LeeB Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 (edited) Every time our grand-daughter sees our dollhouse she asks when there are going to be little people in it. I hadn't decided if I wanted any visible occupants but I am being strongly encouraged to find some! Does anyone have suggestions of where to find good ones and the names or brands or makers that you would recommend? I have looked online and see quite a variety but would rather go with something that others have found to be good quality than go by trial and error. We would like to have ones that can be posed to sit or stand. We'd prefer relatively realistic proportions rather than cartoony or cutesy. And, of course, reasonable price is a must. Open to suggestions, LeeB Edited December 28, 2019 by LeeB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 The houses I build all demand residents. Originally I found lovely Victorian ceramic folks from Dolls' House Emporium in the UK, quite reasonably priced; but as I cam to build more and more houses I discovered the fun of making my own. Sue Heaser's book got me started: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid-life madness Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Check https://minidollkit.com/ She has been offering a kit of the month that is reasonable at under $30. It might be an option. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I was also going to suggest Sherri at minidollkit.com I have created three of her dolls from her kits and I was a complete novice for the first! She has instructional videos and it's fun creating your own mini people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (Head slap!) Sherri is a member here, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyckedWood Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I used to be firmly anti-occupant and now I make my own porcelain doll house dolls...not sure what caused the transformation exactly but I know characters definitely add something special to the rooms. If you’re looking for really inexpensive try Miniatures.com for resin figures. Not posable of course but there is a great variety in their available poses and styles. Otherwise there are mass produced made in china porcelain dolls, check eBay under search words dollhouse doll and start with the lowest price. A guide to be sure you’re getting the right scale...men should be about 6 inches tall. Women, 5.5 inches, children 3-4 inches and toddlers babies under 3 inches. These mass produced dolls can be cute, they just don’t have much detail in the hands or face and the fabrics are cheap and sometimes slightly off scale. They are usually posable though I believe. Karin/Blue Moon Doll Studio on fb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeB Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 Thanks to all who replied. It has given me some more fodder for the future! I am not sure that I am up to making my own little dolls yet. Maybe later. But is something that I would consider once the building bug has been scratched a bit more. I think I will try to go with ready-made people and see how that works. I will let you all know when they move in. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckie Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 LeeB, I'm not sure if this would be of interest, but there are 1/12th scale dolls at a somewhat reasonable price that are very realistic (the female version is a bit TOO realistic in all honesty) and has true to life posability. Look up 1/12th phicen dolls on ebay or something. I have both male and female and they are as real as they get. Finding clothes for them will be an issue and they don't really come with much to begin with. These are sold as action figure dolls for the more serious collectors of action figure dolls, not really meant for dollhouse use but they work wonderfully for the right kind of person. I just thought I'd offer that suggestion to you :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid-life madness Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 I have the female Phicen doll......they are very realistic. There are sellers in Etsy that make clothes for them. https://www.etsy.com/search?q=phicen%20clothes&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=phicen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 I have gotten a few of these jointed plastic dolls recently, painted facial features on them made them hair and dressed them to use in recent builds. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 1 hour ago, havanaholly said: I have gotten a few of these jointed plastic dolls recently, painted facial features on them made them hair and dressed them to use in recent builds. Holly, those dolls are marvelous. Posing them would be great fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 I made one into the proprietor of Brimble's and dressed one couple as Gatsby and Daisy for the Lily Tuscan villa and another couple as WWI era well-to-do folks, not sure yet where I'll house them; presently they're making themselves at home in the pub's snug. I wish I'd thought to get my tech-savvy son to take some photos of them when he was here, but we were having a blast playing with their new fur baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 You all inspired me to get a male and female doll kit today from MiniKitz. One I had to buy hair for the other had hair included in the kit. They will be helping to "build" the Pierce. Maybe they can put up wallpaper in foyer hallway...lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyckedWood Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 21 hours ago, Mid-life madness said: I have the female Phicen doll......they are very realistic. There are sellers in Etsy that make clothes for them. https://www.etsy.com/search?q=phicen%20clothes&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=phicen Out of curiosity how tall is the female? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeB Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 Thanks for all the great leads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid-life madness Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 She is 6 inches tall......The hair is bad....I mean, it is that straight barbie type hair. I saw where someone put viscose on her and made a nice haird. I think she would be great to pose if your are going to reposition porcelain dolls. She is very natural looking and better than these ...Wooden figures. 5 hours ago, WyckedWood said: Out of curiosity how tall is the female? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Mid-life madness said: ...Wooden figures. 8" tall ... he'd make a great monster!! Eight feet tall, green, awkward ... yep, perfect! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 On 12/31/2019, 12:23:03, Medieval said: You all inspired me to get a male and female doll kit today from MiniKitz. One I had to buy hair for the other had hair included in the kit. They will be helping to "build" the Pierce. Maybe they can put up wallpaper in foyer hallway...lol I've not heard of MiniKitz - what are their dolls made of? I've recently bought a Phicen female doll off Ebay, she has yet to turn up, but I looked at several youtube vids about them and they're pretty darn amazing! Not sure what I'll do with her hair at this point. You can buy heads for the 1:6 Phicen but I've only come across one head for the 1:12. Hopefully as they become more popular, more things such as heads, will become available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Rebecca, I seem to recall that Sherri sculpts her originals from polymer clay and then casts them in resin; someone correct me if that has changed. I ordered another couple of the jointed dolls from the source I linked earlier. Making them into people is becoming an addiction! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 32 minutes ago, havanaholly said: Rebecca, I seem to recall that Sherri sculpts her originals from polymer clay and then casts them in resin; someone correct me if that has changed. Yep that's how Sherri does it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 2 hours ago, Shareb said: I've not heard of MiniKitz - what are their dolls made of? I've recently bought a Phicen female doll off Ebay, she has yet to turn up, but I looked at several youtube vids about them and they're pretty darn amazing! Not sure what I'll do with her hair at this point. You can buy heads for the 1:6 Phicen but I've only come across one head for the 1:12. Hopefully as they become more popular, more things such as heads, will become available. 2 hours ago, Shareb said: I've not heard of MiniKitz - what are their dolls made of? I've recently bought a Phicen female doll off Ebay, she has yet to turn up, but I looked at several youtube vids about them and they're pretty darn amazing! Not sure what I'll do with her hair at this point. You can buy heads for the 1:6 Phicen but I've only come across one head for the 1:12. Hopefully as they become more popular, more things such as heads, will become available. Porcelain I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyckedWood Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I don’t see how a 6 inch female doll would fit into a 1:12 dollhouse scene with 1:12 scale furniture? I saw the redoux on the fb group... Minikitz is a great source for inexpensive porcelain doll kits. That’s where I bought my first one and subsequently caught the bug....be forewarned lol. The artist that creates the dolls for minikitz also sells on eBay under the name doll_biz. The prices are lower to buy through Deb at minikitz. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckie Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 The phicen doll is comparable to other dollhouse dolls such as the Melissa and Doug family. I have both sets and the Melissa and Doug dolls are horrible to pose and freakishly cartoonish. But standing side by side, there is no difference in height, so the phicen dolls work well in my opinion since the other 1/12th scale dolls are the same size. There are some drawbacks such as being stuck with only one head and the proportions could be a little bit more everyday woman and not silicone valley plastic surgeon special. But in the end, the dolls are one of the best posable dolls one can get for this scale. I also have a Melissa and Doug furniture set and the phicen fits well enough but I am just using them more as props though, not for play. Maybe it would make a difference depending on what everything is being used for. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellBell Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I have 2 Phicen dolls. They are fun and the defiantly look as thought they have seen the plastic surgeon. I changed the hair it was really easy to do on one doll. I also repaint the lips only. The measure 5.5" flat footed I just measured mine. Clothes a little hard to get on because of the silicone skin. Just dust with a little powder. Shoes that are cheap and work for them are the Kelly tennis shoes and boots . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellBell Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 opps also I just went back and read who started the tread. Theses are cool dolls but not for young granddaughters. They might be to life like. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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