Haha Beer belly Ken - I just can't see that happening. They did recently redo his torso a few years ago and gave him a true six pack and smaller waist...Firm up Ken, get in line! They have made Ken's on taller bodies also and they've got a teen shorter body. Ken just barely gets any respect in the Barbie world, even the first editions of his early 50's/ 60's dolls you can pick up relatively cheap. I got my curvy girl last night. Looking at her by herself she just looks normal. She's not fat. Mattel has a new President over the Barbie line, she looked long and hard at the criticism and came up w/ this as a new solution. It also didn't help that a few years ago a guy got huge press for making his own "normal" looking "Barbie", got it going on a kickstart and is now selling more properly proportioned dolls call Lammily (I think that's his name.) Those dolls now that they're out are selling really well had to make the President of Mattel think long and hard about things. He's adding more dolls of different ethnicity to the line. Mattel really had no choice but to change w/ the times or get left behind. Robert Tonner who makes collectible vinyl 16" dolls made a fuller figure sculpt in the past and made 5-6? dolls using it but discontinued it because freaking adult collectors didn't want them. I really hope that they keep the new body shape relevant for Barbie, they've done larger sculpts in the past - they did a Rosie O'Donnell doll (she had her own body sculpt) and they did a grandma doll who had a thicker body. I know the main concern is that they're going to need their own unique clothes to fit them and to get stores committed to shelf space for the different outfits. I don't see why it's a problem - they sell Ken clothes and outfits for Barbie's younger sisters. When they advertised the new dolls and shared them to kids groups, they all liked the curvy blue haired girl because they liked her Katy Perry hair color. If Mattel wants to kick ass for sales - they just need to do a normal body Katy Perry doll aimed at kids w/ different dolls who sing and have different hair colors/costumes, and then do a curvy body Adele doll also, I think using the body for Adele will be a slam dunk for keeping the body around.' A lot of the time I just think that timing is everything. Tonner did his larger dolls probably 10 years ago, they might be more accepted today, I don't know. I'm hoping that it'll go well for Barbie and that Mattel sticks w/ making the dolls w/ the new body styles. Mattel has also had DC dolls forever, parents are screaming at Hasbro non-stop for not having Black Widow dolls for their daughters, I have a feeling that their Wonder Woman dolls will finally sell out. They have a cute line of dolls based on the new DC girl heroes animated TV show coming, I think they're rather in line size/body wise as their Monster High dolls - I have a feeling they're going to fly off of the shelves. I got my Twist and turn 60's lot the dolls weren't that bad, they could've all been broken but overall they were in good shape. They were really musty smelling, so I'll have to work to de-mustify them all. It's still better than reeking of cigarette smoke. I never see Hee-Man stuff at thrift stores, it's not like I don't look. I've started finding some TMNT stuff that isn't just new, but it's not much. I look at all bags filled w/ action figures. I don't know a lot about either line but I would recognize their body styles off of the bat. Vintage stuff overall is so hard to find. Other collectors complain and say that Goodwill takes all old toys and posts them online on their auction site. I don't know that that's necessarily true. I mean, nobody in the back can know everything about every toy or item that comes into the store. I know for me, action figures are hard to find just because there are tons of collectors where I live. I see lots of adults at time sifting through the toys looking for things. It's why I constantly hit stores, 4-6 a week, sometimes more. The more times you go the more you'll find stuff. Thankfully I like modern stuff also so I don't get depressed if I don't find something vintage everywhere that I go. I'm trying (unsuccessfully I think) to convince myself NOT to goto my Savers tonight. It's their night for getting 25% off your whole order w/ your club card, but I think I went last week. I might still go...I'm weak I did get a few actual vintage Barbies there before, another reason I like going there as much as possible.
Poor Ken. Maybe if Mattel and Hasbro merge, they can ship Ken off to join G.I. Joe. Bet Barbie will never even miss him. It's definitely a Catch 22 for Mattel; You've got this classic icon, and some fans don't like change, but then of course you have to keep up with the times, or as you said, get left behind. Yeah, I can see how all of these body type varieties might make for some tough times re: shelf space (as someone who's worked in retail for the last decade, I can tell you it's at a premium these days). It's easier to have dolls with all of the same body types so that you can just make outfits that are universal, but... Any idea if they're going to introduce the body type variety into the characters in those animated direct to DVD Barbie movies? I saw a banner ad over on IMDb for her next adventure a few days ago. I've had next to no luck with vintage toys at thrift stores. Often times loose figures are put into a bag bric-a-brac style as you said. Most of what I tend to find are modern ('00-today), and a lot of fast food premium figures. I do see a lot of vintage board games and premium promotional cups/glasses though. What is Savers? Is that a thrift store? Cool that they have a loyalty card.
Yeah Savers is a thrift store chain that sadly there aren't that many locations now in Phoenix valley. They tend to have better and nicer merchandise overall than Goodwill, they're brighter and cleaner stores. They're where long ago I got my bag of sealed Raiders of the Lost Ark figures. We have another chain Epic that's pretty good too - they support military families. I hit my Savers last night I did score one vintage Bend leg Skipper doll - woot! She needs new eyebrows and I need to wash her hair but her body is nice, both knees click, and she was wearing vintage shoes. That now makes 4 vintage Barbie dolls that I've picked up at that particular store. I have no idea if Mattel'll update their movies, it would be a good idea. Haha! Funko is showing off the funkiest new stuff at Toyfair: Daenerys and Drogon Introducing ROCK CANDY! And welcome BARBIE into the Funko Family!!! Rock Candy: http://funko.com/blogs/news/90592963-introducing-rock-candy I really need these goofy chubby Barbies! Coming soon: New Figures from Funko and PLAYMOBIL! http://funko.com/…/90583427-coming-soon-new-figures-from-fu… And DC is launching a Harley Quinn action figure line
Blur Check out these adorable X-Files guys! Someone posted these on an X-Files page I follow. I guess they have them coming in the UK, not sure if they're sold in the US or not. Creatures! Tooms, Flukeman, Post-modern Prometheus, and a few more! I think some are chasers.
Great stuff - Thanks, Padme! I don't know if these will be available in the U.S., either - however, I would probably be onboard with a getting at least a few of them - namely, the aliens. I'm enjoying revisiting the original X-files series via the Blu-rays, as well as the current new season 10. Too bad that Season 10 has only one more episode (next week), but I'm just happy that we got any new episodes at all. It's actually amazing that the show has had even this small come-back, considering the series ended in 2002 - and the last film was in 2008.
That deluxe Batgirl will be MINE! She has always been my favorite comic book character, and I adore the current run and design.
Well, I snagged something today that I've been after for quite some time. Fellow 70s kids might remember Mattel's Shogun line, featuring the 19" Godzilla. My brother had one and I've wanted one ever since I got into toy collecting back in '00. Recently (since the release of the Godzilla movie a few years ago) prices for it had started to climb, with complete (it's often missing the spring-loaded shooting claw/fist) and undamaged examples often going for $200+. I've let a few bargains slip through my hands in the last few months, but not today! I came home from work and searched and there was a new listing on eBay, buy it now for $149.99 w/$15.00 s&h and I pulled the trigger. He's in really nice condition, with the oft broken "tongue lever" in tact as are the frequently broken claws. There are a few spots of paint missing on the claws of the firing fist, but that's to be expected. I'm pretty pumped to have him in my collection. I love all of the various Shogun robots, but they all command upwards of $150/200, so I have my sights set on the one we had (Gaiking) and then Godzilla will have a companion.
Woohoo! Congrats! I've seen those they're way cool! They remind me of the cool large scale cool monster creature like the Kenner 18" Alien (who I'm hoping will also just magically show up at a thrift store for me someday - HA!) You could look for a huge King Kong of sort to pit against it also! I've seen those Shoguns and they're neat also, they're fun and colorful. I like the really big ones. I bit the bullet and couldn't stand it I got started on the Titans vinyl X-Files figures. I haven't gotten any of the chasers yet - I got standard Mulder, Scully, Skinner, the 3 Lone Gunmen, CGB Spender (cancer man,) Muttato, Flukeman, and Tooms. All I have left are Lanny (the Fiji Mermaid guy) and Phyllis (the snake substitute lady-creature,) and then the 4 chasers. They're totally cute. Someday I'll be able to get all of my X-Files stuff on display. I also went to Target tonight and was excited to see that they had the new Barbies! Most of the short and tall girls were sold out (they only had the ones that I already had.) I picked up one of the curvy girls that I hadn't picked up yet and picked up a second of the one I had. Compared to SW figures, $10 for a Barbie feels cheap. I've been sort of on a vintage Barbie kick since I found my Truly Scrumptious doll at Goodwill. I did win that lot w/ the Bionic woman doll in it. Only problem the dolls are really musty smelling so I've been airing them out. I also got an early '60's ponytail Barbie - who reeked of smoke. GRRRR! Oh well the 60's/'70s dolls all need intense cleaning to get their odor out, what's one more doll to add to the project? I have another doll lot that's coming that I'm excited about it's got a '70's Growing up Ginger doll in it. So let me explain this doll - the doll was originally only a Skipper (Barbie's little sister) and Ginger was I think a store exclusive who was only sold for a year, she's rare. Skipper is of course blond w/ blue eyes, Ginger looks like Skipper but has brown hair and brown eyes. These dolls are wild, they are short little girl Skipper sized dolls, then you spin their arm around and they grow like a 1/4 of an inch and they get tiny boobs Yes these officially are the strangest dolls Mattel ever made I don't know how great of condition my Ginger is in the lot of dolls were pretty well loved, her spinning army looks pretty loose in the photos, but she's incredibly rare - they usually go for $85 even loose and nude. I got her w/ a bunch of other similar era dolls for $40. Kate has a Ginger, I always wanted one, I'm excited to finally have one coming for myself! As a collector I'm happy to get a well loved version of a toy and then hope to one day update the quality. If you first get them and it's in only OK condition you can get really excited to upgrade it down the road.
I soooo wish Mattel had made a 19" King Kong to tie in with the 70s remake. They did make a Rodan (Think a giant pterodactyl) but it's quite rare and very expensive. I think I'm just going to have to settle for the Gaiking Shogun Warrior. Hey, don't give up on finding that 18" Alien, you found a vintage 12" IG-88 after all! I keep meaning to swing by and see if WallyWorld has the new Barbies in while I'm checking out the SW section, but there's such a dearth of new Ep. VII stuff (Black Series anyway) of late that I usually just walk off frustrated and forget.
Humm I wonder if there is some sort of a larger King Kong out there, then again didn't I see that they're going to be doing a new "King Kong vs. Godzilla" movie? Maybe you'll be able to pick up something new! I would love to see a Shogun battling Godzilla though. I hadn't even thought about finding an 18" Alien until I just mentioned it, but you're right, anything is possible. I just looked up pics of the Hasbro IG-88, mine definitely doesn't look like him, then found a great pic of a minty vintage one and other than mine's got some discoloring w/ age, he's an exact match. I don't even know how that find was possible but it is proof that if you just keep going to thrift stores things do show up at them. I'm particularly lucky Phoenix and the greater area is the 6th largest city in the US, we have a lot of transient type traffic here, lots of people come here to retire, so whole estates end up at thrift stores, people constantly move, sadly we have a large military community also, I know that I've picked up collections before that had to be when soldiers had died off and their toys were taken to charity The part of the city I live in has a HUGE Mormon community (we have 2 temples here...TWO) so again LOTS of toys funnel through thrift shops. There are also a lot of toy pickers as a result. I went to a Goodwill on Friday and 2 guys where digging through the toy bins. I usually look through them too but didn't bother. I just stuck to looking at dolls. The good news is we don't have a lot of doll shows and such so I rarely have anyone fighting me for dolls. I didn't even know the new Barbies would show up in stores so soon, Mattel kept saying they would just be online. I guess retailers must've just said to send them out. The dolls are all in the same sized boxes so isn't a problem. I just photographed a ton of crap to put on ebay, I'll get my dolls and photograph them so that you can see what they look like for size comparisons. I was rather annoyed, I'd seen posts online where DC had a big box of figures rather like the big gift-packs for TFA for their DC heroes, I'd seen pics where they had a batch w/ Wonder Woman in it, went to Target and no Wonder Woman in their box. What the hell? At least Mattel is making a doll of her and some other stuff. I have a feeling they'll go crazy when it comes to merchandising for her when her film comes out. I'm not Wonder Woman fan per-se, but I find the whole lack of female toys to be annoying. The toy manufacturers are going by old statistics, today Superhero movies/tv are the hottest commodities out there, if girls are too old for Princess movies there really isn't anything out there to move to to watch OTHER than superhero movies. I have a set of X-men custom Barbies that I made that I put up in my store, they've always got people watching them. I used to sell tons of them back when both my sister and I were rerooting.
I believe some company recently made a Shogun scaled Godzilla because I keep seeing ads for it while I'm on eBay, so maybe they will do a Kong when the movie comes out. Heck, I'd even settle for a Donkey Kong . I'll be sure to post a pic of my 'Zilla when he gets here. Yeah, I bet the greater Phoenix area sees a lot of retirees and thus has a thriving thifting business. We have a ton of thrift stores in my area, but I've just gotten out of the habit now that my thrifting partner has moved to Cincinnati to go to college. I talked to her Saturday and one of the first things I said was I miss my thrifting buddy! Yeah, I similarly feel sad whenever I've gone to an estate sale and you know you're buying items that belong to the recently deceased. But at least you can take comfort in knowing the items will get a good home, and by extention it keeps a little piece of the former owner alive. Yeah, that'd be awesome. I've love to see 'em . I definitely think by my niece's b-day in November (she'll be 6) she'll be ready for a Barbie. Oh yeah, when her movie hits I expect there to be a lot of WW merch out there. She's been out of the spotlight live-action for nearly 40 years. People will be hungry for some WW stuff.
Estate sales and yard sales are things I generally don't go to, that involves getting up early on weekends I wouldn't really care about the estate sale = dead person's stuff, I always just see thrifting as the ultimate form of recycling. I tend to hit a lot of my thrift stores after work, usually evening time they restocked in the day and they're less crowded. I was going to go out this weekend but then got lazy. I did get a ton of ebay stuff that needs to get posted photographed though. Gotta make money to spend money I had a thrift/antique store buddy when I lived in CA, now I don't, I just go on my own. It's OK, I know exactly where I want to go and what to look at, I can get in and out pretty quick. My sister sometimes comes, she's always looking at clothes. She keeps telling me more things to look for for her instead of coming with me then again she and I work different hours. Your niece is 6? Yeah that's the PERFECT Barbie age! There's one of the curvy girls that the kids are all loving because she's got blue hair, they think she's cool because they think she looks like Katy Perry....if Katy Perry was chubby
It definitely is that (recycling). It's funny that something one person is willing to just give away is also something two people will have a tug of war over at a thrift store. One of the nice things about going by yourself is that you can look at your own pace and follow your whims. Back when I went on a regular basis I liked to go first thing in the morning, but the competition is definitely more fierce that time of day. The good thing is that most of them are seniors and I could blow past them when the doors opened j/k. Yeah, she'll be 6 this year. I got her a doll for her 5th b-day (it connected to a smart device via Wi-Fi and could do all sorts of things), but it wasn't a fashion doll that you could buy outfits for. I figure by her 6th she'll be ready for her rite of passage and getting a Barbie. They also make Barbie Legos, which is like the best of both worlds.
Hee hee! There are a LOT of toy collectors where I live. Phoenix pickers make it so I rarely go out to look for anything new because they pick shelves clean here. I have a friend who does yard sales, I just never have cash and know that things would be picked over by the time I hauled my lazy rear out of bed, so why bother? So I just settle for my thrift stores. I don't expect to find vintage stuff, I hope for it though.
We have a lot of vintage toy shops in my area. Not just comic shops with toys, but full-on stores dedicated to nothing but vintage toys and collectibles. I have a sneaking suspicion they canvass the local thrift stores and snag up all the good stuff. By the time I got to the toy aisle it was mostly a motley collection of contemporary action figures and dolls who all looked like they'd been owned by kids temper issues. Lol. I really need to hit up some yard sales this Spring. Even if I don't have any more luck there than a thrift store, I do enjoy the chit chat with the folks having the sale.
PadmeLeiaJaina, saw this article and instantly thought back to our "Beer belly Ken" and Barbie discussion. That Lammily guy has now done a male doll.
OMG that's awesome. I really need to order his dolls. Got my lot w/ my rare Ginger doll. She works great and looks great - but the whole lot REEKS of smoke. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I'm sorry but explain to me why I should have to reach out to every reseller on ebay and ask if their items stink? I always specify. The doll case is getting thrown out because it reeks and is gross. I've got my other batch of dolls who were musty, I got another doll recently who was smokey, and now these. I guess I'm going to be putting my doll doctoring to the fullest test and will have to try to destink them all. They're all too old to just throw out. It'll just mean that I won't be able to enjoy them for probably a long, long time
Booo! That stinks (no pun intended). I've thankfully never had that experience with any of my eBay purchases (yet), but yeah, I'd be furious too.
PadmeLeiaJaina - if you Google 'remove smoke smell from doll' (without the quotes) you'll find a whole bunch of suggestions.
Considering you buy vintage stuff I find it shocking that you haven't gotten anything smokey. A part of my issue is that living in AZ it's just warmer here so when stuff arrives it's been sitting in hot trucks so any odors just spring to the surface. Bleh! I just need to cease my bid impulse and contact everyone. Granted I think the lot might've been stinky but not the reseller. The box and packaging were smoke free. Still that's even worse in some ways - it means you know they knew the stuff stank I know. I know all of the home remedies - most only marginally work. I'm going to have to look again. Whoever can come up w/ stuff that will permanently yank out smoke smell from porous items will make a fortune.
Me too. I have a pretty sensitive schnoz and I pick up on even the faintest odors. Just been lucky so far *knock on wood*. I do come across more and more auctions lately that specify "smoke-free/pet-free home", so it's an issue for sure. My Godzilla arrived today. The mail guy literally tapped my screen door (lightly) once and was in his truck and gone before I could even get to the door. No big deal I suppose, but it was raining, and if I hadn't been in the living room I might not have heard it, leaving my 'zilla out there to get soaked. Anyhow, here he is attacking my bed... He looks even better in person than he did in his pics. Really pleased to have him.
Went to a huge toy show in Columbus yesterday and picked up a few things. Grabbed two G.I. Joe's (Flash '83 and Snake Eyes v.2 '85), a Ninja Turtle (Raphael '88) and a Masters of the Universe Castle Grayskull. Also bought a vintage Kenner R5-D4. The two Joes bring me up to 39 (not including vehicle drivers), the Turtle gives me 3 of the 4, the Grayskull leaves me 2-3 figures and one vehicle from having all of my "must haves". All in all it was a great show. Just so much to take in, and the prices were good. It was also cool to rub elbows and chat with fellow collectors.
