Organization - Cabinet 2 Shelf 3

You are probably wondering what happened to Cabinet 1 Shelves 3 and 4?  

When I started pulling my dolls to organize them, I wanted to keep them in order by year of production and then by body type.  I started with all the dolls pre-2006 that had replacement bodies to the Tall FR body.   There were enough to fill up an entire shelf (Cabinet 1, Shelf 1).  Organization, Cabinet 1, Shelf 1

The next shelf concentrated on dolls that were produced post-2005 that were still on the Tall FR bodies.  There were 12 dolls from 2006 - 2008 to fill Cabinet 1, Shelf 2).  Organization - Cabinet 1, Shelf 2

After completing Cabinet 1, Shelf 2, I realized that I had some pre-2006 dolls that still had not been put in the display cabinets.  The problem was that these dolls had all been put on FR2/FR6.0 bodies!   I knew I needed to figure out where to start displaying these dolls while leaving room on previous shelves for other dolls produced between 2006 - 2014 that were still on the Tall FR bodies.  Also, I have reserved the bottom shelf of Cabinet 1 for my dolls' wardrobe boxes.  

Cabinet #2, Shelf #3 - Back row:

Shock Bon Bon Vanessa Perrin (mold 1.0) from 2004.  She was put on one of the first released FR2 bodies because he skin tone is difficult to match.  Her original sweater still fits.  I added a Randall Craig skirt.

Since I wanted to display her in her original gown, I had to put Talking Drama Adele Makeda (mold 2.0) next.  (The trains of the dolls' gowns can drape over the back of the shelves because there is a gap between the shelf and the cabinet wall.)  Talking Drama Adele Makeda is from 2007 with an edition size of 500.  I used a replacement body produced by IT in the "Black" skin tone.  The gown still fits beautifully!

Cosmetic Takeover Natalia Fatale (mold 1.0) is also from 2004 and rounds out the back row (since Talking Drama's gown is so full, I could only fit three dolls across the back row).  She was the very first Integrity Toys Convention Doll and was only produced in an edition size of 300.  Her body is from the second round of "Latino" bodies produced by IT.  Her original ensemble actually looks better on the FR2/FR6.0 body!

Middle Row:

Bodacious Adele Makeda (mold 2.0) is from 2005.  She not only took the ensemble from Time and Again Adele (2015), she stole her body!  She was a difficult doll for which to find a body donor because there are some reddish hues to her skin tone; she cannot use the mass produced replacement bodies in the "Black" skin tone!

Next up is Glimmer Luchia Zadra from 2008.  Her body was from the most recent IT "Japan" skin tone replacement body release.  She is wearing Tatyana Alexandrova's Goddess ensemble from 2018.

Graphic Language Adele Makeda (mold 2.0) is still considered by many as one of the best versions of this mold (even without applied eyelashes).  She is from 2004.   Her body is also one of the mass produced "Black" skin tone versions.  She is wearing her original sweater and a Randall Craig skirt.

Shake It Up Korinne Dimas was from the 2012 IFDC.  Her edition size was only 300.  She benefitted from an IT replacement body from the last release of "Japan" skin  tone bodies.  Her original ensemble is another one that looks better on the FR2/FR6.0 bodies.

Front Row:

This brings me to my favorite dolls that have been put on FR2/FR6.0 bodies that were released prior to 2013.

Although she isn't a grail, Gold Glam Adele Makeda (mold 2.0) is from 2013 and was only produced in an edition size of 300.  Her replacement body was difficult to locate.  She is using Vivid Encounter Adele's body from 2014.  Her original dress looks great on the FR2/FR6.0 body!

Next up is Force of Nature Agnes Von Weiss.  She was the centerpiece doll from the Welcome Dinner at the Tropicalia Convention in 2012 (edition size 200).  The closest match for her skin tone is 2014's Elusive Creature Natalia Fatale.  She could wear her original dress, but the matching tap shorts won't go over her new legs.  She is wearing Iselin's Fall 2018 Gown.

One of the most sought after version of Adele Makeda (mold 2.0) is The Muse.  She is from 2008's convention and has an edition size of 400.  She is wearing 2016 Dania Zarr's Tweed Couture ensemble.  (The sleeves on her original ensemble are too short.)   Her body is one of the IT replacement bodies in the Dark A-Tone skin tone.

My final doll on this shelf is Second Skin Vanessa Perrin (mold 1.0).  She is 2014 and was released in an edition size of 300.  She was another difficult doll for a body replacement.  Her match is from the 2017 Faces of Adele giftset.  Her original ensemble fits the FR2/FR6.0 body quite nicely.

This shelf is home for:

Vanessa 1.0 - Two dolls

Luchia - One doll

Natalia - One doll

Korinne - One doll

Agnes - One doll

Adele 2.0 - Five dolls

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

While de-boxing The Faces of Adele Makeda, I decided that I wanted mold 3.0 on a FR2 body instead of the Nuface2 torso that she came wearing.   Integrity Toys (IT) advertised that this giftset was produced with the A-Tone skin color.  Last year, I purchased a few Coquette Jordan dolls as body donors.  (There hasn't been a lot of love for Coquette, so she has been available nude for a very good price.)

When I took out one of the Coquette bodies to make the switch with mold 3.0, I was surprised to find that they were not a perfect match.  (Why I was "surprised", I don't know because few dolls actually match in advertised skin tone since the individuals at IT who mix the color are doing this by eye now.)

Well ... shoot!  Doll collectors have been trained by IT to be forgiving when skin tones are off.  This has been very frustrating for me.  I started collecting IT dolls in early 2005.   If you bought a White, Japan, or Tan body it was always the same tone.  It was very easy to put my earlier dolls on taller bodies and then even move them onto handspeak bodies as improvements were made.   Collecting and improving your dolls' appearances was a joy.   (African American/Black have always had subtle differences in color runs.)

The first incidence where it was very obvious that the head did not match the body of a produced doll was Dark Swan Elyse Jolie in 2010.  There were only 190 of her released and she was a convention exclusive.  She is also a grail doll and impossible to purchase without spending a great deal of money.

The next time this happened was 2011's Flawless Elyse.  This time collectors were not as forgiving.  I remember when my doll arrived in the mail.  It was an obvious mismatch in head and body.

IT responded to this issue by having collectors return the original head and providing a replacement.  Heating pads were turned on and it took weeks for the replacement to arrive. The new head was a much better color match to the body; however, the faceup and hair was not as nice somehow.   This doll is also grail status.  I still do not regret selling this doll on secondary market.  The whole experience was negative for me.  I could not enjoy the doll.

Have these color match problems been specific to FR2 only?  I blogged about this skin tone issue with the Latino color in 2011 when I tried to transplant Cosmetic Takeover Natalia to a taller body.  (Here is the link Private Goddess Provides a New Skin Tone to the Integrity Line Up )  The tone change in the Latino skin color was made without most collectors even aware of it happening.  The difference wasn't a color difference between head and body this time, it was a change in formula.  All the FR Latino girls from 2010 forward were on this new tone.  It did have some consistency; however, it happened without notice to collectors.  This is not true for the Latino color for FR2 dolls; that skin tone is all over the place depending on who mixes the color.

The next permanent change in color happened with the "White/Caucasian" skin tone.  Collectors were becoming very alarmed when they discovered their earlier FR dolls' bodies were yellowing and becoming brittle.  (Brittle to the point the heads were snapping off at the neck!)  IT had to act quickly because they had developed a very strong following.  Their first attempt at correcting the problem was put a "matte finish" to their doll bodies.  I love these matte finish bodies and all of my favorite tall dolls with the original body have been transferred to them.  It turned out the "matte finish" wasn't satisfying enough for IT, so they actually changed the tone of the "White/Caucasian" skin color without any notice (Here is the link for my post about this change:  IT's Color Change in Caucasian/White).  The biggest problem with this is that all FR2 bodies are slightly darker except those produced for the Dasha character prior to 2012 and the Evermore Vanessa (which makes it difficult to get a perfect matching FR2 body for Fashion Royalty dolls produced prior to 2012).

It was announced in 2013 that the regular tall FR body was going to be retired in favor of the FR2 body.  In response to collector demand, IT released replacement bodies for the regular tall body.  Unfortunately, the Caucasian/White bodies were the newer skin tone color.

Many collectors started accepting that they "couldn't have everything".   It was better to have a "shade off" body that wasn't yellow or brittle than no body at all.  Collectors were beginning to get trained to accept differences in heads and bodies.  This opened the door for another major change.  Starting in mid-2014, the Japan skin tone became grayish.  Again, this poses a problem if you want your earlier Japan skin tone girls on FR2 bodies.  Unless, of course, you've just come to accept the fact that doll heads are a shade or so off from their bodies.

The last "major issue" with a doll's head not matching the body was Love, Life, Lace Agnes Von Weiss.  Here is the link to my review:  Love, Life, Lace Agnes Skin Tone Issue (the variation was in the Cream skin tone).  This time the difference was just too much for collectors to accept; however, it turned out that collectors received some important information from IT.  When producing a version of a doll, the factory will "use up" bodies already in stock before producing another run of bodies.  Some of the LLL Agnes dolls did not have a problem with a skin tone mismatch.  It's the luck of the draw.

In an effort to help collectors organize matching heads and bodies, I tried to create a database.  Here is the link to that database:  Skin Tone Database Up to 2015 .  I stopped updating at 2015 because it was announced at an IT Convention that color runs were being produced "by eye" - there is not a formula for skin tone colors.  This was very disturbing to me.  You can have different shades within one skin tone.

This brings me (finally) to my point.  The Faces of Adele Makeda was produced using the A-Tone skin color.  The formula created was a shade off from Coquette Jordan Duvall.  I know I've kept my readers waiting, but I think it was worth it.  This discovery sent me running to my doll cabinet.  Was it possible?

I used The Faces of Adele Makeda mold 1.0 body as a donor for ...

Second Skin Vanessa Perrin.

It's not perfect, but it is the closest match I have found so far.  I am very excited about this.  I guess with the lack of a formula, collectors are faced with just making these discoveries by sheer luck.  At least I was lucky today.

Summer Vacation Day 3

IT Basic Edition refers to a re-vamped Integrity Toys line of dolls that has gotten a lot of interest in the past 12 months.  At the 2013 Integrity Convention, two dolls were released from this line.  Hard Metal Lilith could be purchased for $65 and is running upwards of $400 on the secondary market today.  Two lotteries were held in 2013-2014 for this line, and my dear husband was lucky enough to win the opportunity to purchase the next doll with his membership.  (We each got a membership in anticipation of attending the convention this year.)  I was so excited to get Second Skin Vanessa Perrin.  First, it was a mold 1.0 doll on a regular FR body.  Second, IT threw collectors a curve ball by making Vanessa a black doll.  Third, she only cost $75 and there were 300 in her edition size.

This is another doll that is difficult to capture on camera.   I love her raven, thick, curly hair.   (But I am trying to keep it managed by tying it back with a ribbon.)  Second Skin Vanessa Perrin is one of the most unique dolls in my collection, so I couldn't leave her out of my countdown!