Vladimir Putin doll from Joe's List

Sick of the political scene? I sure am. But if you can't get enough, or if you'd like a breather from the US presidential race, this guy is a must-have for your collection. Available for pre-order now from Joe's List, this handy guy is fully posable, a mere 12", $124.99 and will be available in early November.

He comes dressed in a classic dark suit, white shirt, red power tie, and shiny black shoes with real laces. Accessories include a watch, second blue tie, podium with microphones, Russian constitution, ceremonial necklace, Russian flags, and an additional set of hands for posing.

No fishing pole, however.

You'll need to preorder by August 15, so don't delay!

Photos are property of Joe's List.

Suggested Reading: The Toy Box Philosopher

The Toy Box Philosopher blog

If you're interested in the latest reviews of dolls, subscribing to The Toy Box Philosopher is an absolute must! Emily's blog is an honest, down-to-earth and extremely detailed account of reviews of all sorts of dolls and collector items--ranging from Monster High dolls to Tonner Dolls to Sybarite--with a lot of detailed photos and humor thrown in as well.

I love her photography--it's really fun to look at, and she considers all sorts of things collectors consider (and things I often wouldn't even think to consider) when purchasing dolls. She purchases the items and reviews them, but I bet if we can get her some additional readers, and doll companies start discovering her site, manufacturers would be wise to start sending her free goodies to review!

You can follow Em's blog directly and also on Facebook.

Seriously, people, I know I get a lot of readers here looking for photos and reviews of Monster High dolls--you must go check out some of her reviews of these products. Here's another courtesy screen shot and a link to one of my favorite reviews--Howleen and Clawdeen Sister set:

Also--did you know she did a giveaway in May? Of Cupid?

Stop wasting your time reading my drivel and go start reading the Toy Box Philosopher. And as always--don't forget to support your local bloggers by leaving thoughtful comments, clicking on their ads and buying their previously loved items.

Plus, I have to say--if you ever do business with Em on Prego--she is just totally 100% awesome, too.

Items for sale at the DollPage Show & Sell site

If you aren't familiar with the DollPage, it's a great place to sale your dolls--for free!

I've started with my NRFB items, including some recent additions to my Steffie collection, due to a lack of space. I've also got a never-removed-from-box Monster High 5-doll set, which includes an exclusive Gloom Beach Ghoulia Yelps (in addition to Cleo, Draculaura, Clawdeen and Frankie) listed, as well as a Target exclusive Barbie Basic Model 03 from this year's Collection red.

For the eclectic collector in all of us, check out Birthday Party Barbie from 1998. She's also NRFB, and I swear, you won't find another doll like her. (In our house, we call her Blow Up Barbie.) She's kind of everything I love about dolls, all rolled into one.

But I realized recently that I don't really do well with NRFB items. And I'm in the process of rearranging my display space. I'll have more items listed later on. Thanks for looking!

New items for sale on the DollPage Show & Sell

Adeline Joy, 8" Goodreau resin BJD.

Feel like a little shopping on a Monday morning? Take a break and hop over to the DollPage Show & Sell, and check out my new (and revamped) listings over there.

More than likely, I'll be adding more items during the week as well. I'll keep you posted!

Feel free to ask me any questions. I also am accepting trades. I have a huge trade list in the Site Forum, under Want To Trade. My wish list is called "Will trade for any of my listings," and it's under my user name, alington.

Sideshow Collectible's Mr. White: Trying Out Action Figures, Part II

Meet Mr. White, urm...Harv

I've really been enjoying taking Mr. White, also known as the actor Mr. Keitel or Harv as I like to call him, out for a spin. Since I've never owned an action figure, I really didn't know what to expect. Oh, I've read about the figures and I've seen promo photos of them before, but would real life mimic the articles and photos? Yes and no.

In case you missed my first post, I've provided a close up of Harv's face.  There is definitely a lot more detail that goes into sculpting an action figure's face. At first I thought the detail was due to the fact that Harve is a licensed likeness; but that can't be it because fashion doll companies have also gained licenses to create likenesses of celebrities. Maybe in the fashion doll world it's more about the essence of the person as opposed to an actual representation. Suffice it to say, Harv definitely looks like Harvey Keitel.

Sideshow Collectible's Mr. White: Trying Out Action Figures, Part I

This post is part one of a multi-part post. While writing this I realized that it was just going to be too long for one post. Exactly how many posts, though, I don't know.

One of the members of our local doll club has some GI Joe type action figures and she uses them in displays with her fashion dolls. From a viewer's standpoint, the action figures seemed to have more poseablity than many fashion dolls and the possibility of striking more realistic poses was greater. Also, from pictures I've seen on the internet and elsewhere, action figures can come with some pretty awesome accessories. Both of these points could make for some really fun dioramas.

Action figures can be fairly inexpensive generic figures that represent some career or activity or they can be more expensive representations of characters from well known television shows or movies. Some of these representations will actually have the face done in the likeness of the actor or actress portraying the part. You want Sean Connery to attend your fashion doll's holiday party?  Just buy a James Bond from Dr. No action figure. So, how would I choose?

Since the world of action figures is new territory for me, I didn't want to make an expensive purchase that I might later regret. At the same time, I wanted a figure with a face sculpted in the likeness of an actor.  The rationale for this was two-fold.  I wanted the fun of having a recognizable face from the entertainment industry and I wanted to be able to judge, up close and in person, the quality of the likeness of the sculpt.

I had a $20 gift card from Sideshow Collectibles so I scoured their website for just the right purchase. I decided to purchase Sideshow's own Mr. White from the movie Reservoir Dogs. After using the gift card and adding in tax and shipping, my total came out to just under $60, which is on the lower end price-wise since some action figures can retail for close to $200. As for the facial recognition, Mr White's face is sculpted in the likeness of actor Harvey Keitel. So with this purchase I met my two criteria.

What were my impressions regarding the sculpt?  Does he pose well?  What are his accessories? Please check back for part two.

Tron: Legacy - Sam Flynn

Sam Flynn, originally uploaded by alington.

My son Jake's toy, we found this guy at Target. It's from the new Tron Legacy film coming out this winter. It's a rather creepy action figure, if you ask me, but kind of cool:

He has a button on the side to turn him on, and his outfit lights up blue. Then, his face shield projects an image--two images, open mouth and closed mouth, actually--and he talks. He says different things. "I'm not a program." And so forth.

Oh. Did I mention he cost $15?

See more photos, including a full-length shot, on Flickr.

My kids have seen the original Tron, and they loved it, despite the lame-compared-to-today's-amazing-animation. They can't wait to see this one. (I can't either. I'm such a geek.)