Witty Toys Concert Flora |
SO.
When Winx returned to the air with Season 4, neither Mattel nor Giochi Preziosi were doing the dolls. Mattel had that one random concert line, but I'm not sure if that had anything to do with Season 4 at all. Witty was the new name in Winx dolls and for awhile, they were the only company putting any on the shelves.
Mattel, Giochi 10", Witty, Giochi 13" |
I was pretty excited about the Witty dolls, because their faces looked absolutely beautiful and the clothes! I really wanted the Concert line, because I love dark colors and the Winx were finally wearing them.
I got Concert Flora, Musa and Tecna on May 21, 2009. And it was love. The makeup detailing on the early Witty faces is beyond anything any other company has ever done. Period. The end. Stella, Bloom and Aisha followed on June 10th.
Witty's Believix line |
I don't remember the details of release order but it wasn't until September that I got my first Witty Believix doll. I LOVE Believix. I like the transformations that are pretty, but also functional. Harmonix is terrible because no one could swim in those ridiculous outfits. Enchantix was too skimpy. One of their Enchantix spells must have been "keep top from falling off." But the original outfits and Believix? Those looked like outfits these girls could battle and fly comfortably in. (And Bloomix is the ultimate, but we'll get to that.)
I cleared a big space on my wall to do my first ever flying Winx display. Believix Flora was my first. I had to import all the dolls, so deciding who to buy often came down to which ones had the best deal. But Flora was my favorite during Season 4, so she got to be first. Aisha came next in November, followed a few days later by Stella and Musa. Bloom came a couple weeks after that, with Tecna a couple days later, and Roxy just a few days after Tecna. I love the Witty Believix dolls. Their wings may be flimsy, but they are perfectly beautiful and the best Witty line.
Witty City Roxy |
In 2011, I got into Pop Pixie a little bit and the Believix figures, then we started seeing pictures for the Jakks Pacific dolls. Yes, Winx was coming back to American toy stores! Very exciting.
But I'm going to ignore chronological order and finish talking about my Witty collection before moving on.
I got a deal on City Musa on ebay and she was with me for awhile before being sold. Then I got into my second fave early Witty line: Hallowinx.
Witty Hallowinx |
Semi-gothed out Winx dolls? You know I was down for that! I got Musa in May 2012, and Bloom, Stella and Flora in early June. I wish the other girls had gotten their looks made into dolls.
After that, I was pretty obsessed with Jakks for awhile. I wouldn't get a new Witty doll until I won a friend's Tumblr giveaway in July 2013. I received a Charmix Flora and remembered how beautiful these dolls were. So I started picking them up again, mostly from an Asian seller (I can't remember the exact location) that had great deals. In October 2013, I got Lovix Tecna and Musa and Season 5 casual Tecna and Musa. Then nothing until October 2014 when I got a City Tecna. I always regretting missing out on her way back when I got City Musa.
Witty Season 6 Trix |
But Witty did whip out one final awesome collection: THE TRIX. Yeah, the hair isn't quite right and the makeup isn't as bold as it should be, but still. It's THE TRIX. And they're my favorites. These three hold a permanent display spot on my coffee table where I see them every day.
Pop Pixie Tune and Cherie |
Pop Pixie plush Cherie |
Speaking of 2011, the big news was that Winx was coming back to America. FINALLY. Jakks Pacific won the rights to produce the dolls and in September, we got a tiny peek at some sketches and a prototype Bloom in a Youtube video.
It wasn't until February 2012, at Toy Fair natch, that we finally got to see the dolls. The initial lines were Believix, Casual and Concert, all three featuring all six Winx girls. A basic line of Bloom, Stella and Flora was also there, as well as plush toys of the seven Love and Pet characters. Sadly, only 3 of the pets were ever made: Bloom's Kiko, Flora's cat Coco and Aisha's bunny Milly. I'm still irritated that I don't have a plush of Musa's bear. He was my fave.
Jakks Love and Pet plush shown at Toy Fair |
Jakks Pacific Belivix Tecna |
The Jakks bodies were pretty cool and the outfits, while not really trying to be show accurate, were nice. Though I still don't get why it was so hard to make appropriate footwear. You're making new molds anyway, right? Just do the shoes based on the show. Yeesh. The deluxe dolls had a good bit of articulation, while the basic lines had less. My biggest issue, aside from finding the right characters at my stores, was the hair. Poor Flora especially had bad hair. Bloom and Aisha didn't fare well either.
Eventually, I ended up with Believix Tecna, Flora, Musa and Aisha. Then I picked up all the Concert girls except Flora. (I am very devoted to my Witty Concert Flora.)
Jakks Sky and SDCC exclusive Blue Believix Bloom |
Oh, and on top of having to struggle to find the right characters in the regular doll lines, Jakks also put out action figures. Now I'd been wanting Winx action figures for years, because it's an action show and they'd be perfect. Well, the Jakks ones were really well-made, but tracking them all down was practically impossible. It took me ages to get all six Concert girls and all six Believix girls. The casual outfit dolls were also a problem. I had to have help getting Casual Musa! I just could not find her.
Jakks Target exclusive Icy |
The character left out though? The most obvious one who should have been included: ROXY. Jakks started putting out these dolls for Season 4 and she never got one.
We got to see promos of the Harmonix dolls in November and that's when the cuts started to happen. Now I dislike Harmonix. As I mentioned above, it's one of my least favorite transformations. Actually, it is probably my very least favorite. It just makes no sense. But did I want Harmonix Musa and Tecna dolls? YES. And guess who got cut from the line. Yeah. Those two. They weren't even in the action figure line. However, someone more exciting was.
Jakks Trix action figures |
The basic line that came out this toy season was Bloom, Stella, Flora and Aisha in some pretty outfits. I got all four, but they were harder to find and I ended up selling Bloom and Flora. I still have Stella and Aisha, because they were the best ones.
Jakks Sirenix and Dark Sirenix |
Jakks Bloomix Bloom |
The Bloomix dolls would be the final Jakks items I bought.
I do however still collect Winx and my collection keeps moving forward when it can.
Recent collection pic of Giochi and Witty |
In early 2014, I got Millennium Ball Musa as a fixer-upper. I used to have Millennium Bloom and Stella, but sold them and always missed them, so I gradually collected this line back in fixer-upper condition. Musa came first, followed by Tecna sometime in 2014 I think, Aisha in December 2015, and Flora and Stella in April and May 2016 respectively. My Tecna is actually my old Birthday Ball Tecna doll wearing the Millennium outfit. I wanted her to have the shorter hair with that dress, and the Millennium doll wearing the Birthday Ball outfit has a new home.
Giochi Millennium Ball dolls. Just need Bloom! |
Along with Millennium Musa in January 2014, I picked up Nesia, the pink-haired mermaid. In August 2015, I got her friends Tala and Talassia, followed by a new in box Amarea in December. The mermaids are my most wanted Winx items right now. I'd love to have Coralia and Kalia to complete my set, and someday I hope to upgrade Nesia and Tala with boxed dolls. (Talassia's actually in great condition except for her missing wings.)
Giochi Tala, Nesia and Talassia |
In January 2014, I actually got my first Mattel doll in many years! I picked up Biker Flora from Europe. Now Biker Stella is pretty much my only Mattel want.
Later in 2014, I got five of the six bobblehead Love and Pet toys. I'm missing only Coco, Flora's cat. Maybe someday!
Giochi Amarea |
In February of this year, I discovered a 13" Giochi line I never knew existed. It was the outfits from the Grounded episode! I love that Flora outfit and even in the different colors, I really loved it. So I bought her from a helpful seller in Italy, and also picked up a fixer-upper lot of Winx for Grounded Musa.
Giochi Grounded Musa and Flora |
So mostly these days, I'm looking for Giochi items. Mermaids Kalia and Coralia. My precious Eveningwear 2 Tecna and Bloom. Millennium Ball Bloom. I'd love that Stella in the neon orange ruffled top like the Mattel Shopping Stella wears. I still need Enchantix Musa to finish my wall. (She's there, but I refuse to overpay for Enchantix dolls.) I've never seen Grounded Stella, but I'd probably want her. Mattel-wise, I just want Racer Stella, who's annoyingly hard to find. I wouldn't say no to Rainwear Musa or any of the Concert dolls, but the likelihood of that is pretty nil. I might pick up some Giochi pixies. The older ones, not Pop Pixie. And I do need that bobblehead Coco kitty! Oh, and I'd love the Witty ice-skating Roxy. I always meant to get her and didn't. Or really any other Roxy dolls except the super basic ones. One of my most wanted items is also kinda random.
Stella and Bloom keychains |
And that wraps up Winx Club!
PHOTO CREDITS: All mine except the Love and Pet plush image, which I took as a screenshot from a Time to Play video.
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