Barbie You Create kits 2026

 I can't think of much preamble here. 

Last year (?) Mattel released their "You Create" kits and dolls, the idea being that they came with a new neck knob that made it easier to take the head off and swap things around. 

the first set came with three heads, three bodies and three wigs for ultimate customisability, however while the wigs were "okay", wigs at Barbie scale always suffer from looking a little bulky on those tiny heads and the price point was pretty steep (£92 + postage). Couple that with no apparently mainstream store release and being only available via Mattel's own online shopfront, they weren't exactly easily obtainable. 

So 2026 brings us their second wave, where they've changed things up quite a bit.

Gone are the wigs, we have fully rooted heads now. But sadly also gone are the extra bodies. Each kit comes with three heads but only one body, which is I suppose a brilliant way for Mattel to sell more bodies... but of course they don't just sell bodies, you gotta buy a whole extra doll because of course you do.

This time not only are these cheaper (still a rather steep £64.99) they're also available via mainstream retailers like Amazon. 

And as I was flush with amazon vouchers from christmas... and the kits briefly dropped to a little over £50 each... I splurged and bought a couple to check out. 

L.U.V by Far Out Toys

Been thinking about flash in the pan failed doll lines.... 

And so, I give you... 

L.U.V!

A doll line produced by Far Out Toys, the company who also made the Glow Up Girls, a line that had a thoroughly bizarre release here in the UK and was cancelled before we could even get the second half of the first wave. 

L.U.V was, like the Wild Hearts Crew, a line doomed to failure by being sold ONLY at Walmart. Walmart, where dolls go to die.  They also shot themselves in the foot by pricing them far far too high. At $30usd, that made them more expensive than a lot of  Barbie, a lot of Monster High, most Bratz and several other doll brands. 

now yes, I get it. Smaller companies can't get such good wholesale deals so their overheads are more expensive, meaning the final product needs to be more expensive. but when you're launching a new doll line against the big boys, you need to either bring something completely NEW to the scene to justify that price point, or you need to cut a lot of corners to get the price down to undercut the big guys and provide a "budget" alternative. on top of that, a lot of stores won't take a chance on the new guy, so getting your product INTO stores in the first place is hard. Which is why so many new lines end up as exclusives. 
The problem is that Mattel and MGA have such a stranglehold on the doll market that anyone new coming in has a seriously rough struggle to even be noticed. A high price point and a restricted distribution is not doing you any favors. Even if it all makes sense as to why it happens, it's just extra hurdles to overcome when the deck is already massively stacked against you.

what can new toy makers do? I don't know the answer to that sadly. but I do know that many have tried and almost all of them sink without a trace. 

Anyway, let's take a look