Barbie Dream Besties by Mattel

Well, November is almost over and December is shaping up to be either a busy month for the blog or a bust.  Let me explain.  I've been on an advent calendar kick for the last few weeks, finding myself amazed and overwhelmed by the diversity and complexity of the current choices.  So I wanted to do an advent calendar feature all throughout the month of December, and I bought about ten calendars (maybe a few more than that...) for the occasion.

But one of my kids has to be in the hospital at the beginning of December, and I want to be as helpful and present as I can.  So a lot of the month will be spent traveling across the country and being a mom.  That will either give me a lot of time for the blog (since I have a few weeks off from my animal shelter job), no time at all, or something in the middle.  We'll see.

As I wait for December and whatever it might bring, I have some time to chat with you about one of Mattel's newest playline releases, the Barbie Dream Besties:

Barbie Dream Besties Brooklyn (left) and Teresa (right), $19.99.

Tea with Lena: 1:6 Ultra Corps! Figures by Lanard

There are a lot of things that factor into what review I decide to write next.  First of all, I have a very long queue of dolls that have caught my eye over the years and are just sitting on a shelf, waiting for their turn.  Second, I try to have a bit of an ear to the ground for new items or brands that are being released--even though I'll admit to not being up to speed in that arena.  I'm also always excited to hear about which dolls all of you are noticing and interested in, which certainly influences what I buy.

However, sometimes it's my assistant Lena's priorities or social life that dictate what I do each week, which is exactly what happened this time around.  While I was in the middle of a different review, Lena informed me that Ian's brother Calum was coming to visit all the way from Texas, and so of course I had to drop everything to focus my attention on that.  And I'm glad I did.  For anyone not familiar with Lena's love life, this might be a good time to catch up.

1:6 Ultra Corps! Astronaut by Lanard (discontinued).

Happy Halloween!

 Stay safe and spooky tonight.

Anne Fitzpatrick by Robert Tonner

While I was writing the Ellowyne and Neema review, I spent a lot of time browsing the Virtual Doll Convention (VDC) website--both tracking the Ellowyne and Neema dolls that were available, and also looking at the other types of doll that are offered in that shop.  

In addition to Ellowyne and Neema dolls, VDC sells Amazing Grace, a 16-inch fashion doll who looks like Tonner's Sydney on an RTB-101 body.  They also have some cute exclusive Ruby Red Fashion Friend Siblies.  But the character who really caught my eye is Anne Fitzpatrick.  She's a little girl who's Marley-sized, so about 12 inches tall, with a bright smile and what looks like a lot of joints.

I bought Anne at the same time that I bought Neema, so I thought I'd do a little bonus review of her now, while I'm still in a Robert Tonner kind of mood:

Anne Fitzpatrick by Robert Tonner for VDC, $175.

Ellowyne Wilde (and Neema!) by Robert Tonner

I've lived in New Jersey for four years at this point, and have just recently gotten around to installing some shelves and unpacking the majority of my doll collection.  Pretty lame, right?  But better later than never, I guess, and it's been a fun project.  I've uncovered a few obscure dolls that I forgot I owned, and gone on several feverish basement searches for dolls that I thought I'd lost.  I should do a whole post about that at some point, and maybe show you some of my shelves once they're organized.

My collection is much smaller than it used to be, but there are still quite a few Tonners in the mix--things like Patience, Rapunzel, Déjà Vu, Ella Enchanted, Agatha Primrose (she's one of the ones I forgot about...) and of course the Cinderellas.  It's a close call to say if I have more Tonner dolls or more Monster High dolls.  There are a lot of both.

In any case, as I was admiring my newly-unpacked Tonner collection, it occurred to me that I never got around to adding Ellowyne Wilde to the group--at least not permanently.  I owned an Evangeline Ghastly for a short period of time, who is also from Tonner's Wilde Imagination company, and I briefly had a basic Ellowyne with inset eyes who I couldn't bond with.  So, all these years later, I feel like there's a hole in my collection where Ellowyne should be.

I thought I'd lost my chance to buy an Ellowyne doll at retail price years ago when Tonner discontinued the line, but recently--and somewhat randomly--I discovered that Ellowyne Wilde is back!  In fact, she's been back for almost as long as I've lived in New Jersey.  I love second chances, so today I'll review one of the newer dolls from the Ellowyne Wilde line, and also an older doll, Languid, that I've always coveted and finally purchased:

Ellowyne Wilde Languid, by Robert Tonner for Wilde Imagination (discontinued).

LUV Dolls by Far Out Toys

Life has been even more hectic than usual for me these last few weeks, so my productivity has declined further.  Sorry.  I blame it mostly on the fact that I have eight foster animals in the house right now (yes, eight), and four of them are kittens with underdeveloped brains who make a huge mess and have to be hand-fed.  They're really cute though.  

I've been stealing moments in between my work and feeding kittens to investigate a new brand of fashion doll.  This brand has been on my mind since an anonymous reader mentioned it in the comments section of the Unicorn Academy review.  That was way back in June, which I find slightly hard to wrap my head around.  It feels like last week.

The new brand is called LUV (which reminds me of LIV!) and has been around for about a half a year.  These nine-inch dolls are made by Far Out Toys, which is the company responsible for the Glo-Up Girls.  I couldn't think of any other dolls that this company has produced, so I poked around on their website for a little while.  Apparently there are also a few surprise doll brands, like Squadz Place and Love, Diana under the Far Out Toys umbrella.  The Love, Diana dolls look pretty cute and come in little ice cream cone packages, but I absolutely cannot add anything else to my review queue right now!  So I'll try my best to stay focused on the LUV girls.  Here's Brooke:  

L.U.V. doll, Brooke, by Far Out Toys, $29.97.

Tea with Lena: Barbieland Miniatures and Zuru Mini Brands Create

I was going through the blog archive the other day and noticed that it's coming up on three years since I started reviewing again.  Three years!  The time has flown by for me.  I also noticed that I'm posting way less often than I used to, which is a little depressing.  At this point I have an enormous backlog of dolls that I'm dying to look at!  I always set the goal of writing shorter reviews more frequently, but don't seem to be very good at following through on that--and this week is no exception.

This week is a little different, though.  About a month after I re-started the blog, I asked Lena (Barbie Signature Looks Lina) to join me as an assistant.  Her job was fairly simple back then: stand in and act as a size and body comparison for every doll that I review.  She's done very well with this task, I think, but has started to complain that she's not being used to her full potential.  So, back in January of last year, we dreamed up the Tea with Lena series so that Lena could invite guests into her home and add a new perspective to certain reviews.  This week, rather than hosting a review in her home, Lena asked if she could be on set to help me show off some smaller items that I've been meaning to review for a while: an assortment of BarbieLand mini dolls and two new Zuru Mini Brands toys:

Mini Brands Series 5 ($7.49), Mini Brands Create ($9.99), BarbieLand Cutie Reveal ($2.89), and BarbieLand Color Reveal ($2.99).

Mini Sara from Ruby Red Fashion Friends

When I wrote my initial review of the Ruby Red Fashion Friends back in April of 2022, I figured I'd said everything I wanted to say on the subject.  I really enjoyed spending time with Jennifer and Scarlett, but didn't really have much desire to purchase any more of the Fashion Friends; a bit because their larger size is hard to accommodate, and also because the price of each doll is pretty high.  I didn't want to get sucked into another expensive corner of the doll collecting world.

But then, a few months ago, I got a promotional email from Ruby Red Fashion Friends announcing their "biggest clearance event ever!"  I get a lot of emails like this, most of them dismissible, but this one wasn't kidding.  The 15-inch Fashion Friends, who typically retail for $129, were all on sale for $49.  Insane, right?  I could basically get three dolls for the price of one...which I did (insane, right?).  I think there was a Ruby Red collector in me all of this time, just dying for an excuse to indulge.

Propelled by the exhilaration of welcoming three new Fashion Friends into my collection (Sara, Kayla, and Stella), I spent a fair amount of time online searching around to see what else the brand had produced over the last two years.  This research led me to the most exciting discovery of all: there are now miniature versions of a few of the Fashion Friend characters!  And you know how much I love miniature versions of things.

Mini Sara by Ruby Red Fashion Friends, $249.

Junior High, Littles, and Basic Dolls from Rainbow High

I hope everyone is doing okay with the heat of summer so far.  Here in New Jersey, we've been facing excessive and unrelenting heat for weeks.  It's not a lot of fun, especially because my air conditioner decided to give up the ghost last weekend.  We've rigged a temporary solution (a few window units), and the cats seem to think this is fine, but the dogs and I are not happy.  The nice thing is that I've been uplifted throughout this unpleasantness by the bright and colorful company of a few Rainbow High dolls.

I haven't talked about Rainbow High in quite a while.  I actually figured that the couple of reviews I did over the last few years would cover the brand adequately, but MGA has come up with several new products that forced me to re-think.

I've known about the nine-inch Junior High dolls for a few years now, of course, and I've even bought a few of them, but I never quite found the motivation to do a full review.  Lately, the release of the low-cost Swim & Style line and the six-inch Littles got me curious enough that I made some space in my review queue for the Rainbow High kids once again:

Rainbow High Littles Indigo Bailey ($9.99) and Junior High Krystal Bailey ($24.99) by Rainbow High.

Unicorn Academy Dolls by Spin Master

I've been excitedly waiting for the Unicorn Academy merchandise to hit the shelves for several months now.  Not because I'm an avid reader of the original book series by Julie Sykes (although I recently read and enjoyed the first volume), but because I tend to be interested in everything Spin Master does.

I'm a fan of Spin Master primarily because of their Liv line, which came out way back in 2009 and jump-started my enthusiasm for dolls and doll reviewing.  I was also amused by the flamboyant La Dee Da dolls, despite their minimal articulation, and kind of wish I'd kept a few of those girls in my collection.  Most recently, I reviewed Spin Master's Mermaid High dolls and found them to be versatile and whimsical little play companions.

Based on that history, I tend to have a high level of enthusiasm when I learn about a new Spin Master doll line.  And with the Unicorn Academy release I was doubly excited because not only are there a bunch of new dolls, in two different scales, but there's a wonderful selection of unicorn characters to accompany them:

4.5" Sophia and Wildstar by Spin Master, $14.99

Super Creator Happy Meals Kitchen Kit by Rolife

Back in the earlier days of Toy Box Philosopher, I had a project series with a few multi-part articles documenting my efforts with a doll-related art project.  I think there were only two installments, The Saskia Project and The My Twinn Project.  The My Twinn Project, in which I tried my hand at restoring and repainting My Twinn dolls, blossomed into an obsession that lasted for years, and even resulted in a new blog.  I'd love to get back into repainting those dolls someday, but there's just too much going on right now.

However, I still sometimes find myself in a crafty or artistic mood, and am often looking for outlets.  One of my kids has recently become fascinated by the wooden kits made by a company called Rolife.  These kits are apparently very satisfying to assemble, and result in some beautiful pieces (things like clocks, book nooks, dollhouses, and music boxes) that are a manageable size and great for display.  You can see examples on the Rolife website.

I went to browse the wooden kits myself one day, thinking I might try one, and I noticed a newer line called Super Creator.  The Super Creator sets are plastic kits that snap together to make a single diorama-like dollhouse room or shop.  I love dioramas and dollhouses, so these kits are very appealing to me.  One thing that was unclear, though, is what the scale of the kits was, and which dolls might be able to use the rooms.  That left me curious.  So, I decided to buy one of the rooms, build it, and then let some of my dolls test it out:

Littles Pet Shop Blythe doll in the Happy Meals Kitchen by Rolife, $43.99.

Girls of Many Lands from American Girl

I've always enjoyed vintage and discontinued dolls.  They can evoke tender feelings of nostalgia, a sense of wonder over the passage of time, or just seem hilariously funny in their outdated features.  I feel like I've gotten more interested in older dolls recently, perhaps because they remind me of the dolls that I had as a kid, or the brands that got me hooked on doll collecting as an adult.

Back in January I got a review recommendation from Rory involving older dolls.  Rory had recently found two nine-inch dolls in her parents' closet that she thought were from the early 2000s--around the time I started collecting dolls as an adult.  The dolls reminded her of Robert Tonner's aesthetic, which she knows I love.  She sent me a few photos of the dolls she found, and I was instantly intrigued.  They certainly resemble Tonner dolls, with their hand-painted faces, but they also looked distinctly like Helen Kish dolls to me.  And to deepen the intrigue, they're from the American Girl brand.  It should come as no surprise that within twenty four hours I'd purchased three of them.

Girls of Many Lands Isabel, by Pleasant Company (2002).

Tea with Lena: 1:6 Scale Horses

I have animals on my mind most of the time.  That's in part because I have eleven of them living in my house, but also because I spend my days at work taking care of another hundred or so homeless creatures.  But I also just like thinking about animals, especially horses.  The impressive size and graceful movement of horses has always been spellbinding to me.  Realistic 1:9 model horses like those made by the Breyer company are able to capture a lot of the things that I find so beautiful about horses, and so I've always admired them (and also reviewed them a few times).  I was even more obsessed with Breyer models when I was a kid, and amassed a collection that covered an entire wall of my room.

Back in March, when I wrote the Horse Foal Surprise review, I was reminded of how much I enjoy model horses.  That inspired me to do some investigating into what 1:6 scale horse options are available these days.  And my research turned out to be timely, as you'll see, because of something exciting that happened to Lena.

Lena with Hanoverian Horse by JXK, $130.

LULUPOP Dolls by SAMG Entertainment

Spring has definitely sprung here in New Jersey, with temperatures creeping into the 80s and lots of flowers everywhere.  The beautiful weather makes me eager to get back outside with my dolls, and that's on the agenda for next time, but today I want to share a review that I've been meaning to write since September of last year.

During one of my random browsing sessions on Amazon, I found a big-eyed fashion doll that I'd never seen before, from a South Korean brand called LULUPOP (also written "Lulu Pop").  The LULUPOP dolls are based on virtual K-pop idols, so there are a few full-length songs and music videos featuring the animated idols.  From what I understand, the dolls used to be available exclusively in Korea, but they made the jump to Amazon about a year and a half ago.

I'm always fascinated to explore brands from other countries, because they often have a new aesthetic or offer a window into a different culture.  In this case, the aesthetic looks very familiar, but the songs and videos definitely offer up something new and fun.  So, with high hopes, I purchased one of the girls, Tania, to see what the brand is all about:

LULUPOP Tania, by SAMG Entertainment, $25.99.

Diva Starz by Mattel

I'm excited to be sitting down to write this review for the second time!  As you might remember, last time around I realized I'd forgotten some important versions of the doll, and felt like I had to start over with a new approach.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't be concerned about creating such a thorough review of a brand, but these particular dolls hold an interesting place in the evolution of icons like Bratz and My Scene, so I felt like they warranted a more careful look.

So, who are the dolls?  They're Mattel's Diva Starz, a varied range of electronic-themed dolls that were first released in the fall of 2000.  The original dolls were designed to fit into a market that was obsessed with electronic pets.  For example, Furby, an interactive fuzzy creature made by Tiger Electronics, was at the peak of its popularity in the late 1990s, with more than 40 million units sold between 1998 and 2000.  The early Diva Starz had more in common with Furby than they did with most fashion dolls, but by the time they were discontinued in 2005, the dolls had gone through two major transformations and looked significantly different. 

In today's review, I'll look at all three main iterations of the Diva Starz, which means it's gonna be a long one!  So, settle in with your favorite beverage and take a trip down memory lane with me.

Fashion Diva Starz Nikki by Mattel, 2002.

Sunday Surprise: Horse Foal Surprise by Breyer!

Well.  These past two weeks haven't gone quite how I'd planned.  I've been working on a vintage fashion doll review, which is one of my favorite things to do, so that's been fun.  And I was pretty much on schedule, too, but then as I started to write the review, I hit a snag.  The problem is, my research into the brand made me realize that I was missing at least one, and probably two, important iterations of the doll.  So, I bought some more stuff and am waiting for it to arrive.  The delay shouldn't be too long, but it's been a while since my last review, so I decided to dig up a Sunday Surprise for you today!

As many of you know, one of my lifelong passions has been horses--especially Breyer model horses.  My blog friend Rebecca Z certainly knows this about me, and so a few years ago she suggested Breyer's Horse Foal Surprise sets as a possible review topic.  These sets include two Stablemate (1:32 scale) Breyer horse parents, and a mystery foal.  The really cool thing is that, according to the Breyer website, the foals are supposed to have some genetic realism, meaning that they have coloring and markings based on the combination of their parents.  Horses, surprises, and genetics?  I could not resist.

Horse Foal Surprise Set by Breyer, $9.99.

Blind Box Mermaids by Penny's Box and LuckyDoll

I was happy to read in the comments of the World Peacekeepers review that some of you are as excited about Lena and Ian's relationship as I am.  Lena doesn't really want me to talk too much about it here yet, but I can tell you that they've been chatting on the phone and have made tentative plans to get together again.  I hope the romance can stay alive without the beautiful sunsets of Culebra!

Speaking of Culebra, before we went on our trip, I hunted around for water-themed dolls that I could bring with me.  The best options were some blind box BJD mermaids that looked like they might be waterproof.  I've written a lot of reviews of this type of doll lately, namely the Street Series Adou boys and Natural Wonderland Antu girls from Penny's Box, and the Come4Free Bonnie dolls.  But I figured it couldn't hurt to explore one more style of blind box BJD.  

This time around I'm going to introduce a little competition into the mix by comparing the Penny's Box interpretation of a mermaid to similarly-sized mermaid characters from LuckyDoll.  This is a bit of a surprise-themed post since I'm not going to reveal which mermaids I got right away, but the timing didn't quite work out for a Sunday Surprise.  Nevertheless, here are the two contestants, still hidden away inside their boxes:

Tidal Secret Language by Penny's Box ($39.99) and Mermaid Chuchu by LuckyDoll ($29.99).

World Peacekeepers Sport & Adventure Diver by M&C Toy Centre

My husband and I had a huge amount of fun on our trip to St. John last February.  You might remember Lena's Spring Break posts from that trip, or the underwater photos of some Mattel mermaids.  We had such a good time, in fact, that as soon as we got home, we booked a trip for this February, hoping to re-create the magic.  Following through on that plan, last week we traveled to the small Puerto Rican island of Culebra, which is where I photographed my first Maru and Friends Mini Pal review back in 2017.  Culebra was rainy, but delightful, and of course I had Lena and a collection of doll friends along with me to share in the fun.

One of my guests was a World Peacekeepers Sport & Adventure scuba diving action figure.  The World Peacekeepers are primarily 1:6 military characters, similar to G.I. Joe.  Heavily-armed military dolls are not my thing, but fortunately there are also a few civilian offerings including police men, firefighters, athletes of various kinds, and even an astronaut.  The diving character's underwater theme seemed perfect for our island trip, and I also thought he was particularly handsome...something Lena whole-heartedly agrees with, as you'll see.

World Peacekeepers Sport & Adventure Diving figure, $19.99.

Keeping Up With Kurhn

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything, mostly because my job uses up a lot of energy, but also because I've been taking some actual time off to relax and do silly things like hang with my dogs or play Tears of the Kingdom.  It's been nice.

Time off gives me a chance to reflect, too, and one of the things I realized is that I've been reviewing dolls for so long, some of the brands I looked at early on have changed and expanded significantly since my last check-in.  Kurhn dolls are a great example of this.  I first reviewed the Kurhn brand way back in 2013 with a two-part mini series that featured a basic Kurhn playset and a more expensive Glamorous Kurhn girl.  I was impressed with the brand back then, and planned a few follow-up posts, but got distracted by other things.

I was reminded of Kurhn dolls as I was packing up to move from Maine to New Jersey in 2020. I found a second Glamorous Kurhn that I'd apparently purchased at one point...and then completely forgotten about.  I was surprised by how nice she looked, and so instead of selling her, I brought her with me to the new house.  Then, about a year ago, I took some time to investigate the current Kurhn market.  That research led to several more purchases (of course) not all of which will fit into today's review.  Today I'll look at the new-ish Kurhn fashion dolls that caught my eye, like this adorable panda-themed Anniversary doll:

Little Panda 17th Anniversary Edition Kurhn doll, $21.50.

Kitchen Littles by Tyco

Happy New Year!  2024 is off to a good start around here.  At work, my heart is constantly warmed by the number of wonderful people who come in looking to adopt an adult cat.  I think five long-term residents of the shelter found their forever homes the other day, which is truly remarkable.  I'm also excited about the blog, even though I have less time to write.  There are some new dolls that I'm eager to look at, plus an assortment of vintage items--some of which were inspired by your excellent suggestions.

In fact, today's review was also inspired by a suggestion.  Back in October, when I reviewed MGA's Miniverse resin food kits, Becky'sTwinn asked in a comment if I'd ever heard of Tyco's Kitchen Littles--a series of 1:6 scale kitchen appliances, accessories, and food that were released in the mid 1990s.  I hadn't heard of the brand before, and so Lena and I immediately went to eBay to browse the offerings.  I'm a sucker for kitchen-themed toys, and Lena is eager to upgrade her kitchen, so before long we'd amassed an impressive Kitchen Littles collection:

Lena with an assortment of Kitchen Littles toys by Tyco (1995).