Pose-able Barbies: Jazz Baby, Alvin Ailey, Harley Davidson

When I was a child, Barbie had a twist'n turn waist and bendable knees. Today - thanks to greater articulation in other fashion dolls like Momoko, Susie, Fashion Royalty, etc. - sometimes, Barbie can move her head, twist, fully bend her knees, bend her elbows and sometimes, bend her wrists. Here are some of the more pose-able Barbies:

Let's begin with the Harley Davidson Barbie #5 (2001), the third doll from the left. HD Barbie has the "gymnast" body used for sports Barbies in the 1990s. Her head can move up, down, down, back, side to side. Her elbows bend as do her knees. She has a twist waist (covered by the black teddy she wears).




The first doll from the left is the Cabaret Dancer Barbie from the Jazz Baby series (2007). The CD Barbie has the new "Pivotal" body, introduced with the Jazz Baby dolls. In addition to the articulation listed for the HD Barbie, CD Barbie's wrist bends. Her waist does not twist, but her upper torso can twist as seen by the "break" under her bra line. Like the HD Barbie, she could ride a motorcycle or a horse, but neither she nor the HD Barbie can sit with their legs completely akimbo as the ToyBiz Gandalf shown in the male yoga class photo below.








The last doll is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Barbie (2009). As you can see in the photos, she and the CD Barbie have the same bodies EXCEPT for her modified, arched feet, more in keeping for modern/ballet dance positions. The CD Barbie feet are flatter and less arched for cabaret dances.




Both the Cabaret Dancer Barbie and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Barbie have thinner arms and legs than the Harley Davidson Barbie. The joints are more discreet than with the Harley Davidson Barbie.

If you are interested in reading more about articulated fashion dolls, please read this Men With Dolls thread.

Warning: Summer Heat Advisory

Just a reminder that summer heat can damage dolls. Melting plastic is NOT pretty. Please check on your dolls and action figures. I noticed that the boots for my Harley Davidson Barbie were greasy. Her feet and lower legs - where the boots touched her feet and calves - were also greasy. I have removed the offending boots, and I'm going to wipe her feet.

Sun and heat ruin collections. Take care.

Captain Scarlet - Cool Puppet Series from the 1960s

I was reading about dolls on Historiann's blog when I came across a reference to "Wednesday doll blogging: walking, talking man-barbies!" Well, I had to read that article, didn't I?

At first, I thought they were dolls, then I realized that they were puppets. As a child, I used to find realistic puppets creepy and scary. So I might not have watched this series then. You can watch

Captain Scarlet on Youtube.

Today, I checked the scenes and wondered how to transfer them to 1:6 scale. The puppets do not creep me out. I'm intrigued by the settings. Wonder what scale they were built to?

Darker Shade of Black - Mattel's First Malibu Christie

Mattel has had its share of "regrettable" moments in doll history. By "regrettable," I mean moments when the toy buying and critiquing market responds with anger or outrage. The bottom line is selling product so that the company continues. So few companies actively seek to alienate their clients. Here are some examples we can look at:

Ken - absent penis which lack provides constant negative commentary.

"Colored" Francie - OMG! Barbie has COLORED relatives!

Growing Up Skipper - budding breasts are EVIL!

Kissing Barbie - we won't investigate what she is selling, tsk.

Earring Magic Ken - lavender vest + earrings on a male doll - not for my kids!

"Oreo" Barbie - Oreo is not JUST a cookie, Tom.

Pregnant Midge - nobody's fooled by that silver ring on her left hand, get out the stones! Add pregnant married women to the EVIL list.

BUT I have to give Mattel a hand for an act of quiet significance. Back in 1973, somebody actually paid attention to details. Somebody looked at the Mattel doll line and then looked at the world. So when the Malibu Sun Set dolls were created with suntan (light brown) complexions, Christie also got a darker complexion. Oh. Pause to allow the significance of this event to penetrate. Someone at Mattel recognized that brown Christie could become a darker shade of brown after spending a lot of time in the sun. See the original Christie and the first Malibu Christie here:

Christie: Shades of Black

Is that paying attention? Thanks mysterious somebody or some bodies at Mattel for taking the time to get that detail right and to see that Christie dolls went out suntanned, as did Barbie, Ken, Skipper, and Francie. I don't know if anyone else noticed that "getting it right" moment so if they didn't, then 36 years later, I write, THANKS!

Dolls and Action Figures for Sale, Part 1

Emigration Ranks Grow. These dolls and/or action figures are open to relocation - for a fee, of course ;-D

Postage NOT included in the price. Postage will be checked AFTER order has been placed.

The Pricey

Nine to Five Momoko, NRFB, $80

Cool Asian Flower Momoko, NRFB, $100

Hong Kong Susie, NRFB, $50

Hasbro Kristen (Maxie's AA friend), NRFB, $50

Sideshow Wai Lin (Bond Girl), NRFB, $35

Mattel Schoolgirl Reina, NRFB, $25


$15 and Under

Several NRFT Fashion Fever dolls

My Scene Fashion dolls (Barbie, Delancey, Nolee)

Some Dolls of the World, etc.


Bargains

Two nude doll lots with 7 dolls each - $30 or 35 USD


You can see the dolls For Sale

S.i.S. Dolls - Now You See Them, Now You Don't

Amazon.com or their vendor, 911Drugstore has the So in Style trio for $49.99 EACH.

Yes, I am serious. No, I haven't had a liquid lunch. The dolls will be sold - they aren't available until September 2009 from this vendor - at more than TWICE the Toys R Us price.

And they must have the same proofreader as on Toys R Us because they, too, name Kara, Trichelle. Then again, maybe they hired that proofreader's even less focused sibling: for the Trichelle-Janessa dolls, they are renamed "Kendal and Kara." Kendal? Confused?

In the meantime, you cannot search for the So in Style or S.i.S. dolls by either title or by their names via the Toys R Us search box. You might think huh? But there probably is a logical reason behind this omission? TRU is probably tired of sending "Out of Stock" messages. Pity.

And for oddity-cherries, check this link:

Toys R Us S.i.S. confusion

Okay, I'm ready for my aspirin.

Project Emigration Continues - Mod and Vintage Gals

Time to upload more photos of more dolls, action figures, and accessories for sale. Project Emigration continues.

These ladies need to get cleaned up so that they can move on. They are SL Midge, TNT Barbie, TNT Francie, and Twiggy:





And there are some mod fashions to go with them here:



I'll check for prices for them and the outfits to see whether I should sell them together or sell them separately.