The first Marilyn Monroe dolls by Tonner were shown at the company's convention Flights Of Fancy back in May. They were a 16" Marilyn dressed in an outfit from How To Marry A Millionaire (which has been previousle done by Mel Odom and Ashton Drake on Gene) and a 22" version of the actress in her famous pink bow dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Now the doll gets a proper release, so let's check her out.
The first doll is the 16" version of the Diamonds one at $189.99 Dressed Doll LE 1000 She has the Marilyn Monroe head sculpt of Tonner on the 16" Starlet body - this is a new one, with the Tyler bust and the Curvaceous hips, in the Tyler skin tone. This body was first introduced on the convention 16" Marilyn. She has blue painted eyes and blonde rooted saran hair. Her peony dress has a back bow with black trim and she sports matching peony gloves and belt. She has a rhinestone necklace, a black ribbon bracelet with rhinestones, three rhinestone bracelets anda pair of rhinestone earrings. Her accessories include a pair of peony shoes and nude panty-hose.
My opinion on this Marilyn version: I do not like her. She looks more like Madonna than Marilyn. Her face looks harsh and angled, not curvy and sweetly sensual like the actress looked like. I know open-mouthed sculpts are hard to make but this one fails miserably. Great hair though. And I do not understand why she could not have the curvaceous body that DeeAnna Denton has. It would fit her to a T and would make this outfit really stand out. Now she looks anorexic. Or modern. Like Madonna. Again.
The second doll of this collection is Marilyn Monroe as Pola Debevoise (from How To Marry A Millionaire) $124.99 She is a Basic Doll
LE 500. As before. she has the Marilyn Monroe head sculpt on the 16" Starlet body with the Tyler skin tone. She has blue painted eyes and blonde rooted saran hair. She wears a red bathing suit with elastic straps and a silver inset, with a rhinestone flower decoration. Rhinestone earrings and metallic red faux leather shoes with clear resin soles complete her outfit.
The basic Marilyn has a slightly different hairdo than the Diamonds one. If you have the first one, you can skip this one unless you are a completist. The shoes look great though.
There are four outfits in this release. The first one is called "I am Lorelei Lee" from the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" - $99.99
LE 300 Outfit Only Fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. It consists of a blue dress with a blue matching belt and a blue bolero jacket with matching lace trim. Accessories include a tan faux fur scarf, a pair of blue bead earrings, a rhinestone bracelet and faux leather blue shoes. This one looks great. I love the fact that they are releasing more outfits than dressed dolls, as it makes it easier to purchase them. Wonder if these fit the Franklin Mint Marilyn. It is missing the black clutch bag and her shoes were proper closed pumps, not peep toes, as you can see below.
The photo also gives you the chance to see how the sculpt compares to the real thing. Meh.
The next outfit is also from the same film - "I Just Adore Conversation" $124.99 LE 300 Outfit Only. Fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. This is an orange chiffon dress with sequinned straps and trim, with an orange chiffon scarf finished with metallic fringe. The accessories are a pair of rhinestone earrings, a rhinestone bracelet and gold faux leather shoes. This one looks nice but the sequins look a bit overdone (the real looks like it combines sequins and beads), plus the fringe is practically non existent in the real dress (see below) - instead it has sequins (and beads?) too.
Anyway, it is a good enough version of the dress. The Franklin Mint one was worse (dreadful beads).
Next up is her Niagara outfit, called Hot Night - $89.99 LE 300 Outfit Only. It fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. It consists of a fuchsia dress, accessorized with a white chiffon scarf, silver earrings, a gold bracelet with a heart charm and a pair of black patent leather shoes with black ribbon straps.
This is the famous Kiss song scene. The outfit is very faithful to the actual one (the clutch is not in the film scene). They should have included the miniature record with it. Love the charm bracelet.
The final outfit is from the movie Love Nest (1951) and it's called Roberta Moves In - $99.99 LE 300 Outfit Only. Fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. The suit consists of a dark blue and white skirt and jacket with black beads on the jacket. The shoes are made of metallic dark blue faux leather. Accessories include white gloves, a faux pearl bracelet, a crystal beaded bracelet, a pair of flower beaded earrings, a white hat with dark blue trim and black veil.
Compared with the real thing, the doll outfit has lots of discrepancies. The hat does not look like the one worn by Marilyn, which is flopped to the side and looks sturdier. Her shoes are definitely not peep toes.The shape of the collar is completely different (narrower on top and wider near the buttons). The skirt is longer too. And just think how much better it would look with the bag and vanity case included! I also think the veil is very much out of scale for her face. The earrings look great though.
I might try to get the "Lorelei Lee" outfit if I find out they fit the Franklin Mint body. Otherwise I am not going to get anything else from this series, which for me was a small disappointment.
Photos © 2012 Tonner® Doll Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
