Hip Hoodie Ken

Hip Hoodie Ken was my first doll purchase of 2017 (yes, others soon followed).

Here he is out of his packaging. He has a nice looking face and body, and a decent outfit.

Here's a close-up. I'm so happy to see a different AA face mold for Ken, and one that doesn't feature a broad grin.

His hoodie covers his tall hair. His hoodie and shirt are one piece.

Here's a view from the back. His hoodie top attaches with Velcro in the back, and there's a gap at the top. 

This guy can stand around looking handsome, but he can't do much else. His arms and legs can be moved back and forth. Below, I have his arms and legs spread to the side as far as they will go.

I've posed him below in some action figure undies to show a better view of his body. The sculpting of his hollow body is attractive, but it is fairly useless for me without articulation. I hope that Mattel makes more dolls with this sculpt, but with articulation. That would be nice.

Without the ability to bend his knees, it is difficult for him to sit down.

My overall impression is that I'm glad to see a new attractive Ken sculpt, however I'm disappointed in the body. The outfit and shoes are about standard for a Ken fashion. I will be looking for an articulated body for this guy.

A Little Something Extra

As I mentioned in my Phicen and Jiaou Doll posts, some companies are taking doll realism to the next level. The "something extra" that I am referring to in the title of this post is genital details. If the subject of human body parts or the mere thought of plastic genitalia makes you feel uncomfortable, please skip this post.

First up, here's my Tyson Billy doll. I've returned him to his original packaging for the photo below, but he's been out and proud for years. Tyson was my first anatomically complete doll.

Billy was advertised as "The World's First Out and Proud Gay Doll", and his friend Tyson is just as out, proud, and gay as Billy. Here's Tyson posing with the back of his packaging.

Here's a look at Tyson's well-defined upper body. His lower body is also well defined. Tyson would object to me including him in a post called "A Little Something Extra" because he has a lotta something extra, so much so that it's nearly impossible to dress him in anything other than the baseball uniform that he wore upon his arrival. Tyson is extremely limited in articulation. His arms and legs move forward and back, and his head is stationary on his neck. He's a great looking doll, though.

My next anatomically complete doll was the WorldBox AT-004 action figure that I purchased last year. I wanted this doll because he's fully articulated and his package will fit inside normal action figure clothing.

Here's a closer look. He resembles actor Lennie James, who portrays the character Morgan Jones on the television show The Walking Dead. This figure has some very nice details.

He looks great in action figure clothing. You can't tell from looking at him in the outfit below that he has a little something extra. There is limited articulation in his arms and elbows, and he has double jointed knees. He poses well, he's heavy, and he's very sturdy.

And here is my most recently purchased doll with a penis - the WorldBox AT-006 action figure. 

His body is pretty much the same as the AT-004 figure. His head sculpt is different.

Here's a closer look. He resembles the fictional character Franklin Clinton from the video game Grand Theft Auto.

He poses and balances very well, even while holding Madam LaVinia.

Here are Morgan and Franklin together. I had previously named the AT-004 figure Lennie after the actor, but I've decided to change his name to Morgan, just in case Michonne comes to join my collection later this year (Michonne's pets will NOT be coming here). 

So here's a group shot of some of my dolls that have a little more than typical dolls.

I have an account on Flickr with a private, restricted album that has nude photos of these dolls and others. I will share the link here, but please, if you are easily offended or if you are a child, do not click here. If I happen to get any other dolls in the future with special details, I will add them to that restricted folder also.

What Has Happened to Janay?

Can someone please explain to me how my Integrity Toys Studio It Janay went from this

to this???

I remember when I first got her years ago. She looked so cute in the box, but I just had to release her.

She fit right in with the other dolls in my collection.

She recently had a good time making music with other Integrity Toys dolls.

Who knew that this would soon be her fate. :( 

Whenever I decide that I want to try a reroot, she is first on my list! In the meantime, I have a few wigs that she can sport.

 I just need answers. Why why why did this happen?

Check out my YouTube video to see all of the horror as it unfolded.

Jakks Jiaou Combo

My Jakks Pacific G.i.r.l. Force Body Art Lola has been in my collection for a number of years. Having obtained her prior to blogging and prior to documenting my dolls through photography, I'd never taken a photo of her box until now. Well, I have now reached the point where I need to throw away many of my doll boxes. So, since I have now taken photos of the front and back of the box, this box is going in the trash.

These Jakks dolls were the precursors to today's seamless bodies. They have rubber skin over a metal armature. There's detailing in the torso area. Lola has ribs, and a squishy tummy. Her fingers are independent of one another. She wears the molded on thong panties shown below. She has realistic proportions.

My problem with Lola is that she doesn't have much in the way of articulation. Her arms and legs bend by two clicks. Lola is unable to sit down. Below, Lola is posed with her arms and legs bent as far as they will go. Her wire armature also allows her to bend at the neck and torso.

Recently I saw the image below online, showing that the Jiaou Dolls seamless figures now come in 7 different colors. I stared at this photo and others, wondering if any of those colors would work for my dolls and action figures. At the time, I hadn't seen any in-hand photos of the "Brown" or "Black" bodies. So, I took the plunge and ordered the "Brown".

My doll arrived in quite an attractive box.

Then I opened the box, and I saw that the "Brown" body is not the least bit brown. I've seen some in-hand photos of the "Black" body now also, and it is not the least bit black. In my opinion, they should have called these colors "7 Shades of White".

The doll comes with 4 extra sets of hands, 3 extra neck connectors, a doll stand, and a bikini. This doll has a combination plastic and stainless steel skeleton. From what I can tell, the joints are stainless steel, and the rest is plastic. These are less expensive than the Phicen action figures with the full metal skeletons. Upon removing the figure from the box, I noticed that it weighs less than my Phicen dolls. It also has a pleasant fragrance (like a light perfume). The "skin" is even softer than the skin of the Phicen dolls.

I can easily maneuver this doll into various poses, and it holds the poses very well and looks quite natural. The fingernails on all of the hands are painted (the toenails are not). There is some shading on the body. There is genital detailing. 

At first glance, I thought that this body would be a good match for my Phicen "Jinx" doll, but this body is a little too light. Other than Jinx, Lola is the doll that most closely matched the color of this doll. so Lola wins the new body. Lola's head and the Jiaou body differ enough in color that it bothers me, but it doesn't bother me enough to want to try purchasing another head and hoping that it will match this body better. Maybe once I see others online with this color and the heads that they've been able to match with this body, I'll feel more comfortable with taking that step.

In the meantime, I had issues with Lola's head (other than the color difference). Lola's head sat way too far down on the Jiaou neck. Not a good look. Lola's neck hole is somewhat deep within her head.

So I tried to think of ways to make this head fit better on the body, and I tried various things that did not work.

Then I remembered a technique used by someone on one of the message boards that I frequent. I switched out the neck connector on the Jiaou doll to the cone shaped connector, cut a piece of oxygen tubing, and placed one end on the neck connector. I cut the tubing to the appropriate size to fit inside Lola's head. I used double sided tape on the oxygen tubing at the place where the tubing is held in place by the neck hole.

Now Lola's head rests at the top of the Jiaou neck where it should, and she has full mobility.

Here is Lola with my Phicen ladies. She is thinner than the others. Lola's head looks slightly oversized on this body.

And here they are from the back. I really had to stretch Lola's bikini in order to get it to cover as much as it's covering.

Unlike my Phicens with stainless steel skeletons, the Jiaou body is able to stand on it's own. Her feet adjust to both flat and heeled shoes.

The Jiaou doll's posability is comparable to the SS Phicen dolls.

As for Lola's old Jakks Pacific body, Daniela will hold onto it unless and until another head becomes available.

I've damaged the Jiaou body already. I was handling her too roughly when I was trying various ways to attach Lola's head. The Jiaou doll's softer skin appears to be more susceptible to damage. There's now a worn spot on the Jiaou doll's rear. I'll have to find some shorts or something for her to wear.

Overall, I'm impressed with the Jiaou doll's posability. It's a good cheaper alternative to the Phicen stainless steel dolls. However, cheaper cost typically means lower quality and I'm concerned, especially since there's already damage to the doll's skin. I don't plan on buying any more of these (unless they come out with colors that are TRULY "Brown" or "Black".

Edited to add: apparently, others who have purchased the Jiaou doll have experienced the same issues with the skin blistering and peeling with minimal handling. Buyer be aware.