hard plastic

Hard Plastic (Styrene) body, from the mould used for the "Historical" series of dolls. This example has already been painted, and had its wig fitted.

Following the problems encountered with Resin dolls, Peggy Nisbet realised that a more stable material, and a more reliable production process had to be found.

In 1957, Peggy started to investigate the use of injection moulding, to produce high impact polystyrene doll bodies.   (This material is often referred to as Styrene, or Hard Plastic).

Because Peggy wanted the dolls to have weight and solidity, the usual process of moulding two thin plastic "shells", which were then glued together, was rejected in favour of a solid plastic body.   When moulding the larger (Henry VIII) male body, there was a potential for the plastic to shrink as it cooled, especially in the thicker (stomach) area of the doll.   Thanks to the use of a skilful moulding company, this problem was overcome.

Peggy was very particular about the colour of the plastic used to mould the bodies, rejecting many supposedly "flesh" coloured varieties, that ranged from "deep sunburn" through yellow, buff, and pink, before settling on the colour seen on any of the Historical, Portrait, Limited, or other hard plastic dolls shown here.   Also very important to Peggy was to select a grade of plastic that came out of the mould without too hard a shine, which would have made the doll look unnatural.

We believe that dolls made from Styrene first went into production in 1959/60 

News

21st September 2023

 

Important Announcement

 

My dear wife, Christine, passed away on the 8th December, 2021, after 8 weeks in hospital. I was by her side, when she slipped away from me peacefully, with no pain or suffering.

 

Chris had been struggling with a slow decline in health, associated with a progressive, untreatable, and ultimately terminal lung disease, and finally succumbed to her old adversary, Pneumonia.

 

We had been friends for 55 years, together as a couple for 50 years, and married just a month short of 48 years, when she died.   

 

This website was Chris's idea, and I did all the technical stuff, to make it work.   After news of Chris's passing reached her close friends in the doll collecting world, I was deeply touched and gratified to hear their tributes to my dear wife, and I must thank them all for their kindness and support.   Ultimately, it was her doll friends that gave me the courage to continue with the website.

 

In the months before her eventual hospitalisation, Chris had outlined a number of additions and changes she wanted to make to the website, and it is my intention to honour those wishes, and to implement the changes we had considered, over the coming weeks and months.

 

I must apologise to all those who have written to us via the website, only to have your emails go unanswered.   Unfortunately, the email system had been hacked aroung the time Chris was going into hospital, and many emails must have been lost, as a result.

 

As you might imagine, I felt completely broken by Chris's loss, and it is only now, almost 22 months after her passing, that I have felt strong enough to even look at the website again.   

 

My aim is to continue with the website, and to implement Chris's aims for her many new ideas as soon as I can.   In the meantime, I have hopefully got the email system sorted out, and I will attempt to answer any enquiries as soon as I can, and to send replies with the same high degree of accuracy that a reply from Chris would have had.

 

From now on, I will be flying solo, whilst my co-pilot and guide will be soaring much higher, (though she is always in my heart, and in my thoughts).

 

My thanks to all our website visitors for your continued support

 

Dave (also known as Arthur), and Chris, (my lost love, Guinevere)

 

Christine Poulten

25th December 1949 - 8th December 2021