Hodge Podge ~ updates on various dolls

Thrift shop find ~ My Melody Barbie

First up is a My Melody Barbie wearing a pink gown from the Goodwill. This is not her correct outfit, but she still has the My Melody headscarf and two original necklaces.

As she appeared right out of the shopping bag, before her make-over

I love the Steffie facemold so I had to buy this doll, despite the cost and replacement dress, which is not my preferred style. The Goodwill pricer knew this doll was higher quality than the usual playline dolls (correct, it's from the 2008 Barbie Collectibles line), so she had a $6 price tag. $5.99 to be specific, I usually round up when repeating prices. I'll give the pink dress to my nieces, they started playing with Barbies last year and they'll like it.

Part of the packaging was still in her hair (that annoying sewn-in plastic strip), which is a little odd since these dolls were sold 5-6 years ago. The MM charm necklace still has the clear rubber bands holding it in place as well.  

More Monster Aliens!

Allie Lectric is wearing a LaDeeDah fashion with pink Blob CAM shoes. Ari Roma is wearing a dress and shoes from the Vampire & Sea Monster CAM set. The black cage skirt is actually Una Verse's beach hat! It could also be worn under a skirt that needs support to poof out.

I probably won't buy more Novi Stars as they're no longer sold in stores where I live. I'll change my mind if the new dolls from last year show up around here, but I'm not counting on that, they only made it to some parts of the US for a brief period of time. It sounds like they were rounded up and shipped overseas. I really like some of the new characters but I don't care enough to buy them online. The only reason I bought these four Novis is because I found them on deep clearance, around $5 each -- I can't justify paying much more than that when all I want is the head.

Here are all four of my hybrids together. I love them!

The bodies, from left to right:

Mae Tallick (wave 1): Blob from the Blob & Ice CAM set
Allie Lectric (wave 1): Witch from the Cat & Witch CAM set
Una Verse (wave 2, Orbit Beach): Ice from the Blob & Ice CAM set
Ari Roma (wave 1): Vampire from the Vampire & Sea Monster CAM set

CAM = Monster High Create-a-Monster

There are other MH bodies you can use for all four heads. For example the Una Verse head would also look great on an Abbey body.

I want to give credit again to MyDollsareMyModels, he was the first to post photos of his Novi-Monster hybrids on Flickr. My post which explains how to remove the speaker from Mae Talick's robot head is here. That post also links to a video from MyDollsareMyModels showing how to swap heads. Let me emphasize again that you will need a heating pad or some other way to soften the alien heads without damaging the hair. It took me about an hour to soften up the green head with a heating pad. You can break the neck on the donor body if you're not careful.

Pinypon, or Pin y Pon

I think Pinypon mini-dolls, or figurines if you prefer -- they're plastic/vinyl with almost no articulation -- are adorable and would likely appeal to a lot of kids (box says 4+ but most young children will lose the tiny charms quickly). I've been eyeing Pinypon at Fred Meyer and finally picked some up last week when I noticed they were on sale for $2 each -- what a great price!

 

A couple days after buying these four Pinypon I returned to Fred Meyer and bought three more so my nieces would have even more pieces to mix-n-match when they visit. The series with pets were $3 on sale instead of $2 so I only bought one -- the girl with a kitty of course.

These small dolls share outfits and hair and tiny charms/accessories. And you can store unused charms in their hollow heads! Some hairstyles hold on better than others so I put extra charms inside heads with the secure hair.

For size comparison:

Polly Pockets, Cushion the hedgehog, various LPS animals, Pinypon, LPS Blythe, Monster High Venus

Pinypon look very similar to Kawaii Crush dolls/figures but I think Pinypon are cuter.

Each head has two expressions, you simply turn the head around to get a new face. The packaging doesn't show the alternate faces so I was eager to see how the expressions would change. The first doll I opened, Pink Ponytails, has a super cute expression of joy...

...but when I turned her head around... (this IS the same head, I just swapped the hair and clothing on all my Pinypon dolls so now she looks like a completely different doll)

How awesome is that?! I didn't expect a sad face, but it's fantastic! Most of the dolls have happy or pleasant faces, this is the only blatantly upset face out of the seven Pinypon dolls I own. The girl paired with the purple kitty has pink glasses on one side of her head, that was also a fun surprise.

I think these dolls resemble Japanese anime characters so I assumed they originated in Asia but they're produced by Famosa, a company in Spain. There isn't much information about them online, probably because they're targeted to young children and all you really need to know is they're inexpensive and cute. I just learned Pinypon have been around for a few decades (with some hibernation time when the dolls weren't being manufactured) but they didn't look like this back in the '80s.

puppy and kitten not included

I thought the dolls were cute in the packages but I like them even more after opening them up and swapping the clothing pieces and charms around. For $2 (sale price) they are a steal. I'll probably buy more if I find any with blue hair (they exist, just not at my local Fred Meyer) and I wouldn't mind getting one of the boys as well (also missing from the selection at FM).

These card backs don't show all the available Pinypon, there are a few more series with themes like sports, flowers, fairies, and mermaids.

Happy Easter!

Looks like I've accumulated a bunch of bunnies from various thrift shop grab bags over the years. :)

Dreamhouse Midge

What happened?!

1) The local Value Village is gone. It was my main source for thrifted dolls, they always had more dolls at better prices than Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul. I will miss that place! Fortunately there are two Goodwills a few miles from home so I'm not in a thrifty wasteland, but things won't be the same without Value Village too.

2) Goodwill is still charging $3 for most dolls so I'm being very picky about what I buy there.

3) I'm going through an overwhelmed with stuff phase.

These three factors have contributed to the lack of updates. Thrift purchases are down and I haven't found much that's both new and exciting. Until I saw the new Midge.

Dreamhouse Midge

Dreamhouse Midge is wearing a Mattel Fashion Ave dress (2002)

Mattel has a new Dreamhouse line, featuring Barbie and friends. Check out the entire line here on Barbie Collector.

Back of the box. Barbie and her friends as cartoons (videos on the Dreamhouse site)

I think of them as a tamer version of the Generation Girls (1999) for a new crop of children. If you weren't around playline Barbie from the '90s and early 2000s, it might help to know some of them featured tattoos, ears with multiple piercings, and nose rings. Even Ken had an earring in 1993 -- so magical! This freaked out some parents so various dolls were recalled, there was media controversy (aka free advertising for Mattel), blah blah blah. It seems Mattel's itch to push the envelope (in an effort to appeal to tweens and teens who think "Barbie is for babies") has been satisfied with Monster High.

When did I last buy a new Mattel doll that wasn't branded Monster High? I'm not sure but it's been a long time. As soon as I saw this Dreamhouse Midge in a promo photo I knew I'd need her right away.

2013 Dreamhouse Midge -- Mattel promo photo

She was waiting for me at Target yesterday and I squealed on the inside like a little girl. I love Midge, and this doll with her Steffie face mold is simply beautiful. She has an articulated body, rooted eyelashes, and she comes with two outfits, one boring plastic bag, one pair of basic-but-cute shoes, and bad plastic jewelry. Not bad for $17. I will be over the moon when this line starts showing up at Goodwill, their articulated bodies are definitely worth $3!

Her first outfit looks a little strange to me, it's the opposite of matchy-matchy. Pink, dark blue, sparkly red? Polka dots and roses? Hmm, OK. The second outfit isn't much better but honestly I would've paid the asking price of $17 for this Midge in a swimsuit. I like her that much.

I immediately removed the necklace because it's gold plastic and awful.
The earrings will need to be cut off.

Her 2nd outfit is sweet and simple, with raw edges on the sleeves (cheap!)

Torso articulation! She holds all poses perfectly.

Much better. I miss the Fashion Ave line.
It was hit and miss, but oh! the hits!

Back of the box detail. Notice Barbie with a grayed-out vintage Midge? Cute!

Dreamhouse Midge meets vintage Midge. These dolls were manufactured ~50 years apart!
Where will Barbie and Midge be in another 50 years?

Vintage Midge is wearing Dreamhouse Midge's second outfit

I found vintage Midge at a Seattle doll show in 2001. Dreamhouse Midge's dress looks like it belongs on a vintage doll, especially with those sleeves.

meh, it's a plastic purse

Midge's cute shoes

I would've traded the plastic jewelry and purse for another pair of shoes, but that's a minor complaint.

I probably won't buy more Dreamhouse dolls until they hit 50% off, but I recommend the dolls at full price ($17) if you love one of the facemolds or like the outfits a certain doll offers. Check out the entire line here on Barbie Collector. Raquelle has a smirky grin that made me actually laugh when I saw it in person, I might buy her next.

LaDeeDa, it's a Target Sale

Quick note: LaDeeDa outfits are on clearance at my local Target for $4 (50% off). The LDD dolls are on sale as well, some are around 25% off and the original line is 50% off (same for the original Bratzillaz). I picked up this cute picnic dress because the clothes fit Monster High ghouls.

Silkstone Ken & a vintage Barbie repro

More thrift store finds.

After Tuesday book club (this was a couple weeks ago) I stopped at Value Village, despite it not being a sale day. The store is just a few blocks from the library, what if I missed something great? If you're a thrifter you've likely heard that same inner voice, it's hard to resist when you're driving by the store anyway. So I made a quick stop at VV to look through the bagged dolls hanging on pegs and noticed one bag in particular had some heft to it. "That's weird," I thought, "I wonder who this boy is?" I tapped the nude doll with my finger through the plastic. Hey, this is Silkstone!

I don't buy many male dolls but how could I pass up a Silkstone Ken for $4.00? He was bagged with two blonde '80s Superstar Barbies so it was $4 for all three dolls, but he's the only reason I bought the bag, he might as well have been in there by himself. You can be sure I looked at every bag to see if his Barbie was there too but no such luck, either she stayed with her owner or someone else found her at the thrift store.

This guy is from the 45th Anniversary Barbie & Ken giftset, which retailed for $150.00. I'm sure it sold for much less at some online doll shops, especially during clearance sales. I remember this set when it was first released in 2003 and had zero desire to buy it. It was out of my price range and I didn't like Barbie's dress or thick braided hairstyle.

Ken was missing his sharp suit so I dressed him in the best Ken suit I own, Fox Mulder's outfit from the X-Files Barbie and Ken giftset, which was my first Barbie purchase as an adult back in 1998.

I'm surprised Silkstone Ken made it through thrift store processing without breaking off a thumb or limb. I think he looks like a cross between Topher Grace and Benedict Cumberbatch. (Really I just wanted an excuse to say Benedict Cumberbatch. I love Sherlock!)

Most likely the first and last Silkstone Ken I ever buy

A few days ago I stopped by the Goodwill and found a Solo in the Spotlight repro Barbie wearing her beaded necklace, shoes, and sparkly black dress. Here she is exactly as she came off the shelf, I haven't even combed her hair yet.

The cashier carefully looked for a price tag but this doll didn't have one so she was $1.29, the default price for any toy without a tag at my Goodwill. I didn't notice many tags on the dolls this time (yay!) so they're experimenting with prices I guess. Last month's switch to higher prices on dolls left them with a growing stockpile, maybe they realized shoppers weren't biting and the prices were to blame. But maybe when I go back to the same store next week most of the dolls will be 3 bucks again, we shall see.

Anyway, the cashier told me this gal was an old doll and looked concerned (like she was thinking someone screwed up and put a very valuable item on the floor at a bargain price) but I assured her it was definitely a reproduction from the '90s. 1994, I just looked it up. Dyami was with me and asked how I knew, I told him, "I could tell from across the room, there's no doubt this is a reproduction." Once you know the difference it's impossible to confuse the Solo reproduction dolls with the originals.

You know what's weird? 1994 is almost 20 years ago, to some people that would make her an old doll! Where did the time go?!

You can buy these blonde Solo repros NRFB for $10 plus s&h on Amazon, they're not exactly in demand. I wouldn't spend money on the doll if I had to order her online but I'll gladly pay $1.29 at the Goodwill again, even without the dress and shoes.

Talking Barbie on mute

This is a 1968 Brownette Talking Barbie head on a TNT body. I found the head last year at Value Village on a tan TNT body. The vinyl didn't match but I had the body shown here already at home so it worked out nicely. What a lucky girl, she has had three bodies over the last 44 years! Oh, to be a doll! Her new body was also a thrift store buy. Its original TNT head needs a reroot, who knows when I'll get around to it.

She's missing some paint on her upper lip but she still displays nicely. That is an easy fix as far as paint touch-ups go, I'd much rather fix lips than eyes or eyebrows. I tied her hair in a side ponytail with thread as a temporary style, when I'm up for the challenge I'll find skinny pink ribbon and replicate her original 1968 hairstyle.

The pink one-shoulder ruffle dress is a recent buy from Value Village, it was bundled with some other clothes and two dressed Mattel dolls -- I'll blog about those later. Can you identify the pink dress? It looks like a very nice playline Barbie dress. There's no label and a Velcro closure. It was designed for a doll with a smaller bust, it doesn't close completely on the vintage TNT body. Pink is not my favorite color but I really like this dress a lot. I tried it on a few different dolls and thought it looked best on Talking Barbie.  If you click the above link (ok, here it is again) you'll see it's a similar color to her original outfit.

I'm still working on the photographs. I made a light box last week using materials I had around the house (which I can write about if anyone is interested) and today I bought a new desk lamp at the Goodwill ($2.50, it was a red tag which meant 50% off) so future pictures should look better than these Talking Barbie photos. She was my test subject, I tried out the light box with only one light, two should be better? I'll keep messing around with the box and lights to see what works, and will look into decent backgrounds too. :)

My Favorite Barbie Find (pun intended)

Today I will share my favorite Barbie find in recent memory. A few weeks ago this Steffie face beauty was waiting for me at the Goodwill (nude, $1.29). She is Mattel's 2010 reproduction of 1980 Black Barbie from their nostalgic "My Favorite Barbie" series.

Two big clues helped me determine this Barbie is a repro. Her back is marked China, which would put her manufacture date after 1986 according to information I found online. Here is a handy list of countries where Barbies were made:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_value_of_a_1966_Barbie_doll

A better gauge of the doll's age is to look at the country of manufacture:
1959-1972 JAPAN
1968-1970, 1989-1990 MEXICO
1970-1987 HONG KONG
1970-1987 TAIWAN
1973-1978 KOREA
1978-1988 PHILIPPINES
1986 to present CHINA
1986 to present MALAYSIA
1992 to present INDONESIA
-- info posted on wiki.answers.com by Skippercollector

I can't vouch for the accuracy of this information, I'll assume it's correct until someone proves otherwise. :) Hey, it's on the internet, it must be true!

What was the bigger clue? The skin tone molded underwear. The words molded and underwear just don't belong together, but you know what I mean. I think this feature was introduced in the 1990s.

She's an excellent reproduction, very faithful to the original doll! I'm so pleased to have this Barbie in my collection.

Barbie is wearing 1970s fashions I found on thrifted contemporary dolls within the last year. The orange dress is from 1976 Quick Curl PJ Deluxe. The orange elastic loop in front is meant to hold PJ's white shawl, which was probably lost back in 1976. The green and pink granny dress is 1975 Best Buy #7416 (carded fashion). I tracked down the origins of these two dresses with the help of Google Images. My Barbie identification books are in storage but I don't have much incentive to go looking for them because checking Google Images is so much faster.

How does a modern collectible Barbie end up at the Goodwill? I've found a lot more vintage dolls than modern Barbie Collector dolls. I think that's because people who get out of the hobby (or obtain BC dolls via inheritance) know they're worth something so BC dolls are sold instead of being thrown out or donated. ("Mom sure spent a lot of money on all these dolls, they're NOT going to the Goodwill!")

Off the top of my head I think I've bought only five Barbie Collector dolls from thrifts over the last 12 years, and three of those were reproductions (this Barbie and two ponytails). All three repros were deboxed and found among the regular jumble of cheap dolls; two were nude. Maybe they were purchased for the repro fashion to put on a real vintage doll and the repro doll wasn't needed for display.

You might be curious to know the identities of the only two non-repro Collector Edition dolls I've found while thrifting. Several years ago I bought a NRFB Mrs. PFE Albee Barbie at the Goodwill where I used to live. The other is a NRFB Pioneer Barbie. Nothing too exciting. If I'd been in a more frugal mood that day I probably would've left Pioneer Barbie behind because I'm not a fan of the Superstar face sculpt, but she's a redhead (without scary neon eyeshadow, huge plus) and check out those cute apples in her basket. And I did grow up watching Little House on the Prairie after school.

Hmm, it's possible I saw maybe 2-3 other Barbie Collector dolls over the years but I didn't buy them because they were overpriced, out of the box and damaged, or not appealing to me. All I know is they are a rarity in thrift shops around here, especially in the age of eBay.