Vinyl Dolls
In the late 1950s, manufacturers introduced vinyl, a softer kind of plastic which enabled hair to be directly rooted into a doll's scalp, meaning that she did not need a wig. Vinyl is the plastic which most modern play dolls are made from; it does not break or crack, and can be immersed in water. For a while, some dolls were made with the new, softer heads but with hard plastic bodies. We refer to these dolls as Transitionals. Click on the thumbnail of the doll to get a bigger picture. None of these dolls are for sale.

	This 25" transitional Roddy is a particularly well-made, sturdy doll with big blue eyes and short dark-blonde curly hair. Her head is vinyl, but her body is hard plastic. She wears a white knitted angel top over blue check rompers, white socks and white satin shoes.

	A serious faced Roddy, 17 inches tall, from the 1960s. She wears her original purple satin dress trimmed with white lace. Her white socks and cinderella shoes are replacements. She has very thick, dark, rooted hair.

	Here is a lovely Roddy-Bluebell Baby Heartbeat. Her heart really beats when the button is pushed! This sturdy doll is 20" tall, and wears her original outfit of a red and silver lame dress with a heart motif. She has soft brown hair and brown eyes, and dates from 1970.

	This beautiful hard vinyl doll has no marks of any kind, but is almost certainly English. She has moulded hair, and large blue sleep eyes. Her limbs are nicely moulded and very sturdy, and she is 23" tall. She is dressed in a turquoise blue knitted outfit, consisting of dress, coat, pants and bonnet. The bonnet is tied with a wide blue ribbon, she has fancy buttons on her coat, and she wears white socks and pink satin shoes.

	A gorgeous Chiltern Babykins made by the firm of H G Stone in the early 1960's. Babykins came in two sizes - the girl shown here is 19" - and are sturdy, well-made dolls. The moulding of their hands and feet are very realistic, and the face has a babyish kind of 'squashed' appearance. They can even suck their thumbs. This girl is wearing a pink knitted dress, with matching pants and pink shoes. Her short hair is a glossy dark blonde.

	Katie Kopykat was made by Palitoy in 1971. She is 18" tall, blonde, and is dressed in her original costume of a short turquoise dress with cerise spots, collar and cuffs. Katie's arms are jointed at the elbow, and were designed to copy a child's drawing by means of a pantograph which was attached to the doll's hand. Katie Kopycats are quite common, yet have been spotted on sale in antique shops for inflated prices, because the so-called double-jointed arms mislead dealers into thinking they are much older dolls.

	British Tiny Tears dolls were originally made by Palitoy, and introduced in 1965. Their vinyl arms and legs were specially jointed so that however the doll was held, the limbs fell into a realistic position. Tiny Tears dolls drank from a bottle, wet, and cried 'real tears'. They were 16" tall. When Palitoy closed, Tiny Tears were made by such companies as Hasbro, Tonka and Ideal. Varieties produced over the years include curly hair, brown hair, flirty eyes and soft-bodied. There was also a boy, Timmy, and an elder sister, Katie. Katie was slightly taller at 17", and had 'growing hair' mechanism. Timmy was introduced by Tonka and featured the same drink and wet functions as Tiny Tears. Two smaller dolls, Teeny Tiny Tears, 12" tall, and Teeny Weeny Tiny Tears, 10", were introduced by Palitoy. This is one of the first Palitoy Tiny Tears, wearing her original blue check romper.

	Palitoy Tiny Tears 1970s dressed in her original white smocked dress.

	Palitoy Tiny Tears 1980s wearing her original white dress.

	Tonka Katie 1990 wearing her original dress.

	Tonka Timmy 1990 wearing his original outfit.

	First Love was the Pedigree answer to Palitoy Tiny Tears. They have unusual twist waists, which means the dolls can be placed into many realistic positions, and their faces and hair-styles are more babyish than their rivals. These pretty dolls were first made in 1976, and are 16" high. Their appearance changed only slightly over the years - a drink and wet model was introduced in the early 1980s, and a much harder to find black version was made at the same time. A 'wide mouth' style appeared in 1983. When Playskool took over production of the doll, they gave her slightly longer hair tied in a tiny bunch on top of her head and dressed her in a pink and blue fluffy sleepsuit with matching booties. Later, Bluebird bought the rights, and the doll was given two bunches, and wore a pink and blue floral cotton all in one suit. She is clearly marked with the Bluebird name, and is almost identical to the very first Pedigree version. From time to time, Pedigree released other dolls under the First Love name, though not in the same series, such as soft bodied baby dolls. The hard to find First Love Baby Soft Skin, from 1985, is one of the prettiest. Sold in just a nappy, this particular model featured wears a Faerie Glen dress of the period.

	First Love wide mouth.

	First Love Baby Soft Skin.

	First Love Playskool.

	First Love Bluebird.

	A lovely 20" toddler, made by Tebro in the late 1980's. She has a soft, foam body, and is a nice, cuddly doll. However, foam tends to disintegrate over time, and it is hard to find an example in such perfect condition. This girl has masses of auburn curls which tumble around her face, big blue eyes and wears blue dungarees over a white shirt with blue socks.

	Oliver and Katja are German Zapf dolls, made in 1990. Oliver is 22" tall, and Katja is an inch taller. They are both soft bodied, and the vinyl of the faces and limbs is of very good quality. Oliver's blond hair is cut in a spiky style, while Katja's silky golden tresses reach down her back. They are both blue-eyed. Oliver wears a denim suit over a check shirt, and red trainer-style shoes. Katja is dressed in a white and blue spotted and striped all-in-one trouser suit, with a Donald Duck motif on her bib. She wears blue plastic trainers, and has a blue ribbon in her hair. Nowadays, Zapf is famed for its Baby Born, Baby Anabel and Chou Chou dolls, which are amongst the most popular dolls today.

	Amanda Jane dolls are still made today, though not now in the United Kingdom. However, they are still made under the same specifictions, and are dressed by outworkers in Britain. The company has been owned by the same people since the early 1960s. 'Jinx' was a 1950's hard plastic fore-runner to Amanda Jane, made from a Miss Rosebud mould, and similar to other small dolls made at the time, such as those by Roddy. Early Amanda Jane dolls had big eyes and pursed mouths. Later issues had - and still have - painted side - glance eyes. Baby dolls, though smaller, have the same head mould with painted eyes. For a while, black versions of both the painted - eye girls and the babies, were available too.

All pictures and text © Susan Brewer 2004. Virtual Valley Graphics logo and all site design and content © Simon Brewer 2004