Barbie deBarbiefied (continuously updated)

OMG, that is wonderful! Thank you for sharing, and can't wait to see it in 'context'!

The original one doesn't look too bad. At least it isn't bright pink and yellow like a lot of those accessories.

Agree. The original was decent enough for a Barbie set, but of course the good Reverend has turned it into a grimy masterpiece. Well done!

Really cool turntables, Rev. Did you add the lights in the meter screens, or was it already like that?

skywalkersaga wrote:OMG, that is wonderful! Thank you for sharing, and can't wait to see it in 'context'!

Thank you!! I'm dying to finish the radio station. I kinda hit a wall where I've made everything I had a plan to make, and now I need to figure out what else it needs and how to do it.

shazzdan wrote:The original one doesn't look too bad. At least it isn't bright pink and yellow like a lot of those accessories.

It really doesn't, right? I didn't have to do much really.

GubernatorFan wrote:Agree. The original was decent enough for a Barbie set, but of course the good Reverend has turned it into a grimy masterpiece. Well done!

Thanks much Guv! I think a little grim makes everything look a bit more real (That, or I just need to clean more...)

Stryker2011 wrote:Really cool turntables, Rev. Did you add the lights in the meter screens, or was it already like that?

Thanks Stryker! The meters are 2 layers, with some clear plastic on the front, and then I cut out the window on the origianal and printed and added the meters from the back. The space between gives it real depth, and the light is actually a part of the print! I couldn't even believe how realistically it photographed.

ReverendSpooky wrote:

Customized 1/6 scale turntables. Started with an old Barbie set, repainted with Valspar silver (my favorite), a bit of grime, new styluses, and audio meters. What could these be for? Maybe we’ll be seeing the wastelands' radio station soon...

Now THAT's how you do it!
Excellent prop!

Rotan furniture (in plastic) and basket (in vinyl) which I bought more than 20 years ago.  Origin probably China. Original colour was pink, I repainted both with a simple layer of Humbrol Earth colour. Added some towels and a piece of clothing.
The drawers open and the ring handles move, more realistic than some "real" Barbie items.
Shown here with a "petite" Tbleague figure.

They look great, DarthJ, such an improvement on pink. And welcome aboard.

That looks awesome, DarthJ! And your tbleague figure is beautiful... I love her dress. 

Welcome aboard, DarthJ. That’s a great adjustment to that Barbie cabinet. Impressive.

I am looking for the "Barbified" thread as I have lots more clothing and accessories than just that (night)dress. Among which Barbie original and repro "vintage", Sindy and others which don't need to be de-Barbified.

You could always create a thread for 'useful Barbie and/or doll items that don't need to be altered'.

skywalkersaga wrote:You could always create a thread for 'useful Barbie and/or doll items that don't need to be altered'.

That subject has already been discussed at the beginning of this thread and I'm not in favor for creating yet another thread either. 'Diluting" too much the general subject, expect almost no views, even less replies. Been there, done that. I have a thread at a 3D site and despite its subject - creating and giving away 3D freebies - it's been almost a one-man show for 10 years and 20 pages. The freebies have some success though, especially when NSFW

As far as I'm concerned, there are two ways to go -- show Barbie (and similar) items that look realistic enough without modification in more realistic/serious figures and dioramas here (while indicating that they did not require modification), or to make a new thread/topic called (for example) Barbie Unmodified and to show them there. While I understand the rationale behind not creating an extra thread, I think both are legitimate approaches. Come to think of it, I suppose there is nothing wrong with just having a Barbie thread for its own sake -- I'm just not particularly interested in it myself, and assumed that most others were likewise interested in more realistic or plausible items.

Now that I've written this, I realize the lines between these things would become inevitably blurred and there might be little sense in having two or three separate Barbie-related threads after all.

This is an example. Actually this is a deBarbiefication too, I doubt Mattel ever intended their clothing to be worn this way.



"When the black belt comes off things really get rough".

Ha, nice one! ;D 

And regarding the various threads thing, I guess if you are showing items that are specifically suitable for use with the smaller tbleague bodies, then rather than making a new thread for them, you could perhaps also post them in one of the threads about said bodies: 

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t627-tbleague-super-flexible-female-seamless-bodies-s24a-s27b?highlight=s27b

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2037-s26a-and-s27b-what-works-and-what-doesn-t-warning-lots-of-pics?highlight=s27b

Totally fine to keep posting the pics here too of course! Just wanted to mention these threads as well just in case. : )

I could if I would only use the small figures. Yet Barbie / Sindy / etc ... clothing is not "scale-steady", one time fitting only the smallest one, on other occasions requiring the larger dolls. If you use GI JOE / ACTION MAN / ACTION JOE (French version) clothing these only fit the larger figures.

This is "MAIN ATTRACTION" from 1985, an untypical evening dress for usually more classy girl-nextdoor Sindy. Worn by a large Phicen it becomes rather the "MAIN ATTRACTIONS" dress.

What a difference a more realistic body and head sculpt make! Very nice.

Lol, darthJ. It’s certainly ‘de-barbified’ simply by being worn by that figure. ;D

The contrast is much more obvious with the original Sindy who was a woman with a pre-teen body and an oversized baby-head.

My (limited) experience with painting Barbie-objects, is that the paint won't stick very well. It can easily be scratched off. What can be used for primer to make it stick? Because I'd like to deBarbiefy my(/Lexi's) gardenset a bit.



Not needing to be deBarbiefied is a livingroom set I found. It''s composed of several items of Sindy, I believe. Since it's from the 70s, the white plastic has gone a bit yellowish, so it could use  some repainting.

MyTravelGuide -- for shiny plastics like those barbie chairs, you definitely need to prep and prime it before painting since, as you say, the paint won't stick otherwise. I use Vallejo model acrylics, and they make a special primer that is meant to stick to both metal and plastic models and make acrylic paint adhere better. But first, even before applying the primer, I suggest wiping down the objects you want to paint with some alcohol (either antiseptic or cleaning type). Then, wash them thoroughly with liquid dish soap and water, and let them completely dry. A lot of plastic toy items have this sort of oily layer on top of the plastic, and that helps to remove some of it. Once it's ready, use that Vallejo acrylic primer on it. Let it fully dry/cure (needs about a day), and then you can paint on top of it with acrylics.

Nice sets, TravelGuide, I do think they have good potential. I was going to suggest the same thing as Sky, start by going over the plastic pieces with maybe some alcohol but especially liquid soap, which is designed to cut through grease and oil. It is the oily finish (from plastic molds, etc) that gets in the way. Ultimately, you could always scratch acrylic off, but applying it to a dry, well-cleaned plastic will go a long way to helping it stick in normal conditions. Maybe the special primer will help a lot too, I haven't used it. You could also apply their (still talking about Vallejo) glossy or matte (not so glossy but hardly matte) veneer as additional protection on top, provided that will be appropriate for the surface's look.

Cool topic, thanks for all the suggestions. I've usually stayed away from this stuff because it seems too... pink and dolly. But it appears to have a lot more potential with a little bit of effort.

ZombieTestSubject wrote:Cool topic, thanks for all the suggestions. I've usually stayed away from this stuff because it seems too... pink and dolly. But it appears to have a lot more potential with a little bit of effort.

That is exactly how I felt about it, until I needed a thing or two for this diorama or that, and realized it had the potential with a little work. I have not gotten too much Barbie stuff in a long while, but it is something to consider. Some lines of their clothing work well on TBLeague female bodies.

ZombieTestSubject wrote:Cool topic, thanks for all the suggestions. I've usually stayed away from this stuff because it seems too... pink and dolly. But it appears to have a lot more potential with a little bit of effort.

Pink and dolly ?

A new paint job and the cars wouldn’t be too bad.

Umm, nice ladies, but that's almost what I meant by too pink and dolly except I was visualizing some more naive toy garments. But the first and third car might look good with a paint job, like Stryker2011 said.

The funny thing is that in this case the rosy colour is realistic for this kind of clothing.

Also some "stars" insist of having their real cars painted in a "Barbie" livery.