iBesties - Middle School Moguls

iBesties (Middle School Moguls?) are here!

So, just to get a few things off my chest...

I found iBesties last year, just after their kickstarter was funded, and immediately sent $40 to pre-order a Jada. At the time you could pre-order Jada or "McKenna"

McKenna is now McKinley

Under the impression that I was charged (when you collect dolls the way I do- you basically bleed money so it was something I wouldn't have noticed), I went about my life and waited for March 2016- when they were supposed to have come out. 

Well the dolls didn't arrive in March. Or April. Or May. Ok, I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt, they were just starting out after all, even though I stopped receiving emails and a question on Facebook about when they would be sending them went un-answered. 

Finally, in Mid September I was charged $40 (which left me overdrawn) and got an email that my iBestie would be on its way soon. Great....

(*grumble grumble grumble* Serves me right for not keeping track of my account. Ok, lesson learned. Let's move on!)

Anyway, today we get home from derby to find a pretty big (but very light) box on the doorstep. 

Happy October to me! ^_^

In spite of the doll arriving so late, I still really want to support this company. Encouraging girls in STEM jobs is so important to me, as my own little girl wanted to be a scientist in Middle School (She's leaning more toward Art now, which is equally awesome!)  But back during her Middle school science days, there were very few girls in the Science Olympics, and my hope is that by offering encouragement about interests in Science, Tech and Engineering when they're younger, they'll hold onto that when they get into High School (and even later- in the work force).

This seems to be the goal of the company too. While I am not totally on board with their desire to 'Disrupt the Doll Aisle' (there's too much of that, and not enough research into what IS in the doll aisle, imho), I do like that they built the company based on their experiences- seeing how little girls knew about STEM careers (according to one sister- Jenae Heitkamp- while she was working as a school counselor), while Gina was disappointed by how few women were in the program while she was getting her MBA. 

So, I mean, their hearts are in the right place, but like- the first game on their site is a "Business trip dress up" Game? 

Not too disruptive. This could be any doll in the aisle, really

Note: I have nothing against dress up games, it just seems odd to put it ahead of the "build your own sweets business" game. Especially when being a business mogul is what you're all about?

ANYHOO. Jada arrived packed in giant bubble wrap and a surprise which I will show you at the end.

My first impression of her was...

She's very orange? (This is a thing I noticed when a brown doll is made cheaply. Kind of like the difference between Hasbros Elena of Avalor and the Disney Store Elena. One has a lovely tan complexion and one looks a little spray tanned.)

Also, her hair has a greenish tinge to it and looks a little ... crispy :/

And she's missing some items of clothing (where is her little vest and bow tie? Where are her awesome combat boots?? WHERE ARE THE GLASSES???)  These are things that bum me out about prototypes vs the actual product. 

Had they lowered the price, it would've been one thing (and I'll make an assessment about how much they should cost toward the end) but like...

I paid $40 for this Cutie Patootie: 

And I did not get her.

Ok, so.. 

The box is cute enough. 

Great colors, a little mini bio of the character on a memo pad (if that's her business card.. its a little plain for a "Graphics Guru"), but it leaves out a lot of info that I learned from articles about the iBesties- like her parents being in the Navy? An interesting touch which might interest parents buying these in stores. My dad was in the Navy, so that little bit of background would've been neat to know!

There's also pics of the other characters...

They look fashionable enough for the Fashion doll aisle u_u

Izzy and Sunny are adorable, but seeing as how Izzy's shorts are missing, I wonder if there will be even fewer details when we get the dolls in stores? Also, if Izzy is supposed to be Latina (rumored, but I haven't seen any confirmation on this), why not just give her Brown eyes instead of these rediculous purple ones? (Its ok, dollmakers. Brown eyes can be pretty too.) Aside from the proportions, they're pretty... realistic. Only they all have the same exact face and eye shape... 

(Sunny is pretty flawless but I'd rather have Izzy's shorts than those legwarmers!)

Opening THE BOX was easy enough ...

Just two small pieces of tape and a flap. 

 Then a Cardboard insert holding the doll, which slides right out. 

CUTE CAT ALERT!!! (Under the book is a robot cat chasing a robo-mouse! ^_^ 

Obviously very important

But that's where the easy part ended and the snipping of HUNDREDS of plastic tabs begins

ok maybe like tens, not hundreds

SO MANY. 80% in her hair. Poor Jada. 

The backing is- I'm assuming-  their lounge at Mogul Academy (a super-elite private school created by... Sherry Rocketsmeller? Located at her private island... off the coast of Los Angeles?  Catalina? San Clemente? Santa Barbara? Sutil?) (Sorry I'm from LA and this just strikes me a bogus). Also Sherry Rocketsmeller? This is the best imaginary billionaire name you can think of?

Here is Jada in all her glory: 

those are not combat boots

 After some finangling, I got her to stand (her head weighs nothing but the hair is plentiful and it tends to knock her off balance. 

She has almost Beatrix girls like proportions, with a little of Vi and Va thrown in...

And maybe a little Kewpie doll? 

Jadas head is not soft vinyl like most fashion dolls, its a harder plastic, and the hair is... not good. Its like, knock off dolls from Ali Express bad. Its so stringy! And it smells a little funky to be honest. Not to mention these are not the Brown curls they describe in the book, these are green strings and they're falling out all over the place. Unpleasant u_u

One day I will get good lighting... but today is not that day.

Her face, well I guess all their faces, are adorable. But if they're trying to shake things up in the doll aisle, they aren't shakin too hard. Big eyes, little bitty noses, pouty lips. One commenter (when will I learn not to read the comments??!) made an unflattering comparison to Bratz (When will people stop sexualizing dolls?!?). But they aren't really very Bratz like- they've very little make up and more child like little faces. The side eye is cute, but she looks a bit ... peeved? 

TF did you just say?

 Also - this is just a personal thing with me. But stop with the yellow eyes! Make em hazel or green or grey or something but yellow eyes is so ... why??

As I mentioned, she's missing her cool little vest and bow, but her shirt has an interesting leather looking print and printed on tie. The tutu is attached to the shirt and looks less like a skirt and more like an overly sized ruffle on the shirt. Her leggings have a safety pin design that reminds me of Monster High girls and their safety pin accessories (are those big with the kids these days? A throwback to punks with their safety pinned jackets?), but they are not the jeans with the holes in the knees that she has on in her artwork.

all of her accessories.

 I won't go into her cat head band not being leopard print. Maybe that would've been too "Clawdeen wolf" 

Her clothes are well made, no loose strings or tears. The large openings around her legs made it kinda hard to get her leggings back on, but it was possible. The shirt goes on easy and has a good quality velcro. The pink high tops are rubbery slip ons, and not hard to slip on at all.

I'm still mad about the boots, though her high tops are adorable. And unlike Vi and Va- natural looking feet!

The dolls are articulated in 9 places... The head swivels, the arms and elbows bend somewhat, the forearms swivel, as do the calves. The legs move, the knees but but just barely, and the feel swivel. 

She looks like she's at the dentist and he just pulled out a drill!

that forearm makes for some odd posing- maybe she's supposed to be typing?

They have rounded, childlike bodies (according to interviews), and this is where I see comparisons to Vi and Va (who were teenagers and so it was weird on them). The iBesties are in Middle School - and I guess the torso reflects that stage between little girl and teenager. All thats missing is the long gangly limbs (her arms are like, way too short).

But she's got crazy legs, that Jada. 

So while waiting for these pics to upload, I flipped through the book..

A good message... and I LOVE choose your own adventures

 But... the artwork is a little... Um, inconsistent? 

And your gonna talk about girls in STEM and girls who love graphic design but have illustrations like this?!? 

No I did not enlarge this- its that pixelated.

 At the end, which I skipped to, because I could not get through the actual content, myself, they have a mini dictionary. Mergers and Acquisitions? How very 80s (Aren't we into crunchy granola "green" hipster start up businesses now? ;D ).

 I asked my kid to read the book and she couldn't get through it. I don't know when its supposed to take place, but the school is a privately owned island off LA as I mentioned, and they go on a field trip to a company that makes apps, which they take am underground high speed rail to, and it takes 7 minutes to get there. In Los Angeles there is only the Redline. And in seven minutes you can get from Union Station to Pershing Square. So ok, there's some imagination being used here. 

And for a book aimed at third to fifth graders, its rather... simple? There's nothing really that interesting, the characters are all flat. The whole story involved them running off on their own during the field trip and messing something up then fixing it (PLEASE don't encourage children to run off during field trips in middle school ^_^ as a former middle school chaperone- just don't fricken do that). Anyway, kids deserve better reading material than this, k? 

I do applaud the Heitkamp sisters for starting off with a diverse line of dolls, though it would be better if they reflected actual ethnicities better than just being "vaguely" brown or "she could be" Latina or Asian. I also like that they have different backgrounds: Single family homes, one lives with Foster parents, and Jadas parents being in the Navy on deployment- but I only got this information second-hand, from interviews. A little background WITH the doll would be good. And for goodness sake, hire a decent writer! Someone who'll engage the kids!

My last point is this: There have been new doll lines that came out since this one was announced. Project MC2, STEM Barbie, a game developer Barbie, and of course all the Monster High dolls with an interest in Science. All of them pretty well done. I mean, if you're going to make a doll that has an interest in Science, GIVE THE KIDS THE SCIENCE, TOO. MC2 has experiments with each one! Barbie can make a conveyor belt for her closet! Goldie Blox can fly! (Well, hang glide). These dolls seem like they would appeal to girls who are just happy to have the doll, which I guess is ok if youre just trying to sell them. But if you want to get girls into STEM? ENGAGE THEM. Give them a little more than a poorly written, 45 page (with over large print) book. Give them something to make them think Science is awesome. If not, at least make a doll you can play with, not one who can barely sit and has hair shedding all over the place. Especially if you're going to charge $40, yanno? 

(note: this might not be the retail price, but for what you get, I wouldn't pay more than $15 for these). 

Fin!

Oh- I forgot to show you the little gift added to the package! 

Now these are fabu!

Am I an adorable nerd or what?