I'm browsing through a bunch of junk that wasn't actually American Girl stuff, and then I get to the "nearby" results. There is a CYO pale Addy-mold doll. I couldn't believe it, because I've been planning on ordering one with my Rewards certificate next month. She was listed in a town about two hours away, but she was only $60.00! While I was still reading through the ad, Mom called the number and got in touch with the seller. They actually agreed to meet in the middle, so we only had to drive one hour to get her! (She even came with one of those fold-up beds you get for your doll at some hotels.)
Well, I had planned to make the next post a Behind-the-Scenes view at the making and photographing of the Wool Show -- but this sort of changed my plans. Woke up this morning and thought I'd check out the local Craigslist ads for American Girl dolls. You never know what you'll find . . . but lately, it hasn't been much at all. Today was special, though! I'm browsing through a bunch of junk that wasn't actually American Girl stuff, and then I get to the "nearby" results. There is a CYO pale Addy-mold doll. I couldn't believe it, because I've been planning on ordering one with my Rewards certificate next month. She was listed in a town about two hours away, but she was only $60.00! While I was still reading through the ad, Mom called the number and got in touch with the seller. They actually agreed to meet in the middle, so we only had to drive one hour to get her! (She even came with one of those fold-up beds you get for your doll at some hotels.) Not sure who she'll be quite yet, but I've got an idea. A quick wash, a new outfit . . . and I think a different wig. Will post more about her once she's got a personality and a new look!
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It seems like a lot of the posts lately have to do with customizing and fixing dolls! Sometimes the doll world around here goes through these stages when concentration is really on cleaning/fixing different dolls -- not to mention customizing! This post has some photos trying to compare some of the American Girl blue eye options, as well as some of the blond wigs. This is in an effort to help someone who is working on a custom doll, but I thought it would be a good post that might help others doing similar projects. Blond Wigs: The photos in the slideshow below are comparing three American Girl wigs -- AG CYO "blond medium wavy" wig, Mckenna wig, and a mid-Mattel Kit wig. I took photos from the front and back, with and without flash. Kit's hair is definitely a more golden/yellow blond. The CYO wig is a two-tone blond sort of light and dark blond hairs, sort of on the cold side. Mckenna's hair is in the same general shade as the CYO wig, but it has a redder tone in it. Blue Eyes: The photos in the slideshow below are comparing the various shades of blue eyes from four different dolls. Mckenna - Light Blue Marie Grace - Aquamarine Kit - Dark Blue Saige - Turquoise It's hard to get the colours to show true to life, so there are photos of each picture with and without a flash. Marie Grace's eyes are definitely a light blue on the green/grey side. They don't give you a really "blue" feeling, but they're definitely not grey. Saige's eyes are slightly lighter than Kit's with a definite turquoise feel. They look quite water coloured. Hope these help! A few more entries will be coming along the lines of customizing and restoration. All our doll setups lately have been for Bunty's Wool Week entries. If you haven't seen those, be sure to check out her blog page in the navigation bar at the top of this page.
Elizabeth and I have been doing some work with trying various wigs on a lot of dolls -- in an effort to put the Customizing with Wigs database together here. One of the most fun and amazing wigs turned out to be an American Girl "Girl of the Year" Saige wig. I'd gotten this from someone on a doll forum, and it was obviously removed from a new or like-new doll. It's a beautiful wig, but we've never really tried it before. Well, we were photographing medium-skin dolls the other day and tried this on all of them. We were shocked, because it looked totally amazing on every one of them! Usually, when working with the different face molds, no one wig looks really good on everybody. But this Saige wig! We thought it would be fun to post the pictures of the wig on five different dolls/face molds for everyone to see. I don't have the capability to put a pole on here, but go ahead and comment to say which is your favorite. The dolls we used were Nanea, TM #62, TM #26, Lea and Kanani. Photos are included for each doll showing the shot taken without a flash and with a flash. NaneaTM #62 (Sonali Mold)TM #26 (Addy Mold)Lea (Josefina Mold)Kanani (Jess Mold)Keep checking back for more Islandshire news! Wool Week starts on Monday, so there will be a lot of fun posts, culminating in the First Annual Islandshire Wool Show.
When I wanted to make a brother for my Nanea, I was really thrilled to find someone selling a TLC custom-gone-bad dewigged Nanea doll. It had an eye swap, an unsuccessful lip gloss attempt that had actually gotten gloss on the face and arms, and the painted eye makeup had been removed. This was perfect for a boy doll! After cleaning off the gloss and trying on a few wigs, there was Benny! A lot of people have asked how to make their own Benny doll, and when the opportunity came up for me to make a custom Nanea-mold boy for someone -- well, there was the perfect chance to take some before and after photos for the blog. First thing first, undress your doll and remove the wig. It will be a lot easier to do all the work without her long tresses, and you'll be taking the wig off by the end anyway. Now that the wig is gone, I took two plastic store bags and put the doll in (feet first), tying them around the neck. This protected the whole body and leaves only the head sticking out. Your doll should look like this: I thought that I would try removing the eye makeup with non-acetone nail polish remover, but I did not want to remove the eyes on this doll. That made it pretty hard to use the nail polish remover, because you don't want any of that to get on the eyelids or in the eye cavity. Instead of the nail polish remover, I decided to go the Micromesh route, and that really worked perfectly! If you don't know what Micromesh is, check out this earlier entry in the Islandshire Gazette: https://islandshiregazette.blogspot.com/2019/05/success-removing-nose-scratchesscuffs.html If you have American Girl dolls, micromesh is something you need. Whether you collect them, play with them, restore them or customize them -- this stuff will be your friend! It removes shine marks, scuffs, scrapes and even cuts! The entry linked above will explain all about it, how to use it and give links for purchasing a nice, inexpensive starter pack. The micromesh was exactly perfect for removing the eye makeup without damage to any other part of the doll. I used 1500, 1800 and 2400 -- starting with the 1500 and working up. Nanea dolls have a slightly matte finish compared to some other dolls, so you don't have to use the really fine micromesh, but that varies by doll. You just want to be very careful not to let the micromesh rub on the eyeballs, eyelids or eyebrows -- it will remove the paint on the last two and cloud the first. Start with the 1500 micromesh to get the darkest part of the paint off (always being careful of the eyeballs, eyelids and eyebrows). Once the paint appears to be fading, you can start using the 1800. I swapped between the two for a little while. Once all the eye makeup was gone around the eye, I went back and forth between the 1800 and 2400 until the shine on the vinyl matched the entire face the way I wanted. Here a couple of pictures that show the doll after about fifteen or twenty minutes of work. You can see that the eye makeup is removed from the left eye. It was a total of 30-45 minutes for me to get all the makeup off both eyes and everything to what looked like the perfect finish to match the face. Here it is with all makeup removed. (What appears to be a slight remnant above the eye is just shadow, as the head mold has indentations there.) If you want to swap eyes in your boy doll, you could take them out before removing the makeup, and that would save you the worry about the eyeballs and eyelids. However, we wanted the original eyes for this doll. Nanea has large eyes, so swapping should be pretty simple, if you're used to the other AG face molds. When you're finished with the makeup, it's time to give your new fellow some hair. What I used on Benny was a Monique "Johnny" wig (10-11") in Dark Brown. This little fellow got the same style, but I'll tell you that the black version looked amazing on him as well! These wigs look best on these boys if you give a little trim at the back of the neck to remove the small curl there. Dress your fellow up in the outfit of your choice. The photos above show him in the American Girl "Sun & Fun" outfit, but these fellows look adorable in a wide variety. Have fun customizing your doll!
We went down to American Girl Place at Easton yesterday to see the new historical and Christmas items. They had everything except for the revised Meet Accessories, Rebecca's Bed and Maryellen's Seaside Diner Bakery Counter -- all of which they had not received and do not know when they will be available. I've put up blog entries for all the items with lots of pictures in slideshows (came home with more than 320 pictures!). If you have any questions about anything, feel free to contact me or leave a comment. Since Kit and Josefina are officially cubed, that left two large display cases empty. One has a rather uninspired display with Julie, Kaya and Rebecca standing in there. But the second one is pretty neat. They lined up every historical doll (even the cubed girls) and the two GOTYs. That was nice and looked quite cool! The store was "out of stock" of many dolls, which was really sad. Apparently, this was due to the SKU numbers being changed for today's roll-out of all 18" dolls at only $98.00. However, there was a little girl there with her mother and grandmother -- they'd come to get her very first doll! She had SIX different ones that she liked and wanted to pick from, and not one single one of those six was available. There was a cool addition to the store exclusive items -- a reusable shopping/gift bag sized to a single doll box! This is $5.00 and has a blank gift tag hanging from the handle. It's really neat! This isn't showing up on the website, so I guess it is only in stores. The picture below shows them, though the lighting is wacky from the color. It's not that bright red, it's more the berry red/pink colour. This is the biggest release for the historical collections in a long time, and this also marks the release of items that American Girl claimed was their promised "return to quality". The prices of sets and items has gone WAY up, and the quality is not very often there. To warn everyone in advance, I was quite bummed by the quality in this release -- especially considering the new price levels. It pushes outfits out of our budget, that's for sure. But it's okay, because the outfits are mostly so poor in materials that they wouldn't be worth buying at the older prices. We plan on saving up for Melody's Upright Piano, but that's it this time. (An aside note: Sadly, despite having lost her play outfit, bathing suit, fishing set, pet accessories, pajamas and bed, Nanea got not one new set. She got one little update to her meet accessories.) I know it's hard to make decisions on these items when you're ordering sight-unseen online, which is why I've taken so many hours to get all of these pictures and reviews up. It's nice to be able to see these at a store, because what looks great in a photo sure didn't hold up in person. Here are links to the individual entries with photos and reviews for the following collections: Kaya's New Items Rebecca's New Items Maryellen's New Items Melody's New Items Julie's New Items Truly Me, Wellie Wisher & Bitty Baby Winter, Christmas & Holiday Items If you have any questions about something that are not answered, just contact me or leave a comment.
There are several new Christmas and Winter items for the Truly Me section, as well as the annual Holiday Pajamas for TMs, Wellie Wishers and Bitty Baby. We'll start with the pajamas . . . These are available in a coordinating-but-different style for the 18" dolls, Wellies and Bitty Babies. They are your typical AG t-shirt knit pajamas. They fit pretty well, thought the 18" variety seem a teeny bit short in the legs. They're cute on the girl dolls, and even though they were modelled on some boy dolls -- I can't imagine a real boy being caught dead in these. They don't suit the boys, in my opinion. Next, here are pictures of the Truly Me and Bitty Baby Christmas outfits. Snow Good to See You outfit is meant for boys and girls, apparently. This was sad, because I was really hoping to buy this one. It's #32.00, but it seemed like a shirt, pants and oxfords for the boys would be worth it. However, it's not a shirt -- it's the thinnest fabric tacked onto a thin acrylic sweater that looks to feminine for my boy dolls. The whole thing just velcros up the back. The pants are too short when you pull them all the way up, and the shoes are thin vinyl like off-brand stuff you buy at cheap stores. They also don't even tie on -- they have velcro on the back of the shoes. Decked Out Holiday Dress seems pricey at $36.00. The dress is very short and has the cheapest excuse for shoes you've ever seen. The bodice is covered in sequins, and something interesting was the fact that any time you put this under lights the red shiny colour is reflected all over the doll's face and chin. Deck the Halls Dress for Bitty Baby is pretty classic looking. There are several photos in the slideshow below. It's VERY red, so I wouldn't leave it on for a long time because of possible staining. There were three new Christmas sets in the Truly Me section. Elf on the Shelf is a little set that only Rewards Members can purchase. There doesn't seem to be a quantity limit, as the store was loaded with them! 12 Days 'til Christmas calendar set is a Nutcracker theme this year. Price is $40.00. This is boxed with the matching "Nutcracker Collection" logo as the three outfits released earlier on pre-order. All of the illustrations and items seem to tie in to those in the packing and collector's cards from the outfit sets as well, so your doll can have a real Nutcracker celebration! Cookie Baking and Decorating Set: Cute ideas with some re-tread items, but the quality of the plastic on these is very poor with a lot of exposed seams. You get more of the Target Brand feel, and for $35.00 it could have been a little higher quality. The apron is thin, cheap crafting cotton. The little cooking timer was quite cute! If you have any of the previous baking pieces and cookies, you'll be able to make up a cuter, more high-quality set. Lastly, the just three-month-old Paris Mix & Match items have all been pulled and replaced by two new outfits that are purchased by the piece. This is a real shame, because not only have the individual pieces gone way up in price, but they are very monotone and uninspired with terrible fabric choices. Everything is white, silver and black. The kitty ear muffs are cheap molded plastic with visible seams. The plaid coat/vest is so thick a fabric that it sticks out on the doll, and the matching button-down scarf is too thick to stay put over the coat button. The boots velcro up the back of really thin black vinyl, now a $15.00 pair of shoes. (The soles on those, by the way, are the hard plastic kitten-healed variety as seen on Logan's Performance Boots and Blaire's Casual Outfit boots.) Here are pictures of these two outfits, as well as the price sign. These are a sad replacement for the Mix & Match line. Check out all the other entries from today for more pictures and reviews of all the new items!
Kaya got some new things, but it's all just new versions of previous items. Not too much to say aside from the photos. There are a lot of pictures in the slideshow below of her horse and saddle (now a set for $115.00), for those who are really familiar with the old ones. It doesn't look changed to me, but we don't have it to compare. Her doll is the same without the cradleboard. The food set is the same (minus one piece, I think), but the price is hefty at $48.00! Tatlo and the Beaver got face lifts. They are fluffier and plushier now. If you have any questions, just contact me or leave a comment! Be sure to check out the other entries from today for photos and reviews of the other new items.
Maryellen scored quite a few new sets in this release. Lots of pictures in the slideshows below, which I hope will answer a lot of questions. If you're still wondering about something, you can contact me or leave a comment about it. Maryellen's Seaside Diner Bakery Case ($95.00) was not available at Columbus, and they had no idea when it would be sent to them. Maryellen's Seaside Diner - $350.00This was the biggest and most expensive item in this new release. It's sort of a disappointment to see a revised edition of a set that hasn't even been gone for two years. The quality is definitely better on this than the previous version. It has some nice features like some metal accessories and trim, china plates, metal forks (same as the old TM pie set), a working telephone, separate booths, etc. But the price tag is hefty at $350.00 -- which is even more than Blaire's Restaurant, which is too expensive for the majority of customers. If this diner was $250.00, it would be something to consider and hope you have some Rewards certificates or a sale to use on it -- but at this price, even with some upgraded quality, I can't see this being a big seller. The phone comes with some false coins that you can drop in. It's battery-operated and a little operator's voice talks to you once the coin has been deposited. Don't put in a real dimes, though. Someone at the store had tried that on one of the two displays, and the phone was broken, since the dime was totally wedged in there and stuck! The sign on top of the diner is battery-operated and spins when you push a button. There are three buttons and speaker on the back of the diner roof below the sign. One button spins the sign. One button plays music. One button plays recordings of diner customers saying things like "Can I have a doggy bag?" Here's a little video that I took showing what happens with each button. Sorry for the store noise in the background. Just in case the embedded video doesn't work, here's the direct YouTube link: https://youtu.be/eJXKifRo5A8 There is a good amount of real metal trim on this diner, but not everything is metal. You have to feel the different pieces. The stools have metal rods to hold them up, but the chrome-coloured trim around the stool seat is plain plastic. The milkshake maker is plastic with metal pieces. The chrome trim around the counter and top are metal, but the whole sign on the top is lightweight plastic. The booths are vinyl covered with pressed wood bases. I took a picture of the bottom of a booth. This is a really cute piece, but it's $100.00 too expensive, in my opinion. I think this will be for collectors. Maryellen's Back to School Outfit, Desk & Rocket SetOutfit: $36.00 - Dress, Sweater, Socks, Shoes, Hair Bow Desk: $100.00 - Desk, Text Book, Pencil and Box, Crayons and Box, Tape Dispenser, Pencil Sharpener Ready to Launch Rocket Set: $42.00 Maryellen's School Outfit is cute, but it's not a thrill in quality or construction. The fabric of the dress is very thin, and you can see through the white (you do need to use her crinoline with this). The ribbon sash is just a piece of thin grosgrain ribbon sewn on at the back, but you can see the fabric design through the ribbon - it's that thin. The dress closes up the back with plain old velcro. The cardigan is a very thin acrylic yarn that feels like a lighter-weight version of the Paris Mix-and-Match cardigan. There is one plastic button at the top and the rest of the decoration consists of a row of white Xs where buttons and button holes should be. They are just made with multiple strands of white embroidery thread, but both display models had Xs that were already fraying. The shoes are the thinnest matte red vinyl you've ever seen with velcro closures. Once again, AG really messed up with the quality of their shoes this time. These aren't comparable to previous historical shoes. Maryellen's School Desk was only displayed in the large case behind glass. It says real wood and does have a wood grain, but I can't say whether this is really wood or more pressed wood. It looked like the aqua parts were metal and the grey parts were plastic, but it's too hard to say without touching it. The accessories were cute, particularly the text book and pencil box. The Ready to Launch Rocket Set is cute but seems pricey at $42.00. That said, there isn't anything else like it. You push down on the squeezy air canister and the rocket shoots quite far! A cute pair of doll glasses is in this set and is a dark brown, classic look. The clip board is really cute. Wish they sold just that part! Maryellen's Sledding Outfit & SledSledding Outfit: $48.00 - Jacket, Belt, Hat, Shirt, Pants, Socks, Rain Boots Sled: $65.00 - Sled, Thermos Maryellen's Sledding Outfit was one of two outfits that I was really looking forward to seeing in this new release. We actually got an employee to open a glassed display, because this outfit was not available outside of a display. Seeing it, this set is definitely a play outfit meant for little girls who are playing with their doll -- but at a collector's price! This will be more than $50.00 with tax, for something that doesn't live up to collector's historical accuracy or quality. The jacket would have been a wool one, but this is made from a single-knit poly fabric exactly like those in the 1970s. The pattern is cute, but the fabric is totally wrong for the 1950s. The belt is a very narrow, thin vinyl belt that is likely to crack in a year or so. The hat is made of the same fabric as the jacket with white faux fur trim (probably very similar to the fur from Kaya's Winter Accessories). The tie is a thin grosgrain ribbon in red (I would worry about staining here, as ribbon is the worst stainer on dolls, in my experience.). The mock turtleneck is an ivory t-shirt knit top that is about as thin as you get. It velcros up the back and appears to have had very short velcro (just like the shirt from Logan's Performance Outfit), which left a wide opening in the back. The pants are some kind of wool blend, but you're talking a very small amount of wool. Whatever fabric it is, it's quite nubbly and looks like some hand-me-down pants that have been washed a lot of times. I love wool. It comes in very thin fabric, and at a price like this, I think AG took the easy road to use this cheap and non-authentic fabric. If you're collecting, then I'd pay a little more and get a real handmade winter outfit from someone who will use quality fabric that's more accurate. And what's with bright yellow rain boots? I've never read Maryellen's stories, so maybe that's in there -- but a company making kids' items should never have put rubber rain boots with a heavy snow set like this. We've grown up in a place that gets a lot of snow in the winter, and the first thing they drill into your brain as a kid is that you NEVER wear rubber boots in the snow! Your feet will freeze in no time flat, and then you'll have some serious issues before you can blink. I think this was a bad idea, but that's my opinion. Maryellen's Sled appeared to be wood and metal. It was only under glass, so I can't say for sure. It looks more like a toboggan size to me, but it's apparently a re-painted version of Emily's old sled. There's a little thermos included, but it's too small in scale really. Maryellen's Pretty Pink Dress$44.00 - Dress, Gloves, Shoes, Barrette My Mom really liked this dress from the first pictures -- but the quality is SO bad that we were all quite bummed. Where to start . . . The dress bodice is made of this thin, drapey poly fabric. It's meant to fold/wrinkle on her torso in a certain way, but not one display model outside of the large glass case look right. The flowers that are tacked onto the front are the cheapest Wal-Mart quality fake flowers you could pick. The shoulder straps are crafting satin ribbon like you pick up at Joann's on the Offray spools. The tulle over dress is unhemmed and raw at the edges. You're not talking a long time before this looks pretty frayed and grungy. The underskirt is a thin acetate lining fabric. (There is a tulle crinoline sewn into this dress, so you'd don't need the separate crinoline with it, by the way.) Closure is velcro up the back, and there's no way that the bodice and tulle skirt will escape snagging too many times. The gloves are lacy fabric with hunky visible seams. The elastic at the wrists is hidden by some more pink ribbon. The shoes are pearly white vinyl. Again, the usual AG quality isn't there. They are very thin, and the straps close with a tiny piece of velcro. The soles felt very thin and bendable. The hair barrette is 100% cheap plastic -- about half the quality of any of Kit's hair clips. I'd give this dress a real thumbs down for the price and quality. It's probably going to appeal to a lot of little girls, but this doesn't have nice materials or lasting power. All in all, this was the most disappointing entry to write. For being a "return to quality", and with such hefty price increases, these things should have been better.
Be sure to check out the other entries from today for other pictures and reviews of the new items. Julie got a number of things this time. Her pet bunny, Nutmeg was released again. I didn't take individual pictures of it, but aside from the pillow being pink (instead of blue), I don't think there is anything different from the original version of Nutmeg. The basket doesn't have a coloured stripe on it, and the old one might . . . but I'd need to check ours out to see if I remember correctly. Julie's Pajamas and Robe$36.00 - Nightgown, Robe, Slippers, Panties Julie is one of the historical dolls fortunate enough to have gotten a set of pajamas. This time, it's a sleeveless t-shirt knit nightshirt with matching quilted robe. This is a very bright yellow, very like her knitted vest in the meet outfit. The robe is quite nice, thick fabric and neatly finished. I took a number of pictures to show the details. The slippers are the typical fluffy AG slippers in hot pink. The nightshirt really gets a thumbs down. It's a sleeveless t-shirt knit shift that closes with plain velcro up the back. The flowered trim sewn onto the front is a thick piece of ribbon-like trim that is way to heavy for the fabric of the shift. If you like the robe, go ahead with this set . . . but the nightgown is not worth the high price of this set. Julie's Bedside Table & Shag Rug$70.00 - Table, Lamp, Phone, Book, Cup, Rug There were only two display models of this set at the Columbus store, and both were behind glass. The book is cute and has some real pages inside (I tried to get some pictures showing that). At $70.00 for this set, it's WAY too crazy for what you get. Couldn't feel it, but this honestly looks like over-sized Barbie furniture. You expect this from Mattel -- but not from American Girl. Thumbs down. Julie's Groovy Bed & Bedding$125.00 This looks like it's the same as Julie's original bed. Back to the white posts and all. The bedding got a face lift, and I think the bead curtains are a little thinner and different, but all pretty similar to the original. Julie's Christmas OutfitDress: $32.00 - Dress, Tights, Shoes, Hair Bow Fireplace: $75.00 All of these displays were behind glass, so I couldn't get a feel of them. The Christmas Dress is cuter in person than it appears in photos. It looks more 1980s to me, but it was very high fashion style in the '70s. It would work for a doll in either decade, really. The dress is poly velvet with some rick-rack trim sewn on. The tights look like the typical white tights. The shoes really buckle and are quite cute, but the shiny vinyl is so thin that the black colour was scraped off of both display models inside the buckle. AG's shoes have definitely gone down in quality with this release. You won't have many times on and off with these. The Fireplace is cardboard. $75.00 for a cardboard fireplace? I can't see any redeeming qualities to this set. The cookies look like the old ones from Maryellen's set. You're really buying this set for the ceramic Christmas tree, and that can be had for a lot less. Wal-Mart is selling a tree almost this same size (AG's tree appeared to be 6-1/2", give or take -- it was hard to try and measure through the glass!) for $8.47 -- and it can be had in green, white or pink. Hobby Lobby also has one in green (possibly other colours) for $14.97 on 40% off right now. If you really want a disposable fireplace, check out this nice DIY link: https://www.americangirlideas.com/american-girl-doll-fireplace-diy/ I wouldn't recommend this set at all. The price is over the moon for what you get, even if they did have cardboard fireplaces in the 1970s . . . $70.oo is totally ridiculous. Julie's Pin Ball Outfit & MachinePinball Outfit: $36.00 - Vest, Pants, Hat, Shoes Pinball Machine: $150.00 Julie's Pinball Outfit has one thing going for it -- no velcro. The buttons work and the pants are elastic on the waist. Other than that, I wasn't impressed. The vest looks like she's missing a shirt, because there isn't even enough fabric to cover her shoulders to the arm cups. You see body fabric and the arm cup join, which makes it look too small. The pants in the catalog look nice and long, but all the display models at Columbus had pants that are too short. The shoes are red and the hat is hot pink. The hat is made of some kind of suede-like poly material. The Pinball Machine was on display. I couldn't get it to work, but my sister did. I can't see a lot of children choosing this one, and after you've played with it for five minutes there isn't much to do. The dolls can't interact with this easily, so it's more of a display piece or for photographic set-ups. The add says this is made of real metal and wood. Yep, the metal is metal . . . but this is not real wood. This is the same pressed wood (that's a wood composite) as everything else. Yes, it's heavy and feels substantial, but this is NOT "real" wood. It doesn't have lasting power like wood and will get dinged easily. All in all, I think this piece is meant for (and will appeal to) adults. It's not the biggest item in the world, so it won't be really hard to find space for if you like it. Dimensions for the pinball machine: 10-1/2" deep x 18-3/4" tall x 7-1/2" wide. Check out the rest of the entries from today for the other pictures and reviews of new items!
Rebecca got quite a few new items this time, which helps her display case a lot! Slideshows below are separated by set or some groups, depending on how the store displayed them. If you have questions, you can contact me or leave a comment. Rebecca's Winter Coat - $42.00There was only one model of this set, and that was behind glass in the large display case (above photo). I have to say that I barely noticed it, as it looks so much like the coat that was just discontinued that I forgot it was a new set! Someone who has both says that the only difference they noticed was the frogs at the front on this new one are real. Other than that, I can't really say much about it. Rebecca's Sabbath Set and Parlor TableSabbath Set: $70.00 Parlor Table: $150.00 Rebecca's Sabbath Set is a re-release of the older set, with a few slight differences. Considering that the older set was $68.00, this is the one item in the new release whose price is not totally out of line. Everything looks nice in this one. The plate and teapot are ceramic (teapot lid is removable). The two food items are nice quality plastic AG food -- more like the quality of Grace's food pieces, in contrast to the cheaper plastic used on Blaire's items. The two glasses were real glass. Quite thick. The Samovar Tray was a very shiny metal. It's so shiny that I thought it was plastic, but it's actually metal. The Samovar is metal, except for the black handles and knobs (lightweight plastic) and the spout handle with is very lightweight plastic made with a matching colour finish to the metal. The lid does come off the Samovar, but it's only a small cavity with a screw in there (see picture). I couldn't see that you open anything else. Rebecca's Parlor Table is made of pressed wood (this is wood composite). This is the same material used on AG pieces like Melody's Piano, Caroline's Parlor, Felicity's Table and Chairs (Mattel Version), etc. It's very heavy and gives a substantial feel -- but this is not real wood. For collectors, it'll do fine. If you're buying this for a child to play with, though, they need to be careful. This stuff has a tendency to get dinged easily, and you can't really fix that. One of the display models of the table already had a dinged foot, but others were still okay. The table comes with several pieces (candlesticks, vase and flowers, table runner). Personally, we don't have Rebecca's other large pieces, but I know some people who do, and this is supposedly a good match to the colour and finish on Rebecca's Sideboard -- as well as fitting with her Settee. Dimensions are 11-1/4" wide x 7-1/2 tall x 5-1/2" deep. The candlesticks are blue glass, and the candles are a plastic that feels sort of wax-like. The vase is thick glass that has been painted silver. Rebecca's Hanukkah Outfit$42.00 - Dress, Stockings, Shoes, Bow Hair Clip Honestly, from the first photos, this dress looked very appealing and was definitely my favorite of Rebecca's many dresses over the years. The price is out of our budget, but maybe with a coupon or sale it would have worked. Seeing this in person, though, was a big disappointment. It's hard to photograph material in the store full of pink walls, but this dress is very poorly constructed. The blue under fabric is a plain what looks to be a poly-cotton blend. The lace over dress is so poor. It's basically a floppy tulle-like fabric that is unhemmed on the bottom. It looks like the rough cut the bottom and every display model (there were four or five of this dress) already looked like the bottom of the dress was frayed and worn like it had been left on the floor for a while. The whole dress is quite thin and they all looked like they needed to be ironed. The velcro up the back is the same old stuff, and I don't think a child will be able to use this dress even once without ending up with some snags. Both display models that I was able to handle already were snagged along the back. The shoes were cute from a distance. They just seemed to slip on. However, when you touch them or get close, the vinyl is very thin and flimsy. These are not the quality that AG usually offers in shoes, so while they are very cute -- they don't compare to previous shoes for either Rebecca or Samantha. The tights looked like normal white AG tights. I didn't notice anything, in particular, about them. The hair how is glued/mounted onto a clear plastic alligator-type clip -- very similar to Nanea's flower. All in all, if you're a collector and want to put this on your Rebecca and leave her there, this dress will be okay. But this is not a quality for children or play. If your daughter wants a dress like this, I would recommend spending the same money and going to Etsy to have a handmade, quality piece. This dress was disappointing and not the "return to quality" that was expected from this release. Rebecca's Menorah & Dreidel Set$50.00 - Menorah, Candles, Dreidel, Coins x 3 There was only one of this set on display at the Columbus store, and that was in the large display case behind glass. The Menorah looked to be the same metal as the Samovar. It looked pretty small in scale. Rebecca's Nightgown$30.00 - Nightgown, Slippers, Hair Bow This looks like a cross between Rebecca's original PJs and Samantha's old nightgown. Frank opinion: Go find one of Samantha's old nightgowns. This is the thinnest white cotton fabric you've ever seen. What's hard to photograph is the fact that you could see through the nightgown on the doll and actually see her skin, body fabric and neck strings right through the nightgown. This was even thinner than the fabric used on Clara's Nightgown in the new Nutcracker set. This nightgown is going to look like a wrinkled mess, even if you don't mind being able to see through it. The slippers are a variation of the pattern/style used on the Truly Me Pekingese PJs slippers. The tops are a velvet-looking fabric, but the bottoms are a pink vinyl/suede-like fabric that doesn't quite match. The hair bow is glued/mounted to a plastic alligator clip. Rebecca's Kittens$26.00 - Plush Kittens x 2 Larger, fluffier versions of the old ones. Instead of being that thin, flat fabric, these have fluffier fur. They don't look like much, but if you're wanting kittens . . . here they are. They are just stuffed, not poseable. Here's a picture of Rebecca with them, which shows the size. Check out all the other entries today for pictures and reviews of the other new items.
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