davidd's A Doll A Day 2019

[werepuppy]

Oooh, that all looks amazing

[davidd]

Is it an action play?

Of course! Anything Pinky Street is always action-packed... which is particularly impressive considering that they are "fixed pose" figures!

The girls are so cute! And the playhouse is awesome! After seeing your awesome sets, I actually started working on something myself. But I'm not very handy, so the results probably won't be stellar. But I'm having fun!

Oooh, that all looks amazing

"Amazing" is a safe description, because it says nothing about quality and does not, in itself, offer an assessment of "good" or "bad."

I'm not very handy, either, and my results are never stellar. I have almost... not entirely, but almost... resigned myself to the fact that anything I attempt to build, make, construct, or assemble will ultimately turn out looking like a "cartoony" version of something a ten year old kid would make. Hyper-realism is beyond both my skill level and my patience.

In fact, about a week ago I almost felt ready to chuck all my current and past projects into the dumpster and maybe even start selling off all my dolls, after looking at photos on Flickr of extremely detailed, realistic, and beautifully and creatively crafted 1:6 scale doll settings. I came very, very close to doing just that. (When I say "chuck all my current projects," I mean, in a very mature and reasonable manner, smashing everything into bits while screaming before cramming it into the waste bin.) Instead I decided to at least try to finish the wing-back chairs before smashing everything and pitching it into the fireplace.

The Flickr account I stumbled across that set me into the spiral of despair was: Dolldiva67 2.0

The best doll dioramas in the History of Evaaaar are those by: OddMod
(But OM's dioramas don't leave me feeling so depressed because they're so fun, her stories are hilarious, and she is super ultra mega nice.)

I also like... and they inspire me to try to up my game... the almost achievable by mere mortals Action Man dioramas by Blonde Actionman

Of course, the most entertaining combination of diorama skill and flat-out fun was MiskatonicNick

But sometimes I stumble across random photos or accounts where the skill level is so high – the crafting skills, the photography skills, the storytelling, the whole package – that I just feel like my efforts are stupid and childish and crappy.  Which they are. But I'm working toward accepting that "stupid, childish, and crappy" is my personal style!

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11 March – Bratz Bratzillaz Midnight Beach Cloetta Spelletta

Cloetta poses amidst the chaos remaining from the Christmas photo-story shoot.
Nope, I still haven't cleaned up the mess.

My photos over the next few days are likely to be uninspired quick snapshots. We have relatives coming to visit. I had to do a quick cleanup of my work in progress craft projects and hastily dump everything into the storage shed.

[werepuppy]

Mate, when I say 'amazing', I mean it. Your crafting skills are leagues beyond my own and I always feel genuinely happy to see whatever you've managed to make and how you detail the process of it all. If you start comparing with other people, then ultimately you always find your own stuff coming up short. A lot of this is because of the amount of time you spend on a project - it makes it so you only see the flaws. It's why, when writing, they advise changing font type every so often. It helps - for a few moments at least - give a new look on it all.

Fresh eyes can see stuff that eyes that have been looking for a while cannot. So when we praise your work: it is because we find it praise worthy. Also your style of veering towards the cartoonish (in your words) works well with the style of the Pinky St figures and your Smart Dolls since they all have a slightly cartoonish aesthetic themselves. Well, anime-esque in the case of the Smart Dolls, but the point stands!

[Alliecat]

I think your playhouse looks great! I also think you are too hard on yourself about photography and crafting. You've posted some terrific photos, and many of us thought so. We all know -- or we should -- that social media is one of the biggest sources of people's dissatisfaction with their lives, because it looks like everyone else's life/stuff/creations/whatever are better and shinier than your own. You're always going to find people who are better photographers and crafters, AND worse photographers and crafters, than yourself. So as long as YOU are having fun with what YOU are doing, that's the important thing. Who said it was a contest?
Seriously, dude... do your stuff and have fun with it. Share it with people who appreciate it. Who cares what anyone else is doing.

[davidd]

Also your style of veering towards the cartoonish (in your words) works well with the style of the Pinky St figures and your Smart Dolls since they all have a slightly cartoonish aesthetic themselves. Well, anime-esque in the case of the Smart Dolls, but the point stands!

That's what I try to tell myself. Thanks!

[davidd]

Who said it was a contest?

I did!   

Thanks!

[dargosmydaddy]

The PinkyStreet Playhouse is so cool! Hope it gets to reemerge from the storage shed soon.

[davidd]

The PinkyStreet Playhouse is so cool! Hope it gets to reemerge from the storage shed soon.

Yeah, me too! There are some details I'm anxious to add! Thanks!

[Cornflower Blue]

The PinkyStreet Playhouse is so cool! Hope it gets to reemerge from the storage shed soon.

I have to agree.  I think as long as it looks good in photos, the other aspects don't matter.

Cloetta looks like she just came home from her own wild night to find the place in shambles.

[Elfy]

I think your sets and props look great. I know I could never construct anything like those at all.

[neon_jellyfish]

It's not chaos, it's organic decor! Cloetta doesn't seem to be the least bit fazed by it.

Oh boy, you and your comparing yourself to others and then hating yourself because of it. I'd say it's time to stop, for reasons already stated above and on many other occasions before, but I get this feeling I wouldn't achieve anything, so I'm just going to send you virtual pat on the head and hot cocoa to cheer you up.


Here you go.

Just so you know, I checked Dolldiva67's pics, and I bow before her skills, but her photos are too glamorous for me, I much prefer your crazy and fun ones. And I still think your lighting is superb.

[werepuppy]

Colette does not look impressed - who had a party and forgot to invite her?

[davidd]

Cloetta looks like she just came home from her own wild night to find the place in shambles.

And she's wondering if she would have had more fun if she had stayed at home!

I think your sets and props look great. I know I could never construct anything like those at all.

Sure you could! Save up a few pizza and breakfast cereal boxes (good excuse to order out for pizza and eat Froot Loops), then grab a pair of scissors and a hot-melt glue gun and go to it!

It's not chaos, it's organic decor! Cloetta doesn't seem to be the least bit fazed by it.

... so I'm just going to send you virtual pat on the head and hot cocoa to cheer you up.

Thank you. The cocoa is much appreciated on this cold, snowy morning.

"Organic decor!" I like that! I must remember that excuse ex-planation!

Colette does not look impressed - who had a party and forgot to invite her?

And do they really think she's going to clean up after them? That ain't happenin'!

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12 March – Bob is thinking he'd much rather be golfing in Palm Springs

Hasbro GI Joe Hollywood Heroes Series No. 1: Bob Hope, USO Entertainer

Released in 1998, this figure is easy to find on the secondary market (eBay). Since the recent increase in postage prices, the cost for shipping (~$15 USD) is usually more than the asking price for a mint-in-mint-box figure.

I am under the impression that the guys... it was mostly guys... who collected 1:6 scale GI Joe figures are getting older or dying off, and their collections are coming on to the market. Most of the "collectible" range of figures from the late '90s are fairly common and not particularly valuable. Perhaps, too, newer figures with the highly detailed faces and accessories are more appealing to the few remaining collectors, despite the much higher prices. And then, of course, collectors today no longer have a connection with celebrities from an earlier era like Bob Hope.

[neon_jellyfish]

I've seen some movies with Bob Hope! The Ghost Breakers and The Cat and the Canary.

The GI Joe community dying out is a sad thing, on the other hand, you can get what you're missing. Back when MH reboot was announced and a lot of people became upset and started selling off their collections, I managed to get sig Nefera thanks to that.

[davidd]

I think your sets and props look great. I know I could never construct anything like those at all.

Back when MH reboot was announced and a lot of people became upset and started selling off their collections, I managed to get sig Nefera thanks to that.

And once super-ex.pensive Pinky Street figures are now quite reasonably priced! Gunslinger Girl Henrietta used to sell... selling price, not asking price... for $150 USD and up. Today she can be found for ~$30 +/-.