Review of Tonner's Chrys

When it was announced that the terrific Cherished Friends had two new exclusive Tonner dolls on the way, I kept telling myself, “They have had some incredible Tonner exclusives in the past. But you need a bigger house, so you can actually shelter yourself, your brother, and your collection.”

Robert Tonner, however, craftily chose a sculpt that he must have known I would be unable to resist, and issued her in Antoinette scale. The sculpt chosen was Stella, and I am as addicted to Stella as I am to Angelina. I would have bought this girl the moment she came out, but I was up to my eyeballs with layaways at the time.

I will spare you the whining about how one of the other members of my doll club has tormented me on a monthly basis by bringing her Chrys dolls with her to meetings. Needless to say, Mr. Tonner, as well as Cherished Friends had an ally. Alison’s post about the Cherished Friends sale, here on FDR, tipped me over the edge.



Chrys, a Cherished Friends exclusive, photo property of the Robert Tonner Doll Company

Chrys is issued in what I am calling “Antoinette Scale” even though at sixteen inches, or forty five centimeters, she is the same height as the Tyler Wentworth scale fashion dolls produced by Tonner. Her body is a different sculpt however, which seems to have collectors divided into “love it” or “hate it” camps.

The “love it” collectors note that her body is more sculpted than Tyler’s, with more emphasis on a long, lanky profile comparable to modern supermodels. Her body is more sculpted, and she has a smaller breastplate than Tyler scale dolls. She also has hands that are more outspread, which “love it” collectors say make her more expressive.



The “hate it” collectors, alas, complain the Antoinette body is too skinny. They do have some valid points, in that the hand positions do make it harder to dress her, and that they have to buy clothing to fit yet another scale, rather than being able to mix and match existing outfits produced for Tyler and friends.



I am one of the rare “in between” collectors, because I am of the opinion that while there are different people in the world, of all sorts of different body shapes and sizes, I would like this reflected in my collection as well. Antoinette, and by extension, Chrys, has a figure which I see as a young girl beginning to blossom into the woman she will become.

Face sculpt – as mentioned above, Chrys utilizes the Stella sculpt, which has been sized to be proportionate to the Antoinette body. One of the beauties of Tonner dolls, is how each face is unique, and the doll’s expression and attitude is completely up to the collector. Some see this sculpt as pouty, others snooty, and still others, sad or thoughtful. After years of collecting dolls that could only be categorized as vapid, this is quite refreshing.

Body sculpt – again, this is a more detailed sculpt on the body. The hips are somewhat wider but flatter than the regular Tyler body. The abdomen has a more realistic look to it, including the protruding hipbones that have their fans and detractors. Missing, however, is the waist joint, which would allow her to turn in different poses, but this is so the shape is not lost with the movement of the torso.. Her hands are more outspread, with separated fingers, and they are quite expressive.

Coloring – Chrys was issued in two different hair colors, blonde and brunette. Alas, I am not familiar with the names of the various shades of blonde and brunette, so those are the names I will use. Tonner recently began to name the different skin tones, which is helpful for those who like to Frankendolly; that is, take the head from one doll, and put it on the body of another. Both issues of Chrys are in Cameo, which is a very pale Caucasian skintone. I have the brunette issue, which has lovely, pale gray green eyes, and restrained, smoky eye makeup. Her lips are a very pretty red.

Poseability – since I am more used to the posing possibilities of the regular Tyler scale line, I am still trying things out with Chrys, but there are poses this girl can take, that Tyler and friends cannot. One of the main pluses with this sculpt is that she has the rotational knee joints that allow her lower legs to move side to side, as well as bent and straight. Though she lacks the waist joint that allows her to turn, Chrys does have a breastplate joint that allows for expressive motion, in addition to the famous “Tyler shrug” of the regular line fashion dolls. This joint can not only move side to side, to allow the doll to appear as if she were shrugging, but also back and forth, to allow different posing options. I also find the head is more maneuverable on her neck, at least with Chrys, giving her more options for head tilts that can convey any number of moods the collector might wish. She does have an ankle joint, which allows for very little movement. However, there are collectors more skilled than I am at posing, and they can really make this joint work for them.

Clothing – Chrys comes wearing a cute two piece outfit of  halter top and somewhat low cut bottoms (the better to show off her taut little tummy and beautifully sculpted hipbones!) in a pale orchid, though to me, in the promo pictures, looks more like pink. High heeled sandals are included, which, while they look like regular faux leather in the promos, are actually metallic.

About the only complaints I have are the hair, which, while a lovely shade of brown, is crimped. I dislike crimped hair, because it is impossible to brush out to tame any stray hairs for photography. I also don’t care for the styling products used to secure the style. I know, I know, it is necessary to keep the hair in presentable condition for sale, but I just don’t like the feel of whatever it is used for styling. Washing and brushing crimped hair just makes it go poof! and turn into really, really big hair.

My other complaint is the shoes, but that’s not necessarily a flaw with the doll or her accessories. The sandals, which I am sure many of my shoe loving friends consider “cute” will probably be traded. The shoes are secured via an ankle strap with a functioning buckle. Mr. Tonner, please, have mercy on those of us cursed with ten thumbs! I took one look at those lovely shoes and said, “Never gonna happen. You will get regular slip ons and like them, girl!”

All in all, though, Chrys is a welcome addition to my collection. I definitely feel I got my money’s worth with this beautiful girl, and I hope to see more issues of Chrys in the future, as well as issues of other sculpts in Antoinette scale. Would I be pushing my luck if I put in a request for Angelina? Make her a raven with sapphire blue eyes and you will have a sale, guaranteed, at least, with me, Mr. Tonner!