What About This Figure?

I feel conflicted reporting this news, but it is about a playscale figure and it falls in with the Black History theme. The character though is someone I find distasteful so part of me wants to ignore it. Sigh. Drums fingers. Sigh again. Okay, I'll share.

Storm Collectibles has created a 1:6 scale Mike Tyson figure. Alter-Ego Comics and BigBadToyStore have the figure available for pre-order. What is the pre-order cost? $239.99 at both sites. Gulp. Yes, I typed $239.99.

You may remember that Storm Collectibles produced a stunning Dennis Rodman. The Tyson figure looks as well-crafted as the Rodman one. Were I wealthier than I am now, I would consider these figures quasi-art pieces. I wave aside the cost though and ask, why him? Can people really forget what he did? 

I am amazed that anyone would create a figure of him, that anyone would want a figure of him. Then again, someone might just want a boxer-built action figure. Shrug. I don't get it. Anyone else flummoxed?

Storm Collectibles

Storm Collectibles

Valentine's Day Quiz Key

Here are the answers to the Valentine's Day quiz:

Love Dove 1		Love Dove 2
1	Alysa	c	Alejandro
2	Barbie	g	Blaine
3	Barbie	bb	Ken
4	Barbie	ll	River
5	Billy	ww	Tyson
6	Buffy	e	Angel
7	Cara	n	Curtis
8	Catwoman	f	Batman
9	Charice	r	Dominic
10	Chelsea	w	Hudson
11	Christie	h	Brad
12	Christie	oo	Steven
13	Gabriella	vv	Troy
14	Giselle	z	Justin
15	Grace	o	Darren
16	Happy D	dd	Liam
17	Hattie	u	Hal
18	Jai	qq	Sutton
19	Janay	y	Jordan
20	Janay	aa	Keith
21	Janay	tt	Tariq
22	Jem	jj	Rio
23	Jenny	x	Jeff
24	Jerrica	kk	Rio
25	Kelsie	mm	Ryan (HSM)
26	Kenya	ss	T.J.
27	Kiyoni Brown	uu	Tre
28	Lindsey	m	Craig
29	Love	a	Adam
30	Lupita Fernandez	t	Giovanni
31	Madison	rr	Sutton
32	Martha Jones	q	Doctor Who
33	Melinda	ff	Michael
34	Mia	gg	Miguel
35	Midge	b	Alan
36	Midge	d	Allan
37	Miley Stewart	hh	Oliver
38	Nikki	pp	Steven
39	Nolee	i	Bryant
40	Poppy Parker	l	Chip
41	Princess Leia	v	Han Solo
42	Roberta Pardo	p	Diego
43	Sharpay	xx	Zeke
44	Sindy	ii	Paul
45	Skipper	cc	Kevin
46	Skipper	nn	Scott
47	Tammy	j	Bud
48	Taylor	k	Chad
49	Tracy Turnblad	ee	Link Larkin
50	Tuesday Taylor	s	Eric

Chinese New Year: Mattel's Festivals of the World Barbie, Part 2

Festivals of the World: Chinese New Year Barbie
 

Chinese New Year Barbie's butterfly earrings

Chinese New Year Barbie's bracelet

Chinese New Year Barbie's dress, back view

Chinese New Year Barbie's dress side

Chinese New Year Barbie's shoes

Chinese New Year Barbie's shoes, side view

Valentine's Day Quiz

[No]Angelus and T.J. send a late but sincere wish that you all had a happy Valentine's Day!



They are sharing a Valentine's quiz of playscale couples for you to match - Love Dove 1 to Love Dove 2. Sure, everyone will likely connect 2. Barbie to bb. Ken, but what about the other 49 couples? [No]Angelus and T.J. will share the key to the correct pairings early next week.

	LoveDove1		LoveDove2
1	Alysa	a	Adam
2	Barbie	b	Alan
3	Barbie	c	Alejandro
4	Barbie	d	Allan
5	Billy	e	Angel
6	Buffy	f	Batman
7	Cara	g	Blaine
8	Catwoman	h	Brad
9	Charice	i	Bryant
10	Chelsea	j	Bud
11	Christie	k	Chad
12	Christie	l	Chip
13	Gabriella	m	Craig
14	Giselle	n	Curtis
15	Grace	o	Darren
16	Happy D	p	Diego
17	Hattie	q	Doctor Who
18	Jai	r	Dominic
19	Janay	s	Eric
20	Janay	t	Giovanni
21	Janay	u	Hal
22	Jem	v	Han Solo
23	Jenny	w	Hudson
24	Jerrica	x	Jeff
25	Kelsie	y	Jordan
26	Kenya	z	Justin
27	Kiyoni Brown	aa	Keith
28	Lindsey	bb	Ken
29	Love	cc	Kevin
30	Lupita	dd	Liam
31	Madison	ee	Link Larkin
32	Martha Jones	ff	Michael
33	Melinda	gg	Miguel
34	Mia	hh	Oliver
35	Midge	ii	Paul
36	Midge	jj	Rio
37	Miley Stewart	kk	Rio
38	Nikki	ll	River
39	Nolee	mm	Ryan
40	Poppy Parker	nn	Scott
41	Princess Leia	oo	Steven
42	Roberta	pp	Steven
43	Sharpay	qq	Sutton
44	Sindy	rr	Sutton
45	Skipper	ss	T.J.
46	Skipper	tt	Tariq
47	Tammy	uu	Tre
48	Taylor	vv	Troy
49	Tracy Turnblad	ww	Tyson
50	Tuesday Taylor	xx	Zeke

Anyone recognize all 50 pairs?

Chinese New Year: Mattel's Festivals of the World Barbie

Once, this doll was in the "To Go" pile. Then I noticed her butterfly earrings and thought: oh, no, those are just precious. I cannot sell them. (Me who has not worn jewelry since the 1980s.) Then I noticed the equally pretty butterfly hair ornament and that the doll's face was well-drawn. No oversized, watery eyes like some of the 1990s dolls. Oh, heck, she's staying. And so the "To Go" pile loses a box. Shrug. Better now than later.


Anyway, since she is staying and mirabile dictu, relevant to a theme for this month, I thought I would share a few photos of her here. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to get her butterfly earrings just so. The February theme she represents? Why the Chinese New Year!

She's a little early, yes. But I needed a bit of brightness and luck today.

Computer Virus - Need to Use Secure Computer

Multiple viruses have attacked my home computer. I will return when I can use it safely.

Below is a peep of my SECOND bag of stuff to go.

A Black List: Mattel's Black Fashion Dolls, First Draft

I want 2015 to be a banner year for PhillyCollector and my collecting life. In addition to getting organized, I want to write posts I considered but never made time to complete. Behold, the first draft of my list of Mattel playscale Black fashion dolls. Yes, I am going there finally.

This list is a "'work in progress." I realize that while I have written heritage month doll and action figure lists, I have NOT done any such lists for Black dolls. At first, I didn't think there was a need for this list because surely Mattel produced enough Black dolls for any interested person to find one or more. I would be counting forever. Was that true?

I started with Black Mattel dolls I owned. Then, I got some online help from a Wikipedia article, but I've added some figures not listed there. Lastly, I separated my list into four categories:

1. Gate-crasher Colored Francie
2. Black Barbie, Her Black Family and Friends
3. Barbie's Black Friends and Other Barbie-scale Black Dolls 
4. Barbie-scale Black Celebrities

Why these categories? Shrug. The groupings make sense to me. I consider "Colored" Francie as separate and distinct from all other Mattel Black dolls. She is Mattel's first Black fashion doll.* "Colored" is a historically legitimate adjective: yes, it is no longer popular. But that is how the doll was named during her production run. Then we have Black Barbie and her Black family and friends. Response to Black Barbie is almost 180 degree different to that of "Colored" Francie. Then there are Barbie's Black friends - the default Barbie's Black friends. Hmmm ... and we cannot forget Barbie-scale Black celebrities ....

Anyway, here is the list I offer. Please let me know if I have missed any dolls and which. I thank you in advance for joining me in this research. I need to check all dates, too.

 

Gate-crasher Colored Francie

The first Black doll in the Barbie line
 

Black Barbie, Her Black Family and Friends 

Barbie 1980 – Present

Skipper 1987-?

Francie 1997-Present

Kelly/Chelsea ?

Ken 1981-Present

Tommy 1997 - present

Alan Sherwood (Happy Family) 2002-?

Midge Hadley Sherwood (Happy Family) 2002-?

Ryan Sherwood (Happy Family) 2002-?

Nicole "Nikki" Sherwood (Happy Family) 2003-?

Cassandra Sherwood (Happy Family) 2004-?

Grandma Hadley (Happy Family) 2004-?

Grandpa Hadley (Happy Family) 2004-?

Barbie's Black Friends and Other Barbie-scale Black Dolls 

These dolls have no other racial identity.

Christie 1968-?

Brad 1970

Hal Happy (Happy Family) 197?

Hattie Happy (Happy Family) 197?

Hon Happy (Happy Family) 197?

Cara 1976-?

Curtis 1976-?

Carla (Tutti-sized. European release only) 1976

Louis Harris (Mattel Star Spangled Dolls; Jazz Musicians) 1976?

Mellie Harris (Mattel Star Spangled Dolls; Jazz Musicians) 1976?

DeeDee (Barbie and The Rockers band) 1986-1987

Belinda (Barbie and The Sensations band) 1988

Steven 1988-Present

Devon (Dance Club) 1989

Stacie (Jazzie friend) 1989

Shani (Shani) 1991-1994

Asha (Shani) 1991-1994

Nichelle (Shani) 1991-1994

Jamal (Shani) 1992-1994

Janet (Stacie-size) 1994-2006

Nikki (Skipper friend) 1997–2001

Keeya (Kelly/Chelsea size) 1998-?

Deidre (Kelly/Chelsea size) 1998-?

Tamika (Kelly/Chelsea size) 1999-?

Nichelle Williams Watson (Generation Girl) 1999-2001

Shawnee (Mystery Squad) 2001

Madison (My Scene) 2002

Bryant (My Scene) Bi-racial? 2003

Sutton (My Scene) Black British 2003

Jai (My Scene) 2003

Tyson (My Scene) 2003

Kiyoni Brown (Flavas) 2003-2004

Tawny (Flavas) 200?

Tre (Flavas) 2003-2004

Simone (One Modern Circle) 2003

Simone (American Idol) 2005

Desiree (Fashion Fever) 2005

Nikki (Teen Skipper-size and Barbie-size) 2006–present

Chad (High School Musical) 2008

Taylor (High School Musical) 2008

Zeke (High School Musical) 2008

Grace (So in Style) 2009– present)

Kara (So in Style) 2009–?

Trichelle (So in Style) 2009–?

Courtney (So in Style) 2009–?

Kianna (So in Style) 2009–?

Janessa (So in Style) 2009–?

Chandra (So in Style) 2010-?

Zahara (So in Style) 2010-?

Darren (So in Style) 2010-?

Julian (So in Style) 2010-?

Barbie-scale Black Celebrities

Julia (Diahann Carroll's character from the TV show) 1969-1970

MC Hammer (Rapper, Stanley Burrell. MC) 1992

Stacey Dash (Clueless; Dionne Davenport) 1997

Brandy Norwood 1999-?

Kobe Bryant (NBA SuperStars) 1999?

Scottie Pippin (NBA SuperStars) 1999

Beyoncé (Destiny's Child) 2005

Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child) 2005

Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child) 2005

Diana Ross 2005

Raven-Symoné (That’s So Raven; Raven Baxter) 2005

Kimora Lee Simmons 2008

Zoe Saldana (Star Trek; Lt. Uhura Barbie**) 2009

Halle Berry (Bond Girl; Die Another Day Barbie**) 2010

Jennifer Beals (Ladies of the Eighties; Flashdance Barbie**) 2010

Dinah Jane Hansen (Fifth Harmony) 2014  Ms. Hansen has Polynesian and Tongan descent.

Normani Hamilton (Fifth Harmony) 2014

 

Asha and Nichelle from the Shani line

* An earlier Black playscale fashion doll is Ideal's Grown Up Tammy, 1965.

** These dolls belong under the Black Barbie category, but since the face sculpts and/or face screenings were meant to represent specific actresses, I re-assigned them to the Black Celebrity category.

Thanks for looking. Hope you recognize some of these ... and maybe can add to this list.