I just discovered photo editing

I can't believe I've never thought of this before. I'm going crazy with the gaussian blur filter as we speak. Everything seems to end up looking like very brightly lit candy, but at least I'm getting the beginners' mistakes out of my system. And what's wrong with candy anyway?

Thrift Store Finds: Betty Teen, IKEA dollhouse furniture

I was going to write about the Scary Couple, but instead I'm going to do what everyone else does and show off Friday's thrift store finds. I did my usual round of 4-5 shops, and despite it being the end of the week I did manage to find some interesting stuff. Mostly naked dolls as usual. (ETA: edited a couple of the photos)

Who is she and why is she wearing those glasses??

The doll on the right is a My Scene, I think? The necklace was still held in place by a rubber band. The hip elastic needs to be replaced, but the other joints are tight. I got her for rebodying an old head, and of course the first thing I do is crack the neck... (I should have just cut the head off instead, but it feels so wasteful.) Basically, a chip came off at the edge, but it's not visible once the head is on, and the neck is still structurally intact.

L: unknown Mattel, R: My Scene?

The small doll is yet to be ID'd. All I know is she's (c) Mattel 1999. She has articulated elbows but stiff legs with molded ballet slippers. She seems more like a separate ballet/fairy/princess line than a Skipper or oddly-sized Barbie.


This was yet another face sculpt I fell in love with, despite the fact that she has bite marks on her nose! This way I'll have a reference for hunting down one in better shape.

She looks a bit like Kayla/Lea, except more narrow and pointed - although since all I have for comparison is a clone, so I could be wrong. (The previous owner's improvements to her makeup came off easily. Too bad, I thought the red eye shadow was a winner.)

L: Betty Teen, R: generic Barbie

The one on the right is just a generic Barbie, belly button body I think. I mainly got her because I wanted her lower arms as spare parts.

The doll on the left is the catch of the day - a Betty Teen! I've been wanting one since I saw people's photos of her on Flickr, but I've never seen one in the wild as it were. She's in so-so condition. The facepaint looks okay, but the rooted eyelashes have been cut, and the hair is a frizzled mess. I washed and combed it and now she looks like a Monchichi. I'm not sure it's an improvement, but she'll have to live with it while I ponder the next step.

Betty's frizzled nylon hair

Her body has a few stains and scratches, as well as sticky legs, and of course no articulation. The only rebody option would be the new articulated Steffi, which has the same type of neck. Unfortunately, Betty's neck knob is slightly bigger and her head doesn's quite have enough space for the disc on top of the Steffi neck. The head goes on alright, but Poor Betty can't nod at all, and instead she keeps doing the Exorcist. A couple of rubber bands around the knob stops the head from spinning, but if I want any up-down articulation I'll probably have to file down the disc. (If I cut it off completely the rubber bands wouldn's stay on.)

World Championship of Pinkness, 2nd and 1st place:
articulated Steffi, Betty Teen

There's also the fact that Betty is even more pink than Steffi Love. Also, Betty's big round doll head doesn't look quite right on the slender Steffi body. I can't think of a better option, though, so this will have to do.

I forgot to take a picture, but one thing I like about the Betty head is her square hairline with a slight widow's peak. It's just one of those little variations that I like having in my collection.

The single drawer doesn't fit in either unit, unfortunately.

Lastly, a complete impulse buy and something I wasn't even looking for: some IKEA dollhouse furniture. My first thought was "Those look like Billy shelves!", even before I saw the logo. They're pretty heavy ABS plastic, made to withstand rough play (in fact, I'd be more worried about the kids - the sharp corners are downright scary). I think they're dollhouse scale, but they work for 1/6 too. Lockers, wardrobes, kitchen cupboards? The clean and simple design makes them pretty versatile.

(The cactus and the fabulous strawberry glasses were found at the bottom of the big toy crate at one of the stores. That's where all the cool stuff hangs out, and it's usually practically free.)

Betty, for now.

So that's one use for the Steffi body. I'm thinking of getting another one while the sale lasts, since I still have this frankendolly project I want to use it for. It's a pretty far-fetched idea, though, and it might not even work, so maybe I'll save my money instead.

More on the new articulated Steffi Love

Alright, these are my thoughts on the new articulated Steffi Body. I've realized taking clear and informative photos is harder than it seems... These will have to do for now, though (I dumped the rest on my Flickr). Lots of text and photos of naked pink plastic ahead!

Articulated Steffi Love pics @ Flickr

Whew!
I took a bunch of photos of the new Steffi body today. I was going to write something about it but I'm too tired tonight, but I put them on my Flickr for those who want to judge for themselves (contains 1/6 scale pseudo-nudity). I'll upload the pics of the Scary Couple too once I've culled them a bit, but there are a few with the tattooed Kevin in them as well.

Steffi stuff!

All my loot from the big Steffi Love sale arrived and I've been meaning to write about it, but I want to take some photos first and I keep forgetting to charge the phone before it gets too dark, so that'll have to wait. Just a few quick observations:

• The articulated Steffi is very pink - or rather, normal Steffi pink. It might have worked with the head I had in mind, except:
• this body still has the old Steffi type of neck: a round knob with a molded plate on top. I'm not sure it can be modified to take a Barbie head (in contrast, Super Model has new plate-and-anchor construction which is more or less identical to Mattel's). Articulated Steffi will remain her own doll for now, until I decide whether I need her limbs for someone else.
• Poseability is basically like Fashionista but with a Liv-style waist instead. Plus for turning, minus for the usual visual weirdness.
• Elbow joint folds further than Fashionista. Not quite as much as Liv, but can at least attempt to cross arms over chest. Wrists don't bend as far, but that could easily be fixed.
• For some reason can't hold her arms straight out to the sides. It's either slightly up or slightly down. Odd.
• The clothes and shoes (3 pairs, PINK.) aren't much to write home about, except the pants which are simple but nice.
•  Ugly feet. The Super Star body wins that one. Actually, I can't think of any doll I own that has uglier feet than this body. 

Also I finally got the Scary Couple set, since it was half price, which is about what I feel they're worth. The only arrived today so I haven't had a chance to give them a thorough look yet - but if you're getting them, beware: they are both wearing dark clothing and both of mine had stains. The Kevin fortunately only had a couple light ones, but the Steffi had a few bad ones on her bendy gumby arms.

The good news is that her head seems to match Volks skintone quite well! I was going to rebody her anyway and was thinking of an Obitsu, but the normal/fleshtone is too pink and the neck is too narrow to look good. There's still the fact that her head has lots of space for the round knob, so the Volks neck connector doesn't quite reach the lip inside the head. I'll have to improvise a bigger adaptor, but that shouldn't be impossible.

Another articulated Steffi Love

Yes, another one - the new one! I stumbled across a local shop that has a huge online sale on their Steffi stuff. Perfect timing, since I'm not quite broke yet. Immediately ordered a doll with the new articulated body - the one that's basically the same Fashionista/Liv deal as the Super Model body, except full size (~29cm). The hands and feet on this one aren't as nicely sculpted, but in return she can wear the same shoes as the other dolls (or, at least she has more to choose from than her bigger-footed sisters).

I wish the set came with one of those mannequins, but no: you get a pink toy camera instead.

I'm curious about this one actually, since I'm hoping it cold be an alternative to Fashionista for rebodying older Barbies. Mattel's new tan caucasian skin tone is a bit more neutral beige than my '80s dolls', but I've noticed Steffi dolls tend to be more orange/pink in general. With Cool Kevin I kind of wished he wouldn't be quite such a bright shade of apricot, but he wasn't a body donor. Well, as usual we'll know when she arrives.

...It's funny, I always had Steffi Love down as a pretty boring clone doll - and now all of a sudden there's articulation everywhere, and I'm turning into quite the shill for Simba! The articulation thing probably shouldn't surprise me, since most doll manufacturers seem to have moved in that direction in recent years, but I'm certainly not complaining. :)

(Speaking of tan Caucasian: I'm trying to figure out whether Super Models Juls and Sarah have the same skin tone or not, but for some reason Juls always appears separately from the three in promo pics...)

A game of musical shoes

Just swapping shoes around to see what fits who (whom?)...

Yay shoes!

I found the Only Hearts Club sneakers again, the ones with the pink shoelaces that stain - and of course they fit, and look ridiculously good too. I should try to find a OHC fashion set with white shoes, before I'm tempted to endanger DeeDee's new feet too... Maybe I could cover the inside with tape or something?

DeeDee/Bel wearing OHC

Obitsushoes up close

The pink Super Model shoes acually fit Obitsu really well - a bit of a surprise since they have such small feet, but the straps keep them in place. It seems to be very much hit-and-miss whether other dolls' shoes will fit Obitsu: one pair might look fine while another for the same doll looks very awkward, just because the ankle strap had a slightly different shape or something.

They even match her dress!

Let's just hope these don't stain too...
(Also I'm trying to figure out a better way to include pictures in posts.)

...and how to take better photos to being with.

Shoes that (don't) fit Simba's Super Model

So much to choose from! OK, not really.

I've been going through my big box of doll shoes (which is actually quite small) trying to find something that will fit the Super Model feet, preferably something in a color other than pink. So far I'm not having much luck.

Liv (?), Barbie flats

The black mary janes were sold as Liv shoes on eBay, but I'm not sure since they're a bit long for her feet too. The black ballerina flats are Barbie. None fit. :(

Skipper (green), Disney's Jane

Disney's Jane (from Peter Pan 2) came with weird shoes that several different dolls with semi-high heeled feet can fit in - a pity, since nobody really wants them. The green loafers (Takara Jenny, I think Skipper/Stacie, apparently) got my hopes up, but they are just a bit too small and I don't want to break them.

'90s Sindy, Liv sneaker

Liv's pink sneakers are big, but they work. Physically, that is. The other pink heels are from a '90s Sindy. There isn't quite room for the toes so the heel tends to float a bit, but depending on the angle it could work.

Unsurprisingly, the best fit are the shoes that came with the doll. I really like these shoes, but why oh why couldn't they have been black??

At least I found her some clothes that don't shed glitter everywhere!

I'll take this as a sign I should buy another Super Model (one that comes with black shoes), but that'll have to wait until I've upgraded the computer.

ETA: Apparently Disney VIP shoes fit? I haven't got any but I'll try if I get the chance. The more dolls you have, the more shoes you can buy - chances are they will fit someone. :D

BeeBee? Dell? Well, whoever she is, she's got a new body

Well, the computer is holding together for now while upgrades/repairs are being planned. At least I have doll pics!

As I mentioned, DeeDee of Barbie and the Rockers fame has a new body! Simba Toys' Super Model Bel turned out to be a very close match. I'm really glad I could find a shorter body for her, since her head is so small!

Sliiiight difference in skin tone, plus a bit of a gap at the neck.

Now, DeeDee and my old childhood favorite Diva are supposed to be bandmates, but since DeeDee is a recent acquisition and none of them are on their original bodies, I don't feel any need to constrain myself to Mattel's characters. Diva of course is still the retired rockstar and divorced mother of two, but who is DeeDee? I haven't even decided on a name for her yet. Hmmm...

(Someone on the forum asked whether a Super Model body would work for rebodying an '80s Skipper, but unfortunately I think Skipper's neck hole is too small. Too bad, because I can imagine there are a few Skippers out there in need of a body, and I'm not sure if there are any good alternatives in the ~25cm range  - Obitsu only comes in pale and paler, after all.) Skipper's clothes hang a bit loose on the Super Model, and Bel's dress only almost closes in the back on Skipper. Might work with larger garments, though.

Diva is admiring Bel's original clothes and pondering the sudden height difference

Personally I prefer more casual/realistic doll clothes to ~*GLITTER DRESSES*~, but this had a nice and simple cut. The fur stole/fake bolero is the real winner though, that could go with anything! Why the shoes had to be hot pink I have no idea, but I like them so may attempt a repaint. Her feet are smaller and more arched than Liv, so they can't share shoes as I had hoped.

Liv vs Super Model

The feet are only hinged, unfortunately.

I forgot to take a good pic, but I have to mention this body has very nice hands: more elegant than Fashionista's and more proportional to the arms (why they gave Fashionista such twiggy forearms I'll never understand).

...and as usual I had to make the worst of her Liv clone waist:

Weird articulation is better than no articulation!

Comparison shot: '80s Skipper, Super Star Bel/DeeDee and an Obitsu 25cm:

...playing a game of Musical Clothes, I guess? 

I already have way too many dolls on my wish list (whatever happened to that new Year's Resolution?) but I'm actually a bit curious about the other dolls in this line. Maybe if I had another head donor...