Tuesday, May 11, 2021

#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.  


Sunday, May 2, 2021

Organization - Cabinet 1 Shelf 2

Since I was able to fill up Shelf 1 with dolls pre-2006, I decided to see what I could do with dolls made with the original tall bodies (2006 - 2013).  These doll are still on those bodies because I like the clothing from that time period in Integrity Toys history.  I found it was easier to group dolls by years.  The second shelf of my cabinet will focus on Fashion Royalty dolls from 2006 - 2008 that are still on the original tall bodies.  I redressed several dolls because I was worried about staining from original ensembles or the they wore really big gowns.

Cabinet #1, Shelf #2

Back row:

I only have three dolls still living here from 2006 that are on original bodies.  They are:

Dressing The Part Agnes Von Weiss wearing her original ensemble.

Glow Vanessa Perrin (mold 1.0) wearing her original ensemble (eyes enhanced by Veronica Hage).


Sound Advice Veronique Perrin (OOAK named Ondine by Vin Trapini).  She is wearing the suit from Veronique Stylish Escape (2006).

I rounded out the back row with Gold Stroke Adele Makeda (2008) wearing Agnes Von Weiss's Festive Decadence (2009).

Second Row:

Fete Accompli Tatyana Alexandrova (2008) wearing her original ensemble.

High Drama Eugenia Frost (2007, edition size 180) wearing Criminally Chic Kyori's jacket (2007) with Sound Advice Veronique's skirt (2006).

Quicksilver Kyori Sato (2008) wearing Traveler By Nature Veronique's dress (2004)

Firefly Agnes Von Weiss (2008, edition size 300) wearing Riveting Premier Isha's dress (2005).

Front Row (These are four of my favorite IT dolls ever produced):

Paparazzi Bait Adele Makeda (2007) wearing Behind the Drama Agnes's gown (2008).

Shapeshifter Natalia Fatale (2008) wearing Dark Narcissus Kyori's dress (2007).



Fine Jewel Eugenia Perrin Frost (2008) wearing Business Class Anja's dress (2011)


The Royal Weiss Agnes Von Weiss (2007) wearing Adele Makeda's Main Attitude (2012) - Thank you to a kind reader for helping me realize I got Splendid and Main Attitude confused.


Back Row:

Dressing The Part Agnes Von Weiss (2006) Wearing Dressing The Part (2006) 

Glow Vanessa Perrin(2006) Wearing Glow (2006)

 

Sound Advice/Ondine Veronique Perrin (2006) Wearing Stylish Escape (2006)

 

Gold Stroke Adele Makeda (2008) Wearing Festive Decadence (2009)


Middle Row:   

Fete a Accompli Tatyana Alexandrova (2008) Wearing Fete A Accompli (2008)

 

High Drama Eugenia Perrin Frost (2007) Criminally Chic (2007)

 

Quick Silver Kyori Sato (2008) Wearing Traveler By Nature (2004)

 

Firefly Agnes Von Weiss (2008) Wearing Riveting Premier (2005)

 

Front Row:     

Paparazzi Bait Adele Makeda (2007) Wearing Behind The Drama (2008)

                        

Shapeshifter Natalia Fatale (2008) Wearing Dark Narcissus (2007)

                        

Fine Jewel Eugenia Perrin Frost (2008) Wearing  Business Class (2011)

                        

The Royal Weiss Agnes Von Weiss  (2007)  Wearing Main Attitude (2012)


Agnes Von Weiss: 3

Vanessa Perrin: 1

Veronique Perrin: 1

Adele Makeda: 2

Tatyana Alexandrova: 1

Eugenia Frost: 2

Kyori Sato: 1

Natalia Fatale: 1