Gabriella The Ghoul- Living Dead Dolls: Series 18

I love the fact that the folks behind the Living Dead Dolls decided to bring out another series of "Vintage Style Halloween Costumed Dolls" I have a thing about dolls wearing masks!

Like the last series of Halloween costume LDD (Series 16) I'm not keen on all of them... 

The three I like from Series 18 are Ingrid (the Vampire), Ember (The Witch) and Gabriella (The Ghoul), so far I've only managed to get my hands on Gabriella, but maybe I'll get lucky with the other two at some point.

Gabriella came to me sealed, with her "normal" face on display, she's cute but honestly I much prefer her and the others with their masks in place.

I have to admit, I panicked at first as I expected her accessories to be visible inside her coffin, this meant I had to unseal her to find them hidden behind her - which I really didn't want to do but I just had to get at that mask and pumpkin pail!

And here she is in her cute little "ghoul" mask, I much prefer her with it on!

I haven't been able to get her hand around her pumpkin pail yet, but never mind it's cute enough where it is...

One thing I loved about this little lady is her outfit, the style of it puts me in mind of those weird cheap plastic outfits that you used to be able to buy with matching flimsy easy breakable mask...

 I guess that's why I had a horrible suspicion that her mask would be flimsy but yay it isn't at all.

Another great thing about it is that it has a Zombie rising from it's grave on the front.

 I'm pretty sure by now you know how much I love Zombies, so of course it was another reason to get this little lady for my collection.

Another thing her mask reminds me of is Boris Karloff's makeup in The Ghoul - 1933 film about an Egyptology who returns from the grave to reak vengeance.

But the  very best thing about her mask is that when the lights go out, it glows in the dark...

In case you don't know, Glow-in-the-dark anything is another of my vices, especially dolls and doll accessories! 

Of course another accessory she has which I absolutely love about Living Dead Dolls, is her "Death Certificate" apparently she died in 1933... 

So what was so significant about Halloween 1933? 

Quite a lot it turns out, Halloween that year became known as "Black Halloween" after the traditional night of innocent Tricks got out of hand and ended up closer to a riot than a children's holiday.. 

Cars were turned over, telephone poles were chopped down, windows were broken, houses and other properties were vandalised and several arson's took place.

This led to America coming up with the soon to become tradition of knocking on doors and coming away with candy, after trying several other child orientated ways to pass the time it seemed bribery with sugar was the most popular with the younger generation and so instead of wanton vandalism and setting fires Trick or Treating was born!

And yeah I know Gabriella's death date is 23rd November not 31st October and it would make sense that if she were to die that year it would of been on Halloween given how dangerous it must have been out on the streets that year but 23rd November is not the date given by Damien Glonek and Ed Long on her certificate, but that was the day she was eaten alive!

While I was waiting for her to arrive, I was checking Amazon and various other places to see if she did come with the little Pumpkin Pail as all the sales pictures I'd seen of her don't show her holding one...

 I couldn't believe how much Amazon wanted for her - more than 4 times the price I paid!!

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🐄 Ye Olde Monty Python Cow Catapult Deluxe Set by Toy Vault 🐑

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A couple of years back my boy brought me an awesome gift for my birthday...

Knowing that one of my favourite films is Monty Python and The Holy Grail he bought me "Ye Olde Deluxe Cow Catapult" from Toy Vault ... and there was much rejoicing!

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For me the Cow Catapult scene is one of the most iconic, taking place during the "taunting" King Arthur and his men receive at the hands of the occupying French army, in their attempt to enter Guy de Loimbard's castle, the resting place of The Grail.

After being told "Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries" and "I fart in your general direction, you English kerniggits" doesn't scare away our heroes, the French decide to launch an attack involving fruit, vegetables, chickens and eventually bovines.

                                       

This prompts King Arthur and his men to "run away" and once they retreat to a safe distance, Sir Bedevere, The Wise; comes up with a foolproof plan to enter the castle through the use of a "Trojan Rabbit"

Unfortunately for our heroes, they forgot to hide inside the rabbit and the French decide to use the Rabbit as a missile which they hurl from the castle wall.

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Sir Bedevere's suggestion of making "a large Wooden Badger" doesn't go down to well and King Arthur decides his men should go their separate ways and search for The Grail by themselves.

Ye Olde deluxe Cow Catapult by Toy Vault was sold in 2004 and comes with 2 sheep, 3 ducks, 2 cows and a bonus Trojan Rabbit so you can relive the castle scene from the film over and over again.

Just in case you have no idea how a catapult works, Toy Vault have kindly provided instructions next to a cute little diagram of the catapult and it's workings.

As much as I want to play with my catapult, I haven't had the heart to remove it from the packaging as it comes in a non-resealable vacuum packed plastic package, and I like how it displays.

To remove it I'd have to damage the packaging and wouldn't be able to reseal it, so unless I can get my hands on another one, I sadly won't be playing with this cool toy any time soon.

Never mind though, it looks great next to my other Monty Python toys!

hugs,

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Pocket Full Of Posiez - Panzy The Pirate - Limited Edition Art Doll by Queenie.

In March 2015, I posted about my stupidly cute Pocketful of Posiez Delilah Doll that I was lucky to win on Ebay.

If you want to read about her, you can find a link to my post here... Delilah.

Since then I've been looking out for the others in the series; it turns out the doll maker: Queenie only made three, the other being the very awesome looking Lylliona who looks like this...

https://www.deviantart.com/posiez/art/lyllionia-doll-44622896

Just now I was looking for a picture of her to add to this post and I discovered one for sale on Ebay, after 3 years of searching, I've finally found one come up for sale but of course there is a catch... 

A bloody big catch, apart from the fact the listing is from 2015 -  The seller had her listed at a starting bid of $340.00 (£258.40)! 

I've saved a few pictures from that post and I've noticed the differences on each box which I'd like to go into but I don't think here is really the post to do it on, so stay tuned for a Pocketful of Posiez collective box design post real soon, right now it's back to Panzy...

I spotted Panzy for sale on Amazon and had to snap her up, I love her crooked little mouth, her big eyes and the fat that she is a Pirate.... And who doesn't love a Pirate?!

Like my Delilah Doll, she comes in a beautifully decorated box that is tailored to suit her particular quirks...

The back of her box is interesting as it mentions other members of her "crew", Delilah, Prunella and Hortencia. it makes me wonder if they are the names of dolls which were planned to be included in this series... After all, at the time of her release in 2007, Delilah hadn't yet been produced, and wouldn't for another 5 years!

There is more evidence on the box that Delilah was in the works, as one of the side panels shows a picture of Delilah with the words "Coming Soon" ...

I guess it's pretty telling that on the side panels of Delilah's box there is no "Coming Soon" teaser.

Panzy is the second doll released in this series, but unlike the first - Lyllionia and third doll - Delilah her box does not state she is a Limited Edition Doll or show her number out of 1000.

She is however, a limited doll, but how large the run was I have no idea. Out of the three dolls she is the easiest to find as she is still available to buy on Amazon for not very much money.

I haven't yet taken her fully out of her box, just removed the outer shell so I could get a better look at her. She comes wearing a really cool pair of boots, which I think may be removable. The rest of her outfit is very cute too and she comes with a key around her neck and a little "Treasure Chest" style handbag which opens so she can stash her treasures inside.

She has a very Burtonesque look to her and with that red hair puts me in mind of The Queen of Hearts from his sadly abysmal take on Alice in Wonderland or should that be Underland?

Anyhoo, I have a plan to buy a second one of her and customise her to look more like The Queen of Hearts.

Watch this space, I guess...

Hugs,

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18 inch Ozzy Osbourne Bark Moon Limited Edition Doll by Fun 4 All Collectables and Art Asylum (1999)

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you may already be aware of a post I made back in December 2012, when I discovered the Ozzy Osbourne Bark at The Moon Doll.

Reading back over that post, I guess it's not readily apparent that at the time I didn't actually own the doll, although I really wanted it, I just couldn't afford it at that time. If you'd like to reread that post you can find it here: ♪ Ozzy Osbourne Bark Moon Limited Edition Doll ♫. All that changed in May, this year, when I finally managed to track down and purchase one for myself.

I have to say he was definitely worth the wait, he is every bit as awesome as I thought he was when looking at the images I found online and posting about my discovery 6 years ago!

 I know it sounds stupid considering the doll itself is 18 inches tall but I was honestly quite surprised by the size of the box he arrived in.

He came to me sealed so I had the pleasure of being the first person since the factory to hold him... I discovered he is oddly very cuddly for a heavy mostly plastic werewolf with big spiky claws and pointy teeth!

His legs are moulded in a semi crouch position from hard plastic which gives him a sturdiness which allows him to stand without toppling over.

His body is soft, moves at the waist and his arms are fur coated plastic which move very easily up and down for posing. Although his head doesn't move at all.

The inner of the box slides out to allow access to the figure which is secured to a plastic insert and a background printed with images of Ozzy Osbourne from various stages of his career.

This is made of good quality sturdy cardboard and once the doll is removed from the moulded plastic casing, he can be placed standing on top of the base which the "Ozzy" images behind him.

To further secure the figure when out of his box he comes with two moulded plastic foot stands which his feet can be placed into.

 He also comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, which his housed inside a white envelope behind the Ozzy patterned backdrop inside the box.

I really like the attention to detail on his certificate, which also makes it difficult to copy if a company did decide to do a knock off version that is. 

It has images of a weird little angel thing which corresponds to the images on the outside of his box and the number out of 50,000 which this doll is.

Unfortunately as he had been sitting in his box for a number of years with the batteries inside his body, they have like most old batteries left inside a toy, leaked making his voice box unusable at the present time.

I will be cleaning up his battery pack and repairing and damage if necessary, so I can test if it does still work, but sadly like most things on my to do list it has to wait for now... Not that I really mind, if I want to hear the song, I can always get out my vinyls and whack it on the record player or play the cd so no big whoop.

I definitely recommend this figure to anyone who loves Ozzy and has a large spot on a shelf which could benefit from having a cool arse doll sitting on it!

Hugs,

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Iron Maiden -Trooper Eddie 8 inch Neca Figure

In June, 1983 Iron Maiden released the single The Trooper from their Piece of Mind album; released in May of the same year. Clicking the link in the song's title will take you to the lyrics, should you wish to read them.

The inspiration for the song came from "The Charge of The Light Brigade" which took place at the Battle of Balaklava in 1854 during The Crimean War and also the incredibly moving poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson of the same name which describes the horror and futility of the campaign so perfectly that I have tears in my eyes every time I read it.

The Trooper 7" Vinyl Cover (www.google.co.uk)

Britain's participation in The Crimean War began on 28th March 1854, when Britain declared war on Russia. The war had already began in October 1853, between Russia and The Ottoman Empire. British fatalities in this war are  estimated to have been 21,097 men.

The official estimates of casualties on both sides place the figure at around 300,000 soldiers, an absolutely tragic waste of life.

One of the most tragic and futile events that happened during The Crimean War was The Charge of The Light Brigade when 600 British Cavalry Soldiers charged the Russian Artillery, led by James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan.

This charge came about by a miscommunication of an order given by Commanding Officer, Lord Raglan during The Battle of Balaklava as part of the Siege of Sevastopol.

 Men on horses armed with only sabres and lances are no match for men with cannons and though they fought hard the brave soldiers of The Light Brigade fell; 118 died, 127 were injured and approximately 60 were taken prisoner. 

Six weeks after these events, Tennyson wrote his poem dedicated to those brave men.

 If you are not familiar with The Charge of The Light Brigade Poem, you can find a link to it by clicking the title in this text.

The last survivor and longest living one, passed away aged approximately 165 years old in 2004.

 Her name was Timothy The Tortoise - a misgendering which wasn't known until many years later when mating attempts failed miserably! 

www.urbanghostsmedia.com

Timothy The Tortoise was The Ship's Mascot on the HMS Queen which took part in the bombardment of Sevastopol. After surviving the War, Timothy returned to Britain and lived out her retirement in relative luxury on the estate of The Earl of Devon in the rose garden of Powerham Castle.

 If you are interested in learning more about Timothy's amazing life story, you can find information by clicking her name in the text above. 

Several items of clothing which are still common today came about due to necessity during The Crimean War: 

British Troops wore knitted headgear to keep their heads warm which became known as Balaclavas and are commonly worn in extremely cold conditions and as part of skiing outfits. 

The term "Raglan Sleeves" comes from the Commander of The British Troops, Lord Raglan who wore sleeves after losing an arm in The Battle of Waterloo.

Cardigans were named after the 7th Earl of Cardigan, James Brudenell, whose men wore sleeved knitted garments to keep warm during the campaigns in The Crimean War.

Iron Maiden's "The Trooper Eddie" figure was released in 2017 and comes dressed in the Infantry costume worn by soldiers in The Crimean War as depicted on the cover of the 7" single, designed by Derek Riggs.

Eddie's Infantry uniform is made of fabric, except his boots which are moulded from the same material his body is made from. He comes with a bloody sabre and a tattered and torn Union Jack flag, which is textured like fabric but is much thicker so is most likely made of thin plastic.

After removing him from the plastic inner I was very pleased to discover the inside of his box is doubles up as a display backdrop printed with the background of cover of The Trooper single's artwork.

The figure is posable and stands well independently without falling over. He has a ball neck joint so his head came move from side to side and up and down. 

He is hinged at the ankles, elbows and knees so these areas can only move up and down.  

His hands move side to side only and are moulded into loosely clenched fists to enable him to hold his accessories without them dropping.

His waist can be twisted and his hips are ball jointed so allow his legs more freedom for posing. 

I'm not 100% sure as to the type of joints used for his shoulders as the straps on his uniform appear to be moulded closed and I don't want to risk breaking them to remove his shirt and find out.

His trousers and ankle straps are removable, but I can't think of a single reason for wanting to see Eddie naked so I haven't given this a go!

Iron Maiden, The Trooper, 02 London, 10th August 2018

Paul managed to secure us tickets to see Iron Maiden at The O2 in London on 10th August this year, we were pretty lucky in getting them as the gig was a sell out, we were two of 20,000 fans having an absolute blast.

The video above was taken from Youtube - I totally lost it when The Trooper started up as I knew Eddie was about to make an appearance,  you know I love Eddie, right?!

 I got so excited I went to video the song only I don't know what happened; my video didn't that's for sure, but I happily found several people on Youtube who actually managed to keep their brains intact and press record in the right place!

If you'd prefer to watch it on Youtube just click the title link below the video to be taken to banifibil's channel to watch the video; I chose this one as it was recorded from the same side of the stage as we were, so you can view it from the same angle (almost) as we did on the night!

https://twitter.com/ironmaiden/status/1009403335395414016

Here's a close up image of Eddie I found on Iron Maiden's Twitter account so you can compare how close to the original my little man is.

www.ironmaidenbeer.com

Of course being such a fan Girl I had to raise a glass of Trooper Beer while watching Iron Maiden too!

Five years ago, Bruce Dickinson and Robinsons Brewery got together to create Trooper Beer, not only does it taste good, it looks good too... The bottles have a cool image of Trooper Eddie on the label, a bit of info about the Charge of The Light Brigade on the back and really cool Eddie caps which I of course collect!

Last Christmas I bought Paul a mini keg of Trooper filled with 5 litres of the lovely stuff.

I also bought him six bottles of the Limited Edition Iron Maiden "Hallowed" Beer, as I preordered they came with a Hallowed bottle opener and a large replica of the label in sticker form, shown above.

I also got him a Trooper Gift Tin which included a bottle of Trooper and a glass from Robinsons Brewery as part of his gifts ... Man how I coveted that glass!

The Trooper glass has the same info as is written on the back label of the bottle : 

"Onward, onward rode the 600...

The charge of The Light Brigade which inspired the Iron Maiden song The Trooper, took place at The Battle of Balaclava (1854) during The Crimean War when 600 British Calvary courageously charged the massed Russian Artillery.  This gallant but foolhardy assault resulted in a massive loss of life and came about due to a misunderstanding of an order given by Commanding Officer Lord Raglan."

It also has a cute little etched Eddie at the bottom of the glass. 😋

The Light Brigade - Robinsons Brewery.

For my Birthday, Paul bought me a variety of band label beers amongst other things, one of which was Iron Maiden's "The Light Brigade" Beer, personally I'm not as keen on it as I am Trooper but it was good to get a taste, plus I now have a cool bottle as a keepsake! 

The Light Brigade Beer is of course a twist on Trooper Eddie, again made in collaboration with Bruce Dickinson and with every bottle sold Robinson's Brewery donate 5p to Help The Heroes.

The Robinsons Brewery Website has a lot of information on The Crimean War and Eddie's role in it, you can read it by clicking this link.

http://www.pinsdaddy.com

 Anyone who enjoys watching the Isle of Man TT Races will no doubt be aware that Robinsons Brewery sponsor Peter Hickman and have decked out his bike in Trooper graphics, he also has Trooper leathers and Helmet (lucky sod!)

Peter Hickman - www.ironmaidenbeer.com

I can't ride a bike and there is no way with my back I'll ever be able to lift this one but by all the Gods I want it!!

While we were in Camden for The Frost and Fire Festival in May, we did some hanging out at The Devonshire Arms - I love that place ...

 I noticed a Trooper beer poster Celebrating their 5th anniversary and also clocked the bit which read that they're giving out free Trooper badges with each pint or bottle of Trooper sold, so I moseyed on up to the bar and ordered two Troopers, Trooper was off, so I decided to be cheeky and ask if he still had badges anyway after ordering two pints of Motorhead's Bastard instead...

The barman not only said there was badges but gave us one each just because we did order Troopers so yay we got our ltd edition badges... 

After I finished my bastard I felt emboldened so I asked for the Trooper Poster too, they told me to come back after the gig and I could have it then so I decided I'd do just that, then another barman came over to me and told me he didn't have anything else he could give me but I could have this if I like, while placing a Trooper glass in front of me... Oh hell yeah did I want that!

I thanked him profusely and then made him keep it behind the bar for me cos glasses and gigs...not a good idea... 

Later that evening, we went back and I got my poster too so when I got home I bought a frame and framed it along with a Trooper beer mat Paul gave me, my ltd ed' badge and the labels I stole from one of Paul's Hallowed bottles. 

It has pride of place on my wall now!

While checking my facts and collating my stuffs for this post I happened upon a cool holographic Trooper poster, which of course being the massive Fan Girl I am will soon also be adorning my wall!!

Of course as there is pretty much no limit to the things Eddie's face or Trooper Eddie could be put on, it's very likely that I'll soon find more Trooper treasures to stash away... watch this space I guess!

Hugs,

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