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Spin Master Toys has entered the mass-market fashion doll fray with 'Liv Dolls' - four teen BFFs (Best Friends
Forever) with very poseable bodies and current (if modest) fashion tastes. They look to be mostly in proportion, with slightly
larger heads and huge anime eyes, and a selection of wigs that attach with a plastic spike. Collect all four dolls, have eight
wigs to swap, with more available separately. They also come with online codes that unlock website play, and access to
character's 'secret diaries'. Already doll fans are customizing Livs - I've seen Barbie heads on their smaller,
but very flexible, bodies !
The entire line has begun to appear in stores like Target and Wal-Mart - the dolls run about $20., and come
with two outfits, two wigs, and personality-based accessories. Clothes packs are a bit more expensive than Barbie's - four
outfits and shoes run about $15., with similar Babs sets going for about $12. Wigs, accessory packs, and playsets are available
- one playset's a hair salon, the other is a trendy bedroom/closet. I was curious about the 'My Room' set, since I couldn't
find any photos of it... so I bought it during a rare splurge-fest. I figure any doll playset that's within Barbie scale would
be a great addition to Chez Insanity ! Both Target and Mal-Wart charge $20. for 'My Room'.
| The back, still closed. |
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Sorry in advance for the flash bits. I really should have done this in daylight !
Anyway, this is the other side. As you can see, it has a nice ribbon carry-handle, and folds down to nearly
nothing. But the packaging really doesn't describe or show what ya get. So, here we are !
Let's go !
| Inside the closet side ! |
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Here it is, opened to the 'closet' side. You can push the sides back a bit further for more 'floor' space,
or align it with the floor provided. The closet doors open - with a surprise inside ! - and all five butterfly-pull drawers
open. The shelves have nice graphics, and can hold quite a bit ! The dark oval on the right is a safety mirror, and it's all
nicely in scale. Trendy, but not overly-kiddy or overly pink, I think.
| Lucretia holds the closet door open. Thanks, Luce! |
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Hi, Lucretia ! Please meet Lucretia, a former Sleeping Beauty doll I rescued from plastic baggetry at a
local thrift. To me, she looks just like Lucretia Mongfish-Heterodyne, Agatha's mom, so Luce is now in charge of Castle Insanity,
a former Barbie castle that many dolls like to vacation in. Eventually, I'll find a good Agatha and Gil for her to bedevil
into having lots of sparky grandkids for her.
Anyway. She's holding open the closet door for us, so you can see inside. There's a nice shoe or purse storage
shelf in there, and a sturdy clothes dowel. But...what's the bigger box in the closet for...?
| Hey, a Murphy bed ! Cool ! |
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Oh ! It slides down and out, and becomes a cute Murphy bed ! How clever ! And the stuff in the bottom drawers
stays there, even when the bed's down. Nice engineering always impresses me, and this was most impressive. As you can see,
everything's scaled to fit Barbie, too. The Liv dolls are a bit smaller. I'm not much for the 'quilt' print on the bed, but
that can easily be fixed with a bit of fabric or a handkerchief covering it. Cute !
| And, the drawers really do work ! |
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Switching our camera angle shows the cabinet drawers open a bit, with several Barbie props inside. and if
you look over by the desk chair, you'll see a baggie with five hangers inside. Those are included, and were in the top drawer.
Also included was a code to use with the livworld.com website, but I guess you have to buy the dolls first - I couldn't get
it to work, or even register on the site.
You also get a good look at the floor and rug. I like it, but apologize for the flash bounce !
| And the floor goes up, too ! |
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If you don't like the rug or just want a different scene, it lifts up and tucks in a bit. Gives it a whole
new look, but it still coordinates. The string there fastens it closed when not in use, but it looks kinda bad if you're using
it for photos. I figure that I'll just hang a charm or two off it, and count it as part of the wall decor.
| Left side ! |
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Here's where I kinda have a disconnect with the whole '2 in 1' that's so loudly trumpeted on the box. If
you fold this all the way back, you lose a lot of the graphics on both sides, and it just looks bad. The photos on the box
don't really illustrate how to get the dual rooms pictured. Facts are, you don't get two rooms, you get a closet and a couple
of outside walls. Still useable, but not really as advertised.
And I'm sure you've noticed the twenty or thirty photos of Liv dolls on every screen and frame pictured.
I plan on covering over them with glue dots and printouts. If one of my dolls wants to do yoga, this side is great, but I
picture my dolls more as the 'sit around and watch Mystery Science Theater 3000' kinda girls, especially when there's
a big ole HDTV !
| Right side ! |
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If this looks familiar to you, it's because the same exact image is on the inside of the closet, on the
right side wall. Just with yellow walls instead of pink ones. Well, still useable, but when most of the graphics repeat, it's
still kinda hard to go with the '2 in 1' theme.
| Whole back ! |
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And there's the other side, opened up wide. I admit, I like having a door to pose with, just hate the dangly
bead-things. Hate 'em in real-life too, so... anyway, Luce is again showing that the scale is good, and on the whole, it's
a nice playset for $20. But don't think it's two whole, unique 'spaces'. Unless you wanna go after one with a paintbrush,
it's mostly one that repeats on the other side.
Still, I like it, and I've had fun playing with it and using it for photos. And now, you can decide if it's
worth the bucks for you !
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