The Sacrificial Barbie Deluxe Style 12

After the price of Barbie Deluxe Style 12 Barbie was reduced to $14.99, I purchased three because this doll is a complexion match for my Barbie You Create Neutral Kit 1, one of the kits Mattel sold with one body and three heads. I wanted all three heads to have their own body. So...

After removing two of the three dolls from the box, I had to first tackle their dry and brittle-looking hair (why, you ask, since I'm only using their bodies). I had an articulated $2 body to use for one of the heads.

This is how two of my Barbie Deluxe Style 12 dolls' hair looked right out of the box—dry and brittle-looking!

I gave them a rod roller set.

I saturated the hair with Lotta Body setting lotion and rolled small sections under with tiny red rod rollers as illustrated above. I left the rollers in for 48 hours to allow the hair to fully air dry.

I removed the rollers and later (after this photo was taken) gently finger-combed the curls to slightly loosen them.

Here they are from the front before sacrificing their bodies to two heads in my Barbie You Create Neutral Kit 1.

This is one of the Barbie Deluxe Style 12 dolls after resetting the hair, removing the original body, rebodying onto a cheaper articulated body, and redressing.

I stored the extra Barbie head and the two sets of original clothes in a plastic baggie. The third doll remains NRFB.

Bodying the Barbie You Create Neutral Kit 1 Heads

I was ready to pop the kit heads onto the donor bodies, only to discover that the neck peg on the Deluxe Style dolls was too large and would require modification. After almost giving up, I consulted the resident doll doctor, who used a wire cutter from my dollologist kit to modify the pegs for me. 

The peg on the left is modified (excess plastic snipped off). I had wrapped it with micropore tape after my modifications to cover any rough edges before my husband performed the required extra snipping. The one on the right is the original, unmodified neck peg on the 2nd Barbie Deluxe Style body.

One of the kit heads (Lara) is added to the modified peg and body and fits perfectly.

This photo illustrates that the kit heads will not fit the original Barbie Deluxe Style neck peg without modifying the peg.

The second neck peg was modified by shortening the stem and the side prongs, and the circular area at the base was narrowed with wire cutters.

Both Barbie Neutral Kit 1 heads are attached to the Barbie Deluxe Style 12 donated bodies.

Dressing the Three Kit Dolls

The third doll or first doll in the kit continues to use the Petite Made to Move body provided by Mattel. With all three dolls bodied and dressed, they posed for the final two pictures. 

Nichelle, Lara, and Mermaid (their head sculpt names) are dressed in a mixture of kit clothing and other fashion doll clothes, shoes, and accessories. 

The ladies pose for a final full-length picture.

It took several days, off and on, to complete the hair setting and rebodying process, but it was time well spent.

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