Doll-A-Day 2019 #217: Hillbillies

  Today's doll is a couple...well,several. The first two are a couple of my childhood dolls.

I bought these dolls when I was a kid. We went to Kentucky every summer to visit my grandparents. Before we left every year my dad would give us vacation money to spend while we were there. I was a kid,so I spent my money on candy and toys.

 

These hillbilly dolls were always sold as souvenirs there.
 

The smaller one has a string in his head so he can be hung. For display at the store,or for dangling somewhere else?

I guess Kentuckians didn't mind embracing the stereotype of them in those days. My dad was always proud to call himself a hillbilly. I don't think that would be quite the case these days. Korglady,can you shed any light on this? (Not that you're a 'hillbilly',but you live in Kentucky!)

This guy is what is referred to as a 'knee hugger' doll.

For obvious reasons.

Knee hugger dolls were usually Christmas elves,like The Elf on the Shelf.  You can see a load of knee hugger dolls in my post HERE,you can see some Easter elf knee huggers HERE,and also check out 'knee hugger doll' the side bar. Although they are called 'knee huggers' , they can actually let go of their legs.

But as you can see, their arms are usually sewn together, or,as in this case,are all one piece. So they can't have free moving arms unless the kind that are sewn together have their stitches cut. This guy has the 'all one piece' kind.

So he's stuck in this position.

His little skinny legs are pretty free moving though.

But a little too free moving. They are so dangly they don't hold a pose.
 

He's about 9 inches tall.

The other guy has wired legs and arms.

He has a net in his hand,so he's apparently...fishing?

I had him first, and he was played with a lot more than the smaller one.

When I bought him my grama thought he needed a log to sit on. So she had Grampa cut a piece of tree limb for him that looked like a curved log. I still have it, but he's not using it today.

This guy is about 12 inches tall.

When I made the kids a movie,"Emma and Fuzzy Take a Road Trip",starring their dolls of themselves,this guy made an appearance as a guy selling handmade quilts by the roadside. (His quilts turned out to just be 'pictures of quilts',which angered Emma the Doll.) In the end Emma the Doll decided 'they don't have anything',and wanted to leave. Fuzzy the Doll insisted,  'No, wait. I saw something I like'. In the next shot they are in their car and Emma says,"I don't know what you wanted that thing for.' As they drive out of the shot,Fuzzy insists,"I like it.",and the hillbilly,obviously Fuzzy's purchase, is laying on the trunk lid and complaining that he has to 'go to the tall-et', (as my dad used to pronounce it.) I think this accounts for my kids quite a bit...

When Emma  made a sequel to my movie,"Emma and Fuzzy Take a Time Trip",both of these guys appeared.
 

 The other guy probably came from a  yard sale.
 

He reminded me so much of my original guys, and my childhood,that I had to buy him.

I'm sure he's from the same era as my guys.

He's also about 12 inches tall.
 

Like the smaller of my childhood dolls,he's a Knee Hugger.

 I took the pictures today in the evening, just before sunset. It rained really hard today,and the pile of limbs where we trimmed a tree weeks ago were black from being so wet. The late evening sun through the green and black foliage looked misty in the photos. It looked great, like these guys were posing in the middle of the woods.

I wished I had a fairy or wood sprite doll handy to photograph before the light changed.

I tried to find something as quick as I could,and still get the dolls I needed for tomorrow photographed too.So you'll see that doll at some point.
 

  So that's the crowd for today. I'm sure you learned some things you didn't want to know. Come back tomorrow and see if I force unwanted knowledge on you again.

Doll-ADay 2019 #216: Dustin from Stranger Things

  Today's doll is another one that brings up the question,'Doll or action figure?' Yes, it's an action figure, but the term 'action figure' was created in 1964, when Hasbro was trying to market G.I. Joe to boys. Before that they were just called dolls. So there.
  This is Dustin from "Stranger Things".

He was made by McFarlane Toys in 2018.

He's about 6 and a half inches tall.

He's obviously from season two,as 'Punk Eleven' is one of the other figures in the series.

He comes with a stand and several accessories.

He has a flashlight,a walkie talkie,his back pack, a compass,and an extra right hand.

 

His compass can be held in his right hand.  I think it's my favourite accessory. I love how tiny it is and still has so much detail.

 He can actually wear his back pack on his back.

The extra right hand allows him to hold his other accessories. The extra hand has a peg which fits in a hole in the back of his walkie talkie.

The flashlight fits in his left hand.

His left  hand can hold his flashlight or back pack strap...

The figure is a very good likeness of the actor who plays Dustin,Gaten Matarazzo III.

There has been some speculation as to whether or not this is a 3-D printed likeness. If you look very closely the face has tiny specks,just like the 3-D printed figures.

 Matarazzo famously had no front teeth in the forst season of "Stranger Things". This was because he has a condition called  Cleidocranial dysostosis,or CCD,which mostly affects the bones and teeth. His condition was written into his character,and has been mentioned several times on "Stranger Things". Matarazzo has used his fame to raise awareness of CCD. He has also fundraised for CCD Smiles,an organization that helps to cover the dental costs for those with CCD. Often oral surgery is needed for those with the condition. You can visit theCCD Facebook page HERE.

3-D or not,look at all the details in his clothes!

His corduroy pants look great!

Every wrinkle in his shirt and pants has been recreated.

His clothes are so detailed they almost look like cloth,but they're not.

This is the doll today. See you again tomorrow for another one.

Doll-A-Day 2019 #215: Nape Curl Talking Barbie

  You may have seen a different version of today's doll on the blog before. I showed you my red haired Nape Curl Talking Barbie in my post HERE. Today's girl is a brunette.

Talking Barbie first appeared in 1967,with a long braid. (You can see mine HERE.)  The second version,which includes today's doll,had what is referred to as a 'nape curl' hair style. In other words, the hair curls at the nape,or the back, of the neck.
 

Her hair should be curled tightly at the back of her neck. It's not as tightly curled as it was originally,so the hair isn't as close to her neck.
 

It kind of looks nice fluffy like this, but her side spit curls seem to get lost in the sides of the hair.

Maybe I could just recurl those. Of course, you've been told how bad I am with hair,so you know that's probably not going to happen any time soon.

Her forehead spit curl is still in pretty good shape though.
 

The third version also had a nape curl style,but she had centered eyes. This is the second version, since she has side glance eyes.

They aren't really glancing to the side,but they aren't centered.

Like a lot of Talking Barbies,this lady has an issue with one of her legs. It has fallen off,a common problem for these dolls.

her situation does allow her to do this pose though.

She has rooted eyelashes,which is one of the best things about the Mod Era Barbies.

The outfit she's wearing is called Travel Togethers.

It's a Barbie fashion from 1967.

It consists of the hat, jacket, and skirt...

 

...and red closed toe pumps, which I don't have. As usual,I am sadly lacking in shoes.

  That's today's doll. See you tomorrow for another one.