BeeBee? Dell? Well, whoever she is, she's got a new body

Well, the computer is holding together for now while upgrades/repairs are being planned. At least I have doll pics!

As I mentioned, DeeDee of Barbie and the Rockers fame has a new body! Simba Toys' Super Model Bel turned out to be a very close match. I'm really glad I could find a shorter body for her, since her head is so small!

Sliiiight difference in skin tone, plus a bit of a gap at the neck.

Now, DeeDee and my old childhood favorite Diva are supposed to be bandmates, but since DeeDee is a recent acquisition and none of them are on their original bodies, I don't feel any need to constrain myself to Mattel's characters. Diva of course is still the retired rockstar and divorced mother of two, but who is DeeDee? I haven't even decided on a name for her yet. Hmmm...

(Someone on the forum asked whether a Super Model body would work for rebodying an '80s Skipper, but unfortunately I think Skipper's neck hole is too small. Too bad, because I can imagine there are a few Skippers out there in need of a body, and I'm not sure if there are any good alternatives in the ~25cm range  - Obitsu only comes in pale and paler, after all.) Skipper's clothes hang a bit loose on the Super Model, and Bel's dress only almost closes in the back on Skipper. Might work with larger garments, though.

Diva is admiring Bel's original clothes and pondering the sudden height difference

Personally I prefer more casual/realistic doll clothes to ~*GLITTER DRESSES*~, but this had a nice and simple cut. The fur stole/fake bolero is the real winner though, that could go with anything! Why the shoes had to be hot pink I have no idea, but I like them so may attempt a repaint. Her feet are smaller and more arched than Liv, so they can't share shoes as I had hoped.

Liv vs Super Model

The feet are only hinged, unfortunately.

I forgot to take a good pic, but I have to mention this body has very nice hands: more elegant than Fashionista's and more proportional to the arms (why they gave Fashionista such twiggy forearms I'll never understand).

...and as usual I had to make the worst of her Liv clone waist:

Weird articulation is better than no articulation!

Comparison shot: '80s Skipper, Super Star Bel/DeeDee and an Obitsu 25cm:

...playing a game of Musical Clothes, I guess? 

I already have way too many dolls on my wish list (whatever happened to that new Year's Resolution?) but I'm actually a bit curious about the other dolls in this line. Maybe if I had another head donor...

Rockers DeeDee, All American Barbie (thrift store finds)

Monday's find turned out to be quite a mystery. No luck with ID'ing her so far. In the meantime I'll post about my other finds.

Yesterday I had to go into town again, and took the chance to have a second look at two Barbies I passed on last time. What makes thrift store shopping so exciting (and frustrating) is you never know what you'll find, and you don't know if it'll still be there when you come back, but yesterday I was in luck. (Warning: terrible photos ahead.)

 

I thought her big hair and lime green eye-shadow seemed familiar, and I was right: she's a second edition Rockers DeeDee from 1986 (known as Rock Stars in Europe). I've had Diva for 25 years so this will be a long awaited reunion. Her face mold is the Spanish Barbie mold from 1983 (inner rim says 1982). She's quite unique, a bit like a mix between the Steffie and Teresa head molds.

Head and hair is in pretty good shape, but the legs are sticky and horrible. Probably just as well nobody bought it for their kid. My new project is hunting down an articulated AA body for her. Unfortunately the only one sold here afaik is Fashionistas Artsy/Nikki, and I'm not sure she's a match. (Yes, I'm bringing DeeDee's disembodied head with me for comparison next time I'm at the mall.)

As we speak I'm about half-way through disentangling the hair - it's in good shape and I'm sure it'll look great when it's finished. I'm using lots of conditioner - some warn against it and recommend fabric softener, some say the opposite. I figure you can't do much harm to a 25 year old doll and go with the one that doesn't require gloves.

This one still has her original jewellery - just look at it, it's so 90s! The hair looked like it could be fun too. I'm pretty bad at telling hair fibres apart, but at least I'm sure it's not nylon. It's light and fluffy, more dull than shiny and almost wool-like. Well-worn kanekalon? I'll go easy with the hot water to be on the safe side.

I figured googling "barbie earrings pink triangles" would be the easiest way to ID her, but before I even got the chance to do that, I managed to stumble across these photos of a Teresa wearing some very familiar looking earrings. All American Barbie! The home-made dress is pretty cool too, but I still wish I had some stone-washed jeans for her...