davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2023

Starvin Marvin's Pizza
Cute and funny.
And the dolls-playing-with-dolls never ceases to amuse.
You could do workshops on creating sets from "junk" materials.

Alliecat wrote:
You could do workshops on creating sets from "junk" materials.

There are a bazillion Youtube videos and Instagram accounts now from people who craft truly amazing miniature settings. There's even, apparently, a pretty big market for people who sell intricate dioramas.

A silly hobby has become an industry.

"Making doll houses" used to be the domain of eccentric old ladies, and was considered quaint or slightly dotty. Now it's big business, and the "young, cool, hip" crowd has moved in and taken over.

Alas, at this point in my life and career, I fall much closer to the "old and dotty" end of the scale than to to to the "young, cool, and hip" end.

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6 March - A Doll A Day 2023:

Well... you're as old as you feel, and you grow old when you stop playing, so have at it!

I've been following a FB group for 1:12 miniature artists: the talent in the group is mindblowing. Glass vases, stained-glass doors, people, paintings, flower bouquets, houses.... they are really tremendous.
I don't think you can call a hobby making creative, pretty things, "silly". It's all art, in some form.

Alliecat wrote:
I don't think you can call a hobby making creative, pretty things, "silly".  It's all art, in some form.

Making creative, pretty things? Or making a mess? Tough call:

7 March - A Doll A Day 2023:

Well, many of the miniature things are really pretty!
Much easier to see what you're doing in the bigger photo over on Dolly Market but it looks like a good start!

8 March - A Doll A Day 2023:


The cast continues their pizza lunch break between scenes.

There have been a few addtions to the surf shop diorama over the past week. Note more books on the top shelf, a couple of new posters on the walls, some sawhorses, and a work in progress cardboard surfboard, which will have to do for now, until the budget allows for a "store bought" board with clean lines and nicely finished rails.

Lots of fun little details! I like that your WIP surfboard is also looking like the dolls' WIP surfboard

Alliecat wrote:I don't think you can call a hobby making creative, pretty things, "silly".  It's all art, in some form.

Agreed!

Your projects are so much fun to follow. Is that officer doll supposed to look like Benedict Cumberbatc? Idk but it just looks so much like him. What brand/model that doll is?

Pearls wrote:Your projects are so much fun to follow. Is that officer doll supposed to look like Benedict Cumberbatc?

Yes, the military figure is from a company called DiD. They call it WWI Officer Colonel Mackenzie. The figure is an approximate likeness of a character portrayed by Cumberbatch in the movie 1917 from a few years ago.

What some of these action figure companies are doing now is making figures that look almost but not quite like famous actors or characters so they do not have to pay licensing fees, so there are quite a few figures now that look "a lot like" or "somewhat like" certain stars.

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9 March - A Doll A Day 2023:

10 March - A Doll A Day 2023:


It's a good thing Janie likes doing stuff like this. Of course, it's easier for her than it is for me. She can access the space under the sink much more easily than can I.

And yes, both Janie and I know that "flexible" sink fittings are a bad idea. That's what was there, so that's what we're putting in for now. We'll install a decent drain pipe system under the kitchen sink next fall if we come back.

davidd wrote:
What some of these action figure companies are doing now is making figures that look almost but not quite like famous actors or characters so they do not have to pay licensing fees, so there are quite a few figures now that look "a lot like" or "somewhat like" certain stars.

Well that's pretty sneaky, innit?
I suppose it would be fun for customizers who could make a doll look more like who they're supposed to look like. I'm dreaming of a custom doll but haven't found either a good likeness or a customizer to hit up.

I think I'd jam a hole right through that thing when I'm reaming out the drain. Aren't all those pleats a great repository for clogs?

I'm still caught trying to work out who dive shop guy looked liked. Some villan in some film, my partner thought Benidict Cummberbatch as Dr. Strange but I'm not sure, I can definitely see some benedict in the army guy though.

Alliecat wrote: I think I'd jam a hole right through that thing when I'm reaming out the drain.  Aren't all those pleats a great repository for clogs?

Yes, the pleats in the flexible drain hose are a repository for clogs. Yes, the flexible drain hose was cracked, so it has been subject to abuse. Yes, flexible drain hoses are a sign of shoddy workmanship. At least I can't claim credit or take the blame for the original installation. I replaced the leaking one with something similar for now, because it was... in theory, quick and easy and cheap (didn't work out that way after the main lock nut securing the drain to the sink broke). Janie says she's willing to fix it right next fall if we come back here if she is allowed time and resources to do it right.

CatDragonStorm wrote:I'm still caught trying to work out who dive shop guy looked liked. Some villan in some film, my partner thought Benidict Cummberbatch as Dr. Strange but I'm not sure, I can definitely see some benedict in the army guy though.

The army guy is modeled after a Cumberbatch character from the movie 1917.

The dive shop guy figure is old, from like 2001 or something, and was part of a "Napoleonic Officers" military set issued by a company called Dragon in Dreams. The Napoleonic Officers heads, I have recently learned, were modeled after characters from a 1993-2008 BBC television series called "Sharpe." I have not been able to identify the specific character or actor.

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11 March - A Doll A Day 2023:

The mermaids might be a fun addition to a fish tank or nautical diorama.

It's a bummer that you seem to have spent so much time fixing again, rather than just sitting on the beach doing nothing at all. Should be more of a vacation in a nice warm place! ...Well, at least it's better than fixeruppering in snow and 'minus' temperatures!!

One of these days I'm going to get round to watching all of the Sharpes. They were on Youtube, and I started. Went off for a quick google... a Sharpe figure might be kinda cool but I didn't see a really good likeness.

Alliecat wrote:The mermaids might be a fun addition to a fish tank or nautical diorama.

Putting the mermaids in a fish tank would be fun. I wonder if they would hold up in water, or would they dissolve over time? Would toxic chemicals leach out in to the tank water?

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12 March - A Doll A Day 2023:

13 March - A Doll A Day 2023:


I was going to compose an amusing explanatory caption, but the creative urgency has utterly dissipated.

how about a POEM!

TrueFan wrote:how about a POEM!

The challenge calls
For a Pullip or Dal.
I don't have one
Where I am now.

Hmm. Perhaps Alliecat will make an exception for other dolls.

TrueFan wrote:Hmm. Perhaps Alliecat will make an exception for other dolls.

It seems a shame
To miss out jest 'cause
I forgot
Lipoc' and Tezca

I'll be home
In a week and a bit.
Maybe then I'll
Get 'round to it

davidd wrote:
Putting the mermaids in a fish tank would be fun. I wonder if they would hold up in water, or would they dissolve over time? Would toxic chemicals leach out in to the tank water?

Yeah ... I might wonder about the plastic too.  Look up "Death by Rubber Duck".  That goes through my head every time I put the little ducky I found on the beach in the bath... but then I do it anyway.  On the other hand, I will not use the silicone tea strainer thingy someone gave me because who knows what might leach out of it in acidic tea??



Did y'all
Read the challenge at all?
Excess internet, I think
Makes our brains shrink
Oh wait, um...
Wrong forum.

14 March - A Doll A Day 2023:


PL2018-114 TBLeague Arhian Pirate action figure.

Or is that... Arrrrh-ian pirate?

The figure is based on a character that first appeared in a series of graphic novels, Arhian Huntress, between 2015 and 2017.

This was one of the first "seamless" action figures I considered purchasing about four years ago, but ultimately I didn't, and from time to time I have somewhat regretted that decision.

Recently, a member of one of the action figure forums offered this figure, new in box, for sale. He had purchased the figure new, briefly glanced inside the carton, then set it in his storage closet and completely forgot about it. Having recently rediscovered the figure, he decided it no longer fit the direction he was taking with his collection, so he offered it for sale through the forum at a very good price; for less, in fact, than the original retail price.

Unfortunately, at the time he posted the offer, my "hobby budget" was completely depleted, so I figured I would miss out. Several weeks later, having accrued some funds, I noticed that the For Sale notice had not been taken down, so I sent a message of inquiry and received a prompt reply: the figure was still available.

Now the Arrrrh-ian Pirate is here, and this is an arrival for which I feel compelled to open the carton. I feel badly that the poor unwanted thing was barely glanced at and then stashed away and completely forgotten. Soon, very soon, she will be free to wage a reign of terror across the seas!

14 March - A Doll A Day 2023

15 March - A Doll A Day 2023:

The unboxing process continues:


The doll doesn't look nearly as slinky-sultry as the schlocky-sexy box art illustration. Indeed, by comparison the doll itself looks chunky and clunky. This is typical for circa 2018-2020 TBLeague figures. Recent body releases feature more of a "fashion doll" aesthetic.

The figure is based on a character that first appeared in a series of graphic novels, Arhian Huntress, between 2015 and 2017.


The "complete figure" releases by TBLeague often included a heavy cast resin figural display base. The bases, while decorative, tend to be of little functional use in actually supporting the figure. More recent releases often leave out the base, or offer a "standard" and a "deluxe" version of the figure, with the "deluxe" including a base.