Hi Randall,
Yikes, I would have been so upset if my Model's Life had arrived with so many things wrong with it. I personally don't care for Silkies, but I love the clothes and they fit beautifully on the articulated bodies I like to use for dioramas. I did notice the unhemmed blouse sleeves but managed to get them through the coat sleeves, but had to use tweezers to do so and was very worried they would unravel. I also had the same problem with the belt as you did. Overall, though, I was very pleased. The outfit is stunning, and the set came with nifty things like a bra and slip, and stockings in their own little package. The jewelry is beautiful, also. If it had been missing a setting like yours I would have been so upset. I used the outfit in a diorama I just did for my diorama group, and as you can see it looks beautiful (I think) in photos. Also, I used the faux leather skirt on the doll with the white blouse, and am quite happy with the way it looks. The link is below. Good luck on resolving the problems with Mattel. I'd be interested in knowing the outcome.
http://www.geocities.com/pa_nz2/temporarypreviewfile.html?1048734380130
Choic4guys@aol.com wrote:
If I remember correctly a couple of you collect Silkstones. I just got my A
Model Life giftset this morning and I wanted to post some comments to the
list.
I started out by just deboxing the doll and immediately found three big snags
in her hose. I was very put off by this so I called Mattel. Basically I was
told that since she is such a high end doll they do not have any replacement
parts. She offered to give me a $10 gift certificate that could be used at
major chain stores like KMart, Target, etc. Since I try not to buy Barbie
dolls from such places I was not happy with this offer. Before getting off
the phone and being very upset I asked her if she could offer anything else
to try and make amends. She said I could return the doll and they would
refund the purchase price. This usually takes quite a while though. I told
her I would have to think about it and decide what I wanted to do. Then I
discovered that she was missing a setting in her right earring ... then I
deboxed the rest of the items and found more problems. The ruffles on the
blouse are not even hemmed and they look as though they're on the verge of
raveling. There's no way I would attempt to put them through the sleeves of
the jacket, I'm sure it would destroy them. Included in this set are several
model com cards with a book to put them in. Cute idea but they had tape
across the back of all of them so that they would display well in the box. Of
course, after I removed the tape sticky residue was all over the backs and
they stuck together. The belt with this set looks great but is really
non-functional. There is a tiny s-hook but it was completely closed and was
VERY difficult to open even with needle nose pliers.
The suggested retail for this set is $100. I have been satisfied with all of
my other silkstone items but I think that they should have done a much better
job with this one. I am going to call Mattel again tomorrow and see what I
can work out for a replacement.
Oh, and on a similar note I am scared to put Continental Holiday's coat on
for feat of breaking her thumb. Have any of you had trouble with this?
Randall