Thursday, August 9, 2012

Toy Chest Thursday! Shimmers 2

Alright toy fans, now that I've had some time to catch up on a thing or two, how about we get to that Toy Chest? Close to a year ago I posted a Toy Chest on the old Kenner line called Shimmers, which can be found here. What I had shown was three loose Shimmers dolls. They were all perfect and fabulous, but sometimes loose toys just aren't enough. There is something fun about looking over a toy mint in the package. So I got real lucky. I mean real lucky. I've got a mint Shimmers doll for Toy Chest Thursday! This is a rare treat and I still can't believe I managed to snag one. (And no, I did not have to make a deal with Ursula the Sea Witch either!)

So the basic gimmick behind Shimmers was that each doll was a hybrid of a human and some sort of animal/creature. There was also a mom and baby in each set. The whole shimmer name was due to the awesome sparkly paint that was used for both mom and baby. Even the combs that came with the toy had a shimmery plastic look.

The mother and baby had names that were associated with what they were. Clover and Dapples were centaurs and I am not sure what their names have to do with being a centaur, though Clover and Dapples sound like something a centaur would eat. Maybe? Once the other names are seen, it will make sense. Also, aside from a comb, each mother Shimmer came with some sort of clothing accessory, like a cape, apron, or skirt.

One very cool thing about these dolls was the netting used to keep the rooted hair in place while in the plastic bubble. (I wonder if Netossa had anything to do with this? POP Humor!) Anyways Clover's hair seemed to have two colors, a light purple and some light pink. Some of the Shimmers dolls had streaked hair, while all had bodies with the color fade look. The use of color was truly one of the fun things about this short lived line. I also liked that when it applied, the mother Shimmers had rooted tails too. (Like with the deers and centaurs.)

Here we have little baby Dapples. I don't know if it is apparent in the picture, but the paint used on these toys was so sparkly and shimmery. I have always loved toys with glitter either in the plastic or part of the paint. I just love it. I also love that the glittery paint doesn't rub off when you touch it. Nothing is worse than messy glitter all over the place. It can get into your eyes! And we all know I don't need to be dealing with any other accidents.

Here is the comb. Kenner really did a wonderful job of giving each type of creature a specially themed comb. The centaurs had this comb with a flower and swirl of what looks like water. The mermaids had seashell combs while the deer had a comb with a flower design. The birds had a comb that looked like a feathered poinsettia. I have no idea what the combs looked like for the butterflies. 

The back of the card features a decent amount of Shimmers dolls to collect from the first and only series. (There was an un-produced second line, but sadly it never saw the shimmer of day.) There were two sets of creatures to collect, i.e. 2 different centaurs, 2 different mermaids, 2 different deers, etc. For example both mermaid sets featured the same sculpts, but different colors and names.

A brief poem was on the back of the card detailing what the scoop was on the Shimmers.

"In a secret land of fantasy live beautiful creatures, wild and free. Their delicate bodies glisten like pearl...part woodland animal, part beautiful girl. To most of us they can barely be seen at dusk and at dawn, and not in between. But to those lucky few who wish they could be like a horse in a meadow or a mermaid at sea, this secret land is always in sight, and beautiful Shimmers will always shine bright."

Well Shimmers didn't end up always shining bright. This poor toyline was gone in the blink of an eye. Sadly it is very difficult to come across a mint Shimmer for a decent price. There are a few on ebay, but they are over two hundred dollars. I was lucky to pick one up for sixteen bucks on a very rare ebay auction. I still can't believe I had such luck in that department. Anyways, let's check out the rest of the Shimmers lineup!

I had Deerlene and Doette as well as Seaquin and Splashy when I was little. Seaquin was my favorite because she was a pink mermaid. Two of my favorite things combined in one. These Shimmers also had names that really described the nature of what they were. Honestly, if the name Deerlene doesn't say, "I'm a deer" than there might be some problems in the Shimmering Forest.

Up next we see Clover and Dapples as well as a mermaid repaint, Marina and Flutter. I don't understand the baby mermaid being named Flutter, but whatever. I would have liked to own Marina with Flutter, however when I was young it just seemed silly to own the same figure with a different paint scheme. Having grown older I have learned that I am all about owning multiple versions of essentially the same figure. (I won't even say how many She-Ra Classics I own. Just go ahead and send me to the next taping of Hoarders please.)

Plume and Featherfluff were for the birds while Pepper and Pearl rounded up the other centaurs. I loved the shocking green hair on Plume. The '80s was the preeminent decade for girl toys having green hair. (Pizzazz, Peekablue, a Wee Wild Thing...) You just don't come across many female characters with green hair on the shelves these days. It is a lost art form that I wish would see a comeback. Don't you?

Wind Belle and Whispy were part of the butterflies. I was never that interested in collecting the butterfly sets. I guess I only had obsessive collecting habits for POP's Flutterina. Meadow and Fauna were the last of the deers, and goodness were they a bright yellow.  

The remaining birdy Shimmers were Sunstreak and Winglet. I had those two as well. I used to pretend that Sunstreak was the Sorceress before I actually got a Sorceress figure. And I have said it before, but it bears repeating, Winglet is the worst name in the entire universe for a little baby bird girl. Winglet sounds like a menu item at Buffalo Wild Wings. I can't help but think of Sunstreak going on crazy adventures to save her baby Winglet from being eaten by drunken frat guys in a place with booming sports programs. Oh, and Skylite and Glider were the last butterfly set.

I wish Kenner had stuck with the line for a little while longer. This toyline was very fun and inventive. The '80s was such a wonderful time for fantasy inspired creatures and toys. I suppose those elements exist in new toylines today, but I just feel like there was such an abundance of that back then. The idea for Shimmers actually grew out of an earlier Kenner line called See Wees, which were just mermaid figures with rooted hair (and babies!) So it would not have been crazy for the line to have continued. I guess the demand had waned. Oh well that is the way things go. Shimmers though gets to live on in my archival room and here, on Toy Chest! Also, for more Shimmers, check out the commercial from Youtube. I am loving that theme song! The animation for the dolls looks cool too.

So there ya go, a new Toy Chest Tuesday, on Thursday! My foot infection is getting better. I don't think I will need to have my foot cut on, which is good. Enjoy the pictures and if you remember Shimmers let me know! I loved this line and would love to hear your stories on why this was a fun toyline. Until next time folks!  

20 comments:

  1. Didn't know about them until now! I think they're never been released in Spain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Nastyroker, I'm not sure what their release was worldwide. But I wouldn't be surprised if they had only been released in the states. There was no cartoon or any other form of media to really promote the dolls.

      Delete
  2. Awesome! Iv been wanting to collect these for a while but they are pretty hard to come by in good shape and at a good price.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very hard to come by Brothermidnight! I was lucky to get this one, I highly doubt I will ever come across another one. I mean there are a few on ebay that are mint, but they are just to expensive. Good luck though, keep searching. I'm sure some will turn up for a nice price.

      Delete
  3. Blink of an eye, hmm, could be why I don't really remember these ones, lol, although, the mermaid one does seem familiar. Glad to hear your foot is feeling better, I burnt the inside of my arm today, I'm so clumsy, I shouldn't cook! lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh goodness Sarah! I hop your arm is ok. That is why I don't cook. I am way to clumsy and would probably have a ton of burn marks on my arms and whatnot. These are super rare, so it would not be a stretch that some would not recall them. I still can't believe I came across them when I was little.

      Delete
  4. Ok, glad to know I wasn't just forgetting them, lol, do you also remember the charmkins and mon chi chi dolls? I had those, wish I still did, and lots of people seem to have forgotten them, and don't forget, have you snuggled a wuzzle today? Lol, I still have the books that came along with the stuffed animal wuzzles, just not the animals, sometime I shall take a photo of all my She-Ra, Jem and other books I still have so you can see :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charmkins and Min Chi Chi dolls were so cute! I had a pvc figure of Mon Chi Chi, and I think I had one Charmkin, but my friend had much more. As for Wuzzles, I wish they had stuck around for much longer. I am also sure at somepoint the Wuzzles will show up on Toy Chest! I would love to see the photos of your collection of books Sarah! I bet the She-Ra and Jem books look awesome!

      Delete
  5. I'm not sure if it's considered a "toy regret," but I remember Shimmers, remember seeing them on tv, remember thinking how cool they were because they were like Sea Wees but better, remember seeing them at KayBee Toys, remember getting something else and thinking "next time," remember never seeing them again after that, LOL. I think I passed because they just weren't as cool to me as I'd hoped. Of course, looking at them now - how cool are the deer and the centaurs?? I'd love to have bright yellow Meadow and Fauna. But yeah, glancing at those secondary, "collectors'" peices on ebay... prob never gonna happen. It's ok. I have too much stuff already. ^.~*

    I have some Charmkins... Brown Eyed Susan is my favorite. Probably because Aileen Quinn (Annie) did her voice in the cartoon, and how cute is she to boot! But Poison Ivy is fun too. Monchichi is still going strong in Japan. I bought one when I was there this spring. Sekiguchi has been making them since the 70s (I think) but they were imported to America for just a couple of years in the 80s. Would love to see the cartoon again (there was actually a Japanese cartoon and a completely different American cartoon).

    - TJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey TJ! Well I found a Shimmers commercail on Youtube, and I'm not sure, was there an animated cartoon? I don't recall there being one,but there was some cool animation for the dolls in the commercial. I'll post the link in the Shimmers 2 post. I loved these dolls so much. Charmkins were so cute. And Mon Chi Chi, I feel like there has been some sort of a resurgence over here, but I am glad to know the propertyis thrving in Japan. I need to see if I can find my old Mon Chi Chi pvc toy.

      Delete
  6. Flutter-- as in Flutter Kick, a swimming technique.

    Interesting little dolls, too bad they didn't have villains...you could always take Gnawgahyde from G.I. Joe and pretend that he is trying to poach them and after they spend some time running, flying and swimming for their lives, they can do a turn-about and eat him or something of the sort!

    Gotta love 2 things, ebay deals and to a lesser extent--fly by night toy lines. Having anything from Kenner is great though, after all, they don't exist anymore.

    Really neat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Paladin! I had no idea about the flutter kick. lol I was always a lazy child. That makes perfect sense.

      And an accompanyig villain line would have been cool. Could you just imagine how awesome a spider or wasp would have been as a Shimmer doll? I would have died. That G.I. Joe bit would have been hilarious.

      Fly by night toylines always have a fun charm to them.

      Delete
  7. Is there an email address that you use that I can email the photos of the books so you can see them and post if you feel like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Sarah, my email is missmermista@gmail.com I would love to post your pictures! In fact your comment has given me an idea for a new type of post whereby readers of the site can show off their own inner dorkette (or dork) and show off their collection if they so choose! I hope you are doing well! I look forward to the pictures.

      Delete
  8. I don't think I ever had these as a little girl, but they remind me a lot of Sea Wees, which were also mermaids and also by Kenner (I used to play with them in the tub, lol). Were these Shimmer dolls a later version of Sea Wees?

    ReplyDelete
  9. D'oh! I should really learn to read the whole post before I comment! :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's ok Jaime! Don't worry, I do things like that all the time! Thank you for commenting! I do recall Sea Wees being marketed as a bath toy, but I was always too scared and neurotic to play with my toys in the bath. I always wanted too, because I loved the idea. But just couldn't. Thank you for the comments, and I hope you are doing well. : )

      Delete
    2. You were wise not to take them in the tub. Eventually they started to mildew and their hair turned all gross and black in the roots. I was never careful enough to keep them afloat on their floating sponge island!

      Delete
    3. My cousin had a Sea Pony that smelled of mildew, I think that might be where my fear came from. lol But how cute was the floating sponge island? I wish someone would re-release the old Sea Wees and Shimmers line.

      Delete
  10. looking for a cheap Shimmers toy? here's a link to a page that sells decent prices for 80's 90's toy and 70's toys and more. http://www.blujay.com/item/Shimmers-Clover-Centaur-Horse-Kenner-1986-23012400-4795028

    ReplyDelete