Xenia Toy Show Finds: Vintage Skippers, Casper and Rare Playsets

The spring toy show in Xenia, Ohio, delivered the kind of finds that keep collectors walking the tables: a boxed Casper, an unfamiliar Liddle Kiddles playset and a pair of vintage Skippers. This year, though, the visit ended early. Pain and fatigue made it hard to cover every building, and the show came amid a string of worries at home.

A big show, cut short

Held across several buildings at a fairground, the Xenia show is large enough that the group usually visits every one. This time, the cold forecast turned out to be less of an issue than sore hips and a back. The collector was dealing with both, while her sister was recovering from surgery. Ken was feeling well, though he was being pushed in a wheelchair. The group decided to leave before seeing everything.

Dolls were plentiful, as they have been at recent shows. The collector didn’t buy from the dealer who had sold her a Saucy Walker and a lookalike at the previous show, but she did come away with two Skippers. Before those purchases, several displays caught her eye.

Unusual dolls and playsets on display

A Lisa doll by Takara looked familiar, perhaps because the collector had photographed dolls from the same dealer before. Another table held a boxed Cousins set. The Cousins were teenage babysitters associated with Tyco’s Quints dolls. Their outfits were designed to form a picture when the dolls stood together. The collector knew the Quints but hadn’t encountered the Cousins before; she wondered why the set included fewer babysitters than children.

One especially welcome sight was Casper the Friendly Ghost in his box. The collector had wanted the doll since childhood, when she admired her cousin’s, and eventually found one as an adult. She hadn’t seen the packaging before. A link in the original post also points to her earlier account of getting her Casper doll.

The Liddle Kiddles Talking Townhouse was another first for her. She had owned the Kiddle Klubhouse, but didn’t recall hearing about this playset. Its pullstring activated a talking feature, and the example on display was priced at $30. In the collector’s view, that would have been a good price if the house was in good condition.

Other tables offered Monster High dolls, including the 17-inch figures, and a Strawberry Shortcake house. Few pictures made it into the post. The buildings were dim, many items were awkward to photograph, and the collector was in pain that day.

Two Skippers for $40

Near the end of the visit, a table of Barbie and Skipper dolls offered a chance to add a favorite type to the collection. Most of the dolls there appeared to be in rough shape. One was a red-haired, eyelash-wearing Skipper from the Mod era, a version the collector especially likes.

She already had several examples, each with a different condition issue: one had a reddish face and most of its lashes missing, another had faded coloring, and a nearly pristine doll had a chunk missing from her bangs. The new find had thin hair and short lashes, but its face color was good. The collector felt the flaws were manageable and could be worked on.

The doll was tagged at $35. When asked for the lowest price, the dealer offered $25. A second Skipper, a sausage-curl version, was marked $25. The collector asked what the dealer would take for both and accepted the $40 offer.

The sausage-curl doll’s head and lashes were in excellent shape, but her feet and ankles were damaged. One practical option is to move her head onto another sausage-curl body with a poor head, if a suitable body is already in the collection. The collector may sell this doll, or just the head. That possibility makes the purchase a mix of collecting and careful sorting: preserve the part in better condition, and decide what to do with the compromised body later.

A difficult return to the road

The drive to the show had already become unsettling. The family had been without a car after their previous vehicle died, then acquired a van from longtime acquaintances who had paid to have several repairs done. The van had comfortable extras, including heated seats, a CD and cassette player, and a DVD player and television for the rear seats.

Just three weeks after getting it, the van began handling badly on the way to a doll show. In rain, braking became difficult; clunks and pops grew worse, and the vehicle juddered at 55, pulled left and had unusually tight steering. The group made it to the venue, but the remaining time was short. While the collector took Ken inside, her sister found a nearby shop that could inspect the van before closing. They loaded Ken and his wheelchair back in and drove carefully to Midas.

The manager quickly found a broken subframe. He said he was surprised the van had reached the shop and estimated that repairs would cost at least $2,000 to begin addressing the problems. With the vehicle’s mileage and other likely repairs, he advised that scrapping it made more sense. He also questioned how anyone who had recently worked underneath the van could have missed the developing failure.

The family was without a vehicle again. Renting a van to get home took long enough that there was no point returning to the doll show: less than an hour remained, and admission had risen to $10.

Ken’s treatment and the next shows

Ken later underwent a heart catheterization to receive stents. A first attempt through his wrist had shown that more work was needed, so he returned for another procedure. The family expected to go home afterward, but the hospital kept him for a couple of nights and gave him IV fluids to protect his kidneys. The contrast dye used during the procedure can affect kidney function, and Ken already has kidney damage related to diabetes.

Doctors completed work on one side of his heart, then stopped when lying on his back began to worsen pain in his leg and back. He is due to return in a couple of weeks for the other side. The collector says she’ll be frightened again and welcomes prayers, positive thoughts and support for Ken.

Show visits have also become more expensive. The collector says doll-show admission runs $8 to $10, while the toy show costs $5. With the venues a long drive away and Ken now accompanying her, the outing costs twice as much. She hadn’t bought a Skipper for herself in a long time; a test-market Skipper she previously purchased was intended for resale to help cover show expenses.

She also missed the other spring doll show because Ken had just come home from the hospital and needed to take it easy. The next doll shows are expected in the fall. For now, the spring trip’s standout takeaways are a pair of Skippers with different restoration prospects, several unusual vintage finds, and a long wait before the next chance to browse.