Monday, February 16, 2015

Work In Progress: Ginny Doll Restoration (Part 1)

Tropical Adventure Ginny
Her head was only held on by the box tie at this point.
Being a fan of international-themed dolls, I've been debating picking up one of the International Collection dolls from the Vogue Dolls Ginny International Collection (a series from the late '80s) for a while now.  I'd always held off buying one though, because  I'd heard about quality issues and didn't want to end up overpaying for something that would fall apart as soon as I brought it home.

But then last month I found a lot of dolls from the series that had already fallen apart.  And that proved to be the one that I couldn't pass on, so now a semi-dismembered "Tropical Adventure", "Navajo Princess", and "Sari" are part of my collection, and my first project dolls of the year.

Ginny dolls of this vintage have legs that are attached with sculpted peg joints, but their heads and arms were strung with a plain (non-fabric covered) elastic, which tends to decay over time.  That decay appears to happen regardless of play use, as two of the three dolls in this lot had never been removed from their boxes, and according to the seller, the third had been displayed by an adult collector.

"Little Navajo" Ginny
Interestingly, on the two dolls who were still tied to the box, it wasn't immediately apparent that the heads were detached as well, as they were held in place by the box ties.  I give respect to the seller, since they were very transparent about the condition of the dolls, since they easily hidden that fact.that the heads on those two were about to come off.

"Sari"
Unfortunately part of this dolls outfit was stained
from the tape that held the comb to the side of the box.
Close-up of the neck joint on "Tropical Adventure" as her head comes off

Out of the box: Tropical Adventure
Each doll comes with a variety of accessories, include a stand (with a heart-shaped base), two combs and some jewellery items.  While the dolls themselves are a fairly light plastic and clearly had some quality control issues with stringing, the outfits were actually better quality than I had expected from the in-box photos, and included multiple individual pieces (I had expected the tops to be single pieces, but was pleased to discover that they were actually more realistic than that).
Amusingly, the "earrings" are attached to the doll's scarf
rather than to her head/ears.
The 5-piece Tropical Adventure outfit.  The doll also came with
a matching beaded bracelet, but that was in a small bag rather than
on the doll itself, so I haven't opened it yet.

The bodies are stamped with: Vogue Dolls. 1986
R. Dakin & Co. Made in China.

Tropical Adventure's head and the remains of the elastic.
Overall, these dolls are in decent condition (aside from the obvious arm- and headlessness) and now that I know what size of elastic to pick up, getting them into display-ready condition should be a fairly simple process.




14 comments:

  1. Yes, they do look cute! And their outfits look lovely and colourful. I look forward to seeing them on here when they are all ready to 'meet their public' with arms and heads all where they should be :)
    hugs Sharon x

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    1. Thanks!

      I'll have to let the other two have more of the spotlight once they're back together! :)

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  2. Not to be creepy, (too late!) but I find them quite endearing in their disjointed state. I would probably display them that way in their boxes as sort of a nod to the "Land of Forgotten and Broken Toys."

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    1. Heh, you know that's a solid idea! Maybe not for these three (since I'm looking forward to putting them together), but getting creative with some partial or broken thrift stores dolls would be a fun project!

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  3. Such pretty dolls. I'm sure they will enjoy their bodies back together.

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    1. Thanks! I'm sure they're looking forward to being able to wave and look around again! ;)

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  4. Wow, I think they are really cute as well. They are going to look great once put back together! I had never heard of them as I am new to collecting and I feel like I may have seen Sari at my local thrift shop...there are a bunch of older looking dolls there which I should really take a photo of and research online. You never know what gems could be there just hanging out on the shelves! I think Tropical Adventure is especially adorable!

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    1. Thanks!

      Photos of your thrift store's dolls would be great fun! Even if you end up not purchasing them, it's always interesting to research what's there (and I love seeing what people find too!). :)

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  6. Hi JS!
    Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I will look forward to seeing the end result, I bet you will have fun with them.
    Hugs,
    X
    P.S. Sorry about the deleted post, the brain was moving quicker than the fingers! LOL!

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    1. Heh, no worries, I have that same problem sometimes! :D

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  7. Oh I am looking forward to seeing her after her restoration - I think the dolls that need our help end up winning our hearts just that little bit more.

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    1. It's true, repair time tends to equal bonding time, doesn't it? :)

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