Tales of The Body Snatchers Part I

School started back ... my program is now down to one teacher - me.   I've worked really hard for the past two weeks to make sure I give these gifted kids as much as I can.  I don't want them to miss out just because of the economy and cutbacks.

I haven't posted in a while because I am still trying to digest the information we received from the past "Webinair via e-mail".   I didn't post the offerings because I figured that my followers could get the information from other blogs.  I wasn't very impressed and just didn't have the motivation to review them.  A lot of members were upset because this "Webinair via e-mail" was scheduled during the day on a Thursday and no NuFace, FR2, or FR dolls were revealed.  Some collectors took the day off work - Ouch!

The most disconcerting news was that the regular FR body was being retired and all future dolls were going to be manufactured using a revised FR2 body.   If you aren't aware, the FR2 body has wider hips and a smaller torso which makes the bust measurement quite a bit smaller.  Most of the pants, dresses, shorts, and A-line skirts from the regular line will not fit the new dolls.  Furthermore, the neck seems unusually long.  When asked if IT would be selling replacement bodies since the older dolls were yellowing, collectors were told that wasn't going to happen.  Double-ouch!

I purchased a couple JamieShow 12" bodies recently.  I really like them and have been having a great time playing around.  They are made of resin and have stringing to hold them together.  They are a great deal like the Japanese Ball-Jointed-Dolls (BJD's).   The thing I really like about them is that their thigh is split horizontally so you can turn the leg any way that you want.  Here is a photo of the FR2 and JamieShow bodies for a comparison:

Rayna is on the FR2 body.  The breasts are a little perkier and the waist a little thinner.  Unfortunately, I was only able to get the JamieShow body in pale and AA versions.  This pale version is a little too pink for the IT "Japan" skintone.  The bodies are "hand blushed" which is a very nice feature.  One of the BarbieBasics is modeling the body for you.  Here is the front:

Please note that I turned the hip/thigh connection forward so you can see the stringing.  You can rotate the upper thigh so the slot is facing inside the torso and isn't seen for lingerie/bathing suit photos.

The JamieShow body has the same dressing issues that the FR2 body has, including my concern about the length of the neck.  This does limit dressing possibilities.  However, the JamieShow body does have smaller feet that can wear all the FR and Mattel Shoes.   Here is a closeup of  JamieShow body with the doll dressed.

The AA version works for both Mattel dolls and FR.  Here is Uhura modeling one.  She is wearing the dress from Platinum Jordan.  The belt will not meet, but the dress zips.

Here is a closeup:

And here is Style Counsel Adele. I was thinking about selling her until I saw her on this body.  She looks great on it.

I'm not going to have a "knee jerk" reaction and say anything like, "Well, I'm going to stop collecting IT dolls."  We all know that would be a ridiculous statement.  I will say that I am going to seriously review what I have and limit my collection to only those dolls I truly love.  Even with that, I think I'll wind up easily with 50 FR dolls.  I plan to "snatch" some new bodies and replace all of the older bodies to make them last as long as possible.  I have invested too much money in my doll's wardrobes to not have dolls that can display the ensembles.