Upcoming Plans

So as previously stated, I have plans on getting back into blogging/reviews. This includes video reviews/commentaries on YouTube.

First order will be updating the general look and info, since it will not be strictly dolls anymore. Second, is coming up with interesting videos. A few videos I am considering include:

  1. My Brief Foray into Squishmallows
  2. Review: BumBumz by RUSS
  3. Review: Aphmau MeeMeows Mystery Plush
  4. Peeps Plush: What to know before collecting
  5. Importing Plush: Why?
  6. Why More Focus on Plush and Less on AG?

These are all tentative titles. Thoughts and ideas are welcome.

I also still need to adjust the look and feel of this blog yet, but it is an ongoing process for now, as I get back into action and see what works best and what doesn’t work. Also we will be hopefully connected my main domain name soon and be ad free! I am not doing enough independent coding to justify having my own hosting anymore, hence going solely with one website through WordPress.

That’s all for now. I’m excited about getting back into things.

Review: Nicki Doll and Accessories

Retail Price: $110 for doll, $36 for accessories ($5 discount if purchasing both)
Year Released: 2023
Found at: American Girl
SKU: HNR73 (Doll), HNR75 (Accessories), 02BUN137 (both)
Manufacturer: American Girl
Materials:

  • Doll & Journal:
    • Doll: Vinyl, cotton, modacrylic hair fiber
    • Tee, dress, shirt, underwear: Cotton
    • Socks: T/C, spandex
    • Shoes: PU/TPR
    • Journal: Paper
  • Accessories:
    • Hat: Cotton
    • Glasses: Plastic
    • Necklace: Metal/ribbon
    • Bag: PU
    • Notebook, stickers: Paper

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally decided to get Nicki with rewards and the 3x points promotion AG has going on in late April. I ended up purchasing her online, versus picking out one in store since I didn’t have the bandwidth to make a trip out.

Nicki Doll

Like all 18 inch AG dolls, Nicki features a vinyl head and limbs and a stuffed cloth body. She has the Joss mold, first introduced in 2020, and the same eyebrow pattern and painted eyelashes as Maritza and subsequent Joss mold dolls. She has the original light skin tone (so not the very lightest), blue pinwheel eyes and reddish brown hair styled in a middle part with blonde money piece highlights.

Her wig is very nice quality – much better than the wigs of dolls produced from around 2020-2022. I noticed an improvement in some, but not all, Truly Me dolls with the big refresh in Fall 2022. There was some speculation that AG was trying to cut costs by using lower quality hair fiber, but perhaps customer feedback convinced them to go back to a higher quality fiber. My one hesitation in getting Nicki were the money piece highlights – some pictures and styling have made them really stark and but in person, I have not found them as bad. They also can be brushed into the brown hair to some degree for less contrast.

The rest of the doll is on par with usual AG quality, and the one I blindly received had a good face and placement of face paint.

The outfit consists of a grey tee with purple trim, a navy knit jumper, white crew socks, navy sneakers and a purple plaid button down shirt. The sleeves on the button down shirt are longer than normal so the shirt can be tied around the doll’s waist. Overall, I always prefer outfits that have a lot of separate pieces for mix and match potential, and the face that Isabel’s top was all one piece influenced my decision to get Nicki. All pieces are nice quality and will hold up well to play and multiple outfit changes.

The journal is a cute story, but definitely one that helps if you also have Isabel’s as well. You hear of stuff happening with Isabel, but since these events do not happen when Nicki is around, there are some gaps. The age range is definitely younger, due to the limited text and many images, but provides a glimpse into Nicki’s life, but nothing in depth.

Nicki’s Accessories

The accessories consist of a light blue baseball cap with two grin pins attached, a black shoulder bag, black sunglasses, a yin yang choker necklace, a journal and a sheet of stick on grin pins. The hat is made of a thin canvas material, leading to the visor not well structured – I would have preferred it to have some cardboard or something to give it a firmer feel. The shoulder bag is made of a shiny vinyl and opens with a zipper. It is not very spacious inside and barely fits the journal. Sunglasses are the standard plastic sunglasses, and the journal is the standard paper piece. The choker necklace is a black ribbon with a plastic yin tang sewn on – I would have preferred to see a cord with a charm instead. Finally, the grin pins are basically the same as the 90s ones – stick on circular raised buttons resembling grin pin designs.

Overall Thoughts

I do think Nicki is a worthwhile doll to get due to her good quality and unique wig, and mix and match outfit. With the straight, medium-long length wig, it is also an easy wig for a younger child to brush and style. The outfit pieces also have stretch to them, allowing easy on and off handling. Nicki would make a great starter doll for someone new to AG.

As for the accessories, I would say it’s a personal choice. If you really want them to complete Nicki’s look, go for it, but there’s nothing outstanding about the accessories. Yes, there are a lot of pieces, but most are either plastic or paper. While I get AG was going for some contrast with picking light blue for the baseball cap, I wish they had picked a different color, as it doesn’t really work with the rest of the outfit.

At the end, I give the doll a solid 4/5 and the accessories 3/5.

Review: Glow in the Dark Peeps Plush

Retail Price: $13.98
Year Released: 2023
Found at: Walmart
UPC: 195511050610
Manufacturer: Dan Dee International, LLC
Materials: All New Material, Polyester Fiber, Plastic Pellets

This Peeps bunny plush has a leg up on the number of standard Peeps plush out there, due to: (1) its softness and (2) the added gimmick of glow in the dark.

In truth, I hesitated on whether I wanted to buy this plush or not. $13.98, while not as expensive as Build-a-Bear Peeps plush, was more expensive than other plush of similar size at many other retailers. However, at the end of the day, I was glad I did.

First off, it is not as firmly stuffed as many of the standard Peeps plush are – this allows a lot more hugs and comfort (in my opinion). Second, the material is softer to the touch due to its longer fur length, again improving its huggability. Finally, the glow in the dark gimmick is actually pretty darn good. After being exposed to light, it glows up fairly brightly and for a decent amount of time.

It is unknown if we will see a similar plush again next year – while there are some staples at Walmart (mystery eggs, standard plush), it seems like they also like to change it up a bit from year to year as well with the specialty plush. I recommend this plush if you can find it on a resale website – if not, let’s hope there is a similar one released in 2024!

Hello

I am officially relaunching my blog, as I am in process of making some changes. In the past, my blog and related social media had primarily focused on American Girl 18 inch dolls and similar dolls lines. However, while I still enjoy my AG dolls, I have needed a change of pace and more variety in what I collect. As a result, I have added some fashion dolls and plush from video games and other brands. It has made my collective more enjoyable and less stressful for me personally.

I plan on primarily still posting reviews and pictures, and information on where items can be found. I also plan on writing opinion articles and posting some creative writing pieces as well.