BFC Ink Dolls (Including a Comparison to AG)

Hi, it's me again...Beast'sbelle, I mean.  Not Maggie.  I'd just like to start out by saying that I claim no responsibility for Maggie's overzealous advertising about her blog in the previous post.  It was nice to not have to think up something clever for my 200th post, but my goodness!  You see what I have to put up with?  I think I'm going to have to keep an eye on her for a while. ;)

Okay, back on topic!  One of the doll lines that I've really been wanting to review for the blog is the BFC Ink doll line (aka Best Friends Club Ink).  These dolls are anywhere from $20 to $30 each, and as my budget is quite restricted at this time, I figured a BFC Ink doll review would be a long way off.  

Then I got a mailing from Amazon.com, informing me that I had $27.90 in rewards points to spend on their site! :D  I've been really trying to watch what I spend, so this was an extra special blessing. :)  

It took me a while to decide how I was going to spend my rewards points, but when I saw the BFC Ink dolls, I decided that this was a great opportunity.  I could do a doll review on a brand new doll for about $2 out of my own pocket.  It was a bit of a sacrifice, as my other choice was my "Tale As Old As Time:  The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast" book that I've been wanting for a while.  In the end, though, my desire for a well-rounded blog won out.  I figured I could either resell the doll after I was done or keep her if I absolutely fell in love. :) 

I decided on Gianna, the redhead with blue eyes and freckles (the package says blue/green eyes, but in person they look more like a deep blue).  I placed my order and counted the days until she came.

Last Wednesday, my Amazon package arrived. :D  Hubby was sweet enough to bring it over to my mom's, where the girls and I were staying for a few days.  [Remember our breaker problem with our house?  Hubby was able to solve it with the help of his dad, my dad, and my brother, but it took them a couple of days.  During that time, the house had no power, so we needed another place to stay in the meantime.  My mom was great and opened her home to us while the guys worked.]

WARNING:  PART OF THIS POST WILL FEATURE PICTURES OF A NUDE DOLL WITH A DEVELOPED FIGURE.  If this is offensive to you, please skip this post. 

Okay, I don't know how I always manage to get off on these long paragraphs before I actually show the pics, but I'm honestly moving on now! ;)

My Amazon.com box. :)

Here she is, still in the box! (You can see my daughters' feet to the left.) :)

Sorry these pics aren't the best.  I'm not used to the lighting at my mom's.  :}

Some of Gianna's accessories.

The back of the box.

Once our power returned and I got home, I continued the photo shoot in my more familiar lighting.  :)

Here she is with her box and all of her accessories.

Gianna's brush, sweater, glasses, and purse.

Gianna's journal and a BFC Ink membership card.  I haven't opened the journal, as I hope to resell everything.  I understand from the website and other reviews that the journal features entries from the doll and then has blank spots for your daughter to write her own thoughts as well.  I wasn't too impressed with the excerpts I read online.  Many of the issues they were dealing with were things I wouldn't necessarily want to introduce to my oldest daughter yet (she's within the target age range).  Nothing obscene or risque, of course, just teenage issues that I don't think my second grader needs to worry about yet. :)   

Each doll also includes a special code to unlock online games and activities, much like Karito Kids, Innerstar U, or Hearts 4 Hearts Girls.  I didn't use the code for the same reason I didn't open the journal.     

A view from the box.

Doll Statistics:

(I went ahead and used the same facts as I did for my Doll Comparison Post.  Please remember that all measurements are approximate!)

- Head Circumference:  11" (wig size would be either a stretchy 10-11 or an 11-12) 

-Shoulders: a little over 10" wide
-Arms: about 7 1/4" long
-Chest:  8 1/4" wide
-Waist:  6 1/2" wide 
-Hips:  a little over 9 1/4" wide
-Legs:  9" long
-Feet:  about 2 3/4" long; 1" wide
-Total Height: 18"

-Body Style: All vinyl, slim-bodied doll with elbow, wrist, chest, knee and ankle joints, as well as poseable head, shoulders and legs.
-Eyes:  Stationary
-Body Tag:  None

-Distinguishing Marks: "TM & 2009  MGA Entertainment, Inc.  Made in China" on back of head (see pic below)

-Availability: Can be purchased at Target, Kmart, Walmart, or Amazon.com (I've had trouble finding them locally, so Amazon.com might be your best bet).  Can also be purchased on the secondary market.  You can also visit BFCink.com to get more information.
 

Here's a pic of the distinguishing marks on the back of Gianna's head.

Gianna's brush.  I don't know that I'd want to use this brush on her hair.  Plastic bristles aren't the best for doll hair.  Although, it's not like you could do much to make her hair worse, as I'll explain in a moment! :{

Here are Gianna's glasses on her face.  I must say, I'm not really a fan of the "cat eye" style.  In the right outfit, though, she would make a cute little 50s or 60s girl. 

One of the great things about this doll is her poseability.  I would have loved having a doll this versatile when I was a girl!  As you can see from the following pics, she can do a lot. :)

While posing her was really fun, and the idea itself is great, I wasn't impressed with the quality of her joints.  Right out of the box, one ankle joint was noticeably looser than the other.  Her chest joint was also pretty loose directly out of the package.  Shaking her slightly made her swivel back and forth.  If her chest was that loose already, how floppy would she be after hours of play?  Would she continue to hold a pose? 

Gianna comes with pretty silver earrings that have little stars on them.  I know that some of the BFC Ink clothing sets come with earrings, so I'm assuming they are removable (I'm too afraid to try to take them out, though, just in case!) :}

Gianna has a stunning face and is very photogenic. :) 

I love her freckles and her pretty, deep-blue eyes. 

One thing I was NOT impressed with was Gianna's hair.  Her bangs were trimmed very unevenly, as you can see from the above pic.  Her hair also had a crunchy gel substance in it, I'm assuming to keep it flat.  Ick!  The hair itself started looking messy before I even did anything with it.  In a child's care, this hair would be a disaster within weeks...perhaps days, depending on the child!   

The "layers" in her hair were not very impressive, either.  It looked like a bad haircut.

My Gianna also had a pretty thin patch on the top of her head.  It was covered up, but I didn't have to move the hair around much to discover it.

I also found that I didn't care as much for her eyebrows.  To me, she goes from sweet and innocent looking with her bangs, to taunting, cliquish high schooler with her eyebrows exposed.  But maybe that's just me.

I thought it would be interesting to compare Gianna to one of my American Girl dolls.  For the sake of consistency, I chose Charlie, my renamed Mia St. Clair doll, which I used for the last doll comparison post.  (I also want to apologize in advance for the greenish tint to Charlie's skin in some of these pics.  The skin tones in this first pic are truest to their actual coloring.)  

As you can see, Gianna is just about the same height as Charlie, but is much slimmer.  Charlie would never fit into Gianna's clothes.  Gianna might be able to get away with wearing an AG t-shirt or dress (although it would be huge on her), but she'd never be able to wear AG pants, shorts or skirts.

Two cuties.

Here is a body style comparison.  You can see all of Gianna's bendable joints.  You can also see that she has painted on underwear.  I actually appreciate it when they do this on vinyl-bodied dolls.  I just with they'd start painting on bras, too! :)

From her more developed figure (and from the story lines in the journals that accompany these dolls), you can see that she is meant to portray a teenager, while the AG dolls are meant to portray 9 to 10 year olds.

Side view

Back view

Up Close

I also took some pics of Gianna with Elena, my renamed Karito Kids doll.  Her proportions actually work a little better with the KK dolls.  I didn't take any pics of them undressed, but at least you get an idea of how they look together. 

Side view

While the Karito Kids have a slightly more "realistic" feel to their faces, these dolls actually work pretty well together.  They have the same stationary eyes and slimmer builds.  I think Elena could work very well as an older sister for Gianna. :)



Thoughts on the BFC Ink dolls:

-Pros:

   1.  Beautiful, well-painted face mold

   2.  Her poseability provides great options for play and display.

   3.  A nice, light doll for carrying around with you.

   4.  A line of compatible clothing and accessories are available.

-Cons:

   1.  Low-quality hair with a bad haircut.

   2.  Loose joints directly out of the package, meaning more loose joints after playtime.

   

I was fully prepared to adore this doll and add her to my collection.  After seeing her in person, though, I may go ahead and resell her.  If I do, it will be hard to let her go.  I love her sweet face and freckles.  Her eyes are striking, and her outfit is cute (although the dress is a little too short and low-cut for my taste).  I really like the idea of having a super poseable doll, too.  Oh, the possibilities! :)  But her poor-quality hair and questionable joint construction leave me reluctant to give this girl a completely positive review.  

Based on what I've observed with this doll, I would not recommend these dolls (at least the super poseable ones) for a young child.  There's no way I would give Gianna to my 5 year old or 3 year old, for example, unless I wanted a doll that looked like a train wreck.  And just for your information, my 5 year old is pretty careful with her toys.  My 3 year old...not so much. ;)  The box says ages 6 and up.  Honestly, though, I'd even be reluctant to give Gianna to my 7 year old.  She's pretty careful with her things, but I think she'd find it difficult to manage Gianna's hair.  She might have some difficulty posing her, too, especially if her joints continued getting looser.  

I would recommend this doll for a careful, older child or an adult collector, especially one interested in a pretty doll to re-wig.  With a new wig and limited playtime, this could be a great doll.  

As a side note, these dolls make great older sisters for the Hearts 4 Hearts Girls (although the H4H girls would have to be about 4 or 5 years old by comparison). ;)  Both doll lines have the same slender, vinyl bodies and beautiful but almost cartoonish facial features (I mean that in a good way).  I wish I had a H4H Girl to photograph next to Gianna, but I guess we can't have everything we wish for! ;)

If I decide to sell Gianna, I'll probably list her on my local Craigslist fairly soon.  I want to sell her before her hair makes her look more used than she is!  I've decided I'll try to get around $25 for her, since I used up $27.91 of my rewards that could have gone towards something else.  I figure I'll put the $25 towards a My AG #55...or possibly that Beauty and the Beast book I was considering. :D  I'm still deciding. 

Hope you enjoyed the review.  Do any of you have BFC Ink dolls?  What do you think about them?