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Tuesday 27 December 2016

Where I've been...

You may have been wondering where I've been since 5th October, well it's been a long and painful time for me and there are so many things I've had to face that although inevitable I hoped I'd never have to...

My Dad went into hospital for a routine hernia operation and all went well but at age 74 with only 1/4 of his lung capacity due to emphysema - a result of 30 years underground as a coal miner - it was a worry.

 He caught an infection, it led to pneumonia and then he caught a secondary infection, the decision was made to place him on life support as his lungs were having a hard time coping...

They kept him unconscious for several weeks and it was a huge worry but he came through it ok.

He made a full recovery, and the consultant was so happy with his progress that he decided to release Dad earlier than they originally told us he'd be home.

He didn't need physio and as he'd recovered so well and due to the time he'd been on life support his wound had healed so he didn't need to have visits and dressings from a nurse.

He was sent home with an appointment to see his consultant in a month...

Dad came home on the 2nd November, he was so happy to be home and after an hour Aaron helped him up to bed as he insisted he wanted to sleep in his own bed.

About half hour later he got up and came downstairs where he spent a few hours alternating between his nebuliser and oxygen.

Next morning after sleeping on the sofa and breakfasting with Mum, he sent her off to buy a new ceiling light for the hallway.

Aaron and I spent the morning with him, having our breakfast, Dad was on top form, we were all laughing and joking and he set to and sorted out his drawer putting things in order.

He asked Aaron to fetch him his oxygen, we helped him hook himself up and a little later he became unresponsive, then unconscious, we got an ambulance. Mum came home and after looking him over the first responders wanted to take him to the ambulance do some tests and stabilise him before taking him to hospital.

We waited outside to be told we could go to hospital with him, I could see them doing CPR and I just knew... They got a second ambulance team to assist tried more for ages... then came and told us his heart had stopped and they're trying desperately to restart it.

The took him to hospital, we followed and waited for ages, several of the staff from the Intensive Care team came to assist when they heard he'd been brought in...

It was too late... my Dad is gone.




We had formalities to attend to, police identification and saying goodbye in a viewing room, I took Mum's hand and led her like she was my child...

Dad's funeral was on the 29th November and as you can imagine, I've really felt like shit so I've been quiet.

I've started to write a little in my drafts, it's helping, but I'm not always feeling it,

Wednesday 5 October 2016

🔪 Jason Voorhees - Living Dead Doll 2009 (remake) 🔪


He was an Early Birthday present from my Son!

WOOT!!!!





This version of the Jason's does not have a re-movable mask...but he does have a blooming great big knife...Woot hours of fun!

Yay... I did it!!

I finally managed to get Jason's mask off ...

I tried when I got him but it was stuck tight to the bottom of his face and so I emailed the living dead dolls website to ask if it was removable ... they said no but over the months I saw several others of these dolls being sold all of which said the mask was removable so I was a bit flummuxed ...


I even found one which showed a pic' of the doll with and without mask so I thought I'm going for it! 

I took out my trusty scalpel and set to work... the buggers had only glued his top lip and nose to the mask but ha ... didn't stop me and so here's my little boy's great unveiling...kinda cute ain't he? 




I'll be including this in a later post when I finally get pic's of my Living Dead Doll Collection together and uploaded *Grin*


💀 Living Dead Dolls (and Herbie!) Presents ... Leatherface! 💀

Leatherface was bought for me as a Christmas present by my Son when they were released in 2007, as he knew all about my soft spot for the Sawyer / Hewitts family, I have no idea why but I always root for them, they are a weird innocence and are oddly sympathetic characters even though they are right sadistic freaks that you really wouldn't want to meet!

Leatherface especially is childlike, this is further illustrated in the recent prequels where he is shown doing his lessons (spelling) using an electronic toy such as those made by Leapfrog for toddlers and preschoolers.

2008 Christmas pressie from Aaron ... wooot!
This doll is an Exclusive and was produced in a limited run only so they are quite hard to come by in the U.K. - I decided to double check that last line, having not researched him since Aaron bought him for me, so I hop footed it over to Amazon and wow, check out this screenshot...

Amazon.co.uk Screenshot - 2 minutes ago!


I'm shocked how much it would set me back to buy him now, Aaron saved up his pocket money for over a month to buy him for me, if he'd been the price he is now I'd of had buckleys of owing him!

I had to wait for him to arrive from America, he wasn't available for sale in the U.K at the time and after the two weeks of tenderhooks Customs held him to ransom for £10.00!

Even so, with the initial cost, shipping cost and Customs charge combined he's still 
I love this little guy so much, he's just the cutest... He's now £138.10 - £162,42 more than he originally cost in 2008 - almost tripled in value!!

Not that I'd part with the little guy, I adore him, he's just so cute..

                          

He comes in a really cool box which opens like a door at the front to reveal a clear viewing pane, to get at him you have to open the box at the top.
                                                  

The Back of the box reads... "The collectable you are about to purchase is an homage to the tragedy which befell a group of five youths. Had they lived very,very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic Summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annuals of American history... The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."


He wears navy blue trousers, an ivory shirt, cowboy boots, a blood splattered apron and stands 12 inches tall and comes with his own little chainsaw (also covered in blood splats) and has the cutest little pot belly!!


He sometimes watches The Texas Chainsaw massacre with us at Halloween, although he always gets angry at the end and waves is chainsaw around!


Tuesday 4 October 2016

Decisions, Decisions...

I know I promised more Monster High posts and all you've had so far are Pee-wee Herman & Living Dead Dolls, I got a bit sidetracked and started rearranging my blog.

I discovered that I'd mislaid a few Living Dead Doll posts and as I want to make my labels more coherent and and easier to navigate, I've started to go through the vaults to try and find them, what I discovered was a multitude of Living Dead Dolls all in one hot mess of a post with no obvious labels*  and not all of my Living Dead Dolls at that!




*well it was posted quite a few years back, when I was still quite new to the blogging concept (Originally posted on My Site, Multiply under title  My Living Dead Dolls - Yayness!!  Dec 31, '08 11:39 AM), then uploaded to Flickr around the same time, then posted to here too!)

So I decided I'm reposting and reorganizing, so I apologize if you've seen these dolls and photographs before but sadly most of my collection is in storage so I'm not able at present to update many of the older pictures.

Anyhoo, I'll be back on track soon enough - there's hundreds of plastic humans to show off still, hopefully, you'll bear with me and stick around!

Hugs,







P.S That Schitzo close up photograph doesn't belong to me I cropped it from somewhere, sadly it's been so long I don't recall where... If it's your's congratulations on owning such a gorgeous little guy, and please accept my apologies for the photo theft... Come to think of it, I'm not sure the other mini close ups are mine either, my camera was absolutely pants at the time.
So if you recognise your pic's, let me know and I'll credit you, hugs again, Herbie x 

Monday 3 October 2016

☞ The Creature from The Black Lagoon - Living Dead Dolls: Birthday Prezzies 2015 ☜

Living Dead Dolls Promo' Poster 


As  soon as I saw this promotional poster for the Living Dead Doll Exclusive: The Creature From The Black Lagoon I was smitten. I showed it to Aaron, expecting him to say "Yeah, that's cool" and yay he preordered it immediately as a surprise Birthday prezzie for me!




I'm not sure why, but The Creature has always been my favourite movie monster, like Frankenstein's Monster he is an innocent who, through no fault of his own is introduced into "the world of humans" and as a consequence is misunderstood and falls fail because of it.

If you've read my post about the Universal Studios Monsters Signature Series by Hasbro / Kenner, you'll already know a little about this iconic movie monster's design and my love for this particular beastie, if not and you're interested, you can access that post by clicking the link above.        
       Living Dead Dolls advertising.

While the Hasbro Creature is as close to the iconic designs imagined and drawn up by Millicent Patrick, I can't help loving the unique twist that the Living Dead Doll designers came up with, of course this is due in part to the fact that they couldn't reuse their existing moulds as they often do, but instead had to create a whole new one in order to produce this doll.

 The resulting design has given the Creature a more humanoid appearance, and also a more innocent and childlike look.



I love the attention to detail on this doll, he's perfect, right down to his scaly feet. Like The Creature from the Universal films, he has overly large hands (paws?) in relation to the rest of his limbs. These are covered with tiny bumps (suckers?) and he looks just as good from behind as he does from the front.

Unlike other Living Dead Dolls he is articulated at the wrists and ankles as well as the standard hips, neck and shoulders.



His box is decorated on the front with graphics and writing which resembles the artwork used on the lobby posters from the original Creature from The Black Lagoon film.

The back of the box has a "seal" depicting Frankenstein's Monster and reads "Universal Studios home of the original Monsters".

                                              

The sides of the box also bear this seal as well as a picture of the real Creature, below which is the film title emblazoned in yellow, again resembling the lobby posters from the original film.

                    

                                               As you can see he's a bit of a joker!


☞ Norman Bates & Marion Crane - (Psycho) - Living Dead Dolls: Birthday Prezzies 2015 ☜

When I saw this promo' poster advertising the latest offering from Living Dead Dolls, I just had to have them!

Psycho has long been one of my favourite films, the atmosphere is electric and unrelenting, Hitchcock was truly a master of the genre.

Living Dead Dolls Promo' Poster

 I love that it is in black and white and that the horror is not derived from gore or blood letting everywhere, but from the quiet unassuming way in which Antony Perkins depicts Norman, the idea that the most dangerous people are not always openly scary and can come across as a really nice, friendly person until it is too late and once you find out your mistake it is too late, your life is forfeited because of it...


I really love the packaging on these two dolls, the front of each box is decorated according to each of the character's perspective during "the shower scene" of the original Psycho film.

Marian Crane's box depicts the moment when Norman (dressed as his mother) pulls back the shower curtain and raises the knife to slash her to death, and the doll's expression conveys the shock and fear shown on Janet Leigh's face when she is surprised in the shower. 

While Norman's box shows the same moment from Marian Crane's perspective, her hands are depicted raised in order to try and fend off the blows in an attempt to save her life.



Living Dead Dolls advertising


Marian comes wrapped in a "Bate's Motel" towel, screaming for her life...
Living Dead Dolls advertising
While Norman comes dressed as his mother complete with blonde wig over his dark hair which can clearly be seen and his trousers and men's boots poking out underneath, his face is contorted in a mixture of rage (at that filthy girl!) and a scream which he emits just as he's about to attack!





☞ War - The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse - Living Dead Dolls: Birthday Prezzies 2015 ☜


As you probably know by now I have a bit of a thing about gasmasks, and of course you're well aware of my thing about dolls, so a doll in a gasmask? Well, seriously how can I resist?!


Toxic Molly


I'd imagined it to be a weird dream, but then I discovered Toxic Molly... Sadly, by the time I knew she existed she was discontinued and hard as heck to get hold of unless you have a couple of hundred quid to spare, so the release of The Four Horseman of The Apocalypse series with War in his gasmask was of great interest to me and of course he ended up on my wishlist - Lucky for me Aaron, knowing my problem bought him for my Birthday too! 


Apart from the fact this doll comes with a gasmask, the other thing that drew me to him was his Surcoat and mantle which is based on The Knights Templar, The Order of Solomon's Temple. 

While I am not so keen on the periods of history in which they were prominent - The Crusades, I have always had a keen interest in The Order themselves and the rise, decline, associations, legends, secrecy, legacy and connection with The Holy Grail of these fascinating "Holy knights".


I love that his outfit combines both modern and ancient combat garments which oddly don't look out of place on him. I also love that he comes with a little "War Horse", like the others in this series, although his is red to match with the poem written on the front of his coffin shaped box.

The combination of garments used in War's uniform is no accidental grouping. In combining all these iconic uniform components it places War himself as spanning from the Human Race's first known combats right up to the present day - 21 Centuries of Warfare... 

When you think of it in those terms it's revolting, especially when you consider we still haven't learnt.

War's uniform consists of :

Stahlhelm - Worn by the German Army during WW1 & WW2 (first introduced in 1916 and replaced in 1956), this style was also worn by Austrian, Hungarian, Ottoman, Chinese, Polish, British, Bolivian, Swiss, Argentine, Yugoslav, Chilean, Spanish, Irish troops wearing the same style or variations of it at during the same period, United States and El Salvador armies have also worn variations on this helmet design.

Gasmask - Gasmasks have been around in one form or another since their invention in the 9th Century. Originally invented to protect workers from workplace pollutants,  they evolved over the centuries as needed. The gasmask in the form that we recognise today were  invented in 1912 by Garrett Morgan as a smoke protecting safety hood. The design was patented in 1914 and that patent design was adapted for use as protection in WW1. This design was later modified again, with different Countries inventing their own versions, but the basis remains the same and is of course still in use for protection in warfare.

Surcoat - From around 12th Century knights wore a surcoat over their armour, this continued to be the case until the 15th Century when the surcoat became an armoured garment instead of a cloth one.

Mantle / Tunic - The Knights Templar wore a white mantle over their armour to deflect the heat of the sun, white was used to symbolise purity as they were crusading on behalf of The Catholic Church. To further illustrate that they have "taken the cross" they wore the symbol emblazoned on the front in red. This of course made them very recognisable and distinguished them from other knights in battle. This iconic garment was worn by the Templar Knights from 1129 until the order was disbanded in 1312.

www.pinterest.com/dolls4emma/

Tunic Emblem - The Living Dead Dolls "War" wears a mantle which has bears the Cross of Lorraine on top of the symbol for eternity. These combined symbols create a unique symbol the origins of which are unclear. 

It is said to be the Alchemic symbol for Sulphur (Brimstone) and also The Leviathan Cross which is often claimed as an invention of The Knights Templar.

The glyph was later used by Anton LaVey  when it was placed above The Nine Satanic Statements in his book The Satanic Bible written in the 1969, as a consequence it has been linked to Satanism and is often referred to as "Crux Satanus" (Satan's Cross) although there is no other instance of this glyph being symbolic of Satan or Satanism outside of LaVey's usage!

The glyph has been used in recent years on the Living Dead Dolls' packaging and clothing, and also  as a favicon and maker's mark on the official website since Ed Long and Damien Glonek released the first doll for public consumption 16 years ago!!

So it is only fitting that "War" should wear it as his emblem upon his mantle.

Chainmail - The earliest example of this protective clothing has been found dating from around the 4th Century BC. Chainmail is still worn as a protective layer in the 21st Century.

Cargo Trousers - First worn by British Armed Forces as Battle Dress in 1938, later by U.S Army in WW2, Australia, South Africa, India, New Zealand and Canada also adapted this style of trousers into their uniforms. Post WW2 Greece, Belgium, Norway, Argentina and The Netherlands also adopted this style. Variations of these trousers continue to be worn by Military throughout the World in the present day.

Combat Boots - First worn by Roman Soldiers during The Roman Empire ( 31 BC to 395/476 AD). A variation was worn by the New Model Army (1645 - 1660) during The English Civil War (1642 - 1651) In Switzerland combat boots were worn from 1779. 

In The United States it was during the 1812 War that  this type of boot became a staple of military clothing, up until 1820 when it was replaced with a ankle height style. This continued to be worn until 1858 until they were replaced with an improved style in the 1880s.  

Combat Boots as we know them today, and as worn by "War" are worn by armies Worldwide as well as by various groups (Punk, Heavy Metal, Goth etc) as a fashion statement.


☞ The Kiss of Death - Living Dead Dolls: Birthday Prezzies 2015 ☜




I really loved the Death versions of Living Dead Dolls released by Mezco and"Spirit Talking" really couldn't decide if I preferred the Horseman of The Apocalypse series "Death" or the Series 15  versions of this doll. 

The two are pretty similar really, except that series 15's Death comes with a little planchette as well as his scythe and "The Four Horseman of The Apocalypse" Death comes with a little white obby oss.


The Series 15 Death also Glows in the dark, I'm not sure however if the variant version does as well.


Series 15 Variant Death is a red robed version which puts me in mind of "The Masque of The Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe... All of which came in little coffin shaped boxes.



Each comes with the obligatory "Death Certificate" as well, but the series 15 Deaths differ in that they form part of a Ouija Board, hence the series title "Spirit Talking".




The rest of series 15 each have a section of a Ouija Board, which when pieced together make a full board.


With the planchette in Death's coffin, you can use the Ouija Board if you so wish. This series is unique in that they reward you for collecting the entire series by giving you an extra gift, a part of which is included in each of their coffins.


As far as I can make out the only thing that ties these dolls together as a series is the inclusion of the Ouija Board pieces. In terms of a theme their isn't really a coherent one, and the series title "Spirit Talking" relates only to the enclosed Ouija Board pieces and not the dolls themselves.


The Series 15 variants all come with the Ouija Board parts and were released as limited editions with the entire run being 666 sets Worldwide!
                          
I was still umming and ahhing as to which one I wanted when Mezco released an even cuter version, an adorable little Death with a lipstick mark on his cheek who comes packaged inside a "Kissing Booth" with a sign saying "Kisses 25c Your Soul".


He put me in mind of both Snoopy in his kissing booth and The Discworld's Death. I can just imagine him leaving Binky in the care of Albert and taking time off to "find himself" etc, while pretending to be human he takes a job manning a kissing booth, after reading what he got up to in Mort, Soul MusicReaper Man & Hogfather, I really wouldn't put it past him!



I can imagine him sitting there waiting for customers with The Grim Squeaker perched on his lap.


                                           


In case I've never mentioned it, Sir Terry Pratchett is my favourite author and his Discworld series are my ultimate go to books - I have every one he wrote (all 46 of them!) my only regret is I never made it to a book signing and so was unable to tell  Sir Terry just how much his writing meant to me or that I named my beautiful natured kitten (now sadly also passed) Pratchett and that they had both brought me so much joy in my life and helped pick me up at times when I really needed a lift.

                                                 

Sadly, I will never no have the opportunity to do so, as Sir Terry Pratchett passed away in 2015, the last Discworld book he wrote "The Shepherd's Crown" centred on Tiffany Aching and was as brilliant as the others, it ended on a sad note however, as not only was I very conscious that it was the very last and I would never get to explore any more of the Discworld, which sadly could have continued indefinitely but also because the end of the book had a footnote which stated how Sir Terry passed and his wishes for the Discworld had he have had the time in which to expand on it...

big-al-son86.deviantart.com

I like to think that the Kissing Booth Death is somehow related to the Discworld's very "human" Death and not the "anthropomorphic personification" which he is normally depicted as being.




 The addition of the lipstick mark on his cheek adds to this notion. While I could use a planchette and I loved the idea of The Four Horses of The Apocalypse Death's obby oss being his own little "Binky", I just couldn't get over the cuteness of the Kiss Of Death.


Aaron had already bought me "War" from the "Four Horsemen" series, so I figured little Kissy Death could use his obby oss if he wanted one. So I added The Kiss of Death to my LDD wish list and yay Aaron bought me him too!


He was released just in time for Valentine's Day... And who wouldn't be happy to receive such an adorable gift, he's just too cute!