Waiting like a tiger in the trees — The Joy Luck Club Barbie
The Joy Luck Club. One of my favorite books, one of my favorite movies. I had always thought this was the theatrical poster and rather an iconic image of/from the film:
Well, apparently that wasn’t the image from the poster, but it did help inspire my choice to make a custom Ying-Ying Barbie doll. Not only is she the character in the above picture but her flashback sequence is among those that struck me the most, especially up until the impassioned character Russell Wong plays reveals himself to be a very bad man.
Not a very difficult custom as I bought the dress (but modified it slightly), had the shoes, and still am afraid to repaint faces. I did style her hair as well as make the earrings, necklace, bracelet, and hairnet/snood with pearls.
I love her elegant slingbacks.
This may be too many photos, but I am just very pleased with my Ying-Ying Barbie ^_^
Glamour and glitter, fashion and fame
This may be my most ironic custom yet: the Jem Barbie!
Ironic due to the fact that Jem is a character from a line of dolls (complete with a tie-in cartoon to sell them) that was in direct competition with Mattel’s Barbie until a designer from Mattel got the scoop on Hasbro’s Jem line and beat them to the toy shelves with their ripoff version Barbie and the Rockers. (Since the Rockers came out first, some people still think Jem copied Barbie.)
I felt a little old for the cartoon in the late ’80s, but I always loved the glam/punk aesthetic of the characters, especially Jem. As a Barbie-head, I was not enamored of the Hasbro dolls. They came out with Fashion Royalty upgrades of Jem and the Holograms and many other characters from the show several years ago, but to my eyes the dolls look older than the characters are supposed to be (not to mention they’re hella expensive and rare, to boot…but very well-made).
So I just had to try and make my own Barbie doll of Jem. I had a lot of fun watching the entire series recently, but nothing beats the original opening credits. So that opening sequence — along with some touches from the Integrity version — inspired my take on the outrageous glam rocker.
“It’s showtime, Synergy!” My version of the Jemstar earrings are a standard five-point star instead of a seven-point like on the show. I preferred this type of star not only because it is a recurrent motif in the fashion of the show but also because of the whole Hollywood/showbiz angle.
Inspired by the credits, Jem has bare legs. Inspired by the Integrity Toys Jem doll, her dress is more of a hot pink over bubblegum pink and she has a bracelet.
The bracelet is actually a people-sized ear cuff. I chose an oil slick/rainbow color meant to represent a hologram ;)
I’ve never been one for fringe. So I didn’t want to use the belt Jem wears in the credits. I saw this one on Etsy and loved it. Hearts are not used much in the style of the Jem-verse, but they are totally ’80s. Since this belt is also rhinestone glittery, I thought it was perfect.
The super cute detail on the back of the belt…aaaaand some REALLY big ’80s hair.
 Singing “I Believe in Happy Endings”
I love these pumps. They really conjure the ’80s and luckily (but by pure happenstance) match her dress.
Enough pink to be a true Mattel Barbie.
My other nod to the Integrity version are these shiny silver tights. This is now just an alternate version of my Jem Barbie because they don’t really fit in her shoes and give her cankles haha
I used a watercolor pencil for her eye makeup, but I didn’t seal it because I wanted to remove it before storing her.
Are you and your friends Jem girls? Come on, come on and be a Jem girl!
The Crazy One
::playing Eminem’s “Without Me” just to introduce my custom Suicide Squad Harley Quinn Barbie::
I’ve seen a ton of great Harley Quinn custom dolls, but I wanted to do my own take. She and the Joker were definitely the best part of Suicide Squad, IMO.
A lot of the work is thanks to Etsy seller LovelyWoods. She made the shirt, shorts, belt (but not the buckle), and the bat. Even with such a head start, this was a work-intensive custom with probably the most painting I’ve done on a doll to date.
One of my favorite parts to figure out and make was this earring. In the movie, Harley has a long ear cuff with gold safety pins hanging from it. So I took the absolute smallest safety pin I could find, painted it gold, and fashioned an earring. I like it even if it’s not screen-accurate but rather screen-representative. My friend said, “Could you imagine that earring in real-life scale?” I’d love it!
I trimmed the doll’s hair, made pigtails, and then dyed each one its respective color. I used the tutorial here for dyeing Barbie’s hair: Gonna Dye that Blonde Right Out of Bab’s Hair!
Using acrylic paint for models, I did her eye makeup, heart face tattoo, and select leg tattoos. (I only included the tattoos I liked.) Her hairbobs are made from gift ribbon. The choker is also a ribbon, fastened by a hook-and-eye closure. It was a deliberate choice to omit “PUDDIN” from the necklace as well as to leave off the “YES SIR” bracelets. The belt buckle is a gold sequin cut into a diamond shape with a black Sharpie inner diamond shape to suggest a cutout.
Harley’s blue period. The glove is also acrylic paint, as are the fingernails. I decided to do black nails with a gold accent nail (which sadly my camera isn’t picking up well) for her left hand versus the “E-V-I-L” from the film. Her spike bracelets are actually people-scale earrings.
It was fun to give her the blue and red manicure for her right hand. I also tried to represent her double-jester armor ring using 3D paint. The ring is a really crazy design. I couldn’t see replicating it accurately in 1/6 scale.
Painting her shoes was a nerve-racking prospect, but they were easier and quicker to do than I’d anticipated. These all-white Mattel boot-type shoes already had a raised heart on them. I thought it’d be cute to keep the hearts and paint them black to match her face tattoo. As for the rest, I tried to make them look like the ones in the movie but also to my own taste as well. Again, this is acrylic paint. The fishnets are straight from Mattel.
One of my favorite shots in Suicide Squad is when they’re in the plane and Harley’s hair blows across her face.
If you make/made your own Harley Quinn, I’d love to see her!
The Eighth Wonder of the World
Like many of my generation, I became a Wonder Woman devotee thanks to the ’70s TV show starring Lynda Carter. I was lucky enough to have the Mego doll of Wonder Woman that was the same scale as Barbie, but as a Barbie-head you know I was disappointed there was no Mattel version. (I now wonder why I never took the Mego outfit and put it on a black-haired Barbie.) Eventually in 2000, Mattel finally did release a Wonder Woman Barbie, and there have been three more releases since and an upcoming one with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. (I really wish it were called Batman v Superman v Wonder Woman v Snuggle.) I also feel lucky to have the 2000 WW Barbie. I had to. It was my childhood wish come true.
Now I’ve taken that wish a bit further and customized a Barbie into Wonder Woman. I can’t say she’s a true OOAK. More like a TOAK. Because I’m paying homage (the fancy word for rip-off as Joe Bob Briggs says) to an OOAK WW collection I saw via a Google image search. I love all of Instagram user urrgghh’s WW dolls (some official) but especially the one with the shield and the one in the blue pants and silver boots. So I decided to combine the two and then add my own take.
The one in the blue pants you may recognize as Coach Barbie. I’ve long admired this doll for her beautiful face and gorgeous hair. I’m glad to have an excuse to use her. But I had to change her eyes to blue. I used the 2003 Barbie as Wonder Woman’s outfit.
Greek mythology captured my heart in the sixth grade when I happened upon one of Edith Hamilton’s books in the school library. Did Wonder Woman have anything to do with that? In any case I wanted to honor WW’s Greek roots when making this doll. So I gave her lace-up golden sandals (similar to an early incarnation of the comic version, though those were red) and have her carrying a bow and arrow in tribute to the goddess for which she was named, Artemis (albeit the Roman name for her, Diana).
Lest you think I stole everything from urrgghh, here’s a WW redesign I drew circa 2005, complete with upper arm bracelets:
Here’s Wonder Woman without jewelry:
Just for fun, here’s Diana Prince in a Twin Peaks-inspired outfit:
“I am the only daughter of Themyscira, island of warriors, poets, and scholars.”
Too easy tutorial: Barbie-sized gift wrap
I wanted to make a holiday-themed accessory for my Winter Fun/Holiday Sisters Barbie. I decided on rolls of gift wrap. It was way too easy and took just a few minutes. So I thought I’d post this tutorial.
Items needed:
- clear drinking straws
- colorful gift wrap
- scissors (if you’re a kid reading this, please check with an adult about which scissors would be best for you to use)
- optional: new clear hair elastic
Step 1
Cut two (or more, if you’d like) drinking straws in half.
Step 2
Make sure the halved drinking straws are all the same size. Trim as needed.
Step 3
Cut a square from each of your types of gift wrap. Use the half straws as a guide for how long a side of the square should be. Then cut each square in half so that it will be easier to roll it up.
Step 4
Roll the gift wrap square as tightly as possible.
Step 5
Push the rolled-up gift wrap square into a half straw. Repeat with as many different gift wraps as you’d like. The clear straw is supposed to look like the cellophane that covers a gift wrap roll when you first buy it.
Tip: If any of the rolled-up gift wrap square sticks out of the ends of the half straw, trim as needed.
I made three rolls of Christmas gift wrap for my Barbie.
You can use a new clear hair elastic to bundle them.
Equestrian Psylocke Barbie
I got the idea for this doll after I completed this drawing of the X-Men’s Psylocke riding her horse Imogen side saddle (but off-side because Betsy likes to keep things ~*challenging*~. (Quick note: I made all this up, including what she’d name her horse, for funsies ;))
This custom was no work at all because I simple redressed my OOAK Psylocke doll in — who else — English Barbie’s side saddle riding habit. (Even if she currently inhabits a Japanese body, Betsy is English born and bred.) In fact, my Betsy’s been going around saying, “Who’s the real English Barbie now?”
Shall we ride?
How Betsy looked as she was getting ready.
Like I said, this “OOAK” was way too easy and almost cheating, but I am really happy with it because it was a way to sort of bring my drawing “to life.” =)
Oh, Steffie, you’re so fine
You’re so fine you blow my mind! Hey, Steffie! *clapclapclap* Hey, Steffie! *clapclapclap*
My love affair with the Steffie head mold began with this doll, Hispanic Barbie from 1979.
Yes, her name is unfortunate in that some people consider the term offensive. But I love this doll and have for decades. She lives in my closet in the Golden Dream Barbie case. I’ve had her at least 35 years! And she is bee-yoo-ti-full! Not only is her raven hair to-die-for, but the Steffie face with the understated makeup is sweet and gorgeous.
I adore her outfit and accessories, too. The choker with the rose is such a unique detail. I also remembering it emerging as a fashion trend in the early ’90s.
Above are the accessories she’s not wearing: necklace, a different way to customize her earrings, and a hair comb. The comb is my favorite! Always has been. Another unique accessory.
Apparently I lost one of her earrings in a grocery store parking lot when I was around 5 years old. The story — which my mom still tells! — goes that I completely flipped out and we spent an inordinate amount of time looking for it. But we did find it! And that’s why her accessories have ever since been imprisoned in this teeny lil’ Ziploc.
I wonder if she’s so beloved because she reminded me of my favorite pre-school/daycare teacher.
Other treasured Steffies in my collection include:
Hawaiian Barbie (1982)
PJ from the Barbie & Friends set (1982)
OOAK Rogue
OOAK Lara Means
Oshogatsu (Happy New Year Japanese) Barbie #2 (~1995)
Sweet Roses PJ
Dream Date PJ
Parisian Barbie (1979)
Parisian Barbie (1991)
Life in the Dreamhouse Midge
Wow, I thought I’d have a lot more than that! Perhaps my collection is weighted more heavily toward my second favorite head mold, the Mackie/closed mouth. I may have to do a post on that, too.
But my wish list of Steffie face Barbies I’d like to have is probably a mile long!
At the beauty shop
So this lovely lady had an appointment with me today to get her hair cut in order to begin her transformation into a custom Barbie. I ended up lopping off 3 inches, which translates to 18 inches for a 1:1 scale woman.
I used the tutorial at Dolls-N-Daggers. I’m not sure where that site has gone. It is so helpful! Below are the steps I followed from Valkyrie’s “Tips and Tricks for Doll Hair.”
Cutting the hair:
–You need to start with clean straight hair, see above…. *grin*
–You’ll want a tail comb, water bottle, hair clips and a sharp pair of scissors with short blades (no more than 4″).
–It’s MUCH easier to fix a haircut you’ve left too long than to re-root the entire head because you’ve cut it too short!
–A pair of thinning shears is a remarkably useful tool – human hair breaks/splits/thins as it grows out, doll hair, of course, does not. Thick ends are something humans strive for, but quickly become awkward when the hair is only a couple inches long.Shoulder Cut – or – How to Even the Ends
–We’re going to start ‘easy’ with a shoulder length straight cut
–Decide where on the back you want the hair to fall
–Pull all of the hair up into a high ponytail and secure with the hair clip
–Keep the head upright and even
–Use the tail of the tail comb to separate out a thin section from the base of the neck
–Spray it down with water and comb it straight down holding it between the index and middle fingers of your left hand
–Hold your fingers parallel to the floor and drag them down the hair to just past where you want the hair to fall after it’s cut
–Cut the hair just above your fingers
–Using the tail comb pull down another this section and wet it down
–Comb all of the ‘down’ hair between your fingers and pull them down until the first section cut just slips out and cut the second section
–Continue cutting thin sections of hair combing it all straight back until you’ve finished the head.
–Now then – Start with the head upright and even and comb the hair straight down from a center part – you’ll have two straight sides and a back section. – The back section will look great, the sides will be a bit ragged.
–Turn the doll’s head so that it’s in profile to you
–Bring that side of the head up into a high ponytail
–Use the tail of the tail comb to separate out a thin section of the hair
–Comb it between your fingers with a small section of the ‘back’
–With your fingers either parallel to the floor or slanted as you choose pull your fingers to the point where the back section just slips out and cut the section you’re still holding just above your fingers.
–Repeat from [asterisk] and do the other side in the same way.
–No [panicking] – I know that sounded on the complicated side – but once you’ve done it you’ll discover it’s quite easy!
Platinum label taste on a playline budget
Why, oh, why is it when I see a Barbie I like she is either the “chase” one (if I understand the terminology correctly), i.e. the one doll in the case that’s rare to find…? Like this 2015 Fashionista:
Originally $8 at Walmart. Now about $50 on eBay.
How do collectors know which ones are going to be rare and get them when they’re first offered? If you know, please enlighten me in the comments. Please.
…or she’s a Platinum/Gold Label limited to 1000/2500 edition? That starts at about $100, but if you’re too late is on offer at eBay, Amazon, and the like for $350 to $700. Like this Happy New Year Japan Barbie from 2008:
Here are some other dolls on my wish list:
2009 Hard Rock Cafe rockabilly Barbie
Tokidoki Barbie
Tarina Tarantino Barbie
Barbie as Athena
Fashion Fever Benetton Barbie: Osaka
Speaking of Fashion Fever, United Colors of Benetton Barbie: Stockholm
Japanese High School Student, Reina
I’m sure there are many others I’m forgetting to add (or have suppressed due to the near hopelessness of ever getting them ;)).
Sheesh, no wonder I have to make my own custom dolls. Although, truth be told, that can get quite expensive sometimes, too.
Children of the Atom’s Eve
Rounding out the trio of OOAK dolls that is a tribute to my X-Men fandom is my custom Jean Grey Barbie:
Professor Xavier’s first student and the first female X-Man, Jean is the de facto first lady of the X-Universe. She is (obviously) one of my top three favorite X-(wo)Men. Even though Ms. Grey has a very operatic and convoluted character history, I’ve always liked her personality. She just seems like a shining example of a Good Person — making the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix sagas all the more shocking, IMO. Her strength, integrity, and love for her family (birth and adopted X-version) endeared her to me.
I love her powers, which include telekinesis, telepathy, and astral projection. Jean also comes across as very graceful, something I first noticed with her balletic moves when playing Mutant Academy for PlayStation. In fact, I had originally decided to do this Barbie in the classic green Phoenix costume based on how comely I thought she looked in that game. But my plan changed.
As you can see, I ended up making Marvel Phoenix. Or Phoenix Girl. <grin> I took the elements I liked from Jean’s Marvel Girl and Phoenix costumes and combined them. My decision to use Marvel Girl’s costume was inspired by this wonderful artwork by Morry Hollowell (the first photo in this post is an homage to his image).
Jean springs into action!
As you can see, the Phoenix symbol securing her sash is actually based on the symbol from the chest of the classic green Phoenix costume.
I don’t usually go for the toothy smile Barbie face molds, but this one is so girl-next-door and lovely and Jean-like. I’m really happy with it. I believe it is a Generation Girl head mold. The red hair, green eyes, and natural looking makeup complement Jean well, too.
So there you have it: the three X-Ladies that I admire…for their strength, loyalty, resilience, and perseverance.
Comments always welcome, no matter how old this post is.
Slice like a ninja, cut like a psychic blade
Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of the X-Men film U.S. premiere. Twenty years ago I got into the X-Men in a big way. So I’ve declared June, July, and August the Summer of X as I celebrate and enjoy being an X-Fan. I’m currently reading the very first issues of the comic with plans to dig out my collection for a re-read. I just finished viewing for the first time(s) the X-Men Japanese anime, Wolverine and the X-Men, and X-Men: Evolution Season 1. I’m in the middle of my umpteenth rewatch of the classic ’90s X-Men animated series. Tomorrow will begin a three-day movie marathon of X1, X2, and X3.
I’m also celebrating the X by making Barbies of my favorite X-(wo)Men. I started with Rogue. Now, Rogue’s my girl, but I’ve been a casual Psylocke fan since she was heavily featured in the 1991 title relaunch. Her powers are cool (psi-blade!); her story is tragic but crazy in a soap opera-y way; her purple hair and leotard-cum-ribbons costume are striking; she’s a telepathic ninja wielding katana/swords. ‘Nuff said.
I describe myself as a casual Psylocke fan only because at the point in the comics when I got into the X-Men, Betsy was hyper-sexualized. That’s a hazard for female characters, period. And the X-Women have it done to them in spades. It’s not easy as a female reader to trudge through that. But Psylocke’s portrayal was over the top, obviously fan service (or worse). So I kept the character at arm’s length, but still considered her one of the X-characters I liked.
And then I ran into a purple-haired Barbie…
I wanted her uniform to have that darker blue look it sometimes had, like in this Jim Lee drawing:
I also thought the darker color was better camouflage for a ninja. Didn’t want her too matchy either. So the gloves and boots match but the leotard is a different shade as well as the thigh and arm ribbons. I never had a problem with a ninja wearing such an outfit. I can imagine it really allows for maneuverability.
A lot of people seem to think Psylocke’s arm and thigh ribbons are “ridiculous.” They don’t bother me in the least. In fact I quite like them and think they are distinctive. Note that a similar design on the thighs is found in Cyclops’ X-costume (as well as the full team costumes that seem to be based on it).
Ms. Braddock, Ms. Braddock, let down your hair…
I decided to go with a more modest leotard for my Psylocke.
I love when my Barbies need swords — or in this case, katana.
For fun, I did her Crimson Dawn eye tattoo. While I liked the eye tattoos in the Age of Apocalypse storyline, I’ve always been ambivalent about Betsy’s.
Alternate version with pink sash.
When telepaths attack…
I have one more X-Lady in the works. Very much hope to finish her before my Summer of X gives way to autumn.
Going Rogue
The X-Men may just be my most cherished superhero team. The Justice League of America had my heart as a child in the form of Super Friends, but JLA is full of Big-time Heavy Hitter Super Heroes: Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman. (I’m a huge Wonder Woman acolyte, too.) The Children of the Atom feel more like a team and family.
Hands-down my number one X-Man, X-Woman, mutant of female type is Rogue. She’s physically strong yet emotionally vulnerable, a reformed baddie, and a sweet Southern belle with a sassy/funny side.
I discovered the X-Men about 20 years ago. (Oh, my. That’s a lonnnnng time back.) My brother got me into the 1991 re-launch of the title. The animated series was on TV. Then my local Toys R Us had all 599* issues of various titles that comprise the Age of Apocalypse storyline on clearance. I became an X-Fan in a big, big way.
*estimate only
Of course I wanted X-Men merch, but more importantly I wanted Rogue merchandise! Too bad this was the official Rogue action figure at the time:
Oh, Toy Biz. Never stop doing you. And by never, I mean always.
As you can already guess, I far preferred Barbie dolls to action figures anyway. Well, imagine my delight and surprise in perusing the aisles at Toys R Us nearly 20 years ago and feasting my eyes on this jewel:
I was so excited. They had Storm, too! They were one-sixth scale like Barbie! They came with civilian outfits to wear to the mall to run into a Chinese American teen mutant with pyrotechnic powers! My enthusiasm was out of control…until I got a closer look.
While the head mold used for this official Rogue is fierce and intimidating, it wasn’t really my ideal when I envisioned a Rogue Barbie. And the boots. *Sigh* They are these weird bootie-type things that in no way approximate boots. They’re like the feet of footie pajamas.
But even though I was disappointed, I bought one. I should’ve bought two because since circa 1996 I’ve been wanting to put this Rogue suit on a Barbie — and this was before I even knew that customizing dolls was a thing and long before I gave myself “permission” to do so.
Thank heaven for this official Rogue 12 inch Collector Hero, mostly for that suit! I’m not the first to make use of it.
A custom Rogue Volks doll by setsunakou.com
A custom Monster High Clawdeen Rogue by (AFAICT) eBayer garnetredfox
A custom Pullip Rogue by WhiteNoise_85
I love all of these custom Rogues. Here are a few more of my favorites that don’t utilize the Toy Biz suit…Rogue Leader to Rogue Squadron…
I believe the outfit is handmade. Amazing work by Siansonea.
X-Men Legacy Rogue by robabella
A custom Tonner Rogue, also by setsunakou.com
(Tonner also released a Rogue)
Another Legacy Rogue, but this one is by mikestimson2003
I would love to have all of the above in my collection. And the official Rogue releases (including action figures and statues) have improved. But I HAD to have my very own 11.5-inch Rogue.
I went with my favorite Barbie face mold, the Steffie face. I adore the natural/no-makeup look of this one.
Here’s Rogue all suited up. I upgraded her headband (partially), belt, gloves, and boots. I also rooted the white streak(s) meself.
These boots are made for kicking butt. (I had to give her heels. Thankfully my girl is nigh invulnerable.)
Come fly with me…
Back view. The cropped jacket from the official doll is perfect.
Reach out and touch someone. Or maybe don’t.
My goodness, I love this doll! (Can’t you tell by the xillions of images I’ve included? ;)) She was a long time in the making. Not only have I been planning to do this since around ’96, but I actually started working on her in 2012. Yep, you guessed it: the hair was the holdup.
It’s very fitting that I finally have my Rogue on the 20th anniversary of my X-Men fandom.
Comments always welcome, no matter how old this post is.
Frosty the Bondgirl
Frosty the Bondgirl was a prideful corrupt soul,
With a regal air and a deadly blade
And two eyes of pure blue cold.
The germ for this idea originated in my previous custom Bond Girl Barbie post. I present the Miranda Frost from Die Another Day Barbie.
She was played by Rosamund Pike. Here is a promotional picture for comparison.
A lot of my custom Barbies are armed and dangerous. Hmm.
A closeup. (And cleavage! O_o)
I took her watch off of a Dragon 12-inch action figure and sized it down. It is supposed to be a Tissot T-Touch.
I’m particularly proud of her earrings as I made them myself. When first researching this outfit (her last one in the film), I couldn’t readily tell whether she was wearing pearl earrings or metal balls or diamonds. A fellow 007 fan and friend pointed out that they had to be diamonds, specifically Gustav Graves diamonds (he’s her boss and buddy in the movie). Swarovski crystals fill the job nicely.
I made her shoes, too, although admittedly it wasn’t that difficult of a task. I still get nervous about painting, though.
I’ve always thought this was a great costume — the asymmetry of the gloved arm versus bare (save the watch) and the black and white color scheme. I also like how Miranda was an Olympic fencer and used a sword as a weapon off the strip/piste as well. I may be in the minority (Die Another Day wasn’t well received), but Ms. Frost ranks as one of my Top Ten Bond Girls Women.
Comments always welcome, no matter how old this post is. And if you’d like me to link to you, please see my sidebar.
Barbies Anonymous
I may have a Barbie addiction.
I’m supposed to be careful about spending money on more Barbies. I’ve also pretty much run out of room to store them. But somehow these two darlings followed me home from Big Lots.
I thought they were reasonably priced, but truth be told they ended up being bought as an early birthday present for me from a loved one. So I didn’t have to worry about the finances so much. But I still have no rooooooooom for them! Thankfully only one will remain boxed (which hogs more space, IMO) while the other I will be turning into a custom doll. Even though I have at least six doll projects at varying levels of completion already in progress.
The side of the box(es).
The backs of the boxes.
So even though I’ve been trying to be more responsible about my collecting and storage space, I was quite surprised to find two Barbies at a discount store that I just fell in love with. They kind of made my day. I’m very grateful to the angel who gifted them to me!
Forensic Psychologist Barbie
I believe this was my third OOAK Barbie ever. I started working on her in 2009 after rewatching Chris Carter’s (creator of The X-Files) cult hit Fox Network series Millennium. The show is about former FBI profiler Frank Black joining the Millennium Group and investigating crimes and catastrophes linked to what some in the group believe is a rapidly approaching Armageddon. The character is beautifully played by Lance Henriksen.
In Season 2 he often works with and befriends my favorite character of the series Lara Means, portrayed by Kristen Cloke.
She is a forensic psychologist who becomes a member of the Millennium Group and has visions of an angel. That’s where my joke of this post’s title comes from, although I would love kids to have that option to go into Walmart and browse and maybe buy Forensic Psychologist Barbie. I really think of my 1/6 version as Lara Means from Millennium Barbie.
Here she’s wearing her standard forensic investigation outfit of turtleneck, jeans, blazer, black socks, and black loafers.
(You do not even want to know how hard it can be to find plain “classic” blue jeans for Barbie.)
Lara readies her weapon.
Close-up.
Taking aim.
Lara smoking (she has since quit). Don’t try this at home.
Her accessories.
The Lara Barbie comes with her MacBook with the Millennium Group personalized welcome page (her password phrase: “Open the pod bay doors please, HAL”), a manila envelope with evidence from episode “Anamnesis,” a Bible, a cigarette*, and an envelope addressed to Frank Black with her dose of the Marburg virus vaccine enclosed.
*Neither the Lara doll nor I advocate smoking.
If you’ve never seen the show, I highly recommend it, especially the first two seasons. (It has three.) There are many engaging characters in the story, but you know I’d pretty much only make a Barbie out of the one that’s near and dear to my heart.
Comments always welcome, no matter how old this post is. And if you’d like me to link to you, please see my sidebar.
Want it: a bigger house and more money
So I can collect and customize more Barbie dolls and have a place to store them.
Can we make this happen, Mattel?
;)
Double-O-AK
I’m a fan of lots of things, although I wish I could explain why I decided to make a certain Barbie without starting out with, “I’m a huge fan of [fill in the blank]!” But…oh, well…
I’m a James Bond 007 fan (the film version of the character). I’m also a pretty persnickety one. I’ve been wanting a Bond-inspired Barbie for a long time (because I’m sorry to say there are some truly frightening Bond/girl figures out there), and Mattel has actually released some! But I’ve been disappointed in my expectations of what a Bond Barbie would (should?) look like.
The James Bond 007 Ken and Barbie came out in 2002. I’ve gone back and forth for years on whether to get it. Ken as Bond? ::shaking head:: I just don’t see it. IMO, Ken can’t hold Bond’s martini! (Sorry to any Ken fans. I really am. I just never got into Ken.) I was more interested in Barbie as Bond girl.
Hmm, it’s a nice doll, but nothing really appeals to me. Her garter holds a cell phone!?? Come on! Had I bought this Barbie, I would replace the phone with a gun (Ã la Pam Bouvier from Licence to Kill) or a knife. I like the shoes. I was interested to learn that Barbie’s outfit here was designed by the costume designer from Die Another Day, the 20th Bond movie. I’m not surprised, though, that I have yet to go after this set because I wasn’t into the costumes of that particular entry too much…mostly only Miranda Frost’s.
I would much rather have a Barbie of one of the female characters from the Bonds. And in 2009 and 2010, Mattel granted my wish…sort of.
Above is the Barbie Loves Bond collection, featuring the Bond women from Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Die Another Day in Wave 1 and from Live and Let Die and Octopussy in Wave 2. Very, very cool. But there’s only one of the five who is among my favorite Bond women: Solitaire from Live and Let Die (played by Jane Seymour). Yay? But not so fast: she’s not in any of Solitaire’s outfits that I actually like, of which there are several.
So I thought about getting the Mattel version of Solitaire and redressing her in something more to my liking. But I prefer other face molds than the Drew/Lara one used for Solitaire. Also, from what I can tell, they did not get the eyes right. Seymour has one green eye and one brown eye, which surely adds to the idea that her character possesses special powers when it comes to seeing things in the tarot cards.
If Mattel had painted the eyes to match Seymour’s, I would have snatched the doll up in a second. Since I don’t really repaint Barbie faces, my version of Solitaire will have the same inaccuracy as the official version. Yep, you already knew where this was going: I’m going to make my own Solitaire Barbie.
Here’s the look I decided to go for:
The film and promotional pictures never show a full shot of Solitaire in this dress. So I had to guess what the bottom looks like. That also means I had no idea what shoes she wears in that scene. But it can be fun to fill in the blanks. Here she is:
If you note in the photos of the real Solitaire, she has this crazy braided topknot that’s super tall. I had originally intended to attempt that with this doll, but here again I learned the lesson that Barbie hairstyles are not as flexible as you’d think. Quickly I realized I actually preferred her hair this way. Jane’s Seymour’s hair is one of her most famous attributes. So I ended up being happy I chose this doll with that Rapunzel-like ‘do to represent her.
I made her most important accessory: her tarot cards. There are eight cards shown in the film. I made seven of them. An image of the eighth card has apparently been lost in the mists of time. The back of the cards (as I’m sure you will already know if you’re a Bond fan) incorporate “007” in their design.
Solitaire will now begin the reading:
One of her other accessories is a piece of stationary from The San Moniquan Hotel to which she attaches a reversed Queen of Cups card and anonymously sends to 007 as a warning that his female partner Rosie is a double agent.
If you know how to get miniature pictures to print clearly, please hit me up in the comments. I’ve searched for pointers, to no avail.
Her last accessory is a gold snake-like decoration she wears on her forehead. Nail art stickers are handy for all sorts of uses…
So even though they released an official Live and Let Die Solitaire Barbie doll, I just had to make one to suit my own tastes. What else is customizing for? ;)
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My no-bake customizing Barbies method
Here’s how I go about making a custom OOAK Barbie doll. First things first: an idea!
Usually it’ll just hit me that I’d love a Barbie of a favorite character. For this explanation of how I customize, I’m going to use Chun-Li from the Street Fighter games. I’ve loved her ever since I first played Street Fighter II on Super Nintendo. I had the G.I. Joe action figure that was released around the same time as the live-action Street Fighter movie with Van Damme. And there are tons of Chun-Li figures, statues, and — yes — dolls. But none of ’em a Barbie.
Before I start, I decide how I want my doll to look. Photos help of course.
I wanted my Chun-Li to have her classic look of blue qipao, dark tights, ox horns hairstyle covered with white silk tied by ribbons, and white boots.
But Step 1 always for me is to find The Doll. This is a very important step and IMO makes or breaks the whole custom. So I set about looking for the base doll that I will transform into Chun-Li. My first stop is an eBay search. I use search terms like “Asian Barbie,” “brunette Barbie,” or “Chinese Barbie.” Then I look through the listings, sometimes thousands of them.
This can be time-consuming, maddening, and frustrating. I also happen to love it. It’s fun because it feels like hunting and shopping. It’s sort of the best of both worlds of window shopping and buying — because hopefully I will end up finding the one true doll that would be perfect for my OOAK. I will look and look until I find the doll that has the features that most perfectly match the character, paying close attention to face mold, facial expression, hair color, eye color, eyebrow shape and color, and lip color.
Mattel has a limited choice of Asian face molds, in my opinion. But I felt lucky to find my Chun-Li: a Fashion Fever Lea doll.
Now, a note here about hair and body type. I used to think I could bend Barbie’s hair to my will. I had to perm one doll’s hair. I’ve cut the hair of several dolls. I’m still rerooting one (heeeeelllllppppp!). And I’m not really looking forward to the bangs I have to give another.
Fourteen or so custom dolls later I’ve learned to try my best to find a hairstyle that will work with me, will maybe only need a few minor adjustments like a trim. I also have learned to be careful of the type of Barbie body I choose, depending on how I want her to pose, what size of clothes I’d like to use on her, and so on.
Step 2 is getting her outfit. If you can sew, great. I’m totally jealous of you, and you can make a true custom EXACTLY the way you want it. But remember, this is my no-bake method. So it is back to eBay. And if I can’t find what I need there, then I go to Etsy. I pretty much go wherever I need to in search of what I’m looking for, including G.I. Joe shops like OJIToys and even getting long sold-out Azone* pieces from Amazon Japan.
To start, I’d search “blue qipao” at eBay in the category “Dolls & Bears.” You really learn your way around a search box when you’re looking for specific Barbie pieces for a custom. I’d love a huge online shop of just Barbie clothes, shoes, and accessories — a highly searchable one where everything is accurately tagged by color, design, style, etc. eBay could use a total rehaul of the search sub-categories under “Dolls.” It’s not as precise as it could be. Sub-sub-categories by face mold, hair color, and so on would be so helpful.
OK, so nothing comes up at eBay under “blue qipao” or “blue cheongsam” under “Dolls.” So next I’d search “1/6 blue qipao/cheongsam” and then possibly refine that to the category “Toys & Hobbies—>Action Figures.” There you’ll find one-sixth scale stuff for figures from Hot Toys and the like.
Well, I’m not surprised that such a unique item does not readily pop up on eBay. Actually I think I need to search without using the correct name of the dress, maybe use something more generic like “Barbie Chinese dress.”
Ah, now the right type of dress is popping up, but no dice finding any in blue.
Well, it turned out I actually was fortunate with my Chun Li project in that Azone made her exact outfit in 2004, available in blue or pink! I didn’t start my doll until 2007, though. So I had to pay more than the list price for the outfit.
And here’s where I first discovered I have to be careful of the doll’s body type. Azone makes clothes for a slightly smaller doll than much of what Mattel offers. It was a battle to get Chun-Li’s outfit over Lea’s child-bearing hips. (This particular Lea has a belly button body.) But the Azone set was so nice. It included the dress with belt, a bodysuit for underneath, tights, and a headband that mimicked the ox horns hairdo. I didn’t care for the look of the headband, which leads me to…
Step 3: Accessories. Here’s where my no-bake take starts to require a bit of microwaving. Depending on what I need for the project, I often end up crafting a lil’ something-something of my own because it’s either too hard to find exactly what I’d like or just too durn expensive.
In Chunner’s case, I need to style her hair. She also demands her punk spiked bracelets! I trimmed her hair and put it into two mini pigtails. Customizing Barbies has had me spending a lot of time in craft and fabric stores, which is exactly where I headed for some white “silk” and white ribbon to cover her pigtails (which I’m faking to look like buns…Barbie’s hair can be too voluminous to accurately recreate a human-size hairdo in 1/6 scale).
I actually cut out circles from a paper towel to measure the size of the fabric circle I needed to cover Chun-Li’s buns. Paper towel patterns? LOL! But it works for me and is inexpensive. So I traced the circles on the part of the fabric that wouldn’t show and then cut them out. This next step is very important, I think, if you aren’t a sewer and working with mini pieces of fabric and trimmings for your dolls: I “sealed” the edges of the fabric circles with fray-stop. The name says it all: it’s a liquid you get in the sewing department that keeps stuff from fraying. After I cut the ribbon to tie off the silk coverings, I also applied fray-stop to each end of the ribbon.
And now for her spiked bracelets. I would first search for Barbie bracelets and see if anything would work. If nothing did, I probably would try to make my own out of black craft foam and either small hardware pieces from Lowe’s or maybe even jewelry-making parts. But, again, Azone to the rescue: they also made Chun-Li’s bracelets (some assembly required)!
And next is Step 4: Footwear. Chun-Li wears lace-up wrestling-type boots. I believe Azone made some, but I doubt they’d fit a Mattel doll. And they weren’t the look I was going for anyway. So I search for white Barbie boots. There are a lot of nice styles, but since Chun-Li is athletic, I decided I wanted boots for her that did not have heels. Which of course drastically reduces the options, especially when you’re talking about Queen of Heels Barbie. So I finally decide on these:
Step 5 is to box the doll, one that I’ve not often (yet) completed for the dolls I’ve posted here. If I find more room to store my custom Barbies boxed versus loose I may update this post with how I box dolls.
Step 6 is the fun part: share the doll with the world! Blog, Flickr, tweet, Instagram, Facebook, tumble that unique creation. Many OOAKers list their dolls on eBay. There are even communities devoted to doll customizing.
You can view photos of the finished Chun-Li Barbie here. She was the first custom doll I ever did. Since Azone did most of the work for me, she was pretty easy to make, although a bit expensive. Still, I hope this was a little glimpse into my customizing ways.
*You can find Azone pieces on eBay, at Hobby Link Japan, & at Hobby Search, among other places.
Fan of: theresemarie123
Disclaimer: I am in no way shilling for this seller. I’m merely a fan. And I haven’t found a site for her other than eBay. But if I had piles & piles & piles of money, I’d buy up most of her offerings…so you wouldn’t be able to get any of them anyway :P ;)
I’ve become a huge fan of Thérèse-Marie’s (theresemarie123) OOAK dolls. Here are some of my favorites.
This is Coco Chanel’s niece Adrienne as restyled by Coco, inspired by a scene from a movie about Coco.
Here’s Daenerys “Dany” Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons — from Game of Thrones.
This is Alice Merren from The Bletchley Circle, a show I’ve never heard of and know nothing about, but I still think this doll is striking and exquisite, just like all of Thérèse-Marie’s customs.
I’ll close with another Coco Chanel-themed creation simply because the classic Chanel pink suit is so darling. Here we have Catherine Deneuve as the face of Chanel.
Want it: Barbie in Princess Power
Superhero + Barbie? Yes, please. Two of my favorites!
I’ll take either the regular version or the Super Sparkle. Princess Power? Hmm, where have I heard that before? Oh, well, it hardly matters as Mattel makes both ;)
I’m just tickled pink to see Barbie as an original superheroine (versus being Wonder Woman or Batgirl, though I love them, too) and sporting a costume of her signature color.
Takara Takara doll
Subtitle: When Mascots Go Wrong
I’m actually not sure if this is a Takara Barbie or a Takara Jenny, but here’s an absolutely adorable doll dressed in a very problematic outfit. I wonder if her official name is something like Takara Mascot Barbie.
The idea is a neat one: dress Barbie/Jenny in an outfit celebrating her parent company, Takara. The problem is Takara’s mascot at the time (mid-’80s), Dakko-chan, an offensive golliwog figure. Dakko-chan has been redesigned, but I remain conflicted over this doll in my collection from Japan.
Take away the mascot all over her outfit and you’re left with some pretty wonderful ’80s fashion: cropped striped overalls with oversized pockets, sleeveless layered shirt, ankle boots, and big earrings.
The crest on her overalls reads “Dakko-Chan Club/Since 1960.” This is a common detail added to Japanese fashion. I’ve seen it on shirts and jackets: “The [Whatever] Club/Since 19[XX]”
She’s such a sweet looking doll, but OHMYGoodness whyWHYwhy those earrings? I mean, I know why, but it’s unfortunate.
And here’s a closeup of the offending earring: a pink Dakko-chan dangling on a white flower. The flower can be worn alone as an earring, but with the mascot literally everywhere else on this outfit, changing the earring doesn’t help much.
The print on her shirt features the mascot along with the name “Dakko-chan” in bold red caps.
Here’s Barbie/Jenny’s cute little flower ring. I do love the huge pockets on the overalls with the yellow dart.
I haven’t been able to find any information on this doll. I would love to know if it’s a Jenny or Barbie and especially the name of the doll. Please comment if you know anything about her.
UPDATE
I found two sites with more information about this doll. On a whim, I searched for “Dakko-Chan Club,” and it turns out that’s the name of the doll. She’s a Jenny and apparently a rare one. The blue boots are not native to this particular doll. You can see in the photo below that she’s wearing pink high-top sneakers (which I do still have).
Inviting Twilight’s Alice in
So I recently invited the Alice from Twilight Barbie into my home.
I really, really love her. She is GORGEous. I’ve loved her since I saw her in the Toys R Us clearance aisle for $15. Yes, that’s right. The doll that is currently on eBay for $175 and up was within my reach for fifteen smackeroos. But did I buy her then? Nooooooooo. I put her on my Christmas wish list, and of course she was snatched up before Santa could procure her for me.
But I consider myself lucky to have one at all, despite her price above rubies.
I believe this is my first Barbie with the Drew head mold. Not the biggest fan of the Drew face, but it really works for me on Alice. Check out those golden eyes!
What caught my eye about this doll was her neat look with this peasant-type blouse under the vest, with the choker (featuring the Cullen family crest, I’ve since learned). I also find her insouciant hairstyle quite appealing.
Even her totes casual black jeans and black ballet flats strike my fancy.
I think even non-Twilight fans would agree that this is one of the prettiest Barbies ever. I’m not going to cop to being a Twihard or not, but I will say I’m an Alice-Barbie-hard.
The Barbie Aisle 