Before we get into today's topic, we have some exciting news. We have acquired an amazing collection of over 600 vintage bobbing head dolls. Included in the collection are complete sets of Baseball's White, Green & Gold base series, NFL, AFL & College football, hockey, basketball and an incredible non-sports array. We will be offering these dolls for direct sale as well as featuring many of the rarer dolls in upcoming auctions. If you have a want list, please email it to us- as we may have some of the dolls you need.

Todays' Blog entry was written by our good friend Frank Parrella.  Frank has contributed to our Blog before and this is a follow-up to his past entry concerning his hybrid dolls. Frank, in conjunction with master restorer Joe Marasco, have created some terrific phantom dolls that look awesome. It's a great idea and they have produced some beauties for Frank's own personal collection. Many thanks to Frank for this fine posting.

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HYBRID DOLLS- "THE BOYS THAT NEVER WERE!" - PART 2- by Frank Parrella

I am always looking for something new and different as I continue to collect nodders primarily from the Golden Era(1960-1972). My main emphasis is to collect original and restored dolls from both the sports and non-sports categories. As an aside I also find it appealing to own variations that never existed. To that end, I have asked my good friend Joe Marasco (both a leading authority on hockey nodders and a master restorer of paper mache nodders) to create for my personal collection variations that are truly "one-of-one" pieces. The intent was to add these variations to my collection for my singular enjoyment only. This write-up is the second effort in which I have documented these variations and contains six new Boys that Never Were.

The nodders depicted in the following pictures are the results of my ideas and collaborative discussions with Joe concerning nodder components, colors and color shades, decals and final finish. I deferred to Joe's discretion and expertise for the actual creation and restoration work. It is worthy to note that "good condition" nodders were not modified to produce these variations. All of these dolls were created and assembled from damaged parts in order to preserve the integrity of "good condition" nodders for hobby collectors.

The majority of the nodders are New York Yankees as I continue from my childhood to be a big fan of that franchise. What is assembled here is certainly different from main stream collecting and is only one facet of my nodder hobby. It serves to continue my interest in the hobby during those periods of inactivity when I am waiting for an original nodder of interest to appear in the marketplace. Enjoying and sharing these variations with fellow hobbyists is a pleasure for me. I hope you will enjoy viewing them as well.