The female figure is a Tianyimei action figure, and the male is a Wamami action figure. Both were advertised as brown, and the photos in the advertisements looked brown to me. So I purchased both.
The Tianyimei figure is nowhere near as dark as she looked in the photos that I saw, but she is darker than some other action figures that have been advertised as "brown". Below, she's pictured with a Jiaou doll brown on the left, and a Phicen brown on the right. She is darker than both.
Her skin tone is close to both the Triad Hispanic figure, and the knock-off Takara body.
My Hot Toys Sheva Alomar head is the closest match to this body. I like Sheva on her current body though, so I will not be making that switch.
Mixis Opal's head is a little bit darker than this body, but comes somewhat close. I like Opal on her current body, and will not be making a switch.
Sheva and Opal are the only two dolls or action figures in my collection that are anywhere near the skin tone of this figure, so she remains headless for now.
She came with an extra set of hands, an extra set of feet, and 4 extra pegs.
She is a small female figure. She will not have a problem wearing most Barbie or Sparkle Girlz clothes.
She has great flexibility, she's easy to pose, and she holds her poses very well. Her torso is covered with a somewhat soft rubbery material.
Here is my video comparison and review of the Tianyimei figure.
The Wamami figure is also not as dark as he appeared in photo advertisements. By the way, the head was an unexpected surprise. I purchased the body and hands only, so I appreciate the bonus head.
When I saw the photo advertisements for this figure, I had hoped that he would be a close match for Hip Hoodie Ken. As soon as I opened the box, I saw that he was way too pale, so then I hoped that he would match Fashionistas Ken. He is darker than Fashionistas Ken.
He has about the same skin tone as the TTL brown body that came out years ago (pictured below on the left).
This was a very inexpensive action figure body. He's not a bad buy for the money. He is fully articulated and holds his poses well for the most part. He does have one wobbly foot, so it's harder for him to balance on his feet. It appears that the manufacturer wanted to make it look like the figure has double jointed knees, but he does not.
He's somewhat short compared to other action figures. He is shorter than Ken, and his body is about the same height as GI Joe (although he's taller than GI Joe with his head). Becky (pictured below) is relieved that he is taller than she is.
Here's my video comparison and review of the Wamami figure.
So sad these were described as brown. When I think brown, I think 1990s Christie brown, not tan, which is a better description of these bodies.
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I agree Debbie, these are better described as tan, and some of the photo advertisements that I've seen are downright deceptive in my opinion. My quest continues for action figures that are truly brown.
Deletet seems to me the far East is hung up on pale skin. I have never seen a truly dark Chinese or Japanese doll. Sometimes they get creative with names, like "mocha" or "chocolate", but whatever they call it, you get 50 shades of white. I wonder, is it so expensive to put more colour in the plastic? They do it for Monster High clones.
ReplyDeleteHi BlackKitty! I do see a lot of male action figures with darker skin, but to see a female action figure with darker skin is still pretty rare.
DeleteI think in this case they are falling in line with what society is doing. When we refer to "brown" in real life, typically we are referring to Hispanic people. Every time I have purchased an action figure body for my darker skinned dolls, I buy the ones that say "AA or African American". Good luck on your quest.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vanessa! That's so true about us using "brown" to refer to Hispanic people, and it would be nice to see a wide range of skin tones to represent the diversity of Hispanic people. I do have many action figures that were advertised as AA. For the male in this case, I was looking for something a little bit lighter than the "typical" AA action figure. All I could do was judge by the photo, I knew it was a gamble, and this is what I got.
DeleteOnce again, a very informative post! What gets me is that they don't even look remotely like the color in the photos. I pre-ordered a new World box AA male that is taller than the current World Box bodies, so will see when it arrives what the true skin tone is. The quest continues!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phyllis! I haven't seen the new World Box AA tall male. I have seen the heavy guy that's coming out later this year, and I plan to get that one! I do like it that companies seem to be making figures that are more physically diverse.
DeleteThanks for sharing your findings for these figures. I've got some catching up to do ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, D7ana! Have fun catching up, and I'll have fun reading the blog posts that you'll create. :)
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