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| Barbie and her sisters have a large crowd of people at their house all the time! |
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| These are the Wet N Wild Pool Set, Barbie Fully Furnished Pool House, Wet N Wild Surf Set and Sports Cruiser convertible. |
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| I should have filled the pool all the way. And yes, Skipper's lower left breast is exposed! This is her sexiest swimsuit ever, and it's a bit too small on her. |
I am continuing the project I began last year of setting up scenes of Willows by the decade. You've seen these items previously, but this is the first time you'll see them outside with each other. This blog segment, part 3 of the 1990s, will focus on the water-related playsets of that decade.
There were at least two Wet N Wild playsets to accompany that series of dolls. The boxes were dated 1989 for the 1990 market. I have the #7426 Pool Set and the #7427 Surf Set. Also, Argo reused the plastic playsets over the years in new combinations and new names.
The big item you see in these pictures are #7431 Barbie Fully Furnished Pool House, box dated 1990 for 1991. This was the first house I bought as an adult collector, and I dearly love it, although the frame pieces have faded from pink to orange. The price tag on my box says it was originally $39.99, marked down to $19.98, although I don't know if Children's Palace ever sold it at full price. A year later it was just named Barbie Pool House on the box.
I've also got the 1996 #67163 Barbie Sports Cruiser, a Jeep in a pretty shade of light blue.
The pool can hold water. I think if you fill it entirely the sides will stand erect, but I didn't put that much water in it. I estimate I put 1 1/2 gallons of water in the pool, so I suppose 2 1/2 gallons will fill it up all the way. In other words, don't try to fill the pool inside, just outside.
I took the photos both in cloudy bright and sunlit conditions. The pool looks more inviting in the sunlight, of course.
The dolls in the photos are:
1990 Wet N Wild Christie in Hawaiian Fun #7251
1990 Wet N Wild Skipper in Walgreens Fashion Starter #721-5
1991 Costume Ball Ken in Active Wear scuba outfit
1991 Disney Classics Belle in Midge Wedding Day #9632
1992 World of Beauty Shani in Shani Fashions #1969
1995 Baby Sister Kelly in her original outfit
1996 Gymnast Stacie in 1995 #12613 Tea Set for Two
1996 Sparkle Beach Ken in Fashion Avenue #14677
1997 Little Brother Tommy in his original outfit
Unless I made a mistake, the outfits are from the same year as the dolls.
