Madame Alexander Travel Friends Kenya

Madame Alexander Travel Friends Kenya

I caved in and purchased Madame Alexander Travel Friends Kenya from Amazon.com.  The doll arrived last week and I immediately noticed the production doll's head sculpt differs from the prototype doll's, as illustrated in the next side-by-side comparison photo.

The prototype's head and body appear more proportionate.  The production doll's head is over-sized and looks quite similar to one of the higher-end 18-inch dolls by Madame Alexander as seen here.

What I previously described as "decal" eyes, based on online photos of the prototype doll, led to my initial reservation about purchasing.  In reality, the eyes are better than expected, but from a collector's standpoint, inset would have been better.  A proportionate head would have been, too.


Kenya is a 7-inch tall, all-vinyl doll with black rooted hair that extends almost to her waist.  For authenticity, one would expect a doll, whose native country is Kenya, to have natural textured hair, but sometimes as adult collectors our expectations far exceed the manufacturers'.  This is particularly true when dolls are made for child's play.  Kenya is for ages 3+.  Even though this places me well within the intended age group, my collector's desires are ever present.

Kenya is articulated at the elbows and knees.  The arms, which appear to be only rotational, have inserted disks that allow inward and outward movement as illustrated in the next three photos.   (Note: I had to rotate the arm to the correct position before discovering the additional movement the somewhat stiff disks allow, but the movement is there.)

Kenya illustrates her arm movement.

Kenya's inward arm movement, knee articulation in the seated position, and her clothing are illustrated above.

Kenya's colorful, removable clothing consists of a red jersey-knit top with sun-and-giraffe motif; blue and orange skirt of Afrocentric print, pink and yellow striped leggings, and red vinyl flats, which are removable as well.  She wears white molded-on panties.

Illustrated box (back)

Travel Doll Friends Kenya is illustrated on the back of her box along with a map of Kenya and text that reads as follows:

Habari!
That means hello
in Swahili!  Kenya is an
exciting place to visit.  You
can go on a safari to see
the lions and elephants!
We also export coffee,
tea, and beautiful flowers 
to other countries.
What does your country export?

So clearly this doll is made for children, but adults like me, who have not been able to establish a black-doll collecting focus, will love her, too.

Kenya took several size comparison photos with other smaller dolls:

Kenya poses with 5-1/2-inch So In Style Little Sister Kianna

Kenya is joined by 4-1/2-inch Ty Li'l Ones Marvelous Mariah and 5-inch Petite Playhouse Kaiya by Madame Alexander.

Amorie, who is a little shorter than her in-the-box height illustrates, takes a quick photo with Kenya.

5-inch Ginny and Kenya look like family members.

Finally, 4-1/2-inch Kelly and 9-inch Only Hearts Club Briana Joy join Kenya. 

For those who create doll families, it is evident to me now that Kenya's over-sized head will prohibit her inclusion as a playscale family member.  Otherwise, I think most doll lovers will enjoy her and any of the other travel friends in this collection.  Because over-sized heads do not seem to pose a problem for the younger set, children will like Kenya and friends, too. 



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Fashion Madness Kenya - 6!

With the store manager's permission, I took the following images of the six different 12-inch Fashion Madness Kenya dolls found at Family Dollar.  Their complexions are light, medium, and dark.  It's not easy to differentiate the light from the medium in the images.  I've used initials in parentheses behind each doll's name to indicate their skin tones (L-light), (M-medium), (D-dark). 

LR:  The first four photographed were Fireside Chatting (D), Rock Star (M), Vegas (L but possibly M), Movin On (L)

Fireside Chatting is dressed in a holiday fashion and has straight hair. Rock Star has a pink guitar and textured hair.  Vegas wears a white faux fur coat and hat and has curly hair.  Moving On has textured hair, wears eyeglasses, and sports a leopard print coat.  

Vegas and Movin On were captured again in this image; the fifth doll photographed is Riviera Kenya (D)

Riviera Kenya wears a pink two-piece suit with white blouse and pink headband.  Her image appears on the cover of the booklet that accompanies each doll.

The sixth doll on the far right is Beverly Hills (D); Vegas and Rock Star make another appearance in this photo. 

Beverly Hills is dressed in a black and white polka dot suit with aqua top and hat.

The heads and hands are soft vinyl.  Rigid plastic was used for the arms, legs, and body.  The elbows, wrists, and knees are articulated.  The waist is not.  A nude image of Riviera Kenya can be viewed on Ms. Leo's blog.  The quality of the clothing and accessories is decent.  I wasn't expecting the dolls to retail for $20, however.

Because of her eyeglasses and tightly textured tresses, Movin On Kenya is the only one of the 12-inch girls that came home with me.  I also liked her fashion the best.

Movin On Kenya -- the one that came home from Family Dollar with me.

Close-up of Movin On Kenya

Also in stock at Family Dollar were the six different 6-1/2-inch Kenya Mini Hair Madness dolls.  Their accessories include a hair pick and a package of rubber bands and beads for styling the dolls' rooted hair.

Kenya Mini Day Dreamer has a medium complexion and stands 6-1/2 inches

.

Because her leopard print dress matches Movin On Kenya's jacket, this little one came home with me, too for a much better price of $5.

The other Kenya Minis are illustrated on the back of Day Dreamer's box:

The six Kenya Minis

I need a medium complexion and a dark complexion Kenya Fashion Madness.  Since Rock Star appears to be the lone medium complexion doll, I'll buy her eventually even though her hairstyle is almost identical to the one I purchased.  Riviera may be the one I will purchase to represent the warmest complexion Kenya, particularly since her head shot appears on each doll's booklet.

I asked the store manager about Denise, TJ, and Keyshia, the dolls shown on the back of Movin On Kenya's box.  She indicated there was more stock to put out and suggested I check back.  A second Family Dollar only had the six girls described above and the minis.  The friends may or may not have been released yet.

Vegas Kenya is shown on the back of Movin On Kenya's box along with her best friend, Denise; boyfriend TJ, and little sister Keyshia.  These were not in stock at Family Dollar. 

Update (10/31/12):  For additional information about this line of dolls, where else to buy, release dates of other products, etc., Kenya's World LLC, the manufacturer, can be reached at: 1-855-MYKENYA (1-855-696-3692). 

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My Life As Mini School Girl

My Life As School Girl Mini

Prior to checking locally, I found the school girl and other My Life As (MLA) mini dolls available at Walmart online.

In addition to the mini school girl, other MLA minis available include:  Baker, Outdoorsy Girl, and Cowgirl.

To avoid incurring shipping charges or having to spend $50 to qualify for free shipping, I made a trip to Walmart before ordering online.  I am very happy I visited the store when I did because the one I purchased was the only mini school girl there.

Mini School Girl, is the 7-inch, all-vinyl version of the 18-inch MLA School Girl.  The 18-inch version, which used to be manufactured by Madame Alexander, is now produced by Cititoy as a Walmart exclusive.   The brand now includes two school boys:  one with a curly 'fro and a straight-haired brunette.   There have been several different 18-inch MLA school girls.  One was featured in a Walmart Christmas commercial last year.  Their 18-inch size has prohibited the larger dolls from entering my collection, but there's always room for a 7-inch or under mini.

Box attachment looks like pieces of a train track.

Because she was rubber band attached to two train track-looking plastic holders on the back of the box, it was a snap to free her.

She wears a cute school girl outfit of white short-sleeved shirt with black ribbon bow at neck and blue/red/yellow plaid skirt made of a wool-like material and black knee-high boots.

Brief comparisons with American Girl mini Melody and Madame Alexander's Travel Friends Kenya are shared below:

Comparison with Melody:

School Girl stands a half inch taller than Melody.  They both are all vinyl and wear removable white undies.   Melody has white knee-high socks.  School Girl has none.  School Girl has brown stationary eyes with painted upper and lower eyelashes.  Melody's brown eyes are painted.  Both have closely rooted hair.  I like the curly texture of School Girl's hair which is worn up in a puff held back with a black headband.  Melody has straight rooted hair with bangs and flipped ends.

Can they borrow clothing and shoes? was a question I wanted answered:

As illustrated in the above two photos, these two can borrow shoes if School Girl wears Melody's shoes without socks.  I wouldn't try allowing School Girl to borrow Melody's dress because it is a "stretch" to get the Velcro closed in back and pulling and tugging on the material to do so may stretch or weaken some of the woven tweed-like fibers of Melody's dress.  Melody can wear School Girl's clothes, but the waist of the skirt is a little big.  (She can pull it off, however.)

Comparison with Travel Friends Kenya

Like Kenya, School Girl is all vinyl.  School Girl's vinyl is more supple than Kenya's.  School Girl is not jointed, whereas Kenya is.  Kenya has white painted-on undies.  Kenya's brown eyes, like Melody's, are painted.  There is a close-up of their faces below, but first let's look at them together side-by-side, and then back-to-back.

Height comparison:  Both dolls are described as 7-inches tall.  School Girl's hair might give her an appearance of being slightly taller, but it's just an illusion.

They tried each other's shoes on for size.  As you can see in the photo above, School Girl's heel hangs off the back of Kenya's red flats.  Kenya, however, can wear School Girls black boots.

School Girl can wear Kenya's shirt and skirt, but not her leggings or shoes.  Kenya can wear School Girl's complete outfit.  Like it was on Melody, the waist of the skirt is a little big on Kenya.

Before returning to their own clothes, these two took one final close-up photo.  School Girl has a sweet face and I like her acrylic eyes much better than the painted-on or decaled eyes used for Kenya and Melody.  School Girl's short curly hair is a refreshing look, too.  For $9.88, I am quite pleased with her.  Here's hoping extra clothes will be added for the MLA minis soon.

Check out another blogger's review of School Girl and and a comparison with other dolls here.

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Speaking of doll clothes, while at Walmart I was hoping to find a few extra Sparkle Girlz 11-1/2-inch doll fashions.  Of the few that were available, I only found two interesting enough to purchase.  The one on the far left is my favorite (a black floral sleeveless blouse and houndstooth pencil skirt).  If I am not mistaken, the fabric used for the pink and black striped tunic was used a couple of years ago on a different Sparkle Girlz fashion that I already have, but for $1.97, I thought a dress alike day with a couple of dolls might work using the newer fashion and the older.







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A More Elegant Rock Star Kenya

I am just not good at re-bodying dolls.  My patience gets the best of me because I would rather do a Samantha Stephens "bewitching" nose twitch and have the end result magically appear.  Often my haste makes a mess that I have to attempt to clean up later.  One day I will learn.

When I removed Adéle's head for her body transplant using Rock Star Kenya's body, even though I tried to remove it gently, a huge piece of the neck chipped off.  After completing the transplant, I was left with Kenya's head and Adéle's old body.  I wanted to combine the two, even though the arms of the body are stained in addition to the chunk missing from the anterior neck.

So I broke off additional pieces of the neck to even the edges without the use of a file (e.g. my husband's assistance).  "She'll have a short neck (I thought), but at least she'll have a body."

The images below illustrate the end result and why Rock Star Kenya no longer needs her guitar.

Adéle's original body with chipped neck caused by brittle vinyl and the "gentle" force used to remove the head.

Rock Star Kenya was determined to use Adéle's body.

Mission accomplished; Kenya's original clothing including her sunglasses and guitar have been stored in a snack-size Ziploc bag.

Kenya's stained body is elegantly covered with Adéle's black robe.  She wears the silver earrings from the Tim Gunn Barbie fashion and Adéle's shoes, as shown below.

I think Kenya looks lovely from head to toe and her shorter-than-normal neck is barely noticeable.

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If you are patient and can find Kenya dolls deeply discounted, their articulated bodies make decent donors, but the waist is not articulated.  I would not recommend paying full price for the dolls to use as donors, but if you are looking to add a Fashion Madness Kenya to your collection and have not been able to find one at Family Dollar or CVS, and also do not mind paying $20.99 plus shipping, check out the new Kenya Online Store. (TJ, Dwayne, Denise, and Keysha are not available in the store... I wonder if they ever will be available off- or online.)

 



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Mini Kenya's Hair Madness!

Hair Madness Mini Kenya "Funny Girl"

While browsing the toy shelves at Family Dollar, I noticed a 30% off sign for dolls priced under $10.  This would include the mini Kenya dolls, I thought.  This particular store still had a wide selection left post-Christmas.  I guess little girls were not at all fascinated with the mounds of hair the mini Kenya dolls appear to have.

I am.

I searched through each of the three Hair Madness Kenya  displays to find two dolls that I "needed," a medium complexion and a dark since I already have one that falls into the light-skinned category.  I noticed the plastic was loose on one of the medium skin toned dolls.  That one was wearing the dress I wanted.  I didn't want to buy one that had already been opened, so  I chose the only other one like that, but the skirt of the other one had more stripes than I desired.  I selected it anyway and decided to take the opened box doll to the counter to let them know the box was open.

At the counter, I handed the cashier/manager the opened box doll and informed her of the issue.  She thanked me.  I watched as the two dolls I was purchasing scanned for the regular price of $5.  I inquired why and was told that only the toys with applied price stickers reflecting the 30% mark down were included in the sale.  "I don't want them, then."  I said.  She deducted their combined $10 cost and continued to scan my other non-doll items.   Before stating my total, she said, "I can give you this one [the opened box doll] for $2.50, but it's missing this [pointing to the area where mini Kenya's yellow pick/comb should have been].  "I'll take her, I said.  That's probably why they opened it up."  She agreed.

On inspecting the doll at home, it appears it was probably a Christmas gift for some little one because the area where the preprinted $5, Family Dollar price had been was torn off the top edge of the package.  They probably just "forgot" to place her yellow pick back in the package before returning her to the store or lost it because the package that contains her rubber bands and beads was still intact. 

Hair Madness Kenya is all hair!

Kenya's mounds upon mounds of closely-rooted black hair would probably be a little girl's dream to comb or brush if it did not shed as much! 

Kenya and her hair -- the hair that remains on her head and the hair she lost

A ball of hair came out as I brushed Kenya's hair. A second brushing yielded the same result but with less hair loss.  The two brushings gave me enough of a comb-a-doll's-hair fix, for now.  For $2.50 and minus her yellow pick, which would have been useless for her head full of hair, I won't complain about the shedding.   

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Witnessing a Little Madness: The Price We Pay For Dolls

"I'm just going to look at the dolls after I grab some bar soap and double-A batteries."  That's what I told myself when I entered Family Dollar last Friday.  Once inside the store, that plan changed, particularly since the Fashion Madness Kenya dolls were not where I saw them the week prior.

After a brief yet concerning commotion in the store*, I solicited assistance from a worker by asking, "Do you know if you still have Fashion Madness Kenya dolls?"  She shared her uncertainty about which dolls I meant.  So I described them as "black fashion dolls that cost $20."

"A man just purchased a doll that cost $20!"  she said.  Excited, I blurted out, "Those are the ones!"   She, a cashier, asked her store manager to show me where the dolls were.  They had been moved from a bottom shelf to the top of another shelf totally out of view.  Unless he asked, I am not sure how the "man" who purchased one before my store visit found them.

Fireside Chatting Kenya has the darkest complexion of the Fashion Madness Kenya dolls

I told the manager, "She's dressed in red and white. If you have more than one like that, I need to examine them  because sometimes they have flaws such as loose clothing seams."  There were only two Fireside Chatting Kenya's among the available stock.  Both appeared without flaws and both came home with me.

At checkout, the original clerk that I asked about the dolls was my cashier.  She asked, "Why do these dolls cost so much?"  I replied, "I don't know, but here I stand with two, so I guess they must be selling at this price."  Confused about the price and the quantity I was purchasing, she asked, "Why are you buying two?"  I tried to explain as briefly as possible by stating, "I am a doll collector.  One is for me and one is a gift for a friend."  She seemed amazed that a grown woman, or at least two, since I was purchasing an identical doll for someone else, would 1) pay $20 for a doll and 2) collect them.

A series of questions from the cashier followed, one of which was,  "Is this the only size you collect?"  I answered her, but could tell by her facial expression that she viewed my fascination with black dolls of all types as odd.  At one point, as a result of her voiceless but still vocal, negative facial expressions, I said, "Shut up!  It's my mother's fault, had she purchased black dolls for me as a child, I probably wouldn't be so enthused about them now." 

"Is your mother still alive?" She asked.  "Yes, and some of my life-size dolls live with her now too."

Oh, I guess by then she really thought I was nuts, but who cares.   I was so excited about my purchase that I almost left the store with only my dolls until the cashier said, "You're forgetting your other bag" (soap and batteries -- the reason I entered the store).

*The commotion that I witnessed was hearing the diminutive female store manager demand a man, who stood over 6 feet tall to remove items from the legs of his pants.  He kept insisting that he did not have anything.  She kept demanding him to remove the items and asked him where the other man was who came into the store with him.  (Do I stand here and gawk?  Do I leave the store without my intended purchases?  These were a couple of quick questions that ran through my head.)  I had no idea what the man would do.  I didn't know if he would get angry, present a weapon, or comply with the manager's request.  And where is the other man, I wondered.

I nervously moved to another aisle to avoid the urge to stand there and gawk.  Heading toward me down the aisle on which I walked was who I assumed to be the "other man" the manager had mentioned.  From where I stood I could hear the manager demanding, "Give me the rest," and the man saying he didn't have anything else.  "Good Lord, should I leave now or what?"  "Or what" was the answer because I had not located my dolls, the soap, or the batteries.

I paced from aisle to aisle away from the commotion and heard the manager threatened to call the police.  The man finally complied and relinquished the goods he had attempted to pilfer.  Before he left, he was instructed to never return to the store again.

Relieved that the madness was over, I nervously walked back to the front of the store and asked for assistance in finding Fashion Madness Kenya.

Out of box images and a comparison photograph with Movin On Kenya follow:

Fireside Chatting Kenya out of box

I love Fireside Chatting Kenya's deep complexion.  She really is a lovely doll, but for $20 I expect top quality, even if the doll is intended for the play market.  After removing from the box and attempting to adjust one earring, one of the fake diamonds broke off; her neck joint is rather stiff; her right wrist joint is quite loose.  This is not the first flawed doll in this line that I have seen.  Their overall quality is below par, which is unacceptable and will prevent me from paying full price for any others or prevent me from keeping any others that I pay full price for that are flawed, because deep down inside I know I will buy TJ and Keyshia... and I want one with medium complexion, too).

Head shot of Fireside and Movin On Kenya

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Got Christie Love!

When I look at dolls, sometimes I see people.  This was the case with Fireside Chatting Kenya.  In her face, I saw Teresa Graves, the actress who played the starring role in the 1974 Get Christie Love! made-for-TV movie which was later developed into a 60-minute, weekly TV series.

As noted in a previous blog post, the manufactured Get Christie Love doll has been on my mental doll wish list for years but has remained elusive.   After "seeing" Graves in Fireside Chatting Kenya, I decided to transform one of my Kenya dolls into my desired doll.

Graves' medium brown complexion closely matches that of Rock Star Kenya's caramel brown coloring, so I used Rock Star instead of the deeper complexioned Fireside Chatting doll.  (Rock Star and Fireside Chatting can be seen here as the center doll and the one on the far right, respectively.)

What Was Done

Rock Star's up swept, super curly ponytail was given the appearance of an Afro by pulling some of the curls down to frame her face and just finger fluffing it into shape (I did not remove the rubber band).

Curly ponytail fluffed out into a curly Afro; dangle earrings added

Her original earrings were replaced with gold dangle earrings that I made using gold tone discs from a pair of 99 cents earrings.

Dangle earrings from beauty supply store were used to make playscale-size earrings; several more pairs can be made from these.

Rock Star was dressed in 2002 Barbie Fashion Avenue outfit B3366, which has a 1970s flare typical of what Christie Love would wear in her successful undercover policewoman attempts at solving crimes in the hour-long TV show.

Rock Star Kenya as Christie Love

I replaced the small handbag that came with the Barbie fashion with a larger one that was made using camel-colored craft foam. 

Christie Love's new shoulder bag replaces the tiny handbag.

The shoulder bag is piped on the sides with brown braiding cord.   I attached the handle using braiding cord after piercing holes in the ends of the strap and holes in the top sides of the bag.  The smaller bag is now stored in the shoulder bag.

While not the original manufactured Get Christie Love doll, Rock Star Kenya shadows the character quite well and has placed my desire to own the manufactured doll to rest at last.    

Kenya is a very suitable Christie Love.

By the way, I am not sure how long the sale lasts, but all toys priced above $10, including Fashion Madness Kenya dolls, are now 50% off at Family Dollar stores.  I will probably buy a replacement Rock Star, since my original is now Get Christie Love! 

dbg

Added 12/31/12:  More about the character, Get Christie Love, can be read here.  (Interestingly, this information is from a role playing game and anime webring.  Under Combat Skills for Christie, the writer included her large handbag used in melee attack.)


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