Hogwart's Express Playset

 If you do not have a passing familiarity with the Harry Potter franchise, please seek out your favorite Potterhead to explain anything that might confuse you.  Also there will be spoilers if you are new to the Wizarding World.

Taking a break from my winter projects to open my other new toy.  When I bought Jeff, I noticed the price on the Hogwarts Express had gone up a good bit, so held off to research similar (cheaper) options.  Anything I found that met my criteria cost even more!

I was never happy with my DIYs for a diner... even had to turn Sunburst Diner into a cafe during my Barbie Soap Opera.  When I saw this, my first thought was DINER BOOTH!  That might seem strange to you, but I'm a strange woman... as you well know.  

But that's for Walmart's "My Life As" dolls, you say.  The scale is way off, you say. Look how small Snape and Bellatrix are next to it, you say.  I've had a lot of experience with using this scale for my Barbies.  It does work with a little ingenuity and imagination.  

Anyway.  Here my volunteers stand beside the freshly opened playset.  It really is coincidence that I grabbed a couple of Harry Potter characters.  They were the two dolls closest to my work table. 

The white cardboard under the window opens to be a backdrop.  I'll be keeping this, although usually folded down so my dolls can make use of that window. 

The big picture was enclosed in the backdrop.  It's meant to slide behind the table window. 

This other stuff was in a Hogwarts envelope.  There's a cardboard rug, instruction booklet, stickers, and the boxes for goodies from the trolley.

Also Harry's first letter, its envelope, and two train tickets.  These are large for my dolls, but could work as wall art.  We shall see. Snape's toes for scale.

Sticker in the frame and Hogwarts outside the window.  The opposite side of that window card is a night view, for if they take the midnight train to Hogwarts.  Hedwig says "get me outta this dang plastic".

 The big blue box and plastic hold even more goodies.  I popped the trolley together and put up curtains.  Snape and Bellatrix noticed the height of the tabletop, but I told them I have a plan for that problem.  More on it later. The table folds down against the wall.  Because reasons. 

The little balcony thing on the rear was easy to install.  That lantern has a working light which I will never use.  The batteries will be removed so they don't corrode. I also remove batteries from the headlight and interior lamp.  

 

Photo is sideways because I am lazy.

It was at this point that I said "Where's Scabbers? He's supposed to be in this set."  Found him in the trash, right where the little traitor belongs.  Which reminds me... if we've got Harry's first letter, why is Crookshanks there?  Chronologically confused much? 

Pocahontas is 18 inches tall. She's a lot skinner than the intended dolls, but will serve to demonstrate the size of the pets.  Crookshanks is supposed to be a big boy.  Not a lion cub! I'm debating if he'll work as a Barbie pet.  I've had some huge cats in my time.

Even as skinny as she is, Pocahontas still takes up more than half the seat.  Snape and Bellatrix share easily.  This is one of the benefits of using larger-scale items with Barbies.  This picture makes me giggle.  Like they're Pokey's kids and Bellatrix says "Feet on the floor, Mom!  Gawd!"

Like the children they resemble in that photo, the table-height problem can be resolved by sitting on a suitcase or stack of pillows.  Come story time, I'll probably make risers out of Lego and use camera tricks to hide them.

The table folds back and the benches become a bed.  No blanket, though, unless you rip the curtains down.  The gray bolt behind the seat back is one of the two that hold the smokestack on.  Smokestack is off here because I was removing the batteries.

My dolls are very happy with this playset.  What they can't use will have a home, probably with my favorite Potterhead.  I'm not fussed about keeping the set complete.  Not a collector.  These are toys.  Play with them!  Or maybe I can use the pets to ward off home invaders (Crookshanks and Hedwig are heavy!)  

Dressing Barbies for Christmas

 When I talk about my on-line friends that I met via the doll community, I usually refer to them as "my Barbie People".  We trade stuff our dolls no longer need, ask for information (like what articulated body matches the noggin from an unarticulated body), and just generally support each other in our refusal to act our ages.

Remember the one who sent me Morrible when I couldn't find her in my neck of the woods?  (Of course, Morrible showed up in my stores after that!)  I was telling her how hard it is for me to get my dolls Christmas clothes.  One reason is a combination of my own frugality and family rules about buying stuff for yourself between a certain date and Christmas.  I wait for the after-holiday sales, but miss out on things because others beat me to em.  Another is that the nearest Target (for example) is forty or fifty miles away and I hate driving.  I'm also not a fan of ordering through the mail because  I like to check things out in person before buying and because porch pirates exist.  

I'm okay with "settling-for" what's easily available to me.  But my friend took pity on my poor dolls and sent a package for them.  The packaging said "Zubebe" so I'm assuming that's the maker.  These are very nice sweaters and my dolls are stylin' in them.

They're great.  The only problem I had dressing the dolls was the fingers snagging in the knitting, and that's easy to prevent if you're too impatient to just slow down a little. Just toss a bit of tape or fabric over the doll's hand!  They slip right over the noggin and fit nicely.

These are the holiday clothes my dolls already had. Midna's Santa shirt was an ornament, the only one of the three I managed to de-glue enough for anyone to wear. Most of the others are wearing T-shirts meant for a knock-off "Elf on the Shelf".  (Elf Mates?) Those work really well for most fashion dolls. Albus is wearing a home-and-badly-made Santa suit.

My big boy Hagrid can't wear any of that, but last year Santa brought him some "Snoop on the Stoop" wine bottle sweaters.  He's not pictured here because he's wearing the one that's not Christmassy - it just says DOGG SUPPLY 20.  Here you can see Severus and Sirius wearing Snoop Claus.  

Iris (rainbow braids), Yule Ball Ron (end of top row), and Tommy (Creatable World beside Iris) are wearing Family Dollar sweater ornaments.  I do not recommend these for dolls.  The appliques are barely glued on.  They aren't stretchy.  I had to snip the neck holes to get em over the doll's heads and then the knitting tried to unravel.

But here's the crew in their Zubebe sweaters.  These are as easy to put on as the Elf Mate(?) shirts.  They fit well on a variety of body molds.  The colors and designs are festive.  Absolutely no complaints. Except it's hard to see, in the pictures, the snowflake on the light blue!

Once again, thank you to my Barbie Person.  My dolls suffer so horribly living in the boonies with a penny-pincher who hates driving.  I hope gifting these sweaters gave you as much pleasure as getting them has given us. 

What I've Been Up To

 I'm finally making some progress on getting back to this blog.  I've written a few on that other blog, but my poor neglected dollies are mad at me.  Good news on that front... one of these books holds the story I've decided to doll dramatize!

I had another really good idea for a doll drama but it jumped right outta my head.

I did finally get around to fixing the grocery store.  The cold unit is a Shopkins display, if I recall correctly.  The shelves are Zoe lockers and the trophy case/amplifier from a Monster High playset.  Groceries are assorted minis.

Second Sister's church held a rummage sale.  Rusty got a new dress!  When I said I had no idea for what occasion she might wear it, my Eldest Sister contributed a Masque.  She can go to a Mardi Gras ball!  (You'll see the full dress in a few.  I'm having some issues getting my digital camera to talk to my new computer.)

The Mother of The Boy has taken up sewing.  Previous blog posts showed the Barbie size quilts she made my dolls.  She asked about Barbie clothes patterns to use for her scraps, so I nabbed these.

McG is modeling a Gear Shift Hoodie.  The dolls also want the skeleton and I believe there's a galaxy one. The Hoodies also come in solid colors, but where's the fun in that? (This was picked up at Auto Zone on my way home from the rummage sale.)

Rusty in her new fancy dress.  Ain't she purty?!

Has Mattel Done It Again?

There's been more than one mistake in the long history of Barbie.  Some of them were the result of Mattel's ignorance of subcultures in our society.  I'm concerned they may have done it again!

Earring Magic Ken dressed like the rest of Barbie's Earring Magic crew.  Leather and mesh tops in vibrant colors, hoops dangling everywhere so they could be switched out with the doll's earrings.  The look gave the females in the line a vaguely disco-biker look, but since Ken was male...  One report said he "would be at home on Christopher Street".  Christopher Street at the time was well known for homosexual promiscuity.  Since Ken is canonically in a committed heterosexual relationship with Barbie, such was clearly not Mattel's intent.  

Given the time of the doll's release, Mattel had probably planned for some controversy about his earring.  Male earrings were a new thing and the guys were very careful to get the correct one pierced.  Ken's piercing indicates his heterosexuality, but this doll was quickly pulled from production because of the implications of the rest of his wardrobe.

Oreo Barbie was a case of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't.  Mattel worked with Nabisco to make a doll hawking the classic cookie.  Mattel has a history of at least attempting inclusive doll lines (some better than others) and so the Oreo doll was offered in two skin tones - the classic blonde and the one pictured.  Can you guess what the problem was?

In slang, an Oreo is someone white on the inside and black on the outside.  (My Sioux friend tells me her people have a similar use of "apple".)  So this doll was laughed off the shelf.  Instead of "these cookies are yummy" she sent a message of "I betray my people".  Not exactly what Mattel had in mind.

  For context, I will remind my readers that a few years before this line, Midge got married.  The Midge bride doll was dropped off by Santa one year, under my sister's tree, and her daughter was a Midge girl from that moment on.  I remember eyeing the wedding set - six dolls - and forcing myself to pass it by for reasons that have no bearing here. 

The Happy Family line created chaos, in part because silly Mattel forgot at first to give Midge a wedding ring, but mostly because people still thought of these dolls as teenagers.  There were also those who knew Midge was married, they knew Midge was of age, they just didn't care.  That doll is teaching children about sex.  As if children haven't been rubbing Barbie and Ken together since 1961, without Mattel giving them the idea. 

So a happily married, adult doll was removed from production because it was scandalous.

Side Note: Midge's baby bump was magnetic and without it she looked no different from any other Midge.  The hollow-bodied horror many articles show is not even a Mattel product.

And now we reach the latest possible scandal.  Cutie Reveal dolls come wearing animal costumes.  My first thought was cheerleading mascot.  Some others are reminded of The Masked Singer TV show.  The costume, sans the head and paws, could be fuzzy pajamas.  The top doubles as a jacket over a molded on swimsuit.  There's a variety of skin tones and nine points of articulation.

  But way too many of us are calling them "Furry Barbie".

Furries are, put simply, people who cosplay as animals.  There is a sexual component, which gets all the press, but I suspect it's likely comparable to Trekkies role-playing in (and out of) their Starfleet uniforms.  The public opinion of Furries seems to be that they are all raging perverts.

I think this line is really cute.  I've managed to get Panda and didn't find her in my usual store.  I'm worried that these gals might go the way of the others mentioned in this blog.  Poor Ken, outed because he wanted to match his friends.  Poor Oreo, betraying her heritage by liking a cookie.  Poor Midge, reproducing in the most socially acceptable way there is.

I hope Mattel holds their ground on this one.