Steffi Love boots mod

Oh yeah, I actually finished modding those Steffi Love boots. Originally they were fake flats, but I sliced off the soles, hollowed them out to make room for föat feet, then glued them back together. They still only fit articulated Steffi's feet, but at least the proportions don't look as weird. 

All hollowed out and ready for reassembling! I just used whatever glue I happened to have laying around.

The seam split when I rammed her foot down in the boot too carelessly. Oh well, just pour some extra on.

Steffi Love's articulated feet aren't pretty, but they do the trick.

Balancing without problem! 

Thrift store finds: more IKEA furniture

Another post, another IKEA dollhouse set! 

I found this yesterday - a nice surprise since I'd almost given up on that particular thrift store. It's pretty close so I pop in now and then, but recently the findings there have been so scarce I almost thought they stopped selling toys entirely. But apparently I've just been having bad luck and/or timing. 

I've seen this set in photos and liked the bright 70s colors (although I assume it was made more recently). The design is the same as the chairs and table I already had. Of course most of it is slightly too small for my dolls, but I really like the look of this furniture so I got it anyway.

The bed has a knob missing. There are matching holes under each leg so you could probably stack them and make bunk beds.

The bed and chairs will probably be re-donated, but the desk is almost the right size for Lottie, and the shelf can just be a very low shelf (maybe for shoes?). 

Oh, and I found this rather terrifying lady: 

(c) 2006 Mirage Studios and Playmate Toys. Google tells me she might be Silver Sorceress, a name that doesn't ring any bells with me. I think her eyes and breastplate are supposed to light up, but I haven't got the right type of batteries to try it. She's the same height as Lottie (almost 8") and for some reason cannot balance with both feet flat on the ground. Not sure if that's a bug or feature, but she looks cool so whatever. 

-I'm sorry, you can't deduct your travels to and from Alpha Centauri as a business expence unless you saved the receipts.

-WHAT?! OH, CONFOUND YOU PUNY EARTHLINGS AND YOUR TAX REGULATIONS!!

MH Avea & Sirena

Videos! Very short and not terribly informative videos, but at least we get to see Avea and Sirena properly. Avea seems to have knee joints (are they even called knees in horses?) but only in her front legs, and shin guards as the obligatory plastic accessory instead of shoes. I want to see her for myself before I decide, but she's lookig pretty awesome so far (Wydowna is still #1 on my wishlist, though). 

Meanwhile, Sirena is looking less and less appealing to me. Her face sculpt is pretty bland, and there's the lack of articulation. I feel like she doesn't have enough character to stand out - I realize that might seem like weird thing to say about a freaking ghost mermaid doll, but that's the downside of raising the bar like Mattel keeps doing with the MH dolls. 

But if you always wished Lagoona were spookier, you might love Sirena. I do like her tail fin, it's very spooky and sort of mushroom-like. Also we get to see how she stands up! 

Avea Trotter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvf-Em5GfXI

Sirena von Boo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4VJy5PrrGU

(I know the formating looks weird. It's the telephone's fault.)

And now I really want to see an octopus girl, although Disney's lawyers might have something to say about that...

Too many Monsters!

The problem with Monster High is they're too awesome. There's so many fun and inventive dolls, and with every wave it's getting more difficult to choose what to spend my rather limited funds on. OK, I know - not exactly a problem in the big scale of things! Still, at this point I'm almost relieved when I see a new monster I don't like.

Anyway, this may be old or unreliable news, but I saw photos of the centaur and mermaid dolls yesterday. (I was googling a completely different doll and stumbled upon them here: http://shadowbinders.com/monster-high-avea-trotter-pic-is-going-around/ They're originally from the MH facebook group.) I known everyone has been anticipating the centaur, but personally I was more interested in the ghost mermaid. Now for some reason she doesn't speak to me at all, and I breathe a sigh of relief - because that means I can afford the new Wydowna instead! The centaur does look pretty cool (and articulated, I think?) but 6 arms still beats 4 legs, at least in my book. 

Skipper/Super Model, Twilight Teens Nemonia review, carving out shoes

This changes everything!

This is a bit enbarassing, but: I only just realized the Super Models' arms come apart! Elbows AND hands. I don't know how I missed it, but I can tell you how I found out: from purplemonkfish's review of Nemona, one of the new Twilight Teens dolls (Simba's Monster High clones who use the same body). I'm still not sure if I want a "Pneumonia", but it's a pretty informative review anyway. 

Speaking of the super models (again), I took a few comparison shots of them next to my old Skipper. Skin tone doesn't match all that well, but may be acceptable (I guess it's possible different Skippers might be slightly different shades, but I only have this one). 

Juls, Skipper, Sarah

Same but in a slightly different light

Skipper and Hadley's original body don't match either, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, some people out there have tried the Skipper/Super Model combo. This Dollforum.ru thread has pics of a Skipper on Juls's body (scroll down a bit) and here's blogger Barbiebeauties' Skipper rebodied on Sarah. I'd probably go with the latter.

Also, I sliced the soles off those boxing boots for Steffi Love and will attempt to hollow them out to actually fit flat feet. I don't have a dremel, but the plastic is pretty soft so I'm using a knife and an old lino cut gouge. I'm not sure if it'll work, but these shoes were pretty useless to begin with so I don't really have anything to lose. 

After slicing off the sole. Note "toe hole". 

The story so far. Also pictured: gouge.

Both Headmistress Bloodgood and the CAM mummy + gorgon pack are on sale,  but as I've already spent all of this month's doll money and then some, all I can do is sigh and hope they don't sell out too fast. 

Rebody WIN: Hadley and Isla on Simba Super Model

Well, less of a fail at least.

As I mentioned I've been looking for bettee articulated bodies for Hadley and Isla from 12 Dancing Princesses for som time. They're not only short (25cm/10") but also have those slim neckposts, so I thought it might be hard to find a match. So far I've been considering EAH Ashlynn Ella (seems to match skin tone but neck knob requires modification), Fairytale High (slim neck but tall, weird bodies, skintone might not match) and Disney Fairies Pixie Party by Jakks (slim neck, skin tone unsure, one blog review found the articulation lacking). 

Anyway, since Roxanne of Roxanne's Dolls mentioned she had her Hadley and Isla on Liv bodies, I decided to try using the Super Model bodies I had at hand. Since they have about the same neck circumference as Liv and Barbie I had ruled them out, but... 

Simba Super Model strikes again! 

Also, I think OHC Briana Joy might look better on Bel's body.

A bunch of comparison pics under the cut!

L: Isla(?) on Sarah's body, R: Hadley(?) on Juls' body, original body in the middle. 

I think this might work!

I used different bodies since those were the ones I had at hand. Sarah is slightly darker and Juls slightly lighter than the original body (which doesn't match the heads perfectly either), so it's a matter of taste really. I don't have the AA Hadley and Isla so I'm not sure whether Bel would match them, but Liv Alexis' skin tone seems closer. 

L: Hadley #1 on Juls, showing off weird top of the neck, compared to Hadley #2 on original body (R)

She can turn and tilt her head even if it's a bit tight. The neck looks a bit odd when she looks down, but not too bad. The vinyl does get a bit stretched over the bigger neck post, and I'm not sure how that will work out over time. I really really hope it won't split. 

A smaller neck post would have been ideal, but the vinyl around the neck hole doesn't bulge that much. (This is the thrift store Hadley with a damaged nose, btw. I files it down a bit but it's still a bit rough.) 

The Super Model body isn't quite as elegant as the original, but it's pretty close in proportions. As long as the neck hole doesn't split or anything this will probably be their bodies for now. 

Since I was playing musical heads already, I did what I should have tried before ordering a Sarah and put OHC Briana's head on Bel's body instead. It's still not perfect - her head still looks a bit green in comparison and she's still too tall - but a better match overall. Poor DeeDee will have to be a floating head for a while until I can find an articulated Bratz or another Bel (although now that I've got one each of the super model girls I'd like to concentrate on other types of dolls for a bit). 

Palm Beach Juls lost her body too, of course, but to be honest I never really bonded with her.

Briana on Bel. As usual it all depends on the lighting. 

3x Simba Super Model bodies

L-R: OHC Briana Joy on Bel, Isla(?) on Sarah, Hadley (?) on Juls 

Same as above in different light.

All four Super Model skin tones, just for reference. L-R: Miri (with original head), Juls, Sarah, Bel  

L-R: Juls, fashionista Barbie, Isla/Hadley original body, Sarah, fashionista Nikki 

...and again in different light