 | |
| Type | posable flat doll |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Hank Kramer |
| Company | Ideal Toy Company |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1969–1973 |
| Materials | vinyl with interior wires |
| Features | 3 sizes (Mini, Medium, Fashion) |
Flatsy Dolls are flat dolls that were made by Ideal Toy Company from 1969 through 1973. [1] Designed by Hank Kramer,[ citation needed ] Flatsy Dolls were originally marketed to little girls. Like many vintage dolls, Flatsy dolls are now collectors items. [2]
Flatsys have long hair, which goes to the floor, generally in vivid colors (like bright blue, bright yellow, pink, etc.). They are made of soft vinyl with wires inside the limbs, neck, and body, which make them posable. Their faces have sweet, grinning expressions with eyes looking either to the left or to the right.
The packaging the Flatsy doll is sold in can be used as a decorative picture frame, and the doll is also possible to wear as a pin. In 1969 when Flatsy retailed for $3 Corpus Christi Times described it as "reasonably priced". [3]
Each Flatsy has a "theme" and comes with an accessory and a cardboard liner with a picture in keeping with that theme. They also have a plastic clip to hold the doll in place on the liner card, which also detached for play time.
Commercials for Flatsys featured the theme song: "She's Flat and All That!." [1]
Flats Dolls wear "mod" clothes reflecting the styles of the 1960s. Every Flatsy came with shoes and, in nearly every case, a hat.
Flatsys were made in three sizes: [1]
The Minis and Mediums are very similar in appearance (except of course for size), while the Fashions are very tall, thin, and have rooted eyelashes.
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall- were available in a triple frame with three dolls with clothing and accessories to fit each season. Dolls were also sold separately in a small Locket shaped frame.
Flowertime, Munchtime, Schooltime, Playtime, Slumbertime- sets of two dolls with an accessory or vehicle to match their theme
Bonnie, Candy, Casey, Cookie, Dewie, Filly, Judy, Nancy, Rally, Sandy, Suzie and Trixie- each were available in a picture frame that included accessories to match their specific theme and were also sold separately in a smaller locket shaped frame.
Soda Fizz sold with the Candy Mountain track. Scoop, Creamy and Cornball sold separately, each with their own car.
Carrie, Grandma Baker, Keely, Kookie, Munchie, Nana, Shaina and Sleepy each sold in their own house shaped frame with accessories.
Holiday Time, Play Time, Treat Time, and Sleepy Time- sets of one medium sized Flatsy and one Baby Flatsy sister.
Blue, Green, Pink or Yellow- came atop a base that spun when you pulled the string.
Ali, Cory, Dale and Gwen- each available with one of three different outfits in a large frame or small box.
A tall multifloor home with furniture.
A one story house with a bedroom loft area with furniture.
A flat foldable house that opened into a bedroom.
In order to verify a genuine Flatsy, the Ideal Toy Company branded each one in the back with an oval shape that has the word "Ideal" in it. Below it are the words "©1969 Pat. Pend. Hong Kong." [2] Any variation of this brand indicates a counterfeit or "knock-off". Also, Flatsy's hair is not rooted in the back of head, only on the top. Clones include the Pamela Doll and Linda Doll.
Flatsies were reintroduced in 1994 by Just Toys in a size similar to the original mini Flatsies, then again in 2008 by Schylling in a size more similar to the medium Flatsies. [1]
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America commonly use the term dollhouse, but in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries the term is doll's house. They are often built to put dolls in.
Pullip is a fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has a jointed plastic body and a relatively oversized head, with eyes that can move from side to side and eyelids that can blink. Pullip was first marketed by Jun Planning out of Japan; but the company underwent management changes in early 2009 and, since then, has operated out of South Korea under the name Groove. Since the release of the original female doll, other companion dolls have been added: male dolls Namu and Taeyang ; Taeyang's younger sister, Dal ; Dal's best friend, Byul ; and Pullip's younger brother, Isul. In February 2013, a new member of the Pullip family was introduced, called Yeolume, who is Pullip's future daughter. There is also a miniature line called Little Pullip, with 1:12 scale bodies and 1:6 scale heads. Pullip and her counterpart dolls are often customized by collectors, with the most common customizations including wig changes, eye color changes and rebodying.
Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories first founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and licensed by Bluebird Toys from 1989 until both entities/properties were acquired by Mattel in 1998.
A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide as of 2020. Minifigures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately as collectables in blind bags, or custom-built in Lego stores. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from film, television, and game franchises, or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme. Minifigures are collected by both children and adults. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in many combinations.
Crissy is an American fashion doll with a feature to adjust the length of its hair. Crissy was created in the Ideal Toy Corporation's prototype department in 1968.
Dollikins were dolls manufactured by Uneeda Doll Company, a company founded in 1917 by the Sklarsky family in Brooklyn, New York. Dollikins were marketed as The World's Most Posable Doll. The dolls were manufactured from 1957 to 1980. Originally, Dollikins were designed to compete with similar 18–21 inch sized dolls that were popular through the 1950s and 1960s, such as Madame Alexander's "Cissy", Ideal's "Revlon", American Character's "Toni", Deluxe Reading's "Candy" Horseman's "Sindy". Horseman's "Wonderkin" and Valentine's "Mannikin". The dolls started at 19-20" tall and featured sleepy eyes, although later versions were 12" and 6" without sleepy eyes due to the popularity of the Mattel Barbie Doll which is 11.5 inches and the Topper Dawn doll which was 6 inches.
Dawn dolls are small fashion dolls that were made by Deluxe Reading between 1970 and 1973. They measure 6.5 inches in height and have painted eyes and lips. The girl dolls feature rooted hair and eyelashes. The boy dolls have molded hair.
What's Her Face was a line of customizable dolls that straddled the line between traditional fashion dolls and creative activity toys. Made by Mattel, the line ran from 2001–2003, and enjoyed only a modest success in a market dominated by Mattel's iconic Barbie and MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls. Following the discontinuation of the What's Her Face line, their body molds were used for the Wee 3 Friends line of Barbie-related dolls. Several fashion, wig, and activity packs were also released for the What's Her Face line.
Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been inexpensive children's toys for almost two hundred years. Today, many artists are turning paper dolls into an art form.
Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy, Toni, Saucy Walker, Shirley Temple, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy, Thumbelina, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube.
Lundby, also known as Lundby of Sweden, is a Swedish maker of dollhouses and miniature furniture for the mass market. Lundby dollshouse furniture has been produced since 1947 and their dollshouses have been sold since the late 1940s. The company started in the Gothenburg borough of Lundby, which also gave the company its name.
Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and range of fashions and accessories made her the best-selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Marx Toys' unsuccessful attempt to introduce Sindy in the United States in the late 1970s, Hasbro bought the rights to Sindy and remodelled the doll to look more American. As a result, the doll's popularity declined; in addition Barbie manufacturer Mattel filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which was settled when Hasbro agreed to remodel Sindy's face. During the 1990s, Barbie's share of the doll market continued to grow while Sindy's diminished, which led to Sindy being delisted from major retailers in 1997. Hasbro returned the doll's licence to Pedigree, and the doll was relaunched in 1999, manufactured by Vivid Imaginations. Sindy's 40th anniversary in 2003 saw a new manufacturer, New Moons, and another relaunch and redesign.
Diva Starz was a series of talking fashion dolls created and released by Mattel in October 2000. They are similar in design to MGA's Bratz and Tiger Electronics' Furby. Alexa, Nikki, Summer—later replaced by Miranda—and Tia were offered in the original debut. Originally produced as robotic dolls, Mattel would also release miniature and fashion doll versions in response to their initial success. The line was discontinued in 2004.
Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys, vinyl art toys and collectibles founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Paul Budnitz. The company was one of the earliest creators of designer art toys in America.
Action figures have been an important and integral staple of the vast merchandising empire created around popular American rock band, Kiss. Kiss merchandising currently includes more than 2,000 product categories, and the limited availability of many products means that is a popular area of interest with collectors.
Kiddles were dolls originally produced by toymaker Mattel Inc. in 1965. They were introduced at the 1966 New York Toy Fair and put on the market soon after. Initially about 3 inches tall, they were tiny by doll standards. The sensation they created in the toy world caused other toy companies to produce their own tiny dolls.
Living Dead Dolls is a line of horror dolls first produced as handmades in 1998 in the United States by Ed Long and Damien Glonek, and commercially manufactured by Mezco Toyz since 2000.
Journey Girls is an American line of 18" fashion dolls sold by Journey Girls. They are targeted at girls ages 6–12 and were sold at Toys R Us until it went out of business. JustPlay rereleased the Journey Girls, and they have been sold on Amazon since then.
Real Littles, formerly and also called Shopkins, are a range of tiny, collectable toys manufactured by Moose Toys. Based on grocery store items, each plastic figure has a recognisable face and unique name. They also have special finishes like translucent, glitter, or squishy. The collectable toys also had expanded into lines of clothing, trading cards, and other related merchandise.