Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Poppy As Sabrina: Most Sophisticated



I was able to snap off a few shots of the Poppy Parker as "Sabrina" line last night. Today's post shows a few poses from the "Most Sophisticated" set. I've never seen the movie, but as a lover of classic films, I recognize many of the outfits that Poppy wears in this set from the iconic Audrey Hepburn black and white publicity stills.

On the plus side: the use of the Poppy sculpt is a vast improvement over the face used in the "Breakfast at Tiffany's" line by Integrity. Poppy's sweet and innocent face is a better match to Audrey's image.



The outfits fit perfectly, and the accessories are out of the ballpark. The luggage (which actually opens!), the dog and leash, the purse...wow! So many possibilities for photographs!



I'm not a huge fan of the sculpt for Poppy's hands; the fingers look a little claw like...but on the plus side, I love the way that they can actually hold objects without having to use glue dots. The french manicure is a nice touch too on those tiny nails!

Overall, I highly recommend this set!

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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Animal Magnetism Photo Shoot



Tonner's first Marilyn Monroe 16" doll has arrived and now officially been photographed! Based on a scene from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953)...



this doll shows the outfit Marilyn wore when her very young suitor (played by George Winslow) told her, "You’ve got a lot of animal magnetism."



On the plus side...I love the articulation, rooted hair, the outfit, and the jewelry. Wow, the jewelry is amazing and extremely faithful to what Marilyn wore in the film!



Unfortunately, the doll itself just does not capture Marilyn. Here is an unretouched shot of the doll:



And with some retouching; I widened the mouth, raised the eyebrows, and did my best to soften her sculpted face. It seems that Tonner's artists went for a thinner and more sexy Marilyn. A large part of Marilyn's charm was her soft innocent nature.



Another before and after shot:



Even with some retouching, the doll misses the mark. I believe the sculpt would have to be redone to get a closer resemblance.



Before:



After:



The Franklin Mint's Marilyn sculpt perfectly captured Marilyn Monroe's beauty and vulnerability. I love it!



Do be careful if you decide to put the Tonner outfit on Franklin Mint's Marilyn; it is a VERY TIGHT fit. The dress won't hook in the back, and the jacket had to be coaxed to hook in the front.



This gorgeous outfit fits much better on Gene Marshall.





In terms of screen accuracy, the Tonner outfit blows away the version that Ashton Drake did years back for Gene. I do have to give very large kudos to Integrity; the body they did for Gene is one of the best articulated/poseable bodies done. Tonner's doll legs pretty much suck; they don't rotate at all, making model-type poses impossible.



Here's the Tonner version again, mixing the almost fatal drink that Marilyn was mixing up in the film.



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Friday, June 1, 2012

Marilyn is on her way!



What could be a better way to celebrate Marilyn's birthday (today) than to know that she is on the way to my house?!? Can't wait for her to arrive so that I can photograph her. Wow...my first articulated Marilyn! Stay tuned...



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More Cocoa Crisp



I wasn't crazy about the Integrity Genes vs. the Ashton-Drake Genes until I saw Cocoa Crisp. By far, she is my very favorite Jason Wu/Mel Odom collaboration, and that goes for both the doll itself and the outfit. I did another shoot with her (it was time to revisit!) last week. Here are the results.







Follow my Gene Marshall, Madra Lord, Zita Charles, Violet Waters, Trent Osborn, Poppy Parker, and other classic movie star doll updates on Twitter. See more Gene Marshall doll photos on my Gene Marshall doll web page.