Let's Make A Doll!

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Hi! Let's make a doll!

Do you need ideas for a custom doll to make? I have HUNDREDS of ideas that I'm ready to share with the world. I may not have the time or the budget to breathe life into these ideas, but that's not stopping me from wanting to create -- and in this case, hopefully, collaborate!***

I will be posting doll ideas as regularly as I'm able; if you would like to block my idea tag, it will be "#lmad!". You don't even have to credit me for the ideas; all I ask is that someone tags me if you make a post about the doll, so that I can see and share your work.

So? Let's Make A Doll!

***Please understand that all of this is ultimately voluntary. I can't financially compensate anyone if they buy the parts and supplies to make these dolls. I want to give ideas to those who may be looking for inspiration; I do not wish to buy them afterwards, it'll be enough of a gift to know these dolls exist in the world. I am terrified of the idea of someone coming to the conclusion that I am looking for free labor, given how spontaneously hostile this website can be. I want nothing more than to share my ideas for custom dolls, despite not being able to physically make them for the time being.

Thank you, and have a great day! 💟🍀

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Does anyone know if any of the Fresh Dolls Proud Family dolls are a skintone match for any Barbies? I really like the body diversity going on here, and I'm always looking for hybrid potential

[konoko]

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The world of doll compatibility is amazing. If you find the right dolls that can share clothes, you too can build a Star Trek bridge crew comprised entirely of cutesy anime girls, and nobody can stop you

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I'm back in that part of my brain's cycle where I wanna be on a doll-modding team again... Will my yearning never cease?

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Hi I'm not dead lmao

I just came across a post about the Princess and the Pauper dolls, and was happily reminded that there were black dolls made for Anneliese and Erika. Singing dolls, no less!

For the Hell of it, I checked to see if there was any video of one of the black dolls singing. I found a singing Erika on YT!

So I think, okay, cool! What does the white Erika sound like, just for comparison's sake?

...Aaaaaaand that's the same recording. idk what I was expecting, I know it was a pipe-dream to hope they had a separate recording outside the movie's official soundtrack.

That thought is why I'm putting this all on my doll idea blog. I know how tech-savvy y'all are -- do you think there's a way to hack a Barbie voicebox to add a different recording? There are a lot of black Barbies released for the iconic y2k fairytale movies, but in hindsight it feels a little cheap to just stick them all with Kelly Sheridan's voice.

Black Barbie is such an important doll -- that's why they made her an official character to interact with the white Barbie. She's not Christie, she's not Shani, she's not Nikki, she is a separate woman named Barbie who has her own story and upbringing, and that's a BIG step up from just being a palette-swap of a white girl.

I appreciate the pre-Fashionistas Black Barbie variants, but as a white person I feel like I ultimately can't fully weigh in on the conversation surrounding her -- she wasn't designed to appeal to me. That being said, if I was in the shoes of someone in an under-represented demographic... yeah, I could see it coming off as a little lip-servicey. You could make the dolls, but we've yet to see Black Barbie star in her own fairytale movie -- as in NOT co-starring with the white Barbie.

Maybe Brooklyn will get her own fairytale movie in the future? Never say never, right?

...Right?

I know you have scouts out here, Mattel. The people have feedback for you!

idk, lemme know if I'm making any sense or if I'm just talking out my ass. Also please feel free to give your opinion on the Black Barbie movie-release doll variants, especially if you're not white. I'd love to know if the dolls alone made enough of a difference for making you feel represented, or if they felt more like being thrown a bone.

Thank you for reading this far, if you're still here! Have a great day! 🍀

[lets-make-a-doll]

Customizing question: Is there a faster way to remove printed/pixelated doll faces than pure acetone? I've seen people able to completely remove pixelated faces, but for me it's taken a lot of elbow grease and I still haven't completely removed the face

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This is a complete shot in the dark, but I'm taking it anyhow:

Does anyone happen to know if any of the Fresh Squad Proud Family dolls match the skintones of any Barbies? I like their unique body sculpts, and I'd ideally like to make some hybrids when I can (goes without saying that Toya's Barbie/Dream Bestie hybrids have inspired me)

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: Puffy AmiYumi

Inspiration: Hi Hi PuffyAmiYumi

Doll Head: Bandai Precure anime doll

Reroot: Hot Pink/Periwinkle

Body: Mattel singing Puffy AmiYumi dolls (2005)

Hands: N/A

Any Other Body Mods?: No

Notes: I remember having both of the original Mattel singing dolls, and I loved playing with them. My only wish is that they looked more like the cartoon characters that I was more familiar with.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: Catwoman

Inspiration: Eartha Kitt as Catwoman

Doll Head: Integrity Toys Eartha Kitt

Reroot: Black

Body: WWE Superstars

Hands: Integrity Toys Eartha Kitt

Any Other Body Mods?: No

Non-Handmade Outfit Suggestion: Barbie as Catwoman (preferably the one designed after Julie Newmar)

Accessories/Props: Whip

Notes: I'm really surprised Eartha Kitt hasn't had a Barbie made of her yet. I think we might be due for one.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!

[otps-in-plastic]

aaronmalibu made a GORGEOUS custom Eartha Kitt Catwoman using a Holiday Barbie.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Aaron (@aaronmalibu)

[lets-make-a-doll]

Ooh! She's beautiful, thank you for sharing this with me!

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Also, I found this weird little doll collection from a brand called Odyssey Toys. They mostly make dolls for USAmerican politicians and such, and this Eisenhower doll came with an "I Like Ike" button. It would be a little big to put on a 1:6 scale doll, so I looked up American Girls that lived during Eisenhower's term and found the character Maryellen.

TL;DR, I wanna put this campaign button on a doll because I think it's funny

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I've decided I'm gonna just add random, unpolished idea posts alongside the more formal ones with the template

My blog, my freedom

Anyway, I wanna take a bunch of GI Joes and Click-n-Play action figures and such and dress them in casual clothes and let them live normal lives instead of existing as military propaganda/copaganda/etc.

I call it "Ken Rehab"

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: Winx Club hybrids

Inspiration: Winx Club dolls by Playmates Toys

Doll Head: Winx Club dolls by Jakks-Pacific

Reroot: Depends on the character

Body: WWE Superstars

Hands: WWE Superstars (unless the Jakks-Pacific Hands fit the Superstars arms, which I doubt)

Any Other Body Mods?: No

Non-Handmade Outfit Suggestion: Winx Club dolls by Playmates Toys

Accessories/Props: ???

Notes: I'm pretty much picking my favorite pieces of all these dolls and popping them together here. I can see that Winx Club is getting a reboot via some quick research, hence the new Playmates dolls; I don't dislike the redesigns, I just feel nostalgic for the faces on the dolls made by Jakks-Pacific. That being said, the JP dolls are way too skinny for their clothes to fit most other dolls(besides Monster High or Ever After High, if I had to guess), but these new Playmates outfits might be a better fit on a WWE Superstar body – or, in the very least, a Barbie body.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: Catwoman

Inspiration: Eartha Kitt as Catwoman

Doll Head: Integrity Toys Eartha Kitt

Reroot: Black

Body: WWE Superstars

Hands: Integrity Toys Eartha Kitt

Any Other Body Mods?: No

Non-Handmade Outfit Suggestion: Barbie as Catwoman (preferably the one designed after Julie Newmar)

Accessories/Props: Whip

Notes: I'm really surprised Eartha Kitt hasn't had a Barbie made of her yet. I think we might be due for one.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: Mandy

Inspiration: LOL Surprise OMG × PowerPuff Girls

Doll Head: LOL Surprise BTW

Reroot: Blonde

Body: LOL Surprise BTW (or Rainbow Junior High, if you'd rather have jointed knees)

Hands: LOL Surprise BTW or Rainbow Junior High

Any Other Body Mods?: No

Non-Handmade Outfit Suggestion: Barbie Pink Passport Travel Set with the pink floral dress

Accessories/Props: ???

Notes: This was also an idea that was cooking before they made the OMG PPG's official, but I kinda like the proportions of the BTW's a little better. That being said, an OMG doll works just as well for this custom.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: Daphne Blake

Inspiration: Scooby-Doo's live-action movies

Doll Head: Diamond Select Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Reroot: Reddish-Blonde (or just Orange if you're going full cartoon)

Body: Barbie

Hands: Barbie

Any Other Body Mods?: No

Non-Handmade Outfit Suggestion: 2001 Barbie as Daphne

Accessories/Props: 2001 Barbie as Daphne

Notes: I never watched Buffy, I just know that there are a lot of celebrity dolls that have the potential to be made into other character dolls.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!

[lets-make-a-doll]

Let’s Make A Doll: CTR Nitro Squad

Inspiration: Crash Bandicoot

Doll Head: G1 Toralei Stripe; G3 Toralei Stripe

Reroot: Depends on the character (Blonde; Black; Apple Green; Sky Blue)

Body: G1 Toralei Stripe; G3 Toralei Stripe

Hands: G1 Toralei Stripe; G3 Toralei Stripe

Any Other Body Mods?: Remove tails

Non-Handmade Outfit Suggestion: ???

Accessories/Props: Miniature trophies (?)

Notes: The fun part of this group of dolls is, if the G1 and G3 Toraleis are a skin-match, you can mix and match body parts to make a different silhouette for each character.

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Please look at my Pinned post if you have any questions. These are nothing more than ideas for hypothetical custom dolls. Thank you, and have a great day!