Help ID these Barbie(s)?

[WhiteDove01s]

I'm actually sending this one off where someone was asking for donations for that kid, but I'd like to know which Barbie it is, or a half-decent guess, so I can label her original body for reference when it's used with my ongoing paint matching experiments. That way I'll know that paint tone matches that doll, even though I wouldn't be able to ID the body with no head on. I've swapped her onto a matching body that, oddly, came from a Midge that I used for one of my OOAKs.

She has blond hair that, even braided, is down to her knees, so would probably be mid-calf or so unbraided. Here's a pic.

And here's a closeup of her face.


Also, the Midge doll mentioned looked like this before OOAKed.

Closeup here

I'd love to have a positive ID on it too. I know there are a lot of people here who know a lot more about Barbies than I do. Me, I just love to pull off their heads... and do odd experiments like trying to match their skintones in acrylic paint. XD

[DollyKim]

Top is a Superstar face. Hollywood Hair was long.

Bottom is a Diva face Midge, could be Earring Magic like mine.

[WhiteDove01s]

Top is a Superstar face. Hollywood Hair was long.

Bottom is a Diva face Midge, could be Earring Magic like mine.

The Midge did have some earholes that looked a bit stretched, at the time I assumed from removal of factory earrings, but knowing there was a Barbie where you swapped earrings around does make a little more sense - especially with how roughly my cousin played. I think many of the Back Room lot were hers at one point. I had Spectra dolls - not the Monster ones, but the ones called that when I was a kid, who were Barbie-sized but had jointed chrome-plastic bodies and weird sparkly hair. XD And Transformers...

Thanks a lot. Now I'll have proper notes in place for the ongoing skintone matching experiment. It'll be a while before I get to those, but wanted to make sure the bodies were labeled. XD Currently I have a match or near-match in progress for fleshtone obitsu, but confirmation is pending as I ran out of good sunlight before I could confirm. It's close, anyway... in normal indoor light it matches the hands, but the Obitsu heads I got are slightly darker/more orangish by a slight amount (they actually match LIV Sophie O.o), and the body is just the tiniest smidge pinker than the hands, possibly just due to the different plastic. *sigh* Batch variations are frustrating. I may have to let the decisive factor be whether or not the head (repainted a Fashionista head with the test paint) looks like it tone-matches the body, even without being an exact match to every piece.

But, back on topic, thanks again for the ID help.

[DollyKim]

I have a Spectra and Tom Comet from my splurge for the website time, they're among the first to go. Outside of Volks to Obitsu or shades of Barbie AA I've generally stayed out of a skin tone database. Best of luck in doing that. I'd suggest starting with easy to find and most common tones first like the range Barbie still uses and don't go mad trying to be all things to all people.

The gimmick for the earrings involved keeping the basic earring in and changing hoops and danglies but earrings from that time were monstrous and easier to remove. Diva Midges have their people.

[WhiteDove01s]

I had Spectra and AstraGold. So far, all I've found cleaning the back room has been AstraGold's dress, and it's yellowed. I'm still hoping they and little Michael (a Bandai Tiny Blessing doll) turn up.

As for the range, don't worry. I can't afford to run around trying to find and buy every single color of doll that ever existed for this project. (I'm what's commonly referred to as trailer park trash, only my trailer is actually on an owned lot instead of in a park, so I have room for a garden. The trailer itself constantly threatens to fall apart, though, so it's a tradeoff. XD The Playscale Theater's total budget is about $16 in a good month, provided no household disasters interfere. And things like Fimo, hair for wigs, and tulle to make wig wefts and so on are still on the list ahead of more bodies - unless I spot a great deal on one I like.)

I'm starting with the ones I'm actually OOAKing myself and am likely to need the info for, and will go from there through my existing collection as it naturally expands. My acting troupe so far has a mix of Fashionista bodies, Liv bodies, Obitsu, a single Volks, and a scattering of others, often with older Barbie heads, so it's a decent starting point for this. Matching the one Fashionista/Palm Beach tone let me finish (or mostly finish, still considering minor tweeks) Alya's faceup. If I have a confirmed match today on fleshtone Obitsu, I'll be able to start on Dyna's. Matching LIV Sophie will let me give Angela's head a little bit of blushing to match better when I go to work on her eye shape a bit. Matching LIV Alexis will let me paint Denia's head to match her new body after I thickened her jawline with caulk... Matching tan Volks... won't do anything because that head actually matched, but I just get the feeling she'd be cross if she was left out.

So it's all really info I need to untangle for my own projects, it's just fun for me to also make it a project of its own and share the results in case anyone else finds them useful.

[Anderson'sAllPurpose]

Obitsu and Volks are tricky because the soft vinyl torso doesn't perfectly match the hard plastic parts. So no matter what head you put on them, it's going to be mismatched somehow...

[WhiteDove01s]

I've noticed. The difference is very slight, but when focusing on color, it's there. I confirmed in sunlight earlier color match for the soft parts of Obistu Fleshtone (at least mine, batch variations aside for the moment), and I think with the rest of his faceup done it'll work out for Dyna. I'm hesitant to doublepost on that thread, but I guess I will and update it with the color formula later this evening. First, I need to recover from the monthly grocery store trip and finish putting things away.