Dollieh Sanctuary

Hi everyone, I'm new to both this forum and customizing dolls(I'm also young and inexperienced) and up until this point pretty much only collected vintage Barbies(Yes those cheap plastic thingys people don't really like that have zero articulation). While I love my dolls, their limited articulation is frustrating and bothersome but I can deal with it.

Recently I've been attempting to customize a extra Skooter doll who was in a bad short when I bought her. Skooter is Vintage Skipper's best friend, and the two are the same exact size, the only difference is Skooter has a different face which I happen to love, as it reminds me of the protagonist of my novel, Letty. So I've been trying to turn this Skooter into my Letty, which as it turns out isn't such a normal thing.

I have a small wardrobe and a few wigs for Letty, and I thought I did a pretty alright job for my first time trying to semi-customize a doll. But something was always off with her, and I've just now noticed that she's way too short to pass as a fifteen year old, and now she just looks a bit silly too me.

So after a lot of very obscure web searches I've decided that I want to try and give Letty a 25cm Obitsu body, so she'll not only be the correct hight, but so she'll also be articulated.

But I have a problem, and that is, I'm attempting to do something that seems, from all my searches to never have been done before, and to be a bad idea. I mainly need to know if a vintage Skipper/Skooter sized head will work with a obitsu body. Has anyone here ever done or seen anything like this? Do you think it'd work? Do vintage Skipper/ Blythe sized clothes fit on 25cm Obitsu's?

I figured if anyone had any information about this, here would be the place to ask, though I do apologize for such a obscure and odd question and don't mind if no one knows anything for sure. Oh and thanks for reading through all of my long, drawn out and small problem:).

Not an obscure question, Mattel heads end up on Obitsu bodies all the time but I don't remember seeing an old Skipper. I have a Malibu Skipper. The head should fit fine, I don't know how well the skin tone will match because my girl is super tanned.

A 25cm body will make her taller, they have soft bodies and you need to be wary of accidental stains from clothes. A 23cm body will be the same height as the old body and would stand a better chance at fitting the clothes. That body is hard and doesn't stain as easily.

Lol as a huge vintage Barbie collector its kind of hurtful seeing them referred to as "those cheap plastic thingys people don't really like that have zero articulation" like last i checked they weren't exactly cheap lmao.

I've seen a Skipper put onto a 23 cm Obitsu body but yeah, the body looks ultra scrawny for her, so a 25cm body might be a better fit.

Vintage Skipper on an Obitsu 23 cm body, thinking about staying there as she has had an itchy chin for almost 50 years.. by Rieckie, on Flickr

Also ironically, like three of my 25cm Obitsus are wearing clothes meant for Skipper/blythe sized dolls since they fit them pretty well sideways, it's just long sleeved shirts and pants are a bit short.

I actually have both a Skooter and a 25cm Obitsu so I'mm try out this combo when I have a chance to

Here she is on a 25cm small bust fleshtone obitsu:



As you can see she's a bit skinnier than the vintage Skipper body so widthwise she can fit her old clothes well, though length is kind of an issue.

her head sits kind of really high on the body but it's a big issue when you try putting vintage heads on modern bodies in general so you can either leave it as is or carve out the head so it'll sit lower on the neck lol.

Thelittlevintagegirl wrote: and up until this point pretty much only collected vintage Barbies(Yes those cheap plastic thingys people don't really like that have zero articulation)

not to mention terrible physical proportions and feet perpetually stuck in stiletto heel mode...

Tasuke wrote:

Thelittlevintagegirl wrote: and up until this point pretty much only collected vintage Barbies(Yes those cheap plastic thingys people don't really like that have zero articulation)

not to mention terrible physical proportions and feet perpetually stuck in stiletto heel mode...

Um can we, like, not do the thing where we bash a type of doll especially if people actually do collect those dolls. Cuz I happen to quite LOVE collecting vintage Barbies and have a large collection of them sooooooo yeah.

Kd_Bunchanumbers wrote:Here she is on a 25cm small bust fleshtone obitsu:

Wow, that looks really good! You have a point with the vintage Skipper head being big on the 23cm body, but it seem smuch more proportionate on the 25cm. Darn it, littlevintagegirl and Kd, now I'm even more tempted to make a bunch of vintage/obitsu hybrids!

Kd_Bunchanumbers wrote:

Tasuke wrote:

Thelittlevintagegirl wrote: and up until this point pretty much only collected vintage Barbies(Yes those cheap plastic thingys people don't really like that have zero articulation)

not to mention terrible physical proportions and feet perpetually stuck in stiletto heel mode...

Um can we, like, not do the thing where we bash a type of doll especially if people actually do collect those dolls. Cuz I happen to quite LOVE collecting vintage Barbies and have a large collection of them sooooooo yeah.

And this forum specifically does not discriminate against this doll or that doll (except "love" dolls) so that kinda attitude goes against the whole Sanctuary thing.

Oh I never intended to offend or to make fun of vintage Barbies, as I collect them myself. I was taking a stab at what I've heard many doll collectors say about Barbies when comparing them, or even just talking about their other dolls. Some doll collectors seem to consider Barbie's to be the all time low of all dolls and refer to them negatively. I love and accept all dolls, and myself have absolutely nothing against Barbie's, or any doll. What one choses to collect is their own choice and they should almost always be able to freely do so.

Kd_Bunchanumbers wrote:Here she is on a 25cm small bust fleshtone obitsu:



As you can see she's a bit skinnier than the vintage Skipper body so widthwise she can fit her old clothes well, though length is kind of an issue.

her head sits kind of really high on the body but it's a big issue when you try putting vintage heads on modern bodies in general so you can either leave it as is or carve out the head so it'll sit lower on the neck lol.

Aw, she's absolutely stunning. And thank you so much for not only replying but also trying it out and taking a picture. Also my vintage Midge wanted me to add that she finds your vintage Allan to be a real looker, and begged me to comment on it, lol.

Feel free to start a thread to share your vintage dolls, there are a lot of old and new Mattel fans around here.

And share pics of your Skipper hybrid when the head transplant is done. Does she still have her original hair? I have to reroot mine because her hair was so brittle it was breaking.