Mini-dolls with Olivia's face design (2012)

Olivia's face print was used on two additional characters in 2012.





Marie: 3061 City Park Cafe
Theresa: 3185 Summer Riding Camp

Theresa's white riding breeches and black boots appeared pretty much every time a mini-doll went horseback riding in 2012 and 2014. They were also used as part of regular winter wardrobe in the 2015 advent calendar.

Marie's pink skirt and sandals appeared in 3 sets in 2012, and have not been used in the subsequent years. I'm surprised it has not been used more.

Except the leg parts, these two are identical if you ignore all the color differences: Olivia's face, Emma's wig, the same generic blouse design.

Marie's pink sleeveless version is actually exclusive, but Theresa's long-sleeved shirt was first worn by Olivia's aunt Sophie earlier in 2012.  It was also borrowed by Stephanie when she participated in the Heartlake Horse Show in 2014.

Marie's blonde wig has been used on a few other characters: Christina, Isabella and Liza. Theresa's red wig in this hairstyle is actually rare; it has not been used on any other mini-doll.



So, even though neither of them may appear to be made of special parts, both of them do have a piece in an exclusive color.

Mini-doll heads 2: males (2012-2015)

Since I talked about the female face print designs recently, I will continue with this topic today by looking at some of the male face designs.

Interestingly, there are two very distinct head molds for male mini-dolls, while there is only one for females.

As I showed you in the post about the Peter mini-doll, we have the head mold with a strong jawline and a triangular nose, as well as the other mold with features shared with the female head mold.

The face designs I have gathered below are the former type; those printed on heads that are shaped like Peter's. Each one has the part name starting with 'Head, Male1, Dec.' followed by its individual number.

This head mold appeared with the launch of the Friends theme.


Above: Dec. 1 (Peter)

A couple more male mini-dolls appeared in 2013, but they had the other male head mold.

So, it was not until 2014 that more mini-dolls came out with this adult male head mold.


Left: Dec. 2 (Eric)     Center: Dec. 3 (Flynn Ryder)     Right: Dec. 4 (Prince Charming)


Those with the above three new face prints were introduced with the launch of the Disney Princess theme. Each of the three is uniquely designed and shows a distinct expression.

Those "prince" mini-dolls are interesting in that they have the adult male head but the younger male's smaller torso.

I don't know what happened to Dec. 5, as that number is missing from the available head design collection.

In 2015, another father character was introduced to Heartlake City who shares the head mold with Peter.

That was also the year the Elves theme was launched, and with it came two male mini-dolls with the same head mold.


Left: Dec. 6 (Luis)     Center: Dec. 7 (Farran)     Right: Dec. 8 (Johnny Baker)


Luis has the same larger torso as Peter. But Farran and Johnny Baker have the younger male torso.

What you have seen above are the male mini-doll face designs on the Peter-type head, and they were introduced between 2012 and 2015.

I'm going to update this post as more designs get added to the collection from 2016.

Upcoming mini-dolls reported at the London & Nuremberg Toy Fairs

Those of you who visit this blog must have been having an exciting week with all the Toy Fair news!

As a minidollologist, I feel compelled to make a list of the upcoming sets and mini-dolls based on what I saw this week as well as what has been rumored for the past month or so. It does not include any of the sets that were released in January 2016. Promotional polybags are also excluded.

H1 2016

Juniors: Disney Princess (3 mini-dolls)

10723 Ariel's Dolphin Carriage: Ariel
10729 Cinderella's Carriage: Cinderella + Prince Charming

Elves (9 mini-dolls)

41171 Emily Jone's & Baby Wind Dragon: Emily
41172 The Water Dragon Adventure: Naida
41173 Elvendale School of Dragons: Tidus Stormsurfer
41174 The Starlight Inn: Azari + Sira Copperbranch
41175 Fire Dragon's Lava Cave: Emily + Azari
41176 The Secret Market Place: Aira + Farran

H2 2016

Juniors: Friends (5 mini-dolls)

10726 Stephanie's Horse Carriage: Stephanie
10727 Emma's Ice Cream Truck: Emma + Andrea
10728 Mia's Clinic: Mia + Olivia

Disney Princess (3 mini-dolls)

41065 Rapunzel's Best Day Ever: Rapunzel
41067 Belle's Enchanted Palace: Belle + Beast

Friends (at least 19 mini-dolls)

41123 Foal's Washing Station: Emma
41124 Puppy Daycare: Andrea + Mia
41125 Vet Horse Trailer: Olivia + Sophie
41126 Heartlake Horse Riding Club: Stephanie + Mia
41127 Amusement Park Arcade: Mia
41128 Amusement Park Space Ride: Olivia
41129 Amusement Park Hot Dog Stand: Stephanie + Nate
41130 Amusement Park Roller Coaster: Andrea + Emma + Matthew + Naya
41131 Advent Calendar: Emma + Naomi
41132 Heartlake Party Shop: Stphanie + Laurie
41133 Amusement Park Bumper Cars: Olivia + Ben
41134 Heartlake Performing School: Andrea + Noah + Iva

Elves (9 mini-dolls)

41177 Precious Crystal Mine: Farran + Naida
41178 Dragon Sanctuary: Aira + Tidus
41179 Queen Dragon's Rescue: Emily + Azari
41180 Ragana's Magic Shadow Castle: Ragana + Aira + Naida

The bottom three Friend sets are probably retailer exclusives, and may not have been displayed at the Toy Fairs.

Rapunzel will have a new exclusive face print! Belle's dress skirt has a lovely new shape that may not allow the princess to sit... I'm very curious to see it up close!

I will have no problem discussing more minidollology with all those mini-dolls coming out this year!

(info updated on 05/21/2016)

Mini-dolls with Andrea's face design (2012)

In the earlier post about Andrea mini-dolls from 2012, I said it was unfair she appeared only in 4 sets while each of her four best friends appeared in 6 or 7 sets.

But actually, Andrea's face was used on more secondary characters than any other face design in 2012. It's true those characters are not Andrea herself, but if you just look at the mini-dolls, they are simply versions of Andrea with different wigs and different names.





Sarah: 3187 Butterfly Beauty Shop
Nicole: 3184 Adventure Camper
Ella: 3185 Summer Riding Camp
Chloe: DK Brickmaster: Treasure Hunt in Heartlake City

Sarah, Nicole and Ella each got a shirt designed especially for them. Chloe got Sarah's hand-me-down, as the mini-dolls that accompany DK books never have a new element exclusively designed for them. Ella's cute top was later borrowed by Andrea, but Nicole's yellow top has not been used again. Their clothes designs do not have any of the five main Friends' signature motifs.

What's interesting about tho mini-dolls with Andrea's face design is that we got them only in the sets released in 2012. Since 2013, all the dark-skinned female characters in Heartlake City have been getting the Kate/Joanna face print with brown eyes and a wider smile.



Ella and Kate from 2013 look very similar here, but their lip and eye colors are different. Kate's smile also looks less inhibited.

Mini-doll heads 1: females (2012-2015)

Today I feel like doing something a little different.

I will present here the face print designs of all the female mini-dolls produced between 2012 and 2015. As additional designs become available, I will try to update this post.

Each of the designs below has the part name starting with 'Head, Female 1, Dec.' followed by its individual number.

From what I can tell, all the heads below have the same mold.

Some print designs may look similar, but no two are identical.

Left: Dec. 1 (Andrea)     Center: Dec. 2 (Stephanie)     Right: Dec. 3 (Olivia)

Left: Dec. 4 (Anna)     Center: Dec. 5 (Emma)     Right: Dec. 6 (Mia)


The above six designs were all that were available in 2012.
All female mini-dolls from the first year of Friends had one of the above styles.

Then in 2013, a few more female face designs were introduced.


Left: Dec. 9 (Kate)     Center: Dec. 11 (Maya)     Right: Dec. 12 (Ms. Stevens)


There are a few numbers that should be there but missing: Dec. 7, Dec. 8 and Dec.10. My guess is that those numbers were assigned to the designs which did not somehow make it to production.

Early in 2014, with the launch of the Disney Princess theme came the brand new face design for Ariel with a wider smile.

Later that year, Sophie made a second appearance with an exclusive face design with a mud mask.


Left: Dec. 13 (Ariel)     Right: Dec. 14 (Sophie w/ mask)


2015 brought many new faces. Three were designed for the Disney Princess theme:


Left: Dec. 15 (Aurora)     Center: Dec. 16 (Jasmine)     Right: Dec. 17 (Anna)

The new Elves theme introduced five brand new female face designs, and Friends got a new pop star character.


Left: Dec. 18 (Aira)     Center: Dec. 19 (Naida)     Right: Dec. 20 (Azari)



Left: Dec. 21 (Emily)     Center: Dec. 22 (Livi)     Right: Dec. 23 (Skyra)

Anna (2012)

Today's guest is Anna, who is Peter's wife and Olvia's mother!

She is currently exclusive to one set:

3315 Olivia's House

Like her husband Peter, she is very special as she has some unique parts.

Her special face print has not been used on any other mini-doll. Isn't she pretty with her red lipstick and light blue eye shadow that compliments her eyes?

And her torso mold is not the same as any of the ones I have presented in this blog so far; she has a larger chest than most female mini-dolls in Heartlake City. Only older ladies have this curvy torso: Anna, Ms. Stevens (teacher), Charlotte (Emma's mom) and Susan (hotel owner).

In the two photos above, Anna is accompanied by Olivia's aunt Sophie. I haven't found a clear statement anywhere, but those two are either sisters or sisters-in-law. According to the official character info, Anna is a doctor, and Sophie is a vet. 

The leg part with the long skirt is often combined with the mature female torso, but Sophie and Maya (who have the more common female torso) have also appeared with this long skirt piece.

Peter (2012)

I have been talking about girl mini-dolls and I need a little change. So today, let's look at Olivia's dad, Peter.





He appeared only in one set:

3315 Olivia's House

So he is quite special!



For about a year and a half, he was the lone male mini-doll in the Friends world.

Even when Andrew and Matthew made their first appearance in the second half year of 2013, Peter was still the only "big guy" in Heartlake city.

Yes, Peter is big compared to the younger males in Heartlake City.

 

See the difference in arm size and length.



It's not just his torso that shows the appearance of a grown man.



He has facial hair, but in addition to that, even his head mold is made differently from Andrew's. Note the more developed jawline and the larger, triangular-shaped nose.

Andrew's mold appears to be the same as the one and only female head mold.

Peter shares his head mold with all the male mini-dolls from the Disney Princess and Elves sets.

His torso mold is currently used by only two other characters: Luis (Emma's dad) and Kristoff (from Frozen).

Andrea (2012)

In my previous posts, I have presented Olivia, Stephanie, Mia and Emma from 2012.

Today is Andrea's turn, and for a particular reason I didn't feature her until all the other four Friends have been introduced.



Just take a look!






It just doesn't seem fair, does it?

Andrea appeared in the four following sets in 2012:

1) 3061 City Park Cafe
2) 30100 Beach (promo/polybag)
3) 3938 Andrea's Bunny House
4) 3932 Andrea's Stage

Mia, Stephanie and Olivia were in 7 sets, and Emma in 6.

Even if we don't count special sets like DK book with Mia or the promotional Stephanie polybag, Andrea was still in two less sets than her four Friends.

Anyway, both her yellow signature top and her alternate green halter top appeared in two different sets in 2012. Since Andrea is a talented singer, the motif that represents her is the music notes. Her green top also shows a butterfly, which is the Friends' motif as a group, previously seen on Mia's and Emma's tops.

Andrea #1 has her top in a slightly darker shade of yellow than #2. Her signature shirt from later years have the lighter shade like that worn by #2.

The back side looks like this:


Interestingly, Andrea's top was not redesigned in 2015. But the parts painted in white became more enhanced and visible.



You may have also noticed that her eye colors are different in the last photo. Her green eyes got a lighter shade in 2013.

Emma (2012)

Today's featured Friend is Emma. In 2012, she was included in 6 different sets, one less than Olivia, Stephanie and Mia.



1) 3185 Summer Riding Camp
2) 3187 Butterfly Beauty Shop
3) 30103 Car (promo/polybag)
4) 3931 Emma's Splash Pool
5) 3186 Emma's Horse Trailer
6) 3936 Emma's Fashion Design Studio

Emma #5 is wearing her hair in a ponytail with the black riding hat on. this is the only Emma mini-doll without her normal wig.

Her favorite color is purple, so we see a lot of purple here. The motif seen on both of her tops is the flower, but not just any kind of flower. Hers is a flower with five petals, and the four dots in the middle makes the flower look a little like a 4 hole button. One of Emma's favorite activities is craft, so the design seems perfect for her.

Her main top is a purple sleeveless shirt with the flower in pink and details in silver like leaves and dots that are shaped like vines. Her alternate top, exclusive to that design studio set, is a halter top in a slightly darker and more pinkish shade of purple. It is decorated with half of the flower and two butterflies.

The back side has no extra details other than what you would expect.


Just like the previous three characters, Emma got her signature top redesigned in 2015. She got a couple additional flowers, but the details in silver are now painted in white.