General Information
BBB Pacifiers
BBBs and Vinyl Discolouration (Pox)
BBB Clothing Series Summary List
Twin BBB Outfit
BBB or Preemie . . . that is the question
Transitional and Hasbro Outfits
Care of BBB outfits
General Information
These 11” dolls were called Babies by Coleco, but most collectors call them Beany Butt Babies or BBB for short. They are the smallest of the Coleco dolls and have bags of ‘beans’ in their bum or tummy. If the bag is in the bum, there is stuffing on top at the neck.
Babies were manufactured by Coleco from 1986 – 1989 and then by Hasbro until 1992. (Ref. #2, p. 14) Early accounts indicate that they sold very well (Ref. #4, May 1986, p.5)
Babies’ boxes are quite different from the other Coleco boxes. The doll itself is laid down on its side, so the box is longer than it is tall. The look of the boxes, where the birth certificate was displayed, and the look of the birth certificate changed over time.
Babies were made predominately by the WS and SS factories. I have seen only two BBBs that were made by the P factory. This may have been a factory mistake, but I have no way of knowing.
Coleco made bald Babies with head moulds 1,3,4, and 6. (Ref. #1, p. 97)
Hasbro later used additional head moulds for their kids. Some of their kids had tufts of hair and they had a wider variety of eye colours and skin tones.
Keep in mind that as Hasbro took over from Coleco some rather strange combinations of kids, outfits and boxes occured. For more information visit Transitional Period CPK Outfits – A Summary.
BBB Pacifiers
The pacifiers used by BBBs are significantly different from the original yellow pacifiers. They are made of softer vinyl and are generally translucent. They have a flatter ring for the hand, and the projection for the mouth is shaped differently.
The early pacifiers were the same yellow colour, but later pacifiers came out in a wide variety of colours to match the doll’s outfit. Like the originals, they are marked with the factory, but it is on the flat disc portion. These pacifiers are also used for some transitional Toddlers and for Hasbro Preschoolers.
Finally, Furskin pacifiers look similar to BBB pacifiers, but the mouth protuberance is larger in diameter.
BBB’s and Vinyl Discolouration (Pox)
Unfortunately, early SS factory kids are very likely to have developed or to develop vinyl discolouration. They have the dubious honour of being known as the worst for this, as the type of pox they get is generally darker and often more prolific than P factory kids.
BBB pacifiers, because they are made of vinyl, can also get pox. Unfortunately, zit cream treatment doesn’t seem to work very well on them.
For details on vinyl discolouration and how to treat it, visit Hilary’s How-to Videos.
BBB Clothing Series Summary List
There’s a large catalogue of BBB outfits that were created from 1986 to 1989+.
A: 1986 Knit Series Pt 1. (#191 – 199)
B: 1986 Knit Series Pt. 2 (#200 – 204)
C: 1987 Knit and Terry Series (670s – 680s)
D: Bunting Bag Series (#778 – 781) FUTURE POST
E: 1988 Series (850s 0- 860s) FUTURE POST
F: 1989 100s Series (#100 – 109) FUTURE POST
G: Random BBB packaged outfits, 1989 (#129 – 133) FUTURE POST
H: Random 400s Outfits (#400, #401, #404) FUTURE POST.
Twin BBB Outfit
There is one very special knit BBB outfit that doesn’t have a regular code. You can learn more about it at PTP: The Twin Outfit That Isn’t
BBB or Preemie . . . That is the question
In general, we can say that if the outfit has footies, it’s a BBB outfit. However, a few of the transitional preemie outfits did have footies. So, if it seems too big for your BBB, it may be because it’s actually a preemie outfit. For information on preemie outfits, visit Preemie Outfits – An Overview.
Transitional and Hasbro Outfits
Hasbro manufactured Babies until 1992, and the transitional period (1989-1991) BBB clothing is very interesting. Although Hasbro did start to manufacture their own outfits, they also continued to produce some of the Coleco outfits for a time.
There’s evidence that they intended to take some of the Coleco outfits and make them their own. For example, outfit 682 is almost the same as outfit 400. Why are there two of the same outfit? Because outfit 682 is the original Coleco one, and outfit 400 is the one Hasbro created.
Initially, it appears that Hasbro was going to continue coding their outfits but later changed their mind. Outfit 400 was created during this brief period. Instead of using the original Coleco code, they gave it a new one in the 400s. The outfits themselves are almost identical. The biggest difference is in the hat; one has a large fold-over, and the other does not.
Some Hasbro outfits have tags, generally transitional ones, but most don’t have a tag. In this way, we can determine if an outfit is Coleco or Hasbro, even if they look identical.
Care of BBB outfits
The majority of BBB outfits are knit or terry cloth. Both of these fabrics should be hand washed to reduce damage to the fibres/yarn. I also suggest that before washing, you put small pieces of Velcro on the ‘sticky’ Velcro pieces to stop new pulls or damage from developing in the wash.
They can be soaked in oxi-clean and washed with regular laundry detergent. I suggest hanging knit outfits to dry.
You can also bring them back to life by ‘defuzzing’ them. A sweater shaver works well for most outfits. You may find you need to do the edges or decorations by hand with your ‘defuzzing’ scissors.
Your sweater shaver will also work on the cotton-based outfits as it will remove the pills and pulls.
For more information on defuzzing outfits visit, Hilary’s How to Videos.