Frankenfairies

I always loved the Disney Fairies' curvy little bodies.

(left -- posable Tinkerbell, right -- original Tinkerbell)

"If only they had articulated legs," I often sighed.

Even vinyl legs with click knees would have been nice

but I figured if Disney did release some articulated fairies, Iridessa wouldn't be among them.

Sure enough when the first fully posable fairies came out, Iridessa was nowhere to be seen.  I feared I would never find an articulated 10" body that would match her complexion and I didn't want to upgrade my other fairies without her so I left the jointed fairies in the store.

Then I spotted the Beatrix Girls.  Their heads are obscenely large but their proportions reminded me of the Disney Fairies so I bought one on sale and swapped Rosetta onto her body.  Suddenly I had a perfectly balanced figure who was capable of wondrous feats like standing upright on a galloping steed,

or holding small props despite the fact that her wrists aren't articulated.

When Beatrix Girls went on clearance at Toys R Us, I upgraded all my fairies except Tink.  I never liked my Tink much.  I thought her hair was too brassy so I pulled it out and tried replacing it with a wig only it came out looking like a rag mop.

Recently, however, I bought an articulated Tinkerbell so this is a comparison of the official articulated fairy with my frankenfairies.

***

The official articulated fairies have slightly wider feet than the originals.  This means they can't wear any of the original shoes.

The Beatrix Girls' feet are smaller than the original Disney Fairies' feet so they can't wear the shoes either.

(Left to right -- posable Tink foot, original Tink foot, Beatrix Girls foot)

I think the Beatrix Girls body more closely approximates the original fairies' hourglass form.

Unfortunately the Beatrix Girls' hip joint has a deep hollow in front.  Still the dolls all came with leggings, tights, or briefs that hide the hip joint and also afford more play options than the Disney Fairies' painted on panties.

Neither the Beatrix Girls bodies nor the articulated fairies can sit demurely.  Iridessa can at least sit up straight but Tink is a slouch.

Tink's torso is shorter but her legs are longer.

Since neither one could sit with her knees together, Iridessa challenged Tink to see who has the best straddle split.

Tink couldn't do a full straddle or a full front back split either.

"Bet you can't touch your nose," she taunted Iridessa and sure enough, Iridessa could just manage to pat her hair to make sure it was in place.

"Let's meditate," said Iridessa.  She couldn't cross her legs in a full lotus but she got closer than Tink.

Yet Tink proved more adept at crossing her arms.

When it came time to kneel and praise glory, however, Tink could barely get down on all fours.

Iridessa and Tink were evenly matched at doing backbends,

but Iridessa's twist waist put a little more pep in her Charleston step.

***
The operation to transplant Iridessa's head on the Beatrix Girls body was touch and go.  Although I ruthlessly cut the oversized head away with an Xacto knife instead of trying to soften it up with boiling water, its tremendous weight had weakened the peg that holds the neck knob in place.

During the operation it broke off.

I slathered super glue on the whole assembly and miraculously, it held.

Since Disney will probably never release her in a posable version Iridessa is deeply thankful Chantal turned out to be a perfect match!

A bientôt!