Toy Talk
Volume XXIII
By Mark Patraw
Posted on 1/13/14
The weather finally warmed up at the end of last week, so, it was nice enough outside for me to go on a little thrift store shopping trip and I found some good stuff to share with you for the twenty-third volume of Toy Talk. Towering over everything else is a 2011 Spin Master Liv in Wonderland White Queen Daniela doll (two dollars on 1/10/14); moving down, and leaning up against Daniela's legs, are a couple of 2009 Mattel Polly Pocket: Disney Princess Cinderella and Ariel dolls (Cinderella was in a twenty-five cents "girls" grab bag on 12/19/14 and Ariel was twenty-five cents on 1/10/14); lying in front of those two ladies is a 2010 Viacom Spongebob Squarepants Patrick Starfish watch from Burger King (an item in a twenty-five cents Spongebob grab bag on 12/21/13); moving to the right of Daniela is a 1985 LJN ThunderCats Mummy Mumm-ra action figure (twenty-five cents on 1/10/14); and, finally, grouped together on the far right, are a quartet of 2013 Mattel Fijit Friends: Shimmies figures from McDonald's: Peera, Sambrella, and two copies of Peyla (they were all together in a twenty-five cents "girls" grab bag on 1/10/14). I purchased everything from the Ishpeming St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift store on the dates noted above. If anyone reading this knows more information about any of these items, that I haven't already discussed below, and would like to share, or just chat about toys, feel free to e-mail me and let me know!
I'm always on the lookout for Spin Master Liv dolls, but it's been a long, dry spell until now. This is the 2011 Target-exclusive Liv in Wonderland White Queen Daniela, which, as you've doubtlessly surmised, was a line based on the characters in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (Sophie is Alice, Hayden is the White Rabbit, Alexis is the Red Queen, and Katie is the Mad Hatter). Daniela's wig is a wavy mop of brunette locks with platinum highlights. I like it (the hair style reminds me of X-men's Rogue), but, while I understand that the lighter tresses are symbolic of the White Queen's favorite color, it does tend to make Daniela look like she's going prematurely grey, and thus, an older woman, rather than a teenager (not that there's anything wrong with older women, I'm just sayin'). Daniela's skin tone is darker than Katie's, but lighter than Alexis' (see comparison picture further below)--I'm not sure what ethnicity Spin Master intended for her to be, but I like to think of Daniela as Latina. She's also got a "sheen" of glitter (sweat?) all over her face which is something I could have done without (I'd prefer a more natural look), but, as it's not too noticeable, I can live with it. Daniela is just as highly articulated as all of my other Liv dolls with joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. Not counting her wig, she stands 11.6" (29.4 cm) tall. I don't know if it's an actual Liv outfit or not, but the one Daniela is wearing is most definitely not the White Queen ensemble she originally came with (that consisted of a silver dress, silver tights, silver high-heeled boots, chromed earrings, a white crown, and a white scepter). Mine came wearing purple tights, a purple and gold "winged" belt/sash, and a sparkling violet and gold cropped top. The belt and top look familiar to me, but I can't place them; my best guess is Winx Club or Bratzillaz (if anybody knows for sure, kindly shoot me an e-mail, eh?) Regardless of its origin, I think the outfit looks very nice, although she could have used some footwear and jewelry. Unfortunately, the seam on the left leg of the tights has come undone in several spots; I should get out a needle and thread and fix that before it comes apart completely. In the greater scheme of things, two dollars isn't that terrible a price, but, considering that I only paid fifty cents a piece, from the same establishment, for my other two Liv dolls, that's a 400% increase. So, while I coughed up two portraits of George Washington for Daniela, I wasn't too happy about it (if she had been wearing the correct White Queen outfit, I'd probably have felt more satisfied). I guess what frustrates me is that there doesn't seem to be any consistent reasoning behind which dolls the store's staff considers "special" enough to get locked up inside the two dollar glass display case and which ones just get dumped into the fifty cents doll bin [other than always charging two smackers for Bratz (which aren't even very popular anymore--Monster High is what's "in" with girls these days)]. I'm a miser, what can I say? Anyway, three Liv girls down, Sophie and Hayden left to go . . .
This is just an extra Barbie swimsuit outfit I had lying around, which I think looks pretty good on Daniela.
I believe that it originally belonged to the Barbie doll that I customized into the Wetworks Blood Queen around a decade ago.
Make sure you get out of the water before the clock strikes midnight! Here's a couple of 2009 Mattel Polly Pocket: Disney Princess figurines, Cinderella and Ariel. King Triton's youngest daughter is 3.6" (9.2 cm) tall, while, thanks to the bun in her blonde hair, the much-abused stepdaughter clocks in at 3.7" (9.5 cm) in height. Both young ladies have ball-jointed necks and rotating cut joints at the shoulders and hips. Alas, I couldn't get either doll to stand on her own (must be those heels), so they'll need some kind of support to remain erect. She looks okay now, but Cinderella had an "accident" when I got her home. Her face was a bit dirty, so, I wet a napkin to wash the grime off. Well, it being Christmas time, that napkin had a colored holiday pattern on it and the green dye transferred all over her face! Argh! I thought for sure that the doll was permanently ruined, but the liberal application of nail polish remover finally got it all off. Lesson learned: NEVER use a tissue, napkin, etc. with dye on it to clean a toy.
My Cinderella didn't come with any clothes, but Ariel was wearing a purple Polly Stretch summer dress, with a cherry pattern on the apron area, when I bought her. I don't think that garment actually belongs to her though, as all the photos that I've seen online of these toys seem to only include clothing that the characters actually wore in their respective animated films. The purple outfit looks okay on both dolls, but it's kind of a pain to get on and off, and, even though the whole thing is rubbery and stretchy, I was afraid that the super thin straps were going to snap on me, and, sure enough, one of them did (sigh). That's it, I'm officially not a fan of Polly Stretch clothing. Of course, whomever owned this before me managed to get the dress off-and-on without tearing it, so maybe I just suck.
I'm not sure why, but I find that these licensed characters appeal to me a lot more than the "normal" Polly Pocket characters. While I like both ladies, out of the two, I definitely prefer Ariel--redheads trump blondes in my book. Speaking of which, the thrift store had a really nice 12" Ariel doll, in human form, wearing her blue dress, for sale a few months back that I really should have bought. She was only fifty cents, and there was a 1/2 off all dolls sale that day to boot, so she would have only set me back a quarter--I really don't know what I was thinking leaving her behind like that.
All of the Polly Pocket toys I currently own.
Patrick Starfish isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed on the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon; I wonder if he can even tell time? Well, if he can't, you still can, thanks to this 7.7" (19.6 cm) long 2010 Viacom Spongebob Squarepants Patrick Burger King watch. In addition to Mr. Starfish, the 6-piece assortment also consisted of four different Spongebob watches (that seems like overkill to me, what about Squidward, Sandy, Mr. Krab, etc.?) and one featuring Gary, Spongebob's pet snail. Given the predominately pink color scheme, I suppose this item would appeal more to girls than boys--although Patrick has pink skin to begin with, so one could argue that the designer(s) were just continuing with his natural look. I like the yellow and green jellyfish tampo pattern on the band and shaping the timepiece itself like a star was certainly an appropriate choice for the character. Even though this item was intended for children, it fits my wrist comfortably, although I did have to put the band on the very last notch (if you've got thicker wrists than I do, and I'm a fairly scrawny guy, you might not be able to wear it). The large size of the star-shaped timepiece means it tends to get snagged on sleeves/cuffs pretty easily, which can get annoying when dressing/undressing, but, other than that, it's perfectly serviceable. I also found it pretty easy to set the time and date, via the two small buttons on the right side, even without any instructions. While the design might not be to everyone's tastes, this is a nice Patrick-themed timepiece if you're a fan of the character.
If the sight of my Patrick Starfish watch doesn't impress the ladies, then I don't know what will.
I was pleasantly surprised to find this 4.7" (11.9 cm) tall scarlet-robed baddie in a toy bin at the thrift store and immediately snatched him up! This is the 1985 mummified form of Mumm-ra, who was the main antagonist of the original LJN ThunderCats cartoon and toy line. Between us, my younger brother and I had several of the ThunderCats figures when we were kids (mostly the villains), but never this one. Initially, the only way to get Mummy Mumm-ra was through a mail-away promotional offer, but, later, he was included with the Tomb Fortress play set (the former is more common than the latter, but I couldn't tell you which version this is). While I like Mummy Mumm-ra, if I'm being honest, I have to admit that he's somewhat disappointing in comparison to the other ThunderCats toys. He's short, only has rotating cut joints at the shoulders and neck (his body is an immobile lump), and he lacks a Battle-matic action feature of any kind. This would have been a much better toy if LJN had gone to the trouble of making a fully articulated version with a fabric robe. The white paint on his bandages has rubbed off here and there, but, overall, he's is in decent condition. A complete sample should also include a black staff accessory, which mine obviously lacks. Despite his shortcomings, I'm still happy to have found Mummy Mumm-ra, as he's one of the better characters from the franchise and vintage ThunderCats toys aren't something that I run across very often, especially not for the incredibly low price of only twenty-five cents!
I had absolutely no idea what the heck these things were when I first fished them out of the toy grab bag I purchased; thank goodness for Google! Fijit Friends are interactive electronic critters, produced by Mattel, that are somewhat comparable to a Furby. In particular, the Shimmies sub-set of Fijits were designed to move to music, rocking out with their owners, and each other, if you owned multiple Shimmies toys. What we have here is an assortment of the 2013 McDonald's Fijit Friends: Shimmies figures. In addition to the three I'm reviewing (left-to-right Sambrella, Peera, and a couple of Peylas), the six-figure wave also included Poppyseed, Twango, and Twistina. As they're much simpler, and cheaper, toys, the McDonald's ones aren't electronic and just have simple wind-up action features. In my opinion, these characters' anatomies are too minimalist (despite being marketed to young girls/tweens, they look like baby toys) and they all seem too much alike. Other than color, and variations in pose and ear/tail length, they're all essentially the same creature. I think Mattel should have tried to make their designs more detailed and unique, although I will say that I like the use of glittery translucent plastic for their extremities. They're cute, but Shimmies lack that certain something that would elevate them to the next level. With the possible exception of Twango, whose erect, quivering ears appeal to me, I can't say that I have much interest in acquiring any more Fijit Friends and completing the set.
Sambrella is 2.7" (6.8 cm) tall and moves about via vibrating when you wind up, and release, its tail. I guess that shaking motion probably comes closest to emulating the dancing antics of the "real" Fijit Friends: Shimmies toys.
Pull it back, to wind the wheel mechanism via friction, release the figure, and Peera will zip across any flat surface. I swear, pull-back motion has got to be the most over-used action feature in the history of modern toys. At the top curve of its ears, Peera stands 2.4" (6.1 cm) tall.
Peyla will roll to the side, over-and-over again, after winding up, and releasing, its tail, which is probably the most unconventional and interesting action feature out of the three different figures I'm looking at here. Excluding the tail, and because of its prone position, Peyla only stands 1.8" (4.5 cm) tall [counting the raised tail, it's 3.0" (7.5 cm) high]. Just for the sake of variety, I would have preferred getting either Poppyseed, Twango, or Twistina instead of two copies of Peyla, but, the goddess of toy collecting insists that I fulfil my identical twins quota every month, so, what can I do?
Normally, when I look at multiple figures as a group, I'd have a favorite, but, like I said, they're all pretty much the same thing, which isn't a terribly appealing design to being with, so, I can't say that I'd really recommend one over the others. My advice would be to just go with whatever hue and action feature combination speaks to you the most.
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