Friday, January 10, 2014

It's All About TJ, Mostly

Fashion Madness TJ Night Out is articulated with nicely made fashion.

I added an articulated TJ to my collection through an eBay seller who offered him with an "or best offer" option.  TJ along with two Fashion Madness Keyshias, purchased from the same seller, arrived last week as my first doll purchases of the year.  Wow... three dolls already during the 1st week of January.  Hope this is not a sign of my doll spending. 

TJ poses in front of the cardboard liner of his box.  The flaps of the box contain his silhouette, which I think is pretty cool.
TJ's fashion is nicer than I expected.  He wears a heather gray turtleneck sweater that has a Velcro closure in back.  Heavyweight denim fabric was used for his jeans.  His black and white check coat has a stand-up collar and black satin lapels.  His black vinyl sneakers with mock laces were made for left and right feet, not for either foot like some doll shoes.

TJ poses without his jacket. 

TJ is articulated at the wrists, elbows, knees and other usual areas.  His ankles are not articulated.  I took a nude photo of TJ and So In Style Darren for a very brief, not detailed, comparison of the two.

TJ and So in Style Darren pose for a body comparison
TJ's body is more muscular than Darren's, but his shorter legs made me think he would be shorter.  His longer torso makes up for the short legs because when side by side, the two are actually about the same 12-inch height.  I like the appearance of TJ's knee joints; however, if the lower leg is turned even slightly, he "wants" to bend his knees.  Perhaps someone has told him that many women like men with "bow legs" and he is attempting to give that appearance.  Even though he tends to bow his legs, he can stand without the aid of a stand.  His feet are slightly longer and wider at the forefoot than Darren's but the two can share shoes.  Surprisingly, they can share (some) clothing, too, as illustrated below.

TJ can wear the Ken track suit that Darren was wearing and Darren can wear TJ's Night Out fashion.  The sunglasses that each were wearing cannot be worn by the other.  Darren's sunglasses are too small for TJ's over-sized head; TJ's are too wide for Darren.
I wanted to see how TJ displays with a Fashion Madness Kenya.  The doll I dressed as Teresa Graves' Get Christie Love character volunteered to pose with Darren.

TJ and Kenya are a cute couple.


As indicated, Weekend Fun and Special Day Keyshia traveled here with TJ.

Weekend Fun and Special Day Keyshia

I will write a followup post on Keyshia soon.  In the meantime, if you are curious about her, Roxanne's Dolls has written a wonderfully illustrated review of Weekend Keyshia. 
 

More About My Articulated TJ:
TJ came with a few minor flaws that were probably not noticeable to the seller.  This is the way of the Kenya World.  Unless you are purchasing the dolls in person and can examine them up close and personal for visible flaws, you might wind up with a doll with imperfections.

TJ's right hand did have a noticeable gray powdery substance on it that was visible through the box.  Initially, I thought the vinyl of his hand had turned an ashen gray, but both shoes had this same dusting of gray stuff all over them.  I removed him from the box and washed off his hand, both shoes -- inside and out -- and his feet.  I have no idea what this was or what TJ had been up to.  I wrote the seller* to inform him of this as well as TJ's vinyl flaws, described below. 

He has a nose rub where the tip of it was pressed against the plastic lining of the box.  I used a pencil eraser to dull the shine of the rub some, but it is still visible.  He has a scratch in the center of his forehead that looks like a scar, other minor vinyl rubs to his bald head, and a discolored indentation at the nape of his neck.  Most of these were probably not noticeable to the seller, but had the doll been examined in person, a collector would have seen the "powder," the nose rub, and the forehead scar.  I took a chance on ordering online because I wanted an articulated version and the same seller had both Keyshias.  All were purchased for a "best offer" price with free shipping.  I am a little disappointed in TJ's flaws, but the fact that his clothing is better than expected, Darren can wear it, and he can wear Ken Fashionistas fashions, I won't sweat it.
*The seller, whose shipping was super sonic fast, offered to replace TJ after I returned him at my expense.  I informed him that since I had already removed TJ from the box and had basically taken care of the visible flaws as best I could, I would keep him, but I did want him to be aware that some of the dolls have issues.

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10 comments:

  1. I really, really like his outfit! I hope they get these in the stores because I would like to give that body a test run. I remember the articulated girls had some issues and other flaws, but I don't have a single black male articulated figure so one is in order. Doesn't look like Mattel is going to reissue the black cheerleader anytime soon so TJ maybe my only bet.

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  2. I like TJ's outfit,too, Muff.

    Re: the black cheerleader, he as well as the white counterpart is back in stock at Walmart.com and both are reduced in price! If Site-to-Store shipping is available in your area, these can be ordered online and shipped to the store of your choice.

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    1. Thanks so much for that heads up! I just ordered the black cheerleader. I'm breaking my never buy online rule, but if he's messed up or defective, Walmart does have easy returns.

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    2. You are welcome, Muff. I am glad you were able to order before Texas A&M Ken (Tam) sells out again.

      Walmart's returns are relatively hassle-free as long as you have a receipt. Without a receipt they allow an exchange for the exact same price of the returned item(s). If your exchange does not equal the exact amount of the returned item, any difference will go on a Walmart gift card. One way or another, Walmart is going to get your money. But I'm not mad at them.

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  3. Oh, thanks for sharing this comparison, Debbie! And for showing the Keyshias. She looks adorable. Now I have to figure out which one I would like. Looks like she has jointed knees. I'll head over to Roxanne's blog to check.

    Love how you mention the problems with these dolls. That reminds me of the early Integrity Toys' playline dolls. And look at them now.

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    1. I did not realize that Integrity Toys' playline dolls came with problems, but I suppose that is the case with any upstart company. Hopefully, Kenya LLC will improve the quality of their dolls where the issues we are seeing are nonexistent. Giving the 12-inchers more proportional heads would also help. Keyshia's head is not over sized, which is a plus. I should point that out in my upcoming review of her.

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  4. Thanks for this great review, Debbie! And thanks for the link to my blog. My TJ also had that gray dust on one of his hands and on his shoes, and he also had a nose rub. Like you, when I saw him with his gray hand, I thought that the vinyl had changed color for some reason, and I had a feeling of dread when I opened him. I was glad that it washed right off. I love the turtleneck on your guy. I think that we may have purchased from the same eBay seller. I was shocked at how fast my dolls got here. I ordered TJ and Keyshia at the same time.

    I noticed that the photo of Keyshia on the back of the box is quite a bit lighter than the doll that I received, and I'm wondering if they will release Keyshia in different skin tones like Kenya. That would be nice.

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    1. You're welcome, Roxanne. It seems strange that our TJs had the same gray dust in the same areas and also the same nose rub. Thank goodness that yours did not have the forehead scar. It looks as though someone stuck a fingernail in my TJ's forehead. I wonder where the seller is getting these dolls. Does he work for Kenya LLC? As soon as they sell, he relists them on eBay. Things that make you go hmmm.

      I noticed the lighter complexion of the Keyshia that is illustrated on the back of her box. I don't think they will produce her in more than her current complexion, however.

      Have you noticed that the Kenya doll on the booklet that accompanies each Fashion Madness doll is shown with a medium complexion. They have never produced a Kenya with light or medium complexion wearing the pink sparkly dress that the doll on the booklet wears.

      Here are a couple of links to images of Riviera Kenya, the doll that wears the same fashion as the doll on the Kenya booklet.

      Riviera Kenya with medium complexion Rock Star Kenya

      Riviera Kenya is on the far right.

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    2. Hi Roxanne,

      I just took a second look at the back of Keyshia's box. The doll does wear a fashion that I have not seen any of the currently released Keyshia dolls wear. So maybe there are plans to release a light-skinned Keyshia. I guess we will have to wait and see.

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    3. Hi Debbie, I never noticed that about the doll pictured on the booklet. I had assumed that she was Riviera Kenya, but you are right. I hope that they release Keyshia in different complexions (more head swapping options).

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