Who Does This Doll Look Like?

The postman met me with two packages this afternoon after I returned from picking up Grandson #2 from school.  I immediately recognized the Ashton-Drake logo'd box and knew it contained my long-awaited, First Lady of Style Michelle Obama doll.  The other box was non-doll related.  After entering the house, I had to decide if I wanted to open "my" box or wait until I returned from picking up grandson #1 from school. 

I couldn't wait.  I knew it would not matter to Grandson #1 if I were a few minutes late picking him up.  This would give him more time to fellowship with his classmates in the secure, teacher-supervised setting.

After retrieving a sharp kitchen knife, I opened the box and was met with immediate disappointment.  "This doesn't look like Michelle Obama... it barely looks like Ashton-Drake's prototype."  I closed the box and drove the 10 miles minutes where Grandson #1's chatter about one of his Diary of a Wimpy Kid books ended.  During the drive to get him, I decided I would share pictures here to allow potential buyers to make an informed opinion using actual photographs.  

After returning home, I removed the doll from the box to examine her with greater attention to detail and to photograph. The results of the examination and photos follow:

Pros:

• The face is indeed beautiful.
• I like the wig and its style.
• The dress is nice (although I would have preferred silk lining over one made of white jersey knit).
• As illustrated in the first image, the eyes and arched eyebrows are similar to FL Michelle Obama's, but that's where the similarities end.

Cons:

• The exposed joints make her look like a glamorous and very tall action figure.
• My doll's left elbow joint is frozen -- her arm will not bend in this area as it should... at all.
• The wrists and ankles are not tapered.  She has wrankles and cankles!
• The ankles are jointed, but her feet can only move from side to side.
• The shoes are not a proper fit, especially the left shoe.  After working with it for a few minutes, I was able to get the shoe to remain on her foot, but the toe of the shoe curls up.
• Her manicure has paint rubs.  I didn't bother to examine her pedicure as that would have required removing her black "silk" hose.

Since the cons outweigh the pros and because this particular doll is flawed, her time here is limited.  For $129.99 the doll needs to be:  #1 flawless, and #2 needs to look more like the First Lady if not exactly.

I am keeping hope alive that Franklin Mint's Michelle Obama Official White House Portrait Doll will be "the one" I keep. 

Oh... while editing the images used for this blog, my non-doll-collecting daughter arrived to pick up her boys.  "Diana Ross?" was her puzzled reply to my question, "Who does this doll look like?"  After I laughed at her answer she said, "Michelle Obama... I said Diana Ross because of her gown." 

Who does this doll look like to you?

Glamorous action figure

Pretty face

She looks like someone, but I can't figure out who.

Nice wig from the front and back

The nail polish/paint rubs may not be visible in this image (click to enlarge), but they are there.

The left elbow joint is frozen -- note the nontapered wrists. 

Cankles and curled-toe shoes

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