Doll-A-Day 2017 #27: Zack from Saved by the Bell

  I unloaded part of a tub of dolls today, and made a mess in our bedroom. Dolls everywhere,all over the bed. This prompted Ken to announce that the bedroom looked like 'somebody had a bad case of doll-arrhea', when he went in to get a shirt for work. Sorry Ken. But I did dig out this guy.

He's today's doll, Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell.

He's dressed for our snow today. The Don Johnson pink shirt he came in might have been a little chilly.

Now I do admit to watching Saved by the Bell, but it's not what you think! The show started out in 1988 as a Disney Channel series called good "Morning Miss Bliss",starring Haley Mills. As an admirer of Haley Mills I watched to see what she was up to at the time. Zack, Lisa,Screech, and Mr. Belding were actually part of the original series, which was set in a different school, in a different state,(Indianapolis instead of California),from Saved by the Bell.

He's about 12" tall.

When the series was cancelled NBC, who had made the series for the Disney Channel, took it back and redid it, getting rid of Haley Mills and Zack's best friend Nikki,and sending the rest of the cast to Bayside High,where they eventually met Jessie and Slater. The series ran for another four years as Saved by the Bell.

 I was newly married in 1989, and no longer working.So I was hanging around the house alot with only the TV for company much of the time. We didn't have cable and in those days there was nothing on at that time on Saturday.You get the idea.

He has pretty much the standard articulation, with the addition of his arms going out to the sides a bit.

By the time 1991 came around I was expecting Emma, and when she was born in June, there was just the two of us while Ken was at work. With a baby in the house my tv viewing became strictly kid friendly during her waking hours. (I did manage to watch Must See TV when she went to bed. And when she was about 3 she used to be the VCR operator for me.She stayed up later than most kids so she could see Ken, because he got off at 10 at night. I'd bathe her and pop her out of the tub and take my shower. In case I didn't make it out by 9 o'clock, Emma knew to 'push REC when the clock says 9 0 0'. She was a smart kid.)

The Saved by the Bell dolls were made by Tiger Toys in 1992.

There were 6 dolls in the line. All the major characters, but sorry,no Mr. Belding.
Zack was probably the most popular character,which is most likely why he's the one I found at a thrift store. I bought him, figuring he would at least be some variety in my guy dolls.

His insulated vest is a Christmas ornament from a few years ago.
Recently Pop Vinyl put out a series of Saved by the Bell figures.

My opinion of Pop Vinyls is a subject for another post. (I don't hate them!)

Come back tomorrow for Shrunken Saturday.

Doll-A-Day 2017 #26: Flashy Blinkins

  Is today's doll a doll, or a toy? And how do you tell the difference? We seemed to be on a theme of small 70's and 80's toys,so today it's Flashy Blinkins.

Blinkins were a line of toys launched in 1985 by LJN Toys.

They originated with a line of plush dolls,with wings that lit up and changed colour when the doll was squeezed.

This doll is from 1986. This line had light up bottoms that operated when you squeezed their heads.(Ouch!)

The names of the other Blinkins were Flicker,Shady, Sparkle,Baby Twinkle, and Blink.

This one no longer works, but that's not surprising, since the battery is over 30 years old.I don't think it's changeable though.

Her name is Flashy, and she came with a swing.

She has movable arms and legs.

Flashy is 4" tall,if you include all the big hair. 

...and there is a lot of it.

According to Wikipedia, the Blinkins were 'fairy glow-bugs that lived in Blinkin Land'.

Hence the wings and antennae.

Two playsets were produced for the Blinkins dolls the size of Flashy. There was the 'Lady Buggy', a giant ride in lady bug, and the Twilight Treehouse, a multi-room home for the Blinkins figures which included furniture and a swing.
There was also an animated movie voiced by stars like Oscar nominee Burgess Meredith and Oscar winner Paul Williams.  You can watch it HERE.

Check in tomorrow for another doll.

Doll-A-Day 2017 #25: Holly Hobbie Amy by Knickerbocker

  Today we're looking at another popular doll from the past,a Holly Hobbie friend.

The first Holly Hobbie dolls were produced in the early 70's, and included several rag dolls of 'Holly', her friends, and even her brother, 'Robbie Hobbie'. This particular Holly Hobbie doll is Holly's friend Amy. This line was produced by Knickerbocker in 1975.

Amy's outfit consists of a long dress...

...with bloomers that match the sleeves...

 ...a bonnet with a band of that same fabric,and she originally had white stockings and tan shoes.

I think this doll belonged originally to the mother of Emma's friend Felicia. you may have seen some of Felicia's wedding pictures when I posted them after my first time being a wedding photographer.

Amy's sweet little face was simple,with minimal colour, like the original illustrations.Her hair came in braids.

Her dress closed in the back with velcro and tied.

And her bloomers, or pantaloons, have an elastic waist.

 

'Holly Hobbie' was named after her creator,Denise Holly Ulinskas Hobbie, a writer and illustrator.

The REAL Holly Hobbie.

She created the nameless character that became Holly Hobbie in the late 1960's or early 70's,(Accounts differ.),as illustrations for American Greetings. Holly originally had her bonnet covering her face, like the traditional 'Sunbonnet Sue', and always had a cat with her.

Her back is marked 'Holly Hobbie AGC 1975 made in Hong Kong'.

Her head is only marked 'AGC made in Hong Kong'.

  The real Holly Hobbie was born in 1944, which makes her 73 years old, and today she lives in Massachusetts, where she writes and illustrates the Toot and Puddle book series.

 
Toot and Puddle star in not only their own book series, but their own cartoon series as well. There are also loads of Toot and Puddle products, such as dolls, and Christmas ornaments. I love pigs and I own at least one doll and one Christmas ornament!

  Holly,(the real one!),has also written and illustrated the children's book "Fanny", and it's sequel, "Fanny and Annabel". "Fanny" is about a little girl,(named Fanny!), who wants a Bratz type doll called 'Connie', which her mother refuses to buy for her because she doesn't like how the doll looks. So Fanny decides to make her own  'Connie' doll. When Fanny's 'Connie' doesn't look like her friend's dolls, they scorn her. Fanny puts her doll, Annabel away in a drawer until she realizes that her doll has it's own unique qualities that make her special. While playing hospital with her friends, whose dolls are all nurses with faces full of make up, Annabel turns out to be the doctor who takes charge.

In "Fanny and Annabel" Fanny decides to write her own book.

Holly Hobbie became very popular, and appeared on a wide range of merchandise, including greeting cards, books, an 'Easy Bake Oven' type toy in the style of an old wood stove...

...ceramics such as plates and mugs, stationary products, fabrics,nick nacks, Christmas ornaments, bedding, and craft items.

Holly Hobbie sheets.

  Eventually Holly's popularity waned. In 2006 a new line of Holly Hobbie dolls was produced, featuring 12" versions of Holly and friends in modern styled clothes. The line was discontinued in 2010.

See you tomorrow for another doll.

Doll-A-Day 2017 # 24: Lemon Meringue in Box

I'm a little behind. I just spent a couple of days at the hospital with my best friend,Lori. Lori has some heart issues, but is ok right now and is home again,thank goodness.
  Today's doll is Strawberry Shortcake's friend,Lemon Meringue.

This Lemon Meringue is still in her box.

This doll is one of the original Strawberry Shortcake friends from Kenner.

Her box shows the other dolls.

It's her box, so she gets to be on both sides.

Strawberry Shortcake debuted during Unsentimental Niece's childhood. She had Strawberry Shortcake sheets.

This particular doll belongs to my friend Connie.

The Strawberry Shortcake dolls all had a scent that went with their name.

See you tomorrow for another doll.

Doll-A-Day 2017 #23: Prince StrongHeart from Lady LovelyLocks

  Yesterday we looked at the Lady Lovely locks Maiden Golden Wave doll, and we had a  peek at Prince Strongheart. So I thought today we would take a better look at him.

He's a cute little guy.

Especially if you can ignore the big hairdo.

Prince StrongHeart was made by Mattel, and licensed by Those Characters from Cleveland, which is what his body is marked. He has the exact same body as the LLL girls,the same body that was later used (Without the Characters From Cleveland copyright.), for Mattel's Stacie and Todd dolls. Stacie and Todd were Barbie's brother and sister.
  The first time the body was used for the Barbie line was the Kelly and Todd dolls produced as flower girl and ring bearer for Midge's wedding.

This Kelly was slightly different from her later incarnation as Stacie. She seemed to use the same head sculpt as Todd. Stacie had her own.This was the only release of this Kelly. The name Kelly was later used for Barbie's baby sister. I think the last time this body was used was for the Jane and Michael Banks dolls from Mary Poppins, in 2007

But they both used the head sculpt from the original Stacie doll. (Not the one currently being used.)

The Prince uses the same body and head as the girls in the Lady Lovely Locks series.

But I'm willing to bet he's the only one with brown eyes.

He's 8 1/2" tall.

Yesterday I showed you how Maiden Golden Wave had Spotty Leg Syndrome. The Prince seems to have spotty arm syndrome. That's new one on me.(Or, rather, on him.) I've seen plenty of older Barbies with Spotty Leg,but he's the first doll I've seen with Spotty Arm!

He also came with a navy blue hat and cape and some boots.

He also came with the same hair clips, called 'Pixietails', that the girls came with, but his were meant to be clipped to his cape.

  This little guy's guest appearance is courtesy of my friend Connie.(Thanks Connie!) Connie is looking to rehome him, if anybody is interested.

  See you tomorrow for another doll.