An Unbranded Barbie Clone

An unbranded, articulated Barbie clone

This unbranded Barbie clone arrived a few weeks ago. My curiosity about the quality prompted the purchase. Was she worth it?

She has boucle yarn hair, brown-painted eyes, and a light pink lip color.

The first thing I did to improve her appearance was to change the awful pink lip color. 

I repainted the lips with Tuscan Red acrylic paint.

A couple of layers were applied to achieve this result.

To maintain the matte look, I opted not to seal the paint with satin varnish. 

The next and final thing I did before incorporating the doll into the collection was to redress her as illustrated next.

The camera slipped as I attempted to take a full-length photo.

She is redressed in a Sparkle Girlz fashion and a pair of silver high-heel shoes.

Her love-themed Sparkle Girlz dress works well with the silver rose stud earrings she wore originally. I added a pair of silver high-heel shoes and made a spiral bracelet from pliable silver wire. Next, I placed her on a doll stand and incorporated her into a display of branded fashion dolls.

The others think she is worthy of being here.

For $4.99, I agree, she was worth the purchase.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

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Found at Ollie's

Barbie Fashionista #180

I recently found Barbie Fashionista #180 at Ollie's for $3.99 and could not leave her behind. I had no plans of ever buying this doll because of the blonde hair and the "baby hair." I have tired of the second feature since it was first used on Brandy dolls by Mattel during the late 1990s/early 2000s, and I wish Mattel would discontinue it. But for $3.99, I can overlook or remove it.

Ollie's price of $3.99 is on the front of the plastic zippered package.

The first photo outside the package

Posed outside the package, this 12-inch Barbie on a Tall Barbie body uses the Mbili head sculpt, and originally wore a pastel-swirl-colored short romper, a yellow vinyl bracelet, and high-top white vinyl sneakers.

She now has restyled hair and pierced ears with yellow map pins that serve as stud earrings.

The blonde-rooted, natural textured hair was originally styled in two top Nubian twists with loose hair in the back and the dreaded "baby hair" that frames the face. 

The hair in the back is now twisted and tucked.

The loose hair is restyled in two-strand twists with the ends rubber banded together and tucked under.

Fashionista #180's new clothes

This doll now wears a gray tunic, animal-print leggings, a yellow belt, and yellow high-heels that fit her flat feet. 

The $3.99 cost that led to this doll's makeover was well-spent on enjoyable doll therapy. I opted to leave the "baby hair" as is, but covering it with makeup or even painting or removing it with acetone remain options.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Doll Buyers Beware

A fellow doll collector encountered a person on Facebook Marketplace and in Facebook doll groups who used doll photos from the Virtual Black Doll Museum and/or Pinterest in an attempt to sell a Patti-Playpal-type doll and others. 

Before realizing it was a scam, the collector sent a message to the scammer asking the price of all three advertised dolls. Some of that message is captured below, but the scammer's response is no longer visible because they were later reported to Facebook and Facebook removed the post and possibly that account.

The collector messaged the fraudulent seller about the price of the doll(s).

The scammer's former Facebook Marketplace ID is circled.

The collector used Google Lens to determine if the "scammer's photograph" was original and found that the photo is from my Virtual Black Doll Museum. She then notified Facebook of the fraud and Facebook removed the listing. This all happened before I was informed. As a result, I could not contact the person on Facebook to insist they discontinue unauthorized use of my photos. 

This post is to warn all potential buyers responding to posts about "dolls for sale reasonably priced" and similar phraseology because if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Always ask for additional photos of the same doll and other forms of security to determine if the seller really has the doll/item. Ask the seller to include in the new image(s) a handwritten note that has the current date. You could ask for a specific object to be  included in the new photo or for the seller to take a photo with the doll. Asking for references is not always a reliable security method because many sellers use co-conspirators to vouch for them. 

The scammer stole this photo from DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum.

After stealing the photo, the scammer changed the background and posted the doll for sale in Facebook Marketplace in an attempt to "scam" a potential buyer into thinking they were purchasing a "reasonably priced doll."

The collector used Google Lens to determine if the photo was preexistent on the Internet and found it in my Virtual Black Doll Museum. 

How to use Google Lens is described below:

I conducted a Google Lens search of the stolen photo and captured the results in the screenshot copied below:

(Left) I right-clicked the scammer's image. Then I chose the "Search with Google Lens" option and selected the search area of focus (concentrating on the doll's face and torso). (Right) Google Lens found my doll's photo on the installation page of DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum.

When using a phone to search with Google Lens, touch and hold the image until a drop-down menu appears. Select "Search with Google Lens," and follow the next steps outlined in the above caption.

Again, please be careful when purchasing dolls from an unknown individual and/or from unknown websites especially when the price is too good to be true.

And if you see any of my photos in dolls for sale posts, please let me know. Thank you!

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Barbie 2020 Campaign Team

The Barbie 2020 Campaign Team Giftset includes the four dolls as shown.

A set of four boxed dolls from the Barbie You Can Be Anything series features campaign team Barbies and their roles: Campaign Fundraiser, Campaign Manager, Candidate, and Voter. Released in 2020 with a copyright of 2019, I was recently "enabled" to buy this set after seeing another collector's set, and because the current Democratic Party candidate is a woman of color who has received a tremendous amount of support from women of all ethnicities, I thought this would be perfect for my collection now.

The back of the box features images of each team member with an explanation of their political roles.

The Campaign Fundraiser

A Campaign Fundraiser works to raise the money needed to run the campaign, among other things, as fully described on the back of the box.

The Campaign Manager

A Campaign Manager works in partnership with the candidate while overseeing the campaign's day-to-day operations. The rest of the manager's duties in detail continue on the back of the box.

The Candidate uses the Asha head sculpt.

A Candidate is an individual who decides to run for an elected office or is nominated and accepts the nomination by her political party to run for office. Other tasks of running for the highest political office in the U.S. are described on the back of the box.

The Voter

A Voter will vote for a candidate running for office among other important things to ensure the best candidate is elected.

My initial plan was to replace the white dolls with Black dolls dressed in the white dolls' clothing, but I've decided to keep the dolls as they are because Kamala Harris has a diverse group of women (and men) supporting her 2024 presidential run. If I ever change the dolls, I'll only swap out The Candidate for a doll that is a closer complexion match to Candidate Harris.

From the words/tweet of now-presidential hopeful, Kamala Harris,

... and "when we fight, we win; we are not going back" to divisive patriarchal rule.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

1950s Doll with Bun

1950s doll with bun hairstyle

This little girl arrived in September 2023. I reconnected with her recently while looking for other dolls. I searched the blog to see if I had written about her, but I had not. I did install her in the virtual museum with a taller, similar doll. 

After she arrived "wearing" her original molded-on underwear which is the same color as her vinyl complexion, I found the perfect yellow print dress for her to wear. I photographed the preview photo and the photo below for this blog post before she was returned to her display shelf. 

1950s rubber doll with a bun hairstyle

Isn't she adorable?

1950s Dolls with Buns

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Art Doll Wood Carving

Redwood carved doll art by Kor January

One of my most recent and prized doll acquisitions is a carved redwood art doll by master carver Kor January. This mixed media piece can be displayed as a seated "doll" or as an elaborate wall hanging. I display it as a wall hanging as illustrated next.

It is an elaborate piece of doll art.

See more pictures and the description of this 39-inch art doll in a recent Virtual Black Doll Museum installation here.

 

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!