Mini Review: Pullip Nostalgia Isul Lir

   I have been so busy lately that I'm getting way behind in posts I wanted to do. I've been meaning to do this post for ages.
  A couple of months ago (or has it been longer?!) I had heard that Tuesday morning had gotten more Pullip dolls. Shortly after I heard we went to the Big City, where I planned to hit two Tuesday Mornings. I only had time for one, but it's the biggest one in Ohio, and supposedly one of the top 10 in the country. It did indeed have some Pullips: two minis, (Two of the same one.), and two larger ones, both Isul Lir. I really liked Isul  Lir, but I do have a Pullip. I have an  Erenfreid.

Erenfried is from an anime series called Neo Angelique... I think?

I really like his coat and glasses, but I could do without the pink hair and alien head.

This is the illustration from the back of the box.

When I saw Lir I was very tempted, but he was $40, and it wasn't my birthday or anything. When I got home I kept thinking how much I liked Lir, and wondering what I could do to afford him. Finally it occurred to me that I could sell Erenfried in exchange for buying Lir. I hadn't opened Erenfried because I still felt guilty about spending the money and thought I should keep him NRFB in case I might need to give in and sell him. Of course, I figured in the intervening week or two that had elapsed since I saw Lir, that both would be sold. But when we went to the Big City to go to dinner, (Olive Garden), and the movies (Captain America Civil War.Yes, we were a little late on this one.),I made a very quick stop at Tuesday Morning. All the Pullips were gone except one Lir!So  was dancing a jig. I had sold my idea to Ken before we got to the store, so I snatched Lir up.

See how much cuter Lir is?!

This doll is actually  the Nostalgia version Isul Lir.

This is the card that comes with the doll.

I learned that from looking up Pullip Isul, because it doesn't actually say that on the box,not in English anyway!

The back of the box.

And the back of the card.


  There's also a sister, with a matching outfit to Lir's. There was also some special edition or such with the exact same outfits, only in blue.

I like Erenfreid's uniform type coat, but Lir is wearing a sailor suit!

 And if you read the blog you'll know I love sailor suits, in all sorts of forms.

Actually. I wasn't sure at first if Lir was a boy or a girl. He does have ruffly bloomers and sort of a camisole thing on under his coat.

He has red hair and brown eyes,a combination that is kind of uncommon,but which both I, and my son Fuzz have.

You can't tell how red his hair is in this picture.

  His complexion looks very pale, but it's actually quite peachy. (That's where my son and I differ from Lir and most red haired people. We're definitely pinkish instead of peachy.)

Lir also has super long eye lashes.

 His sailor suit comes with  a huge hat (To fit his huge head....

 ...decorated with four different bows.

  This picture really shows a flaw in my Lir's jacket. The front and the sleeves look faded compared to the rest of the jacket.It's not sun fading, or the back of the sleeves wouldn't be faded and the front flap with the buttons would be.
   He also has a sash, which is decorated with bows and metals.

Unfortunately his metals only want to hang backwards.

 I kept trying to twist them around, but they wouldn't stay.

He also has a belt with a key hanging from it. Gotta love keys.

His sash kept slipping down.

I love the striped socks and boots.

They really lace and tie. If you read my review of Tonner/Wilde Imagination's Bashful Burt you'll know how his real lacing/tying boots impressed me.

  Lir has another cool feature: His eyes can move side to side and close, thanks to three switches in the back of his head. 

The switches are very well hidden under his hair. They're actually hard to find even when you know they're there. I had to dig through his hair. I was beginning to think he didn't have any switches.

His hair isn't especially thickly rooted, but it's very puffy, which helps to hide the switches. I like the colour of the hair. It's not super silky: sort of course really. But at least I can't mess up this style!

He also comes with a stand.

The stand has some pretty decoration on it.

So does the box.

  It took a while for Lir to loosen up and get posing. I had a terrible time trying to get his elbows to turn around and bend.His wrists didn't want to bend at first either. (By the way, Lir had the usual plastic on his hands and up his arms. And as usual, it was hard to cut off. It was so tight I could hardly cut it off without digging scrapes in Lir's hands.) Eventually his wrists bent enough for him to be able to salute and look out to 'sea',which I wanted him to do since he's wearing a sailor suit.

Looking out to 'sea'.

And trying to salute. His elbows were still not cooperating at this point.

   Lir doesn't have the type 4 Pullip body with the really unattractive wrists that break very easily. He also doesn't have the type 3 body either, with the upper body joint and huge clavicle. I didn't think there was a more recent Pullip body, but Lir's is different from either of those. He has an upper arm joint,elbow joint, jointed wrists and ankles,and  a waist joint that allows him to lean from side to side at the waist, but not turn on the joint.His head only turns from side to side, and can't tilt at all.Does anybody know what body this is?

Of course his boots keep his ankles from staying bent, even though the boots are soft enough to flex his ankle somewhat. I haven't taken them off to see how easily they go on and off.

  A little more looking out to sea.

.

I 'm really pleased with Lir. He's mostly what I would have chosen if given a list of features for a Pullip: red hair, brown eyes, and a sailor suit. And I love boy dolls. They're few and far between. I would have preferred his head tilt and his body twist a bit, but at least he has the wrists that don't break when you look at them. The opening and closing eyes that can also look to either side or straight ahead are a bonus I might not even have thought of.I'm happy with him.I don't think I'll miss Erenfried at all.

It's My Third Blogaversary! I'm Celebrating With A 'New" J Doll, Old Church Street! Plus My Top Ten Posts Ever

  Three years ago today I started this blog.

Happy Blogaversary to me!

I wasn't sure of everything I would do with it. So far it has served as a place to share some photography, some fun finds, and some interesting facts. It's given me the chance to voice a few opinions, get some writing out of my system,and hopefully educate and occasionally amuse.
  I was thinking of doing a giveaway for the blogaversary, but there has been such a low interest in previous giveaways I gave the idea up. Maybe I'll do a Christmas giveaway.
  So what have been the most popular posts I've done so far? You might think the oldest ones would have had the most views, accumulating them over time. Not really true. The most popular posts are scattered throughout the three years. Some of them are surprising. Counting down, here are my Top Ten Most Popular Posts (So far.)
10. Topo Gigio, from Living Dolls Week. Topo was Doll-A-Day 181. You can see the post HERE.
9. Little Miss No Name. My childhood LMNN was Doll-A-Day 33. You can see her HERE.
8. Newborn Thumbelina. Another of my favourite childhood dolls was Doll-A-Day 26. Check that post out HERE.
7. That Kid. The most sought after doll of my life was part of Talkin' 'Bout Boys Week and was Doll-A-Day 218. I had wanted him since I was 5. Find out what all the fuss was about HERE.
6. Ratti girl.This Ratti Tjorven doll with the somewhat unsettling grin was Doll-A-Day 9. See her in all her glory HERE.
5.  Midge and Tressy and the second Barbie Dreamhouse. This post about a yard sale haul of Tressys,Midges,Allan, and Ken, and my online purchase of a Barbie Dreamhouse full of mystery goodies ranks at number 5. To solve the mystery click HERE.
4. Ivy Cottage dolls Violet Pickles and Ruby Buttons were a joint Doll-A-Day 320. These seemingly little known children's play dolls were the creation of  famous doll artist E.J. Taylor. Succumb to their cuteness HERE.
3. The second part of my 2 parter on Beatles dolls and ornaments comes in at number 3. To 'Come Together' with them click HERE.
2. Ai doll Bee Balm was Doll-A-Day 21, and my second most popular post so far by way more than a nose.See why HERE.
And our number 1 post of all time is, (Drum roll please!)
Mrs. Beasley! This extra long post about Mrs, Beasley dolls and how I found the Beasley of my dreams, (which I had been dreaming since childhood!), was Doll-A-Day 27, and can be found HERE.
  Anyway, to celebrate I gave myself a blogaversary present today by deboxing a doll I've had for a while, this J-Doll,'Old Church Street'.

I got her at Tuesday Morning a while back, but I didn't open her because I thought I might have to sell her. (I bought a lot of dolls there that day!) But I really like her, and she was only $20, and after three years of hard blogging, I think I've earned her!

 I love J Dolls. They have great faces, so delicate.

 Unlike a lot of ball jointed dolls, J Dolls don't have changeable eyes.

They have the same bodies as Pullips, the Number 3 and Number 4.

The J Dolls I have have at least 2 different body types.Old Church Street has the number 3 body. She has an extra waist joint the number 4 doesn't have, but a less pose-able head, and those breakable, weird looking wrists.

Her head can only turn left and right. She can't look up or down.

Fortunately she doesn't seem to share a common weakness with the other dolls I have with this body: highly breakable wrists. I've had a couple whose hands broke off nearly straight out of the boxes. (You can see my other J Doll posts HERE, HERE, HERE,and HERE.

This one has a less attractive wrist joint too.

 I seem to either love or hate these J Doll clothes. Most of them I love, including this one.

The clothes are generally well made, at least on the J Dolls I have bought.

There are also a lot of pieces to the outfits, which is good value and gives you lots of options for looks.

The shoes are often a let down though. Some are plain and ugly, and a lot of them don't stay on very well. I lost one of this girls shoes a couple of times during her photoshoot. Luckily I found it both times.

Where has my shoe gone?!

The hair on my other J Dolls is very smooth and soft. This doll has courser hair that is harder to keep looking nice.

I just washed my hair and I can't do a thing with it!

  So, Happy Blogaversary to me! I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am. And here's a little more of Old Church Street.