This will be interesting.
http://www.thebarbiecollection.com/shop
Here's the description:
Gold Label®
Designer: Robert Best
Release Date: 2/1/2016
The little black dress is a staple in any sophisticated wardrobe. Barbie® doll wears this classic with an air of modern chic, featuring a dramatic deep “V” neckline and feminine bows at the shoulders. Tall boots and a signature ponytail complete the oh-so-fabulous look. For the first time ever, the 2016 BFMC series features a posable Silkstone® body, for endless posing possibilities.
Please note:
- Fashion designed especially for the Silkstone® Barbie® doll body. Not for use with other Barbie® dolls.
Production doll may vary from the photo shown above. Mattel reserves the right to modify the fashion/fabrics, sculpt, hair color/style, and accessories. Doll cannot stand alone as shown.
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In addition, all in stock Silkstone dolls went on sale. They're practically giving away the Silkstone Ken dolls at just above 50% off the already reduced prices. If the outfit on Blush Beauty didn't look so much like a prior fashion, I would have purchased her last year.The website actually worked for 10 minutes. And then, when I wanted to do some research into the older Silkies, it took forever to load, then it froze again, loaded, froze again. They still have a lot of work to do.
If she had the vintage body, I'd order it for the dress. Otherwise, will have to see reaction on production dolls. NOT a fan of the clunky boots.
ReplyDeleteTerri - check out the "Dutch Barbie World" https://dutchbarbieworld.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteHe's got two detailed pics of the new "Classic Black Dress" doll shown nude. You can see that Mattel did not sand down the seams, the elbows are pointed, the waist is a little higher, and the bust is smaller compared to a regular Silkie.
Thanks. I have already seen that. Disappointing but I had to buy her anyway.
DeleteFrom what I gather, this attempt at an articulated Silkie has been a failed one. The elbows are sticking out and there is no smooth transition from one joint to the next, as someone mentioned above, the seams are showing without even doing a close up, and the joints are actually not all the movable/bendable and have a limited range.
ReplyDeleteThey also completely changed her body and she has a more "boyish" figure now and not as much that fuller, hourglass figure we are accustomed to from Silkies, so there will be issues with trying to fit clothes from the regular Silkies onto her and vice versa. Her body looks similar to the Model Muse one now.
I am not impressed and hope they dump the whole idea. I don't like that they seem more "playline" now and think this whole desperate attempt to keep up with articulation has cheapened the Silkstones overall. I do not think the hard plastic of the Silkstone was meant to be used for articulation at all.
"Silkstone" is a resin. Nothing unique here. It's the engineering of the joints, not the material. Perhaps that is why they kept it cheap? I hope that they do not mess up the entire 2016 line of Silkstones if this one is a disaster.
DeleteI think this a great step in the right direction! I only have a handful of 12" girls and what I have always wanted was a "traditional" headed Barbie with a body what wasn't absolutely rigid. Would I like the traditional figure too.....Sure, but this gets me 90% of what I want without having to try to frankendolly some poor Barbie repo and JS doll (it has been considered....and wisely rejected).
ReplyDeleteI may very well get it!
As always love the blog.
Will C.
I think she's great. I'm not quite sure what people expect for $40 resin doll. She looks great in the pics, and I can't wait to see Teri's pics and get my own! But for contrast, if I recall the 1:6 scale articulated Valia Pivionne was three times this price. And how much does the same scale Jaimeshow sell for?
ReplyDeletePersonally, this doll makes me a excited again about Silkstone.
I saw one in person saturday, she's nice in a retro swirl sort of way. The boots are the kind that are just open in the back and rubbery.
ReplyDeleteThe joints themselves I can almost guarantee are plastic, not silkstone, which was the same issue with the neck knob and the waist joint in the classic silkstone body.
The Valia comparison is imperfect,but apt. They didn't have a huge following like silkstones and ended up later being 125. They also came with a very detailed fashion and box. The Demi JS were produced by a tiny company.
I think this doll is their loss leader to get the doll in people's hands.
It also may be a "new coke" strategy where they create demand for the original. I don't see why the proportions of the body needed to change at all.
Perhaps they started with the original proportions but the resin shrinks from the size of the mold.
DeleteAre their hands removable for easy dressing?
ReplyDeleteWe will see. Somehow I don't think so.
DeleteCan't wait to read your review and see your pictures! for the first time in about a decade, I am tempted to get a new Silkie! Even if she is imperfect and Rev. 0, if there is consumer interest Mattel might continue to improve the line.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that Mattel moves as fast as a glacier in the winter.
DeleteThere have been several disappointing things about this launch.
ReplyDelete(1) Why did Mattel provide the doll to some retailers before offering her on The Barbie Collection site? If it hoped to generate some positive buzz, that backfired immediately. The people who bought the doll paid more for it, which colored their perceptions. It made people who wanted to buy it from TBC unhappy, and this was the audience most likely to be attracted to the doll.
(2) The announcement that there would only be articulated Silkstones didn't help for those who didn't want articulation in the first place. I think that played into the third point.
(3) A few bad reviews from people started a groupthink reaction that the doll was a disaster. And worse, they started flaming people whose response was that they wanted to see the doll for themselves before rendering judgment. Not the doll community at its best. Lately, more people have been coming out with positive comments. Some have made a point of saying that she is more Poppy Parker sized, and the two dolls can share clothes. (Mattel probably didn't do themselves any favors by giving her an outfit that exposed all of the joints.)
I have yet to see a reviewer with whom I agree 100 percent, whether it is for dolls, books, movies, comics, or travel destinations. Reviews are just data points, not something that renders the decision.
Like you, Terri, I ordered her from TBC and used my Q1 certificate. I look forward to holding her in my hands and seeing how she plays. I'm hoping that Mattel continues to tweak her and that she will continue to evolve.
You made some great points. That "groupthink" behavior is contagious. I knew I'd order one no matter what before I read that first review.
DeleteI think she looks pretty good! I wish all their dolls were poseable. That black dress is really nice. I don't collect Barbie but I did find myself adding her to my shopping bag before I realized what I was doing...
ReplyDeleteI received my first silkstone Barbie -- the articulated silkstone a few days ago and I'm smitten.
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure: I don't have any silkstones for comparison (due to their lack of articulation) and I grew up with Francie and Skipper in the mid-60s (I wasn't allowed to have Barbie) so my taste IS different from those who prefer the original (although my vague memories of her are magical). Also, my taste ranges from Made to Move Barbies and Horsman Urban Vita to vinyl Sybarites, so I may not be your typical Silkstone collector.
I am looking forward to reviews that compare her to other silkstones. I gather that she IS different and wonder if she will attract a different market. Silkstone creators would probably do well to produce both if the line can afford it.
In my opinion, her articulation is nicely engineered with pivotal knees and elbows, and I'm extremely pleased with the range of motion in her torso due to a decent chest joint AND a TNT waist joint (yippee!). Her hips are very flexible, as her legs go easily into both kinds of splits (surprisingly easily), but she is not "floppy".
The only glaring flaw is her unsightly seams, especially along the fronts of the thighs and from the shoulders to the elbows.
Her weight is very nice. I expected her "texture" to feel like that of my vinyl Sybarites or my repro Barbie, but she feels more like hard rubber to me. It might be the smooth, firm feeling of the rotational and hinge joints.
Of course, she also has a great face, stylish hair, and a perfectly chic basic outfit. Her look seems closer to “mod” than the original classic, so I can understand if Silkie collectors are less than thrilled.
She has a cute, small-breasted body that looks a little different than my repro Barbie (swirl ponytail), the Barbies with Jazz Baby proportions, the original articulated fashionistas, and the new Made To Move dolls. I did not expect to like her as much as I do.
Thank you for your detailed review. I'm happy to hear a positive one!
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