Monday, April 4, 2016

Liv'n Travel Set

I got this Liv'n Travel set for free when I purchased the Liv Making Waves Alexis doll. I just love free stuff, don't you? This set of accessories came with a suitcase, shoes, bracelet, earrings, and a doggie hoodie.

Here's a look at the back of the package. 

One of my dolls travels more than all of the rest, and that's Calista. She has been my travel companion on all of my recent trips, so she is the natural choice to receive this set of goodies. Oooooh, she may get to leave the country next year and go on her first cruise!

Calista is extremely excited to have this set and to be able to pack her own bag for the first time!

She opens the suitcase and yep, there's plenty of space for everything that she wants to take on her next trip! Now she has her eyes set on the rest of the accessories.

The shoes are a great fit! She is so glad that she can wear both flat and heeled shoes. She searches the stash of Sparkle Girlz clothes to see if she can find an outfit that matches the shoes.

Ummmmm, she'll have to keep searching. This is not a good look for young Calista. She does love the shoes and bracelet, though.

Since Calista's ears are not pierced and I have no plans to pierce them, she generously gives the earrings to someone who can use them. Sashabella Paws is appreciative of the gift. Meanwhile, Calista found a necklace in the Sparkle Girlz stash that she likes and that looks good with her new bracelet.

Sashabella shows off her new earrings. She'd better enjoy them while she can, because I have a feeling that her head will be swapped soon.

As for the doggie hoodie, there are no Liv dogs here, so Only Hearts Club Briana Joy's dog Longfellow gets this accessory. It's a little too big for him, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Okay, back to the packing. Calista will definitely need a swimsuit for her next trip, so she finds one in the Sparkle Girlz stash.

With everything packed, Calista is ready for her next adventure.

Goodbye for now. Oh wait, don't forget your new shoes, Calista!

As Calista demonstrates below, the handle is adjustable. Calista extends it so that she can easily wheel her luggage as she walks (the wheels don't really work, but that's okay because she doesn't really walk).

Ok, she's really leaving now. Until next time!

Friday, April 1, 2016

Real Masterpiece Kevin Durant

I love finding great deals on dolls, but every now and then, I splurge. For me, Enterbay's Real Masterpiece Kevin Durant figure was a splurge. I tried to talk myself out of wanting him. I tried to let some time pass in the hopes that I would forget that I wanted him. Weeks later, I still wanted him. So, he's mine. I did find him at a slightly discounted price.

The box is large and heavy, which gave me the feeling of anticipation that I was in for a treat.

And I definitely was in for a treat. This figure comes with 2 head sculpts (a serious face and a posing face - both an amazing likeness), a 13" body with 30 points of articulation, 10 interchangeable hands, a Spalding basketball, an NBA MVP trophy, an authentic uniform with socks and sneakers, a pair of basketball tights, and a stand.

Here he is out of the box. My photos do not do him justice. The detail on this figure and his accessories are incredible. His 30 points of articulation allow him to pose very realistically, and he's able to hold his poses well. 

Here's a close-up. The head sculpt is hand-painted with what is described as a newly developed "multi layer" paint application.

Here's a look at his second head sculpt. I was thinking of getting a second tall body for this sculpt, but I don't know if I want a figure to permanently have this expression on his face. On the other hand, I don't really see myself swapping out the head on this figure with any regularity, so I may as well get the extra body so that this head won't go to waste. What do you think?

His upper body has just enough articulation to pose naturally while remaining aesthetically pleasing. His torso has extremely detailed tattoos.

His lower body poses very well. He has double jointed knees and his joints are nice and stiff, so he can really hold a variety of poses very well. He can even hold a squatting position. The appearance of his double jointed knees does not bother me, but if they did I could simply put his basketball tights on him to cover them up.

Here he is holding his trophy. As with all of his accessories, the trophy is very realistic and detailed.

Here he is in a seated position. You can kind of see the NBA logo on one of his socks in this shot. I tried to get a good clear close-up of his socks and shoes, but failed. His shoelaces look real, but they are plastic (which is good for me because the older I get, the less patience I have for tiny doll shoelaces). Both socks have the NBA logo. His black socks have not stained his legs or feet.

Kevin is the tallest of my 1/6 scale guys. It looks to me like Darius Reid is looking a little sad in the photo below. Perhaps it's that he's not used to looking up at someone. Or could it be that he senses that his position as the favored doll in my collection is now tenuous at best?

My tall ladies are thrilled to have another tall guy around (and such a handsome one, at that).

Overall, I am thrilled with this figure. He is sturdy, well-made, realistic, aesthetically pleasing, and basically everything that I want in a doll. The only downside is that I will have to search very hard to find clothes for him to wear. I'll accept that challenge, though.

I am disappointed with my photos for this blog entry. Normally I think that my photos are okay for the purposes of this blog, but I really wish that I could show you the detail that I see when I look at this figure. I don't have the lighting or the equipment (or the skills) necessary to truly capture all of the details and the wonderful quality of this figure.