Sunday, December 21, 2014

Out of the Box: Madame Alexander South Africa (International Friends)

Madame Alexander's South Africa
I was doing some Christmas shopping on Zulily last month, and noticed that their Madame Alexander section (which had previously consisted of the 18" play dolls), had a number of the smaller collector dolls available for half their regular retail price.  And three of those collector dolls were from the International Friends line (Madagascar, South Africa, and Brazil), so it's no surprise that one of those (South Africa) fell into my cart.  And yesterday, she arrived at my door (a bit of a surprise, as she hadn't been marked as being available for pre-Christmas delivery).

Being a fan of the older version of that series (I've posted about my 1970s India and Canada dolls a few times in the past), I've been curious to see what these modern versions would be like, but the greatly increased price made me wary since I'd heard conflicting reports about the relative quality of these newer dolls (the new dolls retail for $100 USD, while - with a few exceptions for rarity - the older dolls are generally available on the secondary market for less than $30).  But since this sale had them at half price I was happy to bring one home and see how she'd compare to the older dolls.

The first thing I noticed about this doll is that her box was
The box.
 slightly smaller than the ones from the old line - a surprise since this doll is slightly larger than those ones.  She was secured to the box with a pair of ribbons, which made her significantly easier to debox than the similarly themed playline Travel Friends line.

In the box.
Out of the box, one of the improvements over the "classic" dolls was obvious: this doll has jointed knees and elbows, which gives the doll significantly more posing potential.  I also thought her outfit was better constructed than those of the 1970s dolls and more obviously constructed to be removed, should one choose to redress the doll.

She also appears to have better quality hair, although whether that's unique to this doll (who is one of the few in the line to have short hair) or a line-wide improvement, I can't say.

New posing abilities: without knee and elbow joints, the old dolls
 can't sit and wave like these newer ones.
This doll has one of the classic Madame Alexander faces (specifically the "Wendy" head), so she has the traditional small puckered lips and small round sleep eyes.  The inset eyes are probably the standout feature of this doll for me - the specific shade of brown gives them a certain warmth, and they reflect light fairly well, which keeps her from looking a little less stern than many Madame Alexander dolls do (I've always felt that Canada and India are glaring out of the doll shelf with an expression of disappointment).

Compared to the older "India".  You can see the difference in height
and in eye detail here.


Overall, I'm pleased with both the general improvements to this line of dolls and with the charm of this specific doll - I probably wouldn't pick up another at retail, but at discounted prices, I certainly think they're worth looking at.



12 comments:

  1. Oh how cute is she! I have never seen Madame Alexander dolls before, but then I have never looked for them either. LOL! Anyway, she makes a nice Chrissy present to yourself. :)
    Hugs,
    X

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    1. Thanks! I think they may be a bit of an acquired taste, but they've grown on me. :)

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  2. She's a sweet dolly! I like the Madame Alexander dolls very much, the old ones and the new ones! Great buy :-).

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  3. What a little cutie! I have never seen a regular MA doll before, although someone in the US once sent me a tiny, approx 6 inch, McDonalds 'tin man' MA doll that I think came from a Happy Meal, and she/he is very cute, and has this very same face shape and expression.
    Hugs Sharon xx

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    1. I've seen some of those McDonalds ones - they're lovely, and do have the same faces as these bigger ones, it's true!

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  4. "Expression of disappointment" -- that is exactly the traditional Madame Alexander expression on the small dolls!

    The inset eyes do make your new one livelier and more cheerful.

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    1. Heh, I'm glad it's not just me! It's funny what a huge difference a simple change in eye type can make, isn't it?

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  5. I almost ordered this doll today, based on your post, to complete or complement my 8-inch Africa Wendy doll collection. I did, however, order Madagascar today. I was surprised to see them both back in stock. I missed out when they were available earlier this year. Before the end of the day, who knows, So. Africa might just be carted and ordered.

    I enjoyed your review and am pleased that you find the quality of the doll superior with the improvements of jointed knees that you mentioned. I have always thought the clothing on all Madame Alexander dolls was of superior quality. I might add that the AA Wendys now use their own unique head sculpt. Alexander began using the new Wendy sculpt in 2004 with Sheer Delight. This, for me, is an added plus. The 8-inch dolls, even though they are all considered Wendys, have their own identity and one is not just a darker or lighter version of the other.

    dbg

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    1. I was tempted by Madagascar as well - I hope you like her as much as I enjoyed this doll! :)

      That's interesting to hear about the distinct head sculpt and identity - I hadn't been aware of that change, and it's good to know.

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  6. Are her eyes amber? They look that way in the photos. They give her a "I'm warm, but also possibly demonic" appeal.

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    1. The eyes are somewhere between amber and golden brown, I think.

      Heh, with "possibly demonic", she might fit with the scowling older MAs better than I originally thought! ;)

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