I don't generally run out and buy a new doll line until it's had at least 2 series. There's just so many of them, if I try to catch 'em all, I'll just be buried in dolls. OMG dolls aren't 'new' they're now old enough for me to do my usual dolly dissection, so here. we. go!
OMG dolls are the older sister/fashion doll counterpart to the cute little LOL dolls. They're made by MGA, who have made a bunch of very nice looking fashion doll lines (Bratz, Witchez).
The doll I grabbed is "Royal Bee" who has nice spiral curls and we all know (or should know) by now how i feel about dolls with short curls ;) Hair is consistently curled and of the same length, which is often an issue I see on curly haired dolls but don't see here, so I'd give her hair an A.
Faceup is more of an issue. Her left eye is noticeably bigger than the right one. This isn't a matter of the paint stamp being slightly twisted, it's bigger. The upper eyelashes come up higher as well as the white going down lower. This is a not so great thing because problems like this tend to be much larger scale quality control (QC) problems than the occasional doll that has her eyes stamped half way down her cheeks. I'll probably dip a tiny paint brush in some acetone and see if I can clean it up to make it more presentable. C for QC problems, would have been an A otherwise as the design is good work otherwise.
Body is good! MGA lines have usually been less about realistic bodies and more about stylized bodies, and this doll is no exception. Articulation at the usual places (hips, head, shoulders) as well as elbows and wrists with bonus removable hands. Can't say how much I love that removable hands have become an industry standard. Oh, and the hands have tiny adorable manicures <3
The only thing I don't like is that the dolls do not have any knee movement. I kind of expected knee articulation, and some prototype images have the dolls with crossed legs in a way that suggests articulated knees as well as the stand comes with a seat that would look amazing if the doll could sit on it properly with bent knees. Knee movement would make them perfect, and I really hope that future lines come with knee articulation. I'll give the body a B.
Edit: I've been told the body is supposed to have clicky knees, so I re-checked the doll I have. One knee can be bent back if I am VERY forceful (I previously tried to bend them with the same force I would have a Barbie with clickly knees) and it kind of stays bent, but it's only about 10 degrees of bend. Other leg can be force bent but does not stay bent. So I have no idea on the knees. I'm going to still hope for jointed articulation in future lines.
Clothes are great! Not quite the level of the legendary Bratz, but I don't think we could return to that without a significant bump in doll prices. Clothes are made from synthetics with a pretty good plastic %, but they are also soft, flexible, with sewn on details and vary in texture (ex the 'leather' jacket is vinyl, the pants are a mesh) which makes the overall outfit look really nice. Could they be nicer? Sure, but again, the quality for the price point is excellent. Definitely an A there.
Packaging is something I usually don't consider. Sometimes I rave about it (like the SDCC She-Ra box that contained a small castle that doubled as storage) but usually it's just the barrier between me and the doll. The packaging of OMG dolls is... fun. It's really weird to say that. You pop a plastic strap that keeps the box closed and the inside slides out. Inside is the doll in her underwear in a little dressing room. Her clothes come in tiny paper garment bags and the accessories come in tiny hat and shoe boxes (the sticker on the shoe box informs me she is a shoe size 6.5). Taking her out and opening up each of her little clothing/accessory bits and putting it all on her was fun. My inner environmentalist weeps at all the extra packaging BUT at the same time most of the packaging is cardboard and paper, not plastic so even if it isn't recycled it's majority biodegradable and therefore possibly better than a standard plastic clamshell box. So A for packaging!
Overall this is a cute doll that is well made. I hope it sticks around!
Now here's the bit that most people who read my reviews are most interested in!
The OMG body doesn't match any other fashion dolls I've measured. This isn't a surprise. Wide-hipped bodies haven't been in style all that long, and the early ones in western fashion dolls (Monster High) were also ultra skinny. The 'not ultra skinny' fashion doll is an even newer thing, and the number of dolls that are both is 3: Curvy Barbie, Wild Hearts, and now O.M.G. dolls. And since they're all pictured up there, it's pretty obvious that they all have very different proportions.
IF I were to do a pattern size for this doll, it would be "Petite Curvy" because her height range puts her in the sub 11.5" dolls (Petite) and her body shape is curvier than the average fashion doll (Curvy).