Jointed Doll Body From AliExpress

Ms. Leo bought the same doll body that I have, and has already reviewed it. She used hers for the Asian Babysitting Skipper. I used the new body for my 2003 Barbie Princess of Japan doll. I also bought another, that I think is the same body, later. I paid $6.74 for one, and $3.58 for the other. You'll see how I rebodied the second one later on. Both bodies have extremely pale skin. Fortunately, the skin color suited Princess of Japan, as the legs of her original body were extremely discolored. Hoshiko, as I'm going to call her, was the first Barbie Dolls of the World Princess doll to use the Teen Skipper body. But if I wanted to dress her in anything but the kimono that she came in, that body really had to go.

Hoshiko's new body is also smaller than the standard Barbie body, which I think works out well. I currently have Hoshiko in an outfit that Fashion Fever Teresa originally wore. I think the colors work with her face paint, even if the dress is a little large in the bust for her. The sweater helps cover that. Her feet are a little smaller than the standard Barbie feet, but she is wearing shoes from a Fashion Fever outfit pack that work for her, and the dress.

The head really is a pretty good match with the body. And if she can't touch her face, well, it's better than the straight-armed, three-click knee body with the discolored legs that she was previously on.

As you can see in the picture above, her hands do have fairly visible seams. She also has a few issues on her lower legs. I'm wondering if I could use sandpaper very lightly to sand some of the problems out.

For $6.74, or for whatever around that amount you find these bodies on AliExpress, they're definitely worth it. While this body is not as articulated as the MtM dolls, it's far better than the old school Barbie body, at a lower price than buying a MtM for a rebody. The only issue here, outside of lower quality, is that these bodies usually only come in super pale colors, because they're made for Asian standards. A quick look over at AliExpress did find a couple of sellers who had doll bodies similar to Hoshiko's, with fairly dark skin. The only thing those dolls didn't have was a waist joint, or an under-the-bust joint. Hoshiko has a waist joint. Yes, you'll get to see what Hoshiko's body looks like without clothes, in my next review. I put the other body with the red-headed Petite Barbie, who will definitely have a name by the time I do that review! I'm not so sure how I feel about Petite Barbie with her new body, but since I have her on that body for the moment, I wanted to show you in case you want to do a switch yourself. I also should see how Hoshiko fits in her original kimono and geta. So stick around!

Chapter Seven: Tea and Talk

Chenonceaux was not a very large village. For Marchen, the important feature of the area was the Chateau Chenonceau, where Cinderella had gone to her ball. Although Addi grumbled about feeling like a tourist, Sig insisted that they see the chateau before arriving for their meeting with Philippe-Emmanuel at the cafe.

"We should see such an important site in Marchen lore," Sig argued. "Humor me."

Addi knew that, underneath her protests, Sig understood that she really did want to see the castle as they passed near. She'd sometimes been embarrassed about her keen interest in the greater Marchen world. Most of her clan never worried much about fairy stories outside of keeping their own internal secrets safe, though children of her people were told of the fairy stores that had happened in their own deep woods. Strictly speaking, Addi didn't know if any member of her home village had actively been involved in of the recorded stories. Humans who had the ability, or misfortune, to become wolves, generally did not talk about what they did when in lupine form. Addi was never entirely sure if she was relieved or disappointed that only males of her kind could take on wolf shape.

Sig and Addi had no problem finding their meeting destination. Philippe-Emmanuel was seated at a table in the quietest corner of the cafe patio, with a slender girl.

"She looks so much like you," Sig murmured as they approached.

"Our clans are all pretty intermingled," said Addi. She smiled a toothy smile at Sig. "And we all have some lupine features."

Philippe-Emmanuel rose with his usual courtesy as they approached. "May I present Mademoiselle Mathilde Louv? Monsieur and Mademoiselle Sigismund and Adolfina Jaeger." He glanced down at Mathilde, then added, "I need to speak to the owner of the cafe, if you will excuse me."

Sig was glad that he understood the Ulfer language that the two girls proceeded to use. He wasn't going to miss a word of this conversation. He squeezed Addi's hand under the table to remind her to stay composed.

"Philippe-Emmanuel told us that you have been working in with a group called the League of the Fey," Addi said slowly to Mathilde.

"I have, unofficially," Mathilde replied defensively. She glanced toward the cafe door before turning back and continuing, her voice lowered. "You have to understand, the fairy who lives in this village is probably the most powerful fairy in Gaul. She is the head of this group of fairies, creatures with innate powers, and the League as a whole answers to no one in greater Marchen society."

"And is this powerful League antagonistic toward Marchenkind?" asked Sig.

Mathilde shrugged. "As far as I can sense, no. Obviously, I wouldn't be told directly if they had ill intentions towards the greater Marchen world. Even so, the fairy who makes her home here, Isabelle Follet, seems to me only to be interested in maintaining order and accountability among the fairy folk. She's the descendant, of course, of one of the most famous fairies in Marchen lore, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother." She glanced toward the cafe again before continuing, "She, Isabelle, does things that I think are unethical... but I won't discuss any of that out in the open."

"What about Philippe-Emmanuel, then? How does he fit into all this?" asked Addi.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Mathilde, frowning. "He says he's a Marchen, has Marchen knowledge, and is very good friends with Isabelle. I'm not quite sure what story he fits into, if he fits into any story. Of course, people like us," gesturing to Addi, "and hunters like you, Sig, belong in the Marchen world because our ancestors belonged in the Marchen world. It's all in the family, so to speak. Philippe-Emmanuel? His parents are dead, but he was brought up well, and has a small estate to manage. He doesn't seem to have any fairy in his ancestry, but somehow got to know Isabelle, and helps her with Fey business."

"Who is the guardian of Cinderella's story?" Addi asked.

"She's a direct descendant of Cinderella. Her father is the King of Orleans, this region. The chateau here is a summer home."

Addi saw Philippe-Emmanuel returning to their table before she could ask any more questions. She turned to him instead. "What is our next step? We would like to meet Isabelle, of course."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Isabelle has confided in me her own suspicions about the strange circumstances recently, and since the two of you are in deep enough from your own explorations, it would be beneficial to all of us to compare notes about what you know."

Sig asked ingenuously, "And are you the keeper of the story of Cinderella?"

Philippe-Emmanuel started slightly. "What? Oh, no. I believe my family is like all of yours, steeped in Marchen traditions. There were farmers in the stories, as well as hunters and..." he paused and cleared his throat. "Isabelle told me she would like to meet tomorrow morning, when you feel refreshed. So perhaps we should discuss where you two should stay tonight."

"Of course Addi and Sig must stay with my people tonight," Mathilde said firmly. "Ulfer law demands that we must always offer hospitality to other Ulfer, and to their friends and companions."

Addi thought that Philippe-Emmanuel did not look happy about the other three being able to have their own conversation for the entire evening, but people who knew Ulfer knew better than to argue about their ways. And Mathilde's dictate was actually completely true. Perhaps, thought Addi, she was making too much of his possible concern. She herself didn't trust Philippe-Emmanuel yet, nor did she trust Mathilde completely. Ulfer were generally fiercely loyal to their own above all, but Addi was not naive enough to think that any one of her kind was completely beyond treachery or deceit. She knew Sig was smart enough to be aware of that too.

"Thank you for a lovely tea, Monsieur," Addi smiled. "When and where do we meet tomorrow?"

Philippe-Emmanuel hesitated. "We wanted more privacy, so we could talk openly... but Isabelle was not sure you would feel safe meeting at her home. She thought perhaps a hike and a picnic lunch. At the top of that hill." He pointed at the hill rising just beyond the town.

Addi and Sig glanced at each other. It was basic fairy lore that fairies generally favored gathering at the top of hills, and sometimes even made fortresses for themselves there. On the other hand, fairies also had power near rivers, and this town sat neatly beside one. She and Sig would object to meeting at her home, and at least on the hilltop, they would be able to observe if anyone was nearby to overhear. Addi closed and opened her eyelids, letting Sig know she accepted this plan, and Sig announced their agreement to the other two.

"Until tomorrow, then," said Mathilde briskly, rising from the table. "I've arranged for one of my uncles to give us a ride to our little settlement. It's not very far away from the town, here."

Sig and Addi gathered their belongings, as Philippe-Emmanuel wished them a pleasant evening. Addi was already looking forward to what she wanted to learn from Mathilde.

Ginny Weasley by Mattel, the Mysterious Case of the Odd Body

I've been looking forward to the new Harry Potter line of Mattel dolls, although only for doll rebodying, as the dolls looked well articulated. I honestly couldn't care less about the Harry Potter story itself. What I was hoping for was an articulated body that was similar to the modern day Stacie or even Skipper body. I have no idea why or how Mattel ended up with the body design they did for Ginny. Let's look at it, under the fold

Reporting In

A short while ago, I realized that while I was busy with a lot of doll related activities, I wasn't creating anything to actually post. For example, I've been busy writing the next chapter of my story, and gathering items for it, but it's still going to take at least a few days before I can actually present it. I have a couple of new dolls that I want to share, but I need to take all the photos. It doesn't help that my camera got taken to use at my surprise 50th birthday party back in the middle of the month, unfortunately without Mr. BTEG realizing the battery was dead. I kept remembering to dig the battery out of one of the bags that went to the party, when I was upstairs, and the bag was downstairs. Now I have a recharged battery, so maybe I can get some pictures done tomorrow.

I also scared myself when I realized that not only do I have dolls that still need to be unboxed, which never used to be a problem for me, but I also have some dolls that I bought out of box, that I put aside to be washed and forgot about! :O I've got a lot of work to do! In the meantime, I guess I'll give you a picture of myself, Mr. BTEG, my daughters and my son-in-law at my party.

Ever After High Signature Meeshell Mermaid Holiday Giveaway!

I've had a couple of successful trips to Tuesday Morning recently, including grabbing two EAH Signature Meeshell Mermaid dolls. So I've decided to share my recent good fortune by giving away one of the Meeshell Mermaids! I would love to be able to offer this to a reader anywhere in the world (or just about. I haven't looked into prices everywhere. If you want the doll and live outside the US, leave a note in the comments and I can look into shipping costs.) Depending on where you live, and postage, I might check out what it would cost if I deboxed the doll before shipping, so keep that in mind. I'm posting a couple of pictures of the doll I'm giving away, so you know what you would be getting. Also, this is one of the newer EAH dolls, so there is no stand, and only a story card.

To win this doll, please follow my blog (if you're not already), and leave a comment below. I will be accepting comments until midnight United States Eastern Standard Time, Friday, July 6th.

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today (Not Doll-Related)

(Although Mr. BTEG did give me the doll that was to start my Barbie collection a short while later.)

Shopping: Tuesday Morning and Target Version

Let's start with Target, as one of the items there is time-limited. It's this doll-size grill. Tam already posted about it, and when I went to Target a couple of days ago, there were only two left, and one of them had come apart into two pieces and was on two different shelving units. However, when I went back today, there were three gleaming brand-new ones, and one of them was pink, which I hadn't seen before, but apparently Tam had. I imagine these will be in stores until after Independence Day, or close to it. In any case, if you want one and you have a Target near you, head in and grab one. They're in the dollar store section in the front. Tam's looks very realistic now that it's gotten a coat of black spray paint.

This Our Generation set caught my eye, because in my mind, I associate those build-a-molecule sets with chemistry, and not biology. Then again, the actual title of the set is Life Science.The Dancer and I had a small discussion about life science, biology, and atoms. According to the Dancer, they did learn about cell membranes, which have to do with things like potassium, in biology. I've only ever known students to get those molecule sets in chemistry classes, though. It doesn't matter too much, as the set is still cute (if you can call seeing someone's insides "cute.") I wonder if that set is structured with a real molecule in mind, or if the design is only to have an attractive grouping of "atoms." I flunked my high school chemistry final, so don't look at me!

These pet sets also appeared to be new. It's fun to see a variety beyond the usual cat and dog.

Speaking of dogs, this scooter set is super cute! It's the kind of clever, outside-the-box thinking that I like to see, that takes a doll product a step higher. Granted, it is easier to add something like this to products for the 6" size dolls. The actual product also makes use of "girly colors" beyond pink, even if the boxes themselves are pink.

And lastly, I took a picture of this science desk set, only because it is still full-price at Target (as far as I could tell) but also available (and marked down) at my local Tuesday Morning. The art desk set was also at Tuesday Morning.

Also, there were a couple of LORI dolls at Tuesday Morning. That surprised me, because I thought Target was the only brick-and-mortar retailer of LORI dolls, and Target generally clearances stuff down until it's gone.

As for what I got, I picked up my second Ever After High Raven and Apple School Spirit set from Tuesday Morning. I got, and reviewed, my first School Spirit two-pack for Mother's Day of 2016. The last time I went to Tuesday Morning, there were two of the packs on the shelf. I had enough self-control to only take one of them home the last time I was there, but for $14.99, I had to grab the other one when I found it still there two days ago. The dolls can always be re-rooted, re-painted, and re-dressed. $7.50 each for a full-dressed and articulated Ever After High doll is nothing to be sneezed since they're pretty much not around anymore. There was also a Budget Apple with straight arms and legs still on the shelf. Hopefully some little girl will find her and be happy with her.

I also picked up the Barbie violinist pack for $2.99, solely for the violin, even if it does say "Barbie" on it.

I passed on an Ever After High Castle Set, marked down to $30.00. You'd better believe I'll be looking to see if it's been marked down some more, though, the next time I go in.

Tuesday Morning has many kinds of products for sale, and I love to cruise some of the other aisles, looking to see if there are any other bargains that I can pick up. I got a cardboard scratcher for cats, and a small make-up type bag for the Dancer, since she's traveling a couple of times this summer. I also found a few great things for dolls, in the craft aisle: three of these three-bag sets of sticky-back white tiles. Each set of three bags was only $1.99! I also picked up one set of pink, as that was all they had of that. Not enough to tile a 1/6 size floor, which would have been fun, but they can be used for mirrors, tabletops, and kitchen/bathroom counters.

Anyone else pick up a good find lately?