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QOTW: How has your opinion of Middie changed?
Written on April 22, 2013 at 12:00 pm by MichelleFiled under: Question of the Week
Middie was first introduced as Blythe’s newest sister in September 2010, a month before Macaron Q-Tea Party was released. The dainty blonde doll made many people apprehensive at first. Questions were thrown around about the presence of a mid-sized doll in the Blythe family. Why is she so expensive? Why were there limitations to the doll’s mechanism?
If I include Nellie Nibbles (the April 2013 Middie release), there have been eleven different Middies released. One of them (Cherish Me Always – June 2011) was even an anniversary doll, which was pretty neat when they made a full Neo-Middie-Petite set for the 10th anniversary of Neo Blythes. But now, as it has been over two years since the release of Middie, has your opinion of Middie changed?
For me, I was a little skeptical of her at first. And I thought about how difficult it would be to find clothes for a Middie sized doll, so I put off the idea of buying one. I even told myself that they were a little bit ugly(!) and expensive. But then I came to see them in person and became a little bit charmed. It did not help that members of my local Blythe group had started acquiring Middie and bringing them to meets! Getting to see them in person was a treat. For the Neos, I was unable to hold the Neo Blythes in my hands before buying one – but I was able to see them in person first (in box, behind a glass window). I was also able to see custom Middies in person as well, but that (so far) has not swayed me into getting one. Then again, it took me a while to get a customized Blythe. I’ve been following Middie Flickr groups for a while now, and it’s actually be hard to stop myself from buying Nekogutsu Zukin with her cute red kitty shoes. Getting to see photographs online has been a fantastic help – especially photos of the doll outside of the box, outside of promotional set-ups.
I’ve come to love the Middie mold. I find the smaller size charming, and it is very cute when the heads are tilted to one side. I do wish that they had been able to adapt the eye mechanism to a smaller size as I think it would be adorable if there had been a mini pull ring at the back of Middie’s head. But as I consider the overall cuteness, size difference and the even tinier shoes to be fun. Not that I needed another shoe collection, but I am slowly growing a shoe closet for my Middie… and I do hope to continue adding to my doll family with additional Middies.
How has your opinion of Middie changed?
Two years?!?! Holy macaroni, that long?
My answer is yes – PREDICTABLY – I went from ‘meh’ to ‘MORE PLEASE’ in far too short a space of time. I’m still pretty adamant they’re not as cute as Neos (to my eyes!) but they have their own adorableness and goshdarnit I want more.
I want a Middie. Another doll to add to my growing collection may not be a necessity, but I need one.
I loved the idea of the smaller size, but was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find patterns (I like to sew my own stuff) and shoes, etc., for them. So I managed to abstain from Middie-mania for awhile. Then my friend, Iveta, brought one to a meet. I was so charmed that I begged her to sell it to me. She didn’t, so my hubby bought me a Little Lilly Brown for our anniversary. I love her dearly. My only wish is that her legs would bend. I thought about getting a Pure Neemo XS for her, but I’m afraid that switching out bodies would be a bit difficult because I’m not much into customs. Putting a Picco Neemo onto an LPS Blythe is as daring as I go.
I haven’t changed my opinion a lot since the first details about Middie were released, maybe I went from ‘meh meh meh’ to ‘meh meh’. I wish TakaraTomy wouldn’t invest in this doll at all, and to me (!) it has little to do with Blythe. It’s just another doll like Odeco. I don’t like the mold, the head tilt or the overall childlike appearance of Middie. I wish they would produce a tiny Blythe, same features, bendable legs, and most importantly, a functioning eyemech with pullring. 🙂 Blythe, but smaller.
A lot of people do seem to like Middie as she is, and this is what counts. 🙂
Middies have taken over my house. I had collected Blythe for only about a year before I purchased my first Middie. Now I would rather spend $ on a Middie than a Neo doll. I love to knit for them, I love their head tilt, their constant disapproving look. I think I can say, that I actually like them better than my Neo Blythe dolls.