It's surprising to learn that many folks who like dolls also like comic books. Some read 'graphic novels' and manga (Japanese comic books) throughout their lives, others read merely during their pre-teen years. Much like how Barbie and other dolls get the bulk of their play when their owners are kids.

After all, even Babs wants ta be BAD sometime !

Mattel's earlier 'Wonder Woman' doll was a lovely collectable that few folks outside of Barbie collectors know about. Even fewer know about the Catwoman collectable doll. It's possible they didn't sell well at collector level pricing. So the next super-hero go 'round, playline was the keyword. 2004 and 2005 saw several DC Comics characters become Barbie dolls - a playline version of Wonder Woman (who had shorts instead of the strapless bathing-suit type costume we remember on Lynda Carter) was soon followed by Batgirl, Supergirl, and a lovely Poison Ivy.

Probably because it's cheaper to produce, all three of these dolls had the bendy body. One of the reasons I never got Ivy was that weird bendy body. And figured Mattel'd
NEVER make a Harley Quinn doll - they tend to be real protective of the Barbie image. Truly, I was surprised they'd allowed her to be Ivy !

So imagine my stunned face when I actually saw a Harley Quinn doll at Wal-Mart ! There'd been rumors about HQ, but I didn't quite believe them. I mean, her clown-white masked face would be a challenge to re-dressers, and her costume is equally difficult.

I didn't get her then - it was midsummer, and my mind was mostly on my yet-to-arrive Wicked Witch "Elphaba" doll. I saw HQ again and again, but figured I couldn't do much with her face. The color I could deal with, but the mask was a bit too dramatic for my usual play.

Yet I avidly read the "Barbie Bazaar" article in the Jan/Feb 2006 issue in the 'Out of the Box' segment. Intriguing. The author detailed that the doll had yer standard 1991 twist-waist body, so similar to the classic 1966 one, and her chest and one arm was black. Her other arm was of course, red, and she had no hair. Not even painted on. No photos anywhere save for some in-box ones, darn it. He didn't mention what color her legs were, or other details, but while she still intrigued, HQ just seemed a bit more of a challenge than I really wanted. Not that my conclusion kept me from looking at them every time I went grocery shopping...but I have a bad history with 'gimmick body' dolls. Ask my donated Rosie O'Donnel one, or 'Hidden Majesty Amidala', wherever they are now.

That all changed Christmas 2005. My fun-loving Brother In Law (hey, dude ! Never thought you'd hear about yerself on a doll page, didja ? :) ) got me my own Harley as a gift. I waited until I had some quiet time, then de-boxed her, taking photos as I went. I figured, if I'm intrigued about her, maybe others are, too.

Let's go !

OOB Harley...

Is she escaping Arkham...or just entering it ?

Here she is, just out of the egg. Her deboxing was actually quite easy. Darn plastic hang-tag sprogs anchored her head to the box, yet there were only two twist ties and two easy-to-cut plastic bits holding her in and up.

A very well-costumed doll...

AT FIRST !!

Here she is with the removeable parts of her costume that don't require a seam ripper. Yup. The cuffs, those white things at her ankles. Her costume is all one piece, from the head down. Even her shoes were attached. This is gonna be fun...

Still, the detail was nice. As the "Barbie Bazaar" article mentioned, they even remembered the diamonds on her hinder. Her white collar was tacked on to the suit in two places, then sewn together in back. Seam rippers - assemble !

The backside of insane evil...

..is actually rather cute and well-defined !

Collar off, you can see how she's sewn into her costume. Red threads have her tucked in nice and tight. First, though, let's see that bald, sneaky, psychologically challenged head !

Not easy taking photos of a clown-white head

with a flash !

Wow. For some reason, I really like her this way. Since the comic books (she even had (has ?) her own series) show her wearing wigs of many styles and colors, I think I'll look into getting her some - or making 'em m'self ! If I did it for Ken - see the Index for more info - I can do it for her. I had to squish heck out of her head to get it out of the cowl, and if you look close, you can see the single black plastic hang-tag thing that held it on. Whoops. Unfortunately, all this activity loosened the stitches that attached the black jester part to her cowl, which started to come off.

Like the real Harley Quinn...

...her photos are all over the place !

OK, now to the hard part. This outfit is clearly made to NEVER come off. Shinobu, my Oshogatsu 2, was also meant to be a display doll, but it was nothing to get her clothes off. There was one line of red stitching about four inches long that closed it in the back, from butt to neck. It looked to me like it was hand-sewn. Everything above and below that was machine stitching. It's always a concern - will the doll or the costume survive when you're done ?

Still, I had to do it. Much as I adore her classic harlequin costume, I love to re-dress more. I got it open as far as I could. You can see the huge tag and her black back here. Had to push her head back through the cowl and sloooowly, carefully ease the costume off.

WARNING ! Doll Nudity Ahead !

Ok, if you're still here, this is what you've waited for :
LIVE NUDE HARLEY !!!

No text necessary.

She's posed on the back of her box here. Wow. She almost looks like a missing member of "The Incredibles", although I know she was here first. And she could kick 'ElastiGirl's' butt. Her whole body is black, and her red arm is probably black under the red paint. Which, by the way, has a shine and texture reminiscent of Testors model paint.

Several unpleasant surprises soon surfaced. Her shoes, which I thought were attached to her costume, weren't. They were sewn to her FEET ! And I popped the thread taking the costume off, so she now has holes in her ankles.

She also has a deep gouge in her cleavage. At first, when I saw the minor nick in her back, I thought I'd somehow done that with the seam ripper, although I hadn't felt it touch anything hard, just thread. Seeing that dig on her chest made me wonder if Mattel recycled slightly damaged dolls, dipped 'em in paint, and made Harleys out of 'em. I mean, seeing as how no one would ever conceive taking off her vinyl-tight jester outfit. And my seam ripper never went near her chest. Or even her front, as I popped that thingie holding her cowl on without it. Or it could just be I got a slightly dinged Harley. Somehow, it almost seems fitting.

I'm going to have to work on making the harlequin costume wearable by other dolls. I did make the "Gone Platinum" Diva outfit reusable. Carol, of Perestroika (see Links), gave me the one off her doll, and I had fun adding snaps to a previously sewn-on gown. So I can probably do this one, too. I'll be sure to add a photo !

I'm also having fun redressing Dr. Quinzel.

After a tough day of roller-coaster fun and mayhem

a girl just likes to bask in a job well done.

Finally, Harley gets some hair !

Isn't she the cutest psychotic brunette you ever saw ?

Sorry this took so long - you'd be amazed how hard it is to find a donor doll cheap !

Harley now has her first wig, and I think she looks great. For step-by-step details on how to make Barbie-scale wigs out of $3. knockoff dolls, check out 'Give Ken Some Hair'.

Quick and dirty is - pop off a cheap but well-forested doll's head, then cut the scalp off, cutting close to, but not cutting into, the hairline. Those big-head Bratz/My Scene clone dolls work best. Pull some hair forward to cover the 'seam line' and do a quick boil perm. Style as you like - I end up doing bangs to cover up the seam. You can glue the hair down to the doll's head with Plastix or use a straight pin to hold it in if you don't want the new hair to be permanent. Here, Harley's hair is held by a small pin in the back.

Bonus is, for just $3, you not only get a wig, you get new doll clothes and shoes - and a donor body to play with !