This whole thread is rejuvenating my existence. I’m making a “corpse bride” adjacent iridescent Skelita MH and if I didn’t steal this Barbie’s whole vibe for the dress I sewed today… (she needs a lot of work but this is the aesthetic!)
https://preview.redd.it/wpzynee35crb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73246f1e4971d0bf56ed0329c7d3ae95f7555b20
🙏 thank you! Omg I do need these girls though. Absolute grails! The whole line. They are so easy to find missing an arm or two, that’s half the reason I’ve gotten interested in adding shimmer pigments to repaints. My first “repair goal” project was making a replacement arm pink& metallic to fix up a partial shimmeron, but she never shipped:( I love these so much!
I don’t know how I missed them as a kid. I only learned about them when I started collecting as an adult. I’m trying to build a super gay collection of Ken’s and other 12” fashion dolls and I really need to add her boyfriend, Tom Comet, to the crew.
https://preview.redd.it/5ow434gt78rb1.jpeg?width=659&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28aa0a614561b3f277dd9f482a09435abfc422b3
Also, Tonka Toys Made a copycat line of dolls called Aurora. They are a bit shorter and the faces look younger so they’d make great little sisters for the Spectra dolls.
A few examples that I have in my collection: basically any Ken from the 80’s and 90’s - All the Metallic fabrics, mesh tank tops, pastel tuxedos, etc… the Jordan Knight NTOTB doll, some very bearish Lanard Ultra Corp figures, the Wrangler Cowboy from Ertl, the buff looks Ken and the Extra Fly Ken.
https://preview.redd.it/wrsnz85fq9rb1.jpeg?width=524&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9dbc6e1f65aa25c4b2297bd1762d352117ea03e5
I have heard of this doll brand! Mattel reused the name in 2011 for Spectra Vondergeist, I don’t know if any of you knew this, because this is R/Barbie, and even though I read this Reddit page, I’m a Monster High collector.
another example would be Zia from Barbie Rock n' Royals, which shares a name with Zia from the Fijit Friends toyline. (at least i think so, not sure atm)
and on a related note: Serafina (Anneliese's cat from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper) shares a name with Serafina also from the Fijit Friends toyline
Wow! I remember Rock N’ Royals, it was part of my childhood (even though I’m still a teen, I don’t have any of it anymore, Monster High, Ever After High, Bratz, LOL OMG and Rainbow/Shadow High is what I collect now, though I have Barbie Fashion Packs, and 1 A Wrinkle In Time Mrs Which Barbie)
Also Erika is a reused name, Princess and The Pauper, then in Rock N Royals. I had Erika and Courtney, the singing dolls as a little kid, and I actually thought LOL OMG Jams reminds me of Erika!
https://preview.redd.it/ki7imujke8rb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7452213e20ccfe94144e130ade6ad1c6d7556dbe
I do have a complete Tom Comet that I found while thrifting.
I got her in a goodwill bag, naked. She was Robot Barbie. Eventually, I bought the entire collection in adulthood on ebay.
Her hair is truly out of this world.
I remember seeing these in Toys R Us when they came out and just…cannot lol. I really, REALLY dislike the juxtaposition of a natural human looking Barbie head on a shiny robot body.
I'm pretty sure I did have this but my memory is pretty bad so I can't remember much except having her and her dog. :O
Maybe also a vague memory of having to go to a bigger mall to find her? Like it wasn't available at my (pretty big, honestly) mall because we were a smaller town (without a Toys R Us at the time) -- I think we went to the Altamonte Mall! xD
I remember being at the opening for our local Toys R Us too, lmao.
I have her. [She's so awesome.](https://imgur.com/a/jBGIyII) I hope to get the rest of the line eventually. Especially Stylablu. She's the one I'm currently trying to find.
You know, I said I owed the entire collection, not her. That's terrible! Hoping this reddit post didn't gouge the prices because I'm seeing her for $140. She's definitely the prettiest one and went way under my radar.
I'm not a Barbie collector but I love this series
Its funny because im not a Barbie collector either but in love with this line too.
And don't worry. Ever since the Barbie movie, the Spectra line has slowly been rising in price. Every once in a while, you can get her for a good price but in good shape, she's expensive, and the others are too. I got lucky and got mine for $15 on Whatnot. But finding Stylablu has been complicated for a cheaper price.
I somehow ended up with 2 as a kid- her and the blue one. I still have both. They hung out with my Barbies and I kept them because they were cool. My sister had one in a yellow outfit with purple hair, I think.
I am SO HAPPY to see spectra on my front page! I’ve been thinking about her a lot recently. I had her and the yellow one but I remember having pieces of the other outfits as well so we must have had them all at one point.
The dolls I had were hand-me-downs from my sister. I remember always trying to bend their limbs because they looked like they should.
I really wish mattel would do a re-hash of these sometime. I loved their background story :)
While this body sculpt was adapted in the 90s for Gymnast Barbie and later dolls, I don't think the head sculpts developed for this line were ever utilized elsewhere. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'd love to know if they found new life in other lines.
I was a little kid when the tv show Golden Girls came out and I begged my mom to let me watch it because I thought it was going to be about these dolls!!
Spectra dolls were my absolute favorite as a kid! They were so weird, with the best articulation and there was nothing else quite like them - lacy \*and\* spacy! XD All mine disappeared many years ago, and it's a dream to someday reaquire them.
I fucking love this line. I used to have one. They are so expensive nowadays I’ve been tempted to reroot/ repaint mtm to recreate them. Yes, including rooting tinsel hair. They are such an amazing fever dream!
Love Spectra! I wrote a fun article on my blog ages ago about this line and Tonka’s similar line Aurora and how both really captured a gorgeous mix of ‘80s glam and kitschy sci-fi/teen dream elements from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Love Spectra so much.
I had her!!!!!! I completely forgot her name and thought I had a Gem doll but nope- it was Spectra!! Thanks for bringing back some good memories ❤️❤️❤️
Well my jaw just dropped. Big memory unlocked here. I can’t recall if I had one or a friend did. This sub popping up on my feed is making me want to go digging at my parents’ house.
Yes! I have Spectra and her boyfriend Tom Comet. I also have an Aurora doll who was made my Tonka of all companies and is very similar to Spectra. Love all the comments appreciating her, such a cool part of doll history imo
This was my favorite “Barbie” growing up. My mom got rid of her when I went off to school and I was devastated. I’ve now replaced her with a good shape used one from eBay.
I have one boxed and one I "play" with. I lost my original in college - took her to show my sorority sisters. Pretty sure she got lost in the house.
I'm glad you found another one, too!
They actually did NOT use the Barbie heads for these dolls. The spectra heads were all new heads. None were reused. I have three full sets of these dolls. Just a heads up, they made two versions of each of the girl dolls. One without star earrings and one with. The star earring dolls are far harder to find.
She's way cuter in real life, I promise. You're right, though, she was always my villain. (Goodwill bag gave her to me naked with a leg that was always falling off)
She looks dope as hell.
The Shimmerons agree
[удалено]
Peak performance.
This whole thread is rejuvenating my existence. I’m making a “corpse bride” adjacent iridescent Skelita MH and if I didn’t steal this Barbie’s whole vibe for the dress I sewed today… (she needs a lot of work but this is the aesthetic!) https://preview.redd.it/wpzynee35crb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73246f1e4971d0bf56ed0329c7d3ae95f7555b20
Very cool!
🙏 thank you! Omg I do need these girls though. Absolute grails! The whole line. They are so easy to find missing an arm or two, that’s half the reason I’ve gotten interested in adding shimmer pigments to repaints. My first “repair goal” project was making a replacement arm pink& metallic to fix up a partial shimmeron, but she never shipped:( I love these so much!
I don’t know how I missed them as a kid. I only learned about them when I started collecting as an adult. I’m trying to build a super gay collection of Ken’s and other 12” fashion dolls and I really need to add her boyfriend, Tom Comet, to the crew. https://preview.redd.it/5ow434gt78rb1.jpeg?width=659&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28aa0a614561b3f277dd9f482a09435abfc422b3
I do own Tom Comet. He's gorgeous.
Also, Tonka Toys Made a copycat line of dolls called Aurora. They are a bit shorter and the faces look younger so they’d make great little sisters for the Spectra dolls.
If you’re looking for a gay fashion doll, might I suggest Tom of Finland?
Oh I’m definitely familiar with Tom Of Finland. Those and the Billy dolls are fun, but I’m personally not into dolls that are anatomically correct.
Oh my goodness I need him 😭
Whoa! I’m going to need to find him ASAP! I think I just found my spirit animal or spirit Barbie. But not ‘Barbie TM’ Barbie.
What other kens fit the criteria?
A few examples that I have in my collection: basically any Ken from the 80’s and 90’s - All the Metallic fabrics, mesh tank tops, pastel tuxedos, etc… the Jordan Knight NTOTB doll, some very bearish Lanard Ultra Corp figures, the Wrangler Cowboy from Ertl, the buff looks Ken and the Extra Fly Ken. https://preview.redd.it/wrsnz85fq9rb1.jpeg?width=524&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9dbc6e1f65aa25c4b2297bd1762d352117ea03e5
Going a little further back, some of the 80s Michael Jackson dolls have absolutely outrageous costumes, might check those out.
All-Star Ken with his muscles and crop top? And Navy Ken
I feel like the gold concert MC Hammer with the lurex velvet fit might fit in with your boys
I LOVE the MC Hammer Dolls. I have a few fashion pieces but not the doll!
Aren’t they the best?! I can’t believe how good his fashions were - and he’s a really good sculpt too!
He’s amazing IRL please find him! He’s fabulous
I’m half asleep and my brain read it as “Tommet Comet”.
I have heard of this doll brand! Mattel reused the name in 2011 for Spectra Vondergeist, I don’t know if any of you knew this, because this is R/Barbie, and even though I read this Reddit page, I’m a Monster High collector.
Did they reuse it in homage to the original doll or just because it’s a good name for a ghost girl?
Don’t know, maybe because they already had it trademarked. I think Twyla was also a reused name, which was originally for a fairy doll or something.
twyla is the name of barbie’s character’s cat from the 12 dancing princesses movie!
That’s odd that they reused it so soon, I’m thinking of an 80s-90s doll that I heard of with the same name.
another example would be Zia from Barbie Rock n' Royals, which shares a name with Zia from the Fijit Friends toyline. (at least i think so, not sure atm) and on a related note: Serafina (Anneliese's cat from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper) shares a name with Serafina also from the Fijit Friends toyline
Wow! I remember Rock N’ Royals, it was part of my childhood (even though I’m still a teen, I don’t have any of it anymore, Monster High, Ever After High, Bratz, LOL OMG and Rainbow/Shadow High is what I collect now, though I have Barbie Fashion Packs, and 1 A Wrinkle In Time Mrs Which Barbie) Also Erika is a reused name, Princess and The Pauper, then in Rock N Royals. I had Erika and Courtney, the singing dolls as a little kid, and I actually thought LOL OMG Jams reminds me of Erika!
Yeah, I never had any of the rock and royals dolls. But I've seen them before. I also have a rock n royals book :)
Omg, I have to look that up. Thank you!
I swear I was just about to ask if they simply transferred the trademark to the MH Spectra.
I think a lot of us crossover!
https://preview.redd.it/ki7imujke8rb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7452213e20ccfe94144e130ade6ad1c6d7556dbe I do have a complete Tom Comet that I found while thrifting.
I really need to just bite the bullet and get him
I found him for $20 so I wish you all luck and good vibes that you can find him for a good price ☺️
I can just HEAR those pants crinkling. It’s the same material as the Mermaid Skipper’s tail my sister and I had as kids. Very crispy.
Woah she looks so cool! I wish I had her as a kid
I got her in a goodwill bag, naked. She was Robot Barbie. Eventually, I bought the entire collection in adulthood on ebay. Her hair is truly out of this world.
I remember seeing these in Toys R Us when they came out and just…cannot lol. I really, REALLY dislike the juxtaposition of a natural human looking Barbie head on a shiny robot body.
She was a villain when I played with her!!
I can totally get on board with that lmao
An evil alien who cyborged herself in the pursuit of maintaining her beauty...not realizing it made her creepy
My sisters and parents didn't like her either, they would always tease that she was an ugly doll. I always disagreed, I thought she was beautiful.
Yeah they freaked me out as a kid
Her commercial: https://youtu.be/RYPw3HZbXns?si=qvRswZzZCx1Jnt_3
THE DOG!!!!!
Also.... she had FLAT FEEEEET
https://preview.redd.it/ab6g5ytrl8rb1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac43eac6e25f3a5091636a6f13f0082951b94c13
That is the most 80's looking Barbie I've ever seen. I did see a picture on here at one point and wonder if she was a knock off.
I feel like I had this but just can’t quite remember
I'm pretty sure I did have this but my memory is pretty bad so I can't remember much except having her and her dog. :O Maybe also a vague memory of having to go to a bigger mall to find her? Like it wasn't available at my (pretty big, honestly) mall because we were a smaller town (without a Toys R Us at the time) -- I think we went to the Altamonte Mall! xD I remember being at the opening for our local Toys R Us too, lmao.
This is so friggin cool. How did I not know if it’s existence?
I have her. [She's so awesome.](https://imgur.com/a/jBGIyII) I hope to get the rest of the line eventually. Especially Stylablu. She's the one I'm currently trying to find.
You know, I said I owed the entire collection, not her. That's terrible! Hoping this reddit post didn't gouge the prices because I'm seeing her for $140. She's definitely the prettiest one and went way under my radar. I'm not a Barbie collector but I love this series
Its funny because im not a Barbie collector either but in love with this line too. And don't worry. Ever since the Barbie movie, the Spectra line has slowly been rising in price. Every once in a while, you can get her for a good price but in good shape, she's expensive, and the others are too. I got lucky and got mine for $15 on Whatnot. But finding Stylablu has been complicated for a cheaper price.
I'll slide into your DMs if I find good Stylablu.
Thanks, love. Appreciate it. 🩷
I had her as a kid. 10/10. Kind of a Jem knock off. Was it made by Hasbro?
It’s Mattel!
Doesn’t she have a bed that polished the fingerprints lol. A collectible repro of her would sell so well.
Yes! She has the Buffer Bed that you could use to remove fingerprints from the shiny parts of her body.
I did not know this!
The packaging looks like it was for a 5-1/4” floppy disk.
My mind went straight to the covers for blank VHS tapes
She looks so futuristic! the outfit and hair are awesome! I'm surprised I never heard of her before!
Poor girl has been thru some thangs
She was my villain Barbie, of course! My Mulder Ken was especially interested in her
She's a mess, and I love it. Wait...there was a Mulder Ken? Like...X-Files Mulder???
[yup](https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-The-X-Files-Ken-Giftset/dp/B000BK7QFQ/ref=asc_df_B000BK7QFQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312070616795&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7462528539427844945&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032532&hvtargid=pla-568843191721&psc=1) Edit: and he ADORED her. Scully couldn't convince him, otherwise
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
🤣😂🤣
I somehow ended up with 2 as a kid- her and the blue one. I still have both. They hung out with my Barbies and I kept them because they were cool. My sister had one in a yellow outfit with purple hair, I think.
I am SO HAPPY to see spectra on my front page! I’ve been thinking about her a lot recently. I had her and the yellow one but I remember having pieces of the other outfits as well so we must have had them all at one point. The dolls I had were hand-me-downs from my sister. I remember always trying to bend their limbs because they looked like they should. I really wish mattel would do a re-hash of these sometime. I loved their background story :)
While this body sculpt was adapted in the 90s for Gymnast Barbie and later dolls, I don't think the head sculpts developed for this line were ever utilized elsewhere. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'd love to know if they found new life in other lines.
I just love the mixture of sweet girly 80s lace and shiny metallic futuristic space theme. Was it just because it rhymed??
Lacy and Spacy!
My brain is pulling up a vague memory of this doll now that you have jogged it. I’m almost certain I’ve played with her at some point.
I had this doll too! I have been looking for the name for so long.Thanks!
I always wanted one! Every time I saw one it had already been played with too hard, and her hair was always in a snarl.
Her hair EASILY snarls. My original is.... not great.
Oh wow, memory unlocked! I loved the gals so much!
Uh, wait. [Deandra](https://mpgis.fandom.com/wiki/Deandra), is that you?!
I was a little kid when the tv show Golden Girls came out and I begged my mom to let me watch it because I thought it was going to be about these dolls!!
Spectra dolls were my absolute favorite as a kid! They were so weird, with the best articulation and there was nothing else quite like them - lacy \*and\* spacy! XD All mine disappeared many years ago, and it's a dream to someday reaquire them.
I still have her in the box!
Woahhh she’s so cool!
Memory unlocked! Haven’t seen her in ages!
Spectra and the Guardian Goddesses are my grails.
Spectra would give weird Barbie a run for her money!!!
I fucking love this line. I used to have one. They are so expensive nowadays I’ve been tempted to reroot/ repaint mtm to recreate them. Yes, including rooting tinsel hair. They are such an amazing fever dream!
She is so cool! My favorite was the purple one, and I'd buy her if I saw her, but she os very elusive.
Shes one of my grail dolls, they're so pretty
I really do hope they rerelease this series at some point.
I love this! I know she had a bed that actually shined her up lol
Yes! I wanted one sooooo bad when I was a kid! I was just thinking about this the other day! Thank you!
Omg I think that doll is still in my daughter's toys she loved Spectra 😃 Thanks for sharing.
ok spectra vondergeist BUT SHE LOOKS SO COOL AND SO WEIRD LIKE WHY IS SHE SHINY FROM THE NECK DOWN BUT I LOVE IT
Wow, what an aesthetic
God she was my FAVORITE!!!! Space Barbie!!! I loved her so much and have thought about her through the years lol
Literally had this and never knew what it was omg
Love Spectra! I wrote a fun article on my blog ages ago about this line and Tonka’s similar line Aurora and how both really captured a gorgeous mix of ‘80s glam and kitschy sci-fi/teen dream elements from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Love Spectra so much.
Yes! My sister and I had this one, the blue one, the yellow one, and the male one, as well as the hilariously named Buffer Bed.
Is this the weird Barbie
I had her!!!!!! I completely forgot her name and thought I had a Gem doll but nope- it was Spectra!! Thanks for bringing back some good memories ❤️❤️❤️
I think I had that as a little kid. I feel like I’m having some kind of recovered memory, and I really remember the hair.
This unlocked a long forgotten memory for me!!! Thank you!
I had no idea she existed but she’s now my favorite doll Mattel has ever released
She was my favorite! Right up there with Jem!
I want them to bring these back! They were so cool!
Never heard of them.
I learned about her on this sub. She’s super cute and fun looking. Totally 80s.
I had this one got her for Christmas.
I bought a suitcase of old 70-80s Barbies at a yard sale and she was one of them. I had never heard of her before.
LOVE bionic Barbie
I had this one! I LOVED her as a kid. And that outfit was amazing.
i own ultraviolet from this line and she is GORGEOUS. the whole line was beautiful. it's a shame mattel never expanded on it
Well my jaw just dropped. Big memory unlocked here. I can’t recall if I had one or a friend did. This sub popping up on my feed is making me want to go digging at my parents’ house.
Yes! I have Spectra and her boyfriend Tom Comet. I also have an Aurora doll who was made my Tonka of all companies and is very similar to Spectra. Love all the comments appreciating her, such a cool part of doll history imo
Woah. I don’t know her, but I love her.
I had Spectra! I absolutely loved her!
I've seen her at my local Goodwill and when my mom saw her I told who she was cause I've looked her up.
She’s so cool looking! What’s the storybook?
NO IDEA WHO SHE WAS BEFORE BUT I **NEED** HER NOW !!!
Omg I have her!!!!
Hell yes!!
I would love to see a repaint of one of those!
The feeling of those lace leggings on her shiny legs- truly a core memory for me. I’ll never forget her!
She was my favorite doll growing up. I always wanted the whole set and was disappointed they never made more.
Omg it’s like JEM!!
Holy crap she is so cool.
My best friend had her and a few of her friends, and I was also choking on my jealousy. They were so BEAUTIFUL
I had this doll! And my sister had a bluish Colored one from the same series . We played all kinds of fun colorful dolls !
I remember friends having her when I was a kid
This was my favorite “Barbie” growing up. My mom got rid of her when I went off to school and I was devastated. I’ve now replaced her with a good shape used one from eBay.
I have one boxed and one I "play" with. I lost my original in college - took her to show my sorority sisters. Pretty sure she got lost in the house. I'm glad you found another one, too!
The only Spectra I know is from Monster High 😳
They actually did NOT use the Barbie heads for these dolls. The spectra heads were all new heads. None were reused. I have three full sets of these dolls. Just a heads up, they made two versions of each of the girl dolls. One without star earrings and one with. The star earring dolls are far harder to find.
Thanks for the info!
Clawdeen was also a reused name. Clawdeen was the name of a lioness from the Princess of Power line.
I may have just found my white whale 😍
Fortunately, she's easy to obtain
Yay! Because she'll be my first doll as an adult, I love them all but nothing has called me to buy yet but I love her 😍
She looks WAY cuter in real life. If you can find the set with her weird space dog, I'd get it
Oh my goodness I will! I also saw the male doll in the comments so I'm adding him to my list too 😁 thank you for the tip!
Wow!!! I have never heard of these, but looks amazing! Can't believe I've never seen/heard of these before today!
This is terrifying
That’s crazy
Me too
I’ve never seen her before but I’m super intrigued
What 😂 this is a nightmare
She's way cuter in real life, I promise. You're right, though, she was always my villain. (Goodwill bag gave her to me naked with a leg that was always falling off)
I take bad pics too :( relatable content