Affirmation

If there is one delusion I like about dolls, it's the idea of world peace. You don't have to deal with real world problems. The toughest problems you'll tackle would be how to match pieces of clothing and which doll will fall in love with whom. No unequal pay issue. No protests against tyranny. Doing so will be frowned upon by other hobbyists.

Dolls offer the luxury of escape. You have no right to ruin that.

You can paint a picture with diverse characters living in harmony like it's the most natural thing. It's either you're making a statement against the current situation by proposing another possibility, or you're totally out of touch with reality so some issues are not reflected in your pictures, statements or imagination.

Nobody is expecting you to use dolls other than a form of escape. You are not letting anybody down.

You can't expect yourself to change the world, at least not with dolls. You're just a person who has enough worries. Let more powerful entities do it; like letting toy manufacturers move their toy operations out of China in response to the threat that country poses. Just go ahead and keep playing with toys, make dresses, paint or whatever it is that you do.

Don't mind me. I'm rarely here with you.

Remainders Assembled

I made another figure based on one of the remaining MCU characters. This time it's Nebula from the Guardians of the Galaxy. Although I'm not really a fan of the GoTG series, I like Nebula. I like how she has transformed from a villain to a not villain after resolving some daddy issues. 

The three females above are customs (OOAK in the doll lingo). I used different techniques in each. Captain Marvel was just a repaint. I made Okoye by gluing different cut plastic pieces. The details on Nebula was done using clay.

The Rocket Raccoon I have is too cute. He came from a GoTG My Busy Book. I'm thinking of making a less cute custom but I don't like him that much. Another character that remained after the Thanos snap is Valkyrie. I have the same feelings for her as Rocket so I might make her or not. Maybe the upcoming Endgame movie will help me decide.

Carroll and the RoadBots

Finally, I had a chance to take (and edit) pictures of my Transformers-type toys. The Alteration Man will retain her name, Carroll. The other two will now be named Master Grey and Lancerbot.

It's been a while since I played with these toys, I forgot how to transform them. I had to search for YouTube videos. I also posting the transformation guide for the three toys. In case I loss the hard copies, I can find a backup in my blog.


Land Cruiser

Lancer Evolution VIII

RC 1100

Alteration Man Carroll

I had Transformer toys as a kid. I guess that is why I don't feel like collecting toys related to that toy line. This is my 3rd Transformer-type (by "type" I mean it doesn't belong to the official line) toy, however. I only bought it because it works with my 1:18 scale dolls. 

Google showed me that this is a copy of the Transformers Movie Deluxe Arcee toy from 2007. She's an Autobot. Good to know but I don't really care about the original character. For now, she's (yes, the Alteration Man is a she) Okoye's ride. I like the orange-purple combo going on, don't you?

A photo shoot with my other Transformer-type toys should be upcoming.

Custom 3.75-inch Okoye

There was no 3.75-inch toy released for the movie Black Panther. It was expected. I have low expectations of the 3.75 Marvel toy line these days. 

I have planned on making an Okoye figure after watching movie. It was only recently that I was able to get the base doll. 

It doesn't look like Danai Gurira, the actress who played Okoye, and the paint is sloppy but I like how it turned out so far. "So far" means I can still change it in the future. For now, I'm enjoying it.

The doll has good articulation. It easy to recreate scenes from the movies or make a totally new adventure for Okoye.

Not A Star Wars Story

I wouldn't say I'm a Star Wars fan, but I do appreciate it more these days. Yes, I've seen all the films but not all in the theater and no fan-level effort was exerted to do so. Now, I have a collection of Star Wars toys but I only bought them because they were being sold for half or a third of the original price. 

I'm still on the fence about buying other Star Wars toys, specifically the vehicles, because it's going to take a lot of space, yet I recently bought a Star Wars t-shirt.

I think the trolls have a role to play in my renewed appreciation of the franchise. When the new films became more inclusive and the cast more diverse, the trolls started to attack the movie and the actors. The trolls wanted to discredit the film but they also called attention to the films. I don't easily buy into what other people (or the trolls) are saying. I usually try to consider both sides. So, I also listened to those who praised the films, and I find them more convincing, especially those who pointed how it challenges the masculine narrative.

I'm actually looking forward to the ninth episode. I want to know how they're going to continue to challenge toxic masculinity and be more inclusive. I don't know why I don't expect the next Avengers movie to do something similar. 

3.75-inch (4, really) Captain Marvel

I decided not to watch the Captain Marvel movie because there was no 1:18 scale toy released related to that movie. I didn't want to like her a lot and then not have a toy in the size I collect. I'm familiar with the character from the cartoons so her appearance in the next Avengers movie won't be confusing for me.

The trolls actually changed my mind and made me go watch it. While women empowerment, diversity and inclusion are expected in new stories, this one surprised me (in a good way) because it reflected another social justice issue, the refugee crisis. If that's too heavy for you, don't worry. You won't notice it. I didn't. I needed someone woke to point it out.

Needless to say, I like her a lot so I decided to make myself a toy to represent her in my collection. She fits right in. I like how she turned out so I'm planning to make more underrepresented but important characters in the future.