Fiona Rebodied For The Second Time!

So many of you bloggers out there have touted the merits
of the Liv body, that even a disbeliever like me was willing
to give it a try if the body could be had at a good price. Well
I finally found a Liv doll at a....price I could live with. She
was on sale for $7.99. Making this the last purchase for the
month of June.

Hayden here has graciously volunteered her body for a
rebody opportunity! So now that I have the doll and have
taken her out of the box, the next question is who should
be rebodied? I had several dolls to choose from but the
one who receive this honor was Fiona.


Hayden awaiting the reboding.

Now you may remember Fiona from one of my first few
post and my first attempt at a diorama. She is a Toy
Biz Eowyn doll who I had rebodied onto a Mattel
Scooby Doo Velma Teen Skipper body. The original
doll had a action figure body which I really hated! I
liked that old Skipper body much better than the
original. She has a very pale complexion and she need a
pale body. She also needed to be shorter than Ian,her
husband, who is shorter than Ken size. She still didn't
get a lot of photo or play time because she wasn't very
poseable then. So let's hope for more photo time for Fi


Two dolls getting to know each other before
the swap! Fi wonders how she managed
to do anything with such a large head.

If you read my blog, you will know that I am not a
fan of the large head dolls, so I don't see myself keeping
the head at all. Look for it on my Dollpage site in
the near future. The clothes and shoes on this doll
are not too bad and will be kept. I also like the fact that the
earrings come out easy too. I keep them also.


I do like this head knob better than Mattel's. I always cut
those hooks off anyway. I have been saved a step! One
other note, when I placed the head on its' new body, there
wasn't a lot of play in the neck and head that I get with
Mattel bodies. Big plus!


Fi getting adjusted to the new body.

Not bad. The head went on smoothly. No forcing
required. A plus! Fi seemed to like it. She is now
able to touch her head and see her hands.

Stretch out a little from time to time.
I think I am beginning to like this body.


Fiona: Ms. Leo, I don't know about these clothes! I don't
think they are me. Can I fit some of my old outfits?

Ms. Leo: I think so. We will try a few of them on later.
These shoes should work for you and maybe the top. I
don't thing the shorts are you. Your figure does look
more like you and more mature than on that Skipper
body.

Fiona: Agreed! What will happen to my old body?

Ms. Leo: It will go in the body box. One never knows!

Ms. Leo: I can put the white dress back on you.
It should look good with those shoes.

Fi feeling sassy in her new body!

Ms.Leo: Do you thing Ian will notice the change?
Fiona: Deary, he's a man!
Doll and woman giggle!

Teenage Angst and Antics!--Kevin’s late yet again!

Kevin’s Late Yet Again!
It is the last day of school. Kevin is late again! His twin
brother is already in homeroom and the teacher is
marking Kevin late again. It is his last year in
middle school.

Note the casual stroll!
He doesn’t think that punctuality should be an issue. He
says “my grades are OK…so I’m a little late”. The teachers
have too much last minute stuff to do to hold detention.
He is not worried in the least. Can you say Slacker!


“Hey Kevin, they are not going to take that crap in high
school. What happens, really happens, in the future
starts there!” That is what his twin Corey says. A few
minutes older and he thinks he knows everything! I'll just
go to first period. Next year he and his brother will be
freshmen in high school. He will be in for a shock next year!


"Hey, high school will be a piece- a- cake!" Then maybe I'll
be an actor on a reality TV show or something.

Doll nudity coming!
Ok... the doll itself!
Kevin was introduced in 1990/1991 as a boyfriend of the
1987 Fun Teen Skipper. Since I purchase him from a
thrift store, I can be sure what version he is.

Still cool even with his junk showing.
Oh wait, he doesn't have junk!

He stands 10” tall (Ken is 12” tall) with turquoise eyes. He
has the backward facing hands of some of the modern
ken dolls. Clothing for this doll had been hard to find
because of his height but with the introduction of the
High School Musical (HSM) dolls, it is a little easier.
The male dolls in the HSM line are the same size as
Kevin. I plan to show these male dolls in some future
posts. So stay toned!

The most striking difference about him that any other
Mattel male doll is his head and neck joint.


closeup!


Mattel doesn't normally use this type of connection.
I don't think I have seen in on another of the male
dolls. It does make head swapping a little different!

Larger head hole.

It is an outty and not and inny.

Barbie House -Before-The Victorian House!

First look at the Victorian House!
This is the first look at the Victorian house. Since it is the
first look at what I retrieved from the trash, I haven't
cleaned it so that you can see what I actually got.
Etienne, who has some construction skills, is here to
consult on some of the repairs needed. He is
also here for scale.He asks that you don't mention his
skills to his wife Renee, or she will have him fixing
everything.

First, Etienne wants you to know that he thinks that the
proportions of Barbie houses are way to small for the
average male doll and action figure. He hates have to bend
down to enter. OK, noted! I do have the front door. It is
just not pictured.

There should be more head room too. OK, OK, OK!

Here is the inside of the house. You can open it up or

close it for more of a real house feel. It has two floors.
The elevator is on a pulley system and it works.

You turn this know and it lifts to the second floor.
Somewhere I heard some talk about wheelchair Becky
was the reason for the lift but I don't know it that is
true. I do think it takes up too much space and I will
probably remove it for that reason.

I do love the corner window. Here is the right side of the
inside of the building. First and second floors. I like the
fire place. I not sure about the built in cabinet.

closeup on the fireplace! This will look good redone.

Etienne stepped outside to look at something while we
checkout the kitchen and bath.

The furniture was missing from this trash find, but hey...
for free... what can you expect. So, there isn't a tub for
the bathroom. I got a really nice but with the Moxie
House that has claw feet. That is the type of tub you
would expect to see in this style house. I think I will
use it of here.

Moxie tub!
In the kitchen the stove is missing a door
and the cabinets don't open.

There are several faux stain glass windows throughout
the house. It is a nice touch but one is broken. I think
this could be replaced/redone.

Bay window with stain glass sides.

OK, the work! Plastic is discolored in spots and will need
to be painted. Most of the stickers, if not all will need to
be removed too.

I'm not a fan of the stickered rugs. I would have removed
this no matter what shape it was in.

The child/children this house belonged to must have been
aspiring graffiti artists. There is all kinds of writing and
drawing all over the house. There wasn't enough Barbie
symbols for this kid. They wrote a "B" on the porch.

There is some gluing and putty work that needs to be
done too.

More art work! Thank goodness it is mostly crayon.

I can't tell what this says.

Even more art work!

Etienne: mumble, grumble, mumble!

Mailbox is a nice touch too!

Putty work!

Windows and putty work.

Over all Etienne thinks that this is a major project! It is
not a home for him but someone else might be up to the
challenge. He will keep looking.

I agree with Etienne that it is a project and one I will do in
stages. I have another doll family in mind for this home.
My question is should I go historic -using the tub as an
inspiration(costly even for a toy house) ,fun-basic paint
job and any furniture-get it done to play with, or just for



a look- a uniformed look/color combo?

I guess after I prime and putty I will know. If not, it may
sit in the beginning stages for a long time. You could help
by sending me picture of what you think it could look like!
Thanks!

P.S. This is a big piece I will have to figure out how and
where I can display it too.

The First Imani

The First Imani!
This is the first Imani done by Olmec Toys.


I have post the second version of the doll in an
earlier post. This first head sculpt was supposed to look
like the company’s owner- Yla Eason.



Close-up --A little scary. Second version had a better
makeup job.



Owner Yla Eason
To me it vaguely looks like her but it doesn’t really
capture her beauty. (I guess I would say the same about
Mattel’s and Hasbro scary version Beyonce too along
with several celebrity dolls.)


Often when you send an item out of the country for
reproduction, it doesn’t come back the way you expected.
With the cost of manufacturing, sometimes you most
except it and move on.

Naomi was the original name given to this 11-1/2-inch
fashion doll made by Olmec in 1988. There were some
legal problems regarding the name and it was then
changed to Ellisse in 1989. The name then change to
Imani but used the same head sculpt in the early 1990’.
This company is no longer in business. Some of the
websites containing information about the company
are no longer posted but if you look you can find some
info. If you are interested in the male dolls please visit
my post on Olmec Men.

Blogger Alert! Blogger's First Video!

Hey Gang! Well this new blogger ,Orchid of the blog
The Doll Affinity, has just produce her first video as
an introduction to her doll characters. Check it out! She
also have so great furniture that she is selling. Tell her
Ms. Leo says hi!

Bridesmaid Dress!

Bridesmaid Dress!
After watching the Royal Wedding and all the hoopla over
her bridesmaid and sister Pippa's dress, I am posting these
pictures of bridesmaid’s dresses. This dress are a pretty
shade of taupe/ecru. I think they are prefect for a island
wedding.

Dress one.


Dress two


If you like them, I am selling these dresses on my doll page.
http://www.thedollpage.com/ads/searchresults.php?owner=1307

Recent Head Swaps!

New Head Swap Dolls

Like I mentioned before, many of the off brand dolls
have great faces! Unfortunately their bodies are a
different story. Often the break easily and are poorly
designed like the Imani dolls. Despite what many be
happening with newer dolls, the Mattel bodies were
made well. So I have decided to give some off brand
dolls Mattel bodies.

First is Kari Michelle!
I think we all have purchase Kari Michelle clothes.
They are inexpensive and not to bad of a quality.
When the doll first started appearing in stores, you
got the doll and several outfits too! Now the doll is
sold by itself with one outfit and extra outfits are sold
separately.

I just love all the set with the tops and the coats!
I have about six. The pants don't fit BB bodies!

I had some heads sit around, some bodies that I
wasn't sure what I would do with the and I liked
her smiling face. So, I re-bodies her on a Fashion
Fever AA-big foot body. Yes, I know your saying,
Ms. Leo, you don't like the big feet, you can't find
shoes for them.


Well I found I few pairs of shoes


Casual


Dressy

and those bodies don't sell well. Also, you always need
gals GI Joe size. I might as well do something with it.


Closeup

My finished product--Kari Michelle Kingsley!

Next up --This doll!
I posted about her before. I like the face. The
eyelashes were a bit much. I had some paint I was
experimenting with that calmed them down some so I
decided to re-body her onto a standard AA Barbie body-
medium brown.

My finished product-Adallah (a dollar is what I paid for her)
She will be Khadijah's Mom.


Closeup

Lastly, I found a Kristi Yamaguchi doll in the thrift store.



I purchased her because she was an Asian face but I did
like the body. I also thought the body was too tall. I
re-bodied her onto a Generation Chelsea body. I liked
her better on it. Of course I will have to change the
nail color on her. Oh and she will be my first Villain
in doll world. Well... maybe not a villain but an annoyance
She is going to be one of those people who eavesdrops,
gossips and get the story wrong. She doesn't hear very
well is the reason she gets the story wrong but there
is no excuse for her other two bad habits.

Closeup

Kristi Kim