REVIEW: TLS Toy's Recent Rainbow Brite & Strawberry Shortcake Additions

I was supposed to get this package on my birthday on the 30th. We got water and power back instead, which was definitely a better gift! 

Amazon took the longest to recover from the hurricane, so I ended up ordering these dolls from Big Bad Toy Store. 

I didn't take any out of box shots of Stormy, but she's lovely. 

Poseable Stormy is also fantastic. 

Has anyone gotten anything other than the headband? I haven't seen anyone with other accessories. I think there's a vest and maybe boots?

 

The headband is actually really cute on her, though I don't like that it blocks her colored braid. 

Love her hair. 

And I love her!

So cute!

Okay, now where are Indigo and Lala? Then my faves will be complete.

Here's Tickled Pink. 

Love the purse. I wish they changed up the lunchbox colors like SSC did though. 

I think this looks better on her than Rainbow's did. 

I love this line so much. I can't wait for the rest!

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: TLS Toy RAINBOW BRITE Micro Figures

It was so great to come home from a rough workday to get to open these tiny cuties. 

I ordered a case of the Rainbow Brite micro figures from Big Bad Toy Store. I also ordered SSC, which are in a different post. 

Each case has 12 packs of 2 figures, so 24 figures total. 

They are truly blind. I couldn't find any markings of any sort that would be codes. They're also packaged in tiny black plastic bags, so seeing through them is impossible. 

I have not photographed them in the order I pulled them out, but I will be listing my case placement. 

Each case seems to have the full common character set, plus 2 rare, 1 ultra rare, and 7 doubles of common characters. Being that there are multiple rares and ultra rares, each case may very well be different. 

TOP layer of 6 packs:

Left Front: Stormy, Lucky Sprite (green)

Left Middle: Lala Orange, Canary Yellow

Left Back: Stormy (double), Lucky Sprite (double)

Right Front: Indigo, Murky (Ultra Rare)

Right Middle: Tickled Pink (Rare), Champ Sprite (blue)

Right Back: Hammy Sprite (purple), Sunriser (Rare)  

BOTTOM layer of 6 packs:

Left Front: Red Butler, Shy Violet

Left Middle: Lala Orange (double), Hammy Sprite (double)

Left Back: Patty O' Green, Rainbow Brite

Right Front: Spark Sprite (yellow), Starlite

Right Middle: Champ Sprite (double), Indigo (double)

Right Back: Canary Yellow (double), Buddy Blue

Red Butler, Lala Orange, Canary Yellow, Patty O' Green, Buddy Blue, Indigo, Shy Violet

Rainbow Brite, Starlite, Tickled Pink, Sunriser, Stormy

Murky

My favorites! 

Lala, Indigo and Stormy are always my favorites. I love Shy Violet here. She's so cute. And Murky is surprisingly adorable. 

I'm not sure I want any of the ones I'm missing, although Murky's cuteness kinda makes me want Lurky to go with him. I don't really need Twink, as I have the 5 Below version, or Puppy Brite, though both are cute. 

If you want the full set, the cheapest way is probably to just buy a case and then look for the three you'll be missing online. 

These are my available doubles. I have extra Sprites thanks to the SDCC pack. I'm keeping my doubles of my three favorites, so they're not pictured. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine. 

REVIEW: SDCC Rainbow Brite

 

I ordered my TLS Toy SDCC stuff from Amazon, but then switched to the direct site when they became available first. My order got delayed a few times thanks to FedEx, but still arrived before the Amazon pieces would have. 

So this is the Moonglow doll from the yarn hair Rainbow Brite line. I didn't buy Rainbow, so she's my first experience with this style. 

I can't wait for Indigo. 

Stormy and Tickled Pink should be the next two released. 

I didn't do a pic, but these girls are bigger than their vintage counterparts. 

Moonglow is a character I never owned. The dressable Rainbow Brite is pretty much the only accessible doll from that vintage line. Moonglow is extremely rare and therefore expensive, and Stormy was never produced. 

I have always been very much a "the show is the proper depiction" sort, even as a kid. When I first saw the dressables, I hated Stormy. She looked nothing like my Stormy, who was my favorite. I didn't understand how Moonglow was so different either, not realizing the dolls came first. But this version here is my Moonglow, the show Moonglow. I used to follow the designer of the original dressable doll on IG and boy, is she not happy about the changes. (I ended up unfollowing her after seeing her rude comments about a custom and being tired of her being generally unsupportive of the current doll trends.) But her doll was never Moonglow to me. This version is and I'm glad this is the version we got. It does raise questions about Stormy though, because Hallmark tweaked the unproduced brighter doll to create her current look. So they went with the show version of Moonglow, but not the show version of Stormy, which is far superior. I love that Stormy gets toys and I buy all of them, but she's like "makeover Stormy" to me, not the real Stormy. 

Her head can turn. 

The hair is finer than the vintage dolls and that makes it better to me. 

The mini figures certainly are mini. 

The Sprite set. 

The warmer colors are not in the first set of blind-packed minis, but the other four are. 

ADORABLE! 

They definitely did well with these. I'm pleased with both sets. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

REVIEW: TLS Toy Rainbow Brite 5.5" Doll

Thanks to me stalking the Walmart listings, I was able to get Rainbow Brite. I didn't get her for the original $12.97 low price though. I paid $17.99 and then shipping and tax, so she actually came out to be more expensive than if I'd waited for my Amazon one to come in. Buuuuuuuuut I have no patience. (I am waiting on the similar-sized SSC doll though. Never caught her in stock again.)

I was surprised how tiny she is! Like I know 5.5" isn't huge, but still. She feels smaller.

I completely ignored the Hairdorables-esque surprise windows. 

So we've got stickers, a tiny comb, a headband, an ADORABLE Twink purse, and the teeniest cutest little lunchbox ever. I love it. It opens, too. 

The headband that will never be seen again. 

When I heard how many points of articulation these had, I was impressed they got that many onto such a small doll, but also concerned about stability. I want kids to be able to play with these, not just collectors. 

I had no need to worry, at least when it comes to Rainbow. 

Look how thick she is! Those are sturdy, sturdy joints. Nice. 

Two different hands. 

From the side. 

Outfit from the front. 

And back. 

She stands quite easily, though surprisingly, she stands more easily barefoot than in her boots. 

Hair is silky. Not a speck of gel. 

Size comparison with my vintage Crepe Suzette. 

And here she is with the Twink figure from Five Below. He's the perfect size to go with her. I know people are hoping they make the other sprites in this size, and I agree. However, I'd prefer them in a multipack that's widely available, NOT more Five Below figures.

I love this doll so much that it makes me completely forgive them for one of the most botched releases I've ever encountered. Forgive, but I'm still gonna talk about it. 

Now to impatiently wait for the rest of the girls! 

PHOTO CREDIT: Mine.

NEWS: TLS Toy's Rainbow Brite & Strawberry Shortcake

The first images of TLS Toy's small figures for their upcoming Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake lines are on Toy Insider. TLS Toy's IG account posted a similar picture. 

These small figures will be sold in both Cracker Barrel and Five Below starting in October.

I think both sets are cute, but I wish Indigo was included in the Rainbow Brite set. They're 80s toys, so the lineup was massively white for both lines, but with them offering Indigo in other forms, it wouldn't have hurt to leave Tickled Pink or Red Butler out here and replace one with Indigo. I hope she's in a future set. With Patty also missing, there's a chance there will be more.

The SSC figures are especially cute. They really nailed the essence of the vintage PVCs. I could see myself getting all of these, whereas with Rainbow, I really only want Stormy. Maybe Tickled Pink because her pose is cute. 

PHOTO CREDIT: TLS Toy and the Toy Insider website. 

Sweet Suite Surprises

Lots of stuff to unpack from Sweet Suite! 

DISNEY ILY: Jakks had their more basic ILYs there and the Stitch fan WAS included. I've been concerned about her, since she didn't come out in stores, but if she's there, she must be coming. 

LATINISTAS: Love these. I'll be getting all but the purple one and even she's growing on me. For their low price, I could easily buy all four. 

FRESH BEATS: This is a new line by the Fresh Dolls that have bigger, cartoony eyes and larger heads. I've seen people saying they look like OMGs, but no, they do not. They don't have a pancake face. Come on. I'll be getting at leas the floral girl, but I like all three. 

RAINBOW BRITE: This is my favorite thing we've seen so far and I don't think anything will top it. Loyal Subjects has completely nailed Rainbow Brite. There's an 18" line of dolls and they had Rainbow and Stormy lying on the table. Then there's a similar 12" line of dolls that were shown in their boxes. They had Rainbow, Tickled Pink and INDIGO. Indigo is so perfect. I can't even deal with how much I love her and how excited I am for her. These dolls in the larger sizes have the cloth bodies and vinyl heads with yarn hair we know and love from the vintage line. But then...oh, but then...they made 5.5" all vinyl, rooted hair fashion dolls with a whopping 29 points of articulation. 29. I can't even figure out where they all are. They had Patty O'Green and Tickled Pink out on display with Rainbow nearby in the package. It says there are 11 pieces inside and you can see some pins and bracelets nearby, so I think they come with some cute person-sized jewelry. Patty had a ridiculously cute frog purse and Tickled had some odd thing on her head. Not sure what that was, as the 12" doll didn't have it. From what the Loyal Subjects has said before, the 5.5" dolls should be $19.99 and the lineup is Rainbow, Patty, Tickled Pink, Stormy and Lala Orange. They mention two 18" dolls, both of which are Rainbow herself, so I'm glad to see Stormy there, too. Then the 12" dolls mention Lala and Stormy but not Indigo. These should also be $19.99. And finally, there's a 3" figure line for $4.99 each. No mention of blind-packing, but I won't be surprised if they are. So we've got Indigo and Stormy both popping up where they weren't mentioned. I hope they stick with Lala Orange. I'm a little bit concerned she had nothing there. I love Lala as much as Indigo and Stormy. Stormy sadly is the brighter-haired version they've been using since...well, the vintage prototype, I guess. I never understood why they didn't match her hair to the show. But I also love Stormy, so I'll take her in any form. Really hoping this does well, so we get every character. Moonglow! Canary! Shy Violet! All the boys and horses and sprites and villains. I'm honestly surprised there were no sprites aside from the pins. Anyway, yeah, completely blown away by the quality here. I can't wait for these!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: Did we know Loyal Subjects had SSC? I don't think I did. Well, they're back and these new dolls have the same 29 points of articulation body as Rainbow Brite. They showed SSC herself, both outside the package and boxed with a playset, and Raspberry Tart. Apparently, they're also doing Orange, Lemon and Blueberry. Now here's where I'm going to put my concerns. I am not convinced a 5.5" body with 29 points of articulation is going to hold up to play. How sturdy are these going to be? The smaller the doll, the less sturdy articulation is, which is one reason why most smaller dolls for little kids are simple. These things have 29 places where a kid can break them. While I want to like the idea, articulation has never been something I need, and it feels like overkill putting adult collector action figure-level articulation on a doll that says 3+ on the box. I mean, I'll give it to them for trying, but I hope they're sturdy. Parents aren't going to keep buying toys that break easily and if we want these to do well, we need the kids as well as the nostalgic adults. Adult collector money is never enough to sustain a playline. I also think this body is going to work better for Rainbow Brite. Articulation is...let's face it...not very pretty. The Rainbow Brite dolls have bulkier clothes and boots covering up all those joints except for the knees. SSC is also covered up, but her dress is kinda tight and the stockings are tight, so she looks a bit too skinny and you can see the joints through the clothes. Her legs look like twigs really. Coming down into those giant clompy shoes. The skirt on the dress needed a lot more volume. I dunno. I'm just not feeling Strawberry herself. Raspberry looks better. I'm still hopeful these are going to be made well and sell well. I'm just not nearly as excited for them as I am the Rainbow Brite line. Rainbow Brite will get so much of my money. So much. 

So that's what we've got from Sweet Suite so far. 

SPOTLIGHT

Today's spotlight doll was an easy choice. Unlike last week, when I took my time because no one was jumping out at me, this week is a no brainer.

I just learned last night that Hallmark was releasing a Stormy doll and a plush Skydancer. I checked the website but nothing. I saw one seller on ebay with them and one person on the RB Facebook had a photo. So I called this morning and my store actually had them in stock! I never even dared hope we'd have them already. Sunriser was there, too, but I don't really need Tickled Pink's horse. It was kind of an odd choice to make the horse without an accompanying doll, but whatevs.

I'm so happy. Finally some official Stormy merchandise! I've only been waiting almost 31 years. Seriously, her first appearance was in the Star Stealer movie which came out 31 years ago on November 15th. She's been my favorite Rainbow Brite character ever since.

I've had the little custom doll since 2011 and she's a perfect fit for Skydancer.

The doll isn't a perfect ringer for cartoon Stormy, but dangit, she's still a Stormy and I'm still thrilled right now.

Stormy was $34.95 and Skydancer was $19.95. They are not up on Hallmark.com, but likely will be eventually. My store had 2 Stormys and 3 each of Skydancer and Sunriser, so if you want one, maybe call ahead and see if they're in stock.