"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.

Hogwarts Heroes "Hermione Granger" by Mattel (2001)

The doll I'm going to review today is about the same age as my kids.  She's an 8-inch Hermione Granger doll that was released in 2001, the year that the first Harry Potter movie (The Sorcerer's Stone) came to theaters.  I always hesitate before I review an older, discontinued doll.  Doing this can be confusing (since most reviews are of newly-released dolls) and also a little frustrating.  Nobody wants to read a review, fall in love with a doll, and then not be able to find one for sale.  However, I purchased my Hermione only about a year ago, so she's still out there.  I paid $35 for her, and right now there are a few on Amazon and eBay in the $30-60 range.  Her original price was $19.99.

I love discovering older dolls and reviewing them.  This is because I really enjoy exploring the history of doll manufacturing, but also because it's refreshing to look at dolls that are removed from trends that dominate the current market.  So many of the newest doll releases are bright and colorful with huge heads and exaggerated facial features.  In contrast, Mattel clearly designed this Hermione to be realistic--and in the likeness of a young Emma Watson.  I think they did a pretty good job:

Hogwarts Heroes Hermione Granger, Mattel (2001).

A Trio of Makies!

I have been a huge fan of the ground-breaking 3D-printed Makie dolls ever since my review of Glythia back in September of 2013.  I only had two substantial criticisms of Glythia: she was prohibitively expensive (around $180 with shipping) and her facial features are highly unusual.  The Makie Lab did a wonderful job of enhancing the appeal of the Makie faces with their 2014 "Cutie Face" release.  My Cutie-faced Makie, Effie, is one of my favorite dolls in the whole world.  Effie accompanied my family on our epic trip to Edinburgh, Scotland last year.  I could not have asked for a better doll companion.

Recently, the Makie Lab dramatically reduced the price of their dolls--effectively fixing all of my critiques of the original concept.  The price reduction came with a change in quality, though.  Makie dolls are still made with 3D printed faces, but they now have plastic bodies.  Also, the customization options for the faces are not as extensive as they were at the start.

I went to the online Makie Shop to check out this new approach and found both the ease of customization and the price...uh, a little addictive.  Ok, a lot addictive.  Over the last four months, I've managed to accumulate a new female Makie in each of the three available skin tones.  In this review, I will show off my trio and talk about what has changed (and what has stayed the same) with these delightful dolls.

Three new Makie dolls, $78.02 each (including shipping).

Star Darlings "Sage" from the Disney Store

It seems impossible to me that it's already December.  The sunny, 50 degree weather here in Maine certainly doesn't help me wrap my mind around the fact that there are only 16 days left until Christmas.  I had at least five dolls that I wanted to review before the holidays, and while that won't happen, I do have an interesting newcomer to show you today.  She is called a Star Darling and is designed around a theme of wishes and magic--which I figured would help me get into the right mindset for this time of year.

The Star Darlings are characters in a series of Disney fantasy books geared towards 8 to 12-year-olds.  There are currently two books available for sale and an additional four books ready for pre-order.  Five of the characters from these books have been released as dolls, and they can be found at the Disney Store for the whopping price of $29.95 each.

I was drawn to the Star Darlings series because of the promising description of the dolls.  They have inset eyes, colorful hair and plenty of articulation...and they don't look like typical Disney Store dolls.  Fresh on the heels of the Disney Descendants dolls (made by Hasbro) the Disney Store has introduced yet another toy designer to their entourage: Jakks Pacific.  I think the Star Darlings resemble the Jakks Pacific Disney Fairies quite a lot, but they don't use the same body or face.  I'm always excited to see truly new things on the market, and so I eagerly ordered myself a Star Darlings doll the moment they appeared on the website.  I chose Sage because she is the heroine of the very first book in the Star Darlings series:

Disney's Star Darlings "Sage" doll, $29.95.

Made to Move Barbie by Mattel

There have been rumors about Mattel's new highly-articulated Barbie doll for a while now.  I'm not a Barbie expert, but I do pay attention when someone says "highly articulated," so I've been keeping my eye out.  When the new Style Barbies were released earlier this year, I figured that's what the rumors must have been about.  These Style dolls have articulated ankles, but they come at the price of the torso joint...so it's hardly an improvement.  It's like one step forward, one step back.  There are so many other interesting dolls to review, I basically dismissed the new Style dolls and the Barbie articulation rumors and went on with my life.  However (and many thanks to those of you who alerted me to this) the rumors were not about the Style dolls at all, but rather the Made to Move series, which has just recently been made available.  These dolls are still not on the shelves in Maine, but they're offered online...often for a premium.  I found my doll on Amazon for around $30.  The actual retail price for these dolls is $14.99.  Which, I can tell you already, is a huge bargain.

It's unfortunate that I confused the new Style dolls and the Made to Move dolls in my head, because my reaction to these two collections could not be more different.  While I'm underwhelmed and uninterested in the re-designed Style series, the Made to Move dolls are pretty much a dream come true: an affordable, attractive, well-articulated play doll.

Meet the lovely Made to Move Teresa:

Made to Move Barbie (Teresa), $14.99.

Disney Fairies Dolls by the Disney Store and Jakks Pacific, Part Two: Periwinkle

This post is a companion to Melissa's great comparison review of the Tinker Bell dolls.  Thank you for all of the helpful background information and for your careful evaluation of the dolls, Melissa!  I agree that the Disney Store's Tink seems more appealing overall.  Her face is so darn cute, and I kinda like her movie-accurate leaf dress...even with the excess of "pixie dust."  Of course, it's not shedding glitter all over my house.

In any case, now it's my turn to take a look at the Disney Store and Jakks Pacific interpretations of Tinker Bell's wintery sister, Periwinkle:

Periwinkle dolls by Jakks Pacific (left), $14.99 and the Disney Store (right), $14.95.

Project Mc2 Dolls by MGA Entertainment

Ever since my friend Melissa told me about the new 11-inch Project Mc² play dolls by MGA Entertainment, I have been looking forward to writing this review.  There were a ton of things to get excited about with this new doll line.  First of all, the promotional pictures of the dolls make their articulation look incredibly promising.  Also, the girls all have realistic-looking inset eyes that make me think fondly of Spin Master's discontinued Liv dolls.  The icing on the cake is that this new group has a science-based theme, wonderfully geeky personalities, and creative, project-based accessories.  Sounds like a dream come true for me, doesn't it?  Many of you thought so, and generously took the time to email when you saw these dolls show up in stores.  Thank you so much for each and every message--you guys know me well.

This doll line is based on a live-action television series following a group of smart tweens who belong to a secret spy organization called NOV8 (for innovate).  The four members of NOV8 use their S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) skills to go on missions.  The series premiered yesterday on Netflix.

I was in such a hurry to get my hands on these dolls, I ordered all four of the characters on eBay the instant they appeared.  Unfortunately, as those of you on Facebook already know, I ordered too hastily to notice that the dolls I bought were the $14.99 basic versions that have limited articulation.  To get a doll with the number of joints shown in the promotional pictures, you have to order one of the more expensive Project Mc² playsets ($24.99).  The great thing about ordering the sets, however, is that each one comes with a doll and a fun-looking science-based activity.  After realizing my mistake, I immediately bought one of the sets: McKeyla's Lava Light.  In this review, I will look at McKeyla and her activity, and will also de-box one of my basic dolls for comparison.  Brace yourselves, folks, this is a long one.

Project Mc² "McKeyla" from the McKeyla's Lava Light set, $24.99.

Disney Descendants "Signature Mal" Doll by Hasbro

The Disney Channel is releasing a movie at the end of the month called Descendants.  This show is set in a modern-day imaginary kingdom and focuses on the offspring of famous Disney characters.  Re-imagining fairy tales has been an extremely popular theme these past few years--both in the movie/television world (Maleficent, Cinderella, Snow White and the Huntsman, Once Upon a Time, etc.) and in the doll world (Ever After High, Once Upon a Zombie, Fairy Tale High, Tonner's Re-Imagination line...and probably a few that I'm forgetting).  It's especially noteworthy how similar the Descendants premise is to the the inspiration behind Ever After High.

The Descendants movie plot centers around Ben, who is the son of Belle and the Beast.  The teenaged prince decides to invite several of the villain's kids (who have grown up banished on the Isle of the Lost) to attend his fancy prep school...and then--if I am judging from the trailer correctly--promptly falls in love with one of them.  The villain kids feel torn between the wishes of their evil parents and a growing fondness for Ben and his royal friends.  Several things about this whole set-up are confusing to me (do all of the fairy tale characters live in the same kingdom?  Are they all the same age?  Why does Ben get to be the leader?  Didn't most of the villains die before they got to reproduce?) but I'm willing to wait and see if everything is explained in the actual movie.

I thought that the 11-inch Descendants fashion dolls were being released just before the movie (on July 20th), so I pre-ordered a few of them and was eagerly anticipating their arrival.  However, last weekend I was visiting a Toys R Us store up north and found four of the dolls already in stock!  This was a nice surprise, so I jumped on the chance to do a review of one of the characters I didn't pre-order--who actually seems like she might be the star of the whole movie: Mal, the daughter of Maleficent.

Disney Descendants "Signature Mal" doll, $19.99.

The 17-Inch Freak du Chic "Gooliope Jellington" from Monster High

Mattel seems to wait until my interest in the Monster High line is waning, and then they announce a very cool and unexpected new addition that gets me all enthusiastic again.  The last time this happened was in June of last year, when the centaur Avea Trotter came out.  In one fell swoop, that exceptional equine renewed my awe for the creativity behind the Monster High concept.  My enthusiasm also got a mid-year boost with the release of the Inner Monster dolls. This year, just as I started to skip the Monster High aisle at Toys R Us, or yawn as I scrolled through pictures online, the new 17-inch dolls were announced.  A Monster High doll this large would have been plenty exciting on its own, but these new giants also have an updated style of articulation.  Yay!  Monster High articulation is already so good, the idea of improved and increased joints on these dolls was enough to make me absolutely giddy with curiosity.

I want to thank everyone who emailed me about the appearance of the first super-sized Monster High doll: Gooliope Jellington.  Without your tips, I might not have noticed from the online pictures that Gooliope was any larger than a regular Monster High character.  This doll is scaled up so accurately that when she's photographed alone, she can easily be mistaken for an 11-inch doll:

Freak du Chic "Gooliope Jellington," $29.99.

Every Girl "Maia" by Paola Reina America

You might remember that about a year ago the Spanish doll company Paola Reina expanded to include a distributor in America.  At that time, I jumped on the opportunity to review two of the new dolls--Marta, a 23.6-inch Las Reinas de Paola beauty, and Amor, a smaller 15.7-inch Soy Tu cutie.  As much fun as I had choosing and reviewing Amor and Marta, I remember wishing that there had been a group of 18-inch dolls to choose from.  I really like collecting 18-inch dolls and making comparisons between the ever-increasing number of options in this popular scale.  Also, with all of the outfits and accessories available for this size of play doll, it makes a lot of strategic sense for a company to have an 18-inch option available--especially a company like Paola Reina that is already manufacturing such an impressive range of doll sizes and styles.

Well, someone at Paola Reina must have had similar thoughts way before I did, because this year a new collection of 18-inch Every Girl dolls was added to the Paola Reina America family.  Right now, the Every Girl collection has five dolls--including a little boy named Unai.  As tempted as I was to have a boy in my 18-inch doll collection, I couldn't resist the redheaded Maia and her nautical-themed dress.  As the weather in Maine gets warmer and warmer, my thoughts turn increasingly to the ocean...and little Maia fits perfectly with this frame of mind:

Every Girl "Maia" doll by Paola Reina, $104.99 CDN (~$85 USD).

"Frozen Fever" Anna and Elsa Dolls--A Comparison Review!

After limping along for a few months, my valiant six-year-old computer finally reached the Point of No Return.  It might have--just a thought--had something to do with the 28,000 photographs stored on its hard drive.  Anyway, I have been transitioning to a newer computer over the past few weeks.  I knew this would be a challenge (let's just say I'm not someone who thrives on change...) but it was trickier than I expected.  The biggest hurdle was to move from my ancient iPhoto software to a fancy modern photo processing program.  You might notice a few changes and quirks as I continue to get used to all of these new-fangled things.

I probably should have written a few shorter reviews as I got accustomed to my new set-up, but a side-effect of my aversion to change is that I pretend everything is going to stay the same...and I don't plan ahead.  I just stubbornly do what I would have done in a never-changing world.  Basically, I was really looking forward to writing this Frozen Fever comparison review and didn't want to compromise.  So...it took me a while to finish.

Both Mattel and the Disney Store made Anna and Elsa dolls for the Frozen Fever short film that accompanied the recent Cinderella movie.  I loved this short film--especially when I was watching it in a movie theater full of little kids.  The giggling was contagious.  I really wanted to have a doll souvenir from this cute film--like I do for most Disney movies.  I typically prefer the Disney Store versions of movie-themed dolls, but when I saw that Mattel had changed their Frozen dolls for this release (Anna has a really different face mold) I thought it would be fun to do another comparison.

Mattel's Frozen Fever Elsa (left) and Anna (right), $14.99 each.

Travel Friends "India" and "Ireland" by Madame Alexander

Ok, first things first: I saw Cinderella last week and absolutely loved it.  I went into the theater with very (very!) high expectations, granted, and I can't say that those expectations were completely met, but I did really enjoy the movie and cried through about half of it (both sad and happy tears).  I think Richard Madden is absolutely perfect as the prince (named "Kit," apparently).  Cate Blanchett is luminescent as Lady Tremaine, but Helena Bonham-Carter's plucky Fairy Godmother doesn't have enough screen time.  Some of the characters are left underdeveloped (Fairy Godmother and stepsisters), while others (Lady Tremaine and the king) are given new depth.  Lily James sparkles as Ella, with a tender-hearted and lovable version of the character.  Her chemistry with Kit is fantastic.  Ms. James' version of Cinderella doesn't have quite enough spunk to trump Drew Barrymore in Ever After, though...so that remains my favorite live action Cinderella movie.  I am off to see Cinderella again on Sunday, and probably two or three more times after that.  It's wonderful.

Today's review doesn't have anything to do with Cinderella, though.  This review is based on another excellent reader suggestion.  My friend Nadine (who knows how much I like miniature things...) purchased one of the Madame Alexander mini dolls at Toys R Us a few weeks ago, and she suggested that I do this review--thinking I might particularly enjoy the articulation on these new minis.  I had already seen Char's review of these dolls over on Doll Diaries, but wanted to get a look at them in person.  The minis, called "Travel Friends," are about 7 inches tall and are available for $12.99.  The collection includes 9 girls who each represent a different country (Ireland, India, China, Germany, Russia, Kenya and France).  I purchased Ireland (for her red hair, of course) and India (because I thought she was the prettiest):

Madame Alexander "Travel Friends," $12.99 each. 

"Cinderella and the Prince" from the Disney Store and Mattel's "Cinderella Wedding Day"

I'm back!  For those of you not on Facebook, I'll fill you in: I was in a bad car accident right after the Phicen review, and I broke my leg.  Everything is going really well, but I am about the slowest person on the planet right now, so it's just taken a really long time to get back on track.  The other thing is, this review is super-long and involves three dolls, so it would have taken me a while to create even with two fully-functioning legs.  I could have just chosen to review a simpler doll, I suppose, but this review involves Cinderella, and when Cinderella is on the scene, I find it difficult to think rationally.

Have I mentioned that I'm ridiculously excited about Disney's Cinderella live action movie that is coming out in 18 days on March 13th??  I've read comments around the internet suggesting that Disney really blew it by making another Cinderella movie, and that everyone has seen the story enough times already.  I respectfully disagree.  For me, this movie is (in true Disney fashion) a dream come true.  I never dared to even hope that there would be another Cinderella movie...but here it comes.  Premiering in less than a month.  I have watched the trailer for Cinderella about thirty times now (no exaggeration...) and it makes me weep every time--especially the part when Ella's mother says, Where there is kindness, there is goodness, and where there is goodness...there is magic!  Ahh!  Goosebumps!  It's going to be an amazing movie.  It has to be.

Of course I have also been anticipating the new Cinderella doll lines with significant enthusiasm.  Both the Disney Store and Mattel have produced versions of the main characters, and I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of the first pair of dolls I was able to get my hands on: "Cinderella and the Prince" ($69.95 from the Disney Store) and "Cinderella Wedding Day" ($29.99 from Mattel).

Cinderella from the Disney Store's "Cinderella and the Prince" set.

Phicen's Super Flexible Seamless 1:6 Scale Figure with a Stainless Steel Skeleton

Ok, so here in the Northeastern United States we have been getting quite a lot of snow.  I think Maine has had 25-30 inches of the stuff over the last few days...with more to come.  I very much hope that all of my fellow New Englanders are faring well in these storms.  The weather has certainly made my week strange--with a mix of snowed-in days and hectic catch-up days--but I did get the chance to spend some time with a very unique action figure doll that I've been admiring for quite a while.

I am a relative newcomer to the world of action figures, but lately this style of doll has become increasingly appealing to me.  One of the reasons I'm drawn to action figures is that many of them have excellent articulation and balance.  This flexibility can come at a price, though--some of the figures I've purchased (like my Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Otaku figures) have unsightly joints and/or bizarre, exaggerated proportions.  I also admire how action figures can have such realistic faces, and both my Daryl Dixon figure and Séverine's Avenger's Black Widow are great examples of this.  With all of these things in mind, I set out to find a 1:6 scale action figure with a good blend of articulation and realism.

In my quest for this ideal action figure, I spent a lot of time browsing BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth and several of the big manufacturer's websites.  I also lurked around on the information-packed forum, "One Sixth Warriors."  After all of this research, the company that stood out to me the most was Phicen.  What makes Phicen figures unique is that they are extremely well-articulated, but they're also "seamless"--meaning that they have very few visible joints.  The skin-like covering on these dolls can make their bodies look startlingly real in some photographs.  In fact, the body on the Phicen figure in this review is so realistic that I left her partially clothed for most of the pictures.  Even so, I would like to start off with a quick warning:

WARNING: The realism of this doll might make some photographs inappropriate for the workplace or for young children.

1:6 scale seamless Super Flexible Phicen body with stainless steel skeleton, $105.

The Animators' Mini Elsa Playset from The Disney Store

I'd like to thank Emma for her suggestion that I take a look at the new Disney Store mini Animators' doll playsets.  Not only is this a perfect suggestion for me (I love minis!) but it would have taken me ages to notice these new dolls on my own.  I actually saw the mini dolls during one of my routine browsing days at Disney online, but passed them over because I assumed they were the larger 16-inch versions of the Animators' dolls--just with more accessories.  Wrong!  These little 5-inch dolls are a whole new thing completely, and they are definitely worth a look.

The first release of Animators' mini dolls includes Anna, Elsa, Cinderella, Ariel and Jasmine.  All of these characters come with several cute movie-themed accessories.  For example, Cinderella comes with a flocked Bruno (as a puppy), Gus and Jack the mice, and several smaller accessories.  Ariel comes with Flounder, Sebastian, a glittery starfish, and a seahorse pulling a carriage.  I was tempted by all of these sets, but ended up purchasing Elsa.  I didn't intend to review yet another Frozen doll, but I found the mini Anna and Elsa to be the most appealing of these newcomers.

Animators' mini Elsa doll from the Disney Store playset ($19.95).

The "Honey Lemon" doll from Big Hero 6

I stumbled on the Honey Lemon doll one day while I was casually browsing through the Disney Store's online collections.  At that time, I didn't know anything about the Big Hero 6 movie--I just noticed that there was a new redheaded Disney doll who looked really fun and full of character.

A few weeks ago, Christina recommended Honey Lemon to me over on Facebook, and I figured it would be a good time to actually see the movie and think about doing a review of the doll.  I still didn't know the story of Big Hero 6 when I went to the theater last week (the title doesn't give much away).  I knew the movie was loosely based on a Marvel comic book series by the same name, but that's about it.  I don't want to give away too much about the movie to any of you, but it's really a delightful, action-filled film with tons of heart.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and was even laughing out loud (and crying a little, too) on several occasions...even though I was the only one in the theater.

I think the Disney Store has only made articulated dolls out of two characters from this movie so far: Honey Lemon and Go Go Tomago.  Neither of these girls are the star of Big Hero 6, though.  The movie is carried by an engaging 13-year-old genius, Hiro, and his huggable robot companion, Baymax.  Still, Honey Lemon is a kind, brilliant, zany addition to the story and it's a treat every time she is on screen.  Although I'd really love to have a Hiro doll in my collection some day, for now I am happy to have the cheery, redheaded Honey:

The Disney Store's "Honey Lemon" from the Big Hero 6 movie.

Kate and Tara by Wildflower Dolls

Today's post will not be a traditional review, but more of a showcase for a special kind of doll that I learned about recently: Wildflower Dolls.  These dolls have handmade, limited edition heads mounted on highly articulated brand name 1/6 scale bodies.  As you know, I am a huge fan of highly articulated doll bodies, but it is the extraordinary faces of the Wildflower Dolls that have enchanted me.

I first heard about Wildflower Dolls from my friend Séverine (the same friend who took the Avengers Black Widow picture).  Séverine was showing me some pictures of her doll collection, and one particular photo of spunky redheaded sisters immediately grabbed my attention.  These sisters caught my eye because they have my favorite kind of unruly red hair, but also because they have facial expressions that brilliantly capture two very different, very playful emotions.  When Séverine told me that her dolls were custom-made, I assumed that their prices would be out of reach.  However, when I visited the Wildflower Dolls Etsy store, I was amazed to learn that these charismatic creations can be custom ordered for under $200.  Better yet, some of the pre-made dolls can be purchased for under $100.  This realization marked the beginning of my own Wildflower Dolls adventure--a process that brought these two beautiful, happy sisters into my home:

Kate #45 (left) and Tara #32 (right) by Wildflower Dolls.

"Basic Patsyette" by Tonner Doll

Robert Tonner is one of my favorite doll designers.  A few of his Cinderella and Cami dolls rank among my all-time favorites.  However, it's been a while since I have reviewed a Tonner doll, and there's a great variety of new faces and characters to choose from right now.  For example: I am crazy about the Sheldon and Amy dolls from The Big Bang Theory collection, I'm thrilled to see the return of Tiny Kitty, and I'd absolutely love to have another Deja Vu girl in my house.  However, the rascal who grabbed my attention this time around is the 8 inch redheaded Patsyette.  With Tonner's high prices, this basic doll's relatively low $69.99 cost was also part of her appeal.

There's not a lot of information about Patsyette on the Tonner sales page.  She is introduced as "brand new" and credited to the Effanbee doll company (now owned by Tonner).  In fact, the Patsyette character has a rich history.  She was first produced in 1931 as the little sister of Effanbee's popular Patsy doll.  Patsyette was re-introduced in 2004 with a face sculpted by the original Patsy artist, Bernard Lipfert.  After another short retirement, the newest version of Patsyette debuted in 2014 with a brand-new face and the articulated Betsy McCall body.  While I have enjoyed all of the incarnations of Patsyette, it is the newest version of her face that I could not resist:

"Basic Patsyette" by Tonner Doll, $69.99.

The Beatrix Girls "Lark" by Popstar Club

The Beatrix Girls are 12 inch dolls that represent a group of four (teenaged?) friends who are in a band together.  Each character sings, plays an instrument, and writes music.  The girls are designed to be role models for young kids because of the talent, determination and hard work that have made their band a huge success.  The Beatrix Girls are manufactured by Popstar Club LLC, a new California-based company that plans to focus on cross-platform products.  The dolls are part of a multi-media world that includes short (live action) webisodes and tracks of pop music.

When I first saw the Beatrix Girls dolls on the shelves at Toys R Us last year, I was turned off by the huge heads and facial expressions on these characters.  Frankly, the combination of wide eyes, angrily-slanted eyebrows and large smiles made these dolls look sinister to me.  However, the body proportions on the Beatrix Girls reminded me of Pullip and Blythe dolls, and I couldn't help but wonder if this brand might be an interesting and inexpensive alternative to some popular large-headed collector dolls.

Over the past year, many of you have encouraged me to take a second look at The Beatrix Girls.  I took your advice, and will admit that by the third or fourth time I saw these dolls in the store, the faces started to seem less angry and more appealing.  However, I was still bothered by the fact that the first release dolls did not come with their instruments (nor were the instruments originally available for separate purchase).  This was an oversight for a doll brand designed around music.  Last May, however, I was able to find a Justice exclusive version of the redheaded character, "Lark," who actually came with her bass guitar.  I decided to purchase this doll for review and paid $24.99 for her through Amazon (where she's now on sale for $20).  Incidentally, all of the newest Beatrix Girl dolls come with instruments, and the instruments have also recently been released in separate accessory sets.  Here's my Lark:

Beatrix Girls "Lark" $24.99.

"Zaria" and "Kaila" by Double Dutch Dolls

Stephanie emailed me over the summer to tell me about Double Dutch Dolls, a new company that is producing multicultural, articulated (!), slim-proportioned 18 inch play dolls.  The company's founder, K. Charles, grew up reading Sweet Valley High and Judy Blume books--wishing that there were similar fictional characters who looked like her.  Unsatisfied with the current market, Ms. Charles decided to write her own books about spunky, smart, unique and beautiful teens from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  The characters in these stories were so real to her, that Ms. Charles decided to turn them into high-quality 18 inch play dolls.

At the moment, only the main characters from K. Charles' book series are available in doll form.  These are Kaila and Zaria, identical 14-year-old twins who are navigating the challenges of middle school together.  With Kickstarter funding success, the company hopes to introduce a full line of doll characters, including Kaila's best friend Sacha, Zaria's Hispanic friend Alainna, Zaria's Irish/German/Asian lab partner Kadence, and (my favorite!) the redheaded African-American and Norwegian girl, Trinity.

After reading the website and looking at the dolls, I instantly wanted to get involved and support this wonderful project.  My experience with these dolls is a bit of an epic tale, though.  It all started back on August 9th, the day of Stephanie's email, when I ordered Zaria.  However, almost two months later, I am the proud owner of both Zaria and her twin sister.  And Zaria is sporting a new wig.  I'll tell you the whole story, of course, but let me start by showing you the beautiful twins as they look today:

Zaria (left, re-wigged) and Kaila (right) by Double Dutch Dolls.  $69.00 each.