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What are
Pullips?
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Pullips
are 11-12 inch tall fashion dolls created by Korean company Cheonsang
Cheonha and produced by Japan's JUN Planning. They are characterised by
their oversized heads, reminiscent of anime style, and their
articulated plastic bodies.
There are three different bodeis that Pullip has been released on to
day. The first releases from 2003 were all on a body similar to that of
articulated Marmit dolls. This body was discontinued and replaced with
a second type of body when Venus was released, and this body was used
on all releases through to Paja in 2005. The first doll to use the
newest type 3 body was the imited release Summer Purezza. This body is
more petite than the previous ones, and is the body currently in use.
A new Pullip is released each month,
occasionally two as a sort of set (eg. the Cosmic twins and Lan twins).
Each Pullip release is accompanied by a Dal or Taeyang, alternating
between the two. New releases are typically announced 3 months before
the finished dolls will be available.
Each release is limited to a single run of an unspecifiec amount. JUN
Planning has repeatedly refused to disclose the actual amount, so it
may not be a set number..
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Namu &
Taeyang
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Pullips first male
counterpart was Namu. Namus are around 13 inches tall and
have a similar amount of articulation to Pullip. The first release was
Vispo, in
January 2004 and the last was Geronimo, as part of the 2nd Birthday
couple in 2005. Due to an apparent lack of popularity, only seven Namus
were
released, all in 2004, but for the male in the 2nd Birthday couple.
Namu has now been retired and replaced with Taeyang. He has a similar
look to Namu, but with an overall smoother look. His eyes are somewhat
smaller now and not so wide, but still with a distinctly Asian look.
His lips have been
smoothed out and look more pouty. His nose is also
smaller and not so pointy. His looks seem largey based on those of many
Asian 'idol' celebrities. His body is not different from Namus, though
there has been some speculation as to a different plastic being used.
The first Taeyang release was M.J. in
February 2006, and has proved far more popular than Namu :) At time of
writing, there are 8 Taeyangs announced for release. Taeyangs are
released in alternation with his little sister Dal.
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Dal
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Dal is the most
recent addition to the line, introduced in September 2006. She is
Taeyang's bratty kid sister and a
self-proclaimed rival to Pullip! She has a smaller, adolescent body
similar in size to Blythe and Bratz dolls (she can share their
clothes!). Dal has the same side to side eye movement as her brother
and rival, but cannot blink. Her eyelids are fixed in place
Dal is around 10 inches tall, standing about as tall as Pullip's
shouder. Her head seems smaller, but this is because of the shape and
she actually has around the same circumference so they can share wigs.
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Little Pullip
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Little Pullip is a 5 inch tall mini version of Pullip. The first Little
Pullips were released in January 2005. Many Little Pullips are modelled
after popular full sized releases. The only mini to get a full size
release so far is Paja. Slightly incongrous in their design is their
humugous chests! They seem to have continued giving them breasts like
those on the type 1 Pullip body, when a fat chest would seem rather
more appropriate for these child sized releases.
No Little Pullip has been announced for April or May 2007, so it's
possible that the line has been discontinued, but it is not certain.
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