davidd’s A DOLL A DAY 2021

[Elfy]

Triv looks so cool perched on the wheel like that. Is she going to return to her crew with a desire to be a cowgirl?

[davidd]

Or the Great Beyond, that would be more likely in my case.

I shall keep a ouija board on standby at all times, just in case!

Whoa, that sea turtle bone photo is so cool - as weird as this will likely sound, I've been fascinated by bones ever since I was a little girl (I didn't have goth, doctor or paleontologist parents, or anything that sort, I really don't know where that came from). I once picked up and took home a fox skull from the forest behind my grandmother's house.
. . .
I've only ever been to the geographical center of historical Hungary... And I've also been to the Arctic circle monument in the north of Finland when I visited the country for the first time, in my teens. 

I gathered up most of the bones from a deer behind my grandparents' house when I was a younger youth. I kept them for years. I also found a cat skull under the house once. I'm pretty sure I still have it around here somewhere.

The geographic center of historical Hungary sounds fascinating! Civilization in Europe is so much older than in the States. And the Arctic circle! Up in Lapland where the reindeer roam! Now that's some serious traveling!

Triv looks so cool perched on the wheel like that. Is she going to return to her crew with a desire to be a cowgirl?

Y'know, funny thing, I saw nobody, not a single soul, wearing a western or cowboy hat in Texas, and I spent a full week there. But here in southern Utah, people wear cowboy hats for real, all the time. Once in a while you'll see a rancher carrying a six-gun on his belt... snakes and what-not. And most of those old black and white western movies set in Texas were actually filmed here in Utah. Utah looks more like Texas than Texas. And Triv looks more like a Texan than most Texans.

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18 January – Back to the Real World... and the Accompanying Clutter

If only I could simply twitch my nose or wave my wand

and make it all go away!

Mattel Halloween Enchantress Barbie, circa 2003 release

[Alliecat]

That's an interesting Barbie!
Glad you made it home safely. "Location scouting", eh??
They say clutter causes stress. I can attest to that. If I could wave a wand and magic it all away I would be SOOOOO happy. >sigh<

[Elfy]

That's a Barbie I've never seen before. Yes, places with reputations rarely live up to them.

[neon_jellyfish]

What a lovely lady! I didn't know you had her. Here's hoping you'll re-adjust to the real world without too much troubles.

I shall keep a ouija board on standby at all times, just in case!

[davidd]

19 January – Circa 1999 issue Dr. Evil action figure

Only five bucks on eBay, all mint in box and everything!

[Alliecat]

What's the extra head for...? Too small for me to read the box.
Looks like you scored a good deal. Now you have two Dr. Evils? ...hmmm, I envision a Buzz-Lightyear-style identity crisis for at least one of them.

[Lejays17]

Triv on the enormous wheel looks great.

I’m rather amused about the thought that “real” places aren’t as real as tge places films are made of them. ( that is a truly terribly constructed sentence. I’m deeply ashamed )
It’s like everyone who thinks that aussies regularly wrestle crocodiles, or kangaroos hop down main roads (actually, they do that, and end up being road kill). We live in the suburbs of a major metro, and it’s too cold for crocs, so our wildlife is the possum that feel down the chimney, and the cats who saunter across the backyard.

[neon_jellyfish]

Yay! More Dr. Evil! I love him. I'm sure none of my toys ever came with disembodied head, what a shame.

[Loona]

Wow, that Barbie looks interesting - in a good way. I'm normally totally not into Barbies, but she doesn't sport any of the characteristics that make me feel that way. It feels like she isn't even a Barbie - again, in a good way. I like her. I'm impressed.

Well done on yet another few-bucks-eBay-deal! Isn't he the third one already, or amy I mixing things up? I seem to remember you mentioning another great deal, who also seemed to be for Dr. Evil.
I really like the box art and the construction - I wish we still had boxes looking like this instead of the plastic bubble front that you cannot remove without causing damage...
I'm also interested in what the extra head is for, and how it works. Does it switch onto his head, or is that something he keeps as a trophy?

[Lejays17]

The extra head is very intriguing. Are you also going to collect an army of Dr Evils? A cloning eeriment gone mad?

[davidd]

What's the extra head for...? 

The "extra head" is actually a hollow mask that slips over the existing head as a disguise. The "gimmick" for the Captain Action line of figures was the accessory kits that allowed them to become different characters by wearing masks and changing costumes.

I’m rather amused about the thought that “real” places aren’t as real as the places films are made of them.  ( that is a truly terribly constructed sentence.  I’m deeply ashamed )
It’s like everyone who thinks that aussies regularly wrestle crocodiles, or kangaroos hop down main roads (actually, they do that, and end up being road kill).  We live in the suburbs of a major metro, and it’s too cold for crocs, so our wildlife is the possum that feel down the chimney, and the cats who saunter across the backyard.

Australia actually met most of my ex-pectations. I may have told you the story about the young waiter at a restaurant in Melbourne who made rather a big deal about Australian stereotypes, putting on the faux accent and saying, "real Ozzies don' towlk loik Crocodile Dundee, mite, or weah those hats." As an American, I could not correct a local, of course, but in the course of my travels I learned that, yes, many Australians do talk like that, particularly in rural areas! Like the highway patrol officer in the Blue Lake region of South Australia. (Side note: speeding tickets in Australia are eensive.) And many Australians do wear those hats! Head west from Melbourne toward Adelaide. Head north of Sydney. You'll see plenty of bush hats. In fact, I had a few locals strike up conversations with me, thinking I was local, while I was wearing my own bush hat.

The stories about crocodiles I heard were quite entertaining. You're right, nobody wrestles with them. At least, nobody who plans to live very long. And I saw the "road trains" with the "roo guards" on the front, and saw the roo carnage on the highways, so yes, they do hop down the main roads once you're outside of the big cities.

The Red Centre looked like what I ex-pected it to look like. It was rather pricey, though, set up to gouge tourists. Everywhere else seemed reasonably priced at the time. People were nice everywhere, extremely nice and friendly and helpful, even. The sense of humor throughout the country, or the parts I visited, were entertainingly droll, self-deprecating, and sarcastic. And yes, people in Australia use phrases like "no worries" (or the shortened "no wo") and "g'day." I never heard "crikey," though.

Aside from the traffic citation, the visit to Mt. Gambier was truly one of the highlights. The clerk at the hotel asked, "have you seen our sinkhole?" In the States, a sinkhole is usually a hole or depression in a road or highway where the pavement collapses. In Mt. Gambier, the sinkhole is a collapsed limestone cave that created an enormous crater now filled with exotic plants and thousands of ringtailed possums! In the daytime, no sign of possums. At night... zillions of them! It was absolutely amazing!

Australia is definitely real, and looks like Australia is supposed to look. I loved it and would go back in a hot second; well, after the travel restrictions are lifted.

I'm sure none of my toys ever came with disembodied head, what a shame.

Fortunately, Her Royal Lunacy resolves that shortcoming for you.

It feels like she isn't even a Barbie - again, in a good way. I like her. I'm impressed.

Isn't he the third one already, or am I mixing things up? 

I really like the box art and the construction....

I'm also interested in what the extra head is for, and how it works. 

I saw the Enchantress Barbie a few years ago online somewhere, Flickr I think, and because it looked so cool I tracked one down on eBay for a very reasonable (cheap) price. There were several color variations and different versions released over the course of a few years, I think, but I liked this one best.

Ermm... actually, four Doctors Evil now, two of the Playing Mantis versions and two of the Round 2 versions.

Yes, really, the box art is probably the best aspect of this figure, reminiscent of the 1930s comic strip art of Alex Raymond, who illustrated the Flash Gordon comics. Flash Gordon and his nemesis Ming the Merciless are some of the accessory packs available in the Captain Action line.

The extra head is a mask that slips over the figure's head to change his appearance.

Are you also going to collect an army of Dr Evils?  A cloning ex-periment gone mad?

Actually, I found the duplicates for such a good price I could not pass them up. Having duplicates makes it easier to change costumes for photo stories... because once you dress the figures differently, it is no longer necessary to change costumes! So it's a laziness thing!

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20 January – Brass Bracelets

The point of this pic was to illustrate the use of inex-pensive brass plumbing fittings, called compression washers or compression fittings (or, colloquially, "olives" in the UK), as bracelets to hide the unsightly wrist joints on seamless action figures. I use larger ones on my Smart Dolls. The small ones cost about twenty cents apiece (USD). The Smart Doll size, about seventy-five cents.

The miniature camera is cast from solid metal and is an accessory from a 1960s IDEAL Toy Company Tammy doll. The cameras turn up fairly regularly on eBay at a variety of prices, but are often available for around $10 (USD).

[Alliecat]

Ha! That’s a clever idea for a bracelet. Does her hand squish through it?

[Elfy]

Does Wonder Woman know about the bracelet thing?

[neon_jellyfish]

They look rather posh!

Don't they stain?