Smart Dolls

 This is the blog I try to reserve for my 1/6 scale dolls, but I got a new doll recently, that I don't have a specific blog for that I wanted to share, so thought I'd share her here. My doll collection runs the gamet. I have everything from Iplehouse EID size 70cm dolls all the way down to Fairyland Realpuki's  who are about 9.7cm or or close to 4 inches tall. I have come to the conclusion that I just like dolls..............most kinds of dolls (except for baby dolls), and I like variety to photograph, so I'm ok with having lots of variety within my doll collection.  Up until this year I have stayed away from the Smart Dolls as I tend to lean towards realistic type dolls in my collection as opposed to the more anime inspired styles. I guess I always associated Smart Dolls with anime, so they were an easy pass. Last year my friend Robyn got one of the semi- realistic Smart Dolls and I begin to admire her. Robyn has been my go to seamstress for quite a few years now. She is super talented and never disappoints. She started making things for the Smart Dolls that I fell in love with, so I started to go look at the Smart Doll website and there was one of the semi-realistic girls that just jumped off the page at me. Her name is "Dauntless" in what is called the tea skin tone. It is a nice medium tan shade. Last weekend my friend Robyn emails telling me about the current favorable exchange rate between the yen and the USD. It was quite the savings, so I took the plunge and ordered my first Smart Doll. Here is her arrival pic out of the box. One of the other things that caused me to finally take the plunge is the dolls are in stock. When you order from the website they ship pretty quickly. As a first time buyer I had to wait for an email confirming address, and the fact that I realized they were hand made items, therefore not perfect, but even with that step involved, I ordered her last Saturday and she arrived via DHL on my doorstep Thursday.

These girls are vinyl BJD's, for those unfamiliar with them. You can change out their eyes and their wig, and their hands, bust and feet too! They have a very cool skeletan system you can see on the Smart Doll website: Smart Doll (All) – Smart Doll Store

Each doll comes with a sports bra and panty set in varying colors, eyes and a wig. There are optional hand sets  and busts available as well as elf ears and a variety of clothing and accessories. Here is another shot of her on arrival day in her sports bra and panty set that she came in.

She poses very well for a vinyl doll. Her bust is squishy for lack of a better term, which allows her to look up or down, even though the neck joint doesn't have much range of motion other than moving side to side. I got several optional hand sets with her, as well as this black lingerie set she is modeling here. Love the flat hands. It looks like she is saying "Oops".

I also dug into my wig bin for the above picture and found she can wear many of my 8/9 wigs I have accumulated over the years for my asian BJD's.

I like the braided wig on her, and she may get to keep it for a while. More play time revealed she can wear the shoes I have for my Dollstown Elf girls as well as my SD13 Luts shoes. Below she is modeling a gown I have for my DT Elf girls. It's a little short on her, as its a full length gown, but it fits well in all other areas, even though it has a bit of stretch. I was able to pretty easily get her in this arms crossed pose. Her elbows are double jointed allowing this pose, and also allowing her to easily touch her face.

This morning I got out the elf ears I bought for her, which also come in an accessory pack. they hook on over the back of her ears, much like glasses would. They are not very secure, and if I were to leave them on her for any length of time I would probably use some sticky tack or something. There was a disclaimer on the website that they would fit each of the heads differently, some looser than others, so I knew going in.

Lastly a full length shot of her in a gown originally made for my Iplehouse nYID girls. It's a little loose in the back, but looks beautiful from the front and the length of the gown as well as sleeve length is good.

My final thoughts.............LOVE this doll, who I am going to call Dalia.  I'm sure there will be another Smart Doll in my future. They currently come in 4 "skin" tones, tea is the one I got. There is a lighter skin tone called cinnamon, and a darker skin tone called cocoa. The fourth skin tone that isn't currently available is Interstellar blue. My understanding is that the blue dolls are more limited and therefore have limited runs that sell out pretty quickly.

Dangerous Love Muses Collection =Empty Wallet

 I have posted about the Jamieshow Muses collection of 12" beauties previously. The concept of changeable wig caps has always made the Jamieshow doll lines very appealing to me. I started with the Gene line dolls when they were being produced by Jamieshow and added a couple of the 16" original JS sculpts.....................along with LOTS of wig caps!! Yes, I'm a bit addicted! When the 12" Muses line came out,  I tried to resist, I really did, but all I ended up doing in the end was missing all the Premier line dolls, lol! I succumbed to their lure with Summer Kisses Sasha, and SK Alexis and Ginnie followed quickly behind when extras were available on the Jamieshow website. 

When the Dangerous Love line was put up for preorder I KNEW I was in HUGE trouble. This capsule was right up my alley, both dolls and outfits................and for the first time they offered male Muses!! I hit the buy button for Alexander/Alejandro (it says one name on his box, another on his certificate) so fast it wasn't funny, and Ginnie was close behind him. Here are both Ginnie and Alejandro in their original looks.

And a broody Alejandro

I then had to decide how to whiddle down which outfits I was going to purchase. In the meantime, while I was trying to figure out the outfits, Daniel made it into my cart and checked out. Here he is straight out of the box. The dolls all came with a robe and undershorts/panties for the girls.

Daniel and Alejandro doing a wig switchup. I really like Daniel with Alejandro's wig. He reminds me a LOT of Henry Golding.

Then before the ordering period was over Sasha somehow joined the crew. I am a sucker for a doll with red lips and her makeup was just so beautiful I was afraid that I would regret it later if I missed her. She does indeed have a stunning face, and love her wig too! Here she is as she came out of the box.

Two of the first fashions to make it into my cart were Look 5 for the men and Look 20 for the women. Sasha and Alejandro modeling below. Look 5 is a jumpsuit. Not sure why I hadn't figured that out from the promo pics, but I really like it on Alejandro. I have also switched up the wigs here with Alejandro in Daniel's wig and Sasha modeling Ginnie's.

Look 3 for the men was another quick choice for me. With the added option of a sweater, to change it up, I added this option as one of my first choices. Daniel is modeling the pants with the sweater below. I haven't photographed the tshirt and jacket yet. I have 3 more outfits that were preordered that I haven't had a chance to photograph yet. I am so pleased with this whole collection. The dolls are just beautiful. The outfits as well, and all the little details, like the adjustable strap on Daniels shoulder bag gorgeous jewelry and amazing footwear. Daniel is wearing Alejandro's default wig cap here.

And Jamieshow's photo showing the full outfit. The extra sweater isn't included in the promo pics, but it is a great mix and match option as I noted above.

Yesterday morning I got a message in my inbox offering the "extra's" from this collection to those on the Muses mailing list. Needless to say, once again I couldn't resist the pull of these little dolls and Orlando and Bella will be joining the crew. (as well as a few more outfits) I have been more excited about this doll line than I have been by any other line in a long time. Kudos to Jamieshow and Owensu for a wonderful collaboration!! May the partnership continue for a long time to come. I look forward to what else is in store down the road. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the Enchanted line's appearance shortly.

The full Jamieshow offering of dolls from the Dangerous Love capsule. This one is going to be awfully hard to beat. The girls..............three out of the four nabbed me in the end. Photo by Jamieshow.

And the men (photo by Jamieshow). Again, 3 of the 4 made their way to live with me.

Shades of Pink

 The Jamieshow Muses have become favored models around here. One of my favorite things about them is the variety of looks you can get with one doll because of their rooted wig caps. I have to say I've become a bit addicted to them, and add new ones as often as I can. Since the Dangerous Love collection was a bit delayed and I didn't have to pay off the balances of that collection this month, I splurged on some new wig caps. Ginnie is modeling the first one.

I hadn't added any of the fantasy colors prior. The pink of this wig is very subtle and I thought it meshed very well with this outfit from Yoisrus (on Etsy).

And one last close up of the lovely Ginnie's face. The face ups on these little ladies are amazing.

The Profs

 Looking forward to the Harry Potter HBO Max reunion special on New Year's Day, and it has put me in a bit of a Harry Potter mood. I haven't photographed the professors from the most current Mattel Potter collection much, so decided to get them out and photograph them together and then do some close ups.

I read Sirius Black and Bellatrix will be the next installments in the Mattel Series. I haven't collected all the dolls in this series as I have the Star Ace figures in this scale, but I wanted McGonagall when she came out and I got a deal where I got Dumbledore in the set with her. I liked this version of Snape, so I added him as well.

McGonagall is my favorite professor so I had to add her when I saw her. Not long after I bought this version Star Ace released their own version of her, who I have on the way. I think Mattel did a good job with her likeness for the price point! I look forward to seeing the Star Ace version in hand. They can be a bit hit or miss with their likenesses.

Dumbledore reminds me very much of the Star Ace version, although the likeness is a little better on the Star Ace version. It is one of the sculpts they did right. Still I think Mattel did a nice job with the likeness for a playline doll.

The Looks

 I've liked the dolls in the Mattel "Looks" collection since their premiere earlier this year, but I kept missing them at retail. I finally decided I would just go ahead and spring for this guy (#5- using the new Sean sculpt) when I saw him for right around $30 on Amazon. I do have a soft spot for the guys, and I really did like everything about this guy. I've also been complaining about the lack of male dolls on the made to move bodies, so decided I should put my money where my mouth is when Mattel finally did release one I loved. I finally released him from his packaging today and got him in front of the camera.

I really do like this new sculpt quite a bit. I like how they did his hair too, with the partial flocking.

I like the basic clothing pieces he comes with. While I liked the idea that the BMR1959 line was on the made to move bodies in various sizes, I wasn't a huge fan of the clothing for most of those dolls. I love that we get basic mix and matches pieces from this new Looks line. Sean comes in black "pleather" pants and a sleeveless black tee with plain white tennis shoes.

His clothing pieces will be really easy to mix and match with other Ken clothing I have in my arsenal. His hairstyle will also lend him to lots of redressing potential as well.

I have already ordered the new AA sculpt #4- Jon, who I'm really looking forward to getting in hand and I'd like to add the girls in the first wave as well before they become completely impossible to find.

I have seen some photos of three new dolls coming soon in wave 2. Only one guy in that grouping so far, and he appears to have Native American inspiration. Really looking forward to seeing some owner pics of those dolls when they start hitting stores. I hope this is a line that sticks around for a while.

A Current Muse

 When Jamieshow released their 12" resin "Muses" I was intrigued (as I love their 16" dolls as well as their rooted wig caps), but I was determined to talk myself out of "going there", as I didn't want to start yet another collection. To be honest, I knew I would go a little crazy with the wig caps, as I have with the 16" , and I didn't want to find storage space for yet another size of wigs. I have however learned never to say never on my doll collecting journey, so when I saw one of my favorite dolls from the Summer Kisses Muse collection (Sasha) in stock a couple of weeks back, along with wigs already stocked, in a moment of weakness I hit the buy button and haven't looked back.  In fact I've been back a couple of times to order, yes you guessed it ..........MORE wig caps!!  Now I wish I would have caved during the pre-order period so I could have added Ginnie as well! I am however VERY happy with Summer Kisses Sasha and have had the best time playing with her since her arrival. Here she is as she came right out of the box. The Summer Kisses girls came with a long, straight wig in varying colors, and various styles/colors of swim wear.

The face up on Sasha is really beautiful, and her body is beautifully sculpted as well.

I've found she can wear both Barbie and Fashion Royalty clothing quite well. The shoes for the FR/Nuface dolls seem to work well on her too. Here she is modeling a beautiful gown from the East 59th collection.

She is quite stunning as a brunette as well as her original blonde.

I'm really hoping that Jamieshow will eventually offer the gloved hands, as they have with the 16" size dolls. The Muses have gorgeous hands, with delicate nails but I find them extremely difficult, or for me it was impossible, to get them into any of the existing 12" gloves I have on hand.  I quite like Sasha in the auburn wig color as well. Here she is modeling one of my all time favorite FR ensembles, Travelor by Nature.

And lastly back she goes to blonde in this Barbie ensemble.

Word is 12" Muse Hommes are on the horizon, and according to Instagram, there will be a couple of ladies joining them in their debut release. I hear the new collection will debut the end of this month. I have a feeling my pocket book is going to be screaming.................... I haven't had this much fun with a new doll line in quite a long time though, so I believe I'll need to just invest in some ear plugs and let it scream on, lol!

Back to the Beginninng

 In April Chris Stoeckel and Integrity Toys announced the new mini collection of dolls in the East 59th lineup, in a collection that took the dolls back to where they first met in the late 40's. I love 40's fashion so I was very excited that I was able to secure all three dolls, and eagerly anticipated their arrival. Mine arrived the first part of July and I have to say I'm thrilled with all three dolls.

I just love the Victoire sculpt, so was very excited to get another version of her. I also love suits and New York Bound Victoire's suit doesn't disappoint. It is sublime. The chevron pattern in the coat is beautifully executed. Each doll also comes with alternate mix and match options. Victoire's happens to be a lame gown (which I haven't put on her yet, as I've been enjoying her in her suit too much.

Home at Last Aurelia also is in a stunning blue velvet suit. I love Aurelia's side glancing eyes and elegant updo. She is my favorite Aurelia to date! Aurelia's mix and match outfit piece consists of tomato red trousers. This Victoire also ranks among my favorites. I love the victory roll hairstyle. She is a stunning doll.

This collection also heralded the debut of the second male doll in the East 59th lineup, and he is also the return of a fan favorite sculpt (previously known as Darius).  He is Aurelia's brother Augustus, aka Gus. Romance in the Air Augustus debuts in a beautiful plaid suit. Gus's mix and match optional clothing item is a brown sweater vest to match the brown pin striping in his suit. It was revealed to us that Gus is the love of Laird's life.................so does that mean we will see a Laird/Gus giftset in the future? One can hope. I missed out on the original version of Laird and now "need" one to go with Gus.

I'm very happy with this collection and only hope that we see more forays into the 40's time period, as I'd love to see the other dolls in the line wearing 40's fashions as well!