The cleaning products from Twin Pines finally arrived (shipping was quick but there was some order delay due to them moving their lab, I think). I've started attacking (carefully!) the orange stains on the mystery Simba doll with Formula 9-1-1. There's been some improvement at least: particularly the stains on the eyes are almost completely gone. That's more than my regular washing-up liquid managed, so score one for Twin Pines! The stains on the unpainted vinyl are more stubborn, but I'll give it another go before I use the heavy artillery (aka Remove-Zit). I can live with a few faded stains rather than creating new ones. (It's bad enough that I scratched her legs pretty badly yesterday when removing her from the doll stand.)
Also been looking around for a good place to buy Only Hearts Club fashion sets. I need those shoes! Or rather, my Obitsus and various Simba dolls need them. Most ebay sellers seem to be located in Australia for some reason and the shipping gets pretty pricey, but I finally found a couple of local places that has a few sets left. It seems the kinds of toy store that stocks Only Hearts Club is not the big chains, but the small, traditional type that's full of cloth dolls and wooden bricks. Their website (if they have one!) is usually very bare-bone, which makes them even harder to find, and then you have to go there in person to see what they actually have. Of course they also tend to be extra expensive, so I'm deliberating exactly how much I'm willing to pay for a few tiny bits of plastic...
Did a quick stop at the thrift store yesterday and found two more Simba girls that I assume are Disney princesses, althoug I'm not sure which ones. One of them looked like... I Dream Of Jeannie? Hmm. I got them mostly for their clothes, but then I noticed they both had unique facemolds so I might keep them after all. Both had hair in pretty good condition save for the bangs, but I think they would look weird if I just cut them off. One of them had articulated legs but not arms, and I've been racking my brain over which Disney princess that would be in character for. Also got a few random tinies, about 2''-4'' tall, as the dolls' dolls! One of them was missing an arm, so I think she'll be a cyborg.
Researching and buying protective gear for spraying paint sealer still feels like a fairly overwhelming task, so I think I'll start small and just get some Liquitex paint-on matte sealer to start with. It won't look as good of course, but I'll be practicing on an old Bratz head so pretty much anything is an improvement.
And yeah, the camera is still dead. :/
Hi Anderson's All-Purpose!
ReplyDeleteIn 2009, the Only Hearts Club dolls were discounted at Target. I got a few of those outfits then; Grandma Walton has the dark blue jeans and wine red pullover. My Momokos LOVE the boots from those sets.
I'll check some of the other discount stores here in Philly to see if there are any more of them available at discounted prices. Or maybe someone else might know where you can get them at clearance prices. Good luck!
I've said it before: they could make a fortune from the 1/6 community if they sold the shoes alone! :D I wish I had known about them back in 2009. And of course the one place with reasonable prices doesn't have the sets I really want... The search continues, I guess!
DeleteIf you're not satisfied with the results with Liquitex I read somewhere that Windsor & Newton's matte sealer is the only matte sealer that's well actually matte. I can't say if other brands are any worse since I've used W&N from the start, but for what it's worth it definitely is perfectly matte, haha.
ReplyDeleteOHC clothing is something I've also craved for the longest time, but like many other things I can't bring myself to buy any when shipping from the US costs an arm and leg.
There's a W&N sealer called Artist's Acrylic "matt UV varnish", is that the one? I like that the Liquitex specifically says it works on flexible surfaces, though.
DeleteFlexible surfaces, that does sound very useful :D Yes the W&N varnish is supposedly UV resistant to protect from fading/yellowing but then again, that isn't a problem in most dolls. :)
DeleteI apologise for the postage prices from Australia. Unfortunately Australia Post is quite expensive, particularly for parcels. This means that things like doll shoes which are very light but, when packed, won't fit through the 2cm (1") slit which allows things to post for letter rates, have to be posted as a parcel. It is very annoying.
ReplyDeleteActually, I suspect postage the other way would be even more expensive... Swedish mail isn't exactly known for being cheap either. :D
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