Posted in _EPN-, Females faces, Girlfriend Faces, Headmolds SuperStar Era & 80s

©1980 Oriental / Kira face

   29. August 2017

In the begining of the 80th Barbie got new international companions. The oriental face was introduced with the Oriental Dolls of the World in 1981. In the following years the mold was used for other ecthic dolls from Asia, South America and for Arctic dolls. Within the Tropical series in 1986 Mattel used the face for Barbies new friend Miko, a girl from the Pacific Islands. At the same year Mattel introduced the „Barbie and The Rockers“ series with Rock Star Dana who had the Oriental Face. Two years later it was used for Becky (1988 Barbie and the Sensations / BiBops). Nikki and Nia where further shorttime friends with this mold. Since the 1990s it’s Barbies friend Kira (Marina in europe) who use this face.

In the early 2000s Kira disappeared and with her the Oriental facemold . The Comeback war in 2015, with the Mutya Barbie as part of the Global Glamour Collection. In this revival the doll has the first time a painted oppened mouth. Since 2017 the Kira mold appears occasionally with the Fashionistas line or other playline series and also in the collector line. The face looks now blurrier / spongier, so Mattel uses certainly new moulds, but the headmark is still © 1980.

Headmark: © MATTEL INC. 1980

DAnfang der 80er Jahre bekam Barbie neue internationale Freundinnen. Das Oriental Face wurde zunächst für Barbies Freundin Miko verwendet, die laut einem Barbiebuch von den Pacific Islands stammt. Später wurde es das Gesicht für Marina (in den USA hieß sie Kira). Außerdem wurde das Face für Barbies aus dem aisatischen, südamerikanischen und arktischen Raum verwendet.

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20 thoughts on “©1980 Oriental / Kira face”

  1. I have an @1980, Kira/Miko head mold, Red Hair, China, white panties-Barbie (not a re-root). I have been searching for weeks and cannot find her. Any clues? Email me and I’ll send you a photo. Thank you very much! Any info would be appreciated….Vicki

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  3. For sure I will help you !
    I also have the Strawberry Barbie and Peach Teresa, and your 3 missing Fashionistas…
    (If your missing list is ok !)

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    1. Hi Brian, yes you are right. Unfortunately we haven’t got a photo of her yet. If you have a good photo of her (you must be the copyrightholder) , please contact us.

  6. A few new ones to the database, a few that you already have. All photos taken by me.

    Sit In style Kira:
    Princess Kira 1999:
    Princess Kira (2000?):
    Soccer Kira:
    Picture Pockets Kira:
    Splash n Color Kira:

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    1. Hi Ellis,
      thanks a lot for your Kira Fotos. They are all in the gallery now. After downloading I deleted the picture links in your post 🙂
      regards Dagmar

  7. Hello, just wanted to mention something.

    1999 Princess Kira and 2000 Princess Barbie, Asian with the pink dress are the same doll. She’s an Asian princess Barbie with the Kira face.

    The second version, 2000 Princess Kira with the blue eyes, is actually an Asian Princess Barbie with the Kira face, not the Kira character herself.

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    1. Thanks Brian,
      Tanja will have an eye on the new added dolls and their correct „name“. I only used the infos I got, Tanja is our head for the „fine tuning“ 😀

  8. Hi I have an unidentified oriental doll. I found the same one on ebay.com/itm/265864235053
    It seems to be a ballerina because it has painted ballet shoes.

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    1. Hi, I’m pretty sure that is a 1998 Easy to Dress Princess Barbie. The years for the Easy to Dress Kiras seem to be off by one here: the one labeled 1994 is actually from 1993, the one labeled 1998 is actually from 1997, etc. There are two Easy to Dress Kiras missing — I believe their correct years are 1994 and 1998 (the one you found) — and I recently bought both of them, so I will share photos soon!

    2. Hello Andrea, most of the time we date the dolls by the release date and that was usually one year after the production date. Example: the first Barbie was produced in 1958 and released in 1959. The first batch of newer dolls of a Barbie year often appear in the winter of the year of production. Missing photos are always very welcome. That would be great!

  9. Hello, I wanted to make a small correction to your description for Kira – the „Miko“ character is actually a Pacific Islander not Asian. There’s a Barbie book from the 1980s called „Tropical Barbie – Mystery of Mermaid Bay“ that explains Miko’s backstory. Miko lives on an island called Manihiki. Manihiki is a real island located in a country called the Cook Islands, which is in the region known as the Pacific Islands (the region is described as the „South Seas“ region in the book), and she explains that her mother is from Manihiki and that her father is from the state of Maine in the US. So it seems like Miko and her mother may be of Cook Islands Maori descent specifically. Calling Miko a Pacific Islander would be the most appropriate though.

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