October 30, 2006

Did you ever stumble into an online community that made you feel like you'd stepped through the looking glass? Warning: Lots of crappy, pop-up-laden webhosting. (Possibly NSFW, depending on how seriously you want to be taken by your co-workers in the future.)

I know I spent some time in my girlhood sewing for that little vinyl minx Barbie and her discount-store knockoff cousins. I even gave my Marie Osmond doll a haircut and my Sindy doll a bad Wilton dye-job. But that's nothing compared to what I've seen in the community of OOAK (One Of A Kind) customized fashion dolls. Through the magic of the Interwebs, we can peek into this alternate universe to see how with a new head of hair, a coat of acrylic paint, and judicious applications of boiling water and Sculpey, the little plastic diva can become a Tolkien heroine, an A-list celeb, a matinee idol, a TV icon, a Discworld character, or a centaur. Some defy categorization. With some excruciatingly detailed period clothing, a tutorial on re-rooting hair, and some other customizing techniques, she can represent such exotic cultures as Nigeria, the Middle East, the Far East, India, and even Canada. Can I say it again? I love the Internet!!!

posted by The Underpants Monster 18 years ago
  • ¿Que? No hablo. I built plastic model cars. VVVRRRROooooooooommm!! SCREEEEE!! Wm! Wm! EEhhRRRRRRR! WAAAaaaaHhhh!-waAAhhhhhhh-Wahhhhhhhhhh!-waaaaaaaaaaahhh!
  • *slowly gets up from chair, maintains eye contact* I gotta admit, that Uma doll really does look like Uma. *moves self towards door, makes no sudden gestures* I mean, it shows a real dedication to the craft. You have to admire that. *steps out of room, keeping hands in full view* In fact, I'm going to hit the crafts section at Wal-Mart right now, see what I can pick up to help you, OK honey? *eases door closed, starts breathing again, props chair against doorknob*
  • Yeah that shit is creepy. It's CREEPY, I SAY!
  • Don't ask me, I'm just a girl! *giggle*
  • Oohhh, that Stevie Nicks one would look nice sitting atop my monitors... *cough* *cough* oh, yeah, what a bunch o'weirdos, umm...
  • These are pretty good. Maybe even spooky good. Anyone seen Dolls lately?
  • I thought the Stevie Nicks look remarkably good, too.
  • I used to stick skin colour plasticine on my action men's faces to make them look like plague victims & radiation mutants. Does that count?
  • (Unless otherwise specified, all repaints are sold nude.) well, there's that.
  • The Drew Barrymore doesn't look FAS enough.
  • "Whatcha doing down in the basement, dear?" "Nothin', Ma. Just finishing rooting the eyebrows on my Bo Bice custom Ken doll!" Tne mind blows and then reblows.
  • poo gosh Barbee!
  • Y'know, that was a pretty well put together FPP. Even if the Z28 was somehow erroneously omitted.
  • *tips tiny handstitched cap to petebest* For the ultimate in layering your geeky fandoms, there’s Star Trek™ Barbie.® I’ve never seen so many trademark signs in one paragraph! Barbie® carries a Tricorder™ on the U.S.S. Enterprise,™ and Ken® carries a Phaser™ like Captain James T. Kirk™ and First Officer Spock™. The Underpants Monster©®™ is a registered trademark of UnPantsMonCo, all rights reserved.
  • I used to pour beetroot juice inside my Action Men heads so it would seep out their 'eagle eyes' like a brain hemorrhage.
  • Awesome.
  • I used to fill my action figures with raw meat and firecrackers like any other kid.
  • My brother used to get so angry when our grandmother refered to his action figures as "dolls." I can't tell you how much mileage I got out of that joke.
  • MonkeyFilter: (Unless otherwise specified, all repaints are sold nude.) Some days when I'm cruisin' the net I start to feel a little bit scared, ya' know? Like maybe I should pull the plug, board up the doors and windows, and curl up in the closet. There's waaaaaay to many weirdos out there.
  • My brother used to get so angry when our grandmother refered to his action figures as "dolls." Dolls, action figures, whatev. As long as they exploded meat I was happy.
  • I'm torn between "that is, like, sooooooo dorky," and "Wow, I really want to bid on that OOAK Arwen doll." *facepalm* I have a friend who is quasi-involved in this: she's done some OOAK dolls but she's really more of a collector of limited editions. She's a normal person... intensely geeky/knowledgable about pop culture, but normal. There's also the woman who does Blastmilk, which is more about Volks Super Dollfies and suchlike, which are very expensive dolls from Asia which can either be completely customized by the owner (over and over - you can change out the eyes and hairstyles and stuff) or just bought in limited editions with set outfits, hair, etc. I used to be into Blythe dolls, but I never wanted to customize them. Now I prefer Pullip, which is similar but has an updated look and different mechanics. It's hard to be into Barbies (or the Japanese counterparts, Jenny and Licca and their friends) when you've been into these larger things with vastly different mechanics and face sculpts, but some people love them all. PS that Jack Sparrow looks more like Will Turner to me, despite the outfit - look at the face!
  • Wow, the eyes on those Pullip dolls. They're pretty cool.
  • Apparently the world of Nun, Communion, and Catholic Schoolgirl dolls has an OOAK branch, too.
  • Mary Katherine (or “Mary Kate” to her friends) is so excited about the first day of school that Mom didn’t even have to wake her up this morning. She was waiting, dressed in her drop-waist black watch plaid jumper with the button trim on its biased belt, her carrot-colored hair neatly braided, and her green eyes aglow, when Mom came down to start breakfast. *blink*
  • What, no mention of skin the colour of frozen chicken?
  • > world of Nun There's a whole lot of variety in the nun dolls. I count forty seven different dolls. Is there really a market for such a cornucopia of replicant ascetics?
  • My Action Man had bleach-blonde hair cos I was carsick on him in the Triumph 2000 Estate.