
The Jem movie had many awesome
throwbacks and many new and wonderful AU twists. The best AU twist for me
was having Rio know about Jem/Jerrica/Synergy from the get-go and help her with
putting together Synergy’s pieces from the start. That was a heart-warmer
that any die hard should have wanted. But what die-hards should have also
been thrilled about were some of the costumes and their blatant throwbacks to
not just the cartoons, but the dolls as well. Any true Jem dedicate had
everything growing up from the 1st and 2nd generation
dolls to both Roadsters, to even that crazy pink llama. The world of Jem
collecting is expensive and time consuming as high quality pieces are hard to
find and some are so rare that you can spend years searching for just the right
one. Let’s dive in to the world of Jem and The Holograms collectibles.
Let’s first look at the obvious; the
dolls. The dolls drew attention from the shelves firstly with their larger
boxes. As you see they are wider and more square than 80’s Barbie boxes
and screamed flash and glitter with their mixes of neon pink, yellow, and
orange; Barbie was traditionally “Tea Party Pink.” 1st Gen
doll boxes had a large side panel flab with additional artwork that screamed
neon glow and flash. All of this drew
you in, but then you saw the dolls. Proportionally the dolls were much
larger than Barbie, averaging 12 inches in height. The body types were
more accurate (which parents liked,) with not-as-narrow-as-Barbie hips, regular
sized feet, bendable knee/hand joints, and larger heads. Plus the instruments
and cassette tapes with music from the show didn’t hurt either. Jem doll
sales did so well (and hurt Barbie sales so much) that other doll lines came
out to compete. Maxie dolls and Barbie and The Rockers attempted to steal
her thunder, but failed to capture the limelight.
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(Left) Side panel enlarged 1st Gen Boxes. (Right) 2nd Gen were more squared. |
The 1st Gen Holograms
were designed from the first episode clothing, with one exception.
Jem/Jerrica. A subtle color change in the dress and the shape of the
earrings were the only differences (TV show Jerrica sported a Pink/Blue motif while
the doll wore a White/Blue outfit.) All variants of the 1st
Gen Jem/Jerrica had the round nub shaped earring except for the China release,
which had the starburst shape. The starburst
was released with all subsequent dolls in the line afterwards. The
earrings light up with the help of a switch on Jem’s back activated by a watch
battery compartment. The dolls knee and hand joints meant posing in their
doll stands for “action shots” with instruments; something you could never get
with Barbie dolls. The Jem/Jerrica was a
Blonde/Pink layer so that you could pull up the top layer of pink hair to put
inside of Jerrica’s hat, leaving only to Blonde, to dress her up as
Jerrica. Most dolls were “Tramp stamped”
with the Hasbro logo and creation location, or even stamped on the back of the
head under the hair. These along with
the clothing color shades, length, and even design, would vary depending on the
country they were released in. Just like
any fandom it makes collecting that much more fun to get all the variants. You die to have all four versions of 1st
Gen Jem/Jerrica for the differences in earrings and face shape/makeup design or
have both versions of Flash&Sizzle Jem just because France’s release called
her Rock&Flash. That’s what we do as
collectors, right?
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See the difference? Makeup, earrings, and hair vary country to country. |
What makes it so difficult in the
Jem verse for collecting is the fact that not only were these played with as
much as any toy would be, but A: Jem was one of the most popular shows of the
1980’s so the toys flew off the shelves.
B: The desperation for customized
dolls became a popular thing in the late 90’s early 2000’s so many nude Jem’s
were being snatched up to create original variants from episodes for dolls that
never existed on the original market (Such as Astral or Regine, which I will
touch on later.) C: It has become increasingly difficult to find mint
condition collections that are pristine, so when those surface the prices are
substantial and rightfully so. D: Many of the dolls that are most coveted are
from late in the line production so their print number is lower, hence the
rarity is higher; the price automatically inflates. Bottom line: Jem is one of the priciest
collector markets of the 80’s.
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A "tramp stamp." Vary on location/design due to country. Credit to pranceatron.com. |
The show lasted three seasons; not
long enough to capitalize on the toy line, but longer than many 80’s sensations
were given a healthy run for. The dolls were given two generations,
various versions not seen in the cartoon, runs of the Starlight girls, playsets
and a fashion line. We even had a Starlight Waterbed that you could fill
up with water, people. Yeah, I had it. Like any collectible it’s
imperative to get these things in either NRFB (Never Removed From Box) or MIB
(Mint In Box.) For a die-hard getting one of this status plus an out of
box for display is ideal. As I said earlier, however, the pricing with
Jem merchandise is the key. The dolls are rarer than you would believe
when it comes to being in an NRFB/MIB state, and the play sets and clothing
(especially the on-card clothing) are even more so. Here are some
examples.
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Carmen "Raya" Alonso. The jewel of the Jem doll crown. Credit to pranceatron.com |
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"Llama llama cheesecake llama..." |
The Pink Llama…ridiculous and
cute. It was rumored that for some
reason Jem was going to have a pink Llama as a pet on the show, so they sent
out a mail in order form in which you could purchase this little cutie. The Llama never made it to the show, but this
darling is now a pricey pet to own. Out of
package I’ve seen a minimum of $20.00-$.70.00 and in package up to
$70.00-$300.00 depending on condition.
He and Raya are the doll merchandise prizes, people. Catch em’ while you can.
This "Twilight In Paris" outfit (sampled in the Jem movie) currently sells on Ebay for $80.00 |
In my opinion, the most expensive
article are the clothing pieces. To find
them out of package is great for those building their nudes for display from
scratch; those are not as expensive and can be bought in bulk in some cases. If you can find someone selling the old Rock
Star dolls that is even better. When the
Jem doll line was cancelled the spare parts were sold, the pieces thrown
together in random order on random bodies looking terribly awful, thrown into
.50 cent store packaging, and labeled Rock Star Dolls. They are often used as fodder for customizing
and nude rebuilds. However, if you are
collecting on card, be in for a shock. I
have yet to see any Jem outfit go for less than $75.00- $300.00.
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Prototypes of the third year dolls that were never released. |
Thanks to the Integrity Doll line that was created and released yearly at San
Diego Comic-Con we have the Jem Dolls we never did. We have The Stingers, Lindsay, we even have
the allusive Astral and Regine. The picture
above is the only proof that we have that at one point these dolls were to be
released. The third year Hasbro pitch catalog released the showroom shots, but the show and line were canceled
before production hit the ground running.
It was sad for us all, but Integrity gave us these dolls below to make
up for the whole in the heart of the Jem fandom. Be aware, however, that these are not “Doll”
dolls. These are strictly display
variants that were never intended to give to children to play. They start out in the hundreds when buying
them from Integrity and sell for no less at Conventions. These are pretty and “pretty expensive.” Worth it, but expensive nonetheless.
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Astral and Regine. Two of the newest Integrity Jem dolls. |
Just because
Integrity created our missing dolls doesn’t mean you can’t create your
own. I’ve seen people take an Integrity
doll and create the Jerrica from Midsummer Nights Madness. I’ve seen Kimber’s from Hollywood Jem. You name it!
Customization is a biggie in the Jem world. There are many tutorials online specifically
tailored for Jem doll customization and examples/walk-throughs. Some amazing custom dolls I have found were
made by Rachael Prins on Flickr. Her
page is “Custom Jem Dolls.” Worth
checking out. And as I said before, the
Rock Star dolls, single nudes and single clothing pieces found online make it
easy to build a display doll from scratch.
Plus if you are wanting to make a custom doll from a specific episode
and you have the sewing skills to create the outfit, you can create any look
you want with the right equipment to repaint and re-weave the face/hair. Just look at some of the customs out there
and get inspired.
Like any
collection it will take years. It will
be pricey and take searching, begging, bartering, saving up, and lots of
work. But if you’re dedicated you can do
it. If you’re a total Jem Girl/Boy I
think you can manage it. Heck, I’m
writing this while listening to the Jem movie soundtrack while my Raya and
Flash&Sizzle NRFB’s are sitting on my dresser smiling at me. If I can do it, can’t you?
Christina Sizemore is trained in only four
things: writing, fighting, paranormal
investigating, and being a mom. At this
point in her life she truly feels that she is not qualified to attempt to learn
any new field. A twenty year martial
artist, mother of three, and writer who is working on the publication of her
first book titled “Finding Your Way: A Guide To Your Path In The Martial Arts,”
she spends her days working out, writing, making fanvids, going to DragonCon,
and playing board games/video games/out in the yard with her kids and husband
who are just as geeky as she is. She is
convinced that one day her skills will be of assistance in the Zombie
Apocalypse and that while she is of no use in the kitchen, she can Buffy that
zombie for ya or teach you the best way to get the blood stains out of your
clothes (Psst…the secret is mixing Crown Cleaner and Shout. Just sayin’.)
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