Dolls and Doll-related Items for Sale

Thursday, September 20, 2018

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!

10 comments:

  1. I LOVE THAT DRESS!!! My all-time favorite Fashion Fever outfit. Hoshiko is a lovely doll, and that body is quite an improvement. Good to know these bodies are worth what you paid for!

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    1. The Fashion Fever era was something, wasn't it? Yes, that outfit is great. Glad that you like Hoshiko.

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  2. Oh! I MISS the Fashion Fever Barbie stuff! I loved that dress! I also love that you've dressed her in something that matches her make up so well.

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    1. I know, Fashion Fever stuff rocked. It's amazing how well it suits Hoshiko.

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  3. Thank you for this post! I'm new to AliExpress, but I might try out this option one day.

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    1. You're welcome! You can get some decent stuff on AliExpress for dolls.

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  4. Thanks for sharing how the AliExpress doll body matches the Princess of Japan Barbie doll. It's good to know that there is an articulated choice for the fair-complected petite Barbies.

    Congrats on having that Fashion Fever dress - I think of it as Teresa's Marilyn dress, done in polka-dot cotton. Ah, yes, the Fashion Fever era was special, one of my favorite Barbie lines.

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    1. You're welcome! Mattel has a real hit with the MtM bodies, but they just aren't cranking out enough in different skin tones at the moment.

      The dress definitely resembles Marilyn's. I've always found the cardigan to be a nice touch.

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  5. She looks great in her new body!! I really love her face and the outfit you put her in. I'll have to check out Ali Express! I'm currently trying to weed through my Barbie, switch bodies and then donate or sell the hybrids. I need to thin the herd. Thank you for the body idea. The Princess of Japan is gorgeous. I have the Princess of China who I got to "modernize" but I think she's also very pretty as well so I may look for another one on eBay as she's not too expensive.

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    1. Thank you! I've used Ali Express several times to get doll things, including a bunch of Monster High and Ever After High shoes. I've heard the doll clothes are pretty sketchy, but I haven't had a problem with bodies or shoes.

      I have the Princess of China too. Because her make-up is such a dark pink, I'm not sure what sort of body I'd be able to put her on to modernize her.

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