Rainbow High Color and Play House (Part Two)

 

I noticed another creepy.  This is the back "window" of the room with the emerging faces!  I can't decide if these gals are the stalkers or the stalkees.  Anyway, it's up against my wall, so no biggie there.

Building the second house was quicker, mainly because I knew what I was doing this time.  No backward dividing walls this time, I promise!

The smaller first floor room is going to be a little library.  I had scrapbook paper that was books, but it wasn't big enough to do the whole area, so I went with this nice pink. I still need to secure the edges with clear tape. I sure wasn't going to try maneuvering around the trompe l'oeil plant again, but I kept the wainscoting on the side walls.  I do like wainscotting.

The larger first floor room will be the living room.

Gotta figure out what to do here.  My dolls do have some nice big shelving units that they might be able to hide it behind.  Curtains or a fake door are options, as well.

This is the second floor where the houses meet up.  Same solutions are being considered, even if this one might work as is.  Looks like a glass door!  

 This side of the first floor joining could be a pass-through.  Maybe I can find some low enough shelves to fill the bottom of the doorway on the other side. We shall see.

Fluffy cat moved in already.  Brought a candle and basket of playing cards.

I hoped to put the two attics together or the two decks.  Then I considered not using the center attic and having a really big deck.  But I decided to just have a weird looking house.  

These are the included  furniture, etc.  I have two of each because I got two houses.

Clockwise starting on Rusty's lap: Beds, kitchen appliances, bathroom sinks and toilets, couches, dining tables and chairs, markers, and assorted doodads.

I will definitely be replacing my current kitchen with the bigger and less pink set.

The bed that came with the house is just a teeny bit short.  The My First Barbie bed is much longer because My First Barbie is 14 inches tall.  I bought it because it's wide enough to be a double bed.  Note the trundle bed on the MFB. Since I'm going to have six bedrooms, they will all be used.

The blue sectional in the corner is the RH couch.  The other blue is Monster High and the pink/gray daybed is, of course, Barbie.  I have a lot of living room furniture to choose from.

This is how things looked when I stopped for supper.

Yard Sale Haul (Choosing Keepers)

I was surprised to see that most of the dolls did not need extensive trims.  Almost everyone's hair combed out with little effort.  Those I don't keep will appeal to a new human more if they don't look like they just got hit by lightning.  

After that was done, the selection process began.  Since my space is small, I limit the number of dolls in Barbieville.  One of my friends added more dolls to her dollyverse than I had in total during 2019!

The Mattel Princesses and Barbies.  There were a few here I knew were keepers from the start, even without working knees and elbows.  I was hoping some head swaps would help with that.  Also, I hoped some of the boys would be body donors for Kevin and Jeremiah.

Clone dolls, Monster High, and Hi Glamm (previously identified as Winx).  Only one of these was a keeper - the man with the gray beard.  The rest suffered from poor articulation, deformities, and/or Vapid Face.

Bratz.  Neither boy was suitable for Kevin or Jeremiah, even with feet attached.  The lemon-on-a-toothpick proportions are just too far from reality for me, so none of these dolls will be keepers. 

Holly Hobbies (not Strawberry Shortcake) and Wee Three Friends.  I debated these for quite a while.  The combinations of childlike features and adult shapes or sizes led me to decide against them.  I even had the Wee Threes with jointed elbows in my keep pile for a while.

This is the gal I mentioned in the previous blog, with the wild hair and face I really liked.  I thought she was Diva, from Barbie And The Rockers, but once I tamed the hair... she's Midge.  Every Diva I've ever seen had really heavy eye makeup, but I can't remember a Midge with super curly hair.  Research provided only the information that Diva and Midge share a face mold.

I think these three are celebrities.  Pretty sure the one on the left is Brandy Norwood.  

Shoes.  Lots of sizes and only three orphans.  They will all stay except the orphans.

Cinderella figures.  I waffled on these because that one of the stepsisters makes me giggle.  Decided not to keep them or break up the set.

Bratz feet and snap-on hair for one of the smaller gals.  I was bummed to see the black boots were Bratz.  None of my dolls can wear them.  Same with the roller skates.

Happy Meal toys.  Bratz and Barbie.  These will go into Doll County Day Care's toy stash.

Madame Alexander Happy Meal toys. Not keepers, but I stole what clothes I could for the toddlers. Was mad when the pumpkin costume didn't fit anyone.  

Cabbage Patch Kids.  Happy Meal toys,  Not keepers.

Sally Secrets Happy Meal toy - her feet are hole punches (one makes stars, the other hearts).   Debated keeping her just because she's so cute, but decided against it. I wouldn't use her.

 Wedding cake and bowling set.  Those balls are not the original ones - they're stress balls. The kind that clank against each other, not the squeezy kind.  The cake is a double of the one I already have, just in a different shade of pink.  The stress balls will probably go away but I'm keeping the pins and cake.

I have no idea what this is.  I thought it was the cap for a pencil-shaped pencil case, but it has what looks like Hebrew characters on it.  A dreidel?  I'll be keeping it for now.

After some head swapping and debate, these eight will be the only ones kept.  My Scene Chelsea, Gray Beard, Rapunzel, Hula Hair Barbie in rear. Brunette, Midge/Diva, Cho's mommy, and Purple Slippers in the front.

Hula Hair Barbie is on a My Scene Kennedy body - her own was very floppy and she chose to be less articulated.  Also, she gets a nice shoulder tattoo.  A snowflake in colors that match the dyed portion of her hair.  I kept Rapunzel because I thought they made a nice mom/daughter pair.

Midge/Diva and Purple Slippers upgraded to jointed elbows and a solid body, respectively.

I've got roles in mind for Gray Beard, the brunette, and of course Cho's Mommy.

Yard Sale Haul (Sorting and Cleaning)

The Boy's neighbor had a yard sale.  His mom, urged to "get Jeanie up here", instead opted to just buy me an entire bin of assorted used dolls.  The hair is going to be a challenge, but otherwise they are in pretty good shape.

Here they are after the communal bath, standing around naked, as you do.  The Boy's mom stripped them for me and washed the clothes.  (Thanks!)  All I have to do now is sort them out, decide who is a keeper, find homes for the others, and assign roles to the keepers.

Two soft-body dolls, after a run through the washer and drying in a patch of sun.  Use of a commercial dryer might damage the hair, so we avoided that. I love the face on Purple Slippers.

Google wasn't a lot of help with the trio on the left.  Obviously they are Strawberry Shortcake characters, but I found little to no information on 12 inch dolls in that line.  The long-legged things on the right are Winx dolls.  Again, I don't remember this specific line.  All the Winx I ever saw were leggy, but not to this extreme.  All five of these dolls have the basic five points of articulation and click knees.  Winx faces are gorgeous but they are so... wispy? Well, they are meant to be fairies. 

UPDATE

The "Strawberry Shortcake" dolls are Holly Hobbie and the "Winx" are a line called Hi Glamm.  Thanks to Treesa for the correction!

A plethora of Wee Three Friends.  The bodies are dated 2000.  My only real recollection of them is being mad that they gave Stacie boobs.  The whole reason they introduced her was to fill a void left by the aging-up of Skipper!  Google tells me the friends are Whitney Hadley (kin to Midge, I assume) and Janet.  Most of these have the standard five points of articulation and click knees.  Some of them have jointed elbows. 

Bratz.  Like the Monster High dolls, I love the clothes and accesories but I'm not a fan of the dolls.  Giant noggins, tiny bodies...   Most of their clothing will fit Stacie and friends.  The clothes from the smaller ones will fit the toddlers. Five points of articulation and click knees on most of them.  I did spot a few jointed elbows.  I'm eyeing the boys as body donors for Kevin... he don't even have click knees.

Assorted others.  Two "Lovely Patsy" dolls, Monster High, Steffie Love, a Diva Star, and I think Farrah Fawcett.  She's a Mego from 1977.  I hope to find the Monster High boy's forearms, but no luck.  Others in the doll community have told me he's a good match for Kevin's skin tone.

Another assortment.  These look to be dollar store finds, mostly with click knees.  That little Ariel in the front was wearing a Snow White dress.  That gray-bearded fella is definitely moving to Barbieville.

Mattel Disney Princeses.  Jasmine, Aurora, Belle, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Anna.  Poor Anna is missing a foot. Click knees on most, if not, all of them.    

And the actual Barbies!  That gal in the back left, with the crazy hair, I cannot place.  I think she's one of The Rockers. I'll get a closeup of her face in a later post.  Kyra's identical twin (Secret Spells Kayla) in the back row, between the headless and the brunette with working elbows. 

That poor Ken on the end doesn't even have click knees. Mixed in with the Barbies are some My Scene and maybe a couple of celebrities.  At least one of them will end up being Cho's mommy.

Bits and bobs, as I call them.  Clothes that were missed during the inital stripping. The swimming pool does hold water but needs a bit of railing replaced.  

And the clothes.  There were several dresses that fit my bigger gals.  Only a handful of items were not usable - in part because I don't want kindergarteners in corset tops.  Next step is rescuing the hair and deciding who goes and who stays. 

Doll Envy

One of the bloggers I follow shared a picture of the dolls she'd bought in 2018 - it was more than Barbieville's entire population!   I can't do that.  I'm on a very limited income, and so have to be very choosy.  That said, I do have some plans for Barbieville.    

Lots of my fellow Internet Doll People are reviewing the Team Stacie dolls right now.  I've even posted about the boy in the line, mistakenly thinking he had the exact same head as the Babysitter Inc boy.  Of this line, I'm eyeballing the scientist, the gamer, and the artist.  I plan to call them Janet, Layla, and Todd - after past friends of Stacie.  But they aren't a priority because they aren't very well articulated.  Just the standard five points.

The ones I'm prioritizing are the new Harry Potter line.  Articulation, check.  Kids, check.  Elderly folks, check.  Well, one elderly folk - I'm not charmed by Dumbledore's beard.  It's hard plastic.  If you look up under it, it's not touching the chin at all.  It's like they molded it separately and glued it to his top lip.  I'll only get him if he's ridiculously marked down and then likely use him as a donor body.  I planned to start slowly buying this set in January.  But then I saw...

  

...these two on eBay.  The seven inch, fully articulated Harry Potter dolls from the 1990s.  Got them both for less than one of the new dolls is priced at and both are in excellent shape!  I'm saving the names Hermione and Harry for the new line, though, so these two are Emma and Dan after the actors who played the roles in the movies.  There is a Ron, also, but he seems to be rare and therefore expensive.  I doubt Rupert will ever live in Barbieville.  

Since the Grangers in the books were dentists, I've decided PJ is Dr Granger, mother of Hermione and Emma.  Dan and Harry will be siblings. Ron and Ginny will remain the siblings they already are.  The family make-up of the Potters and Weasleys in Barbieville is undetermined at this point.

Another one I want is Fashionista 110.  I just love her face and that green and black hair!  She isn't a priority because of articulation.  I do have donor bodies, though, so she's ahead of Team Stacie.  

Of course, there's always room for a bargain, but as it stands right now, these are my only planned purchases.  If Publisher's Clearing House shows up at my door, though, I'm gonna be the one giving Doll Envy! 

PS: None of these photos are mine.  They're mostly from Amazon.  Emma and Dan are the pictures from the actual eBay listings where I bought them.

Musings

I wonder sometimes what toy companies are thinking.  The entire reason behind any business is to make money but it seems they aren't doing what they should in order to do so.  Yes, people will pay ten bucks for a doll with the standard five points of articulation and Vapid Face.  But they will pay more for full articulation and a face with personality.  I'm no expert, but the adage "spend money to make money" exists for a reason. 

And then there's the larger world of the dolls.  Very few people, of any age, are satisfied with just a doll.  They want things for the doll.  Those things should also be well-made.  Solid items that stand up to rough play because even if you only display the dolls, stuff happens.  Children and pets alone can wreak havoc by accident.  One of the terms my minions got used to hearing when a toy broke was "it pops".  As in pops back together. 

Then there's the really rough play.  Oops, they drove off a cliff.  Nine car pile-up in the hallway.  And it ain't just boys who do that stuff.  DEATH TO GENDER ROLES  (Oops, sorry... I digressed)  Very few people play with dolls as intended. Dolls get up to all kinds of non-sanctioned shenanigans. 

The biggest selling doll lines are largely set in a high school - Monster High, Ever After High, whatever school the Descendants attend - and I think that's where Mattel messed up with Barbie. For all of her roots as a "teenage fashion model" the last time she went to High School (officially) was in the 1990s.  Even though I'm not a fan of the dolls themselves*, I love the rest of it.  School play sets!  Furniture that's not pink!   

Mattel is taking steps I like.  The new bodies and skin tones, bringing back the sisters.  The "I can be" line reminds me of "We girls can do anything" from back in the day.  They've even given Skipper and Chelsea friends.  Stacie must be a loner. 

Anyway, that's my thoughts on the subject.  Buy what you like.  I know I do! 



*The body/head ratio is way off and the face paint is cartoonish.