Did You Know?

Replacement Doll Parts




I love interesting facts and history of doll collecting.  The more
interesting ones I pass on to my readers.  I hope you find them
as interesting as I do.

Did you know? Mattel Toy makers of Hawthorn, CA., used to supply 
doll hospitals and toy stores with replacement doll parts such as 
heads and limbs for their dolls. They were shipped in a cardboard 
carton very similar to one used to put drinks in from fast food 
restaurants. Each tray carton contained twenty-four heads. The 
necks of the heads were inserted in the holes to hold the heads 
upright.
In the 1970's Mattel issued a booklet titled," All Is Not 
Lost", "Mail Order Parts Can Still Save The Toy". Listed
were doll parts, dolls, and jewelry replacement parts for a small cost. Later 
Mattel decided it was much cheaper to replace the damaged toys by 
warranty. They no longer offer replacement parts, but do offer 
replacements for a few items if the doll or toy has a design flaw. 
An example is if certain doll earrings turn the ear green etc.

More Information On Identifying The Old 1980's Cabbage Patch dolls

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to identify an old doll.
Especially when there are millions produced by many different companies.  Whenever there is a doll that is an instant success many companies wanting to make fast easy money will produce as many knockoffs or copies as the market will bear.  Small changes are made to avoid copy write issues and most people don't realize the subtle changes.  A collector has to contend with all this when trying to identify their doll.  Cabbage Patch and Barbie are the two dolls that are hardest to identify.  Both were made as toys with the makers having no interest in collectors being able to identify them. But, it can be done with much patience and research.  I hope the following articles will be helpful in identifying the early Cabbage Patch dolls.   The articles I wrote many years ago on identifying
Cabbage Dolls are still some of the most read older articles, so I know there is a lot of interest to identify these old dolls.

Identifying your Doll

Cabbage Patch.  The Old Dolls From The 80's

Identifying your Cabbage Patch by the head mold can give you a lot of
information about your doll. It can also be a complicated job.
Coleco used twenty seven molds. The Coleco mold number is imprinted
in the vinyl and centered at the lower back of the head. Raised
numbers in a box on some Coleco heads are meaningless manufacturing
codes. Coleco used single or double digit numbers one through twenty
one omitting the numbers seven and thirteen, thirty, thirty six, forty
four and forty five.
Years of issue and mold number:
1983 - 84
#1 – No dimples, small eyes small smile.
# 2 – Two dimples. Large nose and eyes.
# 3 – One Dimple on left cheek, large eyes. (smaller eyes on heads
made in Hong Kong)
# 4 – Small hole in mouth. Has two dimples. (Very sought after head
mold by collectors)
1985
# 5 – Has one tooth and two dimples,
# 6 – Has a fat face, a pacifier, two dimples and chubby cheeks.
No # 7
# 8 – Big nose. Small smile and had large ears to support eye glasses.
# 9 – Has two dimples, big ears and a silly grin.
# 10 – Has two bottom teeth, chubby cheeks and two dimples.
# 11 – Has a pink tongue sticking out of mouth. Has two dimples.
(This mold was used for many clowns and the Baseball Kids).
# 12 – Has two dimples, a long nose, and a smirky smile.
# 13 – No mold
# 14 – One dimple on the right cheek. Double chin and a fat face.
# 15 – Strained smile and no dimples.
# 16 – Has a dimple in chin, but none in cheeks.
1987
# 17 – Has two top teeth.
# 18 – Has one dimple and an open mouth.
# 19 - Has eight teeth
# 20 - No dimples, This mold was used most for Splash Kids and
toddlers.
# 21 – Dimple in the right cheek. Open mouth with a small tongue
# 22 – This is a grow hair doll. Chubby cheeks, big smile with one tooth.
# 23 – Crooked smile, pink tongue, no dimples.
# 24 – No dimples, crooked smile.
# 25 – 27 No description
In 1983 – 84 only four face molds were used. #'s 1, 2, 3, & 4. In
1985 four moreface molds were added. The dolls were available during
these years in only black and white skin tones. Coleco only freckled
the # 2 face mold with the small eyes in 1983, and the # 1 face mold
in 1985.
Some of the rare and hard to find dolls made during this time are:
Black CPK's made with freckles are especially hard to find, but all
the 1983 freckled are highly collectable.
Boy CPK's with gold, auburn, lemon or red fuzzy hair.
# 4 pacifier kids are hard to find and extremely collectable.
Girl CPK;s with auburn ponytail.
Gray-eyed girls
# 5's with brown hair and blue eyes.
There are oddities in each issue that make that particular doll rare.
Example several dolls made at one factory that have smaller or
larger eyes or a certain small number of dolls that have a different
eye color. You have to really know the dolls and the factory that
made them to identify these odd dolls.
Another interesting identifier of Cabbage Patch dolls is the body tag
sewn into the side seam of the dolls. Coleco contracted with a number
of factories to make the dolls. On these tags of the Coleco
manufactured dolls is a code that tells at which factory produced the
doll. These codes are a one, two or three letter code on the tags.
The codes are as follows and the factory it identifies:

IC – The smallest number mass produced CPK's were produced by this
factory. The dolls produced at this factory have porcelein looking
faces and near perfect hands and feet. The boys have short loop hair
styles and the girls usually have short braids or ponytails. There
were several IC factories and the codes for them are as follows:
IC1, IC2, IC3, IC6.

KT – Kam Yan Toy Factory. One of only three factories in 1983 to
produce freckled kids.

OK – Kader Factory. Largest factory located in 1983 in Hong Kong and
in China thereafter. The only factory that has continued to made the
dolls since 1983.Some of the #3 dolls made at this factory have a
small smudge at the top of the left eye.

P – The Perfedacta Factory. Some of the first dolls produced at this
factory were 18 inch dolls, two inches longer than the standard 16
inch. Dolls were first produced at this factory in 1983 in Hong Kong.
The # 2 head molds all had smaller eyes and many had freckles. Many
of the dolls produced at this factory have come down with the "CPK
pox", a mold growth on the plastic. To clean the pox off use Twin
PINES 9-11 or Removes It.

PMI – Located in China this factory made CPK's in 1984 and part of
1985 when demand was the highest. The dolls produced at this factory
have well shaped thin bodies and small hands. Many #1's have larger
eyes than the OK produced dolls. These dolls have a reverse pox,
small white spots with rings . Use the cleaning method listed above

SS/WS Factories. Made later dolls and clothing.

UT Factory. Located in Taiwan. Made dolls in 1984 and 85. These
dolls are hard to find. They have porcelain looking faces and high
cheek color. The dolls from this factory were not produced for a long
period of time and are the most beautiful. They are the favorite
among collectors. The UT factory was a large producer of CPK clothing.

Identifing The Old Coleco and Hasbro Cabbage Patch Dolls By Head Marks

Identifying Your Cabbage Patch

. (The Coleco Dolls) The success of The Cabbage Patch Kids by Coleco created many imitators. In the 
years of 1983 and 1984 they went by the names of: Cauliflower Kids, 
Flower Kids, Pumpkin Kids, Kraut Kinder, Broccoli Kids, Copies of 
the four original head molds with the copyright were made in the 
Asian Factories. As well as knock offs of the boxes and certificates 
of birth and adoption. Even Xavier Roberts signature on the 
buttocks was copied. The only thing that was not copied was the 
body tag on the authentic Cabbage Patch Kids. These body tags are 
very helpful in identifying the authentic Cabbage Patch dolls. 
The real Cabbage Patch Kids of this era are identified by the by the 
word "birthmark" on the head, cheek of the buttocks and the body 
tag. On the authentic Coleco dolls of this time the copyright on 
the back of the head reads, "1978, 1982 Original Appalachian 
Artworks, Inc.". And may also include the line: "manufactured by 
Coleco" or "Made In Hong Kong" Later Coleco Head molds say: 1978, 
1982, O.A.A. Inc." or "Copyright 1982 – 1987".

(The Hasbro Dolls) In 1990 the first Hasbro dolls appeared on the 
market. The posable Hasbro Kids have the marks: "First Edition, 
Copyright 1990, O.A.A., Inc." Manufactured by Hasbro, Inc." This 
inscription was used through 1994. Some molds have later dates, but 
no longer say: "First Edition".
In the fall of 1994 Hasbro introduced two new molds for the fourteen 
inch Cabbage Patch Kids. These have large raised Cabbage Patch logo 
on the back of the head and reads: "Copyright 1994, O.A.A., Inc., 
Manufactured by Hasbro Inc.".

(The Mattel Dolls) The Mattel Kids arrived in August 1995. The 
head molds were marked: "Mattel First Edition, Copyright 1978, 
1982, O.A.A. Inc., Manufactured by Mattel," The "First Edition" 
line was removed in 1997.

Another important identifier of The Cabbage Patch Kids is the body 
tag. The body tag is a single or double cloth tag sewn into the 
left seam of the cloth bodied dolls. Some of the early Coleco tags 
were embroidered, but most were printed. Some of the tags by 
Tsukada were bilingual often in both Japanese and English. The 
Coleco tag has 1978, 1982, O.A.A., Inc., and has manufacturer and 
the country in which manufactured. Most Coleco tags read "Made In 
China", but the early 1983 tags read `Made In Hong Kong".

The Cabbage Patch Kids were made at a rate of 100,000 dolls a week 
at Hong Kong's Kader Industries. Most of the cloth bodies and 
clothes were made across the border in Mainland China.

Knowledgeable collectors of the Cabbage Patch Kids know the circled 
initials on the Coleco tags are factory codes.

For the 1983 to 1986 Kids the initials on the tags give information 
on the quality of the doll. The earliest Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids 
were KT's with "Made In Hong Kong" on their heads and or body tags. 
The Hong Kong KT's have thick hair and pretty facial coloring, but 
some KT's have pale complexions and less detailed eyes, lighter 
freckles and thinner hair.

The quality of the OK's is more consistent with distinct freckles, 
pink cheeks, and hair; especially the 1986 nylon or popcorn styles 
are considered high quality. Tags on Coleco kids with UT (1984 – 
1985} and ICC (1985 – 1986) tags are less common and some of the 
prettier dolls were made by these Taiwan factories.