Hot Toys Star Lord

This post was suggested by the lovely Ms Treesa of Fashion Doll Memoirs. Thank you! I'm so sorry I didn't have time to thoroughly test all the bits and pieces, but this should give you an idea. I hope that I'll have the opportunity to show him off better in the future! 

    I love Guardians of the Galaxy, and last year, I fell deeply into the hype for the new movie. So much so, that I pre-ordered my very first Hot Toys figure, Star Lord! He is the Deluxe Volume 2 version, and he comes with many, many amazing accessories. Everything is so tiny and detailed! Even his box is thoughtfully planned out with a retro cassette player look. His stand is nice and sturdy, and has his name printed on it.

What first struck me about this figure is how fun he is to pose! (once I got over being afraid to touch him) He looks so awesome both in pictures and standing on my shelf! I was worried when I bought him that his face would not be as nice as the prototype, but he is actually a pretty good likeness to the actor in my opinion. Though I wouldn't mind if he had a bit more of a smirk, at the right angle and lighting, it works for me.

     He comes with a little Baby Groot buddy who can magnetically perch on his shoulder, or who also has a little rock stand/display of his own.

 

And then there's the accessories...this man has so many accessories!

Need a hand?

A tiny scarf and Awesome Mix

Helmet heads (one is activating/deactivating. The other lights up when the batteries are in)

Maroon top and jet pack

    And of course this beautiful thing (maybe I'm biased because I love long leather trenches):
   

    Both of the "leather" coats have wire in the edges so that they can be posed dramatically whooshing back in action scenes. I didn't want to open the trench up too much since I was packing everything away again, but it does fold out quite a bit. I've heard some other Hot Toys Star Lord owners say that the little metal bits attached to the coats are fragile and prone to falling off, so I handled them like centuries-old antiques, but I feel like I'm pretty capable of fixing anything as long as nothing gets lost. Which is good because...

Not the headphones!

    Poor Peter! Ugh I hate when that happens to my favorite pair, and it's impossible to find a Radio Shack on Earth, let alone in outer space!  Luckily, they're not actually broken, per se, they just sort of fell apart. I think I can dab a teeny bit of glue on and solve the problem. In the meantime, he'll just have to cope.

"That's ok, I've still got the moves!" 

Also, his tiny Walkman is nothing short of adorable.
 

    As my other hobby is costuming, and as I own many of the items he is wearing in full-scale, it amuses me so much to see teeny-tiny versions. Someday, I should do a photo comparison with the tiny versions sitting on the big ones! Mostly, though, I'm jealous of how perfect everything is!

These are 1/6th scale HOW. JUST HOW.

In comparison, this is my full-scale spat replica that I handmade from leather.

Back detail on the shorter jacket

Detail on the graphic t and pendants

But my favorite of his little props are his guns. I don't like guns in general, but I think Star Lord has some of the coolest, best-looking scifi weapons out there. Their design is so well-thought out, slim and small enough to be inconspicuous for a sneaky space thief, but easy to grab when you need them. Also, they have a non-lethal setting.

The Hot Toys guns are so perfectly detailed that I hardly believe these are the tiny ones, and I took the photo. They even have miniature "wear" from use in space. I am extremely jealous of tiny Star Lord because my 1:1 props are not nearly this nice.

This picture makes my eyes cross a little.

In fact, I think I'm going to steal his. No one will notice the scale difference!

Peter: "Come on, there's no way that's going to stay on your holster!"

   Sadly, Peter went back into his box shortly after that photo (and took both guns with him...phoo!). I have had him on display for several months, but right now, things are getting messy again and I feel better with him safely packed up. When I get things figured out, he will have an honored spot of his own in the Glass Tower Apartments (also known as the curio). I was planning to order him some of his Guardians buddies, but I don't think that will happen now, so he will just have to make friends with the other odd plastic people who live here. I think there may be some big, crazy dance parties in my house's future!

More Sparkle For A Rainy Day

     The last time I went to WalMart, they didn't have any new Sparkle fashions to catch my eye. However, I still had a few on the card leftover from several other shopping trips, so I decided that it was time to set them free. Of course, I asked for help from Lilu and Paige, our resident fashion models. They were more than happy to lend a hand and do a little photoshoot, despite the suboptimal lighting. They are definitely thinking "summer" thoughts, and they are ready for some fun in their wardrobe!

The outfits in question.

     Lilu went first. This outfit has a nice casual, summer look to it. I like the rolled detail on the pants.

     It fits her just fine, but she has a slightly thinner body than Barbie. The pants are a bit stretchy, however.

     Paige looked great in the next outfit. It's another I would not have chosen for myself, but actually worked well on the doll. I chose it for the skirt and broke my "rule" of not buying anything pink. I'm relaxing that rule a bit more now that I've built up my non-pink wardrobe a lot more!

     This outfit was slightly disappointing, as the top did not close in the back, even on Lilu. It will not fit a normal Barbie. The shorts are large and stretchy and fit just fine. It's such a cute little set, I wish it was just slightly larger. I haven't tried it on the Liv girls yet, but it will probably end up being theirs.

The final outfit was this interesting top that looks like a beach towel tied around Paige's waist. It has clear shoulder straps, so it doesn't slide right off!

    I'd love to see Sparkle get more summery with their clothes, maybe even put some swimwear out? Either way, it's always like a little treasure hunt when I get to the Sparkle box!

Review: Black Label The LOOK Blonde

    (I apologize for the lack of photo quality! I'm in a moving transition stage and still living in a place with terrible lighting and no room for doll photos.)
    This doll has accessories galore! I wasn't too sure about her outfit/hairstyle, but I'm glad that I took the chance. They were actually very well-executed.
    She came with her COA and stand, as well as sunglasses, "leather" jacket, dress, magazine, coffee, handbag, necklace, and shoes!

    Her bangs are very blunt, but not horribly choppy. The jacket is sewn to the sides of her dress. If she is to be used for display, there is no reason to remove it, however...it can be clipped apart and the dress can come off. The delicate lacy top of the dress is so sweet!

Her accessories are very detailed. There is coffee in her cup, her handbag is shiny, with black sides and a wrist strap, and the magazine can "open" (there is nothing inside).

Her articulation makes me very happy! She bends at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees.

    I am sure that there will be more pictures of this doll in the future!

Review: Barbie Game Developer

    Once upon a time, I actually did work in game development. Sort-of. Another of those weird, convoluted stories that makes up the fabric of my life. I didn't look anything like this Barbie, aside from the jeans, but nevertheless, I wanted her. Something about the red-streaked hair spoke to my teenage self.

Aww, how cute!

    Her packaging was a nightmare. After very carefully freeing her from the cardboard (I wanted to save the background) I discovered that not only was her head plastic-tied to the cardboard, her headset was plastic-tied to her head. That's six plastic-ties to the noggin! It took some extremely careful cutting to leave her with her hair intact.

    Very nerve-wracking!
    In addition to the glasses and headset, she came with a laptop and tablet, both plastic! The laptop opens and shuts, and contains program code for the game that she is working on. The tablet seems to be where she is testing the game.

   The tablet has a little finger notch so that she can hold it.

   The cardboard background of her box is not an ordinary box background, and has been designed to look like a (very pink!) work cubicle!

    I think all of the details are super adorable! The post-it notes and the action figures! And of course, because it's Barbie, it is color-coordinated and very organized. This woman is amazing.

    I was having so much fun with all of her stuff, that I forgot to get detail pictures of the doll, herself, but I really like her! The red-streaked-brown hair is very cool, I am loving the different-colored hair that Barbie has started putting in their "normal people" dolls. She also has golden brown eyes (like me! yay!) and glasses, nude lipstick and minimal/no makeup, and basic articulation. Her outfit is well worth it, with the "Ctrl-Alt-Barbie" top, green drab jacket, and faded jeans.

   She has flat feet and wears sneakers!

   I do think it's odd that her cubicle is pink and she doesn't wear much pink. But maybe because she works for Barbie, pink cubicles are a company policy? I am certainly not complaining! I am more than happy to see less strictly pink stuff in the Barbie aisle!

Review: Fashionistas Love That Lace

    I first saw this gal in stores, and was not overly impressed. In the box, she looked sort of flat. But after alternately putting her in and taking her out of my shopping cart, I finally caught her on sale on Amazon. She is my first Petite body Fashionista!

   There are many other comparisons of the heights, so I didn't bother with a photo, but she is indeed shorter than regular Barbies. The way she is packaged, she doesn't appear to be, as they raise her feet up. Her torso and legs are shorter, and she actually seems more proportional. I really like her overall shape!

   Out of the box, she is less flat-looking and actually has a bit of personality. Her eyes are extremely light golden-brown. She has very minimal makeup, except possibly some dark eyeliner and heavy brows. Her hairstyle is blunt, and I may trim up her bangs a little to fix some of the "choppy" parts. It is stiff, like Va Va Violet's.

I combed it with my fingers, and it fluffed out a little

   Her necklace is feminine in style and can be removed.

Her shirt is a soft, horizontally striped fabric, with blocks of lace. It is secured in the back with velcro.

Her red metallic skirt slips on with an elastic waist.

   And she wears interesting brown buckle boots that I didn't even see!

Her outfit from the back

    Her limited posing and one arm stuck in a bent position drives me crazy, but other than that, I am very happy with this doll!