From Speed Racer to Vamp Ken!

(Welcoming Evette to the list of followers! Thanks!)

Well, I'm back from visiting my friends, and, no, I did not find Jonathan Adler Barbie. However, I'm not upset as I did find a lot of cool stuff that I will be blogging about in the next few days, so I'm happy.

One of the things I did get was this wonderful Speed Racer Ken that I ordered from a member of In the Pink before I left for my birthday tour (hee):


Not bad; but I'm just not getting a "Speed Racer" vibe from this doll... could he be Goth Ken in disguise?

I got him because someone on In The Pink had him as the new father for the Happy Family Neighbors, and I thought "Cool! He can be one of the husbands of my dolls!"

But --- as you can see, MY Speed Racer is way too young looking to be anyone's dad. So I decided to put him in my Doll Nation University story as another student.

As I kept looking at him, I said to myself, "Gee, he's awfully pale. Maybe he's a goth? That would be so cool!" So I set out to find him something gothish to wear.

I found a pair of black leather trousers from the Ken Fashion Avenue outfit #56873 (I call that outfit "Punk Rock Concert" since it doesn't have a name.) Liam from the Flavas line has been hogging that outfit, but screw that! Speedy had to have it!

No drooling, folks! He's brooding and sensitive and, oh yeah, smokin' HAWT!!!

Hubba hubba! Mwrowr! Well, there's nothing like a pair of black leather trousers to bring out the HAWT in a guy! Oh yeah! I was definitely seeing "hot, brooding vampire" now instead of "Speed Racer"!

(If it's wrong to drool over a plastic guy, then I don't wanna be right! Hee!)

Oh, Bratz - how I miss your Not!Pink furniture and accessories... sniffle! sob!

I had bought this Bratz "Funky Fashion Furniture" set while on my trip at Big Lots. It was eight bucks and I consider it money well spent. It's called "Element", which features a fire theme (I guess "Hell" would have been a little too controversial - but it seems the logical name since there is a "Heaven" set according to the back of the box:

Wait a minute! Who's that wine for? Because we know that he doesn't drink... wine.....

Anyway, I got the set BEFORE even seeing Speedy. (He arrived after I had already left on my trip.) But as soon as I saw this set I was like, "OMG! I must have this for my goth dolls!" (Nevermind that I didn't have any goth dolls when I got it - I was going to create some!) And let's face it - this was too good to pass up at eight bucks!

As you can see, this set makes a nice little gothy setup. I added the "marble" flooring, and some pillows (including one with flames from a Bratz Boyz outfit pak), the Barbie Party Pad fireplace, Re-ment red wine, Barbie tray, some craft roses and a repainted Barbie vase. The only thing I kept for the vanity (it was filled with girly cosmetics) was the black hairbrush. Oh, that table looking thing is supposed to be a stand for the Bratz, but screw that! It screamed "coffee table" to me!

Ken is sitting there wearing the duster from movie premiere Ken from the 1 Modern Circle line. With his dark hair and pale skin, he really looks good in jewel tones.... except that now he looks more VAMP Ken than "goth" Ken! Which makes him even hotter, with the vaguely "Angel/Angelus" vibe he's giving off right now...

Susie (Sassy): Why is there only one glass of wine? Vamp!Ken: I never drink...wine...

As you can see, the ladies are already flocking to Vamp!Ken. I really need to find a name for him - I was going to call him Liam because that's Angel's real name in the series, but I already have Liam from the Flavas dolls, and I can't call him William (which Liam is the diminutive) because William is Spike's real name. (Did Joss Whedon realize he was naming two Buffyverse characters the same name?) And since I hope to have both Angel and Spike dolls some day, so I can't call him those names either.

***Oh no! Will Susie be the vampire's first victim... err, date?***



Vamp!Ken: Have I told you how delicious you look tonight?


Guh. Can't say that I blame her for falling... uh, victim... to his embrace.

Then, I got the idea that my Gwen doll (I was thinking of making some Torchwood dollies, but screw that! Let's make some goth/vamp dolls!) would be perfect for a vamp girlfriend, but alas! She looks a little bit more mature, so I've made her Vamp! Ken's hot Vamp!Mommy.

Luckily for Suzie that Mommy came in! She sent Suzie packing, and here she is reading her son the riot act about bringing home nubile co-eds for dinner...

Vamp!Ken: Aww, Mom, you're no fun! Vamp!Mommy: Now, darling, Mother knows best!

I think I've got the makings for a new story. Stay tuned.

"University Life" - breakfast in student housing

Since it looks like I'm never getting around to my Doll Nation University story for my blog of the same name, I decided to post these pictures here. This is one of my best crowd scenes yet, and I'm proud of the level of detail.

I just wish that the girls were able to stand without doll stands.

Cast:

Fashionista Artsy
Cali Girl Summer
Fashionista Ken
Cali Girl Barbie
Rocawear Darren
Rocawear Chandra
Flavas Tre
Flavas Liam

Creating doll stories; or Mulder, Scully and Doggett are taking over my life!

Yeah, I started this post a few days ago, but of course I got sidetracked by the X Files gang - hence, the title!

And "Welcome!" to my latest follower, Chelle!

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You may or may not be following my other blog, Doll Nation Network (and if you are - THANK YOU!) It's where I post my doll stories. It's an imaginary network for the Doll Nation, where I create stories for my dolls to watch.

Making up stories for dolls is nothing new - kids do it all the time. However, photostories have really taken over the internet as doll collectors find outlets for their creativity --- OH, WHO AM I KIDDING?!?

DOLL STORIES ARE FUN!!!

When I got into doll collecting, I spent my time on the internet looking for other people who enjoyed making dioramas for their dolls. I discovered Doll Divas, and especially loved their section called "Diorama Divas"http://www.dolldivas.net/dolldivas-dioramas.html. I was IMPRESSED! Those folks on that board really inspired me to bring my A-game to the whole diorama thing. Take a look at their archives - I'm proud to say that I have a diorama there!

But after a while, I got bored with looking at pretty houses for fashion dolls. My dolls - not to be a reverse snob - are regular "people". I like making realistic dioramas, not just high fashion ones.

So I searched the web for other diorama sites, and discovered there was a whole world of collectors making dioramas...

...just don't call them "doll" collectors. Those guys who collect G.I. Joes and other "1:6th scale action figures" wouldn't like that.

These guys have some incredible sites and I'll try to list a few (along with some links.) But what impressed me the most was their story telling abilities, along with their dioramas. A whole new world was opened up to me. I even started collecting G.I. Joes and World Peacekeepers cause, well, they're cute guys! (Yeh, I can hear all the action figure collectors going "EWW! Girl Cooties!" - shut up!)

(Sidebar: One of my favorite doll stories addresses this - Mutant Goldfish Designs' "Rescue Mission" http://www.mutantgoldfishdesigns.com/rescuemission/index.htm. My favorite line? "Its ok dude, you're a civilian now...We all are, no wars to fight here." Hee!)

So what does all of this have to do with Mulder, Scully and Doggett from the X Files? Well, when I started collecting World Peacekeepers, I found a blond guy that made me say, "HEY! He looks like Doggett from the X Files!" And when I got up the nerve to repaint his hair so that he looked more like Robert Patrick (I used a freeze frame on the pilot episode of "Stargate Atlantis", on which RP played Colonel Sumner), then I had my Doggett doll. I'd already had Mulder and Scully and played around with doing an X Files story (and alternately a Stargate Atlantis story), but nothing came of it.

Until this year. I've been working on novels over the years and finished a few (four to be exact), but I needed a new outlet. Dolls and dioramas have been my obsessions for the past few years, and I guess it was just time to finally "man up" and make my own photostory. And I have to admit that the X Files were my first choice because, well, I wasn't inpressed with how the show ended.

(In fact, I HATED how the show ended. Don't ask - it's too long to explain, and I don't need a headache thinking about it.)

But doll stories, like fan fiction, are a way to recreate everything you loved about a show, and "correct" everything that you hated. Hence, the title of my doll story is "The Real X Files" because you know, as opposed to that stuff that happened on the show. (This makes more sense in my head.)

And now Agents Mulder, Scully and Doggett will not let me rest until I finish their photostory. It's like creating scenes for a mini movie - I even write a script! I try not to let each "episode" get longer than two pages handwritten. However, I admit I had no script for the first episode - sometimes you gotta let the dolls "speak" to you, just like I let my characters speak to me and suggest ideas. But it helps if you write a script to at least see if your ideas make any sense.

I also decided that I would treat this as a "season" of a television show - but not 24-26 episodes like most shows, because to me, that encourages "filler" episodes. No, if this is a real network - IF?? wash my mouth out with soap! - then the show has to have 13 episodes, which means, tell the story as efficiently as possible with no wasted effort, and have a story arc that MAKES SENSE.

Sometimes I come up with ideas for one-offs as well, and it's all just another way to have fun with your dolls. I've got some ideas for future "seasons" - but let's see how it goes with this first season of The Real X Files.

And here's that list of sites I promised:

Sean Huxter, 3D animator - Start from the bottom of this page and read his stories of his G.I. Joe Adventure Team's adventures, then go to his INCREDIBLE story "The Second Key to Time". That's right; it's a Doctor Who adventure. Not only is the story awesome, but the sets are too. http://members.verizon.net/~vze34fnk/homepage.htm

Deering Productions - He has other stories on a different page, but I recommend starting here because of the incredible sets for this (never produced) Star Trek photostory. There is a teaser story; makes me long for what might have been.

http://www.deeringproductions.com/ncctrek/NCCtreksplash.htm

About My Work: The Dunedin Blog - Mick Baltes has incredible dioramas; this link is to the archives page (which updates). His Roman city is jaw-dropping in its detail - this is what I aspire to in my own dioramas. http://mickbaltes.de/blog/?cat=4

Plastic!Winchester Theater - low tech sets; hi-larious stories based on the show "Supernatural". My favorites are the cracktastic crossovers with Doctor Who (the Tennant era) and Dexter (makes me want my own Dexter!Ken doll.)http://community.livejournal.com/spn_plastic/307.html

The Brettish Aisles - a tribute in doll form to the career of actor Jeremy Brett. It was an article by the creator of this site in the now defunct Barbie Bazaar that got me hooked on making dioramas. No stories, but a made up universe featuring dioramas based on Jeremy Brett roles - and an interview with the doll actor who portrays him!

http://home.earthlink.net/~lpatterson39/

City Circlez - long running doll story, that I'm recommending based on the older episodes (before 2009 - in fact the only 2008 story I recommend is "Over at the Rultans".) I really wish I could recommend the newer stories, but alas, like the "Roville" doll story, it's a shadow of what it used to be.

http://www.lifecirclez.net/contents.htm

Roville - I really liked this doll story better when the dolls were Mattel-ish dolls. Now I only recommend it for the fabulous high fashion dioramas. There's no archive for the older, BETTER stories, alas.

http://www.robing.net/

This is by no means is a complete list of the doll stories that have influenced me - however, some like the now defunct Kelley Avenue, are no more. But I hope the ones that are still around will entertain you and maybe inspire you to create your own doll stories!