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?!!