From TIME’s Sophia Yan:
Move over on that shelf, Barbie–gotta make some room for Michelle. Three versions of a six-inch Michelle Obama action figure will arrive in specialty stores mid-November. Consumers will be able to take their pick of Michelle in her black-and-red election night dress; in the bright purple sheath dress by Chicago designer Maria Pinto (in real-life, that is); or in the black-and-white floral ensemble she wore on “The View.” All three are sleeveless, of course, the better to showcase the First Lady action figure’s plastic biceps.
Toy designer Jason Feinberg says this is the first First Lady figure his company has produced. “[Michelle is] a lady who fascinates us and does that naturally just by being herself,” says Feinberg. Unlike Laura Bush (“a background character”) and Hillary Clinton (“too political”), “Michelle has really captured our imagination.” Feinberg’s company, Jailbreak Toys, also released Barack Obama and John McCain action figures during the 2008 campaign.
Just how will the First Lady respond to her toy doppelgänger? In January, when Beanie Baby maker Ty came out with two new dolls–the “Sweet Sasha” and the “Marvelous Malia”–Obama was concerned about her daughters’ privacy and made her sentiments clear. “We believe it is inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes,” the First Lady’s spokesperson said in a statement at the time.
But, says Feinberg, Michelle did “get a kick out of” her husband’s action figure during the campaign. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Feinberg asked an acquaintance attending a dinner with Michelle to gift her a Barack doll, only to discover that the candidate’s wife already had one. Michelle accepted the gift, according to Feinberg, so she must have “at least two!”
As of Wednesday, the White House had no comment about the First Lady’s foray into action figuredom. Maybe they’ll warm up when they get the case of Michelle dolls that Feinberg is planning to send over.
