Another Road Trip!

Like Vanessa wrote in here post entitled “Disney Articulated Body Pt. 1” I too caught the Disney sale on princesses, but I got the sale price at the store! There is a Disney store in King of Prussia PA so I just drove over. I haven’t been to King of Prussia in a long time, not since I worked there part-time. I use to work at Penney’s in watch repair. (Another of those crazy jobs I had to pay off the house.) I don’t miss working in K of P. The traffic can be a hassle but a non-rush hour trip every now and then is OK!
When I worked at K of P there was an FAO Schwartz there! I loved that store! PRETTY!!! I purchased a few things from there but not too because of the prices. It was a great place to spend lunch! There was a TRU right across the complex. OMG, why didn’t I stop at the TRU while I was there? Bone head! I guess I might be making another trip. I got some really great stuff at that TRU. Yeah I’ll have to go back.

Any way I purchased two types of Tiana (3 dolls all together) and one type of Mulan. It is harder now to find the SIS Cara doll at a good price and I still have several medium dark brown dolls that need bodies. I also have a few paler dolls that need bodies too. The Sinatra is a little too costly for me right now!

The 2012 and 2011 Tiana

2012 Mulan She looks a little… constipated .

Vanessa promised us a really good comparison of this to doll with other body types! I'm going to be lazy and wait for that!  I would like to show a little of the two types I have. Like Vanessa I will be show the Tianas first. I will put both the Tiana head and the dress up for sale or trades on my blog so if you are interested, please contact me.

2011 Tiana-the one on sale for 7.99

Now lets see the goods!  The gown of this doll is covered with sparkles that get everywhere! I had to washer to get them off the body.

The 2011 doll has purple eyes!

I haven’t seen purple eyes on a person that dark since the last time I went to the contact lens store! I know the Mattel’s Tiana are brown and so is the 2012. We aren’t buying this doll for the head. We want her body! Insert cackle here!

Her body type is similar to that of the articulated SIS bodies. I would agree with Vanessa that the body does seem sturdier that that of the Mattel dolls. So that speaks to what Mattel could do. Her arms and hands are that of a better made Fashionista Barbie.

Tiana hand

Cara hand and Tiana hand and arms.  Kara is the darker one.

Warning-- Nude dolls!

Her torso is a cross between the Mattel Belly Button body and the Disney body that you might find on the newer Hannah Montana and friends.

It has the little smaller waist of the Hannah dolls and

she has high heel feet with toes (and not the club foot of Mattel dolls)!

club foot!

It all makes me wonder about patents! I hope we are not up for another patent fight!

Winning an articulated body of a medium dark brown……and the body goes too…

Stephanie Laurent!

She was the last of the sisters without an articulated body! The body seems smaller and that seems fitting for her!

2012 Tiana 14.99 or 2 for 22.00

Gloves!  I love have more gloves!

Brown eyes!

I like this face the best of all the Tiana that I have seen. Yes, even with the side looking eyes!  This is a head worth trying to shrinkThe gown isn't my cup of tea but it doesn't have all those sprarkles. This is the new doll you have seen used on the net in places like Van’s Doll Treasures and Flickr!

Knees

and feet!

The knees are like the first wave of Fashionista Barbies. Because of that, she also has the same issue of not being able to set like a lady that Vanessa mentioned.
 

 
I do think that she will make a great doll for dancing!
 

Maybe some costumes next time!

When I purchased these dolls, I had a “take that Mattel” feeling as I did it. We all need more of that. We need someone to give us body options if Mattel won’t. There wasn’t a name on the manufacturer of the Disney dolls on the box… won’t it be funny if it were Mattel???

Who will get the newest Tiana body?

I haven’t decided. You’ll have to wait and see.
With the second 2011 body went to one of my favorites and a dolls who was in great need a new body!

Imani!

So that mean more play time for Imani and some blog time too!

Thanks For Looking!

The First Imani

The First Imani!
This is the first Imani done by Olmec Toys. She was also called Naomi.


I have posted 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. The 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's scary versions of Beyonce too 

along with several celebrity dolls.)


Often when you send an item out of the country for
reproduction, it doesn’t return the way you expected.
With the cost of manufacturing, sometimes you must 

accept 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
changed to Ellisse in 1989. The name then changes to
Imani but used the same head sculpt in the early 1990s’.
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.

Olmec Dolls Imani #2

Olmec Imani Doll #2
I purchase these dolls back in the early 90's when I found my way
back to collecting dolls. The dolls are by Olmec Toys. The
company was name after the Olmecs. The Olmecs were believed
to be an African race of people who came the the America
before Columbus. There is some questions about that.. so do
your own research. This is the Imani doll. She has had two
head molds. The first was model after the owner. I don't
think they did a good job of capturing the owner.
(head mold to be shown in later post) It was replace
with this head mold. The doll was done in several skin
tones. I am showing two of the tones- the lite and the dark.




There was a medium tone but I was never able to find her.
These dolls are before the Shani line came out. There were also
male dolls too. (I will show him on a later post also)

There is some controversy about the owner of the company.
I don't know if it is true or not, so I won't post the information
here. I leave that upto you to researchers and find out.

The Comparisons





She is about the same size as Barbie. The hips are smaller
that the 1966 and the 1990 Barbie body.
The bust is smaller than the 1966 but is a littler larger than
belly button body dolls. The dress above is a little stretched
across the chest.




Many of the Imani fashion are ethnic inspired. A few are not.
The doll in the Kente dress is a Kwanza doll. Done way
before Mattel.The other outfit I am not sure about.

She can wear Barbie clothes but the Imani pants
are a little snug on Barbie because....


Imani is buttless! (insert scream here!)



Flat as a pancake!

They can wear each others shoes too. Barbie's
shoes are of a better quality.



Warning! Up until recently ( mid 90's) the quality
of fashion dolls other than Barbie (construction and quality) are
not as good! This goes for clothing too! Today there are a good
selection of Upscale fashion dolls to choose from. There are still
inexpensive dolls and clothes out there but we now have a choice.

Imani hand and Barbie hand

Hands are not done as well.

Imani Hip and Barbie Hip
note: seem on leg are not as smooth and dimpling.

The body and the legs of this doll are not of the quality of Barbie.
The leg joint comes off of the knob attaching the leg to the body.
The knob may actually break off with the leg. The head is
mounted on a ball at the top of the neck for the head to swivel.



This style of neck makes it difficult if not impossible to swap
the head to a quality body. Most quality bodies have a different
type of neck. The hands are a little ruff in the finishing
of the design. The hair doesn't have the soft feel that I am use
to with a Barbie doll but not as stiff a the hair of Janay
dolls when they first came out.

All that being said, .....I love the face. I like the color and
the way her makeup is applied. Especially for back then!



She has a friendly quality to her which despite all of
her drawback make her appealing to me.
She is one of my favorite dolls.