Thrift Store Finds: Betty Teen, IKEA dollhouse furniture

I was going to write about the Scary Couple, but instead I'm going to do what everyone else does and show off Friday's thrift store finds. I did my usual round of 4-5 shops, and despite it being the end of the week I did manage to find some interesting stuff. Mostly naked dolls as usual. (ETA: edited a couple of the photos)

Who is she and why is she wearing those glasses??

The doll on the right is a My Scene, I think? The necklace was still held in place by a rubber band. The hip elastic needs to be replaced, but the other joints are tight. I got her for rebodying an old head, and of course the first thing I do is crack the neck... (I should have just cut the head off instead, but it feels so wasteful.) Basically, a chip came off at the edge, but it's not visible once the head is on, and the neck is still structurally intact.

L: unknown Mattel, R: My Scene?

The small doll is yet to be ID'd. All I know is she's (c) Mattel 1999. She has articulated elbows but stiff legs with molded ballet slippers. She seems more like a separate ballet/fairy/princess line than a Skipper or oddly-sized Barbie.


This was yet another face sculpt I fell in love with, despite the fact that she has bite marks on her nose! This way I'll have a reference for hunting down one in better shape.

She looks a bit like Kayla/Lea, except more narrow and pointed - although since all I have for comparison is a clone, so I could be wrong. (The previous owner's improvements to her makeup came off easily. Too bad, I thought the red eye shadow was a winner.)

L: Betty Teen, R: generic Barbie

The one on the right is just a generic Barbie, belly button body I think. I mainly got her because I wanted her lower arms as spare parts.

The doll on the left is the catch of the day - a Betty Teen! I've been wanting one since I saw people's photos of her on Flickr, but I've never seen one in the wild as it were. She's in so-so condition. The facepaint looks okay, but the rooted eyelashes have been cut, and the hair is a frizzled mess. I washed and combed it and now she looks like a Monchichi. I'm not sure it's an improvement, but she'll have to live with it while I ponder the next step.

Betty's frizzled nylon hair

Her body has a few stains and scratches, as well as sticky legs, and of course no articulation. The only rebody option would be the new articulated Steffi, which has the same type of neck. Unfortunately, Betty's neck knob is slightly bigger and her head doesn's quite have enough space for the disc on top of the Steffi neck. The head goes on alright, but Poor Betty can't nod at all, and instead she keeps doing the Exorcist. A couple of rubber bands around the knob stops the head from spinning, but if I want any up-down articulation I'll probably have to file down the disc. (If I cut it off completely the rubber bands wouldn's stay on.)

World Championship of Pinkness, 2nd and 1st place:
articulated Steffi, Betty Teen

There's also the fact that Betty is even more pink than Steffi Love. Also, Betty's big round doll head doesn't look quite right on the slender Steffi body. I can't think of a better option, though, so this will have to do.

I forgot to take a picture, but one thing I like about the Betty head is her square hairline with a slight widow's peak. It's just one of those little variations that I like having in my collection.

The single drawer doesn't fit in either unit, unfortunately.

Lastly, a complete impulse buy and something I wasn't even looking for: some IKEA dollhouse furniture. My first thought was "Those look like Billy shelves!", even before I saw the logo. They're pretty heavy ABS plastic, made to withstand rough play (in fact, I'd be more worried about the kids - the sharp corners are downright scary). I think they're dollhouse scale, but they work for 1/6 too. Lockers, wardrobes, kitchen cupboards? The clean and simple design makes them pretty versatile.

(The cactus and the fabulous strawberry glasses were found at the bottom of the big toy crate at one of the stores. That's where all the cool stuff hangs out, and it's usually practically free.)

Betty, for now.

So that's one use for the Steffi body. I'm thinking of getting another one while the sale lasts, since I still have this frankendolly project I want to use it for. It's a pretty far-fetched idea, though, and it might not even work, so maybe I'll save my money instead.