It’s not always easy to do things the way you want them to be. That is true for my Talking Barbie in repair. The repair itself is done but what is missing is the right color for finishing the repair. I ordered several skin tone color last week in Germany and realized that it was not the perfect tone that I need. In the color I used was too much pink and not enough orange. So I ordered the color from the dealer where I bought it the last time. Hopefully the color will be here until next week. Usually it’s no problem. The next time I’ll be more careful with the color and put in there a drop or two of water every six months. I don’t want a dry acrylic color again. It’s always expensive to replace the stuff. Gonna take a pic a soon as the right color is here.
New experiments and new material for video stuff
At the moment I try out new things. In the next weeks you can find me on Instagram. I created an account for my youtube channel Busy B from Germany. And I also found a ” Black Magic” outfit, one of my favorite outfits from the 1960s and a Francie head. So you will hear a lot from me and my new stuff in the future.
Francie head, Barbie’s cousin from the 1960s
How to put a perfect crest for Barbie doll from the 1980s
Have you asked yourself how to do a perfect crest after a reroot? Well, here’s my method in pics.
It’s easier to start here.
The head you see here is the Peruvian version of the Tropical Barbie from 1985. I got her bold but I wanted her to look great again. So I rerooted her.
The complete result will follow as a video on my youtube channel Busy B from Germany. I hope you’ll watch it.
If you read one article about the Barbie cleaning process read this one
Today I cleaned a new Barbie doll in my collection. She’s from the 1980s and she’s from Spain ( made by Congost). I know it’s hard to find any information about Congost but they produced Barbie dolls under license in the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for Mattel. I don’t know how many they produced but they must have produced a lot. I have heard that the quality is not the best one but anyway I like them.
This one arrived here only hours ago and since it’s Saturday I had time to clean her immediately. I can’t repeat myself often enough to tell you how easy it is to clean an old Barbie doll. I think I removed the dust and dirt from decades. You just need rubbing alc. and some Q-Tips. You dip the Q-Tips in the alc. and remove the dirt. Some collectors may say that it is dangerous because of the knee joints but I never had any problems with rubbing alcohol. You can literally see the dirt on the left leg. The right one is already cleaned.
After the procedure I had a lot of dirty Q-Tips.
The only Vintage Kens resources you will ever need
When I started to collect Vintage Barbies I had no idea how to distinguish all the different Ken dolls. Now I have one from each year (1961- 1964). When you have a look at the pics you can see differences. The make up differs each year. These pics show only the straight leg Kens.
Finally a Japan body
Several years ago I got in different lots a Twist n Turn Japan body (from 1967) and in another one the right head. I restored the doll down to her waist but the legs of the body had bite marks and the joint was coming out of the knee. In the last weeks I was lucky enough to find the right body with good legs. So in the next weeks I can finally finish a repair project that lasted several years. It’s good to know that my search has come to an end.
I will tape how to clean the MOD Barbie and how to do the rest that two dolls become one.
Barbie Hair
Have you ever asked yourself what kind of material they used for Barbie hair? I did ask myself this question years ago and I found the answer. The answer is not so easy to explain. The material changed within the years. I’m not 100% sure but I think the early Barbie( 1959 – 1984?) dolls had Saran hair only. Some of the early Barbie dolls and their friends have the problem that the hair feeling is similar to straw. Maybe they changed the composition of materials within the decades?
Anyway, nowadays you can buy Saran hair, Nylon hair and Kanekalon hair ( used from the late 1980s on ).
You can see Saran on the right and Nylon on the left. Nylon hair was used for the Rockers and Rockstar series in the mid 1980s. I assume there are more Barbie dolls with Nylon hair but I don’t have all of them so that I can look it up. Nylon hair is much shinier than Saran hair. Saran hair is available in natural colours like blond, brunette, titian and black. The main difference is the effort to style it. Nylon hair is easy to style. Just one hot water treatment and the job is done. For Saran you need more effort. It’s not so easy to bring it in any form you want it to. It has a kind own character.
The third material is Kanekalon hair. Kanekalon was first seen in the late 1980s and has a feeling like wadding. It’s also called wadding hair among collectors. It was mainly used for the 1990s dolls with massive amounts of hair like Totally Hair Barbie or Jewel Hair Barbie. I assume the reason they used it is the price. Saran is more expensive. Hollywood Hair on the other hand has Saran hair. Kanekalon hair tends to tangles. You think you have all tangles out and bang new ones are in. No problems for collectors but for children a real nightmare.
Kanekalon was widely used for Barbie dolls in the 1990s. Ski Fun Barbie & Midge, Paint n Dazzle Barbie and many more had Kanekalon hair. There are a few exceptions like the Strolling Fun Barbie & Kelly.
Wannabe restorers
I’m back from my vacation and want to talk to you about a serious topic. Again I heard from a case of bad work. I can only warn you. When you want somebody to restore something for your collection, check at least twice. You can never be careful enough. The best advice I can give you is to inform yourself how things are done and then ask the concerning person questions how to do this or that. Then you might be able to check if he/she understands the work. When I’m asked for advice I always tell people that there is a risk when you restore something. You don’t know how things were stored from the owner. The material doesn’t tell from the first sight. Of course the material can change and you don’t know it. It’s always your risk when you restore something.
Concerning a reroot it looks like this…
If the restorer tells you that big holes in the head are normal, think about asking another person to do it.
Talking Barbie talks in Spanish
Last week I made a short post about Talking Barbie who is talking Swedish. Today I show you a video about the Spanish version. She is obviously repaired to talk but the quality is poor and the doll is talking a bit to fast. I’m not able to understand what she is saying although I speak Spanish. Anyway, here’s the video…
Talking Barbie
Several weeks ago I posted what Talking Barbie said in Japan. Now I have found out what she says in Sweden thanks to a Swedish collector.
Det är skoldags(=time to go to school)
Jag tycker om att vara finklädd (=I like to be nicely dressed)
Jag ska gå på party (=I´m going to a Party)
Kom så går vi och köper kläder (=Come on we will buy clothes)
She also says: Jag tycker om fina kläder, (=I like fine clothes).