Toy Soldier - Living Dead Doll - Ooak Custom Repaint

I've just discovered this stunning piece of custom work while wandering around eBay and I'm just so in awe of it, I have no choice but to blog about it right now...

The doll used for the base is one that I've disregarded several times as I just think it's rather silly looking. The costume is nice and like most Living Dead Doll clothing has wonderful attention to detail... However the doll it'self just seemed off to me.

I think this is due in part to most  Living Dead Dolls having a face moulded from only one or two sculpts, this of course means that any differentiating characteristics have to be expressed through a combination of paint and costume design.

Toy Soldier Living Dead Doll is one of the few Christmas themed dolls released by Mezco, he's based on the wooden nutcracker style dolls from Babes in Toyland and wears the same calvary style uniform. 

While innocently wandering around eBay I discovered an Ooak Repaint by an artist called KMIRO J.K from California... I couldn't believe it was the same doll, this talented artist has really breathed life into him... Just look at those eyes!

   His factory paint has been completely stripped and he has been repainted using acrylic paint and sealed, he was then redressed in his original costume - which now suits him a hell of a lot better - a slight modding was done to the uniform,blood was added and a single button was removed - I can't tell where though...

He is priced at $200.00 and is available on a Buy It Now basis, by clicking the link to the listing.

He has been returned to his coffin and comes with all his original accessories, hat included.

The artist has removed the original blood from the doll's face, which is symbolic of his death and has added a couple of bullet holes to his forehead to symbolise that he died as a result of warfare instead.

                           

For some reason the above photograph of the doll reminds me of Jack Nicholson's character, Lt. Andre Duvalier, in the 1963 film The Terror, in which he stars alongside Boris Karloff.

Before I go, here's one last image of the doll in all his glory, standing besides his red coffin box.

Like most Living Dead Dolls he comes in a coffin shaped box with a Death Certificate and these are all included in the listing.

Enjoy,

☞ Menard - Living Dead Dolls Series 22: Birthday Prezzies 2015 ☜

I've most likely said this on numerous occasions but well my Son is awesome!

For my birthday last year he spoilt the heck out of me, but then it was a "Big One",  I'll show you what else he bought me in other posts but for now, and because it's almost Halloween - here's my new Living Dolls that Aaron bought me... Having listed and posted them all here, I released this post was huge, so I've decided to split it into separate posts...

Ever since the release of Series 22, I've wanted a Menard Living Dead Doll, as you probably know by now I'm a huge horror fan and have been a Zombie nut ever since I watched George A. Romero's "Dead" series of films in the early 1980s. 

I was somewhere around 5 or 6 at the time and then when Michael Jackson released the video for Thriller - that was my life long love of Zombies sealed forever in one funky as all hell music video, but I digress... 

                                                               

It's also a whole new other post I've just thought of so I'll get back to you on that one soon... But for now I'm talking Menard so ...

2011 marked the 13th anniversary of Living Dead Dolls, to honour this occasion Mezco released series 22, each of the 6 dolls in this series followed the same theme ... Zombies *grin* 

They came in tatty little wooden casket style boxes covered with scratch like markings which indicate they might of been "buried alive", in several places the number 13 is "etched" into the casket and in bold stencil style 13th Anniversary is also written.

Menard is from Series 22 of the Living Dead Dolls, and is one of the few dolls that can actually claim to be based on a "Living Dead" entity, while I love most of these dolls, there aren't many that are in fact true Living Dead creatures, with the most recent editions being based on other film characters, but then again, I guess that is true to form as the first Living Dead Doll produced was a miniature version of Damien from The Omen!

http://livingdeaddolls.wikia.com/

In fact, the entire 22nd Series of Living Dead Dolls which were released in 2011, featured 5 dolls who were each based on a character from a Zombie film, the 6th doll in the series called Patient Xero, was only available for purchase online, the variant version of her being sold exclusively through Mezco Direct.. But again, I digress, so back to Menard himself.

http://www.livingdeaddolls.com/archive_series.html#ser22

As you can see from Menard's Mezco write up, his "Date of Death" is listed as 18th July 1980, and as you'll find a lot during this write up about him, here's were it starts to get confusing... 

I'll explain this in a little while but first I want to show you this... 

The inlay art on Menard's box is based on the 1978 Dawn of The Dead promotional Poster...

Menard actually has nothing to do with that film however, and neither does the above poster except for the "play on blurb" taken from this poster which was used in the promo' images for this series, as you can see in the Series 22 group promo' image above ... 

Unless you know your Zombies it can get a little confusing, but I'm going to try and give it to you in brief anyway, 'cos well Zombies!  

Enough gibbering, I better get to it...

Dr. Menard is a character in Zombi 2 released in 1979 in Italy and directed by Lucio Fulci. 

Living Dead Dolls advertising

 The date on Menard's Mezco blurb relates to the U.K and other English speaking countries release of this film; 1980. 

 This title relates to the fact that it is a sequel to Zombi; the Italian language version of George A. Romeo's Dawn of The Dead, released in 1978.

gaming.youtube.com

To make matters more confusing, this film was also released under a variety of other titles; Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Island of The Living Dead, Zombie, Sanguella ( to me this title makes it sound like a Vampire film), Nightmare Island, Woodoo in Germany and 6 other titles...

 I can only assume that this may be due to it being released in several non- English speaking Countries, or could in fact be a way to sneak around the Censors - as this film was placed firmly on the "Video Nasty" list in the U.K, and subsequently banned.

 This of course made it more of a lure to us kids and fellow gore seekers and really upped the rental appeal when the word "Banned" was placed on the video cover and made it one of the most sought after cult classics of the time!

I mean who hasn't wanted to watch a zombie wrestle a shark?!

Hugs,

☠ The Problem with Monster High Dolls... ☠

Since being introduced to Monster High Dolls in 2010 by an online fellow doll loving friend (Thanks Kyle!), and beginning my quest to own Frankiestein - she was the only one I really wanted until a few months later when they hit the U.K and I found them in my local Argos...

                                       

I bought both Draculaura and Frankiestein and thought I was done until I got them home and really looked at them, I went back the next day for Lagoona Blue & Clawdeen Wolf!

 But that was definitely it, I had the new Monster High Dolls and I was happy, I had no reason to buy any more.

But, no... Along comes Kyle again and shows me his recently acquired Ghoulia Yelps doll, and nagdabbit a ZOMBIE!!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/venivididolli/5075841134/

 I was smitten and so my quest began again, after that there really was no hope for me.

 I'd discover the new dolls through my American friends, wait for what seemed like an endless amount of time before they arrived in the U.K and sadly not all of them did so... 

I'd obtain, discover a new release, wait again... ad infinitum.

Just having to have them, it was truly terrible to behold!

I'm now of course totally hooked, even the ones I thought looked bloody stupid when I first saw them and vowed I wouldn't buy, somehow crossed my palms with the intention of being victims for customising... 

But alas no - when they got into my sweaty mitts, I saw their merits and *sigh* add that to the collection too!

It's gotten so bad that the ones that were originally bought for customising and subsequently ended up in my collection had to be replaced as I couldn't shake the idea of how they'd look customised!

Now my collection is somewhere in the late double figures and fast approaching trebles but of course that's not it either... those tricksy folks over at Mattel go and release the  Create a Monster range - a doll customiser's dream! 

I don't think I need to tell you what happened then?!

                                                   

Mattel weren't done either it seems was I ... 

They  released playsets with cool creepy themes and now I'm at a loss as to how to categorise / display / photograph & upload all my beauties.

Starting with the boxed dolls seemed like a plan but of course I now have more of them to show off too, it really is never ending...

I think I need some kind of Monster High Doll AA!

I should probably make another start so the next few posts will be Monster High themed, I just hope you guys are ready for it!

Hugs,