The Good: Good sculpt, Amazing detailing, Perfect balance
The Bad: Expensive, Hair is incongruent with the rest of the ornament.
The Basics: In 2012, Hallmark Keepsake presented the Tweed Indeed Barbie Hallmark ornament and it might be the best Barbie ornament of the year!
I think it was last year that I began reviewing the Barbie ornaments as part of my annual immersion into Hallmark’s ornament release. With the big unveiling last weekend of the 2012 Hallmark ornament line, I wanted to make sure to include some Barbie ornaments in my first wave of ornament reviews. Fortunately, I decided to start with one of the best: the Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament!
For those unfamiliar with them, Barbie dolls have been a leading trademarked doll (and model for unrealistic female bodytypes!) from Mattel for over sixty years. Hallmark Keepsake picked up the Barbie license in order to produce Christmas ornaments and Tweed Indeed Barbie is one of nine standard-release Barbie ornaments produced for 2012!
Basics
The Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament recreates the Tweed Indeed Barbie doll with Barbie in a smart-looking brown, green, and blue tweed jacket and skirt. The ornament features the recognizable visage of Barbie with her blonde hair down around her shoulders! The ornament has Barbie wearing the professional-looking outfit, gloves and carrying her purse in her right hand. This Barbie ornament is 4 1/4" tall by 1 1/2" wide and 7/8” deep and is made entirely of hard plastic.
The detailing on the Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament is amazing, from the bow on her right lapel to the buttons down the jacket. Barbie’s eyes, shoe detailing and the pattern on her outfit are all incredibly detailed. Even the purse has great molded and colored details, like the detailing on the zipper and handles.
In fact, the only negative aspect of the Tweed Indeed Barbie is monotonally bright yellow hair, which is strangely underdetailed in comparison to the rest of the ornament. The brightness of the hair makes for an awkward contrast and the fact that it is cast in only a single color does not fit with the depth of color richness from the rest of the ornament.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Tweed Indeed Barbie could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. I think it's disappointing that Tweed Indeed Barbie does not have any articulation to her limbs. It was well within the abilities of Hallmark to make the ornament articulated at least at the shoulders or neck, but Hallmark does not articulate them.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Barbie Christmas Tree, the Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament is a great addition. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top back of the character's head. From there, one hangs the ornament and this Barbie ornament is perfectly balanced! Unlike the doll itself, which is almost impossible to get to stand up, the Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament has great balance and hangs perfectly!
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have branched out into every major franchise from Barbie to Gone With The Wind to Twilight. The Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament is not selling out yet, but because it is one of the more mass-produced ornaments, one suspects Hallmark produced it in decent supply and that is might not be a great investment piece, at least not right away. The Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament was released with an original issue price of $17.95 and that is a bit pricy, despite the quality. Should there be any left after the primary holiday season, the Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament would be a strong buy at half price.
Overview
Fans of the Barbie franchise are likely to find the Tweed Indeed Barbie ornament to be one of the best in the line in 2012 and well worth picking up, despite the price and the minor color issue with the hair.
For other Barbie ornament reviews, please check out:
2011 Celebration Barbie (Black)
2011 Campus Sweetheart Barbie
2011 Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament
1996 Enchanted Evening Barbie ornament
1994 Barbie Debut ornament
9/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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