Rainbow Brite dolls

Checklist and picture guide for the vintage Rainbow Brite dolls

• Included in Guide: Vintage (1983) DOLLS & PLUSH (not toys/figurines/sets)  For info regarding the difference between 1983 or 2003 dolls, check here        
• At end of guide- collector info on dolls from other countries (names)

LARGE  18" Dolls  (Total of 4 large dolls released)

Made by Mattel, copyright Hallmark Cards, 1983.  MIB generally $40-$100

1. 18" Rainbow Brite - accessories - blue hair ribbon. common variations: the size and color of the face star can vary, the amount of rooted hair can vary greatly (very thick or very thin), and the brightness or exact color of the color bands on her boots can vary.  She also sometimes has red "underpants"
2. 18" Patty O'Green - accessories - two kelly-green hair ribbons -at base of braids
3. 18" Shy Violet - accessories- fat purple hair ribbon.
4. 15" Baby Brite - accessories: pink ribbon & bottle.  One release also came with diaper.  ** common variations: Baby Brite with light pink hair, and with dark pink hair- different size/color face star, and made in Hong Kong or China. (No 2003 version released)

MEDIUM/Lrg 15/16" Dolls  (4 Emotions dolls released)

These 4 were Made by Emotions division of Mattel, (not released in boxes).  Copyright 1983 Hallmark cards.  All fairly rare, especially with wrist hang-tag.  $65 -$100 + with wrist tag and in good condition.   ($15 - $55 with no tag). 

1. Rainbow Brite
2. Patty O Green
3. Canary Yellow
4. Red Butler

SMALL 11" DOLLS w/ SPRITES

All released with little 3.5" "hand sprites" that attached to the doll's hand with velcro.  

1. Rainbow Brite & Twink  ($45-$100 MIB, $10-50 loose) accessories: blue ribbon and white hand sprite. variations: star-shoes vs. plain shoes (common), red pants vs. blue pants (less common); turqoise body color vs. dark blue (less common); variations with lip color/face paint (lip color) and the face-star can be various sizes, and darkness)
2. Indigo & Hammy ($75-$125 MIB, $20-60 loose) accessories: 2 light blue hair ribbons, dark blue hand-sprite.
3. Patty O'Green & Lucky  ($35-$55 MIB) accessories: 2 green hair ribbons, green hand-sprite variations: star shoes vs. plain shoes
4. Red Butler & Romeo  ($35-$45 MIB $5-$15 loose) accessories: red hand sprite & yellow cape (watch for 2003 version, who is very similar, but has "bendy" legs. variations: star shoes v. plain shoes
5. Shy Violet & IQ  ($55-$100 MIB, $16-40 loose) accessories: purple hair ribbon, purple hand sprite (be careful, the indigo sprite looks similar- make sure it is BRIGHT purple). 
6. Lala Orange & O.J.  ($75-$100 MIB)
7. Canary Yellow and Spark  ($35 - $45 MIB)
8. Buddy Blue & Champ ($115 - $150 MIB)
9. MURKY with a stormcloud  ($35 - $45 MIB)

Prices will depend on whether the doll has his or her hand sprite, full outfit, and the original hair style/ribbon/hair elastic.  Also, these dolls are easily faded and the yarn wears easy- so a worn-doll will be much cheaper than a crispy bright doll.

DRESS-UP DOLLS (and dress-up horses) -11" dolls, Barbie-sized horses (2 dolls, 2 horses)

Made by Mattel in 1985, copyright Hallmark Cards, 1983.  Dress-up dolls did not come with Sprites, but had completely removable outfits & a star comb.  Rainbow came with a Rainbow hair accessory.  It appears that Moonglow was only released in Germany.  At some point, Mattel confirmed that Stormy was not released, even though she is pictured in the dress-up catalogue.  You can also see her in the 1986 Toy Fair catalog.

Plush Pets (& Lurky!)

Made by Mattel or Emotions division of Mattel, copyright Hallmark cards 1983.

1. 11" Starlite  ($45 - $100 MIB)
2. 10" Starlite (Emotions)($45-100MIB -but watch out for the 9" 2003 clone)
3. 16" Lurky ($35 - $50 MIB)
4. 10" Lurky (Emotions)  ($25-$50 MIB)
5. Kitty Brite ($100+ MIB)
6. Puppy Brite (watch out for the 2003 clone) $25 MIB

SPRITES

SIX 11” BOY SPRITES (watch out for 2003 clones)

Prices fluctuate greatly, but generally $25-$35 MIB, $2-$20 loose.

1. Twink (white)
2. Spark (yellow)
3. Lucky (green)
4. Romeo (red)
5. Champ (blue)
6. OJ (orange)

SIX 11” GIRL SPRITES

Somewhat more difficult to find than the boy sprites.  Generally $35 - $55 MIB, $10 - $25 loose.

1. Spritzie (light blue)
2. Merrily (yellow)
3. Flutter (light green)
4. Posie (purple)
5. Glee (lavender)
6. Deelite (pink)

BABY SPRITES

Sprites MIB (mint in ball) are extremely rare and go for $35- $100+   Baby Sprites that are loose (and still have their diapers) go for $15 - $40. 

6" HATFUL SPRITES -(See top row, below) 6 different sprites with little hats- sometimes bow-ties. 

1. Twink (nightcap/wizard hat)
2. Spark (leaf headress)
3. Lucky (cap with clover)
4. Romeo (painter's cap & bow)
5. Champ (leg warmers & visor)

6" Emotions Sprites: (pictured above- directly below hatful sprites)

look just like the hatful sprites- but with no hat.  They look the same but should have a tag that says "Emotions division of Hallmark Cards" (also look for the plastic Emotions hang tag).  These guys are not expensive, but are still relatively rare, especially with the blue plastic Emotions hang-tag.

1. Twink
2. Spark
3. Lucky
4. Romeo
5. Champ (not pictured)

6" Taco-Bell (kids-meal) Sprites (4 of the boy sprites- fairly common- also pictured above)

(these guys squeak when you shake them and the right hand is a clip that can fasten onto things):

1. Twink
2. Spark
3. Champ
4. Romeo

SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION

Rainbow Brite was really popular in Germany.  Not only did they get Moonglow, but they got a bunch of taped stories about all of the kids, and more of the harder to find items.  In GERMANY, Rainbow Brite was Regina Regenbogen

• Stormy - Stormy?
• Shy Violet - Viola Veilchenscheu
• Starlite - Sternschnuppe
• Lala Orange - Maria Mandarina
• Buddy Blue - Bubi Blauschuh
• Indigo - Nina Nachtigall
• Patty O' Green - Katrin Kleeblatt
• Canary Yellow - Sabine Sonnenstrahl
• Tickled Pink - Penny Popperpink
• Moonglow - Sandra Silbermond
• Twink - WeiBwirbel
• Murky Dismal - Grummel Griesgram
• Baby Sprites - babywichte

Rainbow Brite in Italy (info thanks to Sailor_Jupitor and Janlourainbowbrite! for info)-Rainbow Brite was very popular in Italy, although collectors report that some dolls were never released there.  Janlourainbowbrite, who collected Rainbow Brite dolls during that time, remembers that Italy never received:  Lala Orange, Violet, Buddy Blue, the 18" Patty or Violet, and all of the Emotions dolls/pets/sprites, the hard body horses, Dress-up RBB, Kitty Brite, OJ boy sprite, the girl sprites, and the sailmobile or sprite cycle. 

The name of Rainbow Brite in Italy was Iridella- here are some of the names of the other characters (just in case you are searching on Ebay.it) :

• Rainbow Brite & Twink Sprite = Iridella & Folletto Bianco
• Red Buttler & Romeo Sprite = Red Rosso & Folletto Rosso
• Lala Orange & OJ Sprite = Lala Arancio & Folletto Arancione
• Canary Yellow & Spark = Canary Gialla & Folleto Giallo
• Patty O'Green= Patty Verde & Folletto Verde
• Buddy Blue= Buddy Blu & Folletto Blu)
• Indigo= Indachella & Folleto Indaco
• Shy Violet= Violetta (this could mean little violet) & Folletto Viola
• Tickled Pink= Rosellina or Raggio Rosa 
• Moonglo= Raggio di Luna(ray of moon)
• Stormy = Tempestella (little storm)
• Starlite = Stella Bianca
• Sunriser = Aurora
• Starlite= Stella Bianca (white star)
• Twink= Folletto
• Bianco (white sprite)
• Murky Dismal= Murky Cupo (cupo is dark/obscure,but intended in a sinister way
• Lurky Dismal(?)= Lurky Guffo (no translation for this word)

Rainbow Brite in Canada was Rainbow Brite and also Azurine for the French/Canadian - although in France, her name was Blondine- so she had two French names! (thanks to Joe/13wasberen for the info). 

French names of Rainbow Brite (for searching on French ebay):

• La La Orange & OJ - Clémentine & Ptipépin
• Patty O'Green & Lucky- Mentholine & Ptichou
• Canary Yellow & Spark- Capucine & Ptifou
• Indigo & Hammy- Indigo & Ptimiam
• Red Butler & Romeo- Roméo & Pticâlin
• Buddy Blue & Champ- Bluet & Ptiploum
• Murky- Grisemine
• Lurky- Gropouf
• Starlight: Tagada
• Rainbow Land: le Pays de l'Arc-en-Ciel
• Rainbow Land: la Bulle
• And Blondine is also known as Blondine de l'Arc-en-Ciel

INFO and Conjecture about The HARD STARLITE & other rare items..

The dress-up horses came with a dress-up comb, saddle and reins.  They are were released only in limited quantities.  Starlite is VERY rare and only appears on ebay once in a while.  Always sells for $500+  Sunriser is less rare, but generally never sells for less than $150 MIB.   

(Brazil Rainbow, hard-copy(?) or replica of Stormy, dress-up combs for House, Tickled Pink, Moonglow& Stormy (all different colors) & odd Lurky- possibly hard-copy)

WHERE DO I FIND STORMY?  Is the inevitable question...

Despite her cuteness, the Stormy doll was never sold in stores.  Apparently Mattel has confirmed that they never released the Stormy doll in any market.  The dolls you see in the Dress-up booklets and on the back of the Dress-up doll boxes (including Stormy) were the hard copies of prototypes made by Mattel for marketing purposes only (to show potential buyers sample dolls and for ad photos).  There were probably a few sets of each made for these purposes- but Mattel generally destroys its prototypes. As a result...  ANY Rainbow Brite prototype doll in any stage of production is very hard to find, and if you have one, I'd LOVE to see it or learn of its existance!  (Although rare, they have been known to pop up from time to time)

IDENTIFYING A PROTOTYPE 

Prototypes have no factory tags, and often have hand painted features, hand-stiched clothing, and hand-rooted and trimmed hair.  This is because they are made for photos and to display at Toy Fair or to potential buyers, not to reproduce. Check out the dolls on the back of any box.  You'll note that even regular Rainbow Brite looks pretty different in your hands than in the marketing photos.

It is nearly impossible to know whether you have a prototype unless you have received one directly from a Mattel employee.   

Rainbow Brite Doll Variations by Country 

1. U.S. version (red pants v. blue pants edition, thick v. thin hair edition (amount, not size of yarn), large star v. small star)
2. General Euro edition (box printed in 4 languages- English/German/French/Italian);
3. Canadian edition (box printed in English & French)
4. French edition (box printed in French only)

VERY RARE VERSIONS

1. Japanese version (very rare); Japanese language print only 
2. Mexican version (dolls are very rare mib- tags will say hecho en mexico); 
3. Brazil version (made by Estrella, not Mattel (dolls came in a white box made by Estrela and printed in Portuguese only). Dolls were made by Estrela instead of Mattel.  As a result, the dolls have the same colors as the Mattel dolls released everywhere else, but were made from completely different fabrics. The dolls (11" and 18" only) have thick course YELLOW yarn hair, (not orange), and the dress and body is made from felt and lame instead of polyester.  The big Brazil Rainbow also has a gold Estrela necklace. 

***PS-- if this guide has been useful, please rate it "helpful" but if you didn't find the information you were looking for, please let me know and I will do my best to update! (Keep in mind that although I would LOVE to include more and better pics, but ebay limits these guides to 10 pics of the above size... sad eh?)

Also, if you have information that I have not included in this review, I would be very grateful if you would let me know- I love finding out new information regarding my favorite dolls and meeting other collectors :D