Game of Thrones dolls - creating the HBO series characters in scale

April 24, 2016

Tonight is the premiere of the sixth season of Game Of Thrones, the popular television series based on the books of G.R.R. Martin. I am a fan of both and am waiting for it anxiously. Just last week I saw on facebook the wonderful work of the talented Lisa Ramsammy (The Dollplace), who repainted a Tonner doll to make it look like Jon Snow - with incredible results. So I decided to look around a bit about more Game Of Thrones great repaints and I am happy to present them all here, with links to the websites of their talented creators, so that you can go ahead and see more of their amazing work and maybe order a doll that you crave. They were created for the Game Of Thrones project of The Repaint Society, where you can find more characrers from the series. Some are already for sale on ebay, others through the respective creator's website.

Jon Snow by Lisa Ramsammy - find her at The Dollplace.

Photo by Lisa Ramsammy

The Night's King by Lisa Ramsammy

Photo by Lisa Ramsammy

Tyrion Lannister by Laurie Leigh - find her at Beautiful Faces by Laurie Leigh

Photo by Laurie Leigh

Kal Drogo by Laurie Leigh

Photo by Laurie Leigh

Jaime Lannister by Susan Hook at My Immortals

Photo by Susan Hook

Ygritte by Susan Hook for My Immortals

Photo by Susan Hook

Cersei Lannister by Laurie Everton at Barbie Canvas

Photo by Laurie Everton

Missandei by Laurie Lenz at Angels Doll Studio

Photo by Laurie Lenz

Melisandre of Asshai by Aysun Kuzey of Kuzey Creations

Photo by Aysun Kuzey

W Club presents its first doll for 2016: Ooh La La! Poppy Parker

April 15, 2016

It was about time the W Club presented its first doll for this year - it's mid-April already! It is a Poppy Parker doll, clearly in the Bon Bon style of this year's line. Let's see the doll:

Item # PP101

Ooh La La!

Poppy Parker™ Gift Set

The Bonbon Collection

2016 W Club Exclusive

Limited Edition Size: TBA

Estimated Ship Date: Mid to Late Summer 2016

Special W Club Price: $150.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.

*A non-refundable deposit of $25.00 due immediately at pre-order, balance of $125.00 + shipping and handling (and tax for Maryland residents) due approximately Mid to Late Summer 2016.

Doll Tech Specs:

Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker™

Body Type: Poppy Parker™

Quick Switch Feature: No

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Platinum

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied

Poppy Parker is a 12-inch fully articulated vinyl fashion doll with a fully rooted hairstyle and hand-applied eyelashes. This gift set includes Poppy's mix-and-match separates, colorful bracelets and silver hoop earrings, her printed tote, two pairs of interchangeable hands, a pair of authentic cork wedgies, bright red slingback shoes and a doll stand, all packaged in a window box gift set. A numbered certificate of authenticity is also included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

I am glad I skipped the upgrade Poppy, as this is a much better doll, both in design (well done David Buttry) and as a complete offering. Her new eye screening is more mature and sexy, but so much better than previous efforts in this direction (IFDC, IT Convention). I love the platinum hair (it looks different than the silver of Mistress of Disguise). Her outfits look lovely and very versatile, the jewellery looks nice, except from the earrings. The bag is pure fun and the shoes are to die for - thankfully not another flat classic Poppy shoe in sight. I love the rockabilly vibe with just the right touch of French finesse and joie-de-vivre. Cannot wait to see how the rest of the line will look. And what about the numbered certificate? That is a first for Poppy as far as I know.

Pictures of prototype shown; final production colors and textures may vary slightly. Any staging props are not included. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2016 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. Poppy Parker is a trademark of Integrity Toys, Inc. All rights reserved. Graphics, photography and Layouts by Alain Tremblay Marketing.

Censorship on the Internet: how far can Mattel go to protect their interests?

April 15, 2016

A couple of days ago, I saw a post by a fellow doll collector on Facebook : it mentioned that a common friend and popular doll blogger, Ada - better known as Papusile Mele had been blocked on Facebook and could not post anything for the next few days. I soon discovered that she had been blocked by Mattel. The reason for this was that she had posted on her Facebook page a sneak preview photo of the upcoming Mattel Star Trek dolls.

That photo, showing three upcoming dolls from the Star Trek series (Spock, Kirk and Uhura in the likeness of the original actors), had been already posted in many Facebook groups, chat rooms and even some obscure online shops (Ada posted a Linkin to a Greek one!), so blocking her for posting it was a bit extreme - and without even warning her first or asking her politely to delete it, as would have been the proper way for Mattel to follow.

Companies have the right to restrict the use of their photos, especially of they are from unreleased products or have been made known to certain groups of people under condition of confidentiality and guidelines for their publication. That would be the case, for example, with photos of dolls send to W Club members by Integrity Toys or the Barbie Collector club and their sneak pics. From what I know about this particular case, this is not a sneak photo from a club etc., but a picture probably leaked online by someone with access to it.

So, however ridicule may sound to you, it is perfectly legitimate for Ada to post it, until Mattel asks her to pull it down. Which never happened. She got blocked for three days instead. Just like that. It sure does not look good for Mattel - it makes them look like a bully scaring people off. Which is exactly the opposite of what a company like it should be doing. Was it that hard to simply ask for the photo to be taken down? And the irony is that Ada is a genuine Barbie fan: her blog and Facebook page is a testament to that and a source of valuable information for Barbie collectors all over the world. It is ridiculous to attack people who support the doll industry like this, especially when they do better PR for their product that the company interested.

Shame on you Mattel.

All photos are courtesy of Mattel, from previous Star Trek releases.

Tonner One World Dolls to produce an Empire line of dolls

April 3, 2016

Tonner One World dolls have made their first joint move after their merge: they are going to release a limited edition of Empire dolls. The TV series Empire, if you have been living in a cave for the last 18 months, is a pop phenomenon, the most successful TV series in the US and a worldwide hit, a black soap opera taking place in the music industry, Much of the series'success is due to the incredible Taraji P. Henson (formerly of Person Of Interest), playing the sassy Cookie Lyon.

The company has reserved a website where one can sigh up for email releases regarding the dolls. So far there has been no information regarding which characters are making it in the line up and if they are going to have the actors' likeness or not. It's certain though that Cookie will be the star of the line as she is in the series. The welcoming email does not say much more:

Empire is one of the hottest show's on television and it is about to get even hotter! The Empire Collector Doll Series is in full development right now and we guarantee you are going to love these dolls!

Hand scuplted and designed by legendary doll designers, Robert Tonner and Stacey McBride-Irby, these one of a kind, limited edition works of art will leave you breathless and weill be a definite conversation piece.

For up-to-the minute details on what's new, what's coming next, promotions, collector's contests, all things EMPIRE and so much more; be sure to stay connected.

Cannot wait to see the dolls! Can we hope for a Naomi Campbell doll too (she guest stars in the series)?

UPDATE 14/4/2016: Tonner One World published sketches of the dolls and a photo (or good render) of the doll boxes: two Cookie dolls and one Lucious:

Barbie: exhibition dedicated to the iconic doll at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris

March 10, 2016

The venerable Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is mounting a breathtaking exhibition dedicated to Barbie. 700 dolls in 1,500 square meters along with objects from the museum and art works from contemporary artists that try and present the various aspects of "Barbie's lives". The show opens today and will be on display until the 18th of September. The opening fits right in with the Paris Fashion Doll Festival opening this Friday. The curator is Anne Monier, conservator at the department of toys in the museum and the set designer is Nathalie Crinière, who also designed the incredible Le Petit Théâtre Dior exhibition in 2014.

Catwalk set up with Silkstone dolls, evoking both similar set ups from Barbie Collector photo sets and old couture runway shows in France.

The exhibition is geared towards children and adults alike: it showcases both the iconic toy that spans so many generations and also the historical and sociological context of the various incarnations of Barbie. I think a trip to Paris is needed pronto. Check out the gorgeous set ups of the exhibition.