Senorita Dollikin

Sometimes I worry myself! I just came across this Uneeda 2S fashion doll in a box. I had completely forgotten about her! This doll came in a lot of distressed dolls that included the Marybel doll I wrote about in a previous post. This is also the Dollikin face in which I replace the eye in the doll eye tutorial post. Here she is in her original state. The pile of fiberfill next to her was stuffed inside her head when she arrived. As you can see, one of her eyes was crossed and stuck open.

 

Uneeda 2S Dollikin face fashion doll in need of restoration.

I really can't believe I forgot about this doll, because this one is the whole reason I ordered the lot! This doll has the Uneeda 2S head also used on the Dollikin jointed dolls. It is especially desirable because this one has the PAINTED Dollikin face! The painted face dolls came about originally because these dolls were made with flaws in their vinyl, so Uneeda painted the faces so as not to waste them. As often happens with collectibles of all kinds, these dolls manufactured with flaws are actually more sought after by some collectors now than the perfect ones!

 

Dollikin painted face needing repainting.

The original paint on this doll had been gouged up over the years. This was a much-loved doll, I think, and saw a lot of play. Her lower painted eyelashes had mostly worn away and her entire painted face had stickiness. I cleaned entire doll and treated the face with baby powder months ago. Today, after rediscovering her, I repainted her face and treated it again with powder just to make sure the sticky finish doesn't come back for a while.

 

The doll with her face re-painted.

I replaced her eye months ago and I had a terrible time with it. Maybe I blocked it out and that's why I forgot about her! I couldn't find a 16mm eye, which is the proper size. I ended up poaching one from a less-valuable doll. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it in without it looking slightly crossed still. I think whatever flaw was originally in the face to cause Uneeda to paint it also affected the eye socket so that no eye fits in there perfectly straight. The eyes both still stick a little sometimes, but they aren't stuck open anymore and a good shake will get them working again. The replacement eye has a tiny notch out of the edges of a couple of the eyelashes, but it is barely visible unless you are searching for it. The sticky finish extends to the inside of the head so it can be hard to turn the head at times as well. Still, these are quite minor issues for a doll of 50+ years!

 

There were also originally several green spots on the body. I was able to remove all but three of these and I painted over those. The repair is visible but lessens how much you see the original spots.

 

A re-painted spot on the doll's back.

The doll's hair was rather dry so I conditioned it and reset it. I did put it back into its original spit curl style but first I just had to take a photo of it down because I think she looks just like Liz Taylor with that style!

 

The doll with her hair down.

 

When it was time to dress Miss. Dollikin-face I remembered I had this Senorita outfit from my Dollikin's World Tour available. The buyer wanted just the doll and her undies from that set. I thought the dress would only fit the 18 inch jointed Dollikin (this one is taller) but I found it fits this one just as well. Better, actually, because this doll's hips are narrower. I think dolly makes a lovely senorita with her dark hair! Besides the original outfit, I gave her new "diamond" earrings and  custom-made ring.

 

The doll dressed in a Spanish-style dress.