BTS Dolls by Mattel

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.

Finally!!

I finally found Curvy MtM Barbie on Amazon for her recommended retail price! As you can see, I'm going to have to wait for her to be shipped, but it's worth it. I have a Curvy Barbie here who has been wanting articulation for a long time; a little longer won't matter.

Petite Barbie Head on AliExpress Body

You've already seen my Princess of Japan, Hoshiko, using the new AliExpress body I bought for her. Today we're going to look at Eveleen, or Evie, who was originally on a Petite body.

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!

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

Ever After High Back to School Madeline Hatter and Holly O'Hair

If you read the news and gossip about Ever After High dolls, you've known since March that these dolls were coming out. Well, actually, by this point, you were probably not sure you would see them at all. The Apple White set with the desk and accessories became available, but where were the rest of the dolls? Then in September, you started seeing pictures of the rest of the Back to School dolls, but at that time they were only available at the Mattel store in California. And then finally, last week, the dolls became available for sale on Amazon. It. Is. About. Time. We'll talk a bit more about all that later. For now, let's look at the dolls.

As all current releases do, these dolls have the new smaller heads and smiling faces. These two, Meeshell, and Apple have all of the regular EAH articulation. There is also a budget Blondie, Darling and Cupid from this line, who only have bending elbows. Those dolls also have different clothes and accessories from the others. As far as accessories, I think all of the hand-held items are repeats from previous doll releases. My dolls' purses are recolored versions of Ginger Breadhouse's stack of books from her Book Party release. The laptops are from Apple White's Fainting Couch. I think the laptops are nice, even as a re-release. If you didn't get/don't want Apple's couch, you can acquire multiple laptops here for your girls to get on the MirrorNet.

Holly's headband fits in very well with previous accessories she's had. The flowers and braided effect on this piece is almost a perfect match for her Spring Unsprung belt, for example.

The shoes don't go with any older accessories as perfectly, but they have a kind of theme of flowers climbing up a tower. They are also completely original, I think. I don't recall any doll having shoes like this before.

This version of Holly's face is a little bit off. I think the eyes look a bit too big and intense, and I don't think the color of her lips suits the rest of her coloring, even if it matches her very bright dress. I've lined up original Holly, ballet Holly with the new smaller head, and Back to School Holly, so you can compare different versions.

Maddie's tiara and shoes are a bit puzzling to collectors. First of all, Maddie doesn't wear a tiara. She wears a teacup hat, or a headband with a teacup on it. Secondly, Maddie's tiara, dress and shoes all have roses, although the dress and shoes are in Maddie's colors. Those don't fit Maddie's theme either. My guess is the tiara and shoes were designed for either Briar or Rosabella, and then Maddie was made instead. That being said, I think this version of Maddie is just a lovely doll.

I had to take a picture of Maddie's boots in direct sunlight. The camera just wasn't picking up that bright pinky-fuschia color she wears. Although in the sun, I think the color here is a bit too hot pink. I just couldn't get a good color representation.

And here is a trio of Maddie's for another face comparison. We have original Maddie, Epic Winter Maddie, and the new Back to School Maddie. The original Maddie certainly looks less like the cartoon Maddie than the newer two, although none have Maddie's rather manic smile.

Also just so you know, the middle Maddie and Holly have both been rebodied. I don't think Ballet Holly had bending arms. I forget what Epic Winter Maddie's top half was like.

Since there isn't a lot to review with these dolls, I'm going to do a list of pros and cons of the two new girls, both as themselves and within the EAH line.

Pros:
- More Ever After High dolls, and more of a chance for Mattel to see there might still be a market for these girls. Holly, Maddie and Meeshell are already sold out at their regular price on Amazon, and they're now only being offered at $42.99. I wish I would have thrown Meeshell in with this order, but the prices should come back down again, as they have with previous doll lines. When I ordered my two late last week, I grabbed the last Maddie at regular price.

- The hair items and shoes are nice, and the laptops are a great accessory.

- Both dolls have soft, non-gluey hair. And Maddie is just a very pretty doll. Holly may improve with new lip color.

- Full articulation. The three Back to School budget dolls, with bending arms only, are all still available at their regular price on Amazon. I'm not sure if that means just collectors are snatching these up, or if there are some parents who buy the articulated dolls for their kids.

Cons:
- The "purses" are not only a recolor of something we've already seen, they're kind of boring. On the other hand, the books are consistent with the theme.

- Holly's face looks odd. Her eyes seem completely blank. The Ballet version of Holly's face is very delicate and pretty.

- The dresses are boring. Holly's only real theme item on the dress is the print of the skirt, which has several braided ropes. I didn't pick up the skirt very well in my picture, especially since it has the tulle overskirt. :( Maddie's dress doesn't have anything to do with Maddie, besides being in her colors.

- I didn't get a picture, but each doll comes with a student ID. Maddie's ID has Holly's signature on the back, and Holly's has Maddie's signature. That's just odd, and shows a lack of quality control.

- As an EAH fan pointed out, it would have been cute to name these dolls Book-to-School. That shows a lack of serious attention to detail with these dolls. Considering we've been waiting since March for these dolls, it's not like they were rushed onto the market, but it certainly doesn't seem a lot of time was put into designing these. If you go to Amazon, there are also new budget Ashlynn, Maddie and Briar Thronecoming dolls that are appalling compared to the original Thronecoming release. Why couldn't those dolls just be going to some kind of regular dance?

So I'm going to be brutally honest here. I'm glad I own Maddie and Holly. I'm going to buy Meeshell when she gets to be her regular price, especially since I don't have her original version. But I think we need to see better from Mattel if the line is going to continue. At this point, I don't know if Mattel wants it to continue, although if that's the case, why wait so long to release all these new dolls? September or October would have been a far better time to release Back-to-School and school dance themed dolls, if Mattel wanted to sell these to anyone but non-collectors. At this point, what parent is going to know about these new EAH dolls, and what kid is still a diehard EAH fan? Plus, Mattel has only now gotten around to releasing the "EAH/Monster High universes meet" book that so many collectors of both lines have been clamoring for. Is Mattel trying to make a few weak attempts to keep interest in EAH/MH alive while they retool? Or are they just throwing the last shreds of ideas they had out there to make a few more bucks?

It's obvious that Mattel's in trouble. Its earnings are down, and while this is partially blamed on the collapse of Toys R Us, Mattel is just not bringing its A game. The new Barbie body types don't seem to have been a big boost to sales relative to the hype they received, and what else is there very exciting from mainline Barbie, or any other Mattel doll? Now Hasbro is expressing interest in merging with Mattel (h/t EverAfterHighLove). Mr. BTEG agrees with me that the Federal Trade Commission probably wouldn't let this go through, but it does seem to indicate that Hasbro sees Mattel at a very weak point.

These dolls are cute, but if this is the best Mattel's got, I don't expect to see its financial future improve anytime soon.

Changes at TRU for 2017

I ran out to my local TRU a few days ago, to get the EAH Birthday Ball Cupid and Duchess to go with my Birthday Ball Blondie. It became imperative to get them, after I saw that Target is now starting to stock the same version of these dolls, only without wrist articulation. Now that the less articulated dolls are out, I don't feel safe buying the dolls on Amazon anymore, either. So it was off to TRU to get the original versions. I bought the last Duchess at my store, and there were only a few Cupids left. As with Blondie, I'm pleased with the dolls for what they are. They have all the EAH articulation, plus their hair is very soft and not too thin, and their clothes and accessories have some level of detail.

I thought TRU was only going to be going to be carrying the Wellie Wishers dolls, but it seems a good bit of my TRU has changed into an American Girl Place, at least for the modern AG girls! I feel perhaps TRU and Mattel are both feeling a bit of a financial pinch since they seem to be trying to milk the AG brand for all that it's worth. I'll admit that it was neat to see all this stuff in person, and I do like the two American Girl dolls that I have. This set-up at TRU makes me wonder if the historical dolls might be on the way out completely, although I have no concrete reason to believe that. I will admit that the latest historical doll release, Melody, seems to have been hugely popular, and Felicity is also making a return. Still, I've also heard AG is releasing a modern doll for Felicity's line as well. She is the character who will go back to Felicity's time for the "choose your own" adventure style book that other historical girl dolls have. I'm not the target market for these dolls, however, so whatever happens, happens for the American Girl line.

The display case model scheme was also carried into the Barbie aisle, which was just past the aisle that looks like a mini Claire's store. The actual Claire's store that was only a few minutes away from where I live, went out of business a few months back. But that's neither here nor there. Let's look at the Barbie aisle.

I guess you could also call this aisle the Mattel doll aisle, since as you can see, Monster High and Ever After High dolls are on the back left side of this section. People may not like the changes that are being made to Monster High, but I wish EAH was getting as much attention paid to its line as MH is getting. I can only assume the interest in EAH is just not as strong.

I didn't have time or energy to check out the rest of the doll sections, although I'm wondering now what they look like. I'm sure Hasbro has a pretty decent section with all the Disney dolls, except for Moana, who has her own large area near the front of TRU, since her movie just came out. I'm sure I can find an excuse to go to TRU sometime soon to find out. :)

Ever After High Birthday Ball Blondie Lockes

My dolly time has been off and on lately. Not only that, but I'm working on projects which are taking me a while to complete. One of those projects is painting the accessories for one of the latest Ever After High dolls, Birthday Ball Blondie Lockes. I was going to put these pictures up after I finished changing up the accessories, but I've decided to make the doll her own post, and the painting one another. I need to blog more! Besides, there several things I wanted to mention just about the doll.

This doll was part of a release of three, Blondie: blue, Cupid: pink, and Duchess: purple. Target had two exclusive Birthday Ball dolls, Rosabella: yellow and Cedar: orange. Those dolls were scented, and were clearanced out at Target just before the three newer dolls came out. Blondie, Cupid and Duchess have simpler dresses, no scent, and no tinsel in their hair, unlike the two exclusive Target dolls. These three also seem to be sold only in TRU. If there's going to be an online story about these dolls, we haven't gotten it yet. We don't even know whose birthday is being celebrated.

Normally, Blondie Lockes has blond hair, but for this series, all the dolls have unusually colored hair, and Blondie's is blue. She is articulated, and comes with a headband, collar necklace, and "birthday present" purse. No earrings, no bracelet, no ring, and no stand. I used a spare stand to pose her nicely for pictures.

Her face is nice, and her bangs are not gelled overly scrunchy. When she wears the necklace, it hides the fact that the neckline of her dress is off.

Her hair is fairly thickly rooted. There's a baldish spot where her headband goes, but it's not too bad, and her scalp is painted blue to help cover that up.

She has holes marked where she would have earrings. This will make it easier for me to give her earrings, which I will probably do at some point. I've been collecting loose stock from various Ever After High dolls on eBay, but I don't have anything I want to give Blondie, yet.

She has the standard dots on her lower lip, intended to enhance her looks, I guess. Not all the more basic dolls have these dots. My Book Party Ginger Breadhouse, for example, does not.

It wasn't until I had Blondie near a window and direct sunlight, that I noticed that she has some kind of gold glitter across her forehead, above her eyebrows. I'm not sure if this was meant, or if it's some glue residue from gelling her bangs? I do plan to get Cupid, and possibly Duchess, from this series. If I do, I'll check out the foreheads.

This doll retails for $14.99, although she already is selling for less on Amazon. That's not bad, for a doll that is still workable; she has good face paint, an articulated body, and decent hair. The blue hair also makes for a unique doll to add to a collection, even if you have other Blondies.

So in case you're wondering what painting I'm doing: I'm painting the bows and ribbon down the front of Blondie's purse a light blue. I'm painting the feather in her hairband a pale yellow. There are "pearls" in front of the feather that are also going to be light blue. And in the marketing pictures for Blondie, the ribbon in the middle of her bows, on her headband, was gold. I tried it and it looks nice, so I'm going with that. I'm torn on whether or not to do anything to her necklace or shoes. I might paint the bows on her necklace a blue something like the color of her purse now. And I was thinking about yellow for the rosettes on the front of her shoes. Maybe!

Lots of New Stuff at TRU, Including Made to Move Barbie with Fashions!

I had to drop off my daughter off near my local TRU today, which meant, of course, that I had to stop in to TRU. I was totally stoked when I saw that there was a new Made to Move Barbie, wearing a dress and with other clothes and shoes! I'm going to save her picture for last, though, and start with Monster High. I'm not into the line, but I know that some of you are.

Are these fashion packs new? I don't remember seeing them in stores, but that doesn't mean they're new. If they are, dare I hope for EAH fashion packs? At $4.99, I'd probably buy every different one.

This is the first time that I've seen Welcome to Monster High Draculaura and Frankie. I think they're cute, and they're still articulated. Not a lot of accessories though, besides the photo booth masks.

It seems like Mattel is going for packs of items with Barbie. I suppose they're doing it with Christmas gifts in mind. There are two large fashion packs.

There's also a 5-pack of Fashionista dolls, most of which have already come and gone in stores. This might be a fun pack for a girl, if you didn't have any of the dolls already.

I also saw two dolls with extra fashions/accessories, in what seems to be a new line, Malibu Avenue. The smaller fashion pack above is also Malibu Avenue. Is it too much to hope for some packs with a single outfit and pair of shoes, like Fashion Avenue? I mean, if I had a nearby doll friend, I might be able to split out one of these large packs with her, but I don't like enough of what's in each pack, to buy it just for myself. Same goes for the dolls below.

Of course, some of this stuff might find its way to somewhere like a Tuesday Morning eventually. I bought a set much like Malibu Barbie above, recently. Here's a couple of pictures of her. As you can see, I wasn't getting good photos through the plastic, so I gave up on it.

And finally, the new Made to Move Barbie! She wears a dress and this outfit comes with a microphone. She also has a scientist's white coat over a simple dress, and a soccer uniform. There is also a toy microscope, and a soccer ball. I was disappointed that only Barbie was on the shelf, but judging from the pictures on the box, I'm hoping at least the other three out of the first four MtM Barbies will come out in this type of set. I'm looking forward to seeing what type of clothes will come with the other dolls.

Will any of these items be on your Christmas list?

Rebodying Belle, and Ever After High Book Party Ginger Breadhouse

I've started getting into the trend of rebodying dolls with the new Barbie Made to Move bodies. However, the first doll I picked to rebody was an older doll, a Mattel Belle doll from... quite a while back. I have many dolls that would be fun to have out again, if they were a little more posable, including this one. I did have to wash Belle's hair, to clean out the rubber band that had dried out and stuck to her hair. I haven't managed to make her hair behave enough to avoid using a rubber band completely.

First, here's Belle dressed as a modern young woman. I quickly discovered that this top sheds sparkles.

She has the ability to actually carry books now. :)

And here she is in her original clothes. The dress is too big in the bust now, but it works. Now she has the ability to offer tea to a visitor to the castle.

And she can reenact scenes from the movie.

Below the fold, I'm going to put pictures of another older doll of mine who could really use a rebody, and my new Ever After High doll.

Quick Review of EAH Ballet Holly O'Hair, With an Appearance by Signature Holly

I'm not in favor of the direction that the Ever After High dolls seem to be moving in. Too many of them have next to no articulation, and molded bodices and legs. While the newest Signatures are similar to the original waves, even there the new dolls are missing several items, like earrings, that were included with older dolls. But since the new ballet line, featuring Apple, Holly and Briar, is quite inexpensive, at $5 a doll, I sprung for Ballet Holly and Briar just to get the new faces. Just so you know, the ballet dolls do NOT come with stands. I used one just to make picture taking easier.

Basic, basic, basic. Holly's arms don't even move out to her sides.

Holly's molded on bodice follows her theme with the flowers and braided trim.

The molded legs are gorgeous, but bending knees would have been nice.

Her hair isn't a bun so much as a roll.

She can't even sit well, not just because of how her legs stick out, but because her torso and legs can't quite make a 90 degree angle.

These new faces have appeared at the same time as the new faces for Monster High. I don't think there's as much difference between the EAH faces as between the new MH faces, though. Here's signature Holly with Ballet Holly.

Our ballerina's head is smaller, and she wears less makeup. Honestly, I think Mattel would only have had to put a little more curve at the sides of the lips on the molds they already had to give our EAH girls a smiling face. Maybe little girls also liked the smaller head when they did market research?

These dolls are fine for play by very young girls, and the price reflects the simplicity of the doll. I just hope the entire line doesn't go this route. After all the time and money Mattel has put into the storylines and the "themes" for each doll, it seems a waste to dial these dolls down for the younger set. The new signatures are okay, although lacking some of the details that the earlier waves had, that made them stand out. They're also lacking the diaries that came with every doll, which makes sense if the target age can't read very well yet, or read at all. In some ways the new Epic Winter line is an Epic Fail, though. Molded leggings (although with bending knees), less jewelry and fewer painted details make these dolls compare poorly to waves like Spring Unsprung or even Dragon Games. If Mattel makes more money overall selling to a younger age group, though, simpler is how it will be. I guess older EAH collectors will have to pick up older dolls they haven't bought yet, and/or work on customization.

Speaking of ballet, my youngest daughter the Dancer expressed an interest in Ballet Holly. Since I was already planning to do a head swap, the Dancer will get a new Spring Unsprung Holly's head on the ballet body. She also loves her Misty Copeland doll, which she received on Sunday. Misty is going to stay in the box.