, but they slip off Shifra's feet way too easily...but then again that's probably not the fault of the shoes.  As I said above, Shifra's hands and feet are smaller than those of an American Girl, and that's probably why these shoes are a poor fit.  The rest of the outfit is alright, though maybe a bit heavy for this time of year. 

Good thing Shifra has plenty of other things to choose from, though the next two outfits are also more for spring or fall than summer.  I'm just going to skim these, since Madge wore these last week.  On the right is the Go Anywhere outfit, and on the other right is the ily 4EVER Jasmine ensemble.

Shifra is more solidly stuffed than Madge, so she fills out her clothes better than Madge does.  The waistband of the Jasmine skirt doesn't look like it's trying to cut her in half.

Like I said last week, I'm not enamored with the quality of these ily 4EVER outfits, but Shifra looks adorable in it.  Both of these little outfits look good with Shifra's blonde hair, though i prefer the Go Anywhere getup on a brunette doll.  That's just a matter of preference.  

That's about all I want to say!

BAD
*Shifra's face is a little divisive.  Mama thinks she's pretty, but I've run into other folks who aren't fans of her slack-jawed expression.
*This hair needs a lot of maintenance.  It's better than Madge's, but it still needs a lot of brushing.
*Feet are smaller than those of American Girls, so shoes may be loose.
*Mobility is poor; Shifra's shoulders and hips only rotate.  Balance isn't great

GOOD
*I happen to love Shifra's face.  It's got a lot of personality and a lot of detail.
*The hair, as I said above, is better quality and in better shape than Madge's.
*Coloration is pretty.  I love a blonde doll with a tan tone.
*Can share clothes with American Girls and ily 4EVER.
*Cheaper alternative to American Girls, though the only place to find these now is eBay.  Gali Girls are SUPER tough to find.

Overall I think Shifra is a superior doll to Madge.  Her hair isn't perfect, but it's certainly easier to control than Madge's low-quality mop.  Her face is a character face rather than a dolly face (remember me talking about those), so she may not be everyone's cuppa tea.  But she adds some nice variety to an eightteen-inch doll collection, and she did so without me having to go to the poorhouse.  I just wish I could find more clothes that were marketed for these Lotus dolls.  I'd like to review them and report back to y'all on their quality...and about the size of the shoes.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

Another random cute baby

Ever since the public caught wind that a dolly lover runs their public library, I've had folks pop in to show me (and on two occasions flat-out GIVE me) a doll that they own.  That wasn't really the case yesterday, since the girl that came in had no idea who I even was, but she did have a doll cradled in her arms.  It's kinda funny-looking, but it was delightfully soft to the touch and well-loved.

The child was eleven, special needs, well-behaved, and very friendly.  When I asked her what her baby's name was she smiled and admitted "I don't remember."  Name or no, I got the picture I wanted (with permission, of course), and the child fell in love with Rita Cheryl.  She said she'd be back, and I hope she is.  Kids like that are a pleasure to have in the library, doll or no.

Oh yeah, in non-dolly news, some yayhoo drove through the front of Wal-Mart. 

You know you live in a small town when that's your biggest news story.  No one was hurt as far as I know, but a big hole was knocked in the recently remodeled foyer and now repairs are needed!  I can only imagine what the car looked like!

Cheers,

RagingMoon1987 

Throwback Thursday review: Meritus Girls on the Go

Greetings, my dear benchodes!  It's RagingMoon1987, back after another of my hiatuses.  Sometimes I go through spells like that, where I'm tired or lazy or bored with the blog, but I think I'm ready to get this next batch of posts out.  That said, Just Magic's database of eighteen-inch dolls is a good place to go for information, but it's also a dangerous place for a collector to go.  Past visits to this site have led to my purchases of Kat, of Rebecca, of Kristiana, of today's doll and of the next two dolls we'll see.  Girl on the Go is another of those brands that I knew very little about before visiting Just Magic.  So...meet my Girl on the Go, whom I've chosen to name "Madge."  She doesn't look a thing like Madge Undersee, who is described as blonde and blue-eyed, but that's where I got the name.

Just Magic states that these dolls are acceptable little alternatives to American Girl, with a few caveats.  I'll address those as I come to them but first, size.  Being an AG alternative means that Madge is roughly the same size as Jettivee (American Girl) and Amelia (Gotz).  The fact that all three are warmly dressed will give y'all an idea about how long I've procrastinated over this post.  It's WAY too hot for jackets and capes now.

Madge's build is bigger than the all-vinyl dolls, meaning that she likely won't be able to share clothes with Rebecca and Kat and Ana Ming.  She's got a body similar to Kristiana's, and an unsteady stance to match.  Being in stocking feet doesn't help.  Madge spent part of this review in her socks, for reasons that will be discussed below.

As always, hair comes first, and I know already to expect either a nightmare or something close to it.  Just Magic and Little Raven Creations both warn that these dolls have very low-quality hair, and indeed, Madge's eBay pictures showed a rat's nest (thank God for honest sellers).  This is how Madge's hair looked when she arrived last November.  She looks like she stuck her tongue in a toaster, as Chance put it in Homeward Bound.

What a shame!  I love brunette dolls, and this hair is a pretty color.  It's weird...I call this color mouse brown when I'm describing myself, but when it's on a doll I call it chestnut.

But then again, chestnut has more reddish tones in it, while Madge's hair has a lot of blonde, like I do.  I guess I'll bite the bullet and call this color mouse brown.  Just Magic insinuates that once the hair gets this far gone it's a lost cause, but I'm going to try to repair it anyway.  At least Madge has enuff hair that I can attempt it; remember what my My Way Kid's hair was like???

In that first picture Leah's wig looks thick, but in reality it was thin on top and quite dry.  I ended up having to rewig Leah, and it turned out for the best.

A new wig may be in Madge's future too, if I can't tame this mane.  There are some doll wigs that I flat-out CAN.  NOT.  TAME., but I have my hopes for Madge.  If not I'll have to cut this crap off, because Madge's hair is rooted.  The rooting is good along the hairline and the part, but meh on the rest of the head.

To give y'all an idea of what Madge's hair was like, here's the segment that was braided.  Yep, Madge has a braid in all that madness, and it's possible to see that the fibers are still soft and smooth.

The end of the braid is tipped with a tiny red bow.  I presume that Madge came with this, because bits of her original rubber band are still in place underneath the bow.  Broken, yes, but still in place.

This is crappy hair.  It was nice at one time, but it's not anymore.  Apparently this is par for the course with Meritus's Girls on the Go, as multiple parties have mentioned this line and the bad hair that came with it.  I've gotten the mayhem semi-controlled in the time that I've owned this doll, but it'll never be great hair.  And for all that...my mother says she likes Madge's hair.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, LOL.  I gotta admit that it does give her some character; she'd make an effective Hermione Grainger for Halloween.  More on that at eleven...

The face is where things get a little confusing, at least for my puny little mind.  It's really where the name of the doll line gets confusing, but faces factor in.  Little Raven Creation notes that Geoffrey and Tollytots also had dolls called Girls on the Go, but they were not the same as Meritus's dolls or each other, and the best way to tell the lines apart is by the dolls' faces.  Geoffrey Girls on the Go look a lot like Laura Ashley dolls (made by the same company), and also remind me a little of the Life of Faith dolls (a little bug-eyed, in other words).  Tollytots Girls on the Go were also called Tolly Girls, and they remind me a little of Journey Girls, Our Generation, and I'm a Girly.  As for Meritus, most of the dolls I've run into look a little like Kristiana and her Sew Able friends, though a few have painted teeth or closed smiles.  Madge has the open-mouthed head, with no teeth visible.  

For reference, here's how the face compares to Kristiana's.  The two have similar features but different coloring and different paint.  Kristiana also has some nice asymmetry that makes her look less mass-produced.

Madge's rounded eyes, softly smiling lips, and pointy chin make me think of the Marie-Grace mold.  Justine-Marie isn't the greatest example since her face has been made up, but one can see the basic shape of her face.  I think Madge's head is wider...and Justine-Marie's vinyl is yellower.

Eyes varied in color somewhat; according to Little Raven blue and dark brown were the most common eye colors, with green and light brown being more rare.  Because Meritus used the cheap kind the blue eyes looked unnaturally shiny, but as we've seen in the past brown eyes aren't immune to problems either.  Madge's eyes are dark like Julie's and Joss's, but not so dark that they look like soul-sucking holes.

Nope, not too bad!  There's a little of that cheap metallic look in there, but not a lot.  I'm not in love with the paint, though.  Madge has a dash of pink eyeshadow that thankfully is not too obvious, but her eyelashes and eyebrows are too light to match her sorry hair.  If I do rewig this doll she'll likely end up as a redhead because of those brows and lashes.  LOL, I'm as bad as Miss Emily when it comes to red-haired dolls!  Regarding the mouth, as usual I don't care for the color, but I love the shape.  

Little Raven notes that some of these dolls go overboard with the mouth paint, so I'll just take Madge's lip color and accept it.  That's right, Moon Girl, be glad that this paint isn't bubblegum like Kat's, or orange peel like Ana Ming's, OR lipstick like Kristiana's.  Madge has a cute little mouth and a cute little face, not snarky like Rebecca's or puckered like Kat's and Kristiana's.  Just sweet and innocent.

Regarding the body, Madge is built similarly to the American Girls, but not exactly the same.  As I noted above her build is slimmer than AG, similar to that of a Sew Able doll like Kristiana.

Madge looks like she has strung ball joints like the American Girls do...

...BUT SHE DOESN'T!!!  Her arms and legs only pivot, just like an Our Generation doll's limbs do.  The limbs move nicely, though.  Madge can get her arms up and keep them up...

...and she can turn her head...

...and she can sit and do front-to-back splits without much fuss.

Getting Madge to stand is a challenge for two unusual reasons.  One, she's not a very heavy doll.  Believe it or not, dolls like this need a little weight to anchor themselves in place.  Madge doesn't have a lot of stuffing in her torso, and her limbs are lightweight plastic, so it's easier for her to fall over (or blow over, as she did a couple'a times earlier in the review).  The second reason is that those hip joints have no side-to-side movement.  When a doll has hips that can go in any direction it's possible to monkey with her until she finally stands up, like I do with my American Girls.  Even Kailey and Lindsey (my two uber-loose girls) can stand if I play with them enuff.  Madge is best left propped up when in a standing position.

To top it all off, since Madge is understuffed she has terrible posture.  Few of my soft-bodied dolls have perfect posture, but Madge takes the cake.

Maybe I should've thrown her in the Boston brace instead of Amanda.  I doubt that would work though, since Madge's neck is the part that's understuffed.  No biggie, I can always clip her cable tie and stuff her a bit.  Fortunately for dolls like this a feat like adding or removing stuffing is easy.

Alrighty, so Madge isn't the most poseable doll on the planet.  Good thing her clothes look comfy!

Admittedly this is not an outfit I would've chosen, but it suits Madge.  Most of these Girls on the Go came in girly little ensembles that one could envision children wearing, but a few of them came in this Safe Sitter ensemble and had a smaller baby doll in tow.  Kinda neat!  Here's a closer look at the shirt, a simple navy blue T-shirt with the Safe Sitter logo on it.

Here's a better look at the logo; like most dolly logos, it's printed.

A perusal of eBay uncovered a backpack and a badge with the Safe Sitter logo, but again I have no idea where these items came from.  BellasDivas customizes T-shirts, as do several other Etsy sellers, but that still doesn't explain the badge (it's made of plastic and couldn't be printed like a T-shirt could).  So if any of y'all have the haziest idea where this shirt came from, let me know.  It's a nice shirt, regardless of where it came from, being made of navy blue jersey fabric.  The hems are small, but not so small that they turn inside out.

The sleeves are short, which was of minor importance when I purchased this doll in November.  They too are hemmed, with no embellishments of any sort.

The back closes with the usual Velcro.

The inside does have a tag, which has the famous phrase on it.

The pants are off-white and as a result have gotten fairly groady over the years, but spin in THE PICKLE JAR OF DESPAIR will set them right.  They also could do with a belt, as they're a bit big around the waist.

Unfortunately this is a kind of material that tends to look raggy along the seams, so there are loose ends hanging out of the cuffs, even though the cuffs are well-hemmed.  These can be trimmed away, but they make the pants look unkempt.

The right outer seam is decorated with a navy blue/white striped ribbon, and on the hip is a functioning cargo pocket.  Madge could carry some small items in there if she so chooses.  Thus why I love cargo pants in this size!

Outwardly the socks look like your typical white bobby socks, but the cuffs appear to be fleeced like sherpa socks.  These are large and have weird seams, and as a result they don't fit Madge very well.   They're nice and thick though, a bit heavy for July, but perfect for the cold weather that will eventually come.

Lastly, these shoes.  These are solid plastic with painted and molded details.  The laces are just for show; they tie, but they don't hold the shoes on.  I nearly broke all the fingernails on my right hand trying to get these off Madge's feet.

I'm just going to show a brief glimpse of the shoes, because Madge is NEVER wearing them again!!!  I mean never; I pitched them when I couldn't get them back on her feet. 

In a couple of the initial pictures I photographed Madge in her cape.  Money was tight last November, so rather than buy a whole new winter outfit or leave Madge bare-armed, I found something that covered her up a bit and accentuated her goofy hair.

I had a cape sort of like this once, and I may still have it if moths haven't gotten to it.  It was a cashmere blende with a fur-trimmed hood and was thus pretty dressy, so I only wore it to church in the wintertime. Anyway, since I bestowed a Scottish surname on Madge it made sense to get her something plaid to wear, even though this plaid is NOT Clan MacQuarrie's tartan.  Far from it (the MacQuarrie tartan is red), but it still looks nice on Madge while also covering her arms.  The material feels like it might've been cut from a lightweight blanket.

The cape toggles closed at the neck, and the neck is trimmed with white fake fur.  The toggle is fiddly to work with, but I love the fur trim.

The cape is an Etsy number, from the wonderful Bellaboo's Closet on Etsy.  I love clothes from Bellaboo's.

Regarding other clothes, since Madge is slimmer than the American Girls I'm predicting that their clothes will be loose on her.  First, Jettivee's spring ensemble, an old meet outfit called Go Anywhere.

Nuts, I left one of the boots at home!  This outfit as a whole is big on Madge, though it's not so big that the skirt is falling down.  I hate it when that happens.  I don't think this set flatters Madge's coloration as much as it does Jettivee's, though that's just my opinion.  

Now an ily 4EVER outfit.

I can't write home about the quality of these ily 4EVER outfits, but Madge looks alright.  The skirt is a little tight around her waist, but the outfit as a whole looks good and fits fine.  I'm calling ily 4EVER clothes a safe fit based solely on that getup.

Ultimately, the outfit that Madge will spend the summer in is this one.  It's sized for American Girls and came from lotsogoodies on Etsy.

The rompers has zebras on it.  If you remember my Sparkle Girls review then you remember how much I like unconventional animals on doll clothes (and people clothes).  Some of the zebras have rainbow stripes, just like the one on Fruit Stripe gum packs.  

For the record, I love Fruit Stripe gum.  Anyway, since Madge is slimmer than the American Girls this is roomy on her.  Nice and comfortable for summer, in other words.  Already it's been a hot one, though the nights have thankfully stayed mild for the most part.  For the most part

I think that's about all I have to say.

BAD
*Hair is not good.  It was likely good at one time, but it has aged poorly.

*Face paint is pretty simplistic and looks like...well, like the paint that it is.

*She has a teeny-weeny bit of eyeshine.  Not a lot, but some.

*Posing isn't great, and Madge can't stand up well.

*Those shoes were horrible!  And in the landfill they are, as far as I know.

GOOD
*My particular doll has a cute face.  Not all of these dolls do.
*Eyes don't look dead.  Brown doll eyes can run that risk.
*Paint looks cheap, but is all there with no streaks or chips.  Her lips are a nice color.
*Clothing isn't the most stylish, but with the exception of those shoes it's of good quality.  Plus, I wouldn't mind having a pair of those cargo pants in my size!
*Can wear and share clothes with other eighteen-inch dolls.  This thankfully includes shoes.
*As y'all saw on July 4th, she fits in well with other dolls her size.

I've seen Girls on the Go that still had nice hair, and when it WAS nice it was very attractive stuff.  That makes Madge's out-of-control mane that much more unfortunate.  But to be honest, even if I overlook Madge's hair she's just...okay.  Not a bad doll, but definitely not great either, and certainly not American Girl-caliber.  If you fancy a rewigging project then this little gal could be the one for you, but for an AG alternative I'd recommend sticking to the Gotz dolls and the Sew Able squad, or to the My Life As bunch, which are equally stiff but have nice hair and a big wardrobe.  Meritus's Girls on the Go can offer some new faces to an eighteen-inch doll collection, but that's about all.  Sorry, Madge!

Stay hydrated,
RagingMoon1987