We're nearly finished with the virtual tour of the Geek Cave continues. I'm going to post pictures and discuss one shelving unit a week for the foreseeable future. I'm also going to switch up generations, areas of the Cave, and even types of collection as I feel like it.
This time I'm sharing my Strawberry Shortcake Collection.
I started collecting SSC only a few years ago, when I found several mint condition dolls second hand. I had been considering getting some of the pets to go with the Pony collection for some time, but had yet to pull the trigger. Once I had a few of the dolls in hand, however, I started remembering how much I'd liked my childhood dolls. I am not, as a rule, a doll person. I got Barbie dolls for birthdays and Christmas from relatives who didn't know what I liked. SSC was the exception to this, probably because they were not typical fashion type dolls.
So I jumped in with both feet and, with the help of two great Kijiji lots, got most of the basic dolls, pets, and several playsets quite quickly. I also did research into the line, and I discovered something interesting. Brazilian SSC dolls. I love many MLP nirvana, but I might love the Brazilian SSC dolls a little bit more. These dolls are often quite different from the original Kenner dolls, with great curly hair, dresses with ribbon and lace trim, and adorable hats or other hair accessories. I have many of them, and I would like to get many more.
I hadn't planned on getting any of the SSC playsets, but several came my way with a lot of dolls. I was in love with the Berry Happy Home, but there was no way I was ever going to have it unless I found one locally. Which I did. It's HUGE! But it's fantastic. The details on this are beyond any other playset I've ever seen. I'm glad I have it, but it does take up a lot of real estate.
Like MLP, SSC had many generations. There were six generations in total, made by various companies including Kenner, Bandai, Playmates, Hasbro, and Basic Fun. Although I have a few of the Hasbro dolls, I'm not really interested in the other iterations of SSC beyond the original Kenner dolls. However, Estrella in Brazil used the original doll molds to recreate the Bandai characters for the Brazilian market. I have nearly all of these dolls. While I liked the design of the Bandai characters, the dolls themselves were not of the best quality, so the Brazilian versions are perfect for me. Estrella also made some characters that appeared in the cartoon but not in doll form, so that's also fun.
Aside from the giant house, SSC doesn't take up too much space in the Cave. The dolls are confined to three CD shelves (which fit them quite well) and won't be likely to get any more space, something I'll need to keep in mind as I've already made a few custom characters. Luckily I'm terrible at sewing, so full custom dolls will be slow to join the collection. I'm also missing one character from the original Kenner line (Banana Twirl, the rarest doll), several other versions of Kenner characters, and I still have a healthy want list for the Brazilian vintage dolls. For now, however, I'm enjoying the collection I have. They're as colourful and full of nostalgia as MLP for me, and they fit well into the Cave.
Elf
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