It was just another day at the beach for Barbie and friends. The sun was shining and Ken had even decided that he was feeling rather generous to let Barbie out of the house following last week's fiasco.
That was when things went horribly, horribly wrong.
Barbie was never the same again...

Okay, so this is my very first instructable, so please be gentle.
This is my rendition of a USB Barbie that I first saw on the internet several years ago. After tireless searching and vain ambition I was unable to find a decent how-to article on this particular mod. Not many drives compare to the hilarity and shock generated by this. If, like me, you enjoy the odd and oh-so macabre then this instructable is for you! Enjoy and happy making!

Step 1: Materials and Tools (Barbie)

Alright, so you wanna get inside Barbie and fill her delicious innards with the power of USBl? This is what you will need:

X-acto knife
Dremel with cutting or sanding heads
Silicone
Caulk Gun for silicone
Screwdriver (or similar for prying)
C-clamp
Rubber bands
Barbie
Barbie Clothes (optional)
Stationary USB drive (no buttons, no moving parts, ect)

Step 2: Barbie's Autopsy Adventure

Alright guys, (and gals) lets get to it. That's right it is time to live out your Barbie mutilation fantasy, and this time your little sister won't come running in just as you rend Barbie's head from her body. Like a stockpile of booze at a college party it all has to go...

There are of course many ways to disassemble a perfectly functioning Barbie doll. I prefer the macabre, old fashioned method of brute force, however, this will determine the final quality of the doll.

The Method used here was head and legs off, body cracked and/or pried open. Do what works best for you, and just keep trying to open the body without causing any damage. Try to keep the posts (see picture 3) intact if you can as it will make later steps a lot easier.

Here are a couple of pictures for you.

Step 3: USB Dismantling

Pretty self-explanatory, every drive is different, the one featured here was easily and simply pried apart. I can't possibly speak for every drive, just do your best! (Or worst)

Step 4: Barbie's Liposuction Reduction

High speed rotary tool in hand, we must now whip Barbie's body into shape. Start by cutting off small sections of her neck on both sections of the body to fit the metal portion of the drive comfortably. Once your drive fits into the body, you must figure out how deep the drive needs to go to work properly in a computer. To facilitate this, you can use my method. Plug in the drive** and place the bottom half of the body over it. Make sure that the bottom half is level with the computer and mark off where the drive ends. See pictures if you are confused here.

Legal Disclaimer:

**Exercise caution here, there are dangerous currents flowing through the computer. This method could produce a shock which could be harmful or fatal, therefore, it is not recommended. You have been warned, I take no liability or responsibility for your actions. Proceed at your own risk.**

Step 5: Barbie's Silicone Fantasy

"California Beach Barbie got free silicone from her father last week..."

So now that your drive has been fitted to Barbie's body it is time to stick it to her. Place a light layer of silicone from her neck to your line and press your drive into it. Cover the entire region in another layer of silicone and smooth out with a stick/finger/screwdriver or similar and let dry as per the directions on the tube. See the picture to get an idea of what we are going for here, it doesn't have to be much just enough to cover your drive.

Once the silicone is nice and dry, be sure to test it to make sure it will stay put. It should be firmly attached to the body. If not, pull off the silicone and try again making your layers thicker. If, as a last resort you just can't get it to stay go for the King Kong approach and use JB Weld.

Step 6: Barbie Trys to Pull Herself Together

After you are fairly certain that Barbie's new high tech appendage is secure, we must begin to pull her back together. There are many ways to do this, I choose the overkill method. Here is what worked for me:

First, I replaced the arms and leg holder as they had been originally placed. Then using the posts I managed to salvage back in step 2 and the empty body cavity I covered everything in the bottom half with silicone. Next, I made a line of silicone along the lines of the body and pinched the halves together.

To help hold the body in place long enough to dry, I placed rubber bands in areas of concern i.e. chest, belly and crotch. Fearing and in some cases noticing that this still wasn't enough I finally clamped the body to my table and put a lot of weight on it. If you broke some section of the body, now is a good time to repair it with silicone. Don't worry about bad looking edges, they will get covered up later.

Step 7: Barbie Tests the Limits

Once everything has had enough time to dry begin to remove your holds carefully. Be sure to check that the problem areas have adhered. If they haven't go back and try again, and consider the JB Weld option. Slowly remove your rubber bands and gently squeeze Barbie to test her body. More importantly, make sure that she holds together when plugged into a computer. If she holds, dress her on up! To cover your drive, just shove her head onto it.

Step 8: Barbie, USB, and the Best Stares You Will Ever Get

So that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading this instructable as much as I have writing it and that you are able to create your very own USB Barbie. If you have suggestions/questions about this project or any insights into the next round of childhood icon mutilation, shoot me a line! Feel free to upload your USB Barbie related stories/pictures to the comments section. Today, we leave you with a few pictures of Barbie, doing what she does best and some ideas on what to do with her!

Put pictures of your obese relatives on her.
Store your collection of childhood music.
Take her to a Barbie convention.
Use her as a podslurper (Found on this site)
Make her store your "questionable material." She has an open mind.
Install DBAN to make her into a hard drive murdering witch!
Threaten your siblings that all their toys will wind up like this if they don't do as you command.
Use her as a "normal" thumb drive.