Toysfield Kuma

The last post I composed was supposed to have another post afterwards about my Toysfield Kuma.  A family emergency kept me from posting like I intended.

back together again

I did not take deboxing photos like with Little Grey.  I was so shocked to open Kuma up and discover his head rolling around inside his box.  I hoped that it was an easy fix.  Bah!  He was broken!!

The seller and I were both bummed.  It happened during shipping.  A very sad day.

I had two options- no repairs and have a broken doll, or, try the repairs and have a possible fixed doll.  If it went badly, I would still have a broken doll.  I decided to take a chance.

I seam ripped down the back and found the broken piece.  The neck is a ball and socket (like a hip joint). The socket part broke off during shipping.  I suspect the neck tie was too tight and any impact to the box put pressure on this weak portion of the doll.

neck ball joint

broken neck socket

broken piece

I found epoxy that's good for practically any application.  I rebuilt the neck like making a coil pot while holding the broken portion together.  I had to work fast!  The epoxy started drying in less than 5 minutes.  It was low fume, but I did miss the part about gloves. DOH! Yeah, wear gloves.  Epoxy is apparently poisonous while it is in the putty form.  I am happy to say I am still alive.

This epoxy stuff is incredible!!  It worked!  I was unable to get photos of the process.

My Kuma is back in one piece.  The head is a little shaky, but that's better than broken.

Tico and Kuma 

I hope to take Kuma out on some adventures.  So far all he has done is a truck trip in the woods.  We stayed in the truck since it was raining.  I wanted to see if a real bear happened by so I could try to get a photo of them together.  I then remembered bears are hibernating.  Silly me.

Toysfield Usagi

Being naughty is apparently my middle name.  How can I be good when I find such good deals on eBay by accident!

The latest "accident" is a Toysfield Usagi*!  This bit of fur and plastic is absolutely the most adorable toy.  I actually ran across how the Toysfields are made and it made me realize that they are basically BJDs (ball jointed dolls) rather than a stuffed toys.  Once I realized this, I caved and bought one.

There is a plastic skeletal/armature inside that allows full articulation in the limbs, ears, and neck.  I am impressed by the quality.

I am unsure why, but my Usagi is signed.  I feel it is a signature rather than a stamp or painted since I can see where the pen started and stopped by the artist.  I trolled Flickr and Instagram prior to my Little Grey (temp name) arriving; I did not find all that many grey rabbits.  The eBay seller was under the impression that the grey color is somewhat rare.  I guess he could be right.  

Gratefully, my Little Grey had booklets called Toysfield Artbook and Toysfield Artbook 2.  Inside was a story about Cherry Pudding (pink), Marshmallow Gray (grey*), and Meringue White (white) and release information in English.  Artbook 2 had Kuma (bear) paper dolls and sewing patterns.  I will trying them soon!

Story and release information

I could not find deboxing photos.  Here is a collage I made of my deboxing photos:  

Full sized images are also on my Flickr.

It is safe to say that I am in love.  There will be more photos on my Instagram and Flickr accounts.  I don't have the IG badge yet, but if interested in following me my user names is @blytheknits.  I am hoping to have a Kuma soon.

*Usagi is Japanese for rabbit.

*I prefer grey with an 'e', but the official release name was with an 'a'.