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Spring 2004 Newsletter
| Toy Fair News |
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It's Toy Fair! The most anticipated event of the year. With all of the biggest
toy makers and doll companies displaying their 2004 lines, there was much to
see, including a few surprises waiting for us.
While Mattel had announced most of the 2004 line prior to Toy Fair, they still kept a few secrets up their sleeve! First the new Sandy doll from Grease. If you missed the first one, here's your chance to get Sandy dressed this time in the innocent schoolgirl outfit: the yellow skirt and shirt with the white sweater. A new series of high fashion dolls will be making its debut. The Modelmuse collection consists of three dolls for 2004: an African-American dressed in a white evening gown with great jewelry and a gorgeous handbag; a blonde doll in a modern blue dress and a hispanic doll in pants. All three will feature a new, smaller body mold with thinner arms. Mattel also announced a new method of categorizing their dolls based on the price point, with the Pink Label being the least expensive, followed by Silver and Gold Label. Regardless of the category, all dolls will be packaged in black and white boxes, in order to shift the focus to the doll itself. This also provides collectors with the opportunity of displaying their boxed dolls without worrying about the disparity in size and color of the boxes. Two new princesses in the Dolls of the World series will be available later in 2004: the Princess of the Navajo and Princess of Mexico. A new catwoman is also in the works, based on the upcoming movie with Halle Berry. The doll will be based on the actress. Lucy as a Sales Representative is as cute as always. The 45th Anniversary doll in the Silkstone collection comes packaged in a colorful box, similar to the Collector's Request boxes. This wrapped up the visit with Mattel, with an exciting outlook for 2004 in Barbies! Madame Alexander's Alex collection debuts a new character this year: a latin beauty named Sofia Cruz. A set of Mod dolls also coming out, offers collectors the best value in the line to date. At $69.99 USD, Mod Alex, Mod Jadde, Mod Paris and Mod Sofia are quite a steal, and come fully articulated. In fact, the Alex dolls have the most articulations in the business, right down to their bendable toes! Robert Tonner offered the lion's share of excitment this Toy Fair... again! Whether with the Brenda Starr line from Effanbee or the Tyler Wentworth collection, the dolls are simply breathtaking. Divinely Daphne Dimples is an aptly named blonde bombshell who joins Brenda on the staff of "the Flash". Friend or rival? That is up to the collector to decide. One thing is for sure, she's already making headlines in the doll world!
2004 marks Tyler's fifth anniversary and to celebrate the occasion, only one dressed Tyler will be part of the regular line: the Anniversary Gala Tyler. For the Sydney Chase fans, this is your chance to collect all of them! Show Stopping, Mosaic Modern, Envy, Wintergreen, Ice Blue or 24kt Sydney, each has a distinctive look and all are absolutely gorgeous.
Angelina and Carrie join the Tyler line. Angelina is a hispanic doll, while Carrie is the new oriental face in the line. Esme also has a different look, with lighter highlights in her hair and a new, creamier skin tone.
The 18" Kitty doll is incredible is two period costumes. In Kitty XVI, the doll wears a Louis XVI style gown in scarlet. Empress Kitty is dressed in an empire gown fit for Josephine Bonaparte, complete with cameos decorating her hair. But of course, everybody's sweetheart is Tiny Kitty. The basic doll has new make-up which gives her a more sophisticated look. The dressed dolls are equally beautiful with different haircolors and elaborate styles. There's definitely somehting for everyone! 2004 is off to a very promising start in doll collecting! *Special thanks to the Tonner Doll Company for permission to photograph the dolls. |
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