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Website Toy Boards => NEW Toy Sections => Topic started by: EricaVee on Saturday 03 April 2010, 07:56 am

Title: Melanie's Mall
Post by: EricaVee on Saturday 03 April 2010, 07:56 am
This was a toy in the nineties made by Cap Toys, it was a dollhouse that was a mall. It's been mentioned in passing a few times on the forums, I think, once as an incorrect ID for a different toy. There was a basic set that had a small food court, elevator, and a few stores. From there you could buy different store playsets to add on to the mall, as well as other accessories like cash registers that came with credit cards. The dolls were small, maybe three inches? I have Melanie somewhere and a few parts of the mall, but I don't know where most of it went.

I don't really know how much info is out there but there are lots of online auctions for the playsets and things and a quick Google search pulled up lots of results, which is a nice change--not only do all of my favorite childhood toys keep turning out to be by Cap Toys, but there's usually little to no info on them! Anyway, this was one of my favorite toys and I'd love to see a page on it.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: pikapal on Saturday 03 April 2010, 08:50 am
I think I have a picture of one of the mall sets.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: mouse on Saturday 03 April 2010, 12:44 pm
My sister and I had I think all of the Melanies Mall sets that were released in Australia. This was one of the toys I didn't keep and now wish I had!
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Saturday 03 April 2010, 05:55 pm
I was actually making a page for them awhile back. :-P I'd scanned in all the pamphlets. My sister had every set except a few kiosk/doll sets that came out at the very end!
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zap18 on Saturday 03 April 2010, 10:44 pm
The trouble is... the darn thing falls apart!  My sister had pretty much the whole thing too, but what remains... well, we have the dolls! 

Here's a few pamphlet shots I have on my computer:

(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww156/zap18/Myphotos/Melanies%20Mall/DSC04723.jpg)

(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww156/zap18/Myphotos/Melanies%20Mall/DSC04725.jpg)

(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww156/zap18/Myphotos/Melanies%20Mall/DSC04726.jpg)

(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww156/zap18/Myphotos/Melanies%20Mall/DSC04670.jpg)

(http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww156/zap18/Myphotos/Melanies%20Mall/DSC04724.jpg)

Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Sunday 04 April 2010, 01:21 am
Finally published my semi-complete site. :) This toy was one that my sister collected and I really liked it too. I was always a bit jealous that she got almost the complete line and I only ever got a few of the Littlest Pet Shops (the toy I liked).

http://melaniesmall.50webs.com/
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zap18 on Sunday 04 April 2010, 02:21 am
Ooh, now I can start assembling!  I think I might have more remaining than I thought!
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: pikapal on Sunday 04 April 2010, 05:24 am
A Toys R Us catalog scan of the mall.

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/pikapal/melaniesmalltrujpg.jpg)

Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: mouse on Sunday 04 April 2010, 01:21 pm
pikapal - is that your scan and the circles are of things you were hoping to get? I always used to circle things in catalogues (sometimes I still do!)

Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Sunday 04 April 2010, 04:56 pm
Me too!

And then all my catalogs and Wishbooks were thrown out...
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: pikapal on Sunday 04 April 2010, 06:09 pm
Yeah I wanted the mall. I still circle stuff in catalogs now.  :P ;D
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: EricaVee on Monday 05 April 2010, 12:51 am
This is awesome info! I keep finding parts of the mall scattered in amongst my Barbie things, I will look through them tonight to see what I have. I know for sure I had the first setup with the beauty shop and I had the photo booth.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Monday 05 April 2010, 03:21 am
Did you see the commercials I found? (Three!)
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zap18 on Tuesday 06 April 2010, 05:02 am
Woo hoo for commercials!!

Does anybody have memories of which dolls came with which sets?  As in, which underwear/shoe colors belong with which sets?  Or perhaps have MOC pics with shoes visible?

I can pretty much confirm from Zuse's site that I have the correct number of unique dolls, and can place them within approximate times within the line based on face style, but when it comes down to three single fashion blondes, etc. I can't figure out who is who.

Anybody?
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Tuesday 06 April 2010, 05:19 am
Well, I will try to work on it more next week but I can tell you the "beach" ones wear sandals. And the bride is white and the ballerina pink. Hopefully someone else can give you more info in the meantime!
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: EricaVee on Wednesday 07 April 2010, 01:49 am
The original basic mall came with a blonde doll and an AA doll. The blonde has yellow shoes and I'm pretty sure the AA one did too. When I pulled the blonde doll out of storage she was wearing the dress with the hot pink top, yellow waistband and white skirt. I don't know if I still have the AA doll because her arm fell off when I was little. My nana wired it back on but I don't know if it held!
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zap18 on Wednesday 07 April 2010, 02:43 am
Ah ha!  I knew the AA one that came with the mall (yellow shoes, I agree!), it's the blondes that are giving me headaches.  Yellow shoes, you say?

Hmm, well, this gives me trouble.  The only yellow shoed blonde I have with the early face has glitter shoes, which actually places her later. 

Well... drat.  I have no idea.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Wednesday 07 April 2010, 02:56 am
I tried to get some zoomed-in pics of the promo pics from the box photos I've snagged off of eBay.

Main Mall: (*looks* like pink and yellow shoes)
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/thezuse/mainmalldolls1.jpg)

Cool Corner: (also pink and yellow shoes?)
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w190/thezuse/coolcornerdolls.jpg)
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Wednesday 07 April 2010, 03:05 am
Looking at some completed lots on eBay where the dolls are loose... I *think* the pink and yellow shoes are reversed. Chrissy-Lee has the yellow shoes and Melanie has the pink shoes.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: EricaVee on Wednesday 07 April 2010, 05:16 am
Hmm. Maybe I have a really early one because my Melanie doll is definitely yellow-shod. As for Chrissy-Lee, I haven't been able to find her in my stuff so she might have been pink even if I remember yellow. Maybe I'm remembering all wrong because most doll lines give the main blonde pink stuff and the hip AA friend yellow stuff. :P

One of their little milkshakes got into the bag of Barbie shoes I put together when I went home for Easter; I found it on my desk today. I forgot how many little tiny things went with these sets, like the little shopping bags and smocks for the hair salon.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: mouse on Sunday 11 April 2010, 11:08 am
I randomly came across one on ebay.co.uk http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-MELANIES-MALL-BALLET-BOUTIQUE-STAR-GYMNASTICS_W0QQitemZ120551933974QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Toys_VintageToys_RL?hash=item1c11748816

Since it looks like this person only had a few sets it migh help to identify the dolls?
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zap18 on Monday 12 April 2010, 01:28 am
Thanks for the link, mouse :)

It confirms some of what I was thinking, so that was a nice find. 

The main troubles I'm still having are telling apart the early blondes with the pink shoes (there are three) and telling apart the blondes that came with the smaller mall sets in the second series.  I don't have pictures of their shoes at all :(  Oh, and the three glitter shoe blondes. 

So... I guess just about every blond still :P
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: EricaVee on Sunday 18 April 2010, 11:11 pm
So it turns out my yellow-shoed blonde came with the PHOTOBOOTH, not the main mall.
http://www.kodakgirl.com/tdollph7.htm

I know that's her because that's the dress she was wearing when I pulled her out of storage.

So the blonde that came with the original main mall could have had pink shoes. I haven't found her or Chrissy-Lee in my old things yet so I don't know.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zap18 on Monday 19 April 2010, 12:58 am
Ah ha!!  That is what I was thinking!!!  I am a GENIUS!!!  :P

It's the little victories that count, right?
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Monday 19 April 2010, 06:26 am
Yeah, when I head back home over the summer I'll see if me and my sister can figure out which doll goes with which set. :)

Hopefully I'll get some pics. I also want to get a good scan of one of the earlier pamphlets.
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: zuse on Monday 19 July 2010, 02:34 am
I still haven't gone through the box, haha. I did check for the pamphlets, though, and they weren't there! I must have stashed them somewhere else after I scanned them. :-|
Title: Re: Melanie's Mall
Post by: 2526 on Sunday 12 February 2012, 12:51 am
Any interest is appreciated. I have a sealed Melanie's Mall Melanie On Ice playset listed at auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220952484962#ht_842wt_65

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