Project Mc2 Update with Ember Evergreen

Well, this is the last week before I take my eldest son to college, so the blog is getting ignored a little bit.  It's a crazy, emotional time and I don't want to miss anything with my kid.  I should also explain my delay in posting the conclusion of the My Twinn Project.  I haven't lost enthusiasm for my rejuvenated 23" girls by any means, it's just that I'm finding it difficult to choose a space where I can photograph four large dolls.  I'll figure it out, though.

Some of you might be a little surprised to see that I'm reviewing more Project Mc² dolls today.  Even though I'm a huge fan of science and S.T.E.A.M.-related toys, I didn't have a completely positive reaction to the first wave of Mc² dolls.  As a quick reminder: I reviewed McKeyla McAllister and her lava lamp almost exactly a year ago, and was disappointed by the doll's floppy, flaky articulation and bad hair. I was also underwhelmed by the science content that accompanied the lava light project.  However, the line redeemed itself somewhat because of the fun assortment of geeky clothing, the nice faces and inset eyes on the dolls, and the entertainment value of the project accessories.

I managed to observe the release of the second wave of Project Mc² dolls with only mild interest and no purchases.  However, when MGA Entertainment added a redheaded character to their most recent collection of dolls...my self control crumbled.  Not only do I love the look of the new Ember Evergreen character, but I was also tempted by the most recent version of my favorite Project Mc² girl, Bryden Bandweth.  In this review I'll take a look at both of these dolls and their S.T.E.A.M.-related accessories.

"Bryden's Speaker" Bryden Bandweth (left) and "Ember's Garden" Ember Evergreen (right)
$24.99 each.

Sunday Surprise: Cabbage Patch Kids Surprise Newborn Twins!

I have a long-standing fixation on toys with surprises or mysteries.  Things like Kinder Surprise eggs, for example, send me into fits of glee.  I love blind bag toys, vending machines and grab bag specials, too.  If a doll has a secret accessory or gift displayed in its box, odds are good that I'm going to want it.  Because of this obsession, I've decided to introduce a new feature to the blog.  It'll be called "Sunday Surprise" and will include short reviews of surprise-themed toys...on Sundays.  I might not be able to come up with one of these every single Sunday, but that'll be part of the surprise!  I already have a bunch of amazing toys that I can't wait to share with you.  This whole idea is beyond exciting for me, so I really hope you'll enjoy it, too!

My favorite kind of toy surprise is probably the mystery name of a doll.  You might remember how thrilling I thought the Cabbage Patch Babyland Mini dolls were with their little hidden birth certificates.  I can't believe that those cuties were on the shelves for such a short period of time.  I decided that the perfect toy to start this series would be another Cabbage Patch Kid mystery item: the Surprise Newborn Twins!

Cabbage Patch Kids Surprise Newborn Twins (discontinued) by Jakks Pacific.

A My Twinn Project Update

I'm almost done with the My Twinn Project!  For anyone who is just tuning in, today's story is the follow-up to a previous post (which you can find here).  I really love projects like this--where something that has lost its shimmer becomes beautiful again.  When I was a kid, I liked to flip through my mother's magazines to find the makeover stories.  I've always been fascinated by the magical transformation of a good makeover.  Not that show Extreme Makeover, though.  I did not like that.  Anyway, I suspect it's all wrapped up in my obsession with the Cinderella rags-to-riches story.

I feel a little bad for Curvy Barbie and Lammily, though.  They're lovely dolls and I had a great time reviewing them, but I kept wanting to sneak away and work on the Twinns.  And speaking of Barbie, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who informed me about the articulated Curvy Barbie (oh, yay!) and the hidden charms of the Petite and Tall Barbies.  What wonderful news!  I will have to check those out.

There will be one more My Twinn Project post after this one--a finale where I'll reveal the completed 23" dolls (and the baby).  Today, though, I'll just be checking in with the larger girls and updating you on their progress.  I'll also show you how the eye replacements turned out on my 18" dolls.  And...maybe I'll introduce someone new.  Because, as I mentioned, I always seem to go overboard with this kind of venture.

Holly with her new wig.

Curvy Barbie Meets The New Lammily

I'm so happy that my project idea sounds fun to some of you!  I'm certainly having a great time with the Twinns.  The big girls have their wigs and the smaller girls have new eyes (for better or worse!). They should be ready for a quick update in a few days. In the meantime, there's a fun pair of fashion dolls that I'd love to talk about.

In addition to the new line of DC Super Hero Girls, Mattel has recently premiered a wider range of body types for the Fashionista Barbies.  There are now Petite, Tall and Curvy characters.  I was especially interested in the Curvy dolls because of my fascination with Lammily--the first fashion doll that attempted to represent realistic body proportions.  The original Lammily doll made huge waves when she entered the market in late 2014, and I feel pretty certain that Mattel introduced their new Barbie bodies as a direct result of the popularity of Lammily.  And there's nothing wrong with that--in fact, the more inclusive the fashion doll market becomes, the better.

The Lammily company has also been super-busy lately.  They've introduced a wonderful line of fashions (including Olympic gear and some exclusive handmade dresses).  There's even a bee keeper outfit!  Their second female character, Photographer, was introduced for pre-order about a year ago and started shipping in early June.  The first male Lammily doll (a young man who spends his time helping animals in need) is expected to arrive this November.

Since I've been away from the blog for so long, I figured I would try to catch up a bit by looking at Curvy Barbie and the Lammily Photographer in the same post.  This might not be wise, but here it goes.

"So Sporty" Barbie, $19.99 (left), and Lammily "Photographer," $25.00 (right).

The My Twinn Project

One of my new ideas for the blog is to write about the doll-related projects in my life.  I could call this series of posts "regular person attempts tricky things that you can learn from the internet!" but I'll probably just put the word "project" somewhere in the title.  I love a good project.  I've documented project-like things in the past, but I'd like to make it more of a regular occurrence.  The basic formula will be to set the scene in a relatively short post and then publish a few progress updates--interspersed between my more conventional reviews.  This way you'll get to follow along and share in the suspense as I succeed (or fail!) in my endeavors.  When the project is complete, I'll put together a cumulative post with some concluding pictures and statements.  Let's see how it goes!

The first project involves My Twinn dolls.  My Twinn went out of business in January.  I was sad to hear this news, but it didn't come as much of a surprise.  By late 2015, the quality of the 18" dolls was plummeting, there was a glut of unsold, mega-browed 18" Adopt-A-Friends, and the company had ceased production of dolls with darker skin tones.  The situation didn't look promising.  The way I see it, My Twinn dolls were made great by four critical things: a great range of customizable options (including over 40 face molds), overall high quality of construction, beautiful inset eyes, and carefully hand-painted eyebrows.  Many of these features had gone out the window by the time My Twinn closed its doors.

Like many collectors, I think the best versions of My Twinn dolls are the ones assembled in Denver, Colorado from 1995 through 2001.  These dolls have high-quality vinyl, beautiful (durable) eyes, nice wigs, a variety of faces, and (occasionally) artist-painted eyebrows.  To commemorate the end of My Twinn, I decided to add one more of these vintage gems to my collection.  The Denver dolls are all at least 15 years old by now, though, so adopting one is likely to involve a bit of restoration.  This project will document what kind of work can be required...and how I struggled through it.

My Twinn Audrey from 2001.

DC Super Hero Girls "Wonder Woman" by Mattel

Well, that was a long delay in between reviews.  As many of you know, blogging was getting complicated for me, but then life got pretty complicated, too, and I needed to step away from the computer.  But I can't seem to quit dolls, and I also miss you guys.  So...I'm back.  As a kind-of warning, though, I don't think the blog will be exactly the same as it was before.  Specifically, I no longer think of this as my job, and can no longer attempt to buy and review everything new or popular.  But I'd love to review and talk about whatever doll passion or project I happen to be wrapped up in at the moment--or share some of my older dolls with you.  Despite the changes, I hope that this will still be a useful or diverting place for some.  Thank you for coming back, and thank you for all of your kind messages and heartfelt concern.  That's all I'll say for now because there are a lot of dolls to talk about!

While I've been away, Mattel has been taking the play doll world by storm. Specifically, the new Barbie body types and the awesomely powerful Super Hero Girls are turning a lot of heads...including my own.  I actually want to credit Mattel (and a few others) for luring me back into active doll collecting.  Today I'll be looking at two of Mattel's DC Super Hero Girls: Wonder Woman and Power Action Wonder Woman.  This teenaged version of Wonder Woman is a main character in the new Cartoon Network series, DC Super Hero Girls, but I won't pretend I knew that when I bought the dolls.  The fact is, I've always loved Wonder Woman more than the other female super heroes.  I even had the Underoos, if you must know.

I'll do a thorough review of the debut Wonder Woman doll and then I'll take a look at the Power Action version to provide some comparison--and also to make up for lost time.

DC Super Hero Girls debut "Wonder Woman," $19.99.

"Hermione Granger" by Star Ace Toys

In my post about Mattel's 2001 Hermione Granger play doll, I mentioned that I had another Hermione to review.  Several of you guessed correctly that it was Star Ace's new sixth scale figure from the My Favorite Movie series.  Aside from the fact that both of these Hermione dolls portray Emma Watson's version of the beloved character from The Sorcerer's Stone, they have very little in common.  First of all, the Star Ace figure costs about ten times as much as the Mattel doll: a whopping $210, to be precise.  However, Sideshow Collectibles has a great payment plan, and so I was able to make this purchase slowly over a period of almost half a year.  There are other differences--in size, quality and articulation to name a few, and also the fact that Star Ace's Hermione is not yet discontinued and can still be found for sale in several online locations.

The biggest difference between the two dolls, however, is that Star Ace's Hermione is strikingly realistic:

Sixth scale Hermione Granger by Star Ace Toys, $209.99.