Dollfie and its accessories

This week, let's move away from major American company products to something closer to the east, or rather to the country of the rising sun, Japan. Originating from a company based in Japan called Volks, "Dollfie" is mainly a doll made of vinyl or polyurethene resin, a hard, dense plastic, rather like a Barbie but have more joints therefore they are much more flexible. "Dollfie" originates from the words "doll" and "figure". They measure 27cm in height or is called playscale. Another type of doll is called Super Dollfie, a larger version measuring 60cm in height.

Source: http://www.pandollmonium.com/dollfie/buff/index.html

Now you know what Dollfie is. But what exactly is it for? Is it a new doll soon to replace Barbie as little girls' favourite companion? Far from that, actually.

Dollfie is designed for adult collectors, mainly fans of Japanese manga and anime. Dollfie were first manufactured in 1997. Their flexibility and ease of movement is designed so that they can be posed and dressed up in various fashions and characters. Their body parts like heads, limbs and body can be bought separately and attached together for easier customization according to one's desire. The inside of Dollfie's body are strung together by strong elastic band and the joints must be handled with care as they are sensitive.

Dollfie can come in male and female form as well as child-size. They are also available in different "skin" tones. All body parts can be customised by the collector. The head can be opened to change the eyes and adjust the string of the elastic band. The eye colour for example can be changed by the collector to suit the Dollfie's character. The hair can also be changed as the doll's head has rooting where it's hair can be attached.

Most collectors have invested alot of time, money and effort on developing their Dollfie's character. They can change the Dollfie's outfits regularly due to its ease of customization and new clothes and accessories can be added on the doll to personalise it. The Dollfie's fashion is heavily influenced by Japanese anime, thus attracting hordes of teenage collectors and has a following from cosplay enthusiasts.

A check with ebay reveals that if you are interested in investing in a Dollfie, be prepared to spend around S$70 for a basic doll while all other accessories are available to be added on. There are various of outfits and accessories available online that one can add to one's Dollfie to beautify it. It requires the collector's own skill, sense of fashion and craft to develope a complete character. For cheaper solutions, try tapping into your own creativity and sew Dollfie's outfits yourselves!

Coincidentally, a friend of a friend of mine is a Dollfie enthusiast and according to her, she spent around US$500-600 on a Super Dollfie with its custom outfits and accessories. Here are some of the looks of the Super Dollfie.

I have never been interested in anime or Dollfie before this, but due to my friend's strong influence and some researching on Dollfie for this post, I found this hobby to be rather interesting and I found myself liking it. The dolls are very life-like and beautiful, plus one can play around with posing the doll. It takes a lot of skill to fully customised a Dollfie from scratch and I'm not artistically inclined, so if I do delved into Dollfie collecting, I would prefer a customised completed doll along with its accessories. That is ofcourse, if I have around US$600 to spare.

For more information on Dollfie and customization, visit Volk's homepage where you can also order the different Dollfie's body parts and accessories. If you prefer to get a customised Dollfie complete with accessories, visit Amy Brown's Dolls or nDoll.com. Get tips for collecting Super Dollfie here. Do check out Arastal Alastei's blog on Dollfie. There are some great pictures there and the author has also uploaded a video on how to customised the doll's head. Also check out PanDollMonium to check out more dolls.

M&M's chocolate and collectibles

Yes, by looking at the picture, you can guess what my topic would be about this week. I am exploring the world of collectibles that is the famous "milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand", M&M's.

To most of us, M&M's is just some chocolate wrapped in a sugar-coating candy. They are yummy and easy to eat as they come in small bite size pieces plus they are colourful :D

According to wikipedia, the candies were first manufactured in 1941. Did you know that the founder of the Mars Company, Forrest Mars, Sr., got the idea of making M&M's from Smarties? In fact, the chocolates were first packaged in cardboard tubes just like Smarties.

Now, M&M's comes in various packaging of varying colours and sizes. M&M's also isn't just restricted to chocolates anymore. There are dark chocolate, peanut butter, crispy, almond, toffee and minty flavour. M&M's has also introduced all kinds of memorabilia and collectibles to the M&M's brand. One of the favourites among avid collectors is the M&M's dispenser.

Source: http://mmcollectorscorner.com/mmcollectibles/dispensers/dispensers.html

Besides the dispenser, there are also:

M&M toppers where it serves as a cap for the tube packaging.
Source: http://mmcollectorscorner.com/mmcollectibles/toppers/toppers/christmas.html
See more here.

M&M figurines
Source: http://mmcollectorscorner.com/mmcollectibles/figurines/fig.html

M&M mugs
Source: http://mmcollectorscorner.com/mmcollectibles/ceramics/ceramics/mugs.html

M&M tins
Source: http://mmcollectorscorner.com/mmcollectibles/tins/tins/round.html
See more here.

M&M plushies
Source: http://mmcollectorscorner.com/mmcollectibles/plush/plushies.html

Also check out the M&Ms lady's collection. She has such an extensive collection of M&M's memorabilia that she call her home a "museum".

It so happens that my sister is an amateur M&M's collector too. Here is her mini collection:

M&M's minis

M&M's assorted flavours

M&M's dispenser

M&M's minis dispenser

M&M's toppers

M&M's figurines

M&M's calculator

M&M's

I think M&M's collecting is fun and easy. You do not require a big budget to start a small collection that will eventually grow. Some of the collectibles are rather like toys so they are fun to keep and colourful. They are also easily available at candy shops such as The Coco Tree and doesn't cost too expansive for simple figurines and dispensers. For more complicated electronic ones like M&M's calculator and M&M's Sudoku, the prize would be higher around S$30-50. Although they are more expensive, these items would make your collection more special.

The collectibles do need some tender loving care. They easily collect dust when exposed so you should do regular cleaning and wiping with soft cloth. Or like my sister, you can wrap larger items in clear pastic to prevent dust from sticking to them. Because the items are colourful, I suggest displaying your collection where there is good white lighting and space the items out so each can be viewed separately. Or else, your shelf would look too crowded and messy. I think this would make a good hobby for chocolate lovers and cartoon lovers. There's chocolate and cartoon character. This is not exactly my cup of tea, but if it appeals to you, go head and give it a try.

If you want to find out more about M&M's collecting, visit http://mmcollectorscorner.com/. Or if you are really interested, join the official M&M's collectors club.

Coca Cola cans & bottles

What are your favourite pastimes? For most of us, we would say chatting, reading, listening to music and watching TV as our hobbies. But there are numerous other interesting hobbies that people indulged themselves with and my first post would be about Coca Cola cans and bottles collecting.

Coca Cola has produced rather interesting designs throughout the years to promote the drink. From the contour bottles, also know as 'hobbleskirt' bottles, to the everyday aluminium can. This has prompted many enthusiasts and fans of the famous drink to collect the cans and bottles as collectibles. This deep fascination with the cola company and its brand has spread to other items as well and there are plenty of memorabilia such as shirts, toys, posters and signs on the market that celebrates the world famous brand that is Coca Cola.

Collectors worldwide have used the Internet in order to trade cans with other collectors. With the help of the Internet, collectors are able to widen their international collection and circulate in-demand sets of cans without having to leave their home country.

I started collecting my first Coca Cola can 9 years ago and it slowly grew into a hobby. Its is a very small and random collection of cans compared to other more organised collectors.

Ronen Liwski(pictured) with his collection of Coca Cola cans. He has set up his own website in order to trade cans with other collectors worldwide.

Here are some of my own collections.

(From left)Euro 2008, McDonald's Beijing Olympics Contour cup, Coca Cola contour bottle from Thailand

Beijing Olympics 2008 series

Vanilla Coke during Hari Raya from Malaysia

Cans in assorted sizes

Aluminium cans from Japan

An older version of the Coca Cola can and Coca Cola with Lemon from Korea

Coca Cola glass and mini can imported from Japan

Contour bottle imported from Thailand

Contour bottle to commemorate Singapore's 40th National Day(front)

Contour bottle to commemorate Singapore's 4oth National Day(back)

Below is my mini collection

I know, my mini collection is nothing much to be proud of but they are my babies :D

My amateur collection requires little budget and is easy to start as different variations and designs of the cans and bottles are available all year long. All you need to do is to just keep your eyes peeled for the latest or newest design available. Sometimes, if you look hard enough you can get your hands on special imported ones from stores like Giant. I have bought a number of imported cans from Giant without having the hassle of travelling outside the country or doing online exchange. But if you are a serious collector, online exchange would be sensible in order to get your hands on exclusive and prized cans from overseas.

You would also need a designated place to store your collection. As the cans and bottles do take up some space, try to get a rack or shelf to display them. You can arrange them as you like, but since I have limited space, I stack them up on the rack which doesn't display all the cans on their front. Keeping the cans clean from dust do take some effort as their tops collect dust easily. If available, keep your collection in a closed shelf. One important reminder is to always keep the cans AWAY from sunlight. If exposed to sunlight for prolonged period, the colour turns dull and the can's shine fades. This is learnt from experienced, unfortunately.

If you are interested to know more about Coca Cola can collecting do head to http://www.cocacollection.com/ to get information about trading cans and tips on collecting valuable cans. Also check out this blog dedicated to Coca Cola collectibles around the world. Or if you are interested in buying any other Coca Cola products, go to http://www.coca-colastore.com/