This is my latest Sindy who recently arrived in the post. In the photo above she is just as I unpacked her. A little grubby but in good condition. This is one of the earliest Sindy’s, probably from 1963. She has hard non bendable legs and a hard vinyl body which is similar in colour to my 1965 Sindy. Her head and arms are softer more rubbery vinyl. She has short bobbed hair and amazingly not only did she still have her headband but it wasn’t even stretched. On the back of her neck Sindy has “Made in England” so I know she is an early Sindy. I think she may be the oldest one I have as my own childhood Sindy was given to me in 1965 and has bendable legs.

Here is Sindy with a later Sindy which was made in Hong Kong. These later ones which date from about 1966 are a little shorter but have much thicker hair. The one in this picture is my four dollar Sindy bought here in Tasmania before we actually moved here. You can see why I bought her, despite a few issues with stains on her arms and legs her hair and face are just perfect.

Sindy’s “Weekenders” outfit was in good shape too but as I already have a Sindy wearing that I planned to dress her in something else after she’d had a clean up.

Sindy was given a bath and her hair was washed and conditioned. She didn’t really need much else as it was just a little surface dirt and cleaned off nicely. As her legs were a bit swingy I wrapped some dental floss around the joins which made them a bit stiffer. I read about that fix somewhere and have used it before. After that I dressed her in “Emergency Ward” so that “Sleepy Sindy” could finally go off duty. She was looking pretty tired.

I thought that this outfit would be a better fit on an older Sindy as the later ones are slimmer. The stockings do not look as baggy on 1963 Sindy either as she has chunkier legs. This outfit has a lot of little pieces and I don’t have all of them. I am missing the cap and mask and the accessories, a temperature chart and medicine bottle I think. The funny little cotton arm guards have lost a bit of their elasticity. I should try to fix them one day.  I think this is a great example of how much trouble doll manufacturers went to in those days, not for collectors, for children.