Best Buy Brushes

If you're a hobbyist from the Philippines who wants to try repainting dolls, don't use the Best Buy brushes from National Bookstore. You want the bristles of the brushes to cling together for you to be able to paint fine lines. The Best Buy brushes don't behave that way. I use brushes from Deovir or Lil's Hobby Shop at SM Malls.

Who is Barbie?

A video entitled "Who is Barbie?" was posted on Youtube recently. The answer to the question was shown in the frame below.



It is attempting to redefine Barbie as dolls of different ethnicities rather than just the blue-eyed blond with the rest as just her friends. Mattel is trying to score some relatability points with the campaign.

Will this work? I doubt it. For it to work, they should change all images of the blue-eyed blond in non-doll Barbie merchandize like kid's clothes, school supplies, party favors, books, similar items AND all their tags and labels. I mean billboards, too. How about in Barbie's IG account, will there be race-bending?

Plus, how will they explain the other dolls having different names like in the Life in the Dream House webisodes? There's going to be a conflict with Barbie having an identity and Barbie trying to be everybody.

Spot the Difference 103

How many differences can you see?



Clue: How many dolls were you tricked to buy only to dispose of the heads?

Spot the Difference 102

How many differences can you see?

Clue: How many layers of makeup does one need to be beautiful?

Cockroach Dress

I was smiling when I made this dress. I have fun childhood memories with cockroaches. I'm even smiling as I type this.



This was inspired by a dress (below) from Plains & Prints, a local brand.

T-shirt Dress

I wanted a dress like the printed Valentino suede (t-shirt) dress (below) from the spring-summer 2015 collection but it's close to impossible for me to get a fabric with that exact same print. Reality check: I'm not privileged like Barbie.

(from @barbiestyle and @maisonvalentino on IG)

Divisoria Doll Stuff

While looking for Barbie shoes to match the new doll clothes I've made, I saw my stash of doll items I bought a few months back from Divisoria. Most of them are basic and uninspiring so I didn't blog about them. Some are too small for Barbie dolls. They could probably be for Licca dolls. Each Divisoria clone fashion pack costs PhP100 (it could be less if you buy more) while Mattel fashion packs each costs PhP500.Divisoria, as usual, is the bigger bang for buck.

(The dolls are not from Divisoria and were only included to show the size and fit of the clothes.)

A good sign

I thought that matters requiring my attention would keep me from sewing until this June. It's always a good sign when one has enough time to spare to make doll clothes. 

Inevitable

"Should I do what Barbie does or do the last thing Barbie would do?" - Skipper



In a Barbie world, everybody plays by the Barbie rules. Nobody gets hurt.

Skipper will be another Barbie. Everybody wants to be Barbie. Check the rules.

Spot the Difference 101

How many differences can you see?

Clue: How many times has Skipper been prettier than Barbie?

Any other would seem secondhand

Another fashion pack I considered buying is modeled by Nikki below. I decided not to buy the dress because none of my dolls can match how Nikki carried the dress. Any other doll would seem secondhand.

Mermaid Nikki in Barbie 2015 Fashion Uploaded by fashiondollcollector on January 25, 2015 © All rights reserved Just follow this link to see and comment on this photo: »  http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0090009/photos/fashiondollcollector/16336525526/

Meant for her

When something looks this good on a doll, one can't help but think that the dress was designed with that doll in mind.



It's a playline dress with a big room for improvement. Don't expect it to look the same in another doll.

Flat and Halfhearted

Barbie attempts to be relevant by “living” a hashtagged life centering on fashion. That means keeping up with the trends like flat shoes. These shoes have been having their moments in the runway since 2013 and Barbie, being a fashion icon that she is, caught up with the trend late last year.  Blame Mattel’s rumored lengthy design process for the delay.

If you’re within Mattel’s favored distribution area, you probably have seen Barbie dolls with flat feet on the toy shelves. Along with the dolls, fashion packs and accessories were also made available. The curious thing is that the fashion pack never came with any flat footwear. A separate accessory pack can be bought but each pack only has a pair of flats. 

 fashion packs without flats

It seems like designing dresses that can go with flat shoes is way beyond the skill of any Mattel doll designer/stylist. (I'm exaggerating, of course.) It just feels like that Mattel is halfhearted in promoting the flat feet design. If there are minimal clothing options, who will buy these flat footed dolls? After the poor sales of these dolls, people will conclude that the consumers don’t want to deviate from high heel formula.

 accessory packs with one pair of flats each

They could have packed the clothes with both heels and flats. I have shown in my previous posts that some dresses can work with flats. Instead of the lousy plastic bags the dresses came with, a flat footwear option should have been provided. More flat footwear design (shoe mold) should also be made available. 

 

 a flat shoe for Raquelle

I know consumers like me sound like whining brats sometimes. It’s just sad to see a toy line we have grown to love die. The new Fashionista dolls have lost their articulation. It would be sad to have them loose their fashion versatility. With the low sales of Barbie dolls recently, the next thing we’ll know is that we have totally lost them for good.

Mint

This is another Mattel dress I recently got at a discounted price. I like the color and the simplicity, although it's a one-trick pony dress unlike the previous one.

The New Girl

I was supposed to make another dress but I misplaced my patterns. I was too lazy to make one from scratch. I ended up buying new dresses. This is the first one.

I was going for a Zooey Deschanel (The New Girl) vibe for this Lea doll. I just got her because she was discounted. There's no point in paying the full price when I only wanted the head. She has been rebodied with Barbie Style Raquelle, the one with flimsy knee joints.

Girl Feelings

They are wearing the three variants of the Jianidi Girl Feelings dress. I was told that there's an orange one but I had enough.

Black Widow

"The result is an overdue character exploration for Black Widow that still manages to reduce the baddest bitch in the MCU to a shell of a superheroine who’s sad she can never be a complete woman."
- Jen Yamato

Having taken a few courses from the Natasha Romanoff Academy, I have learned (though I still need years of practice) to use my emotions to my advantage. Tears can be used to manipulate people, to make them do your bidding, or at least catch them off guard by creating an illusion that you are vulnerable. Sensuality, too. To do that, one must not be controlled by the notions of sex that the society/religion has propagated. It's taking control and following your own notions of your sensuality. Nick Fury thought that she'll do a good job in assembling the Avengers.

In one scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bruce Banner was in drama queen mode about his inability to have a normal family life. Everybody knows what happens when Bruce cannot control his emotions, right? It's a good thing that Natasha was there to provide emotional support for the most emotional Avenger.

She painted a picture of herself as a vulnerable person having no ability to bear children. And it's okay for her and that she can still have a relationship despite that. The sadness was used to get the message across that she can relate to Bruce, that he can trust her because she has made herself relatable to him. If you ask me if who I'll choose between Black Widow and Hulk, I'll go with the Widow. She's in control. That is why she's in charge of the big guy and his lullaby. Yes, Iron Man can make the Hulk sleep with Veronica but Natasha does it with so much less destruction.

I don't agree that the Black Widow character was reduced, but I do agree about what Jen Yamato said about the lack of female superheroes and the lack of female action dolls. Marvel and the toy companies like Hasbro is the villain in that story.

I still like the movie but Hawkeye should have died. That will be more dramatic. Plus, Jeremy Renner called Natasha a slut. I'm not hating or anything. Hawkeye did die a number of times in the comics. As for Chris Evans, I expect Captain America be killed in his 3rd solo movie or at least turn over his shield to someone else. That happened in the comics, too.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Action Dolls

It was the first Avengers movie that got me collecting 4-inch action dolls. A lot of them became peg warmers so they were sold cheap. I didn't know back then that buying other characters wasn't going to be as easy. Three years later and weeks after the second Avengers movie, I'm still enjoying my action dolls from 2012. There is no Barbie doll that I bought in 2012 that connects with me in the same way.

Marvel Universe (4-inch) scale Hulkbuster

Ever since watching the second Avengers movie, I have been hunting for a Hulkbuster toy that blends well with my 4-inch action dolls. I almost bought the old figure from the Iron Man movie but toy reviews weren't kind to its size. (Men and the size of their toys...) I figured, I can wait for the movie figure even if there wasn't any announced for release. Maybe next year...

The waiting paid off. It's not a licensed product but I don't care. It will just be a prop or plaything for my Hulk. It's not a major character. It's not like the Hulkbuster will appear in another movie in the future. Aside from the small size of the licensed toy, the higher price also kept me from buying it knowing that I won't be using it as much. This unlicensed Hulkbuster is a better choice for me.

comparison shot

This toy costs less than half of the current local price for the fully articulated 4-inch figures. It has more than 5 points of articulation, the standard for the 4-inch movie figures. Even with the limited articulation, posing it with my Hulk action dolls is still fun.

The shoulders can rotate 360° but the arms cannot be raised sideways. The elbows can be moved by just about 45°. The knees can be moved by about 90°. The helmet can be flipped open to show a human head but it doesn't look anything like Tony Stark (not pictured). The hips are ball and socket joints and they are really loose. The legs can be removed and returned from the hip joint.

This Hulkbuster looks good from the front but the manufacturer skimped on the back paint details. The holes for the screws don't help the aesthetics either.

Before I forget, upon opening the package, the toy had an unpleasant chemical smell which lasted for about a day. Or maybe it's still there but I just got used to the smell. Who knows? Talk about dangerous toys. It's a risk I'm willing to take. It's not like I'll be handling this toy for a long time. Like all toys we accumulate, it will be in storage most of the time.

 

This figure is about $5.50 in a toy store at EDSA Central. A local eBay seller is selling it for about $5 while another sells it for less than $7. This is sold for only $2.60 in Divisoria.

Daredevil

One thing I like about the Daredevil TV series on Netflix is that they're not trying to be pretty nor be cute.

Broken Jianidi Hands

It just broke. This should answer questions about the quality or durability.

So, I liked the movie

...and no new sewing projects maybe until June.

Hero Business

Disney is popular for creating female hero characters unwitting people look up to. Whether or not that company is in the business of empowering women is being questioned with the lack of female characters in their Avengers merchandise. (
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/disney/11552960/Are-Disney-ignoring-Marvels-female-fans.html)




Barbie has also entered the hero business with mask, cape and all. This time Mattel honored real life people who some of us can consider as a hero or shero, as they call it. I was just pleased that, at least, there was an Asian looking doll in the mix.

Articulated Feet Comparison

Jianidi doll versus Barbie Style doll (Raquelle)

Ax-essorize

Razyera, isn't that hoarding?

The Wasp action doll has been a peg warmer that is why it has been offered for  a reduced price of PhP500 locally. Unlike other characters, the Wasp toy sold out after the price reduction. I thought it was normal because it can be used as base for a customized female character since there are few female characters. When I saw an online seller (Razyera) posted a lot of Wasp toys, I figured that it was possible that the toy was hoarded. The ad posted above is only for local buyers who could have bought the toys themselves locally had the toy not been hoarded.

Hoarding is different from reselling as the latter helps in the distribution. We know that toy manufacturers can't reach everybody. Resellers help alleviate the distribution problems. If a well distributed toy is hoarded, it prevents others from accessing what should have been an accessible toy.

Yes, I know a lot of people do it. I don't mean to single out this specific seller but I figured I needed an example. More than hating on possible hoarders, I'm curious on how to deal with them. Sure, ignoring them is an easy thing to do but it feels like a big cop out. It's not something we learn from the superheroes that inspire us.

Is the collecting community a society that allows opportunistic people to propagate? I know we have no right to keep them from doing what they are doing. I guess we can just talk about them and serve as warning to others, make a blacklist of sorts on which people to avoid even if they are offering some good deals. This blog will be my blacklist.

Mattel goes Quirky

...I mean goes to Quirky for help. They probably are looking for the next big thing in toys and I guess it can have nothing to do with the Barbie toy line.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/17/smallbusiness/mattel-toy-inventions/

As for me, I'll pass.

Store Math OR Predicting some toy store will rightfully close down soon

If a toy kiosk owner pays 10,000+pesos per month for the store space that has 200 boxed dolls in their inventory, a monthly cost of 50+pesos per month is added to cost of the doll. The store owner pays 600+pesos a year just for keeping a doll on display.

A Holiday Barbie from 2011 could be had for 1,500+pesos. The small toy store is still trying so hard to sell it for 3,000pesos since 2012. Three years have passed so that means the owner has already spent about 1,800+pesos just by displaying the doll for that long. The total cost so far is 3,300+pesos and is still increasing as long as it doesn't sell.

If some misinformed collector buys it for 3,000pesos, the seller still has a net loss of 300+pesos.

The figures above are just rough estimates. The loss in one toy can be covered by a profit from another toy. That explains the high markup in the prices. But it doesn't explain why they can't cut their losses early on by offering discounts after a year of not being sold like what normal toy stores do.

This old thing

The doll is old and so is the dress. My mom made it.

The Death of Barbie

Barbie's popularity is waning even if her price is increasing. If I were to think of a gimmick to promote Barbie, I would kill her first. Superman, the Lion from Narnia and Jean Grey all did it. I guess that is why Barbie is entering the superhero business, to die.

Imagine 5 years without Barbie. Trap her soul in the Cloud, no tangible toy, just some android game, like "Clash with the Clones" where she fights clone Barbie dolls who have taken over the world because they are more reasonably priced.

Barbie collectors will cherish all their dolls because they probably are going to be their last. The demand may build up. The dolls prices might increase in the secondary market knowing that there is no more supply. The amount people are willing to pay for a doll will increase.

And then she does a grand resurrection! Immaculate. Better than ever in all aspect--high fashion, better articulation, more durable with a god-like status.

OK, fine. Maybe it's no big deal if she remains dead.

Going Through Something

For three straight years, Barbie is still on a losing streak. On the 1st quarter of 2015, sales were up in the US but international sales pulled it down.

I wish they don't have a sole distributor locally. Richwell, the local sole distributor marks up the Barbie dolls way too high. If they only had a competition, the prices will be more reasonable and maybe, the dolls will sell more (unless the new distributor agrees with Richwell's price scheme, then let them suffer the same fate).

I wonder how it is in other international market.

Store Story

I went toy store hopping yesterday. Nothing is worth buying at the moment. Sale season is over. I did notice little interesting things.

First stop, Cool Republic Toy in Greenhills. I had a good experience buying from this store before. They allow customers to haggle. The store owner was ranting when I walked in. He was ranting about another customer who was driving a hard bargain. The owner said that if someone wants a toy, they should be willing to pay the price. That makes sense, right? But he sounded like he meant that if someone wants a toy, they should be willing to pay the price no matter how unreasonable.

I went out that toy store immediately. I don't like to patronize sellers who speak ill of their customer in public, no matter how unreasonable the customer is. Yeah, sure they can rant all they want in private but when they do it in public, it speaks a lot about how bad sales people they are. And sales is not just about the quality of product. Customers also pay for the buying experience.

I went around other toy stores in Greenhills. It is interesting to note that they are selling Marvel Infinite Series figures for more than US$10 even if major toy stores have a more competitive price. Major toy stores have more resources so they can offer these figures at lower prices. Small time sellers in Greenhills buy it in foreign retails stores so they don't get bulk discounts. I love a healthy competition. It's good for the consumer. I won't buy the new figures from Greenhills because they are more expensive there than in major toy stores (except for the Blue Beast which is offered by some Greenhills stores cheaper). Old figures that are no longer available in major toys stores are great buys in Greenhills when it comes to Marvel Universe figures.

I also visited the major toy stores. I wasn't interested in picking up any more Barbie Style Resort/Glam Vacation so I wasn't really looking at them after I bought Grace. Yesterday, I was reconsidering getting another with the hat. I immediately dismissed getting another after I saw the price. It has increased by more than 50% in less than a month! That makes me really glad that I bought Grace earlier. That makes my wallet happy, too.

I know someone who works in retail. He told me that they usually double the price so that when they offer it at 10 to 30% off the original price, they still get a profit. When I bought Grace, it's safe to assume that they already have a big enough profit margin. Increasing her price by 50% makes their margin a lot bigger and unreasonable if you ask me. So I'm taking down my blog entry where I promoted those dolls.

I keep telling that we pay for these people's (the store owner, sales person, toy designer etc) salary. We are their boss. We should teach them how they do their business.

Research

Sometimes I'm too tired to spoon feed people. I say what I want to say. I don't say what I don't want to say. If that leaves questions, then maybe the point is to leave questions.

Support System

A "stand" is used to help a doll stand. What do we call something to help a doll seem to fly, float or levitate? A fly, like the insect? Float, like with the root beer? Levitate? Let's just call it the support system, for now.

I have been seeing these in toy blogs I follow and I have been wanting to have some. It would be nice to use these in a toy tableu for the flying, high-jumping or levitating characters. I was lucky to find one at a secondary market.

The packaging comes in a completely foreign Asian language as shown above. I have no idea about the manufacturer nor is there any readable instructions on how to use it. I guess part of the fun is making sense of the parts and customize the assembly based on your needs.

I was able to set it up to support two action dolls, with a few parts to spare. Although the support system is made of light plastic, it can carry the weight of the figures without moving at the hinges even if I left the setup for a couple of days.

A pack of the support system costs about US$5 locally. It's about the same price as a Kaiser doll stand for playscale dolls. While the Kaiser stand is durable since it is made of metal, this clear plastic support system is more versatile. I just wish that it came in a resealable box or plastic bag. There are too many small part that one can easily lose.

Resurrection

I was supposed to gather all my action figures characters that supposedly died and came back to life and take a group photo but that takes a lot of setup and cleanup time. I settled with Spider-Woman instead.

Almost Forgotten

When we have dolls that we have almost forgotten, does that mean we shouldn't have bought them in the first place?

Yeah, sure, we can always have an excuse that we enjoyed them when they were new and that they gave us happiness and that made it worth it. That was then. What about now?

Or we tell ourselves that maybe, just a big maybe, we can use the doll in our future projects. Maybe our interest in that doll will be resurrected someday. You can never tell, right?

No matter how we delude ourselves, the doll is there and you don't want it now.

Organization

This how I organize my patterns.



I got the idea from a doctor. She said I should organize my medical records this way so that whoever will examine me will have some sort of history.

Two Princesses

If you want to call me baby



Just go ahead now

Discounted

March is when new toys get released locally both from Hasbro and Mattel. In the Mattel lineup, I only wanted resort Grace. The rest can wait until sale season.  With Hasbro, I want a number of Marvel Infinite Series figures both from last year and this year.

Local Hasbro distributors are doing the same gimmick once again of creating an illusion that there is a low supply. They did this with the Avengers movie figures back in 2012. They did this last year with the later waves of Marvel Infinite Series figures. And now they are doing it again with the 1st wave for 2015.

They just display a few pieces on the shelves to create an illusion that they ran out of stock, that a lot of collectors are panic buying. In a lot of toys stores I went, I asked for the Beast action figure and the sales clerks are trained to say that it was the first to ran out and that I should just get the other figures left. That was two weekends ago. Although I wanted what was left on the shelf, I don't want it that bad. I can wait for the sale so I left without buying. Luckily I was able to get one, and at a discounted price to boot.

In the collecting scene, the word "rare" is often misused. A lot of times, the rarity is controlled by the distributor and not the manufacturer. Just because it was made scarce in one location, Marvel Infinite Series figures are rarely rare. It just means that some other location got more shipment. And sometimes buying from that location is cheaper than buying locally. That is how I got my Sandman figure, from a secondary market at a discounted price.

I am not falling to the local distributor's trick once again. They created an illusion that the Ares, Valkyrie and Red She-hulk figures were rare. I was forced to get them at a secondary market. Although I got them at a price lower than the local distributor's original price, the distributor lately offered it at a much lower price. I should have waited but no, I became emotional about the low supply and the illusion of rarity.

Lessons learned.

Aubrey

This ensemble was specifically made for Aubrey. It's the second outfit I've made inspired by Audrey's gown from the movie Sabrina. The first was in 2011.

Of the dolls who have modeled my clothes this year, Aubrey is the first to model a second ensemble. (The first ensemble is here.) I really like this doll and to think she's a clone (head and body from two clone dolls). I have been playing with her since 2011. Who does that? These days, it's always about the new doll.