Merry Christmas, Carol!

For half a year, I've been fascinated by a cardboard poster lying on my doll display. The display is in my bedroom, so every day for half a year, I look at the poster - the big head and larger than life eyes - but ignorant of the subject's name.

Then last week, while window shopping at Orchard, I saw some Pullip/Taeyang old stock behind the counter at Dollzinc. I was checking for Pullip new stock so I did not give them a thought (regrettably Dollzinc does not deal with Pullip anymore, their speciality is Blythe). Later, it began to dawn on me that one of them resembled the subject of my poster. As fate would have it, I requested to have a closer look at the doll while in the shop. She was the only one I requested.

I learnt her name is Carol and she is a 1st generation Pullip from 2003.

The poster is sentimental as it was a gift from my first Pullip. A Pullip poster with its real-life counterpart will be cute, I thought. Furthermore, since I cannot imagine anybody giving me a Pullip for Christmas, I decided to get one myself. My Christmas present.

Dollzinc trademark shopping bag with the doll inside. I have a few of these from my previous doll purchases.

Pullip Carol in her box. My observation is that Pullip dolls do not look as good when they are boxed. They are cute all right, but you must unbox them to feel the power. Unlike my other recent purchase, the bust sealed the transaction.

The doll with her poster that spurred my purchase. Pullip Carol is a Christmas doll and she is dressed in a santa suit. Because she is on a 1st generation body, the designer has given her a suit to cover up the body flaws. From my brief research, I learnt there are visible screws on the body, on the arms at least; very glaring if she is sleeveless, that's why even her arms are covered with the I-dunno-what-you-call-that detachable sleeves.

The poster I've been staring at for half a year. I love those eyes. While it was a gift from my earlier (first) Pullip purchase, I deliberately chosen it from among the pile of free posters.

Merry Christmas, Carol!

First Foray into ZC Girl and Triad Toys

Scored a ZC Girl "EVE" Body (Pale) and a Triad Style New Skool Outfit at the CSC Flea Market. My first foray into the respective manufacturers.

I have to say the boss was quite friendly to me. You don't find many such people in CSC especially. I was told the Triad Otaku body may be coming at month's end. Hopefully can score one from him.

I'm a mini-collector (can't fight with the big players of course) of female bodies and I own a BBI Perfect Body Female. I'm not satisfied with the quality, honestly, and I want to see how Eve fares.

The size of her bust was also a consideration.






I bought the Triad Style outfit 'cos it looks cute. The outfit is obviously designed for 1:6 action figure bodies, so it will not fit my obitsus and Jennys nicely. I already have a sailor uniform from my Jenny collection, let's see how this one compares.

Apologies for the sloppy photos. I can't wait to get them photographed and my "professional" studio/stage for doll photography is packed with dolls now.

Upcoming: Star Wars Force Unleashed Stormtrooper Commander

New 12-inch figure by Sideshow. Check it out.

More photos in their product page.

The Blogging Continues

This blog is still alive and will continue to be updated.

A new theme and a new start. =)

Spotlight on Culture: Baoan Nationality

My Baoan doll has a totally different flavor from the Wa doll. Long sleeves cover the limbs and the overall costume gives you a prudish feel.

About their costume:

20世纪50年代以后，保安族妇女的服饰也有不同程度的变化，大多喜穿色彩鲜艳的衣服。年轻妇女上穿粉红色或青、蓝色的长夹袄，上套坎肩，长度刚过双膝，称作“一锅烟”。衣襟、衣袖都不有同颜色的三道花边，第一道仅二分宽，为红色；第二道四寸宽，为浅蓝色；第三道为“万不断”云子，色彩要与服装的颜色相搭配。妇女和姑娘们都戴盖头。起初，盖头长至腿腕，后来就比较短了。盖头的颜色，姑娘为绿色，出嫁时，在间顶处缀两条交叉的红绸带垂于背后；中年妇女为青色；老年为白色。盖头只有出时才戴，在家只戴白布帽，保安语称之为“琪项麻勒赫”。喜订节日时，年轻的姑娘喜戴红、绿色礼帽。

Hmm, what's our girl doing in the last picture?

She's in the sujood prayer position. ^^

In fact, you might have guessed it by now. The Baoan nationality is Muslim, one of the ten nationalities in China to believe in Islam.

PS: Apologies to my Muslim readers. I know her sujood position is full of mistakes. This is because our girl is not bendable. Let her be a negative example. She still has much to learn.

Singapore Toy and Comic Convention Day 2

I miss her.

I didn't realize it on the site, she only caught my attention while I was writing the entry for Day 1. The bespectacled girl with silvery long hair has every mark of a "must-own" doll. She is not freaky, her tender lips, smooth complexion and silky hair exude a girlish charm. Plus she is not dressed provocatively. 她看起来好帅气！

I regretted not taking more photos of her at that time. Also my coverage of the event is pathetic. I did not take as many photos as I should. I'm not going to leave our first local toy convention with the measly selection of photos. Moreover, as an amateur Star Wars fan, I did not get to enter the Hasbro booth and I also missed out on the Cosplay parade which is on Day 2. Not wanting to have any more regrets, I decided to visit the convention again.

The D-BOX Motion Code activated theater and game seating. It is right at the entrance, so you won't miss it. The technology creates real-life motion in your seat that's synced to the action on screen. Hmm, I wonder what happens if your car flips? Will your seat fly up as well?

Movie memorabilia at Popcornpop. Just bought a Audrey Hepburn Pullip yesterday, so seeing the real Audrey on poster and the "Breakfast At Tiffany" poster in the convention is especially memorable. Nay, won't buy the posters. Too big and no place to hang the frame. May consider if I have a house as big as the Louvre.

Blythe booth manned by Dollz Inc. Have bought a few dolls from their shop. The boss and lady shop assistant know me by face, but I do not know their names. Shame on me! A pity they specialize in Blythe. As a whole, I do not find them attractive, though a few are cute. This convention, I have nothing to buy from them. To ease my guilt a little, I put up the photo of their booth at full size.

Bouquet for Dollz Inc. So colorful! It is addressed to Lai Keng & all. Is the lady boss called Lai Keng?

Domuya booth. My photo coverage for Domuya on Day 1 was pathetic. Today, I shall carry the 宁可杀错，不可放过 attitude.

BJDs in their full glory:

Wait, why is her glasses crooked? Somebody might have knocked onto her. Poor thing. Imagine you are one of those dolls, posing for 8 hours a day for two days, enduring not only stares but also camera flashes ....

I find the above doll very cool. It is her hairstyle and the way she stands. I think it is her clothes also, the metal armour that hugged her sleek body frame and notice her doll joints are hidden. Her posture is definitely more alluring than the maid and the doll in dress higher up.

Another doll with similar clothing. This posture is not as good, however.

A rare sight. The nakedness and dolls going for operation. On the right, all the dolls on display. The maid actually got her glasses straightened. Yay!

Wait a minute, where is my bespectacled girl with long silvery hair?? She's not there. What? You mean I came for her and she's not there?! Gosh, looks like I have to surf the net for her pictures. Haiz.

The poster on their glass cabinet. I couldn't resist taking the shot 'cos she looks very much like Ayumi Hamasaki!

Magma Heritage booth. Surprisingly there was no crowd. The reason, I suspect, is 'cos they removed all their display dolls from the shelves. Not sure why they did this.

Other dolls on display at Magma booth. Hey, that's Rei Ayanami from Neo Genesis Evangelion! Anime girls and dolls like Pullip are a match 'cos of their big eyes and head.

LEGO booth. The LEGO man below the logo looks like he is beckoning you. Cute! The finalists for the LEGO Build-A-Brick Competition.

Artists at work. The man signing autograph is Gary Erskine.

Hasbro Star Wars booth. The photo of the queue was taken when I reached the convention hall. I visited the doll booths before joining the queue. There wasn't any. Explains why I could take the second picture, as I was the first in line.

Jedi Master Kit Fisto welcoming me! We are told these toys are courtesy of local collectors. Not sure how many collectors contributed, but if I were to mix them up, can they find their toys back?

All stormtroopers at attention. The way the lady looks at them is eerie, it's like the troopers are taking orders from her.

The troopers are at attention for the arrival of Emperor Palpatine. A classic scene. From ROTJ (Ep VI).

General Obi Wan and his loyal clone troopers behind him. If Darth Sidious were to initiate Order 66 at this time, our Jedi will be dead meat.

Lao Fu Tzi also at the convention! On the right, speedcubers solving Rubik's Cube at CJ 917 booth. Interestingly, the logo for the convention is also a Rubik's Cube.

Bandai's booth. No giant RX-78 on display, but Ryubi Gundam. The display label has a typo, not sure how many of you spotted it. I didn't know they have such creative gundams these days. Ryubi .. Liu Bei .. ok.

Nintendo's booth. They always have these girls in Japanese fashion playing in their center booth. Is this deliberate? From the way they dress, they don't look local. Perhaps they are Japanese studying in Japanese schools locally.

501st Legion. Kids simply love these villians from Star Wars.

Military fanboys at the convention. Typical HK SDU style. The guy with goggle was actually posing for my camera. I feel so honored, haha.

Finally, the Cosplay part. They are one of the reasons why I revisited the convention.

The above photo was taken outside the Domuya booth.

I know nuts about the local Cosplay scene, so don't ask me what characters they are imitating. I watch anime too, just not those.

I felt paiseh about taking their shots. This explains why they were not looking at my camera. Imagine, you want them to pose for you and you only have ............ a PNS camera?! It is like covering Oscar with a PNS when everybody else using professional level SLR. If you are a star and there are ten photographers clamoring for your attention, you probably turn to the one with the biggest looking SLR (big lens + flash unit + vertical grip). An expensive SLR is also a testament to the skill of the photographer.

So the reason why they were not looking at my camera is because I did not explicitly catch their attention. I have to be contented taking pictures from the sideline.

The convention has ended and so will my coverage. For those who went to the convention, I hope you have enjoyed yourself like me.