Doll-A-Day 2023 #26: Sun Sun Skipper

   Today's doll has a tale behind it. I spotted this doll online somewhere a few years ago. I don't remember where. Facebook maybe. She was for sale for an amazing price, especially considering she is worth quite a bit. She is pretty rare, and is the Holy Grail of Skipper dolls. She's the most valuable Skipper doll out there. I was super lucky to find her. I figured I would enjoy her for a little while, but she was too valuable to keep. But I expected to enjoy her longer than this.

  I bought her from the lady, who lived in England. To save shipping costs, and to ensure she would arrive safely in the U.S., I had her shipped to our niece Jane, and planned to pick her up when we went over for our next visit. Ken was determined we weren't going to wait another 30 years to go to England. So we started saving and planning. We were going to go over, and then Covid hit. So we waited Covid out. We didn't want to risk picking anything up on the way and passing it along to Ken's sisters, who are all older than we are. Finally as you know, we managed to go last October. Jane handed Skipper over in two heavy plastic bags and some bubble wrap. Thank you Jane! I don't know if Jane put her in those bags, or if she arrived that way, because I'd had Jane open her package when it arrived to make sure the doll was right, and still in one piece. But thank goodness she was packed that way. I think it saved her life. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

  Skipper stayed safely in my carry on bag for most of the trip. As we travelled I kept her in sight. On the plane, she was in the carry on stuff. There was no way I was sticking her in a checked bag. Even when we lost our luggage, (Oh. I haven't gotten to that yet.), she came home with us. 

   I had been pretty good on the trip as far as not eating things I shouldn't. I ate some chocolate, and half of a chickpea curry. But overall I was pretty good. I did eat a few tiny cherry tomatoes in Iceland But once we got home, it was Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and I had goodies to eat from the trip. I over did it.  I felt bad, and got a cold...or did I? When I eat too many things I'm not supposed to, it affects my lungs. So I was never sure if what I had was a bad chest cold, or just my LPR, because I had been eating things that cause the aggravation to my lungs. But in any case, between that and the last of my leg pain, which is all gone now, I didn't feel up to cleaning Skipper and doing her photo shoot, even though I was excited to photograph her. So Skipper lay untouched on the landing, upstairs, outside my bedroom door, near the bathroom so I could clean her up when I felt like it. But then, a couple of weeks ago...you know what happened.

  Fuzzy's room caught fire. Our landing became a mess of water, and smoke damage, and melted things. I haven't shown you that stuff yet. Just wait. But what became of Skipper? The night of the fire I was concerned about the Skipper doll. Not why you might think. I was worried that she had burned or melted, when we needed most to sell her. Emma went back to our house a second time, after rescuing things we'd need, (My comb and brush! Emma, bless you!) , and looked for Skipper. 

  Emma found a bundle of melted plastic bag in the floor, near our bedroom, what she described as a 'plastic mummy'. She was scared to open it. She peeled away one melted bag. Then another. Inside was the bubble wrap. And inside that, totally unharmed, was Skipper. She doesn't even smell like smoke! I have wondered if it was the air inside the bubble wrap that helped protect her. But anyway, here she is, none the worse for her ordeal. Sun Sun Skipper.

Sun Sun Skipper was only sold in Japan.

 She's very rare. Her combination of the Malibu skin tone, dark hair, brown eyes, and rooted eyelashes makes her unique amongst Skipper dolls.

Sun Sun Skipper was available in 1971, although her body mold is marked 1967, She's also marked Made in Japan.

There weren't any regular Malibu Skippers with rooted eyelashes.

  Her long brown hair is way more silky than Malibu Skipper's course blonde hair.

 

 She has a twist waist and click bend knees.

  Sun Sun Skipper is already for sale. I have offered her on a Skipper Facebook page I'm on. She's very expensive, so it may take a while to sell her. If she doesn't sell there in a week or two she goes to Ebay. 

  That's the doll for today. See you tomorrow for another one.