 |
| Hip Hoodie Ken |
Two Hip Hoodie Kens arrived last week. At first glance I was and still remain quite impressed with this new head sculpt. He is very realistic looking, and although the hair is molded, the style is one that young males wear today. (According to my husband, all they needed to do was "color the top blonde or red" and his hair would be similar to the way many middle and high school boys are now coloring their hair. Frankly, I'm glad Mattel remained conservative with regard to the hair color.)
As I wrote in my previous post about my plans for these two, one will remain in the box; the other, which has already been deboxed, as shown left would be rebodied.
 |
| This close-up of his handsome face illustrates Hip Hoodie's "curl pattern," which is seen in the next photo of the back of his hair. |
 |
| While it's somewhat blurry, in this photo, you can see the damage Mattel is doing to these dolls by attaching the head to the box with plastic fasteners! Ugh! Why Mattel, why? |
I used an articulated body that Bath-Play-Fun (BPF) Ken had been using (sorry BPF Ken, but Hip Hoodie needed the body more). The new body is similar to the one in brown that Ekia sold which came in light, brown, and dark (TTL-3.0). The brown is not a perfect complexion match but it will have to do for now.
 |
| Head and neck of new body complexion comparison |
As illustrated in the above photo, Hip Hoodie's head has more red undertones to the coloring while the new articulated body is a faded medium brown. Hip Hoodie's curl definition is better seen here.
 |
| Full view, rebodied |
The articulated body has two neck knobs. The round knob works better for Hip Hoodie's head opening; however, the hack I used to provide a steady fit for Bath-Play-Fun Ken will need adjusting by wrapping additional self-adhering bandage around the peg of the knob. The existing hack is shown below:
 |
| More self-adhering tape wrapped around the peg of the knob will prevent Hip Hoodie's head from wobbling while still providing the desired movement. |
With his new body, Hip Hoodie showed off a bit by striking the following few poses, expecting me to photograph him (which, of course, I did).
 |
| This new body has given him a boost of confidence. Watch out ladies in the doll room! |
He and I both enjoy his new body. In the final two photos, I caught him mocking or perhaps pitying the old body.
In trying to put a finger on who Hip Hoodie reminds me of, the actor, Keith Robinson, comes to mind. I first became aware of him in his role as Effie's (Jennifer Hudson's) brother, C. C. White, in the movie,
Dreamgirls. I saw him again in
This Christmas as Devean Brooks, the boyfriend of Lauren London's character, Melanie "Mel" Whitfield. When Robinson makes a "serious" face, as he does in
this photo, I think Hip Hoodie does resemble him somewhat.
dbg
Follow my sister blog
Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black
Check out my eBay listings
here.
As I wrote in my previous post about my plans for these two, one will remain in the box; the other, which has already been deboxed, as shown left would be rebodied. 
Love his face so much! But I'm really sad about all these molded hair in recent Fashionista Kens...
ReplyDeleteI had an aversion toward the molded hair when I saw the online photos, Shasha, but now that I have seen him in person, it is not as bad as I had imagined. Because his hair is curly and he has a lot of it on top make it more appealing.
Deletedbg
Love his new body! He looks great! What complexion did you use. I find it hard to really judge the complexion from the website. You are right, he does seem more confident on new body! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ms. Leo! I am not sure about the color or style of this body, but I think it is TrueType TTL-T3.0c (dark brown). I have had it since 2012. I purchased it for the Michael Jordan head by Cian but the neck knob was not right for that head. I tried selling it on eBay. When it didn't sell, I used it for Bath-Play-Fun Ken. Now HH has it. Go here where you will see this style body which is sold in light (Caucasian), brown (which may be tan like the complexion for the TrueType Obama and Terrence Howard figures), and C, which is dark brown. I think the photos show it as darker than it actually is. I wish I could be more precise. I do know he will need this style body which has the neck attached to the body since his head does not have a neck. He will also need to use the rounded tipped neck prong as opposed to the narrow, pointed tipped one (the body comes with both style prongs). Hope this helps!
Deletedbg
I thought he was giving me a little Michael B. Jordan... great to see people getting him! I'm excited to get mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing who you think HH looks like, Havilland. I can see a little of Michael B. Jordan across the forehead/eye area. The way he holds his mouth is what makes him resemble Keith Robinson to me.
DeleteI got mine the other day too! I had an AA Texas A & M body waiting for him when he arrived. This was a very good match for him. I do like the body you chose too! I had one similar to that which I used for the Hispanic Ken. Not a perfect match, but definitely better than no articulation and he can now really move! I do not mind the molded hair on this guy because of the styling, but the Asian guys needs improvement for sure! Oh and the puncture wounds my HH suffered were in the curly hair area, so are not as noticeable. I still don't see why they have to do this! I can see a resemblance to Keith Robinson (even though I had never seen him before this). They are both (HH and KR) very good looking young men!
ReplyDeleteHi Phyllis,
DeleteI would imagine the hairstyle would make a difference on whether or not the hair looks nice molded. I'll have to take a look at the Asian guy. It's good to know the Texas A&M is a good match for HH. I only have one Texas A&M. I'll have to be on the lookout at thrift stores. eBay's current prices, when last checked, are outrageous!
I'm glad some (like yours) have punctures in the curly area. Mattel really needs to stop this damage. He's fastened well enough with the elastic bands.
I agree, both are handsome guys (HH and KR, who can also sing. He and Jennifer Hudson sang together in Dreamgirls.)
dbg
Hip Hoodie Ken with his new body reminds me a lot of some of the boys I work with. You did a great job !
ReplyDeleteThank you, Arlette! You work with some really handsome boys.
Deletedbg
What a wonderful new doll and great makeover! I have yet to see one in stores, but will be on the lookout. I need more Kens!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Farrah Lily. Mattel did a great job with him. I wish they would bring more articulated dolls back so we don't have to create our own versions.
Deletedbg
Congrats on getting them both. I have been on the hunt for the last two weeks so I am hoping to find him soon. I already know how is girlfriend is going to be, lol.
ReplyDeleteHope you find him Brini. I kept checking Shop Mattel and then read a post by a doll friend that he was in stock, so I scooted on over and purchased. Within hours, he was sold.
Deletedbg
Congrats. Looks like I will have to wait until the new year to find him. They really did a great job on him.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vanessa. He will probably be plentiful after the holidays.
Deletedbg
Hi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hijack this thread but I wasn't sure if you see replies to much older posts, if Tyra is still looking for a product that can fix her doll, I think I may have found something she could look into. I left the info on the Poor Tyra post that was up a couple of months ago, the comment is pending approval. Bye :-)
Hi Maricha,
DeleteThank you for investigating and sharing your latest discovery on what might work to repair Tyra's doll. I do see all posts. Comments to posts older than 14 days have to be approved before they are published. I just approved your comment to the post about Tyra's doll. I will send an email to her to make sure she sees it. Thank you again!
dbg
Thanks for the great review on Hip Hoodie. I ordered three from Barbie.com, two of which I will give to my sisters. They should arrive today via USPS. I think Hip Hoodie is mocking that ole stiff body of his! (too funny) I'll be looking up bodies that I can use to articulate my new doll when it arrives. Hope this guy finds his way to my local Walmart soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Ollie's Dollies!
DeleteThanks for letting me/us know Hip Hoodie is available at Barbie.com For those interested buying online, before he sells out, here is the direct link . They are offering free shipping for a limited time IF you spend $50. I see he's back in stock on ShopMattel too. Same free shipping applies if you spend $50. He should be in stores!
Remember ShopMattel is an Ebates affiliate.
I hope you're able to find the perfect body for your guy. I am sure your sisters will love him.
dbg
He's looking good on his new body! I had to break down and buy him recently. He is my first doll purchase this year I'm on the hunt for a suitable articulated body now.
ReplyDeleteHi Roxanne,
DeleteYou've have excellent doll-buying restraint this year. Did Hip Hoodie's purchase lead to other dolls following him home later?
I hope you are able to find the perfect body for him soon. I know you'll enjoy him more after he is able to move. I'll look forward to a blog post after his rebodying takes place.
dbg
His purchase led to the purchase of an action figure body. Depending on the results, I could be purchasing more action figure bodies soon. Barbie Basics Denim #17 is looking at me like "Hey!".
DeleteI was wondering what articulated body I could use for my Hip Hoodie, who I made over into "Get Out" supporting actor LaKeith Stanfield, so THANK you, I just hope I can find one somewhere! Stanfield is SO so handsome and the character he plays in Get Out is that of a very very very subdued, compliant, and almost docile but very kind robotic character, and I the Hip Hoodie I had had been lying around for years but had just the right face! Sadly I had to saw off the great hair so the hat LaKeith's character wears would fit down snugly, so I guess I'll be shopping around for another Hip Hoodie too!
ReplyDeleteHello Faux Paul,
ReplyDeleteHip Hoodie will become an excellent LaKeith Stanfield. Good luck finding an articulated body. You might have to modify the neck knob like I did for my Hip Hoodie. The body I referenced at the Ekia site is only available in light complexion at the time of this comment. Search eBay for "1/6 or 1:6 scale brown articulated action figure body."
dbg
Well, I did, and then some, ha ha! There are a few out there now, notably a Mattel "Looks" figure but I did not like how he looked sitting down, as in, the knees were sort of terrifying and it suddenly made him appear he was wearing prosthetics or sustained some sort of terrible accident, either/or. I finally spotted one my sister in law found quite casually on her cell phone by searching "Articulated African America Male doll." I glanced and said, "Oh, he'd work!" but yesterday could not recall the name of it until after hours of searching, I finally came across it - "Anthony" from something called "Fresh Squad." His skin tone seemed close enough at least in pictures, and I am not above minor corrective painting, since I do repaints on dolls anyway, and did have to work a bit on Hoodie's brows and mouth, add some dimples and shading here and there. BUT - and this is terrible but works for now, as long as I keep him dressed as his "Get Out" character - last night I spray painted an articulated Mattel "X-Files" David Duchovny. Yes. But his body is fabulous, I don't think Mattel officially calls him a "Made-to-Move" as they do others, but he moves ENOUGH and does not have scary knees when he does. Until I can afford a "Fresh Squad Anthony," Hoodie-as-LaKeith-as-Andre Logan King's head fits and sits perfectly atop a former Duchovny, who was willing to sacrifice himself in the name of handsome young LaKeith. A noble act.
DeleteI am happy to hear that you have a temporary fix for LaKeith, for now. I know what you mean about the Mattel's MTM articulation. The joints are so unsightly and so unrealistic. I can take them on the guys but they make the girls look masculine. I own several with that articulation but only because I fell in love with the head sculpts.
DeleteFresh Squad Kahlil is only $12.99 at Walmart online. His complexion doesn't match Hip Hoodie's, but if you're ever in need of another articulated body for a head that matches Kahlil's body, this is a great grab. If you're in the US, Check your Walmart stores to see if he's in stock if you're interested. He was in stock at my store recently but I passed him up (regretfully). I sold Fresh Squad Anthony and Malik (Khalil's predecessor) and Daniel recently in a decision I made to cull the Fresh Dolls from my collection. I do like the Squad, but I've outgrown the big-headedness of the Fresh females.
dbg
Oh my goodness! I did not know there was still a Fresh Squad character in the mainstream, I had the sense they were a long-gone doll phenom, in fact on the ebay images of the box I did not even see a brand name, so I sort of lumped them in with the vague companies that made the One Dimension dolls or the Justin Beiber or other fleeting boy-wonders, all of whom I have purchased mainly for their microphones. Thank you again for the tip, I will absolutely check it out.
DeleteI suppose the Made-to-Moves are successful when a character is fully dressed, but you are right, I had quite forgotten about how unflattering and downright ghastly it was on the women until you mentioned it: there was a lovely photo posted once on one of the Facebook doll boards I belong to, and it was a row of MTMs which I think had been head-swapped with Integrity heads or something fancy, and the photo was gorgeous, the lighting, the setting, the dolls and their dresses, except - they were all seated, side by side on a long divan, with knee-length dresses that of course rode above the knee a bit and destroyed it for me. Rows of compound fractures jutting skywards. I always "heal" seams and sockets and visible joints as best I can before posting my photos using simple editing programs, but something like that would require serious Photoshop lessons!
Grab Kahlil if you can. I read in a FB group that his price is an error and the dolls were supposed to be pulled from the stores. I believe the part about the price because the original Fresh Squad guys were around $40.
DeleteAs I read your descriptio, I visualized the unsightly appearance of the dolls' exposed mechanical-looking knees in the photo you described. 🙄 Mattel can and should do better. Movement is important but aesthetics matter.
dbg