BTS is a K-Pop (Korean Pop) group. K-Pop is kind of like One Direction, or New Kids on the Block, for us older folk. They're a group of attractive guys, or gals, in the case of K-Pop, who sing and perform dance moves. Like One Direction, members of the group are picked by the producer, but there are many K-Pop groups, who apparently change out members when necessary. BTS is an extremely popular K-Pop boy group, which has many rabid fans in the US, and I'm guessing world-wide, so Mattel decided to offer BTS dolls. There was a lot of controversy from fans when pictures of the dolls came out, but presumably they've made enough members of the fan base happy.
I've had these two for months, and gave up on posting pictures about them because they're no longer new and exciting. But
Dana just posted a pic of the ones that she recently bought, and encouraged me to put up a post about mine. The two I have are apparently the group members named j-hope and RM.
These dolls are supposed to be wearing specific outfits, so Mattel went more with what would make the dolls look good, than clothes that were made like human suits would normally be. The "shirt" has no sleeves; instead, the armscyes are sewn into the sleeves of the jacket. And the shirt doesn't come together in the back, either. Not usually optimal for doll clothes, but for making the suits look more realistic, it's not bad. I do like that the guys are wearing different styles of athletic shoe.
I mentioned to Dana that I wanted to give one of these bodies to another Asian male doll that I have, since these have articulation at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles. RM was going to be the unlucky body donor, but now that I've dug these two back out, I'm thinking he may stay in my collection as is. I can always head the local Five Below, as Dana did, and see if I can find another one to be a body donor. If I do, here is the lucky guy who will get the new body. I dislike the fact that the cheap Fashionista dolls can't even bend their knees to sit down.
My apologies for some of these images being blurry. I'm having problems taking pictures with my shaky hands, and I need to get things in my craft area cleared out so I can use my tripod more easily. Since it's been so long since my last post, I decided to just do what I could this time.
While I was looking up the names of my two guys, I saw that Mattel is bringing out another wave of BTS dolls. This time, they're all wearing completely different outfits, presumably from another video or appearance that they made. I think some of the outfits look pretty sharp! That's really my interest in K-Pop, is the fashions.
Hi Barb!
ReplyDeleteI had seen these dolls on Alasse's blog some time back, but I have never been that keen on boy dolls. They are pretty cool and their outfits quite snazzy, but just not for me. Like many other dolls that I don't collect, I still find them interesting to look at and learn about, I also appreciate the appeal they may have to other people.
Don't worry too much about your photos, they still look clear enough to me and there are few of us who have hands so steady they can take a sharp shot without a tripod...I certainly can't LOL!
Hope you are still doing okay and not letting all this Covid stuff get you down.
Big hugs,
X
Xanadu, I mainly like boy dolls in my doll collection if I'm going to be doing stories or "slice of life" dioramas, the kind that picture a scene from everyday life. For example, I'm hoping to get a diorama up for our annual Independence Day here
DeleteI like looking at your BJDs, but I don't think those are for me, or at least not for a long time. I would stress so much about keeping them out of the sun, for one thing. I can definitely see their appeal, and I love seeing other people's pictures!
We have definitely been fortunate during this Covid situation. Mr. BTEG is working from home for the foreseeable future, and the Dancer has gone back to work. We are able to go out to eat again, and shop; some stores are requiring masks, but a lot aren't.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the photos!
Stories are the only reason I have my BJD Elf and my one and only IT boy, but sometimes when I get a hankering to do a period piece and think about the elaborate costumes the males wore in the 17th century, a male doll would be handy to have. Afterall that's a time when their clothes were almost as pretty as what women wore at the time.
DeleteThat's completely understandable Barb, quite a lot of people stress about that, and if we all liked the same dolls we would have less to chat about and share. To me, blogging about our dolls is a blessing that gives us all an opportunity to view dolls through other people's eyes. I have learnt so much about dolls that I would never have even heard of if it wasn't for blogging and I thank you for your contribution. :)
In general I find men's clothes to be so much less interesting than women's, but you're right about that time around the 17th century.
DeleteI enjoy getting to see other people's lovely pictures of their BJD dolls, like yours, Xanadu. I've learned a lot about dolls too, from you and all the other great bloggers.
I knew nothing about the group or the dolls so it was interesting learning about them. I like how you have posed them.
ReplyDeleteFor us older than the "older" folk (laugh), there were the Miracles and the Temptations.
I think the photos are fine. I don't judge other people's photos. I still have to work hard at not cutting off my dolls' heads and not making them look like zombies when I am taking their photos (laugh).
Thank you! I suppose you are right about the Miracles and the Temptations. Nowadays, there's so much dancing done, that I don't think the performers can actually sing at the time. But lip syncing really wasn't a thing back in the 50s or 60s. :)
DeletePractice helps with photography, right? I hope so in my case!
Hi, Barb! Thanks for the shout out and even more so, this post! It's like we're having an extended doll-themed conversation, using photos to enhance our words. (I'd be the last person to get picky about photos.) I'm so happy to see these guys out of box. I love how you've posed them - you give them life and character - Barb-inspired character. You show details - the differences in the sneakers, how the "shirts" are attached to the jackets - that answer questions people who don't have the dolls can learn or that those of us who do can check and then build on. Most important, just posting adds to the doll conversation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Mattel's making the suit-sets the way they did makes the suits look better on the dolls. We encounter the fabric-scale problem: humans can wear shirts and suits because our fleshy bodies yield to fabric compression. Dolls have stiffer bodies - too many layers become bulky and awkward. We need more drape-able, softer fabrics to preserve the doll's gracefulness. These dolls represent singer-dancers - they need to convey a sense of suppleness. So, I give Mattel a pass on not giving us full shirts on all of these. (One of them does have a full white tee shirt, but that's for another post.)
I'm sorry that your Asian Fashionista won't get a new body yet. But I'm tickled that RM has a place in your dolliverse. I think all the guys are cute, but I am fondest of him because he's worked so hard on learning English and he's the group's interpreter. I dote on English and consider myself blessed to have it for my native language.
Thanks, Barb, for this post. It's a treat for me. Elbow bump, cyber hug.
Dana, that's what I love about blogging, is the chance to really talk about dolls! I'm thankful to you for helping me realize these guys were still worth a post. I'm glad to know that I impart character on my dolls. I don't always think about it, but I always recognize my own pics when I see them in an online search, so I guess I do. :) When I write, I like to think about what I would like to see in a post about dolls, including details. There are so many dolls out there; I like seeing what makes them unique. Plus, I'm just a fashionista. :)
DeleteYep, sometimes corners have to be cut to make doll clothes *look* right, even if they're not made the same as human clothes. The satin fabric is relatively thick, and proportionally quite thick for doll clothes, but it matches the Idol costumes they wore.
I don't know anything about the BTS guys in real life; I've just watched bits of their videos. I've heard English is hard to learn, so I'm glad it's my native language too. What I would love to learn would be Japanese. That seems hard!
I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Cyber hug!
Just yesterday I commented on Dana's post, LOL. I don't know much about this band, boy bands aren't my thing. When I saw the dolls, I was interested, because Mattel hasn't us used to see male dolls with articulation and rooted hair. When I found out that they use a different body than Ken, I lost interest. I wanted to get one that could blend into my Barbie collection, but I also want a doll that I can find fashions for easily, or use the ones that I may have. It's a bit the same problem than the Harry Potter dolls, I don't want a doll that I can't use the clothes and shoes I already have.
ReplyDeleteIf you feel bad about your photos you should see some of the photos I've posted on my blog, specially on my first posts. However, if you're concerned about it and can't use your tripod, you can try resting your hand on a book or another solid object while taking pics.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Boy bands aren't really my thing in general either. I'd love to see Mattel or somebody make dolls representing one of the female K-Pop bands, but I don't know enough to which one would make a good choice. Before you write these dolls off, check out the YouTube posts by DaisyFlower2. She has tried Ken clothes on her BTS dolls; that will probably give you a good idea if they would fit in your doll world.
DeleteWhen I took the top pic, I did try resting my hands on the back of the chair by my craft table, but maybe the chair wasn't sturdy enough. I also seem to have problems taking pictures of larger scenes with my camera. Maybe I should try my tablet. I use it a lot of the time when I want to post pictures to Instagram anyway.
I like these a lot more than most of Mattel's boy dolls. They actually look like a decent amount of effort has been put into them.
ReplyDeleteConsidering how intense the BTS fan base seems to be about the group, Mattel had to do a good job with them, or face hordes of screaming fans on their lawn.
DeleteYes, these dolls are different from most of Mattel's other guy dolls lately. I like the build of the body that my Fashionista has now, but if he's going to be in a diorama, he's going to have to be able to move a little! :)
ReplyDeleteI have two of these myself. I didn't know where they would fit in with their head proportions, but it turns out they are quite at home with the Xinyi gals.
ReplyDeleteTheir trousers fit Barbie nicely and the reverse is true to some degree. For the tops I can't think of a reliable clothes donor, but I squeezed one into an Isul sweater and the other is wearing a Barbie vest over his own shirt.
It's always great to get new male dolls. I can see them being a good fit for the Xinyi girls. I haven't done any clothes switching with them yet, but I am eyeing the new BTS dolls that just came out. They're kind of pricey, but the outfits are so much nicer!
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