STORMER
Set: Misfits
Year: 1986-7 (Both)
Sold: Worldwide
Stormer came with the following items:
~Pink top with zebra print collar (US Edition) (European Edition)
~black skirt (US edition) (European edition)
~black tights (first edition), (second edition)
~yellow guitar (first edition), (second edition)
~shoes (US First Edition), (European First Edition) (Second Edition)
~orange flower
~misfit bracelets (US) (Europe)
~Cassette featuring Jem Theme, Winning Is Everything, Music Is Magic
~neon yellow stand (first edition) (European Edition) (second edition)
~comb
Existing Variations:
European and US differences. Some differences between first and second edition dolls (hard to distinguish on loose dolls).
Mexican/Spanish/European versions?
Yes, both Mexican (hybrid and pure) and Spanish editions of Stormer exist.
Comments: This is your average Stormer - I would estimate that four
out of every five American Ebay lots that include Stormer have this version
included in the lot. It is very hard to tell first and second Misfits if
you buy them loose and nude, so I am using examples here of which I can be
absolutely certain about their edition. This is my original Stormer doll and
she came to me complete with her first edition accessories from the United
States three years ago. As you can clearly see, her hair is in big, loose
curls and she has a fringe. Not all American Stormers have as clear a fringe
but many have some kind of parting and short section of hair at the front,
whether it's swept back, to the side, or over her brow. First Edition Stormer
also has quite muted makeup in general - blue eyes which can alter minutely
in shade from doll to doll, orange eyeliner, yellow eyeshadow and pastel peachish
orange lipstick. She has yellow blush and a dark blue beauty mark on her
cheek. Her head is marked Hasbro 1985 and her body 1985 Hasbro
Inc, Made In China. There do not appear to be ANY regular American
First Edition dolls Made In Hong Kong. Stormer's hair is also quite thickly
rooted. She shares a face mould with Shana
and Synergy. Stormer has normal hands and proportions.
Stormer: European First Edition DollComments: You can see a mile off that this doll is a completely different type of first Edition doll. This is the Stormer issued in Europe and the UK as part of the first Edition. These Stormers have certain distinct characteristics - many have very curly hair (like the one in the picture), often no fringe and their hair may not be rooted as thickly as most American first edition dolls. They have narrower eyes, giving them a more dreamy expression, though the variety of make-up shades are generally the same as those found in the American edition. The truth is that the European Stormer uses a completely different head mould, based on the American one - this is clear because it is stamped S Hasbro Inc on the back (S for Stormer or Shana, presumably), and not the same as the US Stormer. These dolls are also never made in China. There are two possibilities - either they are stamped "1985 Hasbro Inc Made in Hong Kong" or they are simply stamped "1985 Hasbro Inc" with no country of manufacture. The former seems to be most common among Dutch boxed dolls and the latter here in the UK, but in truth there seems no major pattern to which is which type. The features of "no country" and "Hong Kong" Stormers are pretty much the same - the only difference is the texture of the hair. On Hong Kong dolls, the hair is thinner and curled in more flexible tiny curls (click here for an example), whereas the No Country dolls have thicker hair that seems a touch coarser and more fixed in their style. These dolls also feature ball wrists and are slightly smaller in proportion to the 'normal' first edition doll. Pictured doll is an English bought "No Country" Edition.
Stormer: Second Edition DollComments: Second Edition Stormer seems to have been universal around the world, from what I can gather. It is hard to distinguish American first from second edition on loose Stormer dolls, so I am using this doll whose edition I can be absolutely certain about, since I bought her mint and complete with all of her accessories. She is stamped in the same way as the American first edition - with Hasbro 1985 on her head and 1985 Hasbro Inc, Made In China on her back. I have not seen a Stormer with her print above her waistline instead of between her shoulderblades, but I believe it possible that one such doll exists. The most distinctive thing with this Stormer is her make-up - her orange eyeliner and her lipstick are a lot more bold and direct, giving her a more piercing gaze, and she seems to have a more defined shade of blue for her eyes. She has a slightly paler complexion (nothing extreme, however), and stronger yellow blush. My boxed Second Edition doll also shares these characteristics, though there is some minor variation in shade. Her hair is not as long as first edition Stormer's but is still curled in the bigger style, rather than in the tight, wildly curly style of the European edition. My second edition doll has "protruding" wrists unlike the First Edition - (see pic) - but I don't know if all second year Stormers have these.
Comments: Stormer's top is hard to find in perfect condition. It should have four plastic claws stitched to the zebra print section of her fabric, and a silver diamond sticker at the base, as shown in the picture. All Stormer tops should have these features, whatever their other variations. Stormer's American top has pink stitching along the top hem, as well as on the other hems (this is not clear in the photo but I assure you it is true!) It is made of a shiny pink fabric, which is not too rigid. The top is the same for American first and universal second editions.
Comments: Stormer's European top is on the same lines as the one above, except that it is made of a thicker fabric which makes it fit more rigidly around the doll's body. It has the four claws and the silver diamond in the same way as any other Stormer top. The stitching along the top seam is black, not pink. You can see in the pictures that the fabric does differ :- D
Comments: This is the normal skirt - and it seems universal for First Editions in America and second editions worldwide, having compared my dolls. The skirt is black, with an elasticated waist and a slit up the side. The slit can vary in how high it comes up the doll's leg. The skirt has an almost a-line feel to it's shape, also, and is of thinner fabric than the European edition (though not as thin as the Mexican one).
Comments: The most distinctive thing about this skirt is it's overall shape. It is more of a cylinder shape, made of thicker material with an elasticated waist. It still has the slit in the skirt, however rather than being an A-line style, it is far more tube-like in it's appearance. The fabric it is made from is quite stretchy, also. The slit is worn at the front of the skirt on a mint in box doll and is more distinctive/prominent in that it has a wider hem margin than the US skirt.
Comments: First Edition Stormer dolls in both America and Europe were issued with black close weave fishnet tights. There does not seem to be much difference between the style of their weave. If you have tights that are woven more closely together, then it's more than possible that you have Mexican Stormer tights and not normal First Edition tights. I think it's true to say that some Second Edition dolls also had these tights, though the version below is far more common among Second Editions.
Comments: These are the tights sold normally with Second Edition Stormer. Both my loose and my MIB ones have them, which is pretty conclusive! They are identical to the tights sold with the Second Year fashion Gotta Be Fast and are probably a Hasbro way of cutting costs, rather than wasting time and effort making two seperate styles for the second year. They are black net with flowers woven into them. Somehow these are far more Stormer than the first edition tights! (And far prettier, too.)
Comments: Neon yellow plastic with a glittery sticker over the top featuring strings and buttons. Six frets. The guitar is an unusual shape and is a left-handed guitar (though it is never seen on the show). Has a gold strap. The sticker can vary in shades of yellowness - some are very bright yellow, some are a more muted greenish yellow. Stickers can easily peel off and damage.
Comments: Much more sensible design of guitar for the Second Year. Based on the same design as above, this guitar is translucent and speckled with gold glitter. Mexican Stormer's guitar was based on this design, only featured green speckles instead of gold ones! The basic design of the instrument remains the same, though the features are printed on instead of being on a label. The instrument also has a gold strap and remains left-handed, despite Stormer's continued lack of using it on the cartoon!
Comments: It's a common misnoma that Stormer had the same colour shoes for her first and second edition issues. But in fact she did not - they differ in tone very slightly. Stormer's first edition shoes are a very definite dark magenta purple, darker than shoes to 24 Carat Sound. Ironically they match the plastic used on First Edition Roxy's guitar better than they match anything of Stormer's. They are straight cuts.
Comments: Just to be wildly different, it's common knowledge that, in Europe at least, Hasbro seem to have been determined to use some common sense when matching up dolls with shoes. Stormer over in these parts does not have the plummish purple shoes of her American or second edition, but bright neon yellow shoes to match her instrument (normally a colour associated with Roxy.) European shoes are slightly different from American design shoes, because they have thinner edges, are slightly bigger and tend to have something - a letter or character - printed on the inside, on the base. These are no exception. Often mistaken for "fake" shoes, these are actually genuine issue Jem shoes, probably produced in Hong Kong (though this is unclear.)
Comments: These are Stormer's second edition shoes. Remembering for a moment that I got both my first and second editions complete with their accessories...when you put these shoes beside the shoes for the First Edition, there is a slight difference in tone. Second Edition's are a more vibrant colour, and a tiny shade darker than the first edition, though it is difficult to be sure which you have until you put them side by side.
It's just possible that second Stormer's shoes recycle another second year fashion shoe and match those to We Can Change It, but I don't have the shoes to that fashion to be able to compare!
Comments: Stormer's flower can be seen fairly clearly in two of the doll pictures above, as well as in the not so good picture to the left. Stormer's flower is a delicate piece of plastic with six petals (as shown on Second Edition Stormer's picture - the one to the left is missing a petal) and a thin "stem" with barbs to hold it into her hair. It is very small, easily lost and broken. It does not appear to have any variation, despite propaganda material in Europe advertising it as being white.
Comments: Normal Misfit bracelets are gold - and whilst the paint can flake off them, or they can discolour, they are found on all American edition Misfits. Second editions of Roxy, Stormer and Pizzazz also had them across Europe. The picture makes them look more bronzy, but they are actually a vibrant gold colour.
Comments: Another fallacy of Jem identification is that all silver Misfit Bracelets must be faded. This is not the case. European Misfit dolls were often (but not always!) sold with faintly gold or even silver Misfit bracelets (Some were also sold with coppery-gold. I have observed both mib). These have also been linked with Jetta, but this is another mistake since Jetta never had Misfit bracelets (though they do look good on her, I must say!). Please note that bracelets can indeed fade from gold, but that some are meant to be silver!!
Comments: Universal regardless of First or Second edition, European or American. Black tape with yellow writing, features songs Jem Theme, Winning is Everything, Music Is Magic. Features instrumentals with an instrument playing the vocal line on side B.
Comments: All normal first year Misfits were sold with this stand. It is neon yellow, and fairly transparent, with a matching grip. Please note that the Jem logo will have a small "TM" by the foot of the M.
Comments: I noticed this just recently, that there is a third type of stand for the Misfits that does not belong to a Spanish or Mexican variation. These stands are completely seethrough yellow as opposed to lightly cloudy like the first edition and very cloudy like the second. These stands came with European ball wristed Roxy, Stormer and Pizzazz.
Comments: Four out of the five second year Misfit characters were sold with this stand, Stormer being one. It is a cloudier plastic than the first edition, though in the same distinctive neon yellow. Mexican Misfits also had stands to match this design, except that theirs did not have the characteristic "TM" at the foot of the M of Jem. All normal edition stands have this, regardless of their colour or edition :)
Comments: I am told that Stormer had the same comb as Pizzazz and Jetta. As yet I have not been able to prove it either way...but this is the comb often associated with all three characters (and confirmed with Jetta.)
Comments: The first edition boxes for America and Europe are pretty identical in style. The one shown is Dutch, but the design is the same in America, with the side flap featuring Stormer, and the Jem logo along the front, with a purplish colour along the bottom indicating that this is a Misfit box. Boxes in English say Jem! then Truly Outrageous. Italian and Dutch boxes also say Truly Outrageous, whilst French ones add "Vraiment Extravagante!" instead (Canadian has both languages, whilst Belgian have Flemish and French but still say "Truly Outrageous! Vraiment Extravagante!".
Spanish Stormer's box reads "Verdaderamente Fantastica!" and has a different style of box opening (flap instead of tabs). Mexican Stormer's box reads "Es Fabulosa!" though maintains the same style of box as most editions.
Comments: This is Second Edition Stormer mint in box. I believe her packaging was universal - though of course the same language rules as above apply. Instead of the side flap, Stormer is in a strange rhomboid shaped box, with a front that is far wider than the back, and curved sides (it is hard to explain!). Stormer's picture is now on the front of the box instead of on an additional flap, and she is packaged on the opposite side from her instrument/tape. However the basic style of the box remains familiar - the base is also purplish, once again to show that she is a Misfit character.
