After initially discarding the idea, I finally went for it after cleaning out my apartment and finding some old dolls to throw out. I kept one and decided to try giving her the “Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll” makeover.
This was the initial result:
I removed most of her awful makeup (eyeshadow, rouge, lipstick) and cut her hair. Unfortunately, because it was an old doll, her hair looked pretty fuzzy already and was almost impossible to tame.
For make-up removal, I opted for acetone-free nailpolish remover I still had at home combined with q-tips and a pin. Overall, not bad for a first look. Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll
Then I went to a store and saw Fashionista barbie dolls for sale. Since I needed a doll to practice custom face repaints on, I figured those would be 10 EUR well spent, so I went for it.
But instead of being my practice doll, she turned out to be a much better Sam Carter, because her hair was new. So after a haircut and make-up removal, this is what I ended up with: Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll
I removed all of her eyeshadow this time, as well as parts of her lips. Since her hair is very smooth (as compared to other barbie dolls) it was perfect for a Sam Carter-style haircut. Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll
Here you can see both doll faces in comparison. Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll
And here’s the final Sam Carter complete with haircut (front and back):
Now I had a doll whose face somewhat resembled Sam, but then I had to take care of the clothing. I decided to make her wear a black tank top and army pants with boots. The black tank top proved most challenging, so I ended up buying a pack of black Simplicol textile color, and recoloring an old barbie bathing suit.
Unfortunately the coloring process (which had to be done at a temperature of at least 60°Celsius) shrunk the bathing suit, so now it’s very tight looking. But it’s black, so… yay!
For the pants, I bought a custom barbie set on eBay which even came with a little belt that’s perfect. And I gave her black barbie boots. I’m not quite happy with the pants yet, since they’re not exactly army-style. But I’m still waiting for another order of the “Katniss Everdeen Barbie” pants, which are much more army-style.
Since I already had a Sam Carter, decided to go shopping for a matching Jack O’Neill because… yeah, I’m a freak like that. :P Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll
So I found one on the FedCon Space-Store, where they had the 12” action ficture on sale. (For your information: The O’Neill action figure actually has the exact measures of a standard Ken doll. I guess they’re just calling it ‘action figure’ to make it appealing to a male target audience. So maybe I should call Sam an action figure, too? ;) )
So here’s what they look like until now.
And fully armed. (Sam is wearing the gadgets that came with the Jack O’Neill doll, Jack is carrying a zat and a radio.) Stargate SG-1 Sam Carter barbie doll
UPDATE – August 09, 2015
So, the Katniss Everdeen pants arrived from my ebay auction, and they look great on Sam. Even though they’re not exactly the same color as Jack’s, they have the little sidepockets, so they look a lot more authentic.
The next steps are:
giving Sam the Katniss-Everdeen-pants instead- Getting a tiny laptop for Sam
- Make dress uniforms for both–cause, OMG, that would be perfection! Unfortunately I can’t sew, so… >.<
I will keep posting updates on the projects here, so stay tuned.
great job with the hair….now it only there was a way to get rid of the inane smile……but overall, Sam is looking good, especially with the new pants!!
I have a Jack doll and my sister repainted his hair and brows to look more realistic and grayer…..to get one now you have to sell a major organ or win the lottery. Did they ever release a 12in Sam Carter doll? haven’t seen one anywhere, only the 4in action figures and they are just as rare and expensive. *sigh* Serves me right for leaving it so late to jump into the fandom…….
Oh God, I know. I wish I could get rid of that barbie smile. It already made a huge difference that I removed all of her make up, but the smile is still bothering me. Unfortunately I don’t think even a repaint could fix that because the smile is kinda sculpted into her head.
I don’t think they ever released a Carter doll. Just Jack and Daniel I believe, which amazed me too. I was luck to find a reasonably priced Jack at the Space Store. If you’re interested, check it out (link is in the post). They ship internationally too, as far as I can remember. Most of those on ebay and amazon were around US$70 up, so 25EUR was a really great deal. Not sure if it was a flawed production or why they sold him so cheap, but I’m not complaining. :)
And yeah, I was lucky enough to buy the action figures back in 2012. They were still a bit more reasonably priced then. Around 30 EUR each. Now Sam and Jack are both around 70-100EUR I think. I always devalue mine too by unpacking them. I’m beginning to see why a lot of collectors religiously leave their action figures sealed, since their value often quadruples over a decade. Talk about an investment. :P
But I buy to enjoy them. I still have a Mulder and Scully from the 1990s, also unpacked, which would probably be worth a fortune now. But who cares. :D They’ve been my talismans for the last 15 years.
OMG, they are adorable! Can I say that about Jack and Sam? Because they really are… I really like your idea and I admire how much work you’ve put into all this. Aaand now… I really want to dig out my Barbie dolls and sew something for them… Maybe have my very own Jack and Sam… (I’m sure that if I tried that they would most probably end with a couple of children too… maybe an adorable Grace?)
Anyway, I can’t wait to see them in dress uniforms (even if I will always have a thing for them dressed in black).
LOL! I’m so glad you like them. :) If you’re looking for a Jack, I think the Space Store still has some. I got mine for 25 EUR there, and they still have him in their listing.
As for the dress uniforms, I think I’ll have to see if I can find someone sewing-savvy, because that’s gonna be hardcore for someone who doesn’t know how to sew. I’m not the homey type, so I don’t know how to do all that stuff. >.< But my aunt can sew pretty well. I'll have to see if I can convince her to make doll dress uniforms which look exactly like the Air Force ones. Haha! Or maybe pay a friend to do it. :D Or wait until I'm 60 and have more time to learn all kinds of new stuff. ;) But I really wanna see them in dress uniforms. Maybe I'll post to one of the SG groups if anybody's willing to do it. I know there are a lot of people who can sew their own costumes even, and they look amazing. <3 If you're going for a barbie, see if you can get one that's fully movable, so you can put her in soldier positions and make her hold guns, etc. The normal ones don't have bendable arms and only limited bendable knees. But the Fashionistas and the new Dreamhouse barbies are all bendable as far as I know. :)