Tonner Doll fans: Check out Dreamcastle Dolls' consignment corner!

Consignment Corner at Dreamcastle Dolls

Looking for older, hard to find Tonner Dolls? Check out Carol's Consignment Corner at Dreamcastle Dolls. She has many new items--and will often offer splits, too. She also has several Genes, Barbies and Fashion Royalty dolls listed.
Plus, Carol shows actual photos of the doll you will receive in addition to reasonable shipping charges.

Steffie of the Day: Vidal Sassoon Barbie 1970s

Vidal Sassoon, a photo by alington on Flickr.

I can't post about the 1960s version Vidal Sassoon Barbie and not also post about the 1970s version as well. Also styled after J-Pop start Namie Amuro, this doll's styling is inspired by an outfit worn in the music video to Rock Steady:



You can see sort of a crappy full-length shot of both dolls, which Leslie of The Vintage Goddess had for sale for $2400 at this year's Barbie Convention, here:



The 1970s version is actually for sale in her online store (I believe the set sold at convention). I think the 1960s version comes up less often and is slightly more popular.

Her arm is actually on the same side as one of the original Barbie Basic Model 03, though this doll wasn't released as a Target exclusive till two years later. Her hair style is also similar, though her facial screening is quite different.

Her outfit is really cute--check out the beaded details and the boots in the full-length photo.

Again, I'd love to add both to my collection. I can't decide which doll I like most!

Steffie of the Day: Vidal Sassoon 1960s Barbie exclusive

Vidal Sassoon, a photo by alington on Flickr.

This special and hard-to-find Barbie was exclusive to the Japanese market (in 2008) and was not available to purchase. She was raffled off as a prize, limited to a small edition of 300 dolls. Japanese pop star Namie Amuro promoted these dolls in conjunction with Vidal Sassoon, who gave this doll (along with the 1970s-styled version) away as prizes to people who participated in a contest.

Check out the pop star (and see how the doll's styling was inspired) in her music video here on YouTube:



As you might notice, this doll may have started off as a Barbie Basic Model No. 03. However, the dolls that have this face mold don't have brown eyes, their facial screening is different, and their arm poses (there are several versions of this doll) are slightly different (this doll's arm is on the opposite hip, for example, compared to one of the dolls).

The outfit is pretty much identical to the one Namie Amuro wears in the New Look video, and it's really well done.

I would love to have this doll in my collection, but the dolls rarely come up for sale. Leslie, the lovely and wonderful The Vintage Goddess on eBay, had both versions for sale at this year's Barbie convention. She was gracious enough to allow me to take photos of both.

The asking price for the dolls varies, depending on what the original owners ask--in this case, the set included both dolls (they are rarely found as a set), and was $2400. From what I can tell, the set is sold, but she still has the 1970s version available and in stock.

Leslie is your go-to person for anything hard-to-find when it comes to Barbie, by the way, and especially Japanese exclusives!

Steffie of the Day: Valerie Modelo

Valerie, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Created by Cipsa, licensed by Mattel in Mexico, around 1978, this lovely and unique Steffie Barbie is hard to find. I found her in TLC condition on eBay, and she's been restored by the talented Roberta Marino in our doll group.

Here, she's been redressed in one of the wonderful fashions from Think Pink from the Funny Face collection by Integrity Toys. I believe this doll originally wore either a black or red one-shoulder full-length dress.

A few things to note about this doll:

• Her hair is rooted in two colors: ash brown and pale blonde. The blonde is actually rooted longer than the brown, and that's apparently a factory standard.
• Her arms use slightly different sculpts, with one hand bending outward more than the other. It's a little hard to see from the photo above. This is common for Cispa dolls.
• Her legs also use slightly different sculpts. While I'm not sure this was done on purpose, my Activa doll actually has this issue as well.
• Her face yellows quite a bit differently than her pink body, and this is also common in these dolls.
• Her facial screening is unique for a doll of this era--she has lavender eyeshadow, and no painted lashes. For the late 1970s, this is a little unusual.

You can see a few more photos on my Flickr photostream.

Love Judy? Check out Dreamcastle Dolls' Consignment Corner!

Judy, a photo by alington on Flickr.

Did you miss out on Judy, Glinda sculpt with raven hair on Tonner's new Starlet body? You can pick her up for a steal ($80, NRFB!) from Dreamcastle Dolls, right on her Consignment Corner. Carol has lots of other hard to find dolls listed, including Inara (from Firefly), Animal Magnetism (Marilyn Monroe), Amazonia (Wonder Woman), Pin Up (the blonde basic and the debut raven Oops), and more.

Several special items from Marl & B

Did you miss out on Nu Mood Bettie from Tonner Doll? Marl & B still has one in stock for close to retail at $51. She is sold out at Tonner Doll and at many dealers (limited edition 500).

Additionally, Marl & B received a limited edition (one of each) of several older and very hard to find Barbie Fashion Models Silkstone dolls, including my favorite, Violette. She is a limited edition of just 999, and I was hoping I might be able to pick her up for Mother's Day--but not at the retail price of $999.99! But you should go click on her photo anyway--she is lovely.

Additionally, you should check out super special platinum edition City Smart (LE600), who was sold only in Japan, listed at $1,999.99 in 2003.

And yesterday, there was a listing for a special brunette version of Chataine listed, for $899.99, but she is already sold out. Congrats to the lucky new owner! Wow!