One of the rarer dolls to find in Barbie’s history, #1163 German European Bendleg Barbie 1960s.

Firstly, the flaws. Barbie’s face has a yellowish hue (though not as bad as some) as is common with this mod era vinyl though it is the correct standard (no eyelashes) head for this European release. Knees have minor splits to the front that have been neatly glued, this does NOT affect the bendleg mechanism which is undamaged and intact also the joins remain together when the knees are bent. Both knees click on three though tend to ‘spring’ back to second position at that point. There are also some faded/light green areas to the back of the doll legs. Body looks like it may need a gentle clean, including some slightly grubby marks to the arms? It has never bothered me as I didn’t want to mess around with such a rare piece. Box has creasing along with wear & tear, mainly to the edges with one lower corner coming apart at the crease. I had always planned to repair but again felt I could do more damage so left as is.

Now, the good points. The doll, quite simply, is rare. She has the pink skinned bendleg non-twist waist released into the European market during the mid 1960s, it was referred to as pink skin as opposed to the typical tan colour skin of the regular American Girl Barbies on the same design body. Basically her skin is the same colour as a typical Twist and Turn Barbie from that time, just without a twist waist. Her hair would have originally been brunette but has oxidised over time to a gorgeous dark red which I believe may be referred to as dark cherry or eggplant. The fringe (bangs) look a little uneven but I think this is more about them being flattened over time. Hair is silky & has been retied into original style with a replacement ribbon. The dolls joints are all tight to the torso, no ‘sprung’ hips on this lady! Potentially a good 75% of fingernail polish present but no toenail polish I can see. Swimsuit is in excellent condition, no runs to the lower turquoise stretch section or any other damage, original Barbie label is nearly all there but has unravelled a few rows at the end though this has only ‘touched’ the circle surrounding the ‘R’ as far as the lettering is concerned. Shoes are correct left & right, doll’s left shoe is marked Japan. The box has the rare (and correct) over label of 1163, the stock item given to this rarity, this is how I purchased it & considering the source have no reason to believe this is not an original Mattel addition. Box is also marked brunette, again this would have been correct for this doll as that is in fact how she would have started life. Gold colour stand as pictured is included.

Despite this doll’s flaws & imperfections she would still make a great central display piece for any vintage Barbie collection.

Please study photos as they help to form part of the description.

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