Out of the Box: Brenton Rudy and his Barnyard (Cabbage Patch Kids Pin-Ups)

Normally when I post dolls of this vintage it's either a childhood toy or some second-hand discovery that my mother has made, but not this time.  While browsing for something completely unrelated I came across a vintage Cabbage Patch mini doll - in his original early-80s packaging and being sold at virtually his original price!  Having always wanted one of the Cabbage Patch boy dolls, I couldn't pass it up.

The somewhat strangely named Cabbage Patch Pin-ups (surely I'm not the only person making the '40s-style pin-up association?), were a line of miniature versions of the full size CPK, with vinyl heads, yarn hair, and cloth bodies. They were packaged with a plastic shelf/play area which could be hung on a wall and which had a strip of Velcro attached to the back wall, allowing the doll and their associated accessory (in this set a chicken) to be fastened to the backdrop when not being played with.




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In the box: you can see the size compared to standard CPKs on the left.
The doll has fallen off the Velcro strip, but you can see that the hen is still attached.

This particular box was a little faded and definitely showed its age, but it was still great fun to look over.

Rear view: the back details "The Legend of the Cabbage Patch Kids"
The right flap shows three of the other available dolls (I think my sister
had the one in the sleeper when we were kids).

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The left side of the box, with more doll options and the
original price tag: $12.99

The outer packaging is a thin cardboard with a front plastic window that surrounds a sturdier thick cardboard inner lining. That lining was very simple to slide out: I think there was originally adhesive holding it in, but that seems to have dried and detached with time.

The inner lining.

Unlike the full size CPKs, these dolls each have one name associated with each look, so they don't have the unique adoption papers that were part of the main line's signature style. They do however come with a name and fact sheet:

The name sheet for Breton Ruddy and his Barnyard.

Freed from the box, we can more clearly see the farm animal-themed backdrop.

Out of the box.

While the doll is a near-perfect miniature version of the bigger dolls (although only the top layer of his clothing is removable), the hen is less impressive, and is a simple two-sided printed front plush.

Close up of Breton Rudy and his hen.

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Undressed. His shirt and shoes are permanently attached.

While I don't have a full-size CPK on hand to compare him to (that will be a project for a future Toronto trip and Retro Week post), I did take a look at how he compares to some other mini dolls - even compared to them, he's quite small:

He's slightly smaller than mini American Girl Josefina, and both are
tiny compared to Yo-SD-sized Island Doll Kevin.

In conclusion, while he isn't a doll I had set out to find, coming across him in nearly-new condition was fantastic, and I'm happy to be able to relive the 80s by opening him up.  And since he reminded me that my sister had at least one doll in this style growing up, that gives me a new quest to fulfill the next time I visit my mother's basement. ;)

How about you? Have you come across any nearly new vintage dolls that you picked up purely for nostalgia purposes? And did they make their way into your general collection once you brought them home?

Brenton climbs a tree.

Saying goodbye.