Charles's Pages about Doll Stuff - www.dollstuff.net

Clearly I'm out of the loop, but I just found out that Francie®, Barbie®'s cousin from the 60's and 70's, is being added to the Barbie Fashion Model Collection®! That's right - a Silkstone Francie doll! And, not just one, but two - one of which will be a giftset!

I'm totally surprised! Ever since the BFMC started, people have been nominating other characters from Barbie's world for inclusion in the line. A few Silkstone Ken® dolls have been produced since 2002, but so far Barbie's the only girl who's been given the Silkstone treatment.

I always imagined Christie® or Midge® as the most obvious choices for the BFMC - or Skipper®. I never would have thought of Francie! Now that I think about it, it seems perfect - she has one of the prettiest faces ever in the Barbie line, and her expression is very similar to the original Barbie head. Can you imagine how awesome she could look with porcelain skin and dramatic "Silkstone" makeup?

The timing is kind of random, especially considering all the 50th anniversary hoopla that's been going on lately - last year was Francie's 45th anniversary (I don't remember hearing much about it), and her 50th isn't until 2015 - which makes it even more of a surprise!

I can't wait to see what she's going to look like! There 's definitely something "wrong" with the reproduction Francie head (it just looks "off" for some reason) - hopefully it won't be as noticeable on the new dolls. I wonder what the body will be like? I hope it's the original Francie body, but with a ball-jointed neck (which would be a first for Francie) and new arms and legs - especially if they're as masterfully-sculpted as the Silkstone Barbie limbs. Do you think she'll have rooted eyelashes? (That would difficult with the rock-hard vinyl head, though.)

Toy Fair is next week - maybe we'll get to see a sneak peak?