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

Barbie® Mini B.™ My Favorite Barbie® Giftset #1

Apparently this year's smorgasbord of reproduction dolls in honor of Barbie®'s 50th Anniversary was just the tip of the iceberg - next year the Barbie Collector™ line will once again be riddled with reproduction dolls.

But first, there's another repro-esque thing coming out this year: The Barbie® Mini B.™ My Favorite Barbie® Giftset #1, which consists of six Peek-a-Boo Petites® dolls dressed up as same six iconic Barbie dolls featured in the My Favorite Barbie® Doll™ assortment earlier this year (#1 Ponytail 1959 "Original Teenage Fashion Model" Barbie, Bubblecut Barbie, Twist 'N Turn Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Superstar Barbie, and Barbie and the Rockers Barbie).

These would be a great addition to the full-size dolls, or a cute surrogate for people who didn't get them. Unfortunately, it looks like the dolls will only be available packaged together as a set, which is bad for people who only want certain ones.

(Don't miss the fact that the giftset is identified as "#1" - meaning there are going to be more of them in the future... Also, the "Mini B." name is apparently going to be used for other products in addition to dolls, although I don't know if they'll tie into this assortment.)

As for next year's Barbie Collector line, info has been released about several new reproduction dolls, including at least three additions to the My Favorite Barbie Doll line:

Just like the dolls in this year's assortment, each will come with a second fashion from their era. (I'm still waiting for Totally Hair Barbie... )

There's also going to be an assortment of dolls wearing career-themed reproduction fashions:

It's cool to see lots of reproductions (especially of dolls from the 80's ), although hopefully there won't end up be so many that people won't be able to buy the originals because they'll be spending all their money on the reproductions.....

There's also news about some non-reproduction dolls, including the Ladies of the 80's collection - which was announced a while ago, but now we know which "ladies" will be included: Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, and Cyndi Lauper. (Incidentally, this brings the total number of collections that should logically include Madonna up to 2, the first being the Blonde Ambition Collection. )

There are also two new Kelly doll sets: A second I Love Lucy set (featuring Lucy and Ethel dressed as Martians from the episode "Lucy Is Envious"), and a three-pack of dolls as the original three "Angels" from Charlie's Angels (Jill, Kelly, and Sabrina). (Many fans will, of course, be disappointed that they opted not to include Tiffany. )

Lastly, there's an assortment called Barbie Basics which consists of twelve () Barbie dolls (probably four each of blond, brunette, redhead, and black) wearing a basic "little black dress", as well as four accessory sets that can be used to customize the dolls. (This is a very cool idea - I've been wondering forever why there hasn't been an adult collector line consisting of "basic" dolls designed for more "creative play" the way playline dolls used to be... It would be especially great if a variety of face sculpts were used in this assortment.)