Randall Craig Part II

I've really enjoyed trying the different Randall Craig ensembles on FR2 dolls.   This is the second part of my findings.

1)  The pants ensembles do not fit.  They are too short and will not close in the back.  Those will stay for the regular FR/NuFace/Victoire dolls.

2)  Even though the pants do not fit, it seems the capris do!  What a pleasant surprise!  Here is Rock Me Baby Rayna feeling ready for summer.

3)  The Monogram dresses fit quite well.  This one is called "Elegant" and Fashion Explorer Vanessa Perrin is modeling.  The cummerbund skirt top does not completely close in the back.  The blouse is a nice fit.

I was fortunate to win the next ensemble in a contest on Doll Divas a couple years ago.  I think Elusive Creature Natalia looks wonderful in it.  It was a Yahoo Group Exclusive that came in several different colors.  I don't know what it's called.

4)  The vintage dresses designed for FR that have the fuller skirts need the larger bust to truly look their best, especially if the dress is fitted.  Here is Renegade Dasha modeling "I Know A Place".

And I can never do a redressing post without including Agnes Von Weiss.  October Issue insisted on showing you how "Just An Impression" looks.

This one needed a slight modification in the back to look right.

So, as a summary:

• Most skirts fit and will close in the back!
• Fashions designed for Monogram/NuFace usually fit but may not close completely in the back
• Short sleeve blouses, bodysuits, and sweaters fit quite well
• Although pants aren't long enough, the capris look great!
• Dresses with fitted bodices require pinning or threading to pull the excess cloth back.  

Randall Craig's clothing is very well made.  It is tailored beautifully, lined, and exquisitely designed.  Unfortunately, Randall Craig hasn't released anything new in the past couple of years, so it's getting increasingly difficult to find.  Some of the items bring a high secondary market price since Silkstone and other 12" doll collectors are always on the search for fashions as well.   I hope this series has been beneficial to my readers.  If anyone has "A Little Moonlight" for a reasonable price, let me know!

We're Not Playing Horseshoes

There's an old saying, "Close only counts in horseshoes."  I will elaborate for those of you reading this who are too young to know about this saying.  When you play horseshoes, you get points if the horseshoe is close to the stake.  In most games (as well as most aspects of life), you don't get points from just coming close.

I believe Integrity thinks it's playing horseshoes when it comes to producing dolls lately.   I'm just not sure about many of the decisions and the ball dropping along the way.   I still refuse to believe that collectors are happy about City Prowl Eugenia's unlined skirt.  I was excited about this ensemble because of the anticipated mix n match possibilities.  Since the FR2 bodies cannot wear any of the fitted/tailored clothing from the previous lines, I was hopeful for a quality black skirt.  It's useless to me in redress.

I'm not sure about the fabric choices being made for the Urban Safari line.  The leopard print fabric is just not to scale.   It's quite bulky and thick.  The pink/peach mermaid skirt on High Visibility Agnes isn't the exact shade as the mauve-like colors in the bustier and the shorter skirt.   It took me a while, but I finally found something a little closer.  Here is October Issue Agnes (a favorite from the 2013 Convention) wearing the MOTM Marissa bustier.  I think the color looks better.

A closeup, so you can see the color better.

Last week, Faded Desert Kyori arrived.   Here is a photo of her in her box.

I very much like this ensemble and the attention to details.   However, the fabric choices are more weighted for winter wear and the design is definitely summer.   It's just off enough to aggravate this particular collector.

When I was photographing Faded Desert, I realized her eyelashes were all over the place.  I used my dental brush to fix them and wondered what caused the problem.  Then I discovered some sticky tape on the top of the box.

Apparently, in an effort to avoid further issues with mold, IT has brought back those pesky silica gel packets.  But not just any silica gel packets - oh, no, now we have the mack daddy of all silica gel packets.  Look at this thing!  No wonder it broke free of the double-sided sticky tape and bounced around inside the box messing up eyelashes.  I found mine in the bottom of the box behind the accessory area.

I hate these packets. They are the greatest danger to dolls' applied eyelashes.  And speaking of eyes.  Here is a closeup of Faded Desert.   So close … but yet so far.

A friend of mine explained that during production, IT appears to be using a gloss sealer over the eyes instead of a matte one.  This gloss sealer makes the eyes shiny when you try to photograph the dolls.   It also delays drying of the glue on the eyelashes, allowing the eyelashes to move around a little, either slipping into the eye area, above the line, or even coming loose at the ends.  This makes a lot of sense.  This gloss sealer can also run into the shadow areas.

Here is a Photoshop enhancement showing the difference of a very minor adjustment - in horseshoes, we would call this a "ringer" (a perfect shot).   I may have to send her off to an artist to get this result.  She is a lovely doll and I hate spending an extra $30 to fix something that should've been corrected during production.

Eighth Doll of 2014 - Montaigne Market Elise

Keeping a running list of changes to my collection has been a major improvement in my purchasing habits.   Anytime a new doll comes into my home, she is added to the list - regardless of whether or not she is removed from her box (helps provent me using the excuse "I forgot I had her ….").  If a new doll comes in that is removed from box before another doll, she is moved up in the list.  I have only added 11 dolls to my collection and it is almost halfway through the year!   I have sold 12, so I am in a good place.

I purchased the next doll in my collection nude to see what all the fuss was about.   Her secondary market price consistently runs about $500, so getting her nude was a good compromise for my finances.  She was an exclusive to the retail store Montaigne Market in France.  She was released in an edition size of 300 and cost 150 euros plus shipping.   Here is the stock photo of Montaigne Market Elise,  property of Integrity Toys.

Because most of the original Fashion Royalty clothing will not fit the FR2 body (many ensembles by  Mattel, Dressmaker Details, Randall Craig, and various artisans won't either), I am faced with the problem that I have few clothing and shoe options for these new FR2 dolls.  When Clear Lan advertised their most recent line, they included "FR2" as a new size.  I was elated.  Montaigne Market Elise did not remain nude long!

This girl does not take a bad photo!

Her face up is amazing.

Joining Elise to help model what I purchased is Renegade Dasha (another doll I purchased nude because I couldn't afford NRFB secondary market prices).

Here she is alone.

And a faceup!

In addition to the ensembles worn by Elise and Dasha, I had recently added a photo of October Issue Agnes wearing an older Clear Lan ensemble.  I will include it here.

I usually place an order with Clear Lan each time a new line is presented.  I just cannot resist them.  Here is a link to their site.  Have fun shopping!

Link to Clear Lan's Website

But I digress … which I often do … this entry was supposed to showcase Montaigne Market Elise, so how about one last closeup.  I think she's awesome.  So awesome, in fact, I didn't preorder the new Elise from the Spring 2014 FR line.  This is probably one of the very best uses of the Elise mold Integrity Toys has ever produced.  It will be near impossible to beat!