Whining Works

Over 10 years ago, I lowkey whined about the disappearance of Kira in the Barbie line.  Now, she's back in playline! I don't mean the "fake" Kira Mattel released around 2017. This one got the defined eye sculpt. If you want something, especially if it's something somebody else should do, whine! 

About 6 years ago, I wondered how Kira would look like if had African heritage. Wonder no more! 

Just got back in time to exact social justice

 

Government trolls make it look like the Filipinos whining about the poor performance of the national government is a bad thing. They try to silence the whiners by saying, "Help the government instead of whining." It's just a judgy statement. They assume that those who whine don't obey the rules like lawful citizens and do what's expected of them like pay the taxes. Whiners just do more than help the usual way. they offer an a different perspective, something the government intentionally overlook because of their own agenda.

Heal as one my ass!

The Philippine government made their citizens believe that we will heal as one, but up to now only select people, only those close to the president, has been vaccinated for COVID.

How it's going

How it started:

According to the exif data, this was taken on 13Mar2008. They are two of my 1st dolls.

How it's going:

This blog may have been quiet for a long time because of the pandemic but I didn't wanna seem like the pandemic didn't happen when I revisit my blog 10 years from now.  We have been in quarantine since March 2020!

Also I don't want to be gaslighted in the future by politicians, so this goes here.

Meanwhile, In the Spin Master Universe...

Spin Master is rebooting the 4-inch DC toy universe with the same representation problems of the past...AND MORE!

Four-inch Wonder Woman by Spin Master

The best thing about this toy is that it's not made in China! I hope Spin Master keeps manufacturing toys not in China.

Biden My Time by Ella Fitzgerald

 

You didn't see yourself in a war, but here you are.

 Are you being manipulated not to vote?

I thought this information was too important not to share.

The new player

The license to manufacture toys for DC characters have been transferred to Spin Master. This has made me excited enough (though not that much) to blog about it. I might start collecting this line. The version of this company works well (but not perfectly) with my 4-inch Marvel toys. The old company's version did not.

I'm not wishing the license to manufacture toys of Marvel characters to be transferred from Hasbro. The new company will just reproduce the popular characters which I already have. There is no point in getting a new set. 

I fear that Spin Master will just replicate the same mistakes of their predecessor. One of which is the absence of female characters. There was none in the 1st wave but the 2nd wave might include Batwoman and Wonder Woman. They also just market these toys for boys. They could have included a girl in the 2-in-1 Batmobile package. They decided to just use two boys. I withheld myself from buying the Flash because his built is the same as that of Superman. I was expecting a lighter built on the speedster's body. The lack of variety in the body size is a problem.

We cannot expect Spin Master to be a game-changer. They're just a new player in the same old game.

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.

Pissed and Makeup

I'm still pissed that a lot of the dark-skinned doll are not sold in local stores. I have to resort to buying buying these African dolls from China since they are the most cost effective way of providing articulation for my other dolls.

The main reason why I bought another set of articulated African doll is to rebody my repainted Fairytopia doll. It's not a perfect match but it's acceptable. Since the online store increased the shipping fee, I decided to get an extra body to save on shipping fee. These naked dolls cost cheaper than the clothed ones so it kinda evens out. I don't want their original clothing anyways.

While I'm glad the doll on the left turned out the way it did, I can't say the same for the other. I recently finished watching Glow on Netflix and was inspired to do 80s makeup. It didn't turn out well. I might erase the face and try again later.

Movable Joint African Doll from China New Variants

There are new variants for the African dolls with movable joints from China. They come in fantasy-colored hair. They come nude, though.



While the novelty is in the hair, I can't say it is of good quality. The hair isn't soft. The curls easily become wavy and messy.



Let's see if I can turn them into something I like.

Barbie Fashionista 81 (Wear your Heart) Petite

After over a decade of captivity by the Mattelorists, Kira, the first token Asian friend of Barbie, was released back to Playline City. People rejoiced.

She made a number of public appearances after her release:
- Barbie Pink Passport Beach Set 
- I Can be Scientist
- Fashionista 81 (Wear Your Heart) Petite
- Fashionista 62 (Sweet for Silver) Petite

I was only able to catch one of her appearances. I was happy to see her again but I felt something about her changed.

I spent some time to get to know her to find out what. I compared her to my memories because someone you love leaves memories too vivid to erase, even if memories are highly unreliable at times.

There is one thing I'm sure of. After her experience with the Mattelorist, she now views the world differently.

Barbie Dreamtopia Rainbow Cove Mermaid Doll

This just takes me somewhere different, away from the hard realities. That's privilege.



While this doll could use a makeover, there is no urgency. The possibilities always wait. For now, I'll enjoy it as it is.