IT was tricky to get the skin tone correct, but it is now done. A German toymaker has prepared a collector's doll resembling US presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

The 36-centimetre doll sports a black suit, complete with a stars-and-stripes lapel pin, a white shirt and Obama's trademark sky-blue tie. It is also available for purchase online on this website  since Monday.

Offermann, who runs a 'doll hospital' in the western German city of Neuss near Dusseldorf, explained that he chose the sky-blue tie because Obama wears it at 80 percent of his campaign appearances.

"We originally wanted the doll to have rolled-up shirt sleeves but that wasn't practical,' he told Spiegel Online this week.

Photograph: AP

Photograph is used for representational purposes only.