Original Kenner dolls (1972)
In 1972, Kenner released versions of the doll with four hair colors in the U.S., a brunette with chunky bangs, a brunette with a side part, a darker brunette with thinner bangs, a blonde with a side part, a redhead with bangs, and a redhead with a side part. Twelve different outfits were released as well, along with four brightly colored wigs. The dolls were also released in Japan in 1972 by Tomy under the brand name Mahou no Hitomi Ai Ai Chan.[3] The outfits and the box design were completely different from the ones released in other countries and are extremely rare. They were also sold in the UK by Palitoy and in Australia by Toltoys, both sister companies to Kenner under General Mills
Takara era (2001–2021)
Beginning in 2001, Takara released new Blythe dolls sporadically, but eventually began releasing new versions of Blythe each month. Under the creative direction of Junko Wong, CWC has produced 207 Neo Blythes, 211 Petites, and 17 of the newest addition to the Blythe line: the Middie Blythe dolls. Every one of these Blythes were exhibited at Parco Factory at the 10th Anniversary from June to July 2011. Newer releases of the Petite Blythe dolls have "sleepy eyes" and bendable bodies. The Middies' heads tilt and their eyes look left and right without changing color.
The bodies of the full-size dolls vary depending on the time of the release. Early releases from 2001 to 2002 used the body of the Licca doll. In June 2002, in commemoration of 1 year of Blythe releases by Takara/CWC, the doll Miss Anniversary was released featuring the "Excellent Body" that was quite similar to the original Blythe released by Kenner. Early dolls also had a glossy surface texture, but some had matte face too.
The earliest face molds of the reproduction Blythe dolls are referred to as BL. Two more face molds followed the BL mold, the Excellent mold, or EBL, and the Superior mold, or SBL, in 2003. In 2006, a new face mold, the Radiant mold or RBL, was introduced to look more Kenner-like, including slightly wider eyes. In 2009 another new face mold, the Fairest mold or FBL, was released with matte texture and smaller eye holes. The BL and EBL mold are actually the same mold. The difference in the EBL mold were important internal changes to make the eye mechanism more resistant. In 2013, due to wearing in the Radiance mold, or RBL, a new mold called Radiance+, or RBL+, was released and it's supposed to look exactly like the Radiance mold. Some changes were made in the eye mechanism as well, it became a lot lighter and easier to change the eyes compared to older releases.
By 2013, Hasbro left the Petite Blythes behind to new redesigned doll which seemed to be the end of the collaboration between the brands, despite the doll still being called Blythe, the Blythe logo was no longer used. In December 2012, Takara/CWC released the Petite Blythe Suri Tebya Lyublyu after 2 years since the Petite Blythe Birthday Party Surprise.
Other incarnations
Ashton-Drake Galleries produced nearly exact replicas of the 5 original Kenner dolls in 2005-2006, along with replicas based on the original Kenner outfits. The first release had skin-tones with a slight green tint. A second release in 2007 was less green and more peach-pink. Both releases have a matte surface texture. Ashton Drake in total released 12 different full-sized Blythe dolls, but ceased production in 2008.
In 2010, Hasbro released the Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop line as a part of their 2004 incarnation of the Littlest Pet Shop toy line, with Blythe dolls as petsitters for their animal toys in the aforementioned toy line.[4] Blythe stars as a protagonist in the Littlest Pet Shop Presents animated shorts that were produced by Cosmic Toast Studios[5] and released online by Hasbro (voice unknown). Another incarnation of the character, named Blythe Baxter (voiced by Ashleigh Ball), stars in the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop animated television series,[6]
