Strange Type 4 Head: My odd Naomi

[ByronicHeroine]

Meet Blake,

Spring Day by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr

Blake is a special doll for me. Checking my spread sheet, I see she's Pullip #7... I could have sworn she was Pullip #4 but isn't that the way it always goes at the start... At least Pullip #4 was a Taeyang, and Pullip #6 was a gift, so really she was Pullip #5 and that's almost like #4. This rationalization may be why I have so many dolls... ANYWAY!

Blake is special to me. When I first got back into collecting, I saw promo photo of Naomi where they pointed out she could almost be Chill's sister. I instantly fell in love with her. There's something about her attitude that reminded me of Chikane from Kannazuki no Miko. Then I saw that she was sold out. I was still in a place where I thought if a doll was sold out, it meant I would never, ever have them. I was very sad, as you can imagine. Since I hadn't run out of job and money yet, I was constantly checking Pullip Style to see what they had. I mean like twice a day. As it happens, I saw Naomi was back in stock at her normal price. I pounced! She was all mine! Then I saw a tweet that they were actually taking pre-orders on a shipment of Namois and was like, oh, okay. That makes way more sense. I just got a pre-order for the restock. I went about my life, until one day I stepped outside, and there was a giant Pullip Style box, you know, the ones that hold 3 dolls. I was like, oh god did I do some drunk shopping I don't remember? Nope, it was Naomi. The point being, she's one of the first run of Naomi. I have a sneaky suspicion that the pre-orders that came up way back when, were for a second run f Naomi.

Naomi was only my second Type 4, and the first Type 4 that I ever re-wigged. I noticed her head was a different shape than my Type 3's, obviously, but I didn't know that it would be different from other Type 4's. I also didn't know that black wig caps and Pullips should not be mixed for an extended amount of time. So, Blake was put in a box and stored while I collected new dolls. I wanted to spend some time with her this weekend, and when I pulled her out, her head was very stained. The odd shape of her head allowed her wig cap to slide down over her forehead. In the panic of trying to clean her up, I noticed that she wasn't anything like my other Type 4s. Since I knew that some of you would find this interesting, I took some pictures for you all. I would really like to know if other Naomis out there are like mine, or if I have a freak doll.

On to pictures. Note: Since color wasn't important here, the flash is on for a lot of them. If I wanted top down shots with out my shadow in them, it was the only way.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
Sorry this one is kind of blurry. Naomi (2009) is on the right. On the left is an Henri (2011). Even with the blur, you can see the different slopes to the foreheads. Henri is much rounder, while Naomi's forehead slants right down to the ironing board.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
This one is pretty telling. All you can see is the tip of Henri's nose. You can see Naomi's cheeks.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
In this picture, Naomi's head looks smaller. Also note the position of the holes for the eye mech. Then look at the top screw. See how different the placement is? This past weekend was the first time I ever opened Naomi's head, and I found that the top screw didn't actually hold the head together. It had been glued.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
The size difference here is pretty clear.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
I tried to line up the head seams for this picture.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
A much better view of the difference between the top screw placement. I know my thumb is in the way, but you can still see that Naomi's forehead doesn't stick out nearly as far. You should be able to see Henri's nose, but just that. You can see all of Naomi's face.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
Back plates where Naomi's looks bigger.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
Screws! They are totally not in the same place. Also, look at the wig glue lines. I know those could vary greatly between dolls, but still.

Why is your head so weird? by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
Holy cow! Wtf, Groove? That's a huge difference.

A friend has an Ala, which is one of the early models with a two piece head. This weekend I'm going to compare the two of them to see if this is typical of early two piece head releases, or if my Naomi is just a freak.

[Severity]

Oh, I have Naomi but I'd hate to take her apart :/

[ByronicHeroine]

Oh, I have Naomi but I'd hate to take her apart :/

You don't have to take her apart Look at the last picture. if you could take a tape measure and measure the distance from the bottom of her chin to the seam in her face plate we could find out if she's more like my Naomi, or if she's more like Henri. If she's like my girl, then it'd be a greater distance than it would be on a "normal" type four. I'll have to ask Pixachii when and where she got the Naomi though.

[myufish]

She is definitely a special doll o-o

[Little mouse]

How interesting.
It is fun finding all these little differences in a doll bought from a factory.......it makes them very special

[Missy_Crane]

Wow - how utterly weird!

I don't have a Naomi, but you've inspired me to grab a tape measure and start checking all my other type 4s

I guess it's not that bizarre to conclude that maybe there was a limited release of type 4 'prototype' heads which were then subtly changed for later releases? After all Groove had just made a big switch from a 3 piece head with scalp, maybe it just took them a while to get the feel for the new head.

It doesn't make Blake less beautiful, anyway

[ByronicHeroine]

Wow - how utterly weird!

I don't have a Naomi, but you've inspired me to grab a tape measure and start checking all my other type 4s

I guess it's not that bizarre to conclude that maybe there was a limited release of type 4 'prototype' heads which were then subtly changed for later releases? After all Groove had just made a big switch from a 3 piece head with scalp, maybe it just took them a while to get the feel for the new head.

It doesn't make Blake less beautiful, anyway

She's very happy to hear this after her little drama. She ended up with some Kirakira chips that blow my mind The only girl I've ever sold was my Mir. I kept looking at her and saying, why can't you be blue instead of red. Then Blake reminded me that she was blue

[AliceMR]

Woah, that's really odd! From stock photos you would never guess that they weren't the same mold
She's very pretty though

[Severity]

From the bottom of her chin to the back of her faceplate: 1 and 6/8 inches
I checked my Aurora, because she was sitting here: hers is only 1 and 3/8 inches!
Hope I did that right :3

It 's funny because Naomi is my favorite type 4 doll. (Don't tell the others). I want to start a home for wayward Naomi's and someday get one in her stock, sigh. I wonder if her face difference makes her more attractive?

[ByronicHeroine]

Oh, thank you Severity! My Naomi is close to yours at 1 and 1/4 inches. I'm guessing it's the same and we just measured a little differently.

Considering how slight the differences in Blythe molds are, and yet people have clear favorites, there's a good chance that Naomi's head shape is more pleasing to you. I think she does tend to look different in a way I can't quite pin down. Some of my Type 4 girls seem to be staring right down at the ground, while Naomi doesn't. She still has more of a down ward gaze than the Type 3s, but not as much.

*UPDATE* I put Blake back together and gave her new chips and lashes.
As beautiful as ever by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr

[Kiki]

That is certainly weird! Does it have anything to do with how T4's have neck holes that are moved forward towards the chin? Anyways, does the different mood affect the functionality of the head? Your Naomi is certainly very special!

[fishy]

I think that they may have changed the mold of t4 heads at some point... I've seen some dolls whose faces seemed a little bit "off," but since Pullips aren't supposed to have different face-molds, they just went right by...

Could you try to compare her to another Naomi, or some other early-ish type 4 doll? :? Really intrigued right now...

[Cornflower Blue]

In the Blythe world, they retire molds and create new ones because they supposedly wear out with use. It's possible that Naomi was at the end of a molds usage and after her, a new one was put into production.

Perhaps a comparison with Peter Pan and Princess Ann, who came just before Naomi, and Aya and Elisabeth, who came right after, might reveal some interesting data points.

[ByronicHeroine]

I have a Princess Ann! I will do a comparison. The only thing is, I have never had a girl who wore a non-stock wig so poorly.