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| Photos taken at Walmart of Ken #10, Classic Cool |
During a quick trip to Walmart, I was amazed to find Ken #10, Classic Cool in stock. I had already preordered from ShopMattel during their brief free shipping offer to avoid having to wait for the doll to arrive locally. Because several of the ones at Walmart had faint facial smudges on the nose, near the hairline or the eye, I chose the best one available to purchase as a duplicate in the event the one Mattel ships has flaws, too.
I left the fastener in place and painted it black as illustrated above on the right. Now it blends in with the color of the tie.
Complexion-wise, his skin tone is about the same as Texas A & M Ken's and Model 17's.
I created parts in his hair using Toffee Brown acrylic paint, which blends in with his complexion. The results are illustrated below:
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| Classic Cool's braids and invisible parts are illustrated on the left. The painted parts are illustrated on the right. |
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| The painted parts are shown from both sides and from the back view here. |
Even though the braids are still plastic/molded, with parts, the hair looks more realistic.
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| Classic Cool tried on the $5 Ken fashion, which fits him well and shaves years off his appearance. I doubt that broad-body Ken can wear this fashion. |
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| Hip Hoodie (Hakeem) and Classic Cool do have a similar appearance and could very well pass for brothers. |
dbg
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Classic cool Ken is really handsome. He reminds me of a friend of mine when I was in high school.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the cornrows partings!
Arlette
He looks like both my nephews when they had braids!!
ReplyDeleteThey must be handsome guys, Denise.
Deletedbg
He looks great! I've added parts to all my dolls with cornrows as well. I love the new Kens that have hit the stores but I noticed that my Ken's head does not have full range of motion. In other words, it can't tilt. I'm wondering if this is the same with all the Model #10s or just mine. I'm excited to attend the Barbie Convention this year because it's in my town Houston. Hope I get to see some new products!
ReplyDeleteMy 10's head can only turn from side to side or fully rotate all the way around. It cannot tilt. Hope you enjoy the convention. Someone just reminded me that it will be in Houston this year.
Deletedbg
I got him too! To me, he looks like a tall teenagers...maybe 13 or 14! So there were imperfections in the dolls in the store. I will have to check mine. I have to think on painting his scalp. The collar on the shirt of mine doesn't lay correctly. Not like the promo pictures. Hope yours is better. I didn't purchase my dolls my self. I do believe the people who did would look them over. I did not notice problems other than the shirt. Did you see #9? The only girl I am looking for is the with the puffs!
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Leo,
DeleteMy doll's shirt collar lies down as it should. He does look like a teenager, especially in the second outfit that I removed after I took the photographs. He's back in his original clothing now.
#9 wasn't there. Some of the newer girls were, but I don't really remember which ones.
I'm getting ready to go back to return something, so I will check the dolls again and make a note of which ones were there. The girl with the Afro puffs is supposed to be released later this year.
dbg
I love what you've done to the parts between the corn rows. I'm not sure my old arthritic hands are steady enough to copy you, though. I've ordered Classic Cool from the USA but it looks as if he'll be available in the UK quite soon, which is amazing. Usually we have to wait forever for newly released dolls. I had two Texas A&M dolls, but I rebodied Hip Hoodie onto one. Now I have to decide if Classic Cool should swap bodies with my second A&M doll. I'll have to wait until he arrives, I guess. I can't afford another A&M right now. I think Classic Cool will make a great brother for Hip Hoodie, aka Deangelo in my doll universe. They are both super handsome. One thing you haven't mentioned is the colour of Classic Cool's lips. What do you think of it? I've removed bright pink lipstick from a couple of the black Fashionistas because I don't think it's very natural or flattering. It does bring out the shape of Classic Cool's lips but in the pictures it looks a little bit like he's wearing lipstick. I've removed pink colour from my white male dolls' lips as well when it looks too much like lipstick.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy,
DeleteIt was a little frustrating for me to paint the parts. I kept thinking, "It wasn't this difficult to paint Zizi,'s," but then I remembered she only has a few cornrows on the side of her head. My hands aren't as steady as I'd like, but I was determined to finish. I might fine tune them some by painting in some dark brown to make the parts narrower.
I didn't mention his lip color because it doesn't bother me. It blends in with his complexion in my opinion. They could have made it a little bit darker, but I think it's okay as it is. It just looks like a nude lip. It may be the flash or lighting that gives the appearance of lipstick. Let me know what you think when your doll arrives.
I was really surprised to find him in the store. I guess Mattel is doing better by releasing dolls in more outlets than they have in the past. I used to have to wait months for new dolls to get to store shelves.
Re: articulation. I'm not spending the extra money that Texas A&M commands on the secondary market. If I find an action figure body that matches his complexion I might rebody him. Otherwise, he'll just be standing at attention, looking handsome.
:-)
dbg
Great find. I also saw/seen a lot of the new Barbie's at a Walmart near were I live, Goose Creek SC. I wish there were new men but only a lot of the new Ladies/Barbie's I did buy 2 ladies.
ReplyDeleteHi LaDonna,
DeleteCongrats on the two ladies you found. Hope the others you want show up soon.
dbg
He's so cute! Painting skin between the cornrows is a definite improvement. I think it's good that they went with molded hair. They'd never implant enough hair to make braids look good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing us your doll. I can't believe how inexpensive a doll can be in the US. That would be a final liquidation price over here ;-)
Happy Fourth of July (in case you don't post tomorrow). I wish you and your loved ones lots of fun.
Thank you, Maricha. He is a handsome guy. I have to learn not to complain considering the lack of black dolls in non-American markets and the prices when they are available. Sometimes we take things for granted and fail to appreciate obvious blessings. Thank you for the reminder.
DeleteThank you also for the Happy Fourth wishes. I might write a quick post tomorrow, but it will not publish until Wednesday.
Until then,
dbg
Hmmm I like him more than I thought I would. I'm avoiding the toy aisles while on SYC, but I may look for him next month. If I get him, I'll probably do as you did and add parts. I think some acetone and a fine pointed Q-tip might do the trick. Thanks for sharing these pics.
ReplyDeleteBe strong, Jewell. :-) But if you cave in and do buy this guy, I'd love to see the results of his parts. I would be too afraid to use acetone to create them, thinking it might bleed into areas where I do not want paint removed. I have a hard enough time using paint. Your hand may be more steady than mine.
Deletedbg
He's a cutie! I like what you've done with his parts. I think that if you do fine tune his parts by painting in some dark brown to make them narrower, that will be a nice touch. I will have to make my way to Walmart soon to see about picking up this guy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Roxanne.
DeleteStay tuned...
I hope he's in stock during the next opportunity you have to you visit Walmart.
dbg
I was hoping you were go to pick him up and review him. I love the improvement on the parts too. I swear the dolls really do talk to you. I always on the fence about one and then I see your review here and it changes my mind. He just might ended up in Dotsville. We will see. Happy 4th!
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th to you, too, Brini!
DeleteSeeing the dolls in person or seeing another person's post about them can change your opinion and/or create doll want-itis. I knew the moment I saw him online that he would become a doll family member here. His new head sculpt is the main reason I wanted him. The cornrows were the icing on the cake.
dbg
Glad to see he is a good color match for the AA Texas A & M body! I still have 1 more of those! I do have this guy on order from Mattel. I haven't seen any of the new ones in the stores in Michigan yet. I like what you did with the cornrows too! Oh and the reason the Ken's heads don't tilt is because they used a single molded neck knob and not the rotating one. This is on all of the new non articulated Ken's now and some of the playline Barbies too. This is too bad because I was kind of hoping to kit bash a hybrid body for at least one of the Caucasian Broad bodies. Sigh!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Phyllis,
DeleteIt's great that you have an extra Texas A&M Ken. Thanks for the explanation about the neck knob Mattel is using on the nonarticulated Ken's. Some hacking might be required for rebodying.
dbg
OK, so my Classic Cool came today. As suspected, his neck knob is a single molded knob with no rotation. However, I also received "Chill in Checks" (broad body), "Hyped on Stripes" and "Plaid on Point" (both Slim). These 3 have the rotating neck knobs. However, other Kens dolls I have recently purchased like "Dolphin Magic" Ken has the one piece non-rotating neck knob. Since both Dolphin Magic and Classic Cool are on Original bodies, I assume that this might mean that they newer body types might have gone back to the rotating knob, but those with original bodies did not -- at least not yet. So, we will have to see what the others have! I should have a couple more of the new Kens by next week, so I will share a post on this!
DeleteThanks Phyllis for letting us know the Kens with new body types (broad and short) have the rotating neck knobs. Thanks in advance for the future update about the others that will arrive soon.
Deletedbg
I think this one is a must. I have hip hoodie, but I think classic cool has a better looking face. I only have one Texas Ken and I don't want to behead him so I'm stuck with another stiff-bodied guy doll I guess. No wait, I looked at your post on hip hoodie to see where you got that articulated body from. So helpful. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to find an action figure body for my guy, too, if I decide to rebody him. I haven't determined which model will be the best fit. If I do this, I'll post a followup blog. I did already repaint the spaces between his cornrows to make them narrower.
Deletehttps://blackdollcollecting.blogspot.com/2017/07/closing-in-gaps.html
I love what you did to clean up his cornrow parts. He's a cutie like Hip Hoodie and some of the other good-looking Kens recently produced.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I got him, too! Could not resist.
Thanks, D7ana and congrats on getting Classic Cool. I must find a name for my guy.
Deletedbg