Samantha Doll - White Body (WB)

[SailAwayAK~]

Your Samantha doll has sparkling brown eyes that twinkle as they open and close. Brush her long curly hair and tie it up with a big, beautiful bow like Victorian girls wore. Hug her soft body and mover her arms, legs, and head. She can site, stand, and hold all the treasures that come in her collection.


Samantha was originally released 1986 with a white muslin body.

She is a bit fuller in the rump.


Notice her hip placement. It is far wider them the modern dolls.


Face paint was minimal with a nice rosey cheek colour.


She doesn't have the behind the ear artist mark.


Her neck stamp has large bold letters. Edges of the wig cap are exposed.



She has a long white neck string that is a loose weave.


Each finger nail and crease is a deep sculpt.

[horsemom]

I rate WB Sam an A+

She is a gorgeous doll. I love the light brown long curls, her curly eyelashes, and minimal face paint. Also, the WB Sam's eyes have a unique depth to them that is not present in later PM and Mattel Sams. I have run across one tan-bodied early PM doll (probably around 1991/1992) that had the original glass eyes but the new wig, and other tan-bodied early PM doll that had the newer (late PM) eyes and the old light brown wig- I guess these were transitional.

At any rate, Samantha is lovely. In my honest opinion, there is no comparison between the quality of the WB Sam and a Mattel Samantha- they look very different. Mattel Sam is pretty but the quality of the WB shows in the eyes, wig, and vinyl.

Sam's meet outfit is OK. The dress is cute, though a bit plain, and she comes with unimpressive panties. The tights are nice, though have a tendency to stretch out over the years (the panties do too). The shoes are the same crummy ones they have on the Mattel dolls- plastic. I never could figure out why they didn't give Sam and Molly better meet shoes.

At any rate, well worth the price for the doll alone in my opinion. My WB Sam and comparison chart with PM and Mattel Sam are in my siggy website.

[wrxgal]

My new white body thats on her way to me! I couldnt resist that cute face! LOL

[princessemily]

This Samantha has lived a rough and tumble life, for sure! I picked her up in 2006 for a very low price, but her legs were dangling, and she'd lost a lot of hair. Poor thing. She looks better now, but it's hard to put too many curls in her hair since she doesn't have much left.

I can't say that I'm overly fond of her (I tried!) as her light brown hair just doesn't call "Samantha" to me. I'm a bit more partial to later PM Samanthas. I do love her wistful eyes, long lashes, and pretty smile.

As compared to 2004 Sam - quite a difference!

[QNPoohBear]

I can't believe I neglected to review my lovely Samantha. She was a Christmas gift to my sister in 1988. She has long, light brown, wavy hair and long, curly brown eyelashes. She's a little plump in the rear and hips and thin in the chest. She can wear most Mattel Samantha clothes. She's in loved condition but is still really pretty. Her meet dress isn't my favorite print but I like the style. It should have black, high button shoes instead of Mary Janes. Her bloomer underpants don't fit under her tights which I think it weird. Her tights aren't accurate either but I like the thick, ribbed tights.
Samantha gets an A from me.







short hairs at the back of her neck


Samantha looks cute in Kirsten and Addy's clothes too

[SarahL]

Grade: A-

I got Samantha for Christmas 1989. She is really a lovely doll, but has definitely seen a lot of play. She has held up remarkably well. The only problem I had with her was her elastic in her joints giving out.

The only downside with her is putting her in newer outfits that expose the cloth body. She looks like she has an undershirt sticking out. All the outfits that were available when she was sold don't have this problem.



My Samantha has lost a lot of her curl and needs to be recurled regularly to keep the curl.



In these pictures you can sort of see the extra tuft of hair that is part of her bangs but has a tendancy to do it's own thing and not stay up with the bangs.

Samantha's vinyl is a lot darker than later vinyls. It took me several years to realize Samantha wasn't supposed to have darker skin than the other girls. When the AGoTs came out, I thought #2 looked the most like my Samantha.

[madkate]

My WB Samantha just came today, and when you hold her up to my PM tan bodied Sam, they just look like different dolls. There's a huge difference in hair color, and the faces just aren't quite the same, either. Or the eyelashes. They don't seem redundant at all, now that I've seen them both together. Not that anyone ever really thought I'd sell the first one anyways, even if I had mentioned that I'd think about it. Perhaps this one will have an interest in actually *being* Samantha, as opposed to First AG And Therefore Official Dolly Overlord, as seems to be the other one's position... And her hair is in such wonderful condition, for such an old doll! Not even remotely like my WB Kirsten's rat's nest, this is soft and has more curl to it than tan-bodied Samantha's.

ETA: The pics!





She does actually stand up on her own just fine, much better than my PM Samantha, who's had liposuction and has one funny hip, in addition to just plain looser joints to start with, but as she was already locked into the doll stand when I decided to take the pics, she stayed there. I should have taken a pic of her hair from the back, too, it's lovely. She doesn't fit the shoes that came with the Mattel "Samantha's shoes and socks" set (and her butt's a bit of a tight fit in those tights), so I stuck Nellie's shoes on her. She'd come in a different dress, and has swiped PM Samantha's meet dress. The shoes the PM doll came in probably would have fit the WB doll, but I believe they're actually Felicity's. Samantha also isn't quite as busty as she appears - I stuck a used dryer sheet up her dress to try and freshen her up a bit, and it won't wrap tightly around the body at the top.

Far from being jealous of the new "proper" Samantha, PM Sam (who had never really seemed to fit her character too much to me, but had threatened to throw a fit if I ever brought Gwen in the house and done who knows what to the other doll) seems almost relieved, if anything, to not have to play the part of "Samantha Parkington" anymore

Rating for "Real" (WB) Samantha doll: A+
Can't give the original outfit a rating, since I don't have any pieces of it.

[aquasapphire]

I currently have four Pre-mattel Samanthas, two of which are white bodies. Another is a German Tan-body and the last one is a Pre-Mattel Chinese Tan-body. I've included a picture of all four for a side by side comparison.

White bodies (1986-1990) - My white bodies look very different from each other. The one with the short hair was my very first American Girl doll which I received on Christmas in either 1988 or 1989. Obviously, her hair has been cut. I have 3 younger siblings and the identity of the perpetrator remains a family mystery. The second white body I bought off E-bay recently because those curly eyelashes were just too cute to resist! As you can see, the shorter haired Sam has darker hair, darker eyes, straighter eyelashes, a smaller torso, and a slightly different face shape from the lighter haired white body. Both Sam's have the same speckled brown eyes, but the shorter haired Sam's eyes are a darker shade. I believe the darker eye shade is more common. Both have super long curled eyelashes, but the lighter haired Sam's lashes are more curly. The darker hair of the short haired WB is uncommon for white body Sams. The majority of WB's have the lighter wig which is much longer (usually past the doll's bum). As you can see the bangs on the lighter wig are super long and have a tendency to get into Sam's eyes. The lighter wig is also curlier than the darker wigs. Both of these dolls have very long flat neck strings.

German Tan body (1991-1993) - Generally, the looks of the German Tan-bodies can widely vary. Some were made with the lighter WB wigs, some with the newer darker wigs with shorter bangs. Some had the older speckled eyes, while others had speckled eyes with a new pattern which added flecks of orange. My German TB has the darker hair and the newer eyes with the orange flecks. The eyelashes are soft, but shorter and not as curly as the WB Sams. Her skin is squishy like the white bodies. She has a different face shape from both of my WB's. Her face is rounder, larger, and her cheeks are not quite as full. The Tan bodies are generally taller than the white bodies, and less curvy. Her neck strings are long (but not as long as the WB's strings) and round.

Pre-Mattel Chinese Tan body (1993-1998) - Sometime in 1993, around the time that Addy was released, production began to switch from Germany to China. The switch was probably gradual. If you've ever visited the Pre-Mattel Sam thread you know that Sam's looks vary widely during this period. My PM Chinese tan body Sam has a different face shape from the other 3 Sams, fuller dark brown hair, shorter bangs, and the same speckled eyes as my German Tan body with the orange flecks. Her face is the roundest and wider and flatter than the earlier Sams and she has more face paint which is uncharacteristic of China PM's (in my experience China PM's have the least face paint of all versions). Her skin is not as squishy as the German dolls, but still squishy. Her eyelashes are soft, but not super long like the WB's or curly. Her neck strings are shorter on length than the German-made Sams and round.



White bodied Sams



From Left to Right: WB Sam (1988 or 1989), WB Sam (1986-1990), German Tan Body Sam (1991-1993), Pre-Mattel Chinese Tan Body (1993-1998)

As you can see, the tan bodies are taller than the white bodies. The Tan bodies are also less shapely. The white bodies have wider hips and shorter torsos. I wish I had a Mattel version to compare. The Mattel version is generally even taller and thinner that the PM tan bodies.



Left - White body Sam; Right - German Tan Body Sam

White body Sams are absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend them! I would rate the white body Sams higher than the Tan bodies. The white body faces are sweeter and, in my opinion, the WB's seem to be better quality. I think the white body Samanthas are the prettiest dolls ever produced by Pleasant Company. The tan bodies are also very pretty.

[tkimt]

My WB Sam:

[1994samanthafan]

Although beautiful, this girl looks too different from my Sam and I had to get rid of her. The WB dolls are gorgeous, but voluptuous! I had some trouble getting PC dresses to velcro at her wrists, so I would not recommend getting AG versions. Her hair is a little lighter than the PM tan bodies, but it's a gorgeous hue and has a wonderful texture. A

[rosina86]

I received my WB last week, and I can't say enough for how beautiful this doll is. My Sam's hair is still in fantastic condition, light brown that has held the curl very well over the years. I also love the longer length. Her eyes are also a lighter brown and the eyelashes are very curly. Her face paint is minimal, but still very much there. Over all I give WB Samantha an A+ and would recommend one to anybody!

[deb54knight]

I'll give white body Samantha A+++++.  I love those long, curly lashes and that soft squishy vinyl.  Her eyes have a dimension that just isn't there in later dolls and her hair is almost human-like.  



Here she is in her Middy Outfit with my '91 Sam. You can see she has the lighter wig.



Again, with my mid 90's Sam. Notice the rounder face on WB Samantha.



Mattel can re-release Samantha Parkington as many times as they choose, there can never be another Samantha doll like the original white body German-made Pleasant Company treasure that pleased so many little girls in the late 1980's. Samantha Parkington IS the American Girl.

[cbsdiamond]

Other reviewers have pretty well covered the amazingness that is the White-Bodied Samantha, but we can never have too many pictures, so here are a few of my 1987 Samantha.

[renea]

Nov 13, 2011 14:13:24 GMT -5 rosina86 said:

I received my WB last week, and I can't say enough for how beautiful this doll is. My Sam's hair is still in fantastic condition, light brown that has held the curl very well over the years. I also love the longer length. Her eyes are also a lighter brown and the eyelashes are very curly. Her face paint is minimal, but still very much there. Over all I give WB Samantha an A+ and would recommend one to anybody!

I know this post was from a while ago, but I've been hunting down my own white body Samantha, and I was wondering how you were able to find yours (in other words, picking her out with the white body and looking that adorable!) and maybe where you found her? That would mean so much to me! Your Sam is adorable!!

[QNPoohBear]

Samantha's original bloomers on top compared with Rebecca's (middle) and Ruthie's (bottom)

[dezaraym]

Hopefully someone will see this and know the answer to my question haha
I picked up a pretty bad shape Samantha at the thrift store a few weeks back. She has a white body head, eyes, light colored wig (at least what’s left of it) but was on a tan body. When I took off her head a pleasant company tag fell out. I was told she is a “fortune cookie Sam” yet I can’t find any information about this online. I was told she was made most likely made in the states before they started to make them overseas, and they used left over white body heads on the change over to the tan bodies when Felicity arrived. She is a beautifully faced doll. Her vinyl is soft, head has artist mark, and a 42 on the bottom.

Any more information would be greatly appreciated. I’m in the process of restoring her, because those eyes are begging for it. Haha

TIA