Outlander Tonner Style

Before I started with the Asian ball jointed dolls, I collected Tonner dolls. I still have a lot of Tonner dolls, and several of them are the licensed doll lines such as Gone with the Wind and Harry Potter. When I first learned Tonner had gotten the license to do Outlander dolls, to say I was excited would have been an understatement. I was SO looking forward to seeing this line. The costuming on the Gone with the Wind line is fabulous, and I expected nothing less for the Outlander series. I put my name on the waiting lists for the first dolls that were due to come out, Claire in her red dress she wore to Versailles, and Jamie  in his Paris duds as well and waited.  The first doll in this line to actually be produced was a Metrodolls exclusive, Garden Encounter Claire, who was a limited edition of 200. I believe the event happened in the fall of 2017. I didn't attend the event, but there were a few leftover dolls after the event that went up FS on the Metrodolls website.  I went back and forth about purchasing her for a couple of weeks before I finally hit the buy button. As much as I love Outlander I was afraid if I didn't get her I would regret it later. I also knew the fabric for this outfit would be VERY hard to find in order to recreate something similar for my Iplehouse Claire. First impressions...………...the dress was lovely, the sculpt...………was a bit disappointing.

Catriona Balfe is such a beautiful woman, I had really high hopes for the sculpt, but while I don't "hate" the sculpt...…...I don't "love" it either. You can see the resemblance, but there is just something "off" about the jawline I think. . Pic of Catriona Balfe as Claire in the outfit below.

The dress however I think they did an excellent job on. Below is an almost full length shot of Tonner's version of the gown.

In January of 2018 my " Red Dress" Claire arrived. A limited edition of 300. The lip color is red on this version of Claire as opposed to her predecessor, who had pink lips. I like the darker lip color on her. This version is my favorite of the actual Claire dolls.

Once again, the dress is amazing, the earrings are beautiful as well. I think it would have been a wonderful touch for them to include her fan, but I was really pleased with her overall.  I found when photographing this version I saw a bit more of the actress (although I realize it is the same sculpt). Makeup really can make a difference. A full length shot of the dress below. Really an amazing work of art.

The last version of Claire that I purchased was the Dior dress replica Claire. Tonner called her New Look Claire, and she was also a LE300. Once again, the dress is wonderful. She comes with her purse and of course her hat, earrings and gloves.

The lip color on New Look Claire is in between that of Garden Encounter and Red Dress versions of Claire.

The last of the Outlander collection dolls to arrive was Jamie in his Paris outfit that matches with Claire in the red dress. I have read several reviews where other collectors were disappointed in his beard. I have to say, overall I really like Jamie, and the beard doesn't bother me over much. Below is a picture of Sam Heughan in the outfit that the doll outfit was modeled after.

Below is the doll. Tonner upped his edition size to LE500 due to demand (he was originally supposed to be limited to 300). While not a perfect likeness I can definitely see "Jamie" when photographed from some angles. The outfit is pretty much spot on, or as least as much as you can do when recreating in doll scale.

Below a shot of the Frasers together.

There were a total of 4 Claire dolls done in the line and only one Jamie. Unfortunately, Tonner Doll Company decided to close its doors as of December 31, 2018,  an announcement was made in early January 2019, meaning no more Outlander licensed dolls. We never got to see a Highlander Jamie or Claire for that matter, which is a disappointment as I would have loved to have seen each of them in one of their "Highland" outfits from season 1.  I guess technically, the swan song was Claire in an outfit from Season 1, her 1940's dress she is wearing as she goes through the stones for the first time. She is the only doll in the series I'm  missing at present. See a promotional pic of the doll from Tonner below.