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| Lizette "Spice" from Ellowyne Wilde |
But then there was a sale (15% off and free shipping) and I decided to take the plunge, and ordered a basic Lizette in the "Spice" colour (the same sculpt is offered in a lighter "honey" colour as well). The doll came with two wigs (on straight and one curly), a saddle stand, a pair of shoes and a simple dress. The sculpt is painted in a fairly neutral style, and has inset (I believe acrylic) eyes and attached eyelashes. The left eyelashes were crushed slightly, so I'll need to reattach those (naturally I only noticed after I'd taken photos).
I have to say that I was impressed with the shipping time: I ordered this doll on the final Monday of the sale, and yet she shipped out almost instantly, arriving in only two days. The doll was packed in the standard fashion doll style, with ties at the neck, waist and feet. She arrived with one wig on, which unfortunately stained her head. She came dressed, but with the shoes packaged separately.
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| In the box. |
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| She can reach her hair. |
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| This is as close as she can get to reaching her face. |
The doll is nicely jointed, and has more flexibility than I expected, but she still doesn't have the full range of motion that one would expect of a ball-jointed doll or figure. For example, her hands can be positioned to touch her hair, but not her face. The knees have even less flexibility as they are simple hinge joints.
Still, given the limited posing of Tonner's Doctor Who dolls, I was pleased to see that this doll offers a broader range of movement possibilities.
Overall, I'd say I'm pleased but not thrilled with this doll - she has a more expressive face than a painted-eye fashion dolls, which is wonderful. And proportionately she can fit in well with a variety of other dolls and figures of this size, so with a different outfit, I think she'll be a nice display piece (I've also found a huge number of patterns for this size of doll, so the possibilities are almost endless).
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| The curly wig. The crushed eyelash is causing the left eye to look a bit strange here. |
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| In comparison to the Martha Jones doll from Tonner's Doctor Who line. |
She's very pretty! I like her curly wig.
ReplyDeleteI think "just doesn't seem to be my thing" sums up my experience with Tonner as well. They're pretty but there's just one thing about them that I cna't put my finger on....
Thanks! The wigs are my favourite part here, I think.
DeleteI feel the same way about Tonner - I'm constantly thinking "Oh, that's nice, but..."
I might be somewhat in the minority (don't know since I've never really asked) but while I don't mind things like putting shoes on, changing hands, etc., I think that in my mind, a limited run from a company that's made specifically for display should require next to no "fixing" right out of the box. Occasional things I can understand, but a lot of it... well, my X-23 came with a damaged claw, and you mentioned here that you had to reapply an eyelash... and I was reading somewhere (toybox philosopher, I think) about the quality differences between the dolls with inset eyes and painted ones, and since they're such a big-name doll company, I feel like that could be fixed a bit? I don't expect perfection by a long shot and stuff happens (like eyelashes getting crushed occasionally) but I'm just not a fan of having to "repair" brand new things.
DeleteAnd that kind of makes me feel like I'm gambling on the quality of an expensive item, which is (I think) what always prevents me from buying more.
I know that I will never own a Tonner... unless I find one at the thrift store, lol. They look too similar to me. They all have this stoicism that FR's have as well, but FR's come across as fierce and Tonner's as, well, a little melancholy.
ReplyDeleteHeh, you never know what'll turn up at the thrift store!
DeleteI like that stoic vs. melancholy comparison - I've been trying to think of a way to phrase that difference, and that's perfect!
Interesting review, but she's not doing it for me. I think she's lacking the "life" that I find the BJD's have, but then I have never quite bonded with any of the fashion dolls anyway. That's not a negative, it's just me and I'm sure we all have our own special dolls that we love.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
X
I usually feel the same way about fashion dolls - the inset rather than painted eyes give this one a bit of extra life versus the painted-eye ones, at least for me. :)
DeleteIt's certainly true that there are dolls that will never be for some people (for me it's the Blythes - they're lovely, but I've never seen one that came alive for me).
I love Tonner dolls, but I don't have any Ellowynes. I do love the style of clothes that Tonner has made for them. I wish the Tylers could have had something similar.
ReplyDeleteTonner clothes are always well made, even if there has been corner-cutting in other areas recently. With a bad economy, that's hardly surprising.
Ah, you're the expert then! :) Which are your favourite outfits from Tonner?
DeleteI was scanning the offerings on ebay the other day and was overwhelmed by the number of options out there. It was more than a little intimidating!
I loved this doll. Ellowyne's clothes are often like that, very ruffly and feminine and a mix between boho and vintage. This bracelet is a fantastic accessory for a doll of her size, or any doll really. I'd wear one of those myself.
DeleteTonner really has put out a lot of different fashion doll lines. I've paid attention to Tonner dolls since the beginning (I remember looking at the very first Tylers in a doll store) so I've had a chance to get used to each new line as it came out, I guess. :) Do you like his superhero dolls? I've heard his favorite hero is Superman.
Wow, that bracelet is stunning - I can't believe the detail on something doll-scale!
DeleteAs for the superhero dolls, I've always been tempted, but I haven't taken the plunge yet. But knowing me, it's probably just a matter of time. ;)
I think that the Lizette Spice doll has a personalized face mold. Her nose looks slightly thicker and her lips look a little fuller than other Tonner dolls.
ReplyDeleteThe Martha Jones doll looks as though she is a darker complected Tonner basic fashion doll. Does Tonner use the same face mold for all of these dolls?
Martha Jones' face was supposed to be based on the face of the actress. There are a lot of different face sculpts used among Tonner's lines.
DeleteIt's good to know that they have plenty of face sculpt, although probably bad for my wallet, since it makes me want to watch them more carefully. ;)
DeleteThat said, I have to say that the Martha Jones doll's sculpt isn't a very convincing likeness to Freema Agyeman. I like the doll overall, but she really doesn't look character-specific. But maybe the rest of the series did - if I ever see another IRL, I'll watch for that.
Yeah, that's why I said the doll was "supposed" to be based on Agyeman's face. :) The only other Doctor Who doll Tonner has produced is one of David Tennant. Tonner may have found dealing with the BBC difficult. I know it took forever for official photos to be released, after the line was first announced.
DeleteHeh, fair point! :)
DeleteThat interesting that there might have been background issues. Although there were a pair of Torchwood dolls as well - but I think they were released the same year, so maybe they were developed concurrently? I admit I've thought about getting those ones just for the trench-coats! ;)
Hi, I'm reading your comments on the "mood" of the Tonner Ellowyne dolls. I think it would do you well to "get to know" Robert. If you knew him you would understand "why" Ellowyne looks the way she does. It is very deliberate and reflects the artist himself. Truly amazing dolls. I own 86 of them, most early LE Convention dolls. Try "feeling" the mood of these dolls and ready about Robert, then you will understand. Eagle, Idaho
ReplyDeleteHeh, keep in mind that this post is five years old! Although I'd long been a collector of ABJDs and collectible action figures, 2014 was the first year that I picked up any collectible fashion dolls, so I was testing the waters to see what dolls would mesh with the rest of my collection.
DeleteI'm all for collecting whatever we love for whatever reason we choose. So if you collect based on the creator's personality, I salute you! :) But for me, it ultimately comes down to a combination of engineering and appearance.
In any case, I still own this doll, so if you're reading negativity into this, I can assure you that's not the case.
Thanks for visiting! :)