Teresa (Barbie) and sidekick". In Life in the Dreamhouse Barbie states that all girls Teresa, Nikki, Summer, Midge, Raquelle & Grace are all her 'BFFs'. To counteract the criticisms that Barbie was a sex symbol, Mattel was compelled to issue companions for Barbie. Some of these are her boyfriend Ken, the African American Christie, Barbie's cousin Francie and Barbie's little sister Skipper. Midge appeared in 1963 and was marketed as Barbie's first best friend. Midge was discontinued in 1967. Over the years, Barbie's family tree expanded and soon Barbie would have many diverse and multicultural friends. Among these was Teresa, who was
S scale Lionel in 1967. Lionel re-introduced S gauge trains and accessories under the American Flyer name in 1979. Another S manufacturer, American Models, entered the marketplace in 1981 and is now also one of the major S suppliers. S-Helper Service, another major S gauge manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, track and other products, began operations in 1989 and delivered their first S products in 1990. In 2013, S-Helper Service was sold to MTH Electric Trains. And while the S scale market has seen a number of brass model manufacturers, today the major brass model supplier in S scale/S gauge is River