#body comparison

[C] Never Too Late to Start

When last we saw Melinda and Michael, they were fresh out of their box after 50 years. I had detailed posts showing body comparisons all set up, but apparently naked fashion dolls now count as "mature content" even when they're not anatomically correct and they're hidden after the jump. I promise, neither of these dolls has nipples, female-presenting or otherwise.

So let's do some comparisons while fully clothed. Here are some guys being bros.

Michael is taller than either "Rock the Bells" Anthony (The Fresh Doll) or Kenzo (Cactus Cooler Ken, a.k.a. Skinny Manbun Ken). Surprisingly, his hips and legs are so narrow that he can wear Skinny Ken pants. His shoulders are about Standard Ken width -- he's narrower than Anthony, who wears Wide Ken clothes. Michael is also notably taller than his bros. I don't know whose shoes he's wearing.

In fairness, the ideal comparison would be to 1971 Live Action Ken (jointed waist, click knees, standard body shape of the time), but I didn't bond with Kens of my childhood. Michael looks about the same in the chest but skinner in the waist, and he has both a waist and a chest joint.

Surprise: all three of these gals have the same waist-hip shape! While it's well-known that Jazzie's torso is a retread of Melinda's (including the smaller bust), it was new to me that Hula Hair Barbie (1996) has the same waist and hips, with a bigger bust. Hula Hair Barbie's articulation also looks a lot like Melinda's, though Barbie lacks ankle and wrist joints.

Melinda fits surprisingly sell into the Sparkle Girlz dress. Nobody here is wearing shoes because they all have quirky foot needs.

Once again, my comparison doll for articulation is not the ideal one. Mattel's Dramatic Living Barbie of the early 1970s would be the perfect brand-mate comparison. I had at least three of these as a child, plus the Live Action Barbie in the psychedelic jump suit. The latter had joints so loose that her backstory was that she was a rock star with a substance abuse problem. I note that nobody selling any of these dolls today ever poses them with elbows bent! They had wrist, elbow, and knee (click) articulation, plus waist articulation.

For extensive articulation, the best comparison would be Uneeda's 11.5-inch Dollikin of the late 1960s. I was too young to have one, and while I've been browsing them on eBay, I'm not sold on the concept to the extent of paying $50 with shipping. Maybe I'll find one at an estate sale.

ANYWAY. Everyone can kneel, but nobody can squat back on their calves like a Made To Move doll can.

I've substituted Asha (Black Hula Hair Barbie) for white Hula Hair Barbie because she's in a better outfit for posing, and her hair has less static.

Everyone can sit respectably.

But only Anthony can cross his legs with ankle-to-knee, like guys do.

Melinda wins the "touch your own head" competition.

Lounging is a challenge. Anthony is least bad at it -- unsurprising, given his modern articulation. Kylie (not shown here), who's on a MTM body, could probably beat Asha at this, too.

Melissa's and Asha's articulation really is pretty comparable, though.

Since Melissa obviously has a larger head than Asha, I decided to see how she compares to my Franziska, my 1990s Steffi Love. It's not the same mold, but there's a resemblance.

By this point, I'd spent so much time looking at Michael and Melinda that I couldn't help noticing how much they resembled Michael and Gloria Stivic, Archie Bunker's son-in-law and daughter in All in the Family, a huge TV hit of the early 1970s.

*side eyes Mattel*

A couple months ago, I'd arranged some of my 1:6-ish furniture into a primitive apartment in one of my cabinets, mostly to have somewhere to put the weird $5 kitchen from Dollar Tree. While this was intended as a hangout for the Hula Hair girls, its random, thrift-ish furnishings mean it's a better fit as the Young Sweethearts' first apartment.

Michael and Melinda enjoy a quiet evening together with their dog, Archie, and cat, Edith. Getting Michael anywhere close to holding that guitar is my triumph of the day. He is working his way through the greatest hits of Peter, Paul, and Mary.