Recently, I finally received a body for my Barbie Modern Circle Melody. It took me a long time to decide on the right body. Certainly, I like Mattel MTM (Barbie Made to Move bodies) visually and I really appreciate the more realistic proportions and variety. But their quality is terrible - from mismatched skintones between different body parts to really awful joints. That's why I prefer using MengF bodies for my hybrids.
The ideal MengF match is the Beige skintone. A funny thing is that in photos the original body seems to match the face better, while in real life the original body has a much stronger contrast with the face, and the new body matches almost perfectly.
Another advantage of MengF bodies for older doll hybrids is that they can still wear their original clothes. Older dolls used to have a larger bust and a smaller waist compared to modern Barbies. Though I didn't dare try the original shoes - they're made of very stiff rubber.
I thought for a long time about whether I really needed her, but in the end I decided that I did. I usually unbox all my dolls, even though sometimes it's especially difficult. But with this one, it turned out to be easier - her box was damaged, and to my taste it doesn't have any special aesthetic value, unlike, for example, the Modern Circle series boxes. Besides, I'm quite afraid of mold, bugs, and other issues that often come with older dolls.
Luckily, this girl turned out to be quite clean. At least none of my main concerns were present, so I felt relieved.
The only thing I found were greasy, sticky spots on her legs. If I understand correctly, this is plasticizer leaking from the vinyl, which happens over time and due to storage conditions. It's not a problem for me, since I rebody all my dolls onto articulated bodies anyway.
Thankfully, there was paper under her dress that helped keep its volume, so the dress only got slightly stained when I removed it.
Right now she is on a temporary body from a Barbie tennis player. I want to put her on a MengF body so that I can occasionally dress her in her original outfit - modern Barbie bodies have more natural proportions and a less narrow waist.
Before:
Doll: Barbie Looks #13 (Victoria mold). I named her Agnes in my collection. The top is sewn by me, the jeans and bag are made by local creators.
Doll: Barbie Looks #13 (Victoria mold). I named her Agnes in my collection. The top is sewn by me, the jeans and bag are made by local creators.
Doll: Barbie Looks #13 (Victoria mold). I named her Agnes in my collection. The top is sewn by me, the jeans and bag are made by local creators.
Today I received a 12-jointed MengF body for my Barbie Looks #15. The skintone is MengF New Brown 2021. I don't have this doll's original body - I bought only the head for rerooting, and I'm also planning to repaint her lips. There is a slight skintone mismatch, but in real life it's minimal and looks quite natural, almost like she's just wearing makeup.
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