Builder Moana

Every now and then, Mattel reads my mind. I had a vision for a construction doll I could display in my office (two guys in my office have toys on their desks, so I figured it was socially acceptable). I planned to make safety gear myself, but I needed a hard hat. And in 2017, the same year I started working in construction, so did Barbie.

The hard hat! The safety vest! The tool belt! Just one change... I'm working in Hawaii, and I wanted Moana, a Polynesian doll,  to be my carpenter. Moana is a Disney doll made by Hasbro. Her body is a little shorter, and her proportions are more teenage than Barbie's. Although her waist is slightly smaller than Barbie's, her arms and legs seems more muscular. 

This Moana has elbow and knee articulation, which seems important for construction work. 

In construction, proper attire is call PPE: Personal Protective Equipment. Barbie makes it halfway to fitting these guidelines.

• hard hat
• steel-toed boots
• safety vest
• gloves
• safety glasses
• ear plugs

My husband says I'm a big nerd for getting Moana's safety gear perfect. But then he admired her safety vest and told me that it's a Class Two vest because it includes horizontal and vertical stripes, and it is compliant with EM 385 1-1. So... who's the nerd again? (He's a construction manager.)

The clothes fit Moana well except for Barbie's tiny work boots. (Moana has beautiful large feet.) I borrowed this pair from the Peacekeepers. For safety glasses, I bought a pair of Monster High Goulia's gym class goggles from ebay. 

I spray-painted Moana's pink hard hat to a standard white. You can, of course, buy a pink hard hat in real life. I don't want one myself. Actually, I regret clicking on one pink safety item while I was shopping on amazon for steel-toed boots. The recommendations immediately barfed a multitude of pink at me:

too much pink.

I painted Moana's hands to look like gloves- specifically, this pair of gloves:

Last, I made earplugs with blue thread and orange sculpy clay. 

I painted the shoelaces and the tools on Moana's belt. Moana is a carpenter. Her tool belt accessory is fantastic, although it's very dainty compared to what she'd wear in real life.

Hammer, pliers, scissors, measuring tape, wrench, pliers, screwdrivers

Since Moana is young, she is an apprentice carpenter. She works in a union, so she earns about $35 per hour. When she's finished training (in four years, like college) she'll become a journeyman carpenter and earn $42 per hour. After that, Moana will continue demonstrating her great leadership skills and become a foreman, earning $46 per hour. (Overtime work will be at an even higher rate.)

After that, she might hang up her work belt and switch over to management as a Superintendent. She'll be salaried rather than hourly, and might earn less, depending on what sort of deal she negotiates. But, that job may come with perks, like a company truck, and she may be happy to quit doing physical labor. She may need a college degree to switch to management, but since she's been saving money this whole time, she won't have to take out any loans. (Everything I'm describing here varies a lot...)

Anyway, the moral of this story is, if you are able-bodied and good with your hands, work for a union!

(By the way, I'm not a laborer; I'm just a part time administrator. I do own all of this safety gear, but I rarely go out in the field.)

  

Moana receives compliments regularly at work. It's been fun to see adult men so delighted by a doll.