Toys 'R Us Trip: Moxie Girls Ice Castle and Disney Star Darlings

I took a ride with Mr. BTEG to the other side of town yesterday; he wanted to go to Microcenter. In the line of stores there was also a TRU. I didn't find a doll I couldn't live without, or at least one I couldn't get far cheaper on Amazon. :) Seriously, it was nice that they still had Ever After High Spring Unsprung dolls, but I was disappointed to see they were still charging full price.

A few play dolls, though, caught my eye that I thought were worth blogging about.

The first thing I found interesting was this Princess Ice Castle play set. Not because of the play set, but because the dolls included appeared to be Moxie Girlz. Sure enough, the MGA copyright mark is on the box, but it is also a TRU exclusive. Note that this picture shows two boxes, one stacked sideways on top of the other.

I've seen a few bloggers mention the new Star Darlings, which go with a new Disney television show. I saw some of them at TRU, and took some pictures. The bigger boxed dolls were $19.99, the smaller, $14.99. The dolls for sale online at Disney come with a light-up stand, for $10 more than the big box dolls. The smaller boxed dolls are what they apparently look like on Earth, without their star personae.

First the three more expensive dolls.

Next, the two "Wishworld" dolls.

The dolls and the outfits are cute, although the outfits don't match a promotional article I read about these dolls that talks about how not all fashion dolls need to wear mini skirts, and the Star Darlings were going to be something different. I mean, most of these skirts are over leggings or tights at least, but still, pretty short skirts. I like the clothes anyway, in general. The dolls are supposed to be 10.5" (26.67cm) tall. I wonder if any of the outfits or shoes would fit other dolls. Separate outfits would be great if other dolls can wear these clothes, but since these dolls are based on the Zodiac, and therefore there will be twelve dolls, I think separate outfits would be too much to add on top of that.

What really appeals to me about these dolls is the eyes. The eyes remind me a bit of Bratzillaz, and while I didn't care for those dolls, I really did love how the eyes looked. The eyebrows are ridiculously far apart from the eyes on the Star Darlings dolls, but still, this face is adorable.

Are you finding anything good at your stores now that they're restocking toys?

Stay tuned! My next post is about something cool related to Makies! (Although not about the move to the US, which is the big source of conversation right now.)

American Girl Doll Caroline

I got my American Girl Samantha doll in the mid-1990s. I loved her clothes, accessories, and time period. I never got the opportunity to pick up many of her accessories, since that was also when we were starting our family. And Samantha has been the only 18" girl doll that I have owned ever since. However, I found myself attracted to Caroline Abbott, who was released in 2012. After only three years, she's being archived, so I had to buy her now, if I was going to. And so Samantha finally got a friend.

One of the things that I liked about Caroline was her curly hair. The curls are not stiffly gelled, and so there's some frizzing of individual hairs not part of a curl. Stiff hair can be annoying, but I imagine this hair would not fare well with rough play.

When I part her hair, the back of the wig looks matted. I haven't investigated this too much yet, because I don't want to mess up her hairstyle. I could have sworn that I bought an AG wire hair brush at some point, but I can't find it. I know I need to get a proper wire wig brush to care for her  hair.

Here are Caroline and Samantha together. Caroline stands better than Samantha does, possibly because she does not have the overstuffed body of the Pleasant Company era. You have to balance the weight of Samantha's head against the weight of her torso, and balance both of those onto her legs, which weigh much less comparatively. Also, Caroline's limb joints seem stiffer. I don't know if that has to do with Samantha's age, or slightly different manufacturing. In any case, that also helps Caroline stand better.

A comparison of the new and older faces. The eyes look different to me. There is less white showing in Caroline's, which may account for it. Also, Samantha's eyebrows are solid lines, while Caroline's are feathered. Also, if you look at the picture below, you can see that there is a gap between Caroline's neck, and her stuffed body.

Samantha's neck and body come together much cleaner. Is this gap common with the newer AG dolls? If you have a newer AG doll, does she have this gap?

One of the things which drew me to Caroline specifically was her outfit. It's fairly true to her time period of 1812, and for some reason, it really appeals to me. Mini Caroline is also one of my favorite minis. Here is Caroline holding Mini Caroline.

One of the advantages that American Girl has in making clothes for the mini AGs, is that they have a factory where they can order things like a smaller scaled version of the ribbon sash around Caroline's waist. Looking closer, though, the eyelet embroidery on the hem of the girls' pantaloons looks to be the same size, although Caroline's is a lovely bright white. Poor Mini Caroline's fabric looks yellowed in comparison. And here's a short few paragraphs talking about the difference between pantaloons and pantalettes. I'm not sure if these specifics applied as far back as the Regency, but I'm using them here.

One of the things that I wish had been done differently with Caroline's story was having it take place somewhere besides New York state. This is not only because there are now three AG historicals who come from New York (the other two being Samantha and Rebecca), but because Lake Erie was home to an important naval battle during the War of 1812, that being the Battle of Lake Erie. If you are from the US, you may recognize a famous quote from this battle, by then master commandant Oliver Perry: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Caroline's story does revolve around her father's shipyard, but there was also a great deal of important ship building in Erie, PA. I'm biased myself, because I love Lake Erie and its history, but really, AG, we did not need another doll from New York state. :)

In Cleveland, the War of 1812 and Commodore Perry are still remembered, in various ways. :)

Here's a question for you: if a historical doll's history was set in your home area, what notable period of time could she live in? Cleveland was important in the industrialization period of the mid to late 1800s, and many of these industrialists lived at various times on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Known as Millionaire's Row, it was at one time called the most beautiful street in America. Our girl's story could focus on a specific industrial advancement, or even touch on monopolies. (!) Or maybe in the mid 1900s, an American Girl's father could be involved in medical advancements at the Cleveland Clinic. Tell me your story ideas!