Set of 5 Blank Unpainted Unfinished Wooden Nesting Dolls 5.75 Inches

I was looking for ones made in Russia and was overjoyed when I flipped them over to see the sticker. The body was smooth and sanded nicely and they were just how I remembered opening them up on my vintage set. (Most folks twist, that's not the correct way).

For a gender reveal, I painted these in order of family members biggest to smallest and wrote their names on them. When it got to the tiniest it was painted blue with no name to reveal that they were having a boy. Everyone enjoyed the slow reveal, and the big sister got to play with them after.

I bought this item from the seller BestPysanky.Surface: Dolls are unprimed, so need to be prepared with gesso or white paint if you want to paint on it. The dolls are slightly ribbed with lines spanning its circumference (similar to from a potter's wheel), which may be intrusive if you intend to paint miniature. A suggestion when you're finished painting is to use a lacquer finish, since it works and feels glossily smooth and nice. Insides of the dolls are rough (think splinters) with wood chips still left in the bottom, so need to be cleaned out first.Size/shape: The curvature of the dolls is as same as in the stock photo. I bought this item because I liked that the shape of the dolls had large painting surfaces while still being smoothly rounded. Between the dolls, size difference is enough that you can feel any doll rattling/falling around inside the larger one, especially vertically if you turn it upside-down. The size difference is greatest between the largest and second largest doll, almost as if you could have fit a doll size between them. Fortunately, the doll lids themselves close tightly. They close so tightly that it is difficult to spin around the lids when closed to align them. The largest doll is shaped with a wider base for standing- the rest are like bowling pins (except much lighter!) and are inclined to fall over if disturbed. Largest doll size is somewhat similar to a water bottle but broader and shorter; smallest doll is like a one-inch peanut.Quality: I am not completely convinced with the quality assurance of this product, because I had ordered 2 of these sets and the largest doll of one of them seems to be made out of a portion of wood containing a wood knot, such that on its head it was blackened and physically disfigured with holes and grooves from the knot. I used a lot of layers of paint and lacquer to smooth over those areas while painting, but I was not comfortable with using the knotted doll to make a gift for someone else (I already had a design in mind), but only for personal use. The warped holes are still present afterwards.

These nesting dolls are sanded well and all fit inside each doll the way that they should. We like that they are unfinished so that we can finish them the way we want to. The one problem we've run into is the top of each doll fits onto the bottom very tightly, making it difficult to open at times. Other than that they seem to be well made and are very solid.

I got two sets of these for use in an art project, and I'm a pretty big fan of them. The wood is smooth and pleasant to the touch, all the dolls fit nicely, and though the first couple of times opening them required a little twisting back and forth they stayed open without being loose after that. All the dolls sit steadily when set out in a row. The littlest one is very light, so if you're putting it somewhere it will be jostled a lot tape it down.Definitely prep the dolls with a little modge podge or primer before you paint. The wood drinks paint in if you don't.I did run a rough piece of cloth around the inside and bottom to remove a tiny amount of loose wood shavings. It didn't seem to harm the wood.Also, two of the dolls in one set had knots in their finish. It didn't affect the texture and I could easily paint over them, but if you're just staining as opposed to painting you should plan for that. The other set had no knots at all. I'm guessing it's kind of luck of the draw, but both sets turned out great.I used acrylic paints on one and glued paper to the other. If you're gluing paper, be sure not to get glue in the seams or wipe it out if you do it it might make the fit a little hard. Also, smooth the paper down as flat as you can get it and don't use more than two magazine-page thickness layers or it will make your dolls fit weirdly.

Mine came with quite smooth woodAll dolls nest well inside one another and open and close easilyThere will be a small amount of sanding required but it'll be very easy to take care of (one of the dolls has a rough edge on one side, another has a little bit of extra wood on top of the head)No cracksMy only complaint is that the fifth doll is quite small, I was expecting it to be about the size of the fourth doll in reality. The fifth doll is about an inch high if that! You'll need a teeny brush to put a face on it so be careful

Bought these to make a gift for a friend, however, my 4 year old wanted to paint one set and it ended up being an awesome afternoon activity! She had so much fun painting each doll and now we have an awesome toy for her to play with. Would be great for parties or gatherings with several kids. Will purchase more!

Bought these to pain Christmas nesting dolls. The worked perfectly! My kids play with them all of the time and they’re holding up!