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[afinedoll]

So IG user opalescent.custom.dolls found the Rainbow High closet set and took a bunch of images of it in their stories. Before I was hesitant about the $60 price tag for this but seeing all the details on the clothing including the actual lace up jeans, the topstitching on the overall dress and the fact you can fit Avery's clothing rack in it as well is making me REALLY want this.

And asides from maybe the black t shirt and overall dress but every other piece looks like it could fit a Barbie sized doll.

#WANT

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I wonder if they can use Rements? Also I'm holding out for a Sherb and a Celeste and also a Jolly Redd...

あつまれ どうぶつの森　ともだちどーる　第2弾 (bandai)

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I have 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 and would love the rest but sadly this set is out of production and therefore monstrously expensive now.

Fairy Tale Tableware (2006)

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It’s done?  I have no idea if the instructions are any good…  I do plan to–eventually–make a video of me making one of these.

Edit–I just realized that nowhere did I indicate the back should be sewn from the hem to the point and open above that… (and I don’t feel like messing with that now.)

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May I just say that the term ‘doll needle’ up until fairly recently has mostly been used for making cloth dolls. It’s been used to refer to a big needle - like the above - that will go right through a very significant chunk of cloth and stuffing to attach limbs to the body, or to make features. I make cloth dolls occasionally and I use these needles then, it’s like upholstering with a doll.

Are long sewing needles the wrong size too?

Hrm. Well, I got these needles from Aliexpress on Friday and I don't think they will work for rerooting.

I don't think the photos really get across how huge these needles are compared to my regular one (that has a curve from use)

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Here’s the pattern!  This one was prompted by my own needs–the sheath skirt pattern I had made a few years ago was belly button Barbie body size, so juuuuusssst a bit too tight for the current “Original” size bodies, and when I’d actually remember to add a bit of width on the fly, the results…varied.

And then I wondered if it could be made Curvy size by simply adding a quarter inch to each side, and, yes, yes it could.

If you want both sizes without printing everything twice (and don’t want to hassle with cutting along the smaller lines without cutting away the larger size, which is…uh…probably what I’d do), I’d suggest tracing one of the sizes and using that copy for your second version of the pattern.

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The End

So for those of you who are still with me, thankyou both, but this is more or less the end of this blog. I got a smartphone to take pictures with, and a new laptop, and then found that transferring pictures from one to the other was so much of a goddamn production as to make it not really worth it, especially with how much Tumbr has failed out lately.

If I ever work out how to make this less of an ordeal I might be back, but in the meantime you can find out what I’m up to on my main Tumblr, and I’ll be posting my project stuff on my Twitter, https://twitter.com/MsHypothetical - I can upload photos to there straight from my phone! Imagine that!

So yeah. It’s been real. Lizout.

#bye

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I’ve been thinking of sewing a coat for my dolls, and yesterday I stumbled on  this free pattern. It looks really good (there’s a modified version with a hood too).

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My First Blythe - Kinda

My mother is scared of dolls. I will tell you the story eventually, but I wanna stay on track now. My mum’s fear of dolls is a bit of a problem for me, because 1) I am not the type of asshole who would wave a Bratzilla under her nose and go ‘OOOOH, IT’S GONNA GETCHA!’, and 2) I have over a hundred dolls now.

A couple of dolls, I also think are pretty creepy. I will not say which, exactly, for fear of inflaming tensions, but for a long time, Blythe was one of them. And then I didn’t get one because they were simply too expensive. And then I found someone selling what are undoubtedly knock-off Blythes on e-bay at a price I could afford (all I’m going to say is, I’m on lifetime disability in a country that loves austerity. I was never going to have a real Blythe anyway, was I?) - so I bought one. And a few things to dress her in. Wanna see? Well, let’s have a look!

She arrived nude. I’m not going to dwell on her body, since this Blythe is my first real transformation project and there is a fully-articulated body ready to go, but here she is. She’s really short - that is a J-doll stand, and the clip’s supposed to go around the J-doll’s waist.

Her hair is beautifully soft, but rooted so high up on her head and it’s so long, it’s impossible to handle, it tangles so easily - it was loose when she arrived but I had to do something to stop her hair instantly tangling up. First I did this but it didn’t help, so later I braided it. Her face is very, well, shiny, but I do like her expression, and then there’s her Eyes.

OK, that’s very bright, but not so bad. I with the pull-string was shorter, it kept getting tangled in her hair, but these things were sent to try us.

The colour might not be so bad here is she weren’t staring DIRECTLY AT ME. I said I wasn’t creeped out by Blythes anymore but she can still be a rather unsettling little doll.

OK YEAH AND THEN THERE’S THIS. I don’t like this at all. Honestly, I’m perplexed as to who thought this eye colour was a good idea, but I read somewhere that there was a miscommunication in development, which I suppose would explain it somewhat. Anyway, I bought new eye chips for her and till I get them switched out, she’s staying with brown.

She’s articulated at neck, shoulders, hips and waist,kind of like a twist-n-turn Barbie from back in the day - I got her a Pure Neemo body so she’s going to be fully articulated, and a new short wig because I finally got tired of handling all that hair, nice though it is.

I’ll go through the alteration in a seperate post. Here, though, I will show you some clothes I bought for her - unfortunately it’s been so long I’ve forgotten exactly where, but they are darling so you have to see.

Outfit one! I am in love with these cat dungarees. You’ve seen these boots before on MC2 Adrienne, they’re very useful and if I find them again I’ll get another pair in a different colour. I got the glasses from Amazon, and was very hard-pressed to choose which ones to get.

I really wish I had a dress like this in my size. If she were articulated she’d be able to put her hand in her pocket. Also, the white cable tights are the kind I wish I could buy more of in adult size too.

So you see my solution for keeping the Great Hair Mass out of the way? I made that headband. Anyway, those are leggings, not tights, I think they’re rather boss, but unfortunately as you can see, the sweaterdress is a tad too big, to the point that in the end I gave it to Fresh Mia.

And that is my Blythe! Next you see of her will be her new self, articulated and marginally less terrifying. My first transformation job - wish me luck!

#Blythe #1:6 scale #fashion dolls #Takara #dolls

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Hello!  Here is an absolute mess of a post that I hope you still find useful!

You should be able to right click and save the individual images.  The pattern piece images have the 1″ and 1cm marks so you can double check that they print at the correct size.  Do not choose “fit to page” when printing the pattern pages.  I think it should fit on A4 as well as letter-size paper!

The instructions are separated into “unlined” and “lined” sections, with each section being complete, so some things are repeated, which means you don’t have to search through the ‘unlined’ section when sewing the ‘lined’ version.

This was only barely edited–if anything is too terrible, please let me know!

(and I went with “no mention of the pattern it’s based on, but also no “DollsAhoy” anywhere, either)

Edit: I noticed a slightly imprecise choice of words on page two and have changed that and re-uploaded the corrected page here.  The change is from “Fold ¼”/6mm of the lower lining edge to the inside.” to “Fold ¼”/6mm of the lower lining edge to the wrong side.” in the lining instructions next to fig. 3, if you happen to have already printed it ^_^

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A New Technique

You know sometimes you look at pro doll makers - the kind that charge hundreds or even thousands of pounds for their dolls - and you think, ‘wooow, I wish I could make stuff like that’? Well, a little before Christmas I stumbled across the DeMuse dolls by Nigel Chia - or rather, the making of videos on YouTube.

And it didn’t make me think ‘oh wow, I wish I could do that’. I thought, ‘huh. I could do that’.

Let me make one thing clear - I don’t actually like the dolls themselves. It’s the faces, they’re really severe and sneery and I think if they were real people they’d probably not like me at all. I’m far too common. But that aside, we’re talking here about the lace applique technique he’s using for the dresses.

I have so much lace stashed away, you guys. So much lace in different colours and sizes and so many beads, I could do what Chia is doing here and honestly? So could any of you. I have in fact tried it. It is not hard, although it does take a certain amount of focus. Wanna see the result? Of course you do!

This dress started out as the simplest of simple pale pink shift dresses with a white floral print - I can’t even remember which version of this dress it is, I think it was originally sized for a Barbie, although it won’t close around her shoulders now, but it fits Adrienne here, and therefore also Momoko and Blythe too.

The lace was a chunky white fringe that I didn’t know what to do with and I think came free with a magazine - I cut the bubbly parts off and laid them diagonally across the front of the dress, and the top line along the bottom edge. The beading goes on last and of course takes longest, but there’s no special technique other than with the seed beads threading five or six on the needle, go down through the cloth, come up in the middle of the strand and stitch again through the last three on the thread. Watch the video and see how Chia does it, it’s easy.

Incidentally those adorable boots I bought from... someone on ebay who I can’t remember now for my knockoff Blythe doll which I will show you all once I have put her new eyes in. But I was delighted to discover that MC2 dolls fit Blythe clothes, and very surprised since they’re so much taller.

And that’s another thing I have been up to! Stay fine, everyone!

#stuff i made #Nigel Chia #doll clothes #MC2 dolls #Adrienne Atomms #1:6 scale

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EAH: Darling Charming

I haven’t done a doll review in a hot minute - let’s change that.

I’d wanted Darling Charming ever since I first saw the original promo photos. I mean, a fashion doll in armour; what’s not to love? Her backstory made me love her even more. The fact that she is destined to be a Damsel in Distress and has decided screw that, she’s going to be a knight - well, that appeals to this girl who was raised with The Paper Bag Princess and other such self-rescuing princesses.

And then I got my Darling! Isn’t she fab? Let’s take a look.

Before we continue, I’m just going to say that the cafe these photos were taken in has closed down now - RIP the Saker Cafe. But that’s how long Darling has been waiting to be shown to you lovely people, and she isn’t the only one either. Moving on.

As you can see, Darling is very lovely, with a very silver and pastel colour scheme - it almost puts me in mind of the trans flag, which is beginning to give me ideas... anyway. Let’s have a look at her accessories first, then her dress, then we can look at the girl herself.

Here’s her tiara, it goes without saying it was rubber-banded into her hair and it also goes without saying that I think the details need a lick of paint. But it’s nice it’s not all one colour. Darling’s primary motif is plate armour, yes, but hearts, plumes and gemstones also feature heavily - in some ways she’s one of the most princessy of the lot.

Her bag, which is different in the front...

And back. Plenty of filigree detail and a gem clasp, and yet it is apparently meant to be made of metal. Imagine getting belted round the head with this thing...

Her breastplate - actually what this is supposed to be is two parts of the plate armour, the gorget for the neck and the pauldrons for the shoulders, the necklace is just for decoration. But it’s all one piece here so I’m calling it a breastplate even though I’m wrong. Her breastplate fastens across the chest with the necklace and you can’t even see how once it’s closed, it looks great.

This is the back. As you see, more of the filigree that there was on the bag. Probably Darling gets her handbag from her armourer. I like how it looks consistently like medieval armour and like it could actually fit together realistically with buckles and all - even though we know it doesn’t.

Her belt is just that, a belt, and the cutouts at the side don’t appear to make a lot of sense, except that if you look at the picture at the top, you see that her stand is the same colour and fits exactly into the holes. Neat, huh? Less neat is the fact that she can’t really sit down with this on, but you can’t win ‘em all.

Now these I wish were painted, look at this detail. Also, if Darling is wearing metal high heels everywhere I bet she has calves like iron as well. Anyway, these are so pretty! But they’d be prettier in white and gold with pink frills and blue gems.

Now all that’s gone, we can see her dress. Note that the silver bodice and underskirt and blue metallic bolero have a very chain-mailley look and definitely contributes to the armour feel, but the pink and blue net overskirts and lace cuffs remind us all that this is still a princess we’re dealing with. This dress is all in one piece, although it looks like the bolero is seperate, but I don’t mind that. I can make Darling a plain silver shift dress if I want to, and probably will.

Before we move on, I do have to say that with all the accessories, our girl is sadly restricted and this armour would be very dangerous should she try to slay dragons in it, because she can only raise her arm this high while wearing her pauldrons. But note how well the stand fits into her belt. I did like that.

She doesn’t really need said stand, though. Like most EAH and MH dolls, she stands pretty well unaided.

As you see she has long blonde and blue hair just like Lagoona’s, but somehow I don’t think she swims as much as our lovely creature from the Black Lagoon. Given the wide variety of hair colours at Ever After High, she has an excuse.I think it’s supposed to be in fat ringlets, but honestly it fluffs out a bit much for that. I guess I could give it another go and try to tame it again but this kind of hair doesn’t have that good a record.

She has an even rounder case of the EAH moon face than Apple does, but now I’m used to it, I kind of like it. She’s very Versailles with that beauty mark and the pastel colour scheme, and the almost white hair. She doesn’t actually have white hair or skin but the blue highlights emphasise her pallor, and she is the White Knight now, after all.

I like the expression, I like how serene she looks, and the determined tilt to her brows. It’s OK, the White Knight has got this. I like it a lot better than the reboot Darling faces, which are alarmingly Stepford to me and look like they’re going to try and sell me some essential oils. But we’re getting off track. Note how the eye make-up is deceptively elaborate - pale blue underneath as well as on the lid, and a dark blue line across the crease, then a lovely lilac above that. She also has very thick lashes.

I don’t have either doll in my hand right now, but I think Darling has a slightly more pronounced profile than Apple - that could also be a forced perspective, though. Hmm, I think I will post Apple’s profile so we can compare. But it seems Apple has a very flat face by comparison, Darling’s features are way more definite, with a wider mouth, a more pointed nose and more of a gap between her eyes. The original Darling Charming was definitely her.

See? Very different.

And that’s Darling! I’m sorry it took so long to review her. I’m glad to see there are still people reading this blog. Incidentally I had a seizure on New Year’s Day so if there are typos and missed facts, that’s because my brain decided to flip the table with all my thoughts on it while I was still recovering from Christmas and it’ll be a while before I can collect and arrange my headspace again. Thanks for your patience!

#doll review #ever after high #darling charming #apple white #1:6 scale #Mattel #fashion doll

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Rement: Rilakkuma Nordic Kitchen

OMG this one’s adorable.

Look at this.

It’s all, so, what’s the word? Oh yes. Hygge.

I’m kind of hoping for the Princesstarte but really any of these would be great. Let’s see what I got!

Cinnamon pastries! Wonderful. Everything has the little bear on it, but as I’ve said before, it’s not as in-your-face as some of the other Sanrio properties, so I can live with that.

This is the card it comes with. Yellow pears, but it makes me think of lemons - in my mind pears are green. I guess we have different fruit varieties in this country.

The breadboard is covered in a print very similar to the pear card, only in red and there’s no actual pears. It’s pretty cute, it would look nice hanging on the wall in a modern kitchen.

Then there’s a mixing bowl to match. It looks nicely sturdy and practical, like it’s there to be cooked with and not just to look pretty.

And here is the dough that you can cook in it! Another winningly realistic Rement offering.

Set to prove, and wait.

Oh, dear, this picture didn’t turn out well. You can at least see what it is - a jar of cinnamon powder. The lid does not come off.

The lid does come off this one. Incidentally I finally have a smartphone now so there may be some better pictures coming - I can’t promise they all will be better since I still have a backlog of photos taken with my old digital camera, but oh well.

Add cinnamon to dough and what do you get? A cinnamon roll! You can just about see the bear face on this one but it’s otherwise very realistic.

Even with the bear face this cookie is very realistic and delicious looking. I would totally eat these both.

And here it all is together! What do you think of this set? I think it’s time for tea...

Stay fine!

#Rement #Rement Rilakkuma Nordic Kitchen #Rilakkuma #tiny food #1:6 scale

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What I’ve Been Working On!

I’ve been working on a lot of things over the winter, but we’ll start with what I was working on in the autumn - and also, may I introduce my new haunt, the Boardroom Cafe in Todmorden, where you can go and have a drink and play some games, it’s great and I love them. If you’re ever in the area come check them out.

So! First of all I was making wardrobe basics - leotards, more versions of the Shenanegans Sheath Dress, straight pants and long-sleeved shirts - the pants, shirts and leotards all come from the same pattern set by Debichiru, I believe? Anyway, this set of photos does not include all I got done; I’ll be sure to take some pics and show you.

Two of these were not originally meant for their wearers, but someone got careless with her seam allowances and fabric weights. It happens. Twyla looks way better in that shade of blue than Duchess Swan would anyway, but I do think it’s a shame about the skirt - it would have looked incredible on Clawdia. The silver leotard is eventually going to be part of a stage outfit for Catty so I’m very glad it fits her as well as it does.

These pants are not part of that stage outfit - give me credit, I know how a pop star dresses, there’s going to be way more sequins and pink fun fur involved. But I has this rather sweet flower print lying around (that turned out to fray like a mofo and be a bitch to sew) and now it is a nice pair of slim pants. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Ever After High girls had so much more in the trunk I would give them to Duchess, but for now Catty can keep them.

This gold leotard was going to go with the skirt that Oppy’s wearing in the top picture - wouldn’t it have looked amazing? Unfortunately it just didn’t fit. Check your sizes and then check them again, folks. Anyhow, instead Clawdia gets this pair of ‘jeans’ - actually it’s denim-print cotton but you all know about the jeans-print bedspread by now. I decided to dig out my embroidery chops for this one and I’m rather pleased with the result.

I rather like how this turned out - I’m especially pleased with the itty bitty box pleats on the edging - but for all it looks so sweet on Apple, it’s not for her. It can’t ever be for her. It simply does not close in the back. Oh, well, there will be other cute skirts, but sadly not in this print.

The black brocade skirt again, and more of the useful denim print - this time as a long shirt with long sleeves and appliqued pockets, and a green bias binding belt and collar. Just a note - bra buckles are great for this kind of thing.

OK, that’s enough for now, although I do have a lot left to show off. Also you may have noticed that I was keeping dolls out of the modelling rotation until after I’d reviewed them - it was a hassle and I’m not going to do that anymore. There are several dolls here that are new to the blog, newest to me is Clawdeen from the Sisters set - I got the Howleen too, although not a complete set, but the dolls are the important thing and I’ll be reviewing them eventually regardless.

Anyway, it’s good to be back! Happy new year, and stay fine!

#Monster High #Stuff I Made #Doll Clothes #1:6 #Clawdeen Wolf #Clawdia Wolf #Operetta #Catty Noir #Apple White

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A New Year - Time To Try Again

Well, Tumblr took a nosedive and this blog sort of went with it, mainly because the damn stupid AI would inevitably decide that pictures of nude dolls were obscene and block my posts. But Instagram was lacking, Twitter was lacking and no immediate alternative presented itself.

So it’s a new decade, and I’m going to try again, AI be damned. I’ll make a cursory effort to fly under the radar but otherwise continue as normal - since Tumblrgeddon I’ve tried a ton of new things and bought a whole load of new dolls, besides the ones I already had that I hadn’t got around to showing you.

My stepdad moved to Bulgaria and gave me some cash, so I bought all seven BTS dolls and oh boy do I have PLANS for them, insert evil laughter here - also may I say I know absolutely nothing at all about this band or the real people, they are only dolls to me, so please don’t send the Army after me if I put a foot out of line.

Anyway. That said, I’ve got some posts to write! See you in the coming year. Stay fine!

#news post #BTS dolls #tumblrgeddon #new start

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look whos fully articulated now!! i picked up fashionista 121 a couple days ago at target and as i was browsing on instagram i noticed a post by ‘aminifullife’ and how she articulated hers and well, i instantly had to do that but with a few changes, watch her video here

so mine is on an AA made to move soccer player and i essentially had to saw the thigh off and disconnect it from the rotating joint and use the ‘ring’ of thigh to help the prosthetic leg connect properly with no gaps, lots of dremmeling and sawing later i got it to properly fit, if you do this and not just the tutorial, please PLEASE be careful

i also wanted her ankle to be articulated so after popping out the foot of the made to move i cut off the foot on the prosthetic and drilled in a hole to allow the peg of the made to move to fit and simply carved it to match the curve of the other ankle to sit properly so one leg wasnt longer than the other

with all the work i did going back and forth measuring, drilling, dremmeling, ect. she took several hours but it was worth it to me, so meet Josephine!

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So I was finally able to get the last dolls I wanted from the major July doll releases, it was very, very frustrating (one backordered Target order, one backordered Amazon order, one part of a Target order that shipped, but seems like it will never arrive (it has changed arrival dates no less than six times - and still hasn't arrived), four cancelled in store pickups - only for me to find them on the shelf at random times and two different Targets - despite only two of them being "in stock, in store" based on Target's app...

Anyways, that being said, originally I only wanted two of the BTS boys initially (so I could get the rest on sale hopefully), but due in part to impatience, the face sculpts actually being pretty decent in person, and also quality control, I went ahead and got four. I'll explain more why later on.

So what do I have to say, and what is my opinion of the dolls themselves?

Well their hair is styled surprisingly well and isn't rock hard. That being said, it does feel like their is gel in their hair. I don't think their hairstyles will hold up well to play, however, because one of my boys already has flyways from laying his head flat. A note on their hair, however, if you want V, I suggest purchasing him in store. I wasn't not going to purchase him initially (I only wanted RM and Jungkook), but all of the V's I saw had QC issues with their hair. For whatever reason, Mattel chose to paint his scalp black despite his hair being pale yellow and pale pink. Due to the way texture of his hair, you could see his black scalp on all the dolls I could find. I got the one with the least amount of black showing, but I have not tried fixing this yet.

Their articulation is pretty standard, the agreement seems to be that this body was based/is the same as the MH boys reboot body. The 2015 copyright on their backs also somewhat confirms this. There are some very minor edits that can be made to all for much more expression, see below:

If you carve a little bit out of their upper arm at the interior part of the elbow, they can bend to an acute angle. If you trim a tiny bit off the top of the back part of their calf where the joint meets, their knees can bend to 90 degrees, and if you shave off a little right under their armpit (on both the back side of the arm and the torso), you can make their arms lay flatter. I may mod this area a little more because I really wish they could lay completely flat.

Their faces are... Interesting... We all know that Mattel switched to a new screening style this year, but this one is even more different. It honestly looks like what is called UV Printing in my industry, it is honestly a type of printing that should never be used for details this small. The result is an image that not only appears pixelated, but also textured. I tried my best to take a photo.

I suspect they did this to cut costs, but honestly I have never wanted to repaint a stock faceup so badly. Their lips look all bumpy... That being said, I saw very few screening issues and all of their faces looked pretty good.

Next up is the clothing. Their outfits come in 2-3 pieces. Some shirts are separate, but most, I have found, are not.

Which is a shame because RM's polka dot shirt is really cute!! Surprisingly though, they did go the extra length to hem the bottom and backside of the shirts that are built into the jackets.

Also worth noting, Jimin's tie (the other one I purchased unexpectedly, but primarily because I think his face/sculpt is one of the cutest out of the bunch and I didn't want to wait) is not only a functional tie, but is also sewn like an actual tie which was surprising to me. I do not think it will hold up well to children redressing, but as a detail, it is a very nice one, though I doubt I will ever be able to retie it.

So what are my thoughts?

Overall the dolls are decent quality and some minor editing makes them moreso. I really wish Mattel wouldn't have used that printed, satin-y fabric they always use, but honestly that is what I expected. I also wish their screening was different. I don't mind the stock faces, but the quality is below that even of the $7-$10 Fashionistas. I understand why they are $20, the full 13 points of articulation (not 11 as all the Mattel listing state), actually styled and rooted hair, and decent likenesses are solid selling points (and also there is no telling how much Mattel spent on licensing these - especially because they are real people and not characters), but the cut costs in the screening and odd clothing choices are disappointing.

My personal opinion is this, I would gladly pay $2-$3 more for better screening/actual separate shirts, but honestly I think $20 is pretty fair if only for full articulation the hair being so nicely coiffed. It is so rare we get boy dolls with such good hair (granted I know their hair is a little different from the music video, but dang if it doesn't look good in this doll iteration at least). Would I have liked them to be cheaper? Of course! It would be nice if they were $15 so you could get them all for just over $100 ($105 + tax for those who are counting), but $20 isn't too bad in this case.