I’m back for the moment. Yes, it’s the crazy Barbie collector again. This time I have no pics of new dolls at the moment because I found none in February. Sometimes this happens to a collectors and yes, it’s okay. It happens once or twice a year. So don’t worry. That’s no problems but it’s not that I haven’t tried to get some Barbie dolls. Call this real life. It’s okay with me but I used this month to find other little things for future works in February. Do you know where to buy these teeny tiny zippers and buttons Mattel used for Barbie clothes in the early days? I did not actually search for them but I found them in February.
I found out what else my goals are for 2020 beside the things I already told you. Maybe some of you have realized that I’m a lateral thinker. I question things if they don’t work out the way it want them to. I try to consider problems not just from one side but from all sides and then see solutions other people can’t or simply don’t want to see. It’s always been in my nature to try things out, see how they work, realize how I can change them or what can be done in a better way to improve them.
Combining hobby and professional work
This week was a very busy week at work and I was sitting in my bus to work when I saw it very clear. It’s not that my ride by bus is a very long one every day but the ray of sunlight I saw on Tuesday made it clear to me. I want to improve my skills, not just the ones to write here but also to do better videos, to cut better videos but also to gain more viewers so that I don’t have to fight with any stupid algorithms anymore. My plan?
I did it on Wednesday. I put my plan into reality and found a platform where can hopefully what I want. I’m very ambitious when it comes to learn something. The good thing is that I can not only use it for private stuff but also for my profession. I do all the Social Media stuff for my employer and he likes my ideas but I have to stick out from the mass to sell things. In my opinion from what I’ve learned and know so far little things make the difference but they are important. So what is better to combine areas of knowledge?
Good day my dear fellow collectors. The crazy Barbie collector is back with another crazy story to tell. In 2018 I bought several Barbie dolls. Among them is a Ultra Hair Whitney. She’s in good condition, has uncut hair but the crimp waves from her hair is almost gone.
Time for experiments
You know me. I love to do experiments to get good results. At first I thought I could restore the waves with hot water. This idea did not work out like I wanted it to. For a very long time I didn’t care about the waves but by the end of last year this project came into my mind again. Is it really a bad idea to try it again?
Before my vacation I started to check out places where you can buy used hair crimpers. In the beginning I was not very successful because I found only one hair crimper and it was sold during my vacation. Not good…
When I came back home another hair crimper was offered. I bought it for a reasonable price and had the chance to test it in the meantime. The good thing is that you can control the heat. The crimper is not immediately very hot. You have at least five minutes to prepare the hair. That’s very good in my opinion. In this way you can’t burn the hair of your doll.
I can definitively recommed you hair crimpers with temperature control for your experiments. I did several tests before I want to work on my Ultra Hair Whitney. The result is quite good for the first time. I’m currently testing the crimpers.
Yes, I have bought more than one. The technology has become better and I saw that they have often interchangeable plates concerning the size of the waves. This was impossible 30 years ago but now we have the chance to test which one works best. So why not try it?
Next steps
I’m a fan of testing things before doing videos but it’s not always possible. For me is the next step to get my second hair crimper. It was already delivered by a postal service. Unfortunately the company wasn’t able to tell me where to pick it up. Two days later the crimper was on its way back to the seller. I can tell you this was definitively not what I wanted. Obviously it’s not easy to get your parcels when you’re working full time. I called the company who delivered the parcel to my door step. Nobody felt responsible in any way. I also a e-Mail but nobody cared about my inquiry. For me the next logical step was to contact the seller and tell him the problem. He promised me to send me the parcel again. I hope that I have it by next weekend and can start my tests with the second crimper.
Important things to consider
What I’ve already learned is that you should work with wet Kanekalon hair. The moisture keeps the hairs out of the situation of ruining the hair. Don’t let them too long in there. Don’t use too much hair. I recommend rather to do little streaks. It’s easier for you and you get better results. Have patience and get a feeling for the iron. I know that I’m going to need some practise before I do my next video but nevertheless I can have lots of fun while practising.
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Here you can see what I’m talking about. The Locket Surprise Barbie has for example crimp waves ( like many Barbie dolls from the 1990s). My second crimper is going to have temperature control but it is not here right now but it’s on its way to me. I got a short notice today. Let’s cross our fingers that I may have it here by tomorrow evening. So curious to test how it works …
Believe it or not but I’m back from vacation. I took some weeks off and in my crazy Barbie world nothing happened. After one week back home I could start new things. For the first projects I needed some new devices that I had to win/order. These things ofcourse needed several days to arrive. Some are not even here yet. I started to develop new ideas for new videos but they’re going to need longer than in the last years because I work now full time and not part time anymore. That’s good concerning the professional experience but you will have to wait longer for new videos.
Another change that will be on my channel is the background research. In my mind I do have ideas for more complex videos. I mean you probably have more than 3 videos or more to shoot for a project but you need all parts to understand what I’m talking about. Bigger projects came into my mind much earlier but you need the money to do such things. Please don’t forget that I don’t earn any money with my videos. I also plan to film in another location and I have to check the dates because not everybody is there any time you need him or her and I have to find appropriate solutions for these problems.
As you can probably think … I need a lot more time than I did need before. I have to bring everything together. That’s sometimes not easy. It’s feeling at the moment like I have many construction sites and nothing is going on very fast. I don’t like but I can’t change it at the moment. I have to wait for parcels and for the weekend until I can start to work for my private stuff … you know thinking about articles for my blog, thinking about new topics for videos, planning videos, getting the stuff I need for them, doing tests for videos and so on. A week is literally nothing at the moment in the home of Busy B from Germany.
This week I have not very much to tell. The crazy Barbie collector is on vacation. The Santa Claus Ken I wrote about last week has arrived at my apartment in the meantime. Pic gonna follow in January when I’m back home. It’s my goal to enjoy the holiday at my parent’s. We see each other very seldom.
I had no adventures on my trip by train. Within 10 hours I arrived at the city where I was born once. New posts come in the new year 2020 and I hope you have a quiet Christmas without accidents and some time for yourself.
Yeah, the crazy Barbie collector is back with a new topic. Today I’d like to tell you a little bit more about the theme of Barbie variations. For some collectors it’s the icing on the cake. For some other collectors is it uninteresting. It’s depending on your area on interest.
My ideas why
Let’s keep in mind that the make up was at least partly done by hand. Handmade is handmade. No doubt. Handmade things differ. It’s in the human nature. We see things in different ways and we do things in different ways. That’s clear. We also know that there is a kind of samples for every Barbie doll. I can’t prove it but I think there’re samples in every production plant but maybe due to a lack of colors not every plant did the work in the same way. That’s the most logical explaination for what could have happened and how variations probably into life.
Some collectors like differences
With the emergence of the internet it became much easier to buy Barbie dolls. The range of the worldwide offered Barbie dolls became much bigger than it was ever before. Suddenly the whole world became a village and buying became easier than ever before. The years of release played no role anymore. You did not need a magazine to find what you were looking for (like it was before). You could tell your friends about special offers within minutes. I already to you about the difference of the make-up between different countries but it does not mean that it’s everywhere the same one. We have differences in the production plants and we have differences in the taste of the population. A lack of a special color can of course cause a difference in the outward appearance of a Barbie doll. Sure.
The internet however made it possible for collector to notice these differences. I can’t speak for other collectors but would have never seen the differences if we had never talked about them. You can have one doll from three different plants and you have three different Barbie dolls. I know it sounds strange but it is the truth and I can prove it. Some collectors have one Barbie from x countries or factories and you see the variations. It’s sometimes incredible. And incredibly interesting too.
Let me show you an example. I have four Magic Curl Barbie dolls. Three of them are from Taiwan and number four comes from Spain.
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That’s my first Magic Curl Barbie. I found her on a flea market several years ago. She was produced in Taiwan. Have a close look at her eyes. #magiccurlbarbie #magiccurlbarbie1981 #barbiesuperstar #superstarbarbie #busybfromgermany #barbievariations
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That’s my second deboxed Magic Curl Barbie. She was also produced in Taiwan. She has still her original hairstyle. She is looking different than her sister. #barbiemagiccurl #magiccurlbarbie #magiccurlbarbie1981 #barbiemadeintaiwan #barbiesuperstar #superstarbarbie #busybfromgermany
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My third Magic Curl Barbie is still in box. She was produced in Taiwan too. Have a look at her face. The make-up is different again. #barbiemagiccurl #magiccurlbarbie1981 #magiccurlbarbie #barbiesuperstar #superstarbarbie #busybfromgermany
Ein Beitrag geteilt von Busy B from Germany (@busybfromgermany) am
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My fourth Magic Curl Barbie is called Rizos Barbie and comes from Spain. Here you can see a big difference in comparison to her sisters from Taiwan. #barbierizos #barbiemagiccurl #magiccurlbarbie #magiccurlbarbie1981 #superstarbarbie #barbiesuperstar #busybfromgermany
Ein Beitrag geteilt von Busy B from Germany (@busybfromgermany) am
There are popular but hard to find variations
I hope you understand what I want to say in the section above. Some of these variations are hard to find and some collectors spend big sums to get them. One of the first variations was the very first Midge with teeth. I don’t know how many Midge dolls with teeth were painted but I estimate between 1% or 2% of the whole production.
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Put my Midge with teeth up for bid on eBay. $49.99 starting bid if anyone’s interested. SOLD. Rare VHTF Vintage Midge With Teeth – Original Swimsuit OSS – Japan #midgewithteeth #midge #dollforsale #MacWadeStudios #penelopescollection
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Midge is not the only example. There are lots and lots of variations in the Barbie history. Some came into existence because the plants had rests which they used. Mattel is known for the use of leftovers.
