ToyMuchInformation! - Costume Season

 The last one about mermaids, I swear.  For now.  Froggy has a pattern for a tail I want to try, but this isn't the season.

 I hit up amazon for some teeny tiny clothes.

Libby looks even more adorable in this, somehow.  I suspect based on experiments that all my elastic-strung blind box gang wear OB11/Nendo size clothing.

Odile meanwhile got this little number.  Yes, I am in fact one of those weirdos who got the Odile-sculpt mermaid for the purposes of rebodying.  Her mermaid body now belongs to Lia (the MtM tennis player), and will be headed to a friend's house to make her kids happy.

You may be noticing, if you clicked the link, the dress in the picture here is a little different than the one in the listing.  You'd be correct because it doesn't match.  I suspect they're handmade, based on the stitching errors, but I'm not complaining.  I'm pretty sure I can just pick out the messy seams and restitch it anyway, or iron them flat in the case of the sleeves.

box hair, don't care~

This is as much of it as I could get to fit within the boundaries of my backdrop, lol.  The thing is the definition of voluminous.  I guess Odile is our resident fairy now XD

ToyMuchInformation! - Mermaids? MOREmaids.

 Listen, Shimmer wanted friends, okay?  It's hard to say no to that face.

 

One of these is a brand seen before - the Philosopher has a post about the LuckyDoll ones.  I'm including the brand she didn't get to - the Aiye Mermaid Island blind box dolls.  Since I seem to be getting into the habit of backtracing these companies, of course I looked into both brands shown on the packaging.  Koitake and Aiye both seem to be in the toy business; Koitake looks like they put out Nendoroid-style static figures based on Chinese series?  It appears they do a lot of collaborating (like I thought Penny's Box was doing).  So it makes sense they'd join up with Aiye (Insta page is all I could find for them and they only have two official released series?), whose specialty is BJDs.  The result is the Mermaid Island dolls.

 

Spoilers as to who I got in my box.  Translations seem to differ on the storyline blurb and I couldn't find one that made 100% sense, but SpaceStudioBJD comes to a soft rescue, batting cleanup for Google.  Apparently searching for the holy land of the pandas turns you into a mermaid.  I don't make the rules.

I got TianTian.  No frills packaging; it's a big box mostly because of her chair, and everything comes in plastic bags.  There are two copies of the instructions for some reason, so I get to show both sides.  He character art card is definitely cute.  Her bikini top is also a separate piece, but doesn't actually come off.  It is a little loose though and can ride up or down if you're not careful.

I'm less a fan of TianTian's stringing than I am of anyone else I have constructed this way - her arms are fiddly as hell and won't really hold a pose.  It's difficult to get her to stay in her little chair, too.  Partly because it's smooth plastic on smooth plastic and partly because of the stringing issue.  She has a lot of little molded details on her tail, but the transparency doesn't really add much.  If they'd just left it on the tail fin it would have been fine, imho.

My really big beef is with her hair.

Hold my scalp, please?

TianTian's unique among my crew in that her entire scalp comes off.  If you zoom in on the instructions you can see this, and the fact that her head also opens up for eyeball access.  The issue is the hairpiece itself feels aggressively, disagreeably rubbery.  It's rubbery in the way water slimes are wet - you feel it, your nerve endings are telling you this hair is sticking to your hands and attracting every stray hair and lint molecule in a two mile radius...but when you drop it, you're not sticky and it isn't covered in fuzz.  I kinda hate this, lol.

her eyes also go weirdly reflective from some angles.

Granted this does open up a lot of avenues with her.  The removable scalp means wigs are an option; I'd guess she would take whatever wig size an 11cm head does.  The removable eyes are a big help, too.  I could definitely repaint her tail, or con a friend into doing some 3d printing maybe.  She has a cheerful little face, so there's that.  It's mainly the hair and the stringing that kills it for me, I guess.

But that's not all!  We have a little scholar in the house as well, since I'd had these sitting in my wishlist for ages.

 

I got The Librarian from the LuckyDoll/"ChuChu" series, and honestly?  She's stinking adorable.  I love her goldfishy fins.  The ombre on her tail is well done, even if it's starting to show some friction rubs in the paint.  I had to experiment with some clothing options because that joint at the waist really is distracting in the anatomically worst way.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii~

She can wear Nendo clothes!  So this little sailor suit is hers for now, I guess.  She's much easier to pose than TianTian is, since her fins actually are jointed and will help to hold her up.  Plus, I love the wide hipped proportions on these dolls.  It's worth noting Libby here doesn't match her character art - she's purple on paper and pink in person!

Stupid cute.  Her facial screening puts me in mind of another one we'll take  look at some other Tuesday.  For now, it's raining and I need to take the dog out.  We're supposed to become Hurricane Buddies with Moon Girl in a couple days.  The Cone currently covers both of us, haha.

ToyMuchInformation! - Ramen Redux

 Forgive any typos I don't catch; my day got derailed somewhat around lunch time when I tried to make potato chips and nearly made a thumb chip to go with them.  I have to give the nurse who bandaged it credit.  He hit that comfortable middle ground between mom offering to kiss it and make it better and dad telling me to just walk it off, lol.  It's fine, by the way - just heavily swaddled right now, which makes laptop keyboards awkward.

ANYWAY.

I decided to experiment with miss Rory from last week.  Turns out, the Cup O' Style dolls fit directl into that niche we all hate to see...they fit nothing else.  Well, she may have more options than what's in my small-dolls clothing hoard, but I tried what seemed like the closest match - Hairdorables - and that was actually too large for her.

Willow's pool coverup barely hangs in there.  Rory's head is even a little too small to fill the hood out.  The feet are too long for Itty Bitty Pretties shoes and both too long and too wide for Hairdorables.  Whilst I was out getting something for Rory, I decided to put that list of codes to the test and also picked up Whitney Wasabi.

She's super high contrast.  Also, the thing in the instructions that's supposed to be a parasol is actually the red plastic bit that's right under the peel-off top of the cup.  Now I know!

Not gonna lie, most of the reason I went back for Whitney is because I also have several Sara Sushi dolls.  Us same-name girlies gotta stick together.  And I like sushi, so it's a natural conclusion.

If you recall, I was comparing the Cup O' Style dolls to Shoppies last week.  They're definitely shorter and more petite all around, though the feet are more or less molded the same.  Cup hands take after Hairdorables, though.

One stop at Five Below and what I deeply hope is the last Zoe doll I will ever, ever have to buy, and then I had to get out the Dremel.  The big boy, the one that plugs into the wall.  Cup heads are hard vinyl and have very small neck holes.

It's not the world's most perfect skin tone match, but with clothes on you don't notice too much.  Rory's head is almost the same size as Zoe's, and since Zoe is a KellyChelsea knockoff, the horizon of fashion has widened exponentially.  So here she is wearing something that might look better on Whitney.  Zoe shoes, I think those are Dollar Tree KellyChelsea knockoff fashion pack pants, a Snapstars jacket, and there's a Hairdorables shirt underneath it all.  Welcome to the hybrid club, Rory :'D

Zoe feet fit their own shoes, Chelsea ones (a little loose), and Hairdorables (a little tight), in case anyone wondered.

ToyMuchInformation! - The Little Things

 I love ramen.  It's one of the last available inexpensive yet flexible foodstuffs out there (I noticed even house brand frozen pizzas are $8 now.  Ya girl got borderline-gubmint frozen tenders instead - they'll be made to last a month, lol).  Normally I go for the Maruchan packets, portion them out, and add my own meats, veggies and whatever to up the nutrition factor.  Cup ramen has its place, though, and probably the best known and most beloved brand is Nissin.  Yes, I do own that model kit.

Lately, they've been doing some collaboration thing with Walmart and shocking the shelves with flavors like Breakfast, Everything Bagel, S'mores, and apparently now also Pumpkin Spice.  I'm not sure about that last one as I have moral objections to the Basic-Beckyization of pumpkin spice, but since I tried all the others I'm honor bound to try that one too.  If anyone wants my opinions on the other flavors, though, feel free to ask.

Ramen-esque and themed toys have been appearing in recent years.  The "sensory" and fidget craze includes rubber noodles, for example.  Today I came across a new cup-ramen style blind box doll series and grabbed one, as well as another cup noodle surprise toy I've had before and not mentioned.  Both are under $10 each at the moment, fairly cute, and the water aspects of both are actually avoidable if you're not into that.

 

Let's begin with the doll - Cup O' Style seems to be a new line (at least to me, I have a bad habit of scooting through the toy section whenever I'm at walmart just to looky-loo).  In the usual move, the ten surprises listed include the chopsticks you're supposed to use to get the items out of the cup, if you use the water feature.  I will note this one also comes with a stand, though.

According to the top of the packaging there are 12 dolls in the series, but only six in rotation right now?  "Some dolls coming soon" would imply this, anyway.  Personally this seems like the perfect setup for future themed releases, such as zodiac signs.  The character art is very cute.

 

Getting the contents out, if you follow these 13-step illustrated instructions, seems fairly easy.  The faces on the ramen cup are cute, but personally, I tried not to think about it being involved that deeply in the process.  The speed lines had me hearing anime sound effects.

So here's what you get when you peel the top off.  Chunky-crayon extendable chopsticks with a training clip, two mystery packets, and a cup of unseen objects with a few pieces of meltable paper on top.  Note that the one with the noodles printed on it seems to be what the instructions imply you should use as a parasol, which....nah, I ain't seeing it.  The two foil packets contain bath bombs, essentially.

Luckily, the melty-paper/bath bomb fizz aspect is entirely avoidable.  You can just take the noodle print paper out and tear open the fish cake and ramen egg printed packets.  No fuss, no slimy paper muss.  But what's all that raffia-looking stuff in there?  Shades of Boxy Girls...

It's hair!  I got Rory Rainbow.  Her facial features are both molded and printed, and very glossy.  I thought at first they might be a color-change feature or stickers, in fact, but they're not.  She has molded hair for the most part, with a couple of rows of permed-looking rubber noodles in pastel rainbow colors.  I'd say overall she's a Hairdorables-sized Shoppie, to be honest.  Rory comes with shoes (left and right, btw), a simple dress, some sunglasses, a cell phone, a purse, one rainbow-themed object that I can't figure out (it may be a hair clip, idk), her stand, and the molded noodle insert from the top of the cup that acts as a kind of secondary stand, based on the instructions.  So yes, counting the chopsticks that is in fact 10 items.

She has the Basic 5 when it comes to articulation, and it's good she comes with a stand, because she needs it.  These dolls are pretty top-heavy, given the rubber-noodle hair design choice.  There are pegs on the stand for her feet (both the feet and the shoes have holes btw), but she'd still lean back without the chopstick there to help with her posture.  Rory is cute, though, and can very likely wear Hairdorables clothes no problem, though I think she's a little smaller than your average Shoppie.  I'll have to tinker with that later.

ETA: People have already found out how to get around the blind box aspect - the cups each have a code on the bottom.  If you're looking for a specific doll from this line, this post has all the known codes.

Insta Poodles have been around a little bit longer - I think I found my first one at the local Kroger around Easter?  They hit walmart a while later than that, though.  Personally, I like the packaging on these better, but that's my bias as a miniatures addict - the cup and chopsticks have more potential as accessories for larger dolls or plushies.  They're still cute, inexpensive, the process is pretty simple for them and they can serve as toys for other dolls as well.

 

The cup is more Nissinesque, too, and I like the presentation of the chopsticks better.  Plus the barcode is a doggie bone.

Once you pull off the lid this is what you get.  The training clip for these chopsticks is a rubber sleeve that comes wedged into the saucer-looking "stand".  There's a molded noodle topper inside the cup with a fizzy bath bomb cake under it, hiding the contents. The topper can be pried out with minor amounts of effort, but be warned it is slotted in there pretty securely.  I just use the chopsticks to pry it out.

With the fizzy cake removed, you have immediate access to your surprises.  One play house (with opening door), one ride-on, and five Poodles.  Pretty instant!

 I think my first one had this same Poodle Palace, but the Poodles and ride-on are different.  Left to right, I got Goldie, Luna, Belle, Crystal, and Kiki.  Luna is listed as "special" on the collector guide.  The ride-on is the shopping cart.  The Poodles and the cart are all made of a squishy soft rubber, and the Poodles have holes in the bottom so you can sit them on their playhouse, ride-on and saucer stand.  The instructions imply the Palace is supposed to be able to sit on top of the saucer, but I may be extra uncoordinated because I can't make it look good, lol.

These are very small figures.  And I should rinse them off, because they keep shedding bath bomb sand everywhere.  But they're also very cute and undeniably "collectible", probably much moreso if you're a little kid or just into super kawaii aesthetic than if you're me.  Like I said, the packaging on the Poodles is more versatile, and you could repaint the Palace pretty easily to add detail to it.

Both would make decent stocking stuffers or just impulse gifts for the ramen fanatic in one's life.

AC:NL - The Retrospective

I have had a long, long love affair with Animal Crossing, ever since I got a classic DS just to play Wild World.  Looking back at WW now, it's extremely janky in the graphics department.  I feel like I peaked with New Leaf.  That iteration was hands down the most fun for me to play around with.  Maybe it was partly due to the 3DS?  I don't know.  I do know that is my favorite handheld of all time, though.  Sadly, the online play and thus the Dream Suite went bye-bye back in April, so all my hard work can now only be experienced in person.  I'm going to keep the post here as an archive of all the good times, because I really did have great fun working on my town.  The large numbers of violets in some of the screenshots below are due to my trying to regrow grass.  I wish they'd brought the violets back.

New Horizons is good as well, but I feel like being able to terraform, and the sheer number of new items you now have access to, is a little overwhelming for me.  I don't want to lose all my progress, but I'm stuck in an eternal island-remodelling loop now because I keep forgetting what I'm doing :'D  I do appreciate being able to throw items down outside (why did my brain say "in the overworld"?) and set up all kinds of decorative spaces.  Some of the total makeovers people have done have basically turned AC into a whole other game visually.  I know they say don' let that intimidate you, but...it does, lol.
Happy Home Designer being integrated into the main game via DLC was the perfect move on Nintendo's part, however.  Now if only we could port our items over from Pocket Camp.  Hint, hint, Ninty.  This is a hill I will happily die on.

original post last edited 08/14/2017

You can find all my custom QR codes on Pinterest, as well as others' codes I've used, and some tutorials.