Sunday, November 11, 2012

Review of the Battat / Our Generation Baking Set

Okay, this one is only, like, eight months over-due in being blogged about, LOL! But, without further ado or delay, here is the "Baking Set."



There is a LOT of stuff in this set!



First off, everything you need to mix up something good, right?



Of course, it's non-functioning, but I like the fact that they put nice little decals and such on it that make it feel real.



And that they didn't cheese and just make the whole thing out of one hunk of blue plastic or something.



Look, your doll can make various cakes, or roll out and cut some sugar cookies!



And, for decorating, here are some shakers (maybe for pretend sugar/sprinkles?) and a frosting tube which I was surprised to find is actually cloth, with a plastic tip. Again, I'm impressed with the detail going in to these sets!



And, when the baking is done, it's time to feast on your creations! Included is a cupcake stand to display your cupcakes, cupcakes, plates, cups, and a pitcher.



There are a few paper/cardboard items that go along with the theme. . .



And, even a chef's coat and hat!



I felt it was pretty nicely made. Here is the inside of the coat:



Topstitching detail on the cuffs:



I haven't measured the Our Generation doll (I actually don't even have one!) but to my eye, they look thinner than American Girl. . . However, the coat fits!



And, the hat as well!



So. . . Adorable stuff, right? Totally! I do have a little complaint though, and here it is: You give me cake pans galore, and cookie cutters. . . But no cakes or cookies. . . And you give me cupcakes. . . But no cupcake tin. . . I just think that it might have been better if they'd had everything for making one (or maybe two) item(s), instead of random things. It's all super cute, but as a little girl playing with this, I'd have had more fun if I could pretend I was making the thing, from start to finish.

And to add to the confusion, here are two more items included with the set:



These sort of fall under cooking more than baking for me. . . Although, I suppose you could be using the spatula to lift the cookies off the cookie sheet. . . But oh wait, there are no cookies or a cookie sheet, LOL!

Now, if you've got some cash to plunk down, you can resolve most of these issues with the set. The Our Generation "Jenny" doll comes with a cupcake tin (and more cupcakes), so you could play-make cupcakes from start to finish. And if you REALLY have money to burn, the Our Generation "Gourmet Kitchen Set" also comes with cupcake tin and cupcakes. . . As well as baking sheet and cookies. (And so much other stuff and it looks so fun and OMG I WANT IT SO MUCH EVEN IF I'M "ALL GROWN UP"!!!)

*ahem*

The final verdict: Battat, you've done it again! The "Baking Set" is full of fun things to play with, and the quality is great. I still find it annoying that nobody really thought of the fact that you can't play-make one thing from start to finish, but, I guess I can overlook that because it's just all so cute. As a kid, I would have freaked out if I got this for Christmas, etc.! I imagine there's an awful lot of playtime with this one. So, this set gets an A- from me!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Body pattern progress!

So you all know how I've whined about this doll body situation; about knock knees, ginormous back sides, and posture problems. Well, I've been working hard on making a body pattern that satisfies me. I molded a body out of clay to pattern my own body off of, I studied a crazy insane amount of pictures of extant French Fashion dolls in their birthday suits, and referenced assorted doll making patterns and books. And, at long last, I think I'm just about there!



(Sorry about the creepy one-legged thing going on; I didn't feel like making twice the gussets and doing all that stuffing when I could easily see if it would work by just making the one leg!) I just need to tweak the gussets a tiny bit, and to scale down/shorten the bodice area a bit (that's what all the markings are about), and I think she'll be good to go! And, with the head attached, she's almost exactly 18", which was the suggested height for this doll. Just to compare, here is the pattern that allegedly was created to fit her:



*rolls eyes* Granted, I altered that body a bit, but I did not alter anything that would have impacted the scale/height. Although I did lengthen the leg to go down to the foot, instead of ending above the knee, I used the porcelain part for this doll to add that length. She would have looked freaky on such a tiny body!

Also, check this out:



No more problems with ginormous back-side, legs that won't come near being straight, and bad knock-knee-itis! My new body can't sit, but she can perch, and I'm fine with that, because I think that's about the same mobility the original dolls had, based on the creases/signs of wear I see pretty consistently on them.

Guys, I'm so excited! Today I get to finally break ground on the actual body; not a test pattern, not a mock-up, not any other preparatory step. . . It's time for the real deal! And you know what that means? That some day very soon, I will get to start making tiny Victorian costumes for this gal! Hooray for that!!!