2016-08-21

At last: Asha! (Made To Move Barbie)

The other day I was sorting some old pics I'd saved on the hard drive and came across the first one I found of the then-rumored new body with 18 points of articulation that Mattel was claimed to be releasing soon. Well, now it's almost exactly year later, and I finally have my first Made to Move doll in hand! Asha arrived last week, courtesy of a fellow doll collector with access to a timely sale. By now I think you're all familiar with the abilities of the Made To Move body, so I'm not doing a review or anything. But of course there are pics - grainy, pseudo-nude ones.

Asha showing off her articulation while technically wearing underwear.
She came disassembled, which resulted in even more body horror than usual.

So far I've only noticed two problems: I wish that her upper arms would come in closer to her body so she could fold her arms properly, and her ankle joints probably shouldn't have passed QC: they're a bit floppy, and while that might be ok in most joints, ankles need to be tighter so they're able to carry the weight of the body without folding. A little floppiness goes a long way to severely diminishing a doll's posing ability. :( Well, luckily it can be fixed. I haven't tried the superglue trick on these kinds of exposed joints before, so I just wrapped a couple of rubber (or rather silicone) bands around them to give them more traction, and it's working so far.

Ankle joints fold at the slightest weight :(
Solution: silicon bands! Not the prettiest, but it's reversible - and it works.

Apart from that she's practically perfect - and practically glue-free! Her head is completely soft and squishy, the only trace is a small hard lump that seems to be hanging on a tuft of hair inside her head and can only be felt if you squish the head practically flat. While this is making me happy, it also makes me mad - because apparently Mattel are perfectly able to make dolls that aren't self-destructing straight out of the box! They just... choose not to??

I don't know, maybe it's time for another petition.

A blurry profile
I knew straight away I'd try to get a hold of Asha first, because I was pretty sure she'd never be sold in Sweden (sadly the AA dolls often never make it here) and I didn't have a doll with this mold. I liked her curly hair and that her hairdo was pretty realistic instead of the oceans of hair on some dolls, but apart from that I didn't have much of an opinion on her. But she quickly grew on me and now I'm completely in love with her. <3



Since she can't be wearing that neon yellow top all the time, I made her a blouse. The pattern is the blouse of a clone doll that I took apart and modified slightly. I'm often prone to perfectionism, and something that's helped me is to look at badly made massproduced doll clothes and realize that they look pretty ok, even if they aren't perfect. Hell, the clone doll's skirt is literally coming apart and I still love it.
Pictured: not quite ok, but within the acceptable range
Pictured: pretty ok. Although with some room for improvement.
I found this polka dot fabric scrap for cheap and as usual I've been hesitating to use it, because what if I waste it on something that turns out ugly? Well, my fabric crate is a mess and I couldn't find anything better, so I decided to take the plunge.

Former clone blouse; new bluose-to-be

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out: pretty ok.

Asha, on the other hand, looks like she's considering leaving this modeling job out of her resumé
It's still a bit of a mess, mainly since some of my modifications didn't turn out, and the back was mostly... missing, really, from the original blouse, so I had to figure something out and I'm not great at that.

But yeah: it's recognizable as a blouse, looks a bit like something you could buy in a shop, and the pattern is pretty. So I'm happy. Pretty ok. :)

Clone Loot: Who Wore It Best?
Side not: I always thought of this sculpt as Nichelle, partially due to Mattel's confusing naming practices, but also because it makes the doll look a liiitle bit like she's about to sneeze: slightly wrinkled nose, squinting a bit, mouth open, plus sometimes they give her those angry eyebrows... But the name of the sculpt is actually Asha. But I keep thinking of her as Nichelle. But naming her that would be confusing... I think I'll compromise and call her... Neisha?


10 comments:

  1. Neisha is just perfect tee hee!!! I love that you found a way to make them MTMs use those flat feet for standing.. I'll try wrapping in some some silicone bands on them today, thanks so much for the tip! And oh, nice choice on the blouse - polka dots are charming and the pattern is perfect for it - very pretty =)

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  2. Congrats on getting your MTM doll. I love her new name. I guess it could get confusing, but there is a different between mold names and sometimes the actual name they give to a particular doll with the same mold. Great job on her blouse. She looks cute in the polka dots.

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  3. That last photo is epic. It's like she's laying there contemplating the universe. The cost of these dolls still haven't dropped in my area and remain at $15.

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  4. I love the pic with the legs on the fingers! Too funny!

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  5. Congrats on getting a wanted doll. Glad to read that she doesn't have glue-head problems. Thanks for sharing the quirks about her pose-ability.

    I, too, love that last photo. Very cool ;-)

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  6. @Sasha Yeah, it really helps with posing if the doll can stand on her own. Some use the super glue trick to tighten joings, but I think that works better on internal, pivoting joints. And polka dots are my favorite doll pattern. :)

    @Vanessa You know, sometimes I try to name a doll but the original name still sticks, confusing or not... we'll see how this turns out! And thanks. :)

    @Muff They still haven't appeared in stores here (apart from a couple of online stores with ridiculous prices). I'm still curious how much they will be, particularly since I have a whole bucket of heads that need a donor.

    @MsLeo Thanks, they just fit too well on my fingers, I couldn't resist. :)

    @D7ana Thanks! I hope what little glue there is stays inside the head... Yeah, articulated dolls come with their quirks, but at least they can look natural while looking at the clouds. :)

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  7. I like to give my dolls their own names and personalities. I only pay attention to sculpt name for search purposes. I think Neisha is a good name. The polka dot shirt is nice. I'm sure you'll figure out the back.

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    1. Sorry I missed your comment! Thanks for the sewing encouragement.
      I usually rename my dolls, but sometimes it just doesn't take... no idea why. Some people prefer to keep the default name for the first doll of any type and only rename duplicates, but I've nver neen that consistent. :)

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  8. Neisha! LOVE it! :D
    Passar henne. Neither Asha nor Nichelle. Hahahah. De flesta tror att hon är Christie. *bah*

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    1. Hur sjutton lyckades jag glömma att publicera den här kommentaren? Ett drygt år tog det! Får skylla på att jag inte är här så mycket längre. Nej, fast några Christie gjordes väl med Asha-ansiktet, och så återanvänder ju Mattel namnen hela tiden...

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