All these photos are from Mattel so you can see the dolls:
The pink coloring and all Caucasian dolls aside, these are some cool looking sets! We all know I'm not paying that much for them, but oh boy, when they go on clearance, I want every one! They are compact, well designed and have quite the panache. I'm actually impressed.
Has anyone purchased one, or heck, even seen one? Are they flimsy or of good quality? Anyone got the scoop?
I kinda like the pastry place. It's strange to me that Barbie items back in the day had such detail and incorporated a more...mature color scheme. Now, play-sets all look like the circus is in town. :-/
ReplyDeleteSee Tracy, I've only been collecting since late 2011, so I'm used to just coming across the circus (lol) sets. I missed the non pink hayday of old. I have seen the old lines that were more neutral on ebay... for ridiculous prices.
DeleteHello from Spain: in my country these toys are not for sale. When you see them in the stores I need them all to my collection. I will paint accessories truer colors. Great news. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteMarta, they aren't readily available here yet. So far, just on line, I guess. I bet you will make great use of them.
DeleteHey Muff :)
ReplyDeleteYep! I noticed these for the first time a few days ago on the BarbieCollector.com website. I was surprised to see them there, since they look so playline (although they do sometimes carry playline Barbies on the site).
They are cute and creatively designed, but I wish Mattel would realize not all little girls want everything to be pink & purple. Of course, there's always spray paint - which I'm finding I have to use more and more these days! Still I like the little awnings over them, and the fact they create a little diorama -- even more so if you add a piece of cardboard on the back and cover it with some sort of decorative paper.
I'm nostalgic for the days of the My Scene doll playsets. They were really cool and had realistic designs, and came in colors other than pink & purple. Sigh, those were the days...
~ Zoila :)
Zoila, I saw a comment over at BC.Com that also questioned what the heck playline toys were doing there. They said something like, "I didn't realize this was ToysRUs."... burn, lol. But I'm not a BC.Com aficionado, so I didn't know they were supposed to be above selling play items.
DeleteLike I said to Tracy, even though I'm not a fan of the color scheme, the pink is what I'm used to seeing from Mattel, but yeah, some different colors would be nice. I have to wonder if the older neutral stuff didn't sell as well as the pink stuff and that's why they abandoned a softer palate.
I like Barbie Collector membership mostly for the $20 rewards every 3 months to use in the shop. They also have some good clearance sales a few times a year. I've been able to add a lot of collector Barbies to my collection at super-low prices that way over the years.
DeleteI don't visit the comments board much (I noticed too much doll snobbery over there LOL) mostly only to see "sneak previews" that Mattel posts for upcoming dolls.
You're right I think: Mattel has probably figured out the pink & purple is what's selling now, through market research and sales figures. I have a 7 year old niece and her fave color is - you guessed it - purple!
I was excited to see them in the catalog. I plan to get a couple of them...on sale though. These prices are a bit high for playsets such as these.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tracy India, the playlets use to much more mature and you could see the vision with a color change.
Yeah, Georgia Girl, the prices are way more than I want to spend. I like their sets that are in the $10-12.99 price range. Then again, these are a bit more detailed. Still, too rich for my blood though.
DeleteIt's a fun idea for a playset, but I agree there's way too much pink (and why does the shopping cart have Barbie's silhouette logo on it?).
ReplyDeleteLOL, Anderson, they sure do sneak that logo in. Sometimes I barely even notice it. One of my cars hubcaps has the Barbie shoe design in it and I didn't realize it for ages.
DeleteHi, Muff! No, I have not seen these playsets, yet. I'll look for them though and write when I see them.
ReplyDeleteI like the honey bear, the eggs, and the shopping cart best of the accessories. Wouldn't it be neat to have several shopping carts to stage a grocery scene? I like supermarkets. So many lovely foods ....
The frames - "walls"? - look like they would be great repainted and incorporated into other scenes.
D7ana, speaking of shopping carts, I found some really cool ones at Amazon that look completely realistic and after I bought two to check the quality, they doubled the price when I went to order more. Ugh. I'm going to have a grocery store one day, regardless.
DeleteYou are right about the walls. I see a lot of potential in breaking down these sets and expanding them for other dios.
Thanks for the alert.
ReplyDeleteI did not notice the Barbie logo. LOL, someone is serious about their property.
I like the grocery set best. The notion of putting pegs and sockets on the items/shelves so they'll stay together better is pretty inspired, imo. I do wish Barbie didn't have her name/face/favorite color on everything, though.
ReplyDeletePresto, I'm probably more partial to the grocery store myself. However, I actually would have preferred that they didn't put pegs on the items. That's coming from an adult standpoint though. From a parent/kid standpoint, it's a good idea.
DeleteOne word: awful!
ReplyDelete*dies for the too much pinkpurple vision*
LOl, Sergio. I would have been surprised if you'd had a different reaction.
DeleteIm quite partial to the bistro set but only because of the table and chairs. These sets kinda resemble the glam vacation house imo. But what really catches my on the mattel website is the SIS Day 2 Nite girls. I love both of Grace's outfits and i love Trichelle's main outfit, her dress is kinda iffy to me but i might just need to see it up close.
ReplyDeleteTrichelle: http://shop.mattel.com/product/index.jsp?productId=37985976
Grace: http://shop.mattel.com/product/index.jsp?productId=37985966
Jay, material wise, it is probably the same glam style. I just like the idea of little markets.
DeleteThe SIS stuff doesn't make it to clearance as easily as other Mattel dolls, but hopefully I can catch these versions. If they were articulated I'd be more inclined to purchase them at that price.
When I got my catalog and seen them I thought about you! I like them too but will not the price. I was trying to decide if I needed them too, lol. They do have alot of potential.
ReplyDeleteBrini, I think the sets are definetly clearance price worthy. These are something I hope to see at a Tueday Morning or BigLots.
DeleteI saw them a few weeks ago. I think they are cute, and I'm glad they produced them, but it's not anything I need in my collection. Of course if I find them for dirt cheap prices, I may get a couple of them. I had to laugh at blackiegracie's comment, "but I wish Mattel would realize not all little girls want everything to be pink & purple." And then she replied, "I have a 7 year old niece and her fave color is - you guessed it - purple!" I think she meant to say, not all BIG girls, (us adults) like pink and purple. I think most little girls still love the pink and purple.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, dirt cheap is always the way to go! ^__^
DeleteHola, las barbies si las he visto pero no los stand, espero verlos y no tan caros para poder adquirir uno.
ReplyDeleteGracias por comentar en mi blog.
Hola, Lindaivette! Sí, están en la cara, así que espero conseguir uno a la venta. Gracias por visitarnos!
DeleteThese are so adorable I saw these on Mattel last week I was really impressed with them but I guess there a little expensive I adore the grocery store set its so adorable and the doll in it is so cute too very sorry there so expensive maybe they will get on clearance Later on and maybe I'll get em. great post thank you ;)
ReplyDeleteHiya, Jassica! I definetly think these are worth getting if you can find them on sale.
DeleteI like these play sets but I haven´t seen in my country. Perhaps the color isn´t my favourite but we can always change it ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree, Ana. If the base set is nicely made, I don't mind putting in a little effort to get it to look the way I want - well, assuming I got it for a great price. ^__^
DeleteI LOVE the floral dress in the 3rd picture. I hope someone sells it on eBay soon.
ReplyDeleteTiffany, I haven't seen these sets in stores yet, but I bet eBay will be the first place to find them, lol.
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