Diya in the Garden

Last summer I unboxed Carpatina Diya, then the newest doll from Carpatina's slim 18" doll line. Since I'd opened her on a rainy day and then was away from home for nearly 4 months, I never got around to taking some proper outdoor photos of her.  So today I decided to remedy that!

Out of the Box: Carpatina Diya

A few months ago, Carpatina - the doll and medieval fashion company - announced an upcoming new doll, Diya. I was excited enough by the hype to preorder her, and today she made her grand arrival.

Carpatina's dolls are 18" playline dolls with full vinyl bodies which are slightly slimmer than the similar-height American Girl type dolls (I reviewed this body type last year in the form of Carpatina's Veronika, so I won't go into the body in depth with this doll as the engineering and size are identical). The new features of Diya are her face sculpt and her unique skin colour. As with all Capatina releases, one of her selling features is the detail in her clothing, in this case her Anarkali Dress with what hand embroidered trim.

Before we begin, I need to apologize for the photo quality: the rainstorms that I mentioned the other day are still ongoing, so it was quite dark for most of these.

And with that out of the way, let's open this box and take a look at Diya!

Upcoming posts for August 2016

ME Minimates, SDCC Monster High, Carpatina Diya

August has been a rainy month here, so I haven't been able to take many photos, and that's translated into my not posting very much lately. I wanted to make a quick post to say hello though, and I do have three new arrivals coming soon, and hopefully the weather will give me a chance to share them.  The three in question are the Series 2 Mass Effect Minimates (which were available as a set this time versus the old blind bags), Monster High's SDCC exclusive Hexiciah Steam (I won't be getting Robecca as I'm splitting the set with someone else), and the newest Carpatina doll, Diya.

Hope your summer (or winter for the southerners) has been fabulous, and if you're following the Olympics, I hope your favourites have been doing well!

In the Garden after the Rain

Since my current garden is narrow and L-shaped I can't always get far enough away to frame my photos the way I'm used to, but I decided to not let that get in the way of new photos and took Carpatina Veronika and Double Dutch Sascha out after a rainstorm to do some experimenting. I'm not thrilled with the results, but that just gives me something to work towards, right?

It's all photos from here on out.

Out of the Box: Carpatina Dolls' Veronika

Carpatina Dolls' Veronika

January already! Happy New Year!

My first post for 2015 is the last doll I received in 2014: Carpatina's "Medieval Princess Veronika".  Since Carpatina started out as a medieval/fantasy costuming company for humans, I thought that a doll that reflected that history would be a solid choice.

Carpatina's doll line consists of several 18" girl and two boy options in a variety of hair, eye and vinyl colours.  The dolls have 5 points of articulation (neck, shoulders, hips), and unlike American Girl-type dolls, have a slim vinyl torso rather than a round plush one.  As such, the dolls can't share clothing with AG-size dolls (although they can share clothes with the new Double Dutch Dolls line).  That said, Carpatina does have a separate line of doll clothing (called the "Girlfriends Collection") for AG-type dolls, and their patterns include both size options.

In addition to their costumed dolls (which Veronika is one of), they also offer basic dolls, which include a simple slip dress and generally sell for about $30USD less than the costumed dolls (which seem to range from $90-$110 USD, depending on the source).

The box front.

The back of the box.

The doll is shipped out in an attractive blue cardboard box that has the Carpatina logo on the front and both sides.  Oddly, given that the box has a front window, there were several layers of packing material in between the doll and the box, so one can't actually see the doll through the window.

The back of the box shows off both Veronika and the other 7 dolls from the line (and yes, the boy dolls in the line do look strangely Spock-like).

In the box.

The doll itself arrives wrapped in a plastic bag and is secured to the back of the box with ribbons at her neck and ankles.  She ships out dressed, but with her shoes in a separate bag.  Her hair was wrapped in a hairnet and her hands, lower legs and neck were wrapped in plastic.

The guarding against staining was probably a good choice - 24 hours after having removed her from the box (and removing the neck guard), staining had started to appear on her upper chest from colour transfer from the black portion of her dress (so far, the red hasn't caused any staining though).

Out of the box, two things stand out about this doll: the quality of her outfit and of her hair.   The dress is well-constructed and visually interesting - nice enough for display and solid enough for play, which is perfect for this type of doll.

Out of the Box

The back of the head.

Her waist-length curly black hair is soft and comes styled in an interesting partial dual braid/ribbon with bouncy curls in the back.  I don't know that it's the kind of hair that would hold up to extensive brushing, but it's lovely to look at (and feel) as-is.

The silver ribbon that's braided into her hair also matches the trim on her dress, which is a nice touch.  I did find it a little challenging to get the front of it (which sits crown-style in her promotional photos) to stay straight, but I think it would be simple enough to fix by loosening up the braids.

The dolls face is an interesting one - it's less traditionally cute than the rounded faces of American Girl dolls, but also not as traditionally doll-like as the faces of something like a Madame Alexander.  Which Veronika's face is not as angular or mature as Carpatina's boy dolls, it does seem to be straddling a stylistic line in a similar way.

Her eyes are also interesting, in that they're two-toned: blue on the outside and violet on the inner ring.  It gives her a very distinct look, and much like her face it seems to be straddling a stylistic line that most 18" doll lines don't aim for.  I'm actually not certain that I like the look, but I can't deny that it's an interesting one!

A side view.

Double Dutch Dolls
Sascha in Carpatina's
Tudor dress

The AG-sized Sari

Along with the doll, I also received two additional outfits: one in the Carpatina/slim size, and one in the broader "Girlfriends"/American Girl size.  Both outfits (the slim Tudor dress and the AG-sized sari) are solid quality pieces (in fact, I think the Tudor dress may even be better than Veronika's default outfit).

Overall, I'd say that while I'm satisfied with the doll herself, what I'm massively impressed by is the design and construction of the clothing.  I can easily see myself picking up another outfit or two in the future, and I'm planning to buy a couple of their doll clothing patterns and seeing how detailed they are.

Compared to AG

Season's Greetings! And Planning for 2015

Double Dutch Sascha (in a Carpatina oufit),
Volks SDGou Claude the Beast,
Carpatina Veronika

I missed posting on Christmas, so just wanted to make a quick post to send a Holiday greeting!

Coming up in the first few weeks of 2015,  I should be posting about the Carpatina doll and clothes line (I received a doll and three outfits as part of a gift exchange), and about my end-of-year splurge gift to myself, a Volks SDGou Claude the Beast, who I lucked into finding on Mandarake two weeks ago.  Also in the queue are Monster High's Vandala Doubloons, and some vintage Star Wars figures and vehicles.

I also seem to be hitting a storage and display limit, which means it may be time to thin the herd, so it's likely that I'll be talking myself through the process of elimination some time in the next couple of months.

And finally, my husband is expecting a new work assignment some time in the next 5 months, so since we'll be moving house some time this year there may be a series on packing-up dolls and figures in the works.  And depending on our next location, we may be unpacking out storage items as well, which will open up a whole host of new/old "Out of the Box" posts as I sort through those items.


I hope 2014 is wrapping up as well for you as it is for me, and best wishes for 2015!  Cheers!