❀ 1982 Quick Change Sindy by Pedigree ❀

On 4th November 2012, I wrote and published a post about Sindy Styling heads which I have since reverted back to draft form, the information in this post was part of that one but looking back through  my "Drafts Folder" I realise it really should be two separate posts, so I have decided to split and rewrite them both...

It began when I discovered a Sindy Doll bust online and wanted to find out more about them...

Around the same time I managed to get my hands on a bundle of Sindy dolls, which I was either going to restore or customise depending on how damage they were when they arrived.

  At the time I bought them I was curious about the one that appeared to have purple hair and when she arrived I was even more curious about her, so I uploaded a photo of her to my Flickr Photostream and asked my Flickr friends for any information on her.

One of my friends suggested that she is probably a Quick Change Sindy which came with pens so you could add streaks of colour to their hair or if you prefer completely change the colour of her hair.

As I'd never heard of her before I did a little research and discovered that she was released in 1982 and came with "Magic Colour Change Sticks" which were used to draw the colour or colours of your choice directly onto the doll's hair, whether or not these washed out I cannot say, although I suspect they would have done so you can try another colour or colour pattern etc.

(So really not much more than my friend told me, in fact it was virtually impossible to find anything else on this doll at all at that time...)

Which makes me think it's even more surprising that this doll of mine still has the colour on her hair - without which it would have been impossible to identify her as a Quick change Sindy!

Ebay Listing

One of the tools I like to use when trying to identify dolls and other toys is Google Images. While originally looking for info' on various Sindy's in order to identify this girl, I spotted a thumbnail of the above image which lead me on what I initially thought was a separate quest to buy a Sindy Styling head.

Ebay Listing

I couldn't resist bidding on it and while waiting for the auction to end, I began researching these instead!

I discovered there are two versions of this toy, a standard (for this type of toy) "Flesh tone" part bust (shoulders really) version and one that has the bust area (partial breast lumps included!) made from red textured plastic... possibly to resemble a jumper, as shown in the photo' below.

Ebay Listing

I have no idea why this version has a red  textured body, I suspect it is made to simulate a red sweater as opposed to the flesh versions above.

 I guess it is possible that as she is showing part of her breasts it was deemed more appropriate to have her "wearing" something.

One image I found appeared to be a brunette version of this "sweater" style styling head, which seems to be identical in every except for the hair.

I think this may infact be a case of someone not placing the original blonde head back on the bust as after discovering the origin of these "busts" / "mini styling heads" I can't really sree the point of making a dark haired version, that statement will become clear to you once you've read a bit further down...

As you can see from this picture of the "Brunette version", these "Sweater" styling heads came with heated hair curlers so you could heat-set and style Sindy's hair, I am unsure whether the "Flesh" type 

also had this gimmick.

Or so I thought but while double checking my facts and editing this post from the original (written in 2012) today, I did a bit more research I found this image in Google:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lauralovelylocks/8213184369/

As it doesn't enjoy being enlarged much, I guess I should explain it's relevance... At the bottom of the box there is an "Also available" type image which toy manufacturers just so love placing on their products, the product it's advertising is ( I don't actually know the marketed name ) an additional playset which contains a hair brush, mirror, comb, portable hair dryer, hair curlers, holders etc

I recently bought part of this set which you can see in the listing photograph below... Sadly it wasn't complete and the yellow items don't belong to it, but it did contain the long coveted Sindy Curlers I've been after for years and the adorable portable hair dryer too!

The "Brunette with curlers" image above is looking more and more to me like a bundle of similar Sindy items that the seller has either knowingly or not, grouped together for the purpose of the sale.

And talking of auctions and more specifically the one for the "Flesh tone bust" / "Styling head" I mentioned earlier...

Well I didn't win that auction but after more searching I found a "red bust" blonde haired version for auction, I placed a bid and this time I won!

It wasn't until I received it that I discovered it's actually pretty small, the head itself is the same size as a regular Pedigree Sindy doll and in fact whole thing was the exact same size as a Sindy doll's shoulders as I discovered when I placed one on top of the other.

I still had no idea what I had got until several months later when I decided to once again search for information on Quick Change Sindy dolls by taking another look on Google Images - this time I got lucky and discovered several images of  boxed "Quick Change Sindy" dolls...

One look at the boxed dolls and the mystery of the "Sweater" and flesh type heads was solved!!

Google Images

As you can see from these two images, these dolls came with a spare head mounted on a mini bust, some boxes had the bust that with a flesh tone bust and some had the bust in a textured red plastic, there is probably some reason for this, but so far I have been unable to work out what it is.

Google Images

My only guess is that they somehow correspond to the two variants of this doll available at the time; one wearing a purple sparkly outfit, as shown in the photos below and one wearing a silver outfit, they both had a metallic padded jacket as part of their outfit.

Photo found on Google - If it belongs to you, please let me know so I can credit you.

As you can see from the above photo and one below these busts seem to have been designed so that they can be displayed alongside Sindy's furniture in her Dream House or wherever else your doll may live.

Image found on Google, please contact for credit if it belongs to you.

My spare head is packed safely away in one of my many doll filled boxes and so apart from the photographs which were part of the Ebay listing and we're already uploaded as part of this post when I initially wrote and published it a few years back, so I haven't taken any new pictures of it for this post.

I have however found this photograph, also taken several years back, which shows how my Quick Change Sindy looks now...

I was worried that if I wetted her hair to restyle it she may lose the purple streaks, which really is all that's left of her original "played with" look and something she has been displaying for the last 33 years!

It really didn't seem right to remove it - I'm  not a "Purest Doll Collector" well not totally - I can and often am swayed, afterall it's not really a good trait to have when customising dolls that are Vintage or Limited Edition etc

But I digress ...

It seemed a great opportunity for me to experiment with 1/6 clothes and one set in particular which I'd had my eye on for a while - so I brushed out her tangles, redressed her in said outfit and...

Punky Sindy was born!

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Pedigree Sindy Friend June - 3rd Edition 1975

I've just bought this little lady, the seller listed her as "Vintage Sindy Doll on her head 055014 on her back 033126x on her bottom 033127x", But she is in fact a June Doll.
Now in case you don't know much about June, she is a Friend of Sindy, Pedigree Sindy that is, she was available in the U.K only and she well, here's the gimmick, she wasn't actually sold!

Nope I didn't make that up... June was a kind of "Reward" for any little girls who had bought or been given a certain number of Sindy Doll products, because each item had a heart shaped "Sindy Token" on the packaging and once the little girl had saved up 24 Sindy Tokens, she could send them off to Pedigree and in return, the Postman would bring her a brown box with a "June" doll inside...How cool is that?!

 June didn't come in any fancy clothing or packaging though, just a plain brown box and wearing only her frilly white undies, but that didn't matter as her body is the same size and proportions to Sindy herself, so June could in true "Best Friend Style" go through Sindy's wardrobe and "borrow" some of her stuff to wear!

I'm sure Sindy was fine with this set up, after all the cheapest way to save up all those tokens, would be to buy items of clothing, and therefore Sindy probably had masses of outfits!

June i.d, can become a bit confusing, due to her having nothing but a number on the back of her head, and in a couple of other places on her body - this is what lead the seller who sold her to me to believe tat even though she didn't have Sindy's extremely recognisable face, she must have been a Sindy, as most people had have ever held a vintage Sindy know the number on the back of her head begins with 033! There is also the little matter that she went through 2 previous incarnations before the final June incarnation was produced starting in 1975.

The two previous June Dolls have little in common, so it is not only easy to confuse them with other Pedigree dolls, and most likely it is considered that they be good quality Clone Dolls, but they all also have different body moulds, and in the case of the first June, are a different height and hair colour with not even a hint that the 3 dolls may in essence be the same doll, or a least I mean same in terms of name and where she fits in the "Evolution of Sindy's Friend's Scale".

The second issue and third issue have much more to place them together, but drastically different faces, and hair styles.

Her hair is a little "roughed up" but I like it more like this!
Also, she came in this outfit - even better as it is "Tartan Touch" from  1979!

My June is the third edition of this doll, and to me, she is the most beautiful out of the three, even if she does have a crazy basin-cut hairdo reminiscent of "Purdy" from The New Avengers!

"Good ol' Purdy"!

The first June to be sent out in exchange for tokens, had a dark auburn almost brown shade of hair, was 9 inches high, she had a very odd face to my mind, her lips are slightly pursed looking, which makes them seem rather large and painted a bright pink, which makes them look even larger, size wise she was closer to "Patch" than to Sindy. Her height meant that even though she also arrived in just her "tiny whiteys", she was able to "clothes share" with your Patch Doll, providing you had a Patch Doll, if not then I guess you had to buy Patch clothing for her to wear. I know I'm most likely being cynical but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the point of the June Dolls being all but naked when they arrive!

The second June to be produced and sent out in exchange for tokens, was the same height as Sindy, 12 inches, She had very light, almost white blonde hair with a fringe, a Sindy Trendy Girl Body, red lipstick and her face is reminiscent of the later 1980s Sindy made by Hasbro, which is often referred to by collector's as being a "Smirky Sindy" because her facial expression is slightly mocking from some angles! 

The third edition of June (mine) was made in 1975, the only markings she has on her body are "Made in Hong Kong" on her back and the number codes:055014 on the back of her head, 033126X on her back and 033127X. Her body is the same as Trendy Girl Sindy Body in some dolls - this may or may not be a sign the Pedigree factory were using up spare parts... Also, My June has a twisting waist. 

Pedigree Sindy's Friend Marie.

Listing Title:  VINTAGE PEDIGREE SINDY,S FRIEND MARIE DOLL NEW IN BOX FROM 1985

Sadly I've just found this listing, only to discover it ended 4 days ago! 
Still it gives me an idea of how much I can expect to pay if I ever find one that is still for sale! 

Also I now have an idea of the demand for her when she does come up at auction now too, oddly it wasn't as crazy as I assumed it would be, especially as she is brand new NBRB ( Seller speak for "Never been removed from box") - 
I found out she sold for £33.55 with 5 bids, which I have to say is quite a good profit for the seller, as I note the original price tag reads £6.99!

Personally, I would never have sold her, she is so beautiful, but each to their own I guess!
Marie was introduced in 1986, as a friend for Sindy... she is easily identifiable, unlike some of Sindy's other friends, as not only does she have that beautiful flame red hair, but also  light purple eyes and her name stamped on the back of her head.

There are other versions of Marie available, the most stunning of which, for me is the "royal Wedding"  Marie, which came boxed alongside her boyfriend "Mark", these dolls were produced to coincide with the wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson in 1986, this version is also the most expensive, especially still boxed, but as I am planning to do a review on that incarnation of Marie soon, I'll say no more about it right now!

More Wishlist Toys or If only I had £350 to spend on a doll :(

1960's Pedigree Red Head Mitzi Doll - Sindy Friend

A few years ago I stumbled upon this doll online quite by accident, while trying to get an I.D for a Sindy I'd gotten in a bulk buy of dolls, and it was love at first sight!

 What I didn't realise when I began my search for her is that she is stupidly rare and as a result, everyone and their mother's are also searching for her... which also means if found , she has an even stupider price tag attached to her *sigh*

I'd happily settle for just the head, as I'm not a collector who has to have everything, I don't want her because she is rare, or will make me money later on, I just collect the things that appeal to me, so quite often I pass up on other "Sindy Family Members & Friends" in favour of a valueless clone doll that I think I can make something of, but this girl, I just want because I've fallen under her spell!!

Dream Date Outfit (complete with beret) - Original "out of box wear"

http://www.oursindymuseum.com/196768sindysnewfriends.htm

So what is it tat makes her so rare & sought after? In a nutshell, there were less made, why? I have no idea, as to me she as such a beautiful face and I think if I'd have been bought one as a child instead of a Sindy, I'd have been just as happy, if not happier!

I suspect the Blonde version of this doll is much rarer as in the last 5 years, I have only ever seen three Red Head Mitzi dolls  come up for sale on Ebay, but not a single Blonde one!

So what is the appeal? For me, it's mostly the awesome colour of her hair, it's not often you find dolls with hair so bright from that era, and then there's that face, it's so different to the other "teenage" dolls of the time,so beautifully sculpted and when dressed, she really does have an air of "chic" about her which is hard to define but very easy to see!

And so to her "story":

Mitzi arrived from France in 1968 another addition to the ever increasing Sindy Set.
Available with either blonde or striking flame red hair, Mitzi had massive blue eyes and was given a basic Sindy body, with no markings.  Being the same size as Sindy she could share Sindy's ever increasing stylish wardrobe.
.

When sold she came in a cardboard box with with an Eiffel Tower charm and a free Dream Date outfit (see above photo) Below is the Blonde version of Mitzi in her original Dream Date Outfit, posed beside her box.

If this image belongs to you, please let me know so I can credit you.

While she has the exact same face as the Flame Haired version, and is most likely much rarer, I just don't like her as much as the Redhead, that hair colour really seems to make something in Mitzi's face just ping out!

Finally though, one has come up on Ebay (pictures below), sadly well out of my price range, as although I am a "collector" and I would add her to my collection, I'm not THAT desperate to have her to complete my collection or whatever!

The photo above is a beautiful flame haired Mitzi which has recently come up on Ebay, I think she may have been given a slight haircut at some point, although the seller doesn't mention this and it could just be the way her hair is "styled", but it does look at little shorter than it should be when compared to the Mitzi in picture 1.

  The seller wants £350.00 for her (Buy It Now) and has refused two offers already, so I guess it's £350.00 or nothing, but that does beggar the question, why put open to offers on the listing? Anyhoo, if you have £350.00 and you want to buy her, here's the link:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Rare-1960s-Sindy-MITZI-Doll-Flame-Red-Hair-/170936236184?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D130792578473%26ps%3D54

*******       05/12/2012 -     *********        UPDATE ON EBAY LISTING                   *******

I was just reading back over this post, and I thought "Hmmm, I wonder if she sold?" so I followed the link and went to take a peek.

It turns out she didn't!  And it seems I am not the only person who wanted her but NOT for that price!

I have to say that given the financial climate at present, and it being so close to Christmas too, I am pretty surprised that the seller turned down 3 offers, but then again I of course have no way of knowing how much each of those offers were for! 

While I was cropping my screen shot, I noticed the Seller had relisted, so I went back and checked out that  listing...

Same thing, only one offer this time though, but I can't help thinking, that out of a total of 4 offers made, one of them must have come close to an acceptable price surely? And if not and if £350.00 is the only price the seller is willing to accept, then why not make the listing a Buy It Now or don't check the "Make me an Offer" box while listing!

This to me seems to sum up "The Curse of Mitzi" as I like to call it... She hardly ever comes up at auction, so when she does the Seller can pretty much set the price...any price, and more often than not, there is always someone with a shedful of cash who's more than happy to pay it.

The thing is most sellers are savvy to this and so they start the bidding much lower, and set a reserve, this makes loads of people sit up and think, "I can't believe that price, or that I can be the only one who's seem this listing.... Sod it, I'm going for it" and place a bid...

Then the fun really starts, as if a bidder has been the highest bidder on an auction that's ending soon, or even for a few days, they are more than likely to get into a bidding war, with the next person who bids, and the next etc, thereby pushing the price right up, as there is something very addictive about beating the person who has just tried to "gazump" you after you've been bidding on an item for several days and been the highest bidder for at least part of that time!

In this way, I have seen a Mitzi sell for over £500.00, who certainly wasn't in as good shape as this lovely lady!

Bid Wars are really what every seller wants on Ebay, otherwise every item would be down as a Buy It Now listing!

Setting a Reserve safeguards the seller in this situation, as if the item does not reach the amount they want at the end of the auction, it remains unsold. This also encourages bidders to save that seller and hope they re-list and in some cases to even bid more generously next time!

I've seen this time and time again with Mitzi, which is why I know I will sadly never own one, but I do have plans to make myself a Custom Girl as close to her as possible, and who knows, maybe one day I'll be in a Charity Shop and I won't believe my luck after rooting about in the toy bin and coming up with one!

Oh well, a girl can dream a?!!

1970's Pedigree Sindy Styling Head

I always wanted a girl's World Styling Head by Palitoy, but had I have known that there was a Sindy Doll Styling Head available, made by Pedigree, I would most certainly have wanted one of these instead... 

I definitely want one now...She's just so beautiful!

I discovered her existence while on my usual travels around Ebay, by the time I discovered her, the listings had already ended so I saved the listing images as a memory aid, and went on a search for more information.

Since then, I have been trying to find out as much as I can about this toy, but unfortunately I haven't been able to come up with very much at all.

 I suspect this is due to her being very rare and therefore hard to find, but that said Sindy books, or Sindy Lovers Doll Groups should have some information.

I have been unable to find a boxed version either, this would help a great deal as I'd be able to find out exactly what items came in the box, however, this also was not possible.

                                                  Rare Blonde Haired Pedigree Sindy Styling Head.

She has ultra-long hair for this type of toy, and it looks very thick too, I'm sure it was very play resilient.

She also has ultra-long lashes as you can see in the photo below...

The styling head has suction caps underneath to ensure the doll doesn't move whilst her hair is being styled, a great help if this version came with the same  heated rollers that the other version I found did!

                                        Rare Vintage Pedigree Sindy, Brunette, Styling Head.

          The height from the top of her head to the bottom of her shoulders is approx. 7.5 inches high.

                                

                                  

                                   Her neck has a twist and turn feature, to make styling easier.

Under her hair, the back of her head is stamped with the Pedigree Logo.

The other difference with this version is that it appears to have a "flat" bottom, which leads me to suspect that it doesn't have the suction caps that the previous two do.

I have a feeling that this is from a later time period than the first two are.

Can anyone ID My Mum's Doll for her please?

Originally posted to Dolls More Dolls on Multiply - Jul 3, '09 2:11 PM

 This little one was given to Mum in the 1940's she's made by Pedigree and has ball joints, molded hair, original face paint and a voice box and excellent detailing on her hands and toes, her little fingernails are so cute....She also has most of her original (mohair?) eyelashes intact!

When tipped forward for winding etc and then back again she says "Mama Mama" although this is now a bit tempermental...

Mum was so proud when I said I'd take some pic's to show everyone on here and maybe get some additional info' as she doesn't really know much about her being so small when she had her.

I was promised her when I was old enough to take care of her but it seems at 34 I'm still not old enough hahahahaha

And yay I was actually allowed to touch her yesterday wow how about that? 34 years of just looking until yesterday, and only then because I promised to take photos, I was watched very carefully the whole time too!!

She has been lovingly looked after all these years and now sits in her new outfit by the side of My Parents bed!

Any info on her and her value etc would be most appreciated ...Thanks Everyone...*Grin* Herbs x

Voice Box and Pedigree Logo.

Original Panties!

weebairns wrote on Jul 3, '09
I have quite a few of these hard plastic Pedigree dolls, Herbs. They date from the late 40s/early 50s and I've just looked in my valuing old dolls book and a very similar example in there is valued at approx £80 - £90 in good condition. She is a beautiful one.

Repro Sunsuit Pattern for 14 inch Vintage Pedigree African Baby Doll Sun Suit Pattern

*** Post Originally by Evelyn on Dolls More Dolls on Multiply ***

I think it's worth a re-post as it may be of use to someone out there in the bloggersphere?!

Evelyn:  "I've loads of patterns in my old British Doll Collectors News from the 90's, written by Collette Mansell. A lovely lady in Ireland has been sending me them a few at a time, they are great. This one is a reproduction of the Sun-suit worn by a black 14'' Pedigree ."

I don't have any of these dolls myself, but I thought perhaps somebody out there in Blogspace could use a pattern for one, if you do make an outfit from it,

Please let me know how you got on so I can add it to this post as I'm sure it'll be of help to others who wish to use this pattern - Thanks!