The Sunny Surfin' World of Maxie
Maxie the doll with beautiful hair, as she was marketed by Hasbro for her launch in 1988 was Hasbro's second attempt, after Jem and the holograms, to detrone the queen of the fashion dolls, Barbie. So exit the Glamour and glitter of Jem and enters Maxie, a typical all american doll of 11 1/2", popular high school girl from California, sports and beach oriented doll.
Just like Jem, Maxie's Hasbro toy line was promoted by a cartoon, Maxie's world. (Which in my mind seriously lacked imagination, and would have needed a special touch of someone amazing like Christy Marx who was behind Jem's magic.) The full run of the show, 32 episodes, aired in 1987 while the toy line ran from 1988 to 1990. Hasbro originally planned to have both Maxie and Jem released in 1988, before the Jem line was canceled. Maxie was a more Barbie friendly doll and yet still had many similarities with Jem. Therefore, lots of ideas and materials were re used such as bows, sunglasses etc.
Maxie was on the shelves for almost three years, with a medium line in 1988, a bigger line in 1989 with much more dolls, fashions and playsets, and a smaller line in 1990 mainly composed of dolls. Maxie was canceled in 1990 and only the Sun Splash dolls made it. Some dolls and playsets were released in the Sindy line in Europe. The line had a very similar timeline and sizes, lived and died just like Jem, maybe it was a marketing trend of Hasbro. We can assume the first year sold well as the second year line was almost twice as big.
As a Jem collector at heart, the Maxie line grew in me while creating this guide and showed me how the concept of mixing and matching fashions was much more fun that I had expected. Enjoy your dive in Maxie's word!
MAXIE DOLLS
Dolls were released during three years, and there was no re release from one year to another, with the exception of a recurring Beach line theme being released each year. Maxie was a surfgirl after all! Some dolls came with Maxie charms or friendship bracelets. A few of the unreleased dolls of the third line were released in europe as Sindy dolls.
First Year Maxie dolls (1988)
Second year Maxie dolls (1989)
Third year Maxie dolls (1990)
Unproduced dolls (1990)
Fashions
Maxie has a bewildering bounty of fashions. Most outfits were produced in multiple colors, making it confusing to get a handle on the extent of her wardrobe. That most sets involved coordinates or individual garments, rather than completely accessorized fashions, makes it even more fun. Many Jem styled items ended up in these packs.
First Year Maxie fashions (1988)
Second year Maxie fashions (1989)
Unproduced fashions (1990)
Playsets
Maxie was lucky to get many different playsets. They happen to be quite complete with different side accessories or even fashions! Many were surf related. Hasbro has licenced many playsets to the New Jersey based company "Meritus inc?"
Body types
Maxie dolls are 11 1/2" with small feet, and arms that don't bend under the elbow. Learn here about the three different Maxie body types. Features an easy two steps guide to identify your loose Maxie doll. See also Maxie compared to popular fashion dolls of the 80s Barbie and Jem.
Misc items
Besides the dolls, Hasbro had many licensed Maxie items. This section is only for genuine 80s Maxie items, such as lunchbox and paper dolls.
This guide is far from complete and any help is always welcomed.
