ÿþ<html> <title>Paper Doll Dress-Up Kit</title> <meta content="Mark Patraw" name=Author> <meta content="A pictoral review of Greenbrier International's Paper Doll Dress-Up Kit, by Mark Patraw." name=Description> <meta content="Paper Doll Dress-Up Kit,Greenbrier International,toys,action figures,dolls,Mark Patraw." name="Keywords"> </head> <center><b><font size=7>Paper Doll Dress-Up Kit</font></b> <br> <i>(Produced by Greenbrier International, Inc.)</i> <br> <br> A toy review by Mark Patraw <br> <i>Posted on 8/19/13</i></center> <br> <br> <center><b><font size=5><u>Packaging</u></font></b></center> <br> The paper doll comes in a simple transparent plastic bag. It measures about 6.0 inches (15.2 cm) in width and 10.6 (27.0 cm) in height. It's also very slim, as most of the components are naturally 2-dimensional, although the clothes stand/hangers and sequins/stickers do create a slight bulge. All the text is multi-lingual (English and French), a good indicator that these paper dolls are probably being sold in Canada (and Quebec in particular) in addition to the U.S.A. The paper insert in the front has several images of your doll in a variety of clothing combinations, and I should note that the company went the extra mile to provide different graphics for the two different dolls the store had, which is a nice attention to detail (the other one was a blonde if I remember right). The back gives you a clear view of some of the clothing and the alternate hair piece, as well as the smaller plastic bags containing the sequins, double-adhesive foam sticker pads, and the disassembled clothes stand with its hangers. All-in-all it's an attractive design, isn't any bigger than it needs to be (a lesson that many toy manufacturers never seem to learn), and gives you a clear idea of what you're getting for your dollar. You might want to inspect yours carefully in the store, because the first one I picked out had a large vertical slice in it (probably an unintentional mishap when an employee used a box cutter to open up and unpack the case), which I was fortunate enough to notice before I purchased it. I'd also recommend that you hang onto the plastic bags instead of throwing them away and/or recycling them, because they're a great place to store all the components when you're done playing dress-up. <br> <br> <center><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_moc_front_zpsc9816b38.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_moc_back_zps916f063f.jpg~original" border=3></center> <br> <br> Opening the bag is pretty simple, as the flap, on the bottom, is sealed with a relatively weak adhesive; no scissors necessary. Inside you'll find two perforated sheets of thin cardstock with the doll and her clothing/accessories printed on them and two smaller plastic bags, one containing the three pieces of the clothes stand and six hangers (well, the packaging lists six, I got lucky and received seven), the other has the 42 sequins and 42 double-sided adhesive pads (two sheets, with 21 pads on each). <br> <br> <center><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_contents_zpsdac7a734.jpg~original" border=3></center> <br> <br> I was a bit surprised that there were no instructions of any sort to be found on the exterior, or interior, of the packaging. Now, paper dolls are admittedly pretty self-explanatory, but children might have benefitted from a simple diagram or two. <br> <br> <center><b><font size=5><u>Paper Doll and Her Clothes/Accessories</u></font></b></center> <br> The thin card stock has a nice, glossy finish (it looks great in person, but it sure doesn't want to play nice with my camera's flash!) and all the colors are vibrant. It seems to me like the doll and her accessories were designed with a computer art program, rather than drawn by hand, as they have that smooth, photoshopped look to them. Her unmodified appearance consists of a white strapless bra and panties and feathered, shoulder-length brunette hair. The doll has two pre-cut slits in her waist, one in her left shoulder, two where her shoulders and hair meet, and another pair in her hair, on either side of her face, to accommodate the addition of various pieces. Everything pops out of the perforated sheets pretty easily, but I'd take your time all the same, as you don't want to accidentally tear anything by being hasty. <br> <br> <center><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_sheet1_zps5cb97041.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_sheet1_empty_zps6ddc22cd.jpg~original" border=3></center> <br> Here's a breakdown of all the stuff you get to customize her with. My apologies if I'm describing/classifying some of these things incorrectly, as I'm a guy, so, I'm not particularly knowledgeable about women's clothing. <br> <br> <center><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_parts_zpscee01cf9.jpg~original" border=3> <br> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_stickers_sequins1_zps28dbadfc.jpg~original" border=3></center> Wigs: <br> <li>An alternate long, wavy cut.</li> <br> Tops: <br> <li>A leopard-print bikini top with red straps.</li> <li>A red tanktop (while I know that wasn't the intent, to me, the white lines drawn on this makes it look like she has two pairs of breasts!)</li> <li>A black strapless top with a nice gold floral pattern.</li> <li>A frilly sparkling blue dress with a dangling sash.</li> <li>A white, blue, and yellow cheerleader tanktop with "Dancing" written across the chest.</li> <br> Bottoms: <li>Gray and blue capris.</li> <li>Baggy red pants (very Arabian Nights in my opinion).</li> <li>A leopard-print mini-skirt with a red belt.</li> <li>A short light blue cheerleader skirt with yellow and blue trim.</li> <br> Footwear: <br> <li>A pair of white and blue sneakers with red trim around the laces worn over white socks with blue polkadots.</li> <li>A set of yellow pumps with red bows on the toes.</li> <li>Two red sandals with straps running up the ankles.</li> <br> Accessories: <br> <li>Two light blue cheerleader pom-poms.</li> <li>A black pair of sunglasses.</li> <li>Forty-two metallic sequins, and circular stickers to attach them with, to spice things up.</li> <br> <br> That's a pretty good assortment of items to mix-and-match, but I would have liked at least one more hair variation (ponytail or pigtails maybe?) and some more hand accessories, the most obvious choice being a purse. <br> <br> Well, with all that out of the way, this is probably what you've been waiting for, dress-up! <br> <br> <center><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll06_zpsdc958d12.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll05_zpsc909e2f3.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll02_zps26a49d7f.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll03_zps94a48158.jpg~original" border=3> <br> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll04_zps18cef197.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll07_zpsbcce9cfb.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll09_zps7436e1b3.jpg~original" border=3> <br> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll10_zps76462d00.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll11_zps5ff52c75.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll12_zps274a4e84.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_doll08_zpsf07e610c.jpg~original" border=3></center> <br> I think the sequins look best as jewelry. While I'm sure they're quite functional, I didn't feel like messing with peeling, and removing, stickers, so I just orientated the doll horizontally and arranged the sequins on top of her, which made adding/removing them and cleaning up afterwards pretty quick and easy. <br> <br> The only two downsides I see to this toy are (1) there's nothing in the set to make the doll stand on her own (other than leaning her up against the clothes stand), and (2) paper being paper, it will eventually wear out if you play with her a lot (the arms on the sunglasses were already starting to show signs of wear after the photo shoot). <br> <br> <center><b><font size=5><u>Clothes Stand & Hangers</u></font></b></center> <br> The clothes stand components and hangers are all molded in hot pink plastic (while I'm fully aware that hue is the de facto standard for girls' toys, I would have preferred a more realistic color, like black, white, or silver, for these items). The two "legs" of the stand snap into the feet, and the center bar slots into the tops of the two legs. Fully assembled, it's 4.4 inches (11.2 cm) wide and 6 inches (15.2 cm) tall. Be aware that you may find some leftover plastic flash (an undesirable byproduct of the molding process) on some of your pieces. This can be removed fairly easily with nail clippers and/or a bit of light sanding (I used an emery board). In particular, pay attention to the pegs/holes, because, chances are, if they have flash on them, you won't be able to get them to go together properly. I had to sand down the flash on both ends of the center, horizontal bar in order to get the pegs to slide smoothly into their respective holes. Whatever you do, don't force something if it doesn't want to go, as the thin plastic will surely snap if you exert too much pressure. <br> <br> As an added bonus, you can also use these as accessories for actual dolls and their material clothing, if you have any in this scale. <br> <br> <center><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_stand1_zpsb1f866a4.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_stand2_zps9c2a25d1.jpg~original" border=3> <br> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_stand3_zpse13ccc2c.jpg~original" border=3> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/kramwartap/kramwartap002/MISC_paperdoll_stand4_zpsb9fb104a.jpg~original" border=3> <br> <i>It took a long time to get that shot with all the clothes on the hangers set up--they kept bumping one another and falling off!</i></center> <br> <br> Oh, and one last thing, this set doesn't actually come with any of the dresses that are shown hanging from the hangers on the front of the package. <br> <br> <center><b><font size=5><u>Cost and Value</u></font></b></center> <br> I only paid a buck for this, plus six cents sales tax, at the local Dollar Tree store (where everything and anything in the establishment can be had for a portrait of George Washington), which is more than fair. It would have been nice to get a third sheet with even more clothing/accessorization options, but I can easily make my own, or buy the other doll they had, to expand her wardrobe. What really "sold" me on this item in the store was the clothes stand and hangers-- the inclusion of some 3-dimensional, plastic elements helps elevate this toy above the notion that "it's just paper". <br> <br> Paper dolls are pretty easy to find (I've seen tons of them online that you can download and print off for free--just type "paper doll" in the search engine of your choice) or make yourself, if you're artistically inclined, so, from that standpoint, one could argue that buying one is a waste of money. But, if you're looking for a fun, simple activity that doesn't take much time or effort, this fits the bill. <br> <br> <center><b><font size=5><u>For Parents</u></font></b></center> <br> Due to the small parts, the manufacturer does not recommend this item for children under 3 years of age. Younger children might also need assistance with punching out the pieces and assembling the clothes stand. <br> <br> <br> <table align=center width=75% cellpadding=5> <tr> <td width=50% bgcolor=black> <center><font size=6 color=lime><b>PROS</b></font></center> </td> <td width=50% bgcolor=black> <center><font size=6 color=red><b>CONS</b></font></center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign=top> <li>Inexpensive and you get a good amount of stuff for your money.</li> <li>Pieces are easy to punch out and assemble.</li> <li>The little clothes stand and hangers are a cool and creative addition, and, as a bonus, you can also use them with actual doll clothing too.</li> <li>While I didn't use them, the inclusion of adhesive pads, for attaching the sequins, or any other items of your choosing, is appreciated (this is especially nice for parents who may not want their child making a mess with glue!) </td> <td valign=top> <li>No way for the doll to stand on its own.</li> <li>Plastic flash on the clothes stand components may make assembling it difficult.</li> <li>No instructions.</li> <li>Because of the relative fragility of paper, and the wear and tear of repeatedly adding and removing clothing, this doll isn't likely to last a long time.</li> </td> </li> </table> <br> <br> <center><font size=6><b><a href="toy_review_index.html">&laquo; Return to my Toy Review Index</a></b></font></center> <br> <br> </html>
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