Beauty and The Beast with a twist - as Nu Fantasy characters by Integrity Toys

Today a new pair of Nu Fantasy dolls are available at all Integrity Toys dealers. As before, with the Hansel & Gretel pair, the company releases a famous fairy-tale duo, re-done to match the modern fashion aesthetics of the Nu Face line. This amalgamation of characteristics is always the strong element of the Nu Fantasy line. This time around it is Beauty and The Beast that gets the treatment, but with a catch: Beauty is the male character here, with Beast being a sizzling-hot lady.

Item # 75009
Beauty
The Nu.Fantasy™ Collection
Limited Edition of 800 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $125.00 USD
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately the Week of November 20th, 2013

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: FR: Homme (12.5 inch)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eyelashes: No
Package Dimensions: 9" X 15" X 3"

Beauty is male and who better to embody this than the ever popular Lukas Maverick sculpt. The doll wears a multi-layered look that consists of a tailored, long evening coat over a matching fashionable shirt and vest combination. His hair is coiffed in the latest hip style popular with fashionistas and his face reminds me a bit of Ringmaster Lukas - it must be the blue eyes. If you hurry, you might be able to pick the last one, he's THAT popular.

Item # 75010
Beast
The Nu.Fantasy™ Collection
Limited Edition of 800 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $125.00 USD
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately the Week of November 20th, 2013

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: FR2 2.0 (12 inch)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White (Caucasian)
Hair Color: Light Brown with Golden Highlights
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied
Package Dimensions: 9" X 15" X 3"

In a great twist, Beast is a woman! A fashion beast that roams the forest of haute couture, LOL. This doll features the sculpt of the Pizzazz character from the Jem & The Holograms line of dolls, making its début in the Nu.Fantasy collection. It was not mentioned officially in the Integrity W Club newsletter (probably for copyright issues) but was later confirmed. She is dressed in black "leather" pants, a red bustier with a long layered skirt and knee high boots.

The dolls are sold separately but many dealers chose to sell them as a pair, to avoid having left-over Beast dolls, as Lukas is the sure-fire hit of this lot. Beast looks great though and I suspect once she changes into a tailored suit, she will break many hearts. And she has the new FR2 body which will be the norm for the former FR and FR2 characters from now on. Is this the first time a Nu Fantasy doll does not have the Nu Face body?

**Please note that the photos are of prototype dolls and subject to changes and modifications. Dolls are sold separately. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2013 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.**

The glamour of Dollchic

DollChic is the new project of the Moscow fashion-photographers art duo LePer and Dolls author Peter Tishkov. The DollChic doll is a BJD polyurethane Fashion Doll at ¼ scale, with a height of 16,5”. The dolls have 19 points of articulation, including double joints at the elbows and knees.

The dolls are cast in the Russian workshop Stardolls, in Moscow. The concept of the project is the embodiment of true femininity in all its forms. All the joints were thought out in terms of the idealization of a woman's shape and body aesthetics. Also the dolls are meant to achieve a perfectly fixed posture. 

The production of DollChic has three categories: Basic, Prêt-a-porte, Haute Couture. At the moment the project consists of 3 molds: Leya, Uma and Teya, and 3 skin tones: Vanilla, Caramel and Chocolate. The premiere of the DollChic brand was in October 3rd of 2013 at the IX International Doll Salon on Tishinka, Russia.

Currently available to order from the DollChic website are three basic dolls (without stand, they come nude with a wig), six dressed dolls (Sweets collection, complete with double-faced outfits, stand and accessories) and also stands and shipper cases to buy separately. No solo outfits or accessories are yet for sale.

These are gorgeous dolls, basic or dressed ones. The prices are really way high ($880 for a basic nude doll with only wig, no stand, $1230 for a dressed doll) and the quantities of the dressed dolls are ten each. That means they are going to be hard to find really soon. If the quality of production is as good as the look of the dolls, they are going to be way on top on collector's lists. The only thing that bugs me: the ugly elbow joint and the weird knee joint. Those needed a bit more thinking and re-working. I'm never going to be able to afford one so it does not matter.

You can contact them at info@dollchic.com for inquiries about availability. All photos and information are courtesy and copyright of Dollchic.

Tonner Doll Fall/Holiday 2013 release - part 2: Tyler Wentworth, Precarious and Théâtre de la Mode

The Tyler Wentworth collection gets two additions, both with the same sculpt: Chase model #5, here called Shauna. There is a basic doll and a dressed one.

Warm-up Basic Shauna
T13TWBD03
LE 500
$119.99
Shipping TBA - Pre-Order Now!
Basic doll

The Chase Model#5 head sculpt is on a 16" Tyler bending wrist body with the cameo skin tone. She has brown painted eyes and flame and chestnut blended rooted saran hair. She comes in a pale pink Lycra bodysuit with a coordinating chiffon belt, nude pantyhose and matching faux leather shoes. Again a basic doll without a stand. Meh. She looks a lot like a Greek singer, Helena Paparizou (photo below).

City Tweed
T13TWDD03
LE 300
$219.99
Shipping TBA - Pre-Order Now!
Dressed doll

Look what a different face make up and wig can do! This is again the Chase Model#5 head sculpt on a 16" Tyler bending wrist body, with the Tyler skin tone. She has blue painted eyes and mink non-removable saran wigged hair. Her outfit consists of a grey/black and white tweed coat dress, with a black cotton net petticoat, black faux leather gloves, black faux leather tights, rhinestone and beads necklace and black faux leather shoes. She has a stand. This one looks like a tame Siouxsie Sioux (photo below).

Precarious Bright White Basic
T13PRBD02
LE 500
$119.99
Shipping TBA - Pre-Order Now!
Basic doll

This is the sole addition to the line. Another basic doll without a stand. The Precarious™ head sculpt is on a 16" Antoinette™ body with the cameo skin tone. She has blue painted eyes with applied eyelashes and a  black removable wig of saran hair. She is wearing a white cotton knit dress, white stretch knit panties, white sunglasses and white elastic platform shoes. She looks interesting but add $10 for a stand.

Théâtre de la Mode
Elegance #93
T13RTDD04
LE 300
$249.99
Shipping TBA Pre-Order Now!
Dressed doll

Two dolls were added to the Théâtre de la Mode collection. The first one has the Gina head sculpt on a 16" Antoinette™ body with the Tyler skin tone. She has green painted eyes and chestnut rooted saran hair with faux flower decoration. She is wearing a dusty rose satin dress with faux flowers (which to me look huge for this scale, but have not seen any photos of the corresponding outfit in the original collection) which has a petticoat. She comes with white Lycra opera length gloves, a rhinestone necklace, rhinestone earrings, a rhinestone bracelet and matching satin shoes. She has nude pantyhose with attached panties and comes with a stand. Très jolie!

Théâtre de la Mode
Glamorous #75
T13RTDD05
LE 300
$229.99
Buy Now! Ships 10/25
Dressed doll

The second doll also uses the Gina head sculpt on a 16" Antoinette™ body with the Tyler skin tone. This one has also green painted eyes but sports darkest brown rooted saran hair. She is wearing a black chiffon dress with rhinestone decoration on the bodice, a black velvet hat with rhinestone decoration and veil, rhinestone earrings, nude pantyhose and black faux leather shoes. She comes with a stand.

All photos and information © 2013 Tonner® Doll Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Tonner Doll Fall/Holiday 2013 release - part 1: Cami & Jon

If the Fall preview collection from Tonner Doll Company was not very enticing regarding fashion dolls, the Fall/Holiday release is full of them. Not all the lines get new releases, and the ones that do get them have some unexpected additions. As some of the dolls were not ready even in prototype stage, the company shows a rough sketch in place of a photo - you have to be very trusting to pre-order a doll like that. In this first post of the Tonner presentation we will check out the Cami & Jon line.

Spring Frost
$209.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13CJDD03
Dressed doll LE 300

The only dressed doll is of course with the Cami head sculpt, on the 16" Antoinette™ body in the Tyler skin tone. She has painted brown eyes and a platinum blonde removable saran wig. She is wearing a green/silver brocade dress with fringe trim under a green lurex twill coat with fringe sleeve cuffs and a rhinestone decoration. Her outfit comes with nude pantyhose, a multi-colour intricate beaded, rhinestone and flower hand made necklace, rhinestone earrings and matching green faux leather shoes. She comes with a stand.

I love the outfit on this one, it has a definite late 60's vibe, the colour is great and the dress looks a lot like one my mother was wearing in the very early 70's (she had one in copper and one in blue brocade). If this had a bag (one of the major Tonner cons in their fashion doll releases) it would have been a perfect outfit.

Resort Stripe Basic Cami (Blonde or Mink) / Jon  / Liu Liu
$119.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13CJBD06
Basic doll LE 500

Four basic dolls, two of them with Cami head sculpt, one with the Jon sculpt and one with a new Asian 1 (sic) sculpt. All have the 16" Antoinette™ body. The two Cami and the Liu Liu dolls have the bisque skin tone while Jon has the honey skin tone. The Cami dolls have painted blue eyes, Jon has light blue eyes while Liu Liu has brown eyes. As for hair colour, one Cami comes with a pale blonde removable saran wig while all the other three dolls sport mink (i.e darkest brown) wigs. They all wear versions of the same stripe stretch knit dress: the Camis in pink and white, Jon in blue and white and Liu Liu in green and white. All have white cotton knit panties, white sunglasses and white elastic platform shoes.

The dolls come without a stand, which one can buy separately from Tonner. Honestly, this sucks big time. How can a company sell dolls without their stand and at $120? And on top of that, everyone who has had some experience with the available Tonner stand, knows it sucks big time. I'd never buy it separately, it's not even worth the plastic it's made of. Let's hope they remedy this.

Of course you cannot see the mink haired Cami, she was not ready as a prototype and there's a rough sketch instead of a photo on the site. It is not even a good one. There was a dressed Cami doll included with the Fall preview so I will show here here, as I did not think it fit into my Tiny Kitty post about that release.

Soft Elegance Cami
$199.99
Availability: In Stock - Now Shipping
T13CJDD02
Dressed doll 
LE 300

She has the Cami head sculpt on a 16" Antoinette™ body with the bisque skin tone. She has painted green eyes and summer blonde rooted saran hair. Her outfit is a cream chiffon dress with lace bodice overlay and ribbon belt. It has a cotton net underskirt with lace trim and a white petticoat. She comes with gold tights with attached panties and gold faux leather shoes. She has a stand.

Chelsea Chill - Outfit
T13CJOF05
LE 300
$99.99
Shipping TBA Pre-Order Now

The first outfit for Cami & Jon on the Fall/Holiday release, it also fits Antoinette™ dolls. It consists of a black stretch knit bodysuit, under a black and white stretch knit skirt, a fuchsia coat with black buttons and black faux leather shoes. In the photo the doll is the Resort Stripe Basic Cami (does not come with the outfit).

Summer Lace - Outfit
T13CJOF07
LE 300
$99.99
Buy Now - Ships 10/25

This is an off-white embroidered chiffon lace dress with a matching off-white taffeta hat with sequinned trim and feathers. It comes with a pair of faux pearl beaded earrings and matching faux leather shoes. Easily the best of the bunch except for the hat, which is a mess. Again, a clutch would have made this so much better.

All photos and information © 2013 Tonner® Doll Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Funny Face: "Let's Kiss And Make Up" Jo Stockton by Integrity Toys

Earlier this year, Integrity Toys presented a collection of seven dolls from the Funny Face film, as part of their Paramount Films license. Six of those dolls were available to all but the seventh, Jo Stockton "Let's Kiss And Make Up", was a WClub exclusive through lottery only. I was lucky enough to get her as a second chance draw winner. She arrived months ago here, but I only managed to finish her photo shoot in the past few days.

The doll has the Poppy Parker body and the Vanessa 2.0 sculpt (the one with the closed mouth) and is a limited edition of 400 dolls. She comes with three outfits from the film: the most well known of course is the ensemble from the train station photo-shoot, the "Anna Karenina" scene. I knew I had to recreate the atmosphere of that scene, so I printed out a large photo from that. (I erased Audrey Hepburn from it before printing) and used it as a backdrop for the doll.

This ensemble alone has so many parts! It consists of a long "fur" coat, a manteau and a sleeveless dress under it, pantyhose, shoes, gloves a straw travel bag, a rose bouquet, a hat and a dog! All look great and are well made and finished, except the dog that looks like it went through the washing machine and tumble dryer before arriving at the station!

The doll herself is very beautiful, probably the most beautiful of all four Jo Stockton dolls. She may not be Audrey but she certainly has the style down pat. As in her promo pics, she looks very much like Michelle Dockery, the actress playing Lady Mary in Downton Abbey. 

The second outfit is the yellow print dress from the flower-shop scene, again part of a photo shoot. This is featured briefly in the film but is probably the most colourful scene. I could not stage a whole flower shop at home so I opted for a simple background to offset the print more.

Again a very well made dress, with a great scale of the print. Hat, gloves, pantyhose and shoes complete the look. The gloves can be easily worn if you place her hand in boiling water for a few seconds to soften it.

The dress even has a petticoat under it, which is a nice touch and adds to the sense of quality. It also helps the skirt stand that much better.

The third outfit of the set is a suit that appears in the fashion show scene of the film. It is a very elegant look, with a hat, umbrella (not functional), pantyhose, shoes and gloves finishing the look. 

The straw hat had to be styled a bit to acquire its proper shape but it was not very difficult to achieve. Again it is not the flat small hat shown in the film but it is not always easy to transfer things into doll scale. The boxy jacket does not photograph well on a doll from the back (with the side pleats) but it is very well crafted.

This is one of the best gift sets Integrity has ever released and is well worth getting, if you are able to find it complete. A beautiful doll and three complete gorgeous outfits in one! Not to mention that the original designs are all Givenchy!