Blythe 102 is part 2 of a 5 part series directed towards people who are new to Blythe. In part 2, commonly used abbreviations and words in the Blythe community will be explained.

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ADG – Ashton-Drake Galleries, the reproduction Blythe dolls produced from 2005-2008. They were reproductions of the original Kenners with similar style dresses, hair and boxes.

BK – Blythe Kingdom, a popular English-language forum for Blythe collectors.

BL – The original dolls produced by Takara (starting with Parco) from 2001-2002. Some were produced with matte faces and boggled eyes. BL dolls came on Licca bodies.

Boggled – Blythes with ‘boggled’ eyes have wide eyes (no eyelid showing). Can be either stock (see: BL) or a custom feature with altering the eye mechanism.

Boil Perm – Use of hot water to ‘set’ the hair of Blythe.

Chunky Bangs – Commonly used term in reference to Kenner Blythes that have bangs (or fringe) that span the entire forehead.

Custom – A Blythe doll that has been altered so that it is no longer in its original stock/retail condition.

CWC – Cross-World Connections, the company that licensed the rights to use the Blythe trademark in Asia.

Dome – Plastic piece that provides structural support to the scalp.

EBL – ‘Excellent’ Blythe, produced from 2002-2005. EBLs came on the ‘Excellent’ body (rigid arms, legs that bend at the knees). Also came with the ‘Clover’ stands that are now standard with all new Blythe releases. EBLs came with wispy eyelashes and black rings painted underneath the eyechips to add depth to the colour.

Eyechips – Small pieces of plastic that are fitted into the doll’s eyeballs. Each Blythe has four sets. You can purchase

FBL – “Fairest” Blythe mold, produced from 2009 to present. The first FBLs produced had matte faces, this was later changed to shiny due to manufacturing problems with the matte finish.

Flange – Flange is the “lip” of the scalp that is hidden when the scalp is properly in place on the head. It’s thinner than most of the scalp material and can tear when being removed (this is especially true for BL and EBL dolls). Flange is important because it enables the scalp to stay on the doll’s head without the use of glue or other adhesives.

Gaze Correction – Also called “gaze lifting”, a custom feature that involves shortening of the t-bar to “lift” the gaze of the doll so that she doesn’t look down all the time.

KB – Kenner Blythes, the original Blythe dolls that were produced in 1972 by the toy company Kenner.

Kenner – The toy company that produced the original Blythe doll in 1972. It is no longer existing, having been sold to Hasbro.

LPS – Littlest Pet Shop, generally refers to the LPS Petite dolls that have been produced since 2010. Some LPS Petites come with the pets, some are sold by themselves.

Matte – Refers to the face of the Blythe doll not being shiny. Dolls can come matte (some BLs and FBLs were produced with matte faces) but can also be customized to be matte – either with sanding (‘sand matte’) or with a matte spray/sealer.

Middie – Middies have been produced by Takara since 2010. Middies are in between Neo and Petite sizes. They lack the same eye mechanism as Neo, but have a dial at the back of their head to move their eyes from side to side. Middies also have the ability to tilt their head.

Neo – Refers to the modern Blythe dolls produced by Takara. They have been in production since 2001.

Petite – Petite can refer to either the Petite Blythes by Takara or LPS Petites. Both are similar in size and can wear each others clothing and shoes. Takara Petites have ‘sleep eyes’; eyes that close when the doll is laying down and open when the doll is standing up. LPS Petites do not have eyes that are able to move or close.

RBL – “Radiance” Blythe, produced from 2006 to 2013. RBLs have the distinct feature of being the first Blythe produced by Takara that is easy to open. RBLs are also the most abundant when it comes to number of dolls released. The RBL mold was discontinued following damage due to long-term use, the RBL+ mold was created to replace it.

RBL+ – “Radiance Plus” (or Radiance +) Blythe, produced from 2013 to present. RBL+ is very similar in appearance to the RBLs – from look to the method of assembly. Some RBL+ releases have been found to have an excessive amount of glue which makes basic customization attempts difficult.

Reroot – A custom feature when you remove the hair that the doll comes with and replace it with something else.

SBL – “Superior” Blythe, produced from 2003-2008. The first SBL dolls had a severe downward gaze. Later SBL releases are said to have a “joker” smile that some also say looks like a smirk. SBLs also had some of the best variety of hair colour and stock items that came standard with the dolls.

Sleep Eyes – A custom feature that adds another string to the doll. It replaces the function of the spring that enables you to leave the eyes closed after changing the eye colour.

Stock – A Blythe that has not been altered from her original state (from box).

Takara – The toy company that is currently responsible for producing Neo Blythe, Middie and Petites.

T-bar – A small plastic piece (in the shape of a T) that is inside of the head, it controls how high (or low) the doll looks.

TIB – This is Blythe, a English-language forum. Also can refer to the This is Blythe book by Gina Garan, published in 2000.

Wispy Bangs – Commonly used in reference to Kenner Blythes. Some dolls had thin bangs that were centred in the forehead, most had a curl to the ends.

WPWD – We Play With Dolls is an English-language forum with primarily Australian Blythe collectors, but they also welcome hobbyists from other countries.

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Want to learn more?

• Blythe 101: A Guide for Newbies
• Blythe 102: Commonly Used Abbreviations and Words – You’re reading this!

Most of my dolls have their stock Takara bodies (or Kenner bodies, in the case of some vintage girls). The notable exception is a custom Blythe that I have that is on a Licca body. I had Licca bodies (no heads) around before, but I wasn’t really fond of them all that much. Their torso are shaped differently, their noodle-like legs bothered me as there were no knees! Their arms, even with a bend where an elbow should be, look funny to me. Limbs shouldn’t bend like they’re on a wire!

But despite having a funny chest and noodle limbs, I left the Licca body on my custom girl. Partly because she came with it and partly because I was a wee bit concerned as to what kind of damage I could accidentally inflict onto her by accident. And I’ve grown to like it!

It’s definitely has more posing capabilities than Takara bodies, but there’s the con in that when sitting her down she’s likely to flop over. Takara arms are great in which they act as two of the legs in a tripod while the rest of her body acts like the third. I’m still not that fond of the overall shape of her torso or how the cleavage line seems to go way higher than what is natural on a human. I still find it funny or off that her legs have no clearly defined joint when you bend her ‘knees’, but overall I’ve grown to accept these little quirks in the Licca body, but I’m still a stock Takara body fan!

I haven’t had the chance to really interact with a Pure Neemo body, of any variety, but I think they look fantastic in photos (and they have joints!) but I think all of the little pieces would become an annoyance to me, especially as I think I’d be a bit paranoid over losing a piece or two if I were to bring a girl out on a Pure Neemo body.

What kind of body do you prefer your Blythes to have?

Since school started for me back in August, I’ve found myself with less and less time to spend on dolls, and even doll blogging in general. You may not realize this, but it takes a lot of time and effort to write posts to regularly go up on BlytheLife! School keeps me busy – classes, readings, labs, clinicals – all that time adds up!

I do end up feeling guilty over the dolls sometimes. The fact that I don’t do anything with them, the fact that they’re worth so much and how some of them have not had a change in clothing for a good long while… But then I realized, it’s okay. It’s okay not to do something with the dolls from time to time because they’ll always be there when I need them to be there. I haven’t decided yet if there will be any changes to the family dynamics as they currently stand, but right now it’s going to stay the same and all my smiling girls will be staying with me. That may change – I might go crazy and get a handful of Middies! And if you consider the fact that I keep on looking at photos of them, that is a distinct possibility.

But it’s okay. And it’s okay for me to realize that it’s okay too. They’re always going to be there at the end of the day when I need them to be there.

Welcome to Blythe 101, part 1 of a 5 part series directed towards people who are new to Blythe!

In Blythe 101, I will be going over the shortened history of Blythe and how to go about buying your first Blythe.

History of Blythe
Blythe first came out in 1972 from the toy company Kenner. They were produced for one year and disappeared from shelves after doing poorly on the market. One of the theories behind why Blythe didn’t do well on the market is because her features (oversized head and eyes, changing eyes) were deemed creepy by children.

This is Blythe by Gina Garen came out in 2000. The following year, the toy company Takara came out with the Neo Blythe dolls. They started producing Petites shortly after that and the Middie dolls in 2010. Takara has been successful in bringing Blythe into Japan and then into the international market after the following that came after the release of the This is Blythe book.

Ashton-Drake Galleries came out with their own reproduction Blythes, modelled very closely after the original Kenners. ADGs were produced from 2005-2008 and reproduced the original 1972 outfits, boxes and hair styles.

Hasbro introduced Blythe Loves The Littlest Pet Shop dolls in 2010, commonly referred to LPS Petites by collectors. The major difference between LPS Petites and Takara Petites is that the Takaras have sleep eyes (the eyes close when the doll is laying down) while the LPS eyes do not move.

Buying Your First Blythe
A lot of people buy their first Blythe online, either through the forums or a website like eBay. I bought my first Blythe in a retail store that had a few Blythes in stock and I picked the one that I did because she was the only one who was not priced higher than on eBay at the time.

Forums are a great way to go as you are more likely to find used dolls (second hand, gently used)  if you’re not too picky. Some fellow collectors also sell new dolls through the forums as well. Generally speaking, many fellow hobbyists will price their dolls to sell – generally not to make a profit.

On eBay, you could run into people who try to sell for a profit and those who overprice their items by several hundred. Be wary of high pricing, it doesn’t mean that they sell at those prices. If you’re truly interested in a specific stock doll, I would recommend watching the listings for the doll you want and seeing the prices that the auctions really end at. Doing your research for a Blythe is a good idea, considering the expense of one.

You can also find Blythes through online retailers. Some offer pre-orders for new releases and others carry releases that have already come out that they’re trying to sell. The thing with online retailers is that they’re less likely to mark down pricing for customs (which is the legitimate thing to do…) but also they’re not likely to haggle with you. You do have the option of haggling when you’re buying via the forums, if you feel comfortable doing it.

If you’re looking for your first Blythe doll, about half of the people that you meet will encourage you to buy a cheaper doll ‘just to see if you like Blythe’ and others will encourage you to buy the one that you really want. Some of the less expensive stock dolls include the Simply Vanilla and Simply Chocolate dolls (both FBL). Some of the RBLs are still fairly inexpensive (eg. Simply Lilac, Simply Peppermint) as well as some EBLs (eg. Love Mission, Very Cherry Berry/Cherry Berry). It all really depends on what you want to get. I’d recommend getting the doll that you want, provided that you can stomach the cost. If I had went out and gotten a Kenner for my first Blythe, I probably would have had sticker shock over the final bidding that it would close on. So there is no “perfect” first Blythe for everyone. Some people do get Kenners as their first Blythe, others get the cheapest Blythe that they can find and others find a Blythe somewhere between those two.

Some things to note about Blythe is that the head does not seem as big in photos as it does in person. I thought that the head was massive when I first saw her in person. I’m used to the head-to-body ratio now (and other dolls look strange to me, or just ‘off’ somehow), and they’re quite charming. And it’s okay if you don’t like Blythe all that much after seeing her in person – some people just like Blythe to look at in photos on the internet and that’s okay too.

I decided to put my dolls’ wardrobe to the test. I would ‘randomize’ it by selecting items at random to see what I would put together after closing my eyes and reaching in to pull something out. Because I really wanted to see what kind of wacky combinations I could come up with, I decided on choosing one of each of the following:

• One hat
• One shirt (or jacket, they’re in the same bin)
• One skirt/pants/shorts

And then this is what I ended up with:

Mollie is wearing a hat I got from BlytheCon 2011, a light pink with white polka dot sleep shirt, a light purple with sparkly ric rac skirt and Nostalgic Pop stock shoes.

If you go and randomize an outfit for your dolls, what do you end up with?

Share a link to your photo if you want to!