Barbie of the Month: Dramatic Living Barbie Japan Exclusive

In 1970 the #11188 Dramatic Living Barbie doll was released exclusively in Japan.

 

 

Back of Box

She looks similar to the U.S. Version of the Dramatic Living Barbie. 

 

Dramatic Living Barbie - Japanese Market Only

 

The Japanese version was marked “made in Japan” and the U.S. Dramatic Living Barbie dolls were all marked “made in Taiwan” with one exception; the doll from the Sears exclusive #1585 Living Barbie Action Accents gift set.  She was manufactured in Japan as well.   

 

Living Barbie from the Action Accents Gift Set

The Japanese Barbie had red straight hair which is slightly longer than the U.S. version.  She had side glance eyes, and wore a pink leotard with matching tights.  She was packaged in an open faced box which included a clear “X” stand.  Some of these dolls had a wrist tag, and others did not. Even though she was released in 1970, her box is marked 1969.

Dramatic Living Barbie - Japanese Market Only

 

 

 

End Flap of Box

 

 

Barbie’s friend Living Eli was also introduced the same year exclusively in Japan.  She had dark hair with bangs and two side ponytails tied with blue hair ribbons. She wore the same leotard and tights as Barbie, but hers were a red color. 

Eli - Japanese Market Only

She had the same body as Dramatic Living Barbie. The face mold used for Eli was different.  Her face mold was that of the Sweet Sixteen Barbie from the U.S. market, only painted differently.  She came in a similar open faced box with clear stand as did Barbie. 

Both the Japanese Dramatic Living Barbie doll and her friend Living Eli dolls are extremely hard to find on the secondary market, and when they are available it’s usually at a premium price. 

 

Dramatic Living Barbie - Japanese Market Only

 

 

Finding and acquiring the uncommon is why I keep searching for more, and one of the many reasons I love my collection so much!

Happy Hunting!

Barbie of the Month: Busy Francie

Part of the Busy Set of dolls, Busy Francie (stock #3313) was released in 1972. 

 

Busy Francie

 

She was available with only blonde hair, which was tied with a pretty lime green hair ribbon in the back.  She wore blue jeans matched with a lime green sleeveless top with a red belt that was worn over the top.  She finished her outfit with a pair of lime green square-closed chunky heels. 

 

 

Back of Busy Francie's hair

Busy Francie

 

Busy Francie’s packaging included five accessories that she could hold with her busy hands.  Busy hands are hands that can grasp items.  The set included a telephone, television, record player, soda set (brown tray with two glasses), and a travel case.  

 

 

 

Busy Francie's Accessories

 

Busy Francie's wrist tag and grasping hand

 

 

Also included was a clear plastic stand.  In addition to her busy hands she had a twist ‘n turn waist and bendable knees.  She is marked: © 1966 Mattel, Inc.  Hong Kong U.S. & Foreign Patented Other Pat's Pending.   

 

 

Back of the Box

 

 

Back of the Box

 

 

Francie, Barbie’s teenage cousin, was a strong presence in Barbieland from 1966 to 1976.  She wasn’t released again until 2011, except for three reproductions that were available in 1996, 1997 and 2005.  Beginning in 2011 several Silkstone Francie dolls debuted as well.  This popular doll changed with the times, and was always a popular addition to Mattel’s line of Barbie dolls.

Francie was 11 ¼ inches tall, which was a little bit shorter than Barbie who stood at 11 ½ inches tall.  She also had a less developed body shape than Barbie, which resulted in her own line of mod clothing. 

Busy Francie

There were seven Busy Barbie dolls made for the U.S. market.  Three could talk (Barbie, Ken, and Steffie), and four that did not (Barbie, Ken, Steffie, and Francie).   One additional Busy Barbie doll that was released at the same time was German Busy Francie (#3313), who was available only in Europe.  She had the same body, but a completely different head mold. 



Other Non-talking Busy Dolls: Barbie, Steffie and Ken



German Busy Francie (different head mold)

Busy Francie is difficult to find on the secondary market, and even harder to acquire in her original box. 

 

Busy Francie

Happy Hunting!





Be sure to visit my website to learn about other Francie Dolls:  The links are provided for you below!

1966 - 1971 Francie Dolls

1972 - 1976 Francie Dolls

 

Barbie of the Month: Forget ● Me ● Nots Malibu Barbie

The #3269 Forget-me-nots Barbie that is still found in her original packaging is a rarely seen on the secondary market.  She is the exact same doll as the #1067 Sunset Malibu Barbie from 1971, the only difference being their packaging.

 

 

forget-me-nots Malibu Barbie

 

The ForGet-Me-Nots Malibu Barbie was released in 1972 (even though the packaging says 1971), as a promotional doll that was available from the Kellogg Company.  She came in “baggie” style packaging with the wording ‘forget-me-nots Malibu Barbie’ printed on the cardboard.

 

The Malibu Barbie, with her golden tan, bendable legs, and twist ‘n turn waist arrived wearing a blue one piece swim suit.  Also included were her lavender sunglasses, placed atop her head, a yellow terry cloth beach towel, and a pink and silver foil wrist tag.  She originally sold for $3.49.

 

 

Forget-me-nots Malibu Barbie

Her mark was also identical to the 1971 Malibu: ©1966 Mattel, Inc./U.S. Pat. Pended/U.S. Pat. Pend./Made In/Japan.

1971 Sun Set Malibu Barbie is the same
doll as the forget-me-nots Malibu Barbie

Keep your eyes peeled, because these rare gems can still be unearthed by the lucky few that come across them.

Happy Hunting!

Website: Sunset Malibu Barbie


 

Barbie of the Month: Skipper on Wheels Gift Set

The darling #1032 Skipper on Wheels Gift Set was only available in 1966, and to make it even rarer it was an exclusive Sears Gift Set, meaning you could only buy it through Sears.

 

This fabulous gift set didn’t come with a doll, but did include a cool red scooter, a red and yellow skate board, red roller skates, and a red yo-yo to play with.  There were several items of clothing also; a red wrap-around skirt with matching print blouse from the 1966 ensemble #1911 ‘Day at the Fair’, a pair of blue pants, an embroidered top, a blue jacket, and blue flats from the 1965 ensemble #1920 ‘Fun Time’.  In addition the set included three items that could be worn with either outfit.  To top it all off there’s a cute red hat, red sunglasses, and a pair of red flat shoes.  

Interestingly, the Sears Christmas catalog advertisement for this “special value set” which retailed for $6.99 pictured and described a bendable leg Skipper doll, her swim-suit, and a second pair of red flats, but the set did not come with the doll or the additional clothing.  It is possible that Sears mailed a bendable leg Skipper doll along with the set when it was ordered out of their Christmas Catalog.  Otherwise, what a disappointment when your package arrived in the mail without the doll that the catalog described!  It’s a history, mystery!

 

Happy Hunting!

 

Barbie of the Month: Talking Busy Steffie

 

Talking Busy Steffie

The Talking Busy set consisted of Talking Busy Steffie, Talking Busy Barbie, and Talking Busy Ken, who were all released in 1972 and discontinued after one short year. These are the only Talking Busy dolls Mattel released, and are extremely hard to find on the secondary market.   Mattel called these dolls the “The Doingest Fashion Dolls Ever!”  Is “doingest” even a word?

"The Doingest Fashion Dolls Ever"

Talking Busy Steffie arrived in stores wearing a pink and white checkered shirt with matching knee high socks, light blue cuffed short shorts, a navy blue and white tiny checked wide belt made out of fabric with a matching checked hat, and she finished her outfit with white squishy closed square-toe low heels.

Steffie in her original outfit

Also in her original packaging she had five accessories she could hold with her busy hands.  They were a telephone, television, record player, soda set (brown tray with two glasses), and a travel case.   Busy hands are hands that can grasp items. In Mattel’s advertisement, it said: 

“Now Barbie and her friends can hold things with their brand new kind of hand!  It can bend and turn at the wrists.  Open and close!  Clasp and Carry, too!  Do almost everything your hand can do.”

When you pulled on her string located on the back of her neck she would talk like “real teens” about all the fun she has.  She could say:

“I love to wear my hair in curls.”

“I am having dinner with Barbie.”

“Let’s call Barbie now.”

“I dig having my own TV.”

“The new fashions are wild.”

“That music is groovy.”

 

Her set included a white plastic “X” stand that could double as a seat.  She is marked:  “©1967 Mattel, Inc./U.S. & Foreign/Pats. Pend./Hong Kong”.

White "X" Stand

Even though Talking Busy Steffie was around just a short time, her famous head mold was used on numerous other dolls over the years such as the Quick Curl Barbie dolls, Yellowstone Kelly, Quick Curl Kelly, Walking Miss America, Quick Curl Miss America, Sunset Malibu P.J., Free Moving P.J., Gold Medal Olympic P.J., Quick Curl Cara, Free Moving Cara, Hawaiian Barbie, and Walk Lively Steffie.  And, that’s just to name a few! 



Faces of Steffie:  Free Moving P.J., Yellowstone Kelley,
Hawaiian Barbie, & Walk Lively Miss America



Happy Hunting!

 

www.myvintagebarbies - Steffie Dolls

Barbie of the Month: P.B. Store Barbie

If you have never heard of a P.B. Store Barbie doll it’s because these dolls are extremely rare and a scarcity on the secondary market.

 

P.B. stands for Pretty Bunny, and the Pretty Bunny Stores were located in Tokyo Japan. They sold the P.B. Store Barbie Dolls who were exclusively made for the Japanese market from 1986-1988. There were a very limited number of these dolls sent to the United States to a few select specialty stores. The P.B. stores were only open for a year and a half; from July 1986 to February 1988. 

 

 

In 1986 after Mattel ended its licensing agreement with Takara Company (a company Mattel teamed up with in 1982 to develop a fashion doll for the Japanese market), they immediately entered into an agreement with Bandai Co. Ltd. (of Japan). They named their company Ma-Ba, which is the first two letters of each companies name. Bandai was founded in 1950 and is now the third largest toy manufacturer in the world. Mattel and Hasbro are numbers one and two.  Mr. Komyia, an employee of Bandai, came up with the idea of these reproduction dolls. He wanted them to have the same high quality standards as the early Barbie dolls.

 

P.B. Store Barbie Barbie Doll

The faces of the P.B. Store Barbie dolls were made using two of the vintage face molds from the 1960's. They were the 1961 face mold from the Ponytail Barbie and the face mold from the 1967 Twist 'n Turn Barbie. The 1961 face came with either a Bubble Cut or Ponytail hair style. The Twist 'n Turn face was available with a ponytail or straight hair. Both styles had blonde, red, black, or brown hair. The 1961 face mold only came with blue eyes. The 1967 face mold had a choice of brown, blue, or green eyes. Some of the dolls had rooted eye lashes as well.

 

Shown: Brown, Dark Brown and Blonde hair colors

The clothes were recreations of the early Barbie era (the 900 and 1600 series fashions). Many of the same patterns were used, such as Lunch on the Terrace, Brides Dream, and of course Barbie in Japan, who wore the traditional Kimono. The designs used different fabrics than those used in the 1960’s. Rather than designing special fabrics for these dolls, the designers went out and purchased small amounts of fabric that would be suitable and the correct scale for these high quality outfits. Most ensembles were one-of-a-kind designs that were produced in a limited supply of forty, and are highly desirable to collectors. There were also some prototypes available. Attention to detail was extremely important.

 



My pretty ladies dressed in Pink Evening, Kimono, Black Evening, and Wedding

Hair color and clothing marked on the end of each box

These Barbie dolls came in pink boxes with the Barbie logo written in the middle of it. Also included in the box were pink tissue paper and a pedestal Barbie stand similar to the original black pedestal Barbie stand. On the bottom of the stand it reads © ma-ba Corp. 1986 Made in Japan (Later stands have the 1988 date).

 

P.B. Store Pink Barbie Boxes

The Bottom side of the pedestal stand

Pink tissue inside the box along with her stand

 

Little or big girls had such fun creating the perfect doll. They could go into the store and place an order for their doll. They chose the face mold, hair style, and eye and hair color. They also picked out the ensemble of clothing they wanted on their doll. This could be done my mail-order as well.  

The dolls turned out not to be as popular as hoped. During that time period customers didn't want reproductions, they wanted the originals.

 

It’s fun having these unusual dolls in my collection!  Maybe you will too!

Happy Hunting!




Vistit my web site to see more dolls: www.MyVintageBarbies.com


 

Barbie of the Month: Color Magic Barbie

Merry Christmas to me!  I recently acquired the beautiful and oh so rare Midnight Color Magic Barbie doll. What a perfect way to start this New Year’s Day blog!

Color Magic Barbie Dolls

In 1966 Mattel released these highly sought after dolls, and they were only available for two short years.

The #1150 Color Magic Barbie doll came in two hair colors, golden blonde or midnight.  Both came with changer solution packets to change the hair color and swim-suit. The Golden blonde dolls hair would change to Scarlet Flame, and the Midnight dolls hair changed to a Ruby Red hair color.

The doll was on a bend leg, non-twist body.  The first issue of the Color Magic Barbie doll had the same markings as the 1964 Miss Barbie and the first issue 1965 American Girl Barbie doll.  All three dolls had indented letter markings. The later versions of the American Girl and Color Magic's used raised letters in their mark.  All these dolls were marked the same “©1958/Mattel, Inc./U.S. Patented U.S. Pat. Pend Made In Japan”.

 

Color Magic Barbies -  Golden Blonde and Midnight

In 1966 she was packaged in a hard plastic box which doubled as a closet.  In 1967 the packaging changed to the standard open faced cardboard box.  The cardboard boxes are very hard to find because most were thrown away, where the plastic boxes were saved for play.  
 

In either the plastic or cardboard box, the doll was dressed in a diamond print swim-suit with an attached turquoise satin ribbon which tied at the waist, a wide diamond print head-band, plastic blue hair clip, turquoise open toe heels, a wrist tag, color magic changer packages A and B, a dabber, hair setting net, extra gross grain hair-ribbons, extra hair clips, and a fashion booklet. 

Cardboard box and hard plastic closet box

In 1967 these dolls also had five unique fashions made just for them that were sold separately.  These clothes could change colors using the same process that was used for the dolls swim-suit and hair. Apply the magic color solution "A" to the clothing or hair and magically you'd have a new color.  Apply solution "B" to convert the clothing or hair to it's original color.  Each fashion ensemble included a dabber, color magic changer A and B, and instructions. They were #1775 Stripes Away, #1776 Smart Switch, #1777 Pretty Wild, #1778 Bloom Bursts, and  #1779 Mix n’ Matchers.

Stripes Away, Smart Switch, Mix n' Matchers, Pretty Wild, Bloom Bursts,

Besides the fashions, there were three Gift Sets as well; In 1966 the #4040 Color Magic Fashion Designer Set, #4041 Color Magic Fashion Fun, and a Sears exclusive #4043 Color Magic Doll & Costume Set.  The only one that came with a doll was the Sears exclusive set.

Color Magic Fashion Designer Set,Color Magic Doll
& Costume Set and Color Magic Fashion Fun

There were two additional sets that included the color changing solutions. #4039 Barbie's Color 'N Curl set which came with a fashion Queen molded head, and four wigs that could be styled and color changed.  Included in the set was a battery-powered hairdryer, and other accessories for styling hair.  #4038 Barbie's Color "n Curl Hair Fashion Fun Kit, was a smaller version of #4039 that came with only two wigs and without a hair-dryer.

 

#4039 Barbie's Color 'N Curl Set

 

In 1965, before the doll was released, some of the fashion booklets pictured this new doll wearing a floral swimsuit instead of the diamond print that she debuted in. This is one of many misprints made in the Barbie World.  You can see more of these bloopers on my web site.

This swim-suit was never released

I’m still smiling about my new doll, and hope you can add one of these to your Barbie collections as well.

Happy New Year and Happy Hunting! 

Web Site: Color Magic Barbie Doll