I picked up my first Pinky Street (or Pinky ST, as I’ll refer to them from here on) figure at Anime Central, sometime in the early 2000’s. Pinky ST figures, roughly 4″ tall and made of PET plastic, were invented by BABYSue and produced by the VANCE PROJECT. They’re 1:18th in scale.
Pinky ST’s made their debut in 2003 with three figures: Yoshiko, Sue and Tamae. Each were designed with interchangeable outfits in mind. For example, the head, hair pieces (like pony tails), tops and bottoms of Pinky’s come off so you can mix and match the different character’s looks.
My first Pinky ST was Moe, from series 2 (below), which was released in 2003. Moe came dressed in her schoolgirl outfit and an extra cheerleader outfit. I liked her long brown hair and purple eyes. For years after, I made it my goal to find a new Pinky ST at every anime con I went to and for a while, it was pretty easy to do.
There were a number of different Pinky ST releases over the years, including anime collaborations. Pinky:cos releases covered a wide selection of anime titles, including: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Gunslinger Girl, Monster Hunter, Kobato, Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Sky Crawlers and my personal favorite, Fruits Basket.
There were other anime releases besides those mentioned, as well, but I can’t find a good reference guide for Pinky ST releases, at the moment. Besides basic figures, they also released Pinky ST’s that came equipped with their very own car or scooter.
Pinky ST’s were produced pretty steadily until their eventual demise, coming in batches of two or three, with limited releases here and there. The later series, series 8 through 11, saw some changes. The packaging was changed to smaller, rounder blister packs and the girls were packaged without a second body.
Pinky St figures stopped production around 2011. They went out with little more than a whimper. News on releases slowed to a halt and the company just continued on. As far as I know, there wasn’t a formal announcement; the line just sort of died. Up until earlier this year, the Pinky Street Forum was a great place for people to find out about the line, but, alas, it seems to have closed up shop as of Feb 2017.
The forum was pretty active during the Pinky ST heyday, but, like many forums that lost their doll/toy line, fizzled out towards the end. While it was popular, the forum was a great place for information, photos and buying/selling. I wish it had stayed up, for the information alone, but I’m sure it was costing someone money and understand why they’d let it go.
Like other dolls and figures, there’s some amazingly adorable customs floating around the web, like these Monster High inspired Pinky ST’s or these My Little Pony Pinky’s!
One word of warning. Pinky ST’s have a tendency to fall over. Over the years, the torso’s have a habit of tipping backwards. If you don’t care to change their look, you may want to consider gluing them together or putting putty inside the torso and leg connector. I, personally, haven’t tried this, but I don’t see why this wouldn’t work. You’ll find this also happens with the arms, hair pieces and heads of certain Pinky ST’s, as well. Some of my girls fall apart really easily, while others are still holding strong.
You can still find Pinky ST figures pretty easily on eBay, so if this post tempted you, go there to check out some of the other releases. It’s been years since I’ve seen them at an anime or comic on, so online is your best bet at finding these cuties. My collection is rather small compared to everything that was released over the 8 years they were produced. Do you own any Pinky ST’s? What are your thoughts on this line? Share your thoughts in the comment area.
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