Best of 2024 - Number 7 - No. 7 Rayna Ahmadi

I thought it was appropriate that the doll with the name No. 7 fill the Number 7 slot of my countdown.

Integrity Toys (IT) designer Jessy Ayala definitely favors the NuFace line of dolls, and he is very good with this youthful group of models.  With the focus of the Stilettos Out Convention collection being NuFace, the market was flooded with ten new versions of these characters, plus a W Club upgrade Rayna and a W Club Exclusive Nadja that was promoted in 2023.   NuFace actually out-performed all other lines, excluding Poppy Parker.

Fans of Rayna Ahmadi were fortunate enough to get two versions of her in 2024.  Sweet Retreat is a beautiful doll in its own right, but I fell hard for the Style Lab version, No. 7.  This doll was sold nude and an ensemble was offered separately.  Since I got her at cost from a friend who attended the convention, I got to dress her however I liked.  Here she is in a OOAK Dagamoart ensemble from several years ago.

Just look at those stunning eyes!  With the new "blush" skin tone and sassy short platinum hairstyle, Best of 2024 - Number 7 is No. 7 Rayna Ahmadi.

Collection Cycle 2022 - Number 21: MVP Rayna Ahmadi

So, it's the end of August and attendees (and W Club Members who participated) finally received the last doll from the Integrity Toys Obsession Convention.   The event took place on December 3, 2021; it only took 8+ months for the doll to make it through production and shipping, but who's counting?

Here is the promo photo from Integrity Toys (for those who may have forgotten what she looks like):

I do not plan to continue the discussion about Athleisure wear and the theme "Obsession" - that horse has definitely died.  Here is a closeup photo of the doll in the box.  

I had to turn her head this way for a good shot because my doll's head looked a little "lopsided"??!!!  I've read that a few collectors are having this same complaint.  Even though IT dolls are produced by hand, they do have an "Assembly Line" type of production.  I used to think the numbered Certificate of Authenticity was important until it was reported at an IT Convention that the heads were "thrown into a barrel" after forming.  Then the hair rooter pulled them out one by one for rooting, to just throw them into another barrel.  Next, the person doing the facial screenings pulls them out of the barrel one at a time and throws them into another container after the screening dries.   It seems like quite an arduous task that takes several different employees to complete.  I guess it's fairly easy to see how quality can suffer.  It also emphasizes that the Certificate 001/??? may just as well been the last doll through the process as the first.  Add to that the ridiculous number of dolls being sold by IT family members on e-bay without Certificates of Authenticity and they just seem valueless.

Although not a new problem, the head reforming can be completed by warming the head with a heating pad.   When the head is "pliable", just use your fingers to hold the head in the correct shape until it cools.  It's doesn't take long.  Here is a photo of my doll before the correction.   

To me, it looks like she has a toothache on her right side.  Once I saw it, I couldn't "unsee" it.  Out comes the heating pad.  

Now, this is speculation and I don't believe IT has confirmed, denied, or even addressed the issue publicly, but I agree with a few other collectors who have surmised that IT has changed the rubber formula for doll heads.   This doll's head actually warmed up much quicker than other dolls' heads that I have heated in the past.  I was also surprised by just how pliable the rubber actually was!  That could explain the "toothache" syndrome on this doll.

Here is a photo of the doll after I changed her head shape a little.

Now for my personal opinions:   

This photo of the accessories is the property of Integrity Toys.  

I'm not sure there is anything truly spectacular here.  We've seen these sunglasses multiple times; the frame tint may be a little different and more coppery though.  I was excited to get the watch in a gold tone (after receiving it in silver with Mademoiselle Annik).   The rings are simple, the earrings look like little pieces of jewelry chain molded onto earring backs.  I'm just not sure of this purse in the least.  It looks like a "granny purse".  It just doesn't go at all.  I would've loved a gym bag!  

MVP Rayna Ahmadi is one of the first IT Nuface dolls to be produced with the flat feet already on the doll.  The 2020 Off Duty Collection and Varsity Alejandra come with flat feet, but they were produced with regular high heeled feet in place.  I really wish there had been an alternate pair of shoes for the heeled feet like they did with Off Duty.   I may be going against general opinion, but I do NOT like these orange shoes at all.  Even though they are well designed and constructed, they just look odd on the doll.

Here is the redressed doll in full length.

I LOVE the hair color.  It is advertised as "Copper", but it looks like a blend and has a heavy dose of black.  I do not mind the style except for one little detail.   I am not a fan of the hair "tendrils" on the sides of her face.  DO NO LIKE THIS - PLEASE STOP!   To remedy this, I used a needle with thread and tied them back behind her head.  Fortunately, my doll's hairline looks pretty good and there is plenty of hair with a very long length.  With the correction to the "tendrils" and a good hairline, I think the hair on this doll is very nice.

I am a HUGE fan of the Rayna Ahmadi mold.  I am proud to say that I own every version produced for the public.  She reminds me of Angelina Jolie.  I think she could be a relative of Poppy Parker.   For some reason, she always gets the best iris coloring.  This doll's makeup is no exception.  She's just an extraordinary looking doll and the faceup is amazing on this wonderful Japan skin tone which is just luminescent.  This dolls truly glows.

The ensemble is questionable.  The oversized jacket with deconstructed edges at the shoulder looks like the sleeves have been detached.  The fabric is nice, but the effect of the coat just doesn't translate to this scale.  I really like the football pants - the colors make me have a hankering for candy corn for some reason (as does her manicure).  The standout piece from this ensemble is easily the bodysuit.  It is actually an incredible clothing piece and will get lots of use in my collection.

Let's redress a little.  I decided to put her alternate legs on without the ankle joint and change out the pants and shoes with Mademoiselle Annik. 

Much better, don't you agree?  I think MVP Rayna Ahmadi will be around for some time.  She's a very nice, unique version of this mold and is Number 21 added to my doll collection of 2022.

#12 of 2021 - Pretty Reckless Rayna Ahmadi

 Never has irony been more obvious with an Integrity Toys product than the name given this Rayna Ahmadi.   It has become an apparent joke among collectors regarding the coincidence that the factory worker who rooted this dolls' hair was "pretty reckless".  

It's safe to say that I am a BIG fan of the Rayna Ahmadi mold.  I own every version ever produced.   When Pretty Reckless was unveiled I knew I had to have her.  Imagine how fortunate I felt when I was able to purchase her at retail price!  

I was so looking forward to this amazing doll. Here is the promo photo from Integrity Toys.

Just look at that ensemble! And the doll is gorgeous.  Here is the IT closeup.

Unfortunately, the photographer for IT has been a little heavy handed with the filters and Photoshop aps lately.  This is the actual production doll.

Her hair is not the rich tone in the promo photo. It is truly platinum white; it's almost translucent. The eye makeup is much heavier.  It almost looks like its smudged.  She looks either hung over or like she's been on the losing end of a WWF wrestling match.

But the real problem is with the rooting of the hair.  Fortunately, the front of my doll's hair looks pretty good.  The right side is a mess.  You can see skipped stitches, crooked hairline, and the white painted scalp shows through the sparse rooting.  It's just not pretty at all.  From this angle, you also get an idea about the skin tone difference in the head and body, which IT now says is acceptable production deviation.

Here is the left side.  It is much better than the right.

I have seen much worse versions than mine.  Reluctantly I contacted Patient Care.  They gave me the directions for returning the head for a replacement.   I always hate the hassle of this.  You have to ship the head to Canada, send a copy of the receipt to Patient Care, and then wait for as much as 3 months for the replacement to arrive. More than a couple times, I have actually gotten a replacement that was worse than the original I mailed in.  It has been rumored that IT sometimes sends replacements from the "return" pile.  Add to this the pandemic, and I'm not sure I want to even put myself through these hoops.

When you pay upwards of $200 (which includes shipping) for a doll based on a promo photo, the production doll should be pretty close to what is advertised.  I think it's time, IT invested in better photo editing programs and tried to get the pictures as close to the production doll in hand as possible.

I am one disappointed collector in this purchase.  

The A(E)yes Don't Always Have It - #8 of 2019

One thing you can count on with Integrity Toys (IT) is that they are always experimenting and changing things up.  Sometimes the changes are embraced by collectors, but sometimes their dedicated followers lose their friggin' minds.  

Last year, a most talented designer that works for IT, Jessy Ayala, decided to use some creative license and tried making the dolls' sclera more realistic.  In humans, the eye sclera is not bright white.  It runs the spectrum from pale white to grayish.   IT started producing dolls with a gray wash over the doll's eyes with a shinier sealer.   Unfortunately, the results from the factory were not consistent.

In an attempt to make dolls look "more alive", some of them looked like "the walking dead".   See my last post about Beyond This Planet Violaine Perrin.

It was strange how the results of doing this were different from doll to doll.  In some dolls, it didn't make a great deal of difference.  An example of the process being successful would be Goddess Tatyana Alexandrova.

I knew I couldn't afford sending off all the dolls I had purchased last year to have this problem corrected.  Since I have deemed 2019 as my "Year of Refinement" and was armed with one successful sclera correction, I decided to try my hand at some dolls.

Another case where the execution wasn't so great was one of my very favorite molds, Rayna Ahmadi.  I had been looking forward to Eye Candy Rayna, a W Club Upgrade Offering, ever since she was first announced.  Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with the result of the screening with the gray sclera.

Here is a side-by-side photo showing the original screening and my correction.

I was very pleased with the results, so (after almost one year trapped in her box) I decided to release her to my herd.  

Here is what she looked like NRFB (with eye sclera correction).

Unfortunately, she suffers from another problem facing IT collectors over the past couple years.   It's obvious that her head is not the same skin tone as her body.  She was advertised as Japan skin tone (which is the color of the body), but her head is much more cream.   Fortunately I had a spare NuFace Cream colored body that I ordered in the last round of offerings.   

With her new body, out of the box with her accessories on, she can actually stand on her own.  (I had to press the pant legs.)

A better look ...

... How about a closeup?

(Does anyone else see a slight resemblance to Jennifer Garner?) ...

Even though she arrived in 2018, she didn't get added to my collection until May 2019.  She's definitely a "keeper" now.  #8 of 2019 is Eye Candy Rayna Ahmadi.

Best of 2017 - Number 5

Rayna Ahmadi is a fairly new mold to Integrity Toys.  She was introduced in 2011, and I can actually write that I own every version!

2011  IFDC Go Home
2011  Jet Set Convention High Toned
2012  IFDC Rock Me Baby
2015  ITBE Rare Jewel
2016  Defiant (2015 Design Competition Winner Jason Kramer)
2016  Reckless Collection Mad Love
2017  Fairytale Convention Natural Wonder
2017  Heirloom Collection Neo-Romantic

Three of these were received in 2017, and each is worthy of a position in my countdown.  Which do you think I chose?

I chose the one that was received December 23, just in time to be considered.  Neo-Romantic Rayna Ahmadi was a "pass" by many collectors when the Heirloom Collection was previewed.  There were a lot of individuals who did not like the ensemble.  (The sting of missing AKA Gigi had not been forgotten by me, so I was not going to let the clothing stand in my way!)

Fortunately, the production doll looks much better than the promotion version.  Here is Neo-Romantic full length in the box.

And a closeup.  Just look at those incredible blue-green eyes!

These are the accessories.

Unfortunately, there are elements in the ensemble that collectors have already seen this year.  The tassel earrings are so on-trend right now but are just a different color from those used with Poetic Beauty Lilith & Eden.  The cuff/ring bracelet is awesome but is just like the one Majesty Giselle was wearing.  The purse is similar to Charmed Life Imogen's.  I do like the pewter finish on everything though.  I thought I was going to dislike the boots, but I actually adore them.  The glasses are my favorite accessory.  I've been begging for nice eyewear that isn't sunglasses for a long time.

So what does she look like outside the box?  There has been some concern from collectors about the unfinished edges on the sleeves, but I think they would've been too bulky looking otherwise.  I adore the symmetry of the color block in the pants.

And how about something a little more bookish?

I told you I love those glasses!

This is one incredible doll!

Best of 2017, Number 5 is Neo-Romantic Rayna Ahmadi.  What a gorgeous face and hair combination!