davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2025

[davidd]

Before reading the caption I thought, her pose illustrates pretty well how I feel about doing anything that involves that pink insulation.

That pink insulation is itchy, nasty stuff.

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28 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Janie got her crimp rings so now she's happy

[Alliecat]

There’s a sentence you don’t hear every day

[davidd]

29 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

Blurry

Totally blurry pic, and the camera battery went flat and I'm too lazy for a do-over.

Ellie got a satchel and a curved machete. But the satchel strap is too wide, so I might try to hunt down (meaning - spend money on) a different one.

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30 April - A Doll A Day 2025:

New Arrival (and yeah, kinda blurry)

DiD WWI British Officer Colonel Mackenzie (B11012) boxed set.

Yeah, I bought another one before they're gone. Lots of good kit in this set, costs a fortune to buy the bits and pieces individually.

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1 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

Overex-posed (on multiple levels)

Overex-posed... gah! So annoying!

Either my camera meter ain't metering quite right anymore or I'm not doing things quite right anymore. I have my suspicions as to the cause.

Anyway, finally some color emerges from the bare, lifeless, wintery tundra.

[Alliecat]

Whoa, lookit the flowers!!! Sooo pretty. I bought mini iris bulbs once upon a time, but like many other things I've tried to grow here, they kinda disappeared into the depths.
The camera might've been fooled by the dark purple. And light dolls in the sun -- ugh, so hard to photograph.

I thought that guy looked a bit familiar; so you have two now? I feel like there should be a sort of betting game on guessing how long each 'new arrival' has sat unopened Did you just get him, or...?

Ellie looks ready for anything.
Well, except for cold weather and long grass

[davidd]

Whoa, lookit the flowers!!!  Sooo pretty.  I bought mini iris bulbs once upon a time, but like many other things I've tried to grow here, they kinda disappeared into the depths. 

I feel like there should be a sort of betting game on guessing how long each 'new arrival' has sat unopened, Did you just get him, or...?

Ellie looks ready for anything.
Well, except for cold weather and long grass 

These mini irises emerge every spring. Some seasons they are sparse and scraggly, but this year they seem particularly lush. I'm guessing the previous owner must have originally planted them.

I opened the military officer figure the day it arrived! Unheard of around here, I know! But then I got busy and haven't yet had a chance to put him together properly.

Ellie has a jacket for chilly weather. As she is on a slim seamless body, as contrasted with the usual over-endowed dimensions of most bodies of the type, the jacket will actually zip up in front. As for the long grass, she now carries a machete for fending off feral flora.

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2 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Like, if John Ford directed home improvement TV show episodes...

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... starring dolls, and in color.

[Alliecat]

Hahaha, she still gonna get chilly and bugbit in those teeny shorts 

You do have a nice setting to work in!

[davidd]

4 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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May the Fourth Be With You

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War Story WS015 Empire Commando figures in 1/6 scale

Also: Happy Beltane! Let Summer commence!

[Alliecat]

They better hope their foes are as bad shots as the average stormtrooper. They're a little short on armour.

[davidd]

They better hope their foes are as bad shots as the average stormtrooper.  They're a little short on armour.

The trooper armor in the films seemed absurdly ineffective. Not only could the troopers not hit anything they were shooting at, but a single glancing blow took them down despite all that armor. By "streamlining" the armor, these troopers depend on increased speed and agility.

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3 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Heads for Bodies and Bodies for Heads

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Pairing heads to headless 1/6-scale seamless bodies often presents challenges when it comes to proper head size and head color. There are a lot of body sizes out there, and even more head sizes, and they never seem to match up.

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5 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Random Weirdness

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6 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Pullip Lala - 2009 Comic-Con Exclusive - Limited Edition of 300

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Pullip Lala, released in a limited edition of 300 in 2009, was my first Pullip doll purchase way back then, some sixteen years ago. The doll pictured here, however, is not that Lala. This Lala is my most recent Pullip doll purchase, just this week, in May 2025!

Out of curiosity, I was watching a listing for this doll on eBay with no intention of making a purchase... until the seller sent a half price offer! The doll is missing the original box and the I.D. card, rendering it of little interest to "collectors," but is otherwise complete and in excellent condition.

Two similar dolls, Pullip Sola and Pullip Sala, were released simultaneously with Lala in 2009, featuring variations on the costume color. Perhaps I shall start watching da 'Bay to see if I can find reasonably priced examples of Sola and Sala. (At present there are a few available, but none are "reasonably priced.")

[TrueFan]

welcome Lala!

[Alliecat]

Aw, yay!  Congrats on the new arrival.  Will we be seeing her in some adventures with your other Pullips? 
Do you still have the first one?
I looked up the seller, because a half-price offer for watching an item was interesting, but is it the same one that's selling all the medical supplies?    That's an odd combination.  Those prices would be a nope at 40% exchange.

(Also re eBay: are fewer people leaving feedback these days? I've sold several items and I know they were delivered but it's crickets. Annoying.)

That's a nice variety of heads.  Yes, it can be hard to get colour matches.  It looks like you have at least some selection to choose from -- one never knows if the colour on the screen will match when buying; the one time I had to get another body, for Glori, it turned out pretty well.

...did you notice the "page loading" bar on Flickr was a lightsaber on Sunday? 

[davidd]

Do you still have the first one?

...did you notice the "page loading" bar on Flickr was a lightsaber on Sunday? 

Yes, I still have my first Pullip Lala!

Since I signed up for Starlink I don't see "page loading" bars anymore!    (Sounds like that one woulda been pretty cool, tho'!)

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7 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Fat Lotta Good This'll Do

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7 May 2025

President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC  20500

re: Secretary Bessent and the Two Dolls Issue

Dear President Trump:

Treasury Secretary Bessent recently appeared on a FOX News telecast. When asked about the “two dolls” comment and the tariff situation with China, Secretary Bessent responded (transcribed from an online source):

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a message for a hypothetical little girl worried that she won’t have more than two dolls because of Donald Trump’s disastrous tariff policy.

“I would tell that young girl that you will have a better life than your parents,” Bessent said, during an appearance on Fox News Tuesday night. “That you and your family, thanks to President Trump, can now be confident again that you will have a better life than your parents, which, working-class Americans had abandoned that idea.”

“Your family will own a home, you will be able to advance. You will have a good education, you will have economic freedom,” Bessent continued.

Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-treasur...02335.html

Respectfully, sir: Secretary Bessent is SO out of touch! He’s all like, Blah blah blah, and all that time a "hypothetical little girl” would be thinking: "But my mom had SIXTY MONSTER HIGH DOLLS when she was little, and I only get TWO? How is that a 'better life?'"

And Mom is thinking, "Economic freedom? What 'economic freedom?' When I was a kid, my parents bought me SIXTY MONSTER HIGH DOLLS, not to mention all the My Little Pony stuff, and you're telling me I have 'economic freedom' when I can't afford to give my daughter TWO dolls?"

In general, and in principle, I understand and agree that the international tariff situation needs to be adjusted. For the most part I support your Administration’s approach to doing so.

But, c'mon, New Administration! You are making a serious public relations blunder here by taxing toys until they are out of reach while making concessions on the big ticket items the rich people think are important, like iPhones.

As a regular American consumer, I honestly don't give a rip about iPhones (which have been exempted from China tariffs). I don't need a new iPhone every year, or even every three or five years. But what your Administration thinks of as "plastic junk," what your Administration tells us we "don't need" or “can live without" is the stuff those of us in the real world buy and use EVERY DAY!

Yeah, it sucks that greedy American companies produce everything in China. Barbie and Hot Wheels used to be made in Hawthorne, California, not in China.

But today, EVERYTHING comes from China. That’s not the fault of the consumer. That’s a conscious decision on the part of the Boards of Directors of America’s corporations.

Do something to Mattel to force them to bring production back. Hit Hasbro with some legislation. Incentivize domestic production of everything. Stop punishing the consumers. WE HAVE NO SAY in where things are made. Call your pals who sit on the Boards of Directors of Corporate America in to a room and read ‘em the riot act! Stop kicking the little guy… or the little girls.

Sticking it to the American consumer, and then gloating over it, and telling us “it’s for your own good,” as Secretary Bessent seems to be doing, is NOT the right approach.

Y'all are gonna make everybody hate you. You understand that, right? You understand that it's not just about affluent Silicon Valley hipsters and their phones, right?

No... no, apparently your Administration does NOT understand that.

And unless toy prices come DOWN, not go UP — along with the prices of toothbrushes and soap dishes and artificial flowers and bath mats and extension cords and shampoo — you guys are gonna be out on your backsides faster than you can blink.

You're turning the country over to the other party with this doll thing. Do you not understand that? The doll thing is like that squirrel thing was to the other party. Do NOT underestimate the doll thing. Do not make light of the doll thing. The doll thing is a symbol for all the stuff we buy and use in our daily lives. The doll thing impacts everybody, not just suburban moms buying dolls for their little girls.

Your Administration is absolutely losing the battle for hearts and minds with your ignorant, callous attitudes.

Why couldn’t Secretary Bessent have said, instead, something like: “We are aware of the Quality of Life issues affecting the American consumer, and rest assured the Administration is working around the clock to negotiate fair and equitable trade deals that will benefit everyone and ensure an affordable selection of dolls and every other item the American consumer uses and enjoys.”

Make Dolls Great Again…. please!

Thank you for your consideration,

[Alliecat]

[insert many ex-pressions of political annoyance]

So did you actually send it?

[davidd]

[insert many ex-pressions of political annoyance]

So did you actually send it?

Yes.

It doesn't matter. Some non-entity office staffers most likely deposit such things, unopened, directly in an incineration bin.

The rich and powerful do not care one iota about the opinions of anyone other than their rich and powerful colleagues and associates.

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8 May - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Tales from the Star Patrol presents: Danielle Dare, Forensic Auditor of the Future

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Galactic Comptroller Danielle "Danni" Dare, Forensic Auditor of the Future

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After a developmental hiatus of three years, Galactic Comptroller Danielle "Danni" Dare, Forensic Auditor of the Future, is back to strike fiscal fear in the hearts of one and all across the galaxy -- in particular the commanders and crew of the Star Patrol.

In what will be her permanent 1/6-scale action figure form, Comptroller Dare sports a flexible TBLeague seamless body, a head sculpt by SuperDuck, and a stylish and colorful miltary-esque uniform from POP Toys.

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Danni Dare and Lyra the Cryptic

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Comptroller Dare is joined by her mysterious and aloof associate, Lyra -- known throughout the Star Patrol as Lyra the Cryptic (or, more frequently, as Lyra the Creep). No one is entirely sure what role Lyra plays in the organization, and no one has been sufficiently bold, or foolhardy, to inquire.

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"Really? Is that the best you can do? I eected a far more convincing fabrication than that! Why don't you try again!"

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No one in the Star Patrol is happy when Galactic Comptroller Danielle Dare, Forensic Auditor of the Future, shows up under the best of circumstances. When Ms. Dare is smiling things are usually worse.

And Ms. Dare is almost always smiling.

Her colleague, Lyra -- known throughout the Fleet as Lyra the Cryptic (or, more often, Lyra the Creep) -- never smiles. Nor does she frown. Never does any eression cross her visage. What is she thinking? Is she thinking? What does she do? Why is she here?  The consensus across the Star Patrol is not to ask.

Danielle Dare, Galactic Comptroller
Body: TBLeague S16a
Head: SuperDuck SDH024B
Outfit: POP Toys F027C
Boots: ZYToys
Weapons: Takara CyGirls Aurora

Lyra the Creep
Body: TBLeague S34
Head: YMToys YMT-058C
Outfit: POP Toys F027B
Boots: ZYToys
Weapons: Takara CyGirls Aurora
Headset: SuperDuck SDH019C

[Alliecat]

The rich and powerful do not care one iota about the opinions of anyone other than their rich and powerful colleagues and associates

Indeed. Funny how so many people thought they might.

You have such a variety of these figures. It’s amazing how many there are now, looking through eBay.
Lyra is pretty. And, probably not the effect you were going for, but my first thought was, if the auditing thing doesn’t work out, Danni could be a Christmas elf   
I’m sure she could ramp up the efficiency in Santa’s workshop