More Friends Forever Club -- Updated

Additional Friends Forever Club dolls

I returned to Dollar Tree and purchased the above Friends Forever Club dolls and the purple wardrobe. The additional items are described in the following video.

My original post about Friends Forever Club dolls included the flaw/con about Carina's painted-blue arms. I noticed that Alanis' upper arms (to represent short sleeves) are also painted. If desired, the arms can be repainted to match the dolls' complexions or, you can try removing the paint. However, this is not an option for me because I'm afraid the color of the dolls' skin tone will be removed, too. I won't paint their arms either, at least not for now.

Here is the link to my first post about Friends Forever Club dolls.

Addendum... later the same day, I opened up the wardrobe and recorded the following video.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

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Friends Forever Club Dolls at Dollar Tree

The faint blue rectangle marks the Friends Forever Club Dolls seen at Dollar Tree.

In a recent Doll Chat Club Zoom meeting, two members shared their Dollar-Tree-found Friends Forever Club dolls. I had seen one online a few weeks ago, which prompted a visit to Dollar Tree, but the dolls were not in stock at that time.

 

After the Doll Chat Club meeting, I returned to Dollar Tree last week. Lo and behold, the racks were well stocked with four different dolls, four different fashions, and a purple wardrobe. I was told about a playground for the dolls, but it was not in stock at the time of my visit.

The dolls' backstory, from the back of the blister card reads:

On a field trip to the Science Center, a group of incredible girls becomes best friends. While discovering their uniqueness and celebrating their special connection, they create a bond that will last a lifetime. Whether at summer camp, attending school, playing sports, or relaxing at home, this gifted friend group embraces all aspects of life with each other by their side. Join the adventures of Alanis, Viera, Carina, and Iha as they become the Friends Forever Club. 

The first picture in this post and the next five were taken at Dollar Tree. Photos of the things I purchased for $1.25 each are then followed by an examination of an unboxed doll, a size comparison with another doll, and finally redressing.

More Photos Taken at Dollar Tree:

Alanis (top) and Carina (below) are in this photo taken at Dollar Tree.

Alanis' blister card reads: Alanis has a passion for technology! She loves playing video games, building toy robots and drones, and playing soccer. When she grows up she dreams of becoming a Computer Engineer and maybe an online influencer. 

Carina's bio reads: Carina has a passion for Space! She loves stargazing and studying Astrology. When she grows up she dreams of becoming an Astronaut and exploring the galaxy.

This is Iha. 

The front of Iha's blister card reads: Iha has a passion for the sea. She loves fishing, collecting seashells, and trinkets at the beach, and baking cookies. When she grows up she dreams of becoming a Marine Biologist so she can learn everything about the ocean.

Pink-haired Viera's blister-card bio reads as follows:

Viera has a passion for crystals and gemstones! She loves making art, being outdoors, and adding more crystals and gemstones to her growing collection. When she grows up she dreams of becoming a Mineralogist and Geologist. 

These are the four separately packaged fashions that I saw at Dollar Tree.

Finally, at Dollar Tree, I saw this purple wardrobe. Made of vinyl, both front sides open. There are four storage compartments inside with room to store at least one doll and a few clothes and accessories.

Attributes:

Made of soft but firm vinyl, the dolls are 4 inches tall and jointed in the usual five places (head, upper arms, and upper legs at the hip). They have detachable vinyl wigs, vinyl clothing and shoes, and large painted eyes. Carina's glasses are removable. The separately-sold fashions are made of fabric. 

What I Purchased:

I purchased two Carinas, one Alanis, and the four different fashions. (I thought I put two Alanis dolls in my cart, but there was only one when I arrived home.)

Closer, full-view photo of Carina and Alanis

The back of each doll's blister card includes an illustrated headshot of each doll, a description of how the doll characters met, and a collectible card about the doll to cut out, collect, and share.

The four fashions are shown above.

The fashions include:

• A pink/white/and green plaid suspender skirt and white blouse
• A dress with a purple skirt and pink heart-print bodice
• A lacy yellow strapless sundress
• A pink satin strapless dress with gold netting overlay on the skirt

None of the packaged fashions included shoes or other accessories.

I deboxed one of the Carina dolls to examine her more closely.

A Closer Look At Carina

Carina can stand alone without the assistance of a doll stand. She and the other dolls have gripper hands. The clothes, as mentioned are vinyl and removable.

Carina's black-frame eyeglasses are removable.

Her purple Converse-style high-top sneakers are removable.

The two-piece vinyl top snaps closed in the back. The shorts have a back slit to aid in putting on and taking off.

In this picture, Carina's brown sculpted two-Afro-puff wig that has sculpted "baby hair" has been removed.

A hole in the top of the head, where the crown would normally be, accommodates a raised circular connector underneath the wig.

I believe the dolls can swap wigs. They can swap clothes and shoes (and for that reason alone, it's worth purchasing the entire set of four—silly me).

All removable parts have been removed.

Con: The manufacturer chose to paint Carina's arms blue to match the color of her clothes, which will look odd when the doll is dressed in one of the extra fashions. This is illustrated in a photo later. If the collector desires, painting the arms to match the doll's complexion is an option. 

Height Comparisons, Clothes Swapping, and Redressing

Carina is slightly shorter than 5-1/2-inch Tamika (friend of Kelly).

Carina can wear Tamika's dress and shoes. Do you see how strange the blue-painted arms look when the doll wears other short-sleeved clothes? Tamika can wear one of the extra fashions that I purchased, and she can wear Carina's sneakers.

Tamika cannot wear Carina's vinyl fashion.

The vinyl top does not fully snap closed in the back and the shorts cannot extend above Tamika's butt or waist.

Carina and card

Carina is shown in the final photo above with the front of the bio card visible. The doll's bio is on the flip side of the card.

Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

My Life As Mini School Girl

My Life As School Girl Mini

Prior to checking locally, I found the school girl and other My Life As (MLA) mini dolls available at Walmart online.

In addition to the mini school girl, other MLA minis available include:  Baker, Outdoorsy Girl, and Cowgirl.

To avoid incurring shipping charges or having to spend $50 to qualify for free shipping, I made a trip to Walmart before ordering online.  I am very happy I visited the store when I did because the one I purchased was the only mini school girl there.

Mini School Girl, is the 7-inch, all-vinyl version of the 18-inch MLA School Girl.  The 18-inch version, which used to be manufactured by Madame Alexander, is now produced by Cititoy as a Walmart exclusive.   The brand now includes two school boys:  one with a curly 'fro and a straight-haired brunette.   There have been several different 18-inch MLA school girls.  One was featured in a Walmart Christmas commercial last year.  Their 18-inch size has prohibited the larger dolls from entering my collection, but there's always room for a 7-inch or under mini.

Box attachment looks like pieces of a train track.

Because she was rubber band attached to two train track-looking plastic holders on the back of the box, it was a snap to free her.

She wears a cute school girl outfit of white short-sleeved shirt with black ribbon bow at neck and blue/red/yellow plaid skirt made of a wool-like material and black knee-high boots.

Brief comparisons with American Girl mini Melody and Madame Alexander's Travel Friends Kenya are shared below:

Comparison with Melody:

School Girl stands a half inch taller than Melody.  They both are all vinyl and wear removable white undies.   Melody has white knee-high socks.  School Girl has none.  School Girl has brown stationary eyes with painted upper and lower eyelashes.  Melody's brown eyes are painted.  Both have closely rooted hair.  I like the curly texture of School Girl's hair which is worn up in a puff held back with a black headband.  Melody has straight rooted hair with bangs and flipped ends.

Can they borrow clothing and shoes? was a question I wanted answered:

As illustrated in the above two photos, these two can borrow shoes if School Girl wears Melody's shoes without socks.  I wouldn't try allowing School Girl to borrow Melody's dress because it is a "stretch" to get the Velcro closed in back and pulling and tugging on the material to do so may stretch or weaken some of the woven tweed-like fibers of Melody's dress.  Melody can wear School Girl's clothes, but the waist of the skirt is a little big.  (She can pull it off, however.)

Comparison with Travel Friends Kenya

Like Kenya, School Girl is all vinyl.  School Girl's vinyl is more supple than Kenya's.  School Girl is not jointed, whereas Kenya is.  Kenya has white painted-on undies.  Kenya's brown eyes, like Melody's, are painted.  There is a close-up of their faces below, but first let's look at them together side-by-side, and then back-to-back.

Height comparison:  Both dolls are described as 7-inches tall.  School Girl's hair might give her an appearance of being slightly taller, but it's just an illusion.

They tried each other's shoes on for size.  As you can see in the photo above, School Girl's heel hangs off the back of Kenya's red flats.  Kenya, however, can wear School Girls black boots.

School Girl can wear Kenya's shirt and skirt, but not her leggings or shoes.  Kenya can wear School Girl's complete outfit.  Like it was on Melody, the waist of the skirt is a little big on Kenya.

Before returning to their own clothes, these two took one final close-up photo.  School Girl has a sweet face and I like her acrylic eyes much better than the painted-on or decaled eyes used for Kenya and Melody.  School Girl's short curly hair is a refreshing look, too.  For $9.88, I am quite pleased with her.  Here's hoping extra clothes will be added for the MLA minis soon.

Check out another blogger's review of School Girl and and a comparison with other dolls here.

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Speaking of doll clothes, while at Walmart I was hoping to find a few extra Sparkle Girlz 11-1/2-inch doll fashions.  Of the few that were available, I only found two interesting enough to purchase.  The one on the far left is my favorite (a black floral sleeveless blouse and houndstooth pencil skirt).  If I am not mistaken, the fabric used for the pink and black striped tunic was used a couple of years ago on a different Sparkle Girlz fashion that I already have, but for $1.97, I thought a dress alike day with a couple of dolls might work using the newer fashion and the older.







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Check out my eBay listings here.

Cute as a Button by Cheryl Hill

A brochure from Ashton-Drake arrived recently that I almost discarded before noticing these cute brown mini babies by Cheryl Hill.  It may be my monitor, but in the brochure they appear more brown than portrayed in the website images. 

Miniature babies by Cheryl Hill for Ashton-Drake, click to enlarge

In any shade of brown, their prototype images are indeed as "Cute as a Button," the name given to the first in this series of mini babies.  Others include "Sweet as Honey,"  in yellow and "Gentle as a Lamb," in blue.  Whether or not the actual dolls will look like their prototypes is unknown.  Ashton-Drake has failed at replicating some artists' sculpts in the past. 

No longer a baby-doll collector with a preference for non-sleepers, I still enjoy seeing cute doll portrayals of babies.  At only 5 inches and poseable, one of these might be a consideration.  We shall see.


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