Move Over, Barbie

Just in the jolly old St. Nick of time comes Princess Diana, all dolled up like--dare we say it?--Barbie.

This Princess of Wales is sculpted in plastic with movable limbs and knees that curtsy. She’s made for winding up in the toy bin with Babs, Ken and clan. Or, then again, this very ‘90s non-porcelain Di could rank up there as a collectible.

“She’s a mantelpiece doll,” says Brian Dubinsky, executive vice president of Los Angeles-based Manley Toy Quest. Dubinsky says the doll was in the works before Diana’s death in a Paris auto crash last August; manufacture was arranged under Buckingham Palace’s rules for commercial use of royal images.

Still, Dubinsky acknowledges he and others at Manley “were worried. We didn’t need a problem with consumers saying, ‘These guys are cashing in on Diana’s death.’ ” So the company met with parents and kids and asked them if they found the doll offensive. No, they said.

The first of about 500,000 of the dolls should be on toy shelves today, with 1 million due out within six months--hot off the assembly line in China. Additionally, a line of Diana kids’ jewelry will be issued, with a portion of the profits benefiting her charities. Manley also is planning for local charities to receive a portion of the dolls’ profits.

A few vital Di doll stats:

Height: 11.5 inches.

Dress: Wedding gown made of Italian satin with a 17-inch train and heart-shaped tiara.

Package: A window box featuring illustrations (photos are prohibited by Buckingham Palace). Included is a story about Diana’s life.

Price: $19.99.

Where: Toys R Us, Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart and other stores.

Another Los Angeles-based company has stopped plans for its Barbie-ized Diana doll next year because of international legal complications. A third company, Goldberger Doll Co. in New York, will update its plastic Diana doll, in a wedding gown, for a January debut.