I got some white skull pony beads for the finials and some cheap toy horses for the ride-ons. I was going to purchase war gaming miniature horse skeletons of white metal, but those were like $10.00 a piece before shipping, and this is not supposed to be an expensive project. I’ll just hack up the mini horses, throw red paint on them and call them zombies. :p

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Xandy’s cheap piece of crap merry-go-round music box arrived in the mail today. I got exactly what I paid for, which was a toy made out of wood, glue, [probably lead-based] paint and a music box that sounded like someone torturing a piano sounding board with a cocktail fork.

Continue reading Xandy’s merry-go-round makeover

I just used an Amazon gift card to purchase a cheap, shoddy merry-go-round music box for under Xandy’s crinoline. When it comes, I will better be able to figure out what size of horse skeletons to put on the poles instead of the ridiculously blobby default wooden ones. 

EDIT: Used the rest of the gift card to drastically reduce purchase price for some little orange and white skeletons dancing on a black field. This cotton print cloth will form some of the layers of Xandy’s skirt. I also ordered 2 yards so that I can eventually make a shirt for Isabel, using the pattern that Andrea so generously gave me. [Now where did I put that?]

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Xandy, having been derooted of her face-obscuring bob, shows off her purple bra, from an unknown source in my collection, and tailcoat from a Phicen Lady Magician figure. No stuffing of cleavage was necessary to make this fit, much to my relief. Continue reading Collecting materials for Xandy’s clothes

I ripped out enough of Xandy’s original purple bob so that the cropped remains would not show from under her lofty new wig. Since I had such fun designing my digital pompadour, Zabby, I decided to give Xandy an actual manifestation of the same style, with a few differences.
Continue reading Prepping Xandy for her pompadour

She thinks the stand upon which she is currently suspended may not be rigid enough to support her. I’m inclined to agree, especially as it’s made for a doll with legs that touch the ground, which Xandy obviously does not have. I should probably just have a hemispherical crinoline out of wire, open in the front, to serve as her stand and carousel surround, but I’m not there yet.Continue reading Xandy has concerns about structural stability.

Well, Phicen just recently released a Lady Magician figure with a tailcoat, so I went to my preferred retailer for such things, SMcG Customs, and snapped up the parted-out tailcoat, as well as a set of white gloved hands. The Lady Magician figure has large, globular breasts, so I may have to pad Xandy’s bra or something…

I have also discovered a cheap wooden merry-go-round music box. It’s so cheap that I feel no qualms whatsoever about purchasing it and customizing it. I would repaint it black, white and purple and remove those crude wooden horses. I wonder if some horse skeletons from gaming miniatures would be the correct size for ride-ons instead?

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Poor Xandy. I was so excited about getting her, but she has just lain around in pieces since arriving in January. I decided back then to make her into a merry-go-round mecha mannequin, but I never got farther than removing her legs, setting aside her purple cape for part of her outfit and purchasing some stars to attach chain clasps to.

However, now that I have pretty much finished up Polly and need to wait for cooler weather to hack up Yamarrah’s torso, my thoughts now turn to the neglected Xandy. At first, I thought she would be a magician/ringmaster merry-go-round mecha mannequin with a circus theme. Then I wandered off into thoughts of automatons, brass winding keys and top hats. I now entertain the idea of Xandy as the ringmaster of a creepy carnival, probably because my last creepy doll, the dead version of Isabel, came out so well.

As ringmaster of the creepy carnival, Xandy now veers more in the direction of Halloween. I still like the idea of her having a tailcoat, white gloves and a wand to represent her magicianship, but I also want to make dark, voluminous, sparkly skirts out of my purple sequined fabric and black velvet. I can make her a pointy hat and give her a bit of a repaint for a stitched-up Glasgow smile.

The greatest challenge would be the procurement of a Halloweeny carousel for underneath her skirts. Department 56, manufacturers of miniature themed villages, used to make a Ghostly Carousel that would be perfect, but it’s out of print and probably ridiculously expensive. As an alternative, Lemax makes a Scary-Go-Round [har!] for its Spooky Town line, and that item is new this year, so sure to be in print. Unfortunately, it just appears to be a regular carousel with costumed kids on it. Boooo. I want Halloweeny animals to ride!

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Xandy shipped! [That’s the Playtoy Purple Girl, a very obvious unlicensed reproduction of Chloe Moretz from Hit Girl 2.] She should be here by the end of the week! 

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I recently lusted after Original Effect’s Spider Girl Nightmare Theme Suit, a head and outfit set, for which I could not justify spending ~$150.00 excluding s/h.  Well, turns out that the ~$150.00 price is exclusive to that particular Japanese online store, and preorders for the Spider Girl set have just been hitting U.S. retailers for ~$85.00 excluding s/h. Now if I can just find someplace that won’t charge me ~$13.00 for s/h [for a lightweight head + outfit combo!], I’m throwing her in my cart.

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