Barbie, Skipper(s), and first BJD!

I have been ridiculously sick this week.  I had flu-like symptoms near the beginning of the week, but luckily, it wasn't the flu.  Instead, it was a nasty sinus/ear infection combo that knocked me off my feet for at least two days, so bad that I could barely sit up straight without having the room spinning around me.  I've been sore from head-to-toe, waking up with headaches, and I've been horribly off-balance.  I'm still fighting it, but at least besides a hacking cough, difficulty being comfortable sitting, standing, laying, etc., I think I'm finally getting back to some semblance of "normal."  So, in feeling better today, I decided to stop by one of my favorite stores on my way home from work to possibly pick up a few things to cheer me up.  And I certainly picked a great day to do just that.

First, let's back up for just a moment.  Contrary to popular belief, I do not just repair and restore toys. As much as I love to renew toys, it's also nice to grab a few new-in-box items, as well. And this store in particular can have some honest-to-goodness bargains on things people might typically overlook unless they have an eye or the interest for that special something.

I'll be honest: I haven't kept up with the latest dolls when it comes to today's Barbie. In truth, I find it head-spinning to keep up. I think it might have started when Kelly disappeared, Chelsea became the toddler, Stacie became roughly the size Skipper was in the late 70's - early 80's, and Skipper became a brunette with a purple/blue streak in her hair.  And with the upcoming body changes Barbie is about to go through (curvy, petite, tall - check out Time magazine or Google for more information if that's news to you, pretty interesting stuff about to happen), I'm thinking now may be a good time to look for what will probably soon be old news in the world of Mattel.

I have to admit, out of all the previously mentioned changes, I have been most impressed with Skipper. I really love the changes and the fact that they chose to set her apart. I have really been wanting one out of the box, loose. I hope to possibly pick one or a few up at a flea market sometime, along with the new Stacie. In the meantime, I bought one last year and kept it in the box. I bought the very same doll today for $1 cheaper. So you might say, no problem, just take one of those out of the box, you might say. Well, to that, I say check these out.  The top picture is the doll I bought today.

This is a side-by-side comparison of the new doll and the one I purchased last year.

I dislike taking pictures through plastic.  You may not be able to see my point entirely, but the bottom line is that there are some variations.  The newer doll has brighter lip paint and eyeshadow, and her vinyl, especially on the face, is a more vibrant hue, and she is also fuller in the face.  This may not seem like a big deal to some, but I think I'm going to take some more time to decide.  If I do end up taking one out of the box, it will probably be the older one I bought a year ago, the one on the right.  But again, I will most likely continue my hunt for one that's already been taken out of the box.

I purchased this next doll at the same time I grabbed the previously described first modern Skipper about a year ago.  She caught my eye with her blonde and brown hair - I actually have a Cheerleader Skipper from the 80's with this exact same hair color, and she is adorable.  She's in storage, or else I would love to have a side-by-side shot of them together.  I do love this hair color combo though.  I plan to keep her in the box.  I personally do not consider her to have "Extra Long Hair!" as described on the box (it only goes to about the middle of her waist), but that's okay.  She is still quite lovely.

And now we move on to my surprise find of the day - my first Ball Jointed Doll!  I really did not expect to find this doll at the price I did, especially where I live.  I have never, ever seen a BJD around here, and perhaps I haven't looked anywhere except on eBay where they go for hundreds for the big dolls, no less than $40-$80 for small ones like this adorable little doll, who stands about 3.5 inches.  There were four to choose from, and I really wanted the brunette, but her eyes were closed.  I did not want my first BJD to have closed eyes, and maybe that's picky of me, but I really wanted one with open eyes, at least for now.  There was another copper-haired one, and a blonde.  I chose this one because of her lovely green eyes.  She was only $21, and I couldn't be happier.  I never thought I could find one for that price, and I totally ran across her on accident.  This lovely little girl's name is Aster, and I can tell you, she has attitude!  She has a pointed finger on one hand - I made it look like she's telling me (or the camera) to get out in the final shot, ha ha.  

I know I can replace her faceplate, hands, hair, and even eyes, if I wish.  I'm not sure I want to do that, but it's something to think about on down the road.  And that's definitely something to consider for the brunette I had my eyes on.  So, we'll see.

That's it for today's TaDolls!  Stay tuned for next time, where I can hopefully get in some photos of my retro and mod dolls!  Until then!

Work In Progress - 1970's Furga "Old Fashioned" Lady Doll, 18 inches tall

I thought I would go ahead and document my "adventures" in restoring a beautiful Italian Furga doll who stands about 18 inches tall, has lovely auburn hair, and gorgeous sherry/brown colored eyes.  If I were to guess, she is from around 1972.  I did know for sure, but memory escapes me and she is not stamped for a date.  She is simply beautiful.  I have seen a few of these dolls around since I bought her, and most of the time they are complete and have their nice curls and intact dresses.  Well, not this poor girl.  I found her for $1 at a flea market, and had never even seen a Furga doll up close before.  I didn't get a good look at the back of her head until I got home with her, but when I saw her lying in a bin with a bunch of other smaller dolls, I knew at once she was from the 1970's, at least.  And she seemed made of sturdy vinyl and hard plastic.  She had leaves stuck in her hair, she was grimy, her face was especially dirty, the sleeves on her dress had been cut :( ... but I picked her up and she opened those big beautiful brown eyes and I nearly gasped.  Potential!  I had no idea what I would do with that shock of wild hair, but I knew I would figure out something.  If it hasn't been obvious from previous posts (which they're haven't been many, so maybe not), I *love* dolls from the 70's.  The bigger, the better.  I like all dolls, for the most part, nearly all vintage toys in general, but dolls from the 70's tend to have so much character, long flowing hair, bigger eyes, more detailed molds, and great style as far as clothing and in general.

So anyway, this is how she looked when I brought her home:

I was a little dismayed to discover that her left leg had a problem, hence the reason it was a bit loose.  The flange that connects to her hip is torn a little more than halfway around.  So, I could be brave and try to glue the flange, which sticks out a bit from the hip, and hope I don't glue her leg to her body, or I could be brave in a different way and attempt to pop the flange out and glue it to the leg separately, which would be great so that I definitely wouldn't get any glue on the body ... however, I would risk losing the flange inside of her body if I don't pull it right and it tears completely, if I'm not careful.  I'm still weighing my options ... I've been fixing up dolls for over 10 years, but I'm not entirely familiar with Furga, and I like to keep things as original as possible.  There are things I am still learning and am nervous about, such as rerooting (I know, I know, I just need to jump in and do it) and plastic repair.  I am pretty decent at vinyl repair, and although plastic shouldn't be that hard, I find that it can be tricky.  And legs make me really nervous, anyway, especially on smaller dolls.  But I'm hoping it won't be too difficult on this bigger girl.

She was given a nice spa treatment ... gently but firmly cleaned around her eyes, being careful not to get water down behind them, since that could lead to trouble on down the road with her sleep eyes.  Her eyes were even more beautiful and brighter when I was done.  For some reason, she has glue on the sides of her head and in her hairline that didn't come off during her first scrub down - I will have to work on this a bit more in the future.  I tamed the hair down, but I will put the curl back in at a later time (it was pretty much gone anyway).  So here she sits on a towel on my bed after this point:

 
The dress has been laundered and is in the process of repairs.  I don't know that I can restore it back to its original state, but for now I thought the sleeves could be hemmed up to be even, at least, and go from there.  So this project is going on the back burner for a while until her leg and dress are fixed and she gets those nice, soft curls back in her hair.  I can't wait for the final result.

1972 Ideal Harmony Dolls

I call these my "Dueling Harmonies." I added these dolls to my collection approximately 10 years ago. Made by Ideal in 1972. Neither have their original guitar and amplifier. The doll on the left has her original sandals, and the velvet cuffs at her wrists are bluish-purple, while the cuffs on the doll on the right are burgundy. The doll on the right is missing her shoes. These dolls stand well on their own, but you have to put their left legs out further to balance, since one leg is longer than the other so they can be posed in a guitar-playing stance. They have light brown hair with pale blonde streaks. They stand 22 inches tall.

I would love to have a working/singing/dancing Harmony. These may work, but I do not have the guitar, amplifier, and record(s) to test them. Either way, I love their 70's look, large set brown eyes, long dresses, and they are among my favorite dolls.

                                             

Unusual - 1993 Blonde Camp Teresa Doll

One of the highlights of my collection - a blonde Teresa with gorgeous green and brown eyes!  Sunlight streaks her hair (the streaking only lasts a few minutes, at most). I found her sans clothes and all alone in an online auction.  She was in excellent condition, with original hairstyle intact.  I redressed her in Mattel Barbie yellow open toe/open heel shoes, a tagged blouse, and untagged (possibly non-Mattel) pants that match everything perfectly.  An outdoor scene sets the perfect light and atmosphere for her photo op!

My Scene Madison

Pictured here is a lovely My Scene Madison doll.  She came to me in a box lot of dolls that had been very very very much loved (read:  highly played with ... battle scars to show it!).  Her feet are chewed.  She had nail polish painted as a swimsuit on much of her body - I successfully removed most of it.  Her hair was quite tangled and it was highly possible she was used as a bath toy from time to time.  I gently coaxed waves back into her hair, which I think is quite lovely.  I cleaned her up and performed a few repairs - I may work more on her chewed feet later, although I am probably limited in what I can accomplish.  I had to super glue half of one foot to keep it from tearing off, and now it looks great and wears a shoe quite well, as can be seen in the picture.  She was a challenge, but well worth the effort!  I redressed her in non-Mattel 11 1/2 inch size doll clothes - I think it gives her a nice Parisian look, all artsy by the street corner, waiting for her favorite poetry cafe to open for the evening so she can listen to some slow, bluesy grooves to the rhythm and soul of the latest artist to grace the stage.

1992 Brunette Totally Hair Barbie Doll

Pictured is a 1992 Brunette Totally Hair Barbie.  I found her rather unexpectedly in one of those random lots of dolls I like to purchase now and then.  This poor doll had her hair in a scrappy ponytail, which I promptly took down and have been fighting with the resulting hard crease ever since.  Her ski-slope bangs are frizzy.  Deep conditioning has tamed down this doll's hair considerably, aside from the bangs.  However, the cut is uneven - all her original "crimps" are gone.  I have a few of these dolls with their original hairstyle and clothes. I have been able to restore many blonde and brunette Totally Hair Barbies, and a Totally Hair Ken.   I will photograph them sometime for the blog - they are currently in storage.  This particular doll would probably benefit most from a re-root.  Her face make up is great and completely intact.  Her limbs are reasonably tight, as well as her waist.  Someone did attempt to puncture another hole in her left ear, but it's really nothing more than a pin prick.

She is currently up for auction on eBay.  If she doesn't sell, she's going in storage as a project doll for down the road, since I'm such a sucker for those nice purple and blue eyes.  Gotta love the late 80's/early 90's.  :)