Dolls and Doll-related Items for Sale

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Angelina Ballerina Dresser and Chest

My Angelina Ballerina furniture arrived today! Well, most of it did. I couldn't find the stove in the pile of newspaper that everything came wrapped up in. Still have to talk it over with the seller. But everything else is fantastic! I decided to stick to the wooden dresser and chest, because otherwise this post would be way too long. I'll highlight the other items in later posts.

The chest and dresser are very nice pieces, made of wood, with what I think is called fiberboard at the bottom of the drawers and the bottom of the chest. They also are marked on the bottom with HIT Entertainment (who owned the rights to Angelina Ballerina, at least the animated series) and American Girl, who distributed the stuffed dolls and furniture.

I forgot to take measurements! Let me know if you want a particular measurement. But you can get a pretty good feel for how big the pieces are by looking at the dolls I thought worked best with them. First up are some pictures of the dresser and chest by themselves.


A couple of the dresser drawers are very loose; the small drawer on the top right is very tight. You might be able to see how it fits a little crookedly into its slot.


There are some marks on the front of the chest. Nothing serious.






Because the chest used such thick pieces of wood, I feel like it looks a little funny on the inside, proportionally. But it's a very solid piece, which is the main thing.

First up to model is Disney's Snow White, by Mattel. As an aside, I realized while I was taking pictures that the dress Snow White is wearing is over ten years old! I got it in a dress swap, as a member of a doll board I don't even remember anymore. Actually, it might have even been an old-school bulletin board. Anyone else active on those back in the day?


She doesn't look too out of place here. The chest looks a little small proportional to her height, but the dresser isn't bad at all.

The mirror piece on top of the dresser is completely separate, giving it even more play value, as it can be moved around on top of the dresser or used by itself.

I wonder if this is a magic mirror?
 Next up is a J-Doll, Melanie.


Being more petite, I think she works better overall than Snow White. Possibly it might be a little too big for her, but I don't think so. She looks right sitting on the chest.


Lastly, we have my 8" Kripplebush Kid by Tonner. At the moment, I think she works with these pieces the best.


The mirror tilts (although it doesn't stay in a tilted position) so anyone could sneak a peek in it, but I like that this little girl can look right at the mirror.


I also had my Madeline and mini AG Samantha out, but the furniture completely overwhelmed them. So I think these are the ones in my collection who would work the best.

Obviously, with the flower decorations, these pieces are rather girly, so they're not for everyone's collection. Can you see GI Joe using these? :) But they're well made, real wood pieces that are going to look great in one of my doll's bedroom set. Which doll you think should get them?



4 comments:

  1. The set looks great! I like it best with the last doll. I'm pretty sure you can get the mirror to stay tilted if you apply a bit of matte varnish or super glue into the moving parts and wiggle it until it's dry. It's what people do to tighten wobbly doll joints.

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  2. That set looks wonderful! To my eye it works almost as well with the taller dolls as the smaller one - it's just the height of the mirror that throws it off when I'm looking at them. :)

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  3. Thank you for the ideas on the mirror, BlackKitty. I don't think I want to tilt it permanently, but it would be nice to be able to tilt it for a picture. It's too bottom heavy, though. I'm sorry about your friend.

    jSarie, I agree that the mirror might change the perception of how the doll works with the dresser. I might take another picture without the mirror. I still think the chest is a bit too low, however. But then again it was made to be a toy chest originally.

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    1. Sorry if I wasn't clear - putting varnish/glue inside and moving it around will make it tighter, but not immobile. The glue will spread and dry on the surface of the joints leaving less space between the moving parts. You just have to keep spinning the mirror or else they will stick together.

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