Friday, July 29, 2011

New Dolls at Target

I had heard on AG Playthings that Target had brought out a new line of 18" play dolls, so I decided to drive up there today and check it out. :)

The new dolls are called Play Wonder dolls, and have the same body style as the Madame Alexander play dolls (vinyl poseable head, vinyl arms, legs and chest, and cloth torso).  In fact, one of the sets of shoes had "Alexander" stamped in the sole, just like the shoes that my MA dolls came with.  Their face molds are the same as the Madame Alexander play lines in Sears and Kmart.  I don't care for their faces quite as much as the Friends Boutique or Alexander Girlz dolls, but they're not terrible.  I think the main problem I have with the face mold is they tend to paint such severe eyebrows on them.

The Play Wonder dolls are dressed in styles that are pretty Hannah Montana/ Disney Channel tweenish.  They are also a major throwback to the 80s...lots of tulle and neon! ;)  If you're into those styles, you'll be excited by the separate outfits being sold to complement the dolls.  Each outfit has 3 different "looks", made possible by mixing and matching the separates.  The outfits are selling for $16.99 each, and I believe the dolls were $24.99 (I was mistaken...they're actually $34.99).  There was also a set of 3 shoes:  furry boots, tennis shoes, and flip flops.

And that brings me to my next interesting point.  One of the dolls had feet that were visible (the rest were in boots or close-toed shoes), and I saw that the big toe was separated from the rest of the toes, making it possible for the dolls to actually wear flip flops and similar styles.  Her toenails were also a dark shade of pink! ;)

I haven't decided what I think about them yet.  Like I said, the face mold isn't my favorite, and the clothes aren't really my style.  I do kind of like the face on the African American girl with crimped hair.

I was hoping to get some pics of them for you, but I checked, and Target doesn't allow you to take pics in the store.  It was a nice thought...

Another interesting thing is that they've repackaged all of their Our Generation doll line.  They are now in open pink packaging.  If you have a local Target, you may want to stop by and check things out, because all of the OG stuff with older packaging is on sale.  There wasn't a whole lot left at my Target (I think the sale has been going on for a while), but they did have one wardrobe left for $38, 3 beds for $38 each, several outfits for $8.60 each, and 2 or 3 dolls for about $24 each.  It was VERY hard to leave the clearance aisle with an empty cart...but I did it! :)

When I was in the aisle with the Play Wonder dolls, I also noticed another new line of dolls.  These ones were 14" all-vinyl play dolls called the Hearts 4 Hearts girls.  They actually remind me a lot of Karito Kids.  They are dolls from all around the world, and when you buy a doll, a percentage of your purchase goes toward charity (sound familiar?).  They also have an online world that can be unlocked with the purchase of the dolls.  The company producing the dolls is Playmates, and they are affiliated with the well-known charity World Vision.  I found the online site linked to the dolls, which you can view HERE

I'm trying to decide what I think about these dolls, too.  My Target only had Nahji, Tipi, and Lilian.  As happens sometimes, I found that the faces were not as cute in person as they are on the box or online.  I thought Nahji and Tipi were pretty cute, though.  Lilian had a really spaced out look.  I think part of it was the huge, blue eyes staring at me. ;)  They were right next to the BFC, Ink dolls.  I thought they would make kind of cute little sisters for those dolls.

Has anyone else seen these?  Do you have any thoughts on them?  Feel free to comment below. :)

14 comments:

Claire said...

Hmm...I don't exactly think these are my favorite MA girls. Maybe I just love my MA baby doll I've had my whole life too much. ;)

Carolyn said...

I have only seen the Hearts 4 Hearts dolls online and in photos, but I think they are really cute. My favorites are Dell, Tipi & Consuela, but I think it would be fun to have them all. :o)

I know a lot of people always compare dolls to AG, especially the size. I like dolls of all sizes, so that doesn't affect my opinion of other dolls. I do understand that most people want their dolls to work or "fit in" with their other doll accessories, size-wise.

I am drawn to faces & eyes much more than size. And nice quality hair! Although I get tired of every doll having extremely long hair. I like variety. LOL!

AlexAndrea said...

I like the MA dolls well enough (I only have two), but the original casual clothing they were wearing was really disapointing; I would never buy it seperately.

I immediately dressed them in new outfits. The original clothes ended up in my 4-year-old grand-daughter's doll wardrobe.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks for commenting, everyone! It's fun hearing your thoughts. :)

AlexAndrea said...

I agree with Bama. I look at the faces first, then how the rest of the doll 'fits in'.

Yes, there have been a lot of 18" AG 'wanabes'. But there are other 18" dolls, such as BFC, who are modeled after an older girl, say 12 to 16.

These dolls represent a different 'scale'. An adolescent doll in this age range would have to be 30 to 40 inches tall (baby sitter) to compare with an 18" AG doll who represents a much younger child.

I have quite a collection of these larger dolls and can tell the difference.

Just as a side note, the clothes from the old china and stuffed fabric torso 'fashion dolls' fit the BFC dolls quite well. The slender neck and torso are just perfect. But attractive BFC size shoes have eluded me thus far.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks for the info, AlexAndrea. :) I must confess, I spent a good part of last night looking up BFC Ink and Hearts4Hearts Girls. I think eventually I would enjoy having one of each of these for my collection. I don't know if they would mingle much with my 18 inchers, but they're just such cute dolls. :) I haven't decided yet on the Play Wonder dolls, especially since I'm really holding out for a My AG #55, and I have pretty limited space at this point.

Anonymous said...

They are soooo cute .. I might have to have one of them too .. actually i might have to have three of them .. LOL!! It is hard to choose just one ..

You find out the neatest stuff ..

Taryn

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Taryn! Glad you enjoyed the post! :)

I have to credit my mom for this find. She'd read an AGPT post on the Play Wonder dolls, so I looked it up, and then went to Target to see them for myself. The Hearts4Hearts Girls were a happy accident! ;)

AlexAndrea said...

I show an BFC doll in my blog post Cast Iron Providence' on 'Little People, Little World'. The long slender neck reminds me of Barbie.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks, AlexAndrea. I'd seen that post but hadn't had a chance to comment yet. You are the master of thrift store finds! ;)

bwaybabs said...

Your post made me realize that I have not been to Target to check their dollstuff in a WHILE. So, I went this afternoon, and indeed found the Play Wonder dolls there. My Target only had 4 or 5, none African American. The outfits were okay, but they did not have any separate outfits at my Target. As for the quality (of the dolls, not necessarily the outfits) I thought they looked a bit cheap and their heads were disproportionate to the rest of their body (too big.) Maybe I'm just picky, but I am not a fan.

I'm not a fan of the new OG packaging either. I find it a bit hard on the eyes, though it is interesting how the outfit package can apparently be transformed into a gift box. I did like the Rising Star hoodie though. There was only one wardrobe which was $54 and it looks exactly the same as the one with older packaging (the one I got last year, and it cost me like $60 =()

Gosh, I sound like a total Debbie Downer. I do have one positive thing to say, though! The Hearts 4 Hears dolls I think are GORGEOUS, but unfortunately neither of my two Targets carry them. I do love Consuelo (I think it's odd that her name ends with an O because usually female Mexican names end in A) Mahji, Dell, and Tipi.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks for commenting, bwaybabs. :)

The heads on the Play Wonder dolls are what I have the hardest time with, myself.

As for the new OG packaging, you made me laugh. That is a LOT of bright pink all in one place! ;) And yes, I don't think anything has really changed with the OG product except for the packaging itself.

Glad you enjoyed the Hearts 4 Hearts girls. I hadn't even thought about Consuelo's name, but you're completely right. Interesting...I wonder why they chose to end her name that way?

Have a nice day! :)

Dagmara said...

Can someone help ??? Is the Play Wonder doll poseable and does this really matter? I know some of the more expensive OG dolls are poseable.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Dagmara. :) Judging from what I saw of the dolls, I'm guessing they are like American Girl and other non-poseable dolls. The box said nothing about them being poseable, and other dolls made by Madame Alexander usually advertise on the box if they are poseable.

I actually prefer the non-poseable dolls. Sometimes the poseable ones can be hard to stand up or get to hold a pose, which can be frustrating for little hands. :)

Hope this helps! :)