Today I’d like to show you the last few dolls from Naomi’s vintage collection. These are clone dolls but they are well made and  interesting in their own right.

As I have mentioned in my previous posts about clone dolls that were made in Hong Kong some of them can be extremely hard to identify unless you are lucky enough to find one still in the original outfit or better still, NRFB. Some have doll marks, many don’t. Some dolls are almost identical to each other but with different names. Doll detectives who collect clone dolls need never be bored.  It really was a different time when so many companies thought that it was perfectly all right to blatantly copy another company’s product right down to the clothes on her back.

Skipper Clone

The first doll today is a Skipper clone and quite a nice one too. She has a straight body and her hairstyle is identical to Skipper. She does have one special feature though, rooted eyelashes. Nearly all the usual suspects who made Barbie/Sindy/Tammy clones also produced a little sister doll that either looked like Pepper or Skipper. This one is marked with the usual “Made in Hong Kong” on her back and on the back of her neck. Her costume which is home-made is sewn on to her so I don’t want to mess it up by looking for any other marks. The clone doll that she most resembles is the one made by Davtex which also had “real” eyelashes. Davtex’s doll was Honey and wore plaits but there was also one in a baggie which had the Davtex head and looks a lot like Naomi’s one does.

Photo from http://kenbarbieclones1960s-1990s.weebly.com/preteen-doll-competitors.html

Barbie Clones

The first one has a bit of a Bild Lilli look to her but I think she is based on a Swirl Ponytail Barbie. At first I thought that the doll she most resembles is Debby by PMA ( Plastic Molded Arts) but she also looks like Suzette by Davtex. She is unmarked other than what might a “U” on the back of her neck which would be correct for Suzette. Her feet have the small raised bits that are sometimes used to hold sandals in place on old dolls. Uneeda also made a fashion doll called Miss Suzette which makes things a little confusing. Suzette seems to have been a popular fashion doll name in the sixties.

Here is a link to a boxed Debby on Pinterest.

Here is a link to a page about Suzette

My money is on Suzette.

The second one is made of a pinker vinyl and has a smaller head made of soft plastic. She is proving much harder to ID. Her head is unmarked but between her shoulder blades is  a large letter “R” in a circle. I thought this would be an easy mark to find but so far it has not proved to be. She is also marked “Made in Hong Kong” in very tiny letters on her back. She has a twist and turn waist so I’m guessing a slightly later doll than Suzette. So far she has me stumped.

I hope you have enjoyed meeting all of Naomi’s vintage dolls. I’m sure there will be more clone dolls in our futures and we will share them here on the blog.