I can contain my excitement no longer, people – a lifelong dream is about to come true. No, I don’t have a unicorn Pegasus in my backyard (YET), but I am nonetheless bouncing off the walls with glee. Why? Because I’m going to order my very own Tailfeather Attacks! Action Figure.
Doll Artist Cyndi Safstrom creates vinyl dolls and action figures with personalized heads based on the photos or videos of customers. While the Be A Doll website doesn’t provide much information as to the creative process, Cyndi’s photos speak for themselves. And those photos say: This is awesome. Whether you’re looking to engage in a fantastical act of narcissism (I am!) or simply want to gift a truly creepy birthday present to a loved one (I do!), personalized dolls have it all.
Additionally, you can choose your own outfit for your doll. I visualize Tailfeather Attacks! as a twenty-first-century Shera/Mad Max denizen, complete with body armor and an attitude. Share in the joy of discovery, and let us know the plans for your own dolls in the comments section.
ButtercupPunch - "La clique, c’est chic!" 
July 16, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Awesome. Now me and my Billy Corgan action figure can get it on. Mine will have no outfit, of course.
Happy Birthday to us all!
July 16, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Amazing. I am going to make one of M so that when she dies and I have her in the form of a big, fat diamond ring, I can place it oh-so-gently on the outstretched arm of my M doll, to keep it safe.
July 16, 2008 at 4:26 pm
@es-ki-mo: Tailfeather Attacks! and Christian Bale Succumbs! are going to be very happy together.
Whatever you do, do not allow your doll to fall into the hands of actual children. Or they will end up bald and broken, like so many Barbies past (RIP).
July 16, 2008 at 4:26 pm
my use? voo doo, naturally.
July 16, 2008 at 4:32 pm
i am all of a sudden creeped out by the thought of OTHER PEOPLE MAKING A DOLL OUT OF ME!!
i need to remove all my internet pictures!
are they expensive? i hope so!!
July 16, 2008 at 4:35 pm
SBJ: Damn, you beat me to linking the doll and corpse diamonds together. I suppose one could go for a creepiness trifecta and ask the artist to use the person’s real hair for the doll as well.
July 16, 2008 at 4:35 pm
@M: I’d worry more about the death diamond, Darlin’. BUT, at least Skinny has lots of gorgeous, shiny hair for your hair diamond. Tiaras for everyone!
July 16, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Well, my Barbie was a single mother and wore Ken’s sweats all the time. This is very telling. Now I’m going to my own action figure and I can date her.
July 16, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Alas, I’ve already whored myself out in the doll-making world by selling Matel the rights to my action figure. … I needed the money.
*bows head in shame*
July 16, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Can they just paint my AKA and MK Barbies a darker shade for brown?
July 16, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Mad Max, eh? Well then, I believe you’re gonna need one of these to complete your outfit.
As for my doll, I may opt for a clean-shaven, Jason Statham “Transporter” look, complete with Armani suit and a black Audi A8.
Or the same thing, but with a blue 2000 BMW M5 and a miniature timeclock reading 31:04:00.
Or the same thing again, but with a black ’71 Pontiac Firebird and a diorama of Seattle’s King Street Station and a replica of a Seattle Police Crown Victoria parked nearby.
That doll up top looks badass, though. Straight of a sequel to “Sling Blade,” apparently.
July 16, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Spottswoode: Let me explain to you the kind of man Gary is. He’s a man who knows that when you put another man’s cock in your mouth, you make a pact. A bond that cannot be broken. He’s a man so dedicated that he will get down on his knees and put that cock right in his mouth.
July 16, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Or am I the only one who thought “Team America” first thing?
July 16, 2008 at 9:50 pm
America, FUCK YEAH!!! Makin’ some dolls to save tha motherfuckin’ day, yeah!
July 16, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Speaking of Barbie, though, when I was wee little lad, I actually wanted to play with Barbie… or rather, Barbie’s Ferrari 328.
I just really liked the car.
You know what else I liked about the doll: the number of interesting and lame jobs she’s held for a few decades, ranging from working at the drive-thru of McDonald’s to a doctor. She even threw on an auburn wig and became Agent Scully to Ken’s Mulder, as well as hung out on the Enterprise with Jean-Luc Picard as a member of Starfleet. Say what you will in regards to Barbie’s overall image and influence on the wee ones, but at least she had one positive trait, though balanced by the negative trait of not holding down any of her careers for too long–though that may be more due to Mattel than her. Oops.
July 17, 2008 at 12:07 am
I still want a Real Doll created in my likeness.
July 17, 2008 at 7:18 am
@LipstickLibrarian: When I was in high school some male friends of mine got a blow-up doll and named it after a female friend of mine. “The Julie Doll.” She found it hilarious and a little horrifying.
July 17, 2008 at 8:57 am
@cameron: RIGHT? That doll looks like Spotswoode.
This reminds me that my mom used to make paper mache likenesses of people’s heads. Some of them were really good. Some of them scared the crap out of me. And she would sell them as pencil holders.