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| Malibu Ken From the Surf's Up Gift Set |
The Sunset Malibu Barbie, along with her incredible tan,
debuted in 1971 and stayed on the market until late 1976. The Malibu dolls were a huge hit. This California girl, blessed with long
blonde straight hair, blue eyes, deep dark tan, and sunglasses that she wore on
top of her head, would make any little girl dream about being a teenager.
In 1971 Mattel also added Barbie's little sister Skipper and her boyfriend Ken, who all had that same bronzy tan.
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| Sun Set Malibu Barbie, Skipper and Ken (1971) |
In 1972 a couple more cuties were added to the line; Malibu Francie
and Malibu P.J., and by 1973 one more doll was born to complete the line-up; Malibu
Christie.
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| Sun Set Malibu Francie, P.J. (1972) and Christie (1973) |
In 1974 other dolls appeared using the same body as the 1973
dolls. They were named “The Sport Set dolls”,
and in 1975 the “Gold Medal dolls”.
These dolls did not have Sunset Malibu” in their name, but they were still
the same doll with that wonderful dark suntan.
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| Gold Medal Barbie (1975) and Newport Barbie (1974) from the Sports Set dolls |
Interestingly, there was only one gift set released that
included a Malibu doll during all the vintage years these dolls were available. And the set didn’t even include Barbie, but
instead her boyfriend Ken. This hard to
find 1971 (date on the box) Sears’ exclusive set stock #1248 was called “Malibu Ken Surf’s Up”. My set originally sold for only $3.99 at
Sears.
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| The Ad for this gift set from the 1972 Sears Catalog |
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| Malibu Ken Surf's Up Gift Set (Stock#1248) |
This fun grouping came with a Malibu Ken doll who was wearing
orange swim trunks. Also included in the
box were a floral shirt, yellow sandals, blue sun glasses, diving mask,
snorkel, fins, beach towel, and skim board.
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Gift sets to me are one of the most exciting items to
find. I hope you find a few for
yourselves too.
Oh, and be sure to check out this 1971 Malibu Barbie
Commercial. These are always fun to
watch!
