[ID: Baby Soft Love by Playmates] old baby doll

[invaderhorizongreen]

perhaps the original company went out of business or got bought out? OR maybie was just sold to someone new who used the same mold?

[ecpblue]

Hmm makes me wonder!!  Now I am confused :-)

[BondGirlOO17]

I was curious enough about the different versions of this doll (Baby Darling, the Tiara Dolls Baby Soft Love, and the Precious Playmates Baby Soft Love) that I emailed Playmates to ask about them.
The reply I got was confusing and not particularly informative, but it does seem to indicate that the Baby Darling is a legitimate Playmates doll and the name was simply changed for reasons the person who replied to me didn't know.

[ecpblue]

I always forget about contacting companies!!  Too bad they were not any help!  This is driving me crazy as well!!  Maybe if we try contacting someone else at playmates??

[zuse]

Did you ever see this thread? I think I misidentified their doll. But mine definitely has the same head but a plastic body so that she can drink water and wet. I always loved the face on it.

http://ghostofthedoll.co.uk/Forum/index.php/topic,35.0.html

[BondGirlOO17]

Zuse, I can't tell from the first picture in that thread whether that is the same doll or not. She said it had the cloth body, so it's probably not the Baby Bathe-A-Lot, but she also said that it was around 6", which is significantly smaller than the Baby Soft Love. Without a better picture it is hard to tell.

Found a Baby Bathe-A-Lot on ebay though. Its face doesn't look quite the same, so I think it may be an older version.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MIB-1960s-Playmates-12-Baby-Bathe-A-Lot-Doll-NICE-/200638837528?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb701b318

Meanwhile, I also came across this doll, which seems to have the same/similar face & body as the Baby Soft Love, but she also has long black hair.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170748975533?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

[zuse]

Mine is a pretty smallish doll. Especially since the limbs aren't completely straight. Maybe 8 or 9 inches? I'll try to measure it sometime. Definitely from about 1988 or 1989. I've looked through the Corolle catalogs from the late 80s and don't see the robe in with the other fashions.

[ecpblue]

Zuse and bond girl- I am thinking that your dolls are related/similar to the ones we are talking about but in my opinion I don't think they are the same at all.  The ones we are talking about seem to have a very distinct handshape, no hair, cloth bodies and came in the nightgown that has been pictured a few times, there is a pink one, blue one and yellow one as far as I know.  They each also came with a bonnet.  I own 3 of these dolls, which I pictured earlier in the thread, in the picture I posted obviously the one in the box is the baby soft love and the 2 on the right are the same although I do not know for sure if they are the darling ones or the tiara ones as I do not have the box and their tags are worn.  I do know that the ones on the right are NOT baby soft love as there are smaller more subtle differences that make me certain they are not the same, I can describe these if anyone would like  But my point is there is a difference between the soft love and other ones I have but I am not sure the id of the other 2 at this point.

[BondGirlOO17]

My doll is definitely the Tiara Dolls Baby Soft Love (or the Baby Darling, but I'm pretty sure based on when she was bought that she's the 1981 Tiara Dolls Baby Soft Love.)
The ones in the pink dress (one old & one new) are the only ones that are mine. The last picture I posted is just a doll I saw on ebay that looked to have a similar face and hands, though her arms are turned down, like the newer, and slightly different, Precious Playmates Baby Soft Love that you have in the box.

Zuse's doll is the Playmates Baby Bathe-A-Lot. She was actually asking about the doll shown in the first picture on that other thread, which probably isn't the Baby Bathe-A-Lot or Baby Soft Love.

[EmBee]

Ahh!!!  I'm so so happy that you were able to get your baby doll again!  That's fantastic.

I have the same one if you remember but I have not replaced her yet.

Grats and Merry Christmas!
-Em

[Audrey]

She was also my favorite doll growing up. As a child I had many with the pink dress and blue dress, Baby Bathe-A-Lot and Baby Sleepy who is the exact same doll but with hair. My sister had the one with the yellow dress so we could tell them apart. They all had the same name but different middle names.

More recently I have been collecting versions of this doll which my daughters will eventually get when I know they won't destroy them. Below is my newer collection without the many dolls I still have from my childhood.





The Baby Darling box was filthy so I will be trashing it. The other loose dolls had beat up or dirty boxes which also got tossed. The older version of the white doll, which is a Baby Darling, has a more orange skin tone and green eyebrows. The newer versions which come as Precious Playmates or Tiara Dolls has a more porcelain skin tone and darker makeup.  The Precious Playmates also have more matte skin.

[BondGirlOO17]

That is an awesome collection! Where have you found the newer version, the Precious Playmates one?

Do you ever have a problem with the plastic parts getting sticky? I'm trying to figure out the best way to clean them, and I've wondered if the newer ones have the same tendency to get sticky.

Also, thank you for explaining some of the cosmetic differences b/w the different versions. I'm really glad I didn't buy a Baby Darling version of mine, since I would have been disappointed if her face had looked even a little different than my childhood one.

[ecpblue]

WOW Audrey, thank you so much for sharing!  What a great collection!  Also thanks for some of the background info!  Do you know any more by chance? Perhaps a time line of which dolls were made when?
Thanks!!

[xnikkixsikkix]

I hate to jump on this thread, but does anyone know where I can find one of these? I have been looking for years with no luck and FINALLY came across this thread that identified her, but I can't find any for sale online.

[BondGirlOO17]

There were a few on eBay over the holidays. I saw 4 different ones. Haven't seen any since then though. I would really like to know how to find the newer version, the Precious Playmates one.

My advice would be to keep checking. I checked on eBay at least once a month. When I finally found one, I had just checked a few days before with no luck.