Charles's Pages about Doll Stuff - www.dollstuff.net

At long last, it's time to wish Ken® a happy 50th birthday. Technically it's two days early - his actual "birthday" is March 13, but this year the 13th is a Sunday so it's been "pushed back" to the more marketing-friendly Friday-the-11th. (Otherwise you'd just be hearing about it on Meet the Press.) Of course, it's also a good time to wish Barbie® a happy belated-birthday.

Sure, Ken and Barbie aren't actual people so wishing them "happy birthday" is a bit wacky, but everybody else is doing it so why can't we? ...

Laura wrote and asked for suggestions on overcoming the 2009 Harley Davidson® Barbie® doll's unfortunate lack of arm posability.

In case you haven't seen it, this doll has the non-articulated variation of the "Pivotal™" torso (no joint under the bust) with bendable "Pivotal" legs, but regular old non-bending ModelMuse™ arms. (The previous year's doll was like this, too.) ...

I'm sure you know the story - Barbie® and Ken® "broke up" in 2004, and now Ken's trying to "win her back" by "commissioning" custom-designed cupcakes and "taking out ads" on billboards. (You can read more about it here.) You can even visit this website to "vote" on whether or not Barbie should "take him back".

The punch line was supposed to come on Valentine's Day (next Monday), when this giftset was to be released:...

Clearly I'm out of the loop, but I just found out that Francie®, Barbie®'s cousin from the 60's and 70's, is being added to the Barbie Fashion Model Collection®! That's right - a Silkstone Francie doll! And, not just one, but two - one of which will be a giftset!

I'm totally surprised! Ever since the BFMC started, people have been nominating other characters from Barbie's world for inclusion in the line. A few Silkstone Ken® dolls have been produced since 2002, but so far Barbie's the only girl who's been given the Silkstone treatment....