HomeBlogBlytheEverything You Need to Know About Blythe Doll Collecting: The Complete Glossary

Everything You Need to Know About Blythe Doll Collecting: The Complete Glossary

by Jenna Anderson

Sep 16, 2023

Blythe, Blythe University

OOAK, RBL, NRFB, chips, reroot. If Blythe listings sometimes read like a secret code, this page is your decoder.

Blythe doll glossary: a Blythe doll with red curly hair on a stage — Every hobby has its own language. Here is Blythe’s.

Every hobby has its own language, and Blythe collecting has plenty of it. Read a few listings or collector posts and you will see OOAK, RBL, NRFB, chips and reroot, often in the same sentence. This Blythe doll glossary explains the terms you will meet most, grouped by topic so you can find them quickly.

If you are brand new, our Blythe collecting guide and Blythe tips for beginners are good companions to this page.

Table of Contents

Blythe Doll Glossary: Types of Blythe

Blythe (BL): The doll first released by Kenner in 1972. Collectors often shorten her name to BL.
Kenner Blythe: The original 1972 doll, made in Hong Kong for the US market. See our vintage Blythe guide.
Neo Blythe: The modern full-size Blythe, made since 2001 by CWC in Japan under licence from Hasbro. She stands 28.5 cm tall. Read what is a Neo Blythe.
Middie Blythe: A 20 cm Blythe, introduced in 2010. See our Middie size guide.
Petite Blythe: A tiny 11 cm Blythe, introduced in 2002. Meet the Petite Blythe.
Stock: A doll left exactly as the maker produced her.
Factory Blythe: A Neo-sized doll sold plain or dressed outside the numbered limited editions, and a favourite base for customizing. See what is a factory Blythe doll.
Custom: A doll an artist has reworked by hand. See what is a custom Blythe doll.
OOAK: One of a kind. A custom doll that has no twin.
Clone or fake: Collector slang for an unofficial doll sold as if it were an official release. Always ask a seller what you are buying.

Neo Blythe Moulds and Abbreviations

No Blythe doll glossary is complete without moulds. The official Neo Blythe head has changed shape several times. Collectors call each version a mould. These are the codes you will see most often, as explained in our Blythe history guide:

Code	Introduced	What it means
BL	2001	The first Neo Blythe face
EBL	2002	An early update of the original Neo face
SBL	2003	A square-bottomed head
RBL	2006	A rounder head that became the long-running standard
FBL	2009	A newer face with a softer, semi-matte skin finish
RBL+	2013	An updated version of the RBL

Moulds matter most when you buy parts, because scalps and faceplates are made to fit a particular head shape.

Face and Head Terms

Faceplate: The front of the head, holding the face. This is what artists carve and paint.
Scalp or dome: The back cap of the head that holds the hair.
Carving: Shaping the face with blades and files, for example opening the lips or adding dimples.
Sanding: Smoothing the face after carving, usually with fine wet and dry sandpaper.
Matte or shiny face: The skin finish. Matte faces hold pastel makeup well. Shiny faces have a glossy, doll-like look.
Sealant (MSC): A matte spray sealant used between makeup layers. MSC is short for Mr. Super Clear, a popular brand.

Blythe doll glossary example: blank and customized Blythe faceplates — Faceplates, carved and painted. Learn the words and listings suddenly make sense.

Eye Terms

The eyes get their own section in any Blythe doll glossary, because they are her signature feature.

Eye chips (chips): The coloured eye pieces. Neo Blythe has four pairs that change when you pull the string.
Eye mechanism: The inside workings that rotate the chips.
Pull string and pull ring: The string at the back of the head, and the ring or bead on the end of it.
Lids: The eyelids you see when the eyes are partly closed. Custom artists often paint them.
Lashes: Upper lashes are glued in, lower lashes are usually painted.

Want new eyes? Browse our Blythe eye chips.

Hair Terms

Reroot: Removing the original hair and rooting new hair into the scalp, strand by strand.
Saran, mohair and alpaca: Popular hair fibres for rerooting.
Bangs: A fringe. Many Blythe dolls have them.

Our guide on how to change Blythe doll hair explains rerooting step by step.

Body Terms

Jointed body: A body with extra joints so the doll can sit, kneel and pose naturally.
Regular body: A simpler body with fewer joints.
Hands: Many dolls come with swappable hands in different poses. See our Blythe doll hands.

Buying and Collecting Slang

Adopt: Collectors often say they “adopted” a doll rather than bought her.
NRFB: Never removed from box. A doll still sealed in her original packaging.
BlytheCon: A collector-run Blythe convention held in a different city each year. See where to find Blythe dolls.
Dolly meet: A small get-together of collectors and their dolls.
Customizer: An artist who customizes dolls.

Design your own Blythe

Keep Reading

Bookmark this Blythe doll glossary for the next time a listing confuses you. Now that you speak fluent Blythe, read how much a Blythe doll costs and our honest Blythe buyer’s guide before your next purchase.

For a neutral overview of the doll’s history, see Blythe on Wikipedia.

What does OOAK mean for Blythe dolls?

OOAK means one of a kind. It describes a custom Blythe that an artist has hand-finished, so no other doll is exactly the same.

What do RBL, FBL and SBL mean?

They are names for different versions, or moulds, of the Neo Blythe head. SBL arrived in 2003, RBL in 2006 and FBL in 2009. They matter most when you buy parts like scalps and faceplates.