Updates!

I have just added the detailed bios of the Macavity Cat family (bottom of villagers page) and Patches Dog family (somewhere in the middle of the villagers page).

New Families

Recently a few new families were added to my collection. It is always strange, though I love to receive the Sylvanian playsets with furniture, small items, food etc, I LOVE receiving a figure or a family. Nothing beats that feeling when you unbox or unwrap a new figure. Do you agree?

So first up is the Timbertop family. They were one of the first families that were released in the UK in 1987 and the family is huge consisting of Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, Older Brother, Older Sister, Brother, Sister and a baby (or two). They were re-released in around 2008 as a Celebration set with Father, Mother, Older Brother, Older Sister, Brother, Sister and a baby. The father and mother is what are called "old bear mould" and are quite big in comparison with the other families. As I wouldn't like to have giants in my village I decided to use the older brother and older sister figures as the father and mother (a tip that I got from Sigrun). I also like variation in my village so the family only consists of Dad Taylor, Mom Rose, Brother Buddy and Baby Boy Burl.

The Timbertops have been residents of Sugarbush Valley since the beginning of time. Taylor's father (Grandfather Gus) owned the general store in the village, but had to close it down when the village went through a recession many years ago. The Timbertops are making a living by renting bikes out to tourists who visit the village.It is Taylor and Rose's dream to one day reopen a general store.

My first "real" JP family came in the form of the Labradors. I don't count the JP Beavers and JP Red Pandas as they were bought locally and wasn't in the JP packaging. Aren't they extremely cute? I named them the Bercher Family.

The Bercher family are new residents of Sugarbush Valley. They originate from a land far far away, but come to know of this tiny village through their friends the Keats who have once had a short vacation in the village. Father Innes and Mother Margaux visited Sugarbush Valley a few months ago, just to familiarise themselves with the villagers and to get a general idea of if they would like to live here. They were pleasantly surprised and immediately decided to move there. Brother Zander and Sister Saskia was very sad to leave their friends behind, but baby Karissa is very excited to meet new friends. The Berchers will open a toy shop in Sugarbush Valley.

Then my most coveted figure to date, Antonio, has finally arrived. He is so cute (but does he have a bit of a dark mysterious side to him)!

Antonio Patches has finally found his way to Sugarbush Valley after months and months of travelling. He had some private business that he had to sort out, that he would prefer his wife, Dorothy, do not to find out about. It is nothing serious, or something that will hurt her in any way, though, so maybe one day he might tell her. He has managed to sort it out and now it is time to be a father and a good husband, and most of all buy his darling wife her own cottage, as they can’t live with the Henry-Lloyds forever. 

Like his wife, he is a qualified hairdresser, and plans to open a salon soon. He wants their salon to be a place where villagers can relax and unwind, whilst being pampered.

And last but not least the Celebration Macavity set! They are now officially my favorite family, move over Trunks, Henry Lloyds, Buttercups, Periwinkles and Blackberries! They are Father Alonzo, Mother Cassandra, Older Brother Mistoffeless, Older Sister Grizabella, Brother Rumpus, Sister Asparagus and Baby Skimble. (For those of you who didn't know they were named after the cast of Cats, the musical.)

Though the Macavities are only now officially moving to Sugarbush Valley, it feels as if they have been living there for much longer. There good friends the Fishers, who they regularly visit, have lived there for more than a year now, and father Alonzo has built many of the houses and shops in the village. Mayor Hugo is relieved to see the family moving to the village as he hopes that this will mean that more houses are build in the village sooner than expected.

Hope you have enjoyed my introductions. The full bios will go up shortly!

The School Lunch Set

I haven't had time for much story writing lately. Live is just to busy, it will be my boy's birthday on 31 May so I have a party to plan and I can't concentrate on taking photos and writing stories when I know I have to make party favours etc!

Besides that my work room has been a mess, as my boy has found a new love for my Sylvanians and although he plays with them very carefully, he just knows how to turn things upside down. Also my table still has my unfinished Highfields farm on it, and stacked around it was all the boxes I received lately from trades, ebay winnings and purchases I made online.

So the past weekend was spend sorting out the mess, and now I, and I'm sure my Sylvanians too, can breath again.

As I didn't want to disappoint my readers I decided to do a quick review on the School Lunch Set.

I've wanted the set for a while now, but always found it a bit too expensive. It would be used as my Hamsters, which I renamed the Hawtons, work equipment, as they are the lunch staff at the local schools.

The boxed set.

Unboxed. Packaged in the familar style. I guess this is a good way of ensuring that all these small items reach its destination safely, but it was really hard to get them out/off that "racks". I broke a spoon in half and the soup bowls and soup itself was really hard to get out.

Finally everything out and in its place. Note that the two tables are included in the set too.

I really love that the little soup bits fits so perfectly in the soup bowls and the laddle. I think I must take my nail file and file away the rough edges. You can see the bits were it was stuck to the "rack" very clearly on the photo.

The crate for the milk bottles is really cute and I just love the spoons and the basket for it. It is so tiny! The bread rolls are cute too and looks "real", but Im not so sure what the other item with the red sauce(?) should be?

The lunch staff shows off their delicious food and the clothing that came with the set.

And just for fun a family picture!

Personally I feel that this set is a bit overpriced, in SA it sells for around 9 pounds, and I cant understand what makes it so expensive as it doesn't have anything special in it. Maybe it is the two furniture pieces that pushes up the price. SSK sells the set for 9.99 pounds. I was lucky and got it for 5 pounds as I bought it from an online SA store where I had a voucher, and I feel that that price is more reasonable.

Please let me know what you think of the set and its price.

Myriam Chantily's first day back at work.

Myriam Chantilly was feeling both excited but a little anxious too. Today will be her first day back at work after a lengthy absence after Jacques' birth. She looked at herself in the mirror, adjusted her nurse's uniform and smiled. It will be alright. She was good at her work, and although it will take some time to adapt, she will get use to it again

At the clinic she received a warm welcome, both by Dr Fisher and his wife, who stood in for Myriam, during her absence.

Dr Fisher: Myriam, finally! Welcome, we missed you. 

Isabel: Indeed, glad to have you back Myriam. And I think what Fisher wants to say is that it is very hard for him to work with his wife.

Myriam (giggling): You two make me blush, stop it. It is good to be back. I just hope I can remember how to do everything?

Dr Fisher: I'm sure you will do fine. I must, however, inform you that we have vaccinations scheduled for some of the little ones, and I will be very glad if you can handle that, as I have some reports to attend to.

Myriam: That sounds wonderful, I just love attending to the kids and that will really give my confidence a boost.

Isabel said her goodbyes and went off to attend to some business. Dr Fisher, looked at his appointments for the day and was relieved to see that no appointments from Mable Periwinkle, yet! In the meantime Myriam went into the clinic to prepare everything for the vaccinations. She could already see some mothers and children gathering outside.

Schroeder sat down at his desk to start writing his reports. He was really glad that Myriam was back. She was very good at being a nurse, and even though Isabel is a qualified nurse too, she should rather focus on the clinic's admin, which was by now way behind. On the other side of the clinic Myriam was having a look at the register of children that should be vaccinated. The long list surprised her, but all familiar names. It would be good to have a quick chat with everyone again.

A small crowd has by now gathered outside the clinic. Myriam couldn't help to feel sorry for some of the children, as their faces showed emotions of great concern. She called them together and quickly explained the procedure to them.

Myriam: Welcome everyone and thank you to the mother's for doing the responsible thing and bringing your children for their vaccinations. Fortunately, it is only one injection. You will feel a slight sting, but I have lollies for all the brave ones. So please don't be scared.

She ordered all the patients to form a line. Abigail Woodbrook was first in line, and Myriam could immediately tell that Abigail was not scared at all. This made things easier for Myriam too. 

Myriam: Abigail, now just hold still. So who is your teacher at school?

Abigail: It is Mr Chiffon, he is such ... ouch ... a darling. He is a great teacher.

Myriam: Good girl and so brave. All done. Here have a lollipop.

Abigail: Thank you nurse Myriam. 

Abigail and her mom, Bethanie stepped aside to give her best friend Frances Redwood a turn. Bethanie rubbed her daughter's arm, but it was clear that Abigail was in no pain. Bethanie thought that as always it was harder for the mother.

Soon Frances was done too and they left. The girls had to return to school and both Bethanie and Fliss to work. They were all glad it was over. Next up was Mark Maces, who put up a very brave face, but gave a high pitched scream when Myriam gave him the injection.

Soon the Trunk twins were helped too and only the Mcburrows twins were left. Mollie was a real sweetie and much like Abigail didn't blink an eye, but Myriam could sense that Muddy will be a tougher customer.

He has been making excuses from the minute they got there and was really trying to convince his mother that he really don't need this stupid vaccination.
Myriam: Muddy, listen you need to get this, otherwise you might get very very sick and then you'll end up in the hospital in The Big City, and believe me there you will get much more injections, than this tiny one.
While talking to Muddy, Myriam quickly performed the injection, but she has really underestimated Muddy's fear of needles.

The next moment he was laying on the ground passed out. His mother, Heidi almost went into a fit too.

Heidi: Muddy, muddy! Darling boy, do get up. Get up.

Schroeder rushed over to have a look at what is going on.

Muddy was immediately transferred to the bed in the clinic, where Dr Fisher inspected him carefully. It was established that all his vitals was fine and he quickly came to.

Muddy: What... what happened.
Heidi: Darling boy, thank goodness you are fine, you gave us a big scare.
Dr Fisher: You passed out, because of your fear of needles.
Muddy: Oh no, I did. I will be the laughing stock at school. Molly please don't tell them.
Heidi: Of course she will not.
Muddy: Molly you must promise.
Molly (giggling): I promise, I promise, but I guess you will not tease me with your bugs again.
Everyone had a good laugh and Myriam handed Muddy a lollipop too.

The rest of Myriam's first day went by without any further emergencies. That evening at home when the babies were in bed Myriam relayed her first day to Maurice. They had a good laugh about Muddy's reaction and Myriam confessed to Maurice that it was actually nice to have something to do again, other than being just at home and cleaning up a baby's mess the whole day.

Country Nurse Set

I recently also acquired the Country Nurse Set, and what a delightful set. I mainly ordered it to stock my small JP clinic and also to get Myriam Chantilly a work outfit as she is the Sugarbush Valley nurse.

The boxed set.

Neatly and securely packed, with a leaflet containing the patient charts and cold medicine. These can easily be pressed out. The other packet contains the slippers, bandages and a pink blanket.

A close up of the nurse and the wheelchair. Personally I would have preferred a blue/green one, like the one that came with this set.

Oliver agreed to help out his aunt to show off the wheelchair. The child figures fits perfectly.

However, an adult figure has a much more snug fit, and one needs much more patience to get them seated.

The set also includes a trolley, though plastic, it is quite sturdy, with drawers that can actually open and close.

The little pills and ointments that came with the set is adorable and so is the "glass" jars. Note that the two larger ones has removable lids. (Hannah insisted to show that babies can also ride in the wheelchair).

Obviously the set includes crutches, a cast and a hot water bottle.

Just look at all this little accessories. There is actually a syringe and thermometer too!

Lids on, cold medicine box of pills folded and patient cards pressed out.

Complete set. Note that Oliver is wearing a slipper and the cast, which is really easy to put on.

All and all a very cute set at a reasonable price, especially because it includes a figure too.

After I looked at all the accessories I took a closer look at the mother. It was obvious that she was a Periwinkle family member, or was she. On closer inspection, there was a big difference. The Nurse was much lighter in colour and her flocking was unbelievably soft. The Periwinkle mother (Kate) was also a bit shorter. To me they are thus not from the same family and now Im wondering if the Nurse might be, what they call a Buttermilk Rabbit Family member? Can anyone help to confirm this. Or is it just a Milk Rabbit family?

In these pictures the differences is more evident.

Front.

Side.

Back (notice that the Nurse's tail is a very soft/light pink, almost like her the inside of her ears, while Kate's tail is the same colour as the rest of her body)

Any comments or extra info on this set will be much appreciated.

Red Pandas arrive in Sugarbush Valley

I recently acquired the Red Panda Family. Since the first time I saw them on the Sylvanian London store site, I wanted them, but it was just never meant to be. So I was over the moon when I heard that they would be released in SA. This meant a few more months of showing my patience, but also that I could get them for a fraction of the price to what I would've paid if I got them from overseas (the postage to SA is crazy).

So here they are the Red Panda Family, or as they shall be known in my village, the Redwoods.

I just love the back of the box, and this picture is how I see my own village too.

Almost free. Don't they just look perfect? More like porcelain dolls than flocked critters?

Freedom! They are even cuter than I thought. Promotion photos and any other photo I've seen from fellow collectors, just can do them justice, even this one. Read their full bio here at the bottom of the page.

So I went a bit further and took a few comparison photos of the Red Pandas and the Raccoons.

The sister red panda's tail is much shorter (in my opinion) than the raccoon sister, which makes it easier for her to stand. My Raccoons keep falling backwards.

Here is the mothers, Fliss is much shorter than Mae, but keep in mind that the Raccoons are overall a bit "taller" than most figures

I think their tails are the same length though.

And then lastly the cutest of them all. I can't pick a favorite! Can you?