I am a grown-ass man and I just bought a doll!
Torchsong
Posts: 2,794
http://www.tonnerdoll.com/dc-stars/sale-now-13-supergirl
For those of you who don't know, Tonner dolls "look" like Barbies, but are hand-painted, with knit-fabric cloth, and retail anywhere from $150 - $300 before they end up on ebay for an obscene amount of money. The creator studied under Bill Blass as a fashion designer before realizing his passion was making dolls.
Supergirl's at the end of her production run (like 1000 made I think), and they have extras they're selling for $25. I snagged one, naturally. At first I thought this had to be a web-error, but apparently it's legit.
Don't scoop these up hoping for a big resale on ebay or anything. These are the 13" dolls so a bit smaller than the standard size, and reports are that while they're excellent in quality, the fabric on the cape is a bit thin. I picked this up because it's a chance to own a Tonner doll of my favorite female hero for a whopping $25.
My name is Torchsong, and I just bought a doll. Not an action figure. Not a statue. A doll.
For those of you who don't know, Tonner dolls "look" like Barbies, but are hand-painted, with knit-fabric cloth, and retail anywhere from $150 - $300 before they end up on ebay for an obscene amount of money. The creator studied under Bill Blass as a fashion designer before realizing his passion was making dolls.
Supergirl's at the end of her production run (like 1000 made I think), and they have extras they're selling for $25. I snagged one, naturally. At first I thought this had to be a web-error, but apparently it's legit.
Don't scoop these up hoping for a big resale on ebay or anything. These are the 13" dolls so a bit smaller than the standard size, and reports are that while they're excellent in quality, the fabric on the cape is a bit thin. I picked this up because it's a chance to own a Tonner doll of my favorite female hero for a whopping $25.
My name is Torchsong, and I just bought a doll. Not an action figure. Not a statue. A doll.
Comments
I don't have $25 to waste right now.
I may be joing you though, that Batgirl is sweet!
Fun Story: A few years back the wife and I are in a Toys R Us and they had not just Supergirl, but also a Batgirl and (I believe) a Catwoman Barbie. There was a part of me (the slavish Supergirl lover) that was like "Okay, you're a grown man. Do you really have the cojones to pick up a Barbie, walk to the counter, and pay for it with absolutely no daughter in tow?" My wife even offered to do the dirty work - paying for it while I stood at a distance. Finally a voice in my head went off and said "Al, you're about to head down a road you're not prepared to head down. Walk away." So I did. Part of me doesn't regret that action, but another part of me, if they had a time machine...well... :)
Can you imagine Supergirl in Marwencol?
It is nice when I make a bit selling off a piece here and there though, I got almost $400 for this one the other day:
It all starts with an affordable gateway drug like a $25 Supergirl ;) Next you'll be giving ZJs for $300 1:6 Hot Toys! Save yourself!
Nice Chuck Taylors!
Makes me want a 1:6 Kevin Matchstick.
They were right about the cape kind of being an afterthought - no S insignia on the back of it, but the rest of the outfit was pretty much the classic standard outfit. Had a little difficulty getting her feet into the boots (she's covered neck to feet in a clear mesh body stocking) but once they were in I've got to admit...it was $25 well spent. And as predicted, the wife really dug it. Now she wants one. :)
Share? Bite me, this is MY doll, damn it! :)
Eric - it *is* an awful lot of money for a doll (I'm assuming you're talking about the more pricey $100-200 ones and not the $25 one I picked up.) The deal is that the clothing is hand-stitched, the faces are done by hand (not machine), etc...all kinds of little details that make it "quality" versus a standard Barbie which is more "quantity".
I make custom toys (one could say dolls even) and just the equipment, silicone, and resin to do fairly basic resin casts is expensive. When I started $50-100 seemed like a ton to pay for a toy but after a while you realize that some deservedly cost more. Sometimes it is just pure hype though and I set limits and have slowed way down on buying and more time and money on sculpting and making customs. I spend up to 10 hours on something like a custom 3" Dunny, from sculpt, to mold, to cast of a fully custom resin piece can be 20+. Plus the run sizes are super small, when you are cranking out 5,000pc. mass produced toys the costs go way down, but to make a run of 5 or 10 of something is a different story.
And @Tonebone. I was wondering the same thing. Did not seem flag-worthy to me, but it isn't too big of a blow to my self esteem so I guess I will manage
Hermes:
I've done a bit of customizing in the past, and there is a lot that goes into them... often, literally, blood, sweat, and tears. Of course, there is a part of a lot of folks that balks at an eBay listing for a custom figure that starts in the $50 to $75 range, but between the cost of materials and the man-hours put in, that is probably relatively cheap.
And, Tonner? Most of their runs are under 1000, and a lot are under 500. It is a small company, hand-making high quality limited runs. They pay attention to details.
So, yeah, you end up paying 10 to 15 times the cost of a standard Barbie doll, but this isn't a Barbie. It isn't mass produced at volumes that allow 200,000 (or so) to be sold each day. But, put it next to the standard Barbie, and it is easy to see which was mass produced.
Do I still kinda think it is nuts to pay that much for a doll? Sure, but I think the same about people that collect records, or golf balls, or amplifiers, or bottler caps. And, my areas of interest in collecting probably baffle others just as much, and leave them shaking there heads at the prices I'm willing to pay.
To each there own, you know?
Of course, this falls into the idea of doing it as something more than a hobby or a way to pass the time. In other words, doing it to put food on the table.
I've never sold a custom figure, partly because I don't like to part with those I've done, and partly because I'd never feel right pricing it correctly (way too much) or completely going against what was indoctrinated to me at school (way too low).
Either way, I pretty much come off the loser. :)
very cool b-day present to yourself Zhurrie
But it's not all sunshine and roses.
Where's the Build-A-Fig, you cheap bastards?!
Where's the second half of the Wrecking Crew?!
Don't make me come to your house!
I ordered Elektra. Too sweet not to.
I am now a grown ass man with two dolls.
One more and I think I have to go to Sweden and get an operation done to become Torchsongette. :)