Your source for male fashion doll news!

July 2008

 

Keeping Ken

New Product Reference Guide Archive

Keeping Ken Fashion Frenzy! 

Ken News Feature Archive

 

 

   

Ken is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. These pages are neither affiliated with, nor a representative of Mattel, Inc. Material provided on these pages do not in any way reflect the opinions of Mattel, Inc.

Keeping Ken BREAKING NEWS!

1,000,000

In early June 2008, the Keeping Ken website reached 1 million plus unique visits! It also is also holds the #1 top search result for Ken doll on Yahoo and Lycos, #2 on Google and MS search engines! Hats off to the mighty Ken doll collector!!

     
   
     
Also, I am totally jumping ahead with this teaser (pictured left), but I am working on something...stay tuned for the big announcement!

 

Keeping Ken UPDATE!

Sorry...it's been a long time since the last update.  As you may have heard on national news, my city was hit with a devastating flood.  Honestly, I have been trying to be a good community helper and have spent a great deal of my time trying to help those in need.  Recently, with other leaders of the company I work for, we helped clean out a home devastated from the flood.  Here is a link with a few pictures of that event I would like to share: GAP Milwaukee District Community Service

The work here isn't glamorous and there is still much to be done.  My home, was spared, but imagine if you can the entire downtown of your city being destroyed.  The flood, Iowa's worst in 30 years, had rendered 36,000 residents homeless and destroyed homes, farms and properties expected to exceed $2 billion in value.

It is a tough, emotional time, but as a community we will prevail.

Right as the city was flooding, I went to the 2008 National Barbie Collectors Convention in Kansas City, Mo.  It was a welcome departure from sandbagging, that's for sure.  I had many duties as the Raffle Room Chair, and in my haste to leave, I actually forgot to bring the card for my digital camera.  But I am relying on friends to send me at least a few pictures to cover the convention like I usually do.  I would like to publicly thank those of you at convention who came to me and made sure I was holding up under the circumstances.  It meant more to me than I could ever communicate in words.

I am looking forward to other things I had planned this year.  Stay tuned.  And, I mostly look forward to getting back to focusing on Ken.  Sometimes it is the things we most cherish that bring us back to the way things ought to be.  With that, Brad has been great on keeping me in the "Ken" loop, and I has been gracious enough to send me some pictures of the new Ken dolls arriving in stores below!

Keeping Ken NEW DOLLS!

New Barbie Collector™ dolls have been listed on the Keeping Ken Identifier Gift Sets page! They are Campus Spirit Gift Set (Barbie and Ken) and the Speed Racer Gift Set (Barbie and Ken).

Fashion Fever Ken

Looking WAY hot is the new edition of Fashion Fever Ken!! I am loving the way the eyes are painted.  Drawbacks are the use of the PTR arm molds and it looks as though the messenger bag was omitted from production.  Cell phone charms are attached to the box.  Brad found this Ken at Kohl's.

 

Barbie & The Diamond Castle Musician Doll

Brad found two of the Diamond Castle Musician Dolls at TRU.  A new head mold and use of the arms like the Disney guys last year! Not sure if there are two different dolls, or if you buy two of the same dolls to create "twins"?? Anyway, I really like the new head mold, but I like molded hair dolls as much as the rooted versions.

Angelic Dreamz has photos of the popular telenovela star Rebelde male dolls here:  REBELDE  Unfortunately, it looks as though to purchase the male dolls, you will have to purchase them in gift sets paired with the girls:  Mia and Miguel, Lupita and Giovanni and Roberta and Diego.  I saw the first edition female dolls at Wal-Mart and K-Mart, but haven't seen these new gift sets in stores yet.  Thanks to Dana for this info!

Sleeping Beauty Prince Doll

Erik from Germany has alerted me of a new Mattel male doll that is appearing in that market.  Petra from Finland  has also located this doll!

Erik says "I found an new prince doll. The box is without any label (Ken or Prince) but the box backside shows 'Barbie as Sleeping Beauty' and 'Prince'. So it seems obvious that 'he' is the prince of 'Sleeping Beauty'. But you have to look very carefully to find that.

Box date is 2007 and the Model-No. is L8123.

His face mold is identical with the Caucasian version of Barbie as The Island Princess Prince Antonio Doll but has lighter brown hair and steel blue eyes."

I have added this doll to the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page and you can find a bigger picture and a picture of the back of the box here:  Sleeping Beauty Prince Doll.

Thanks for the info from my international friends for this news (and the pictures provided by Erik)! I hope to add him to my collection soon!

 

Keeping Ken NEW KEN DOLL CLUB!

I am pleased to announce a new Ken® Doll Club that in the final stages of formation!

He's A Doll! Club is a NEW officially recognized Mattel independent Ken® doll club forming in 2007-2008.  Membership will be required. The club will be active and exciting, with structure and activities for members. This club will keep Ken® collectors enriched and informed, and will be a part of collector functions like the National Barbie® Doll Collectors Convention and the NBDCC Steering Committee.

We're glad to have Ken® doll collector enthusiasts join our club.  If you are interested in joining, we have a Yahoo group located here:  He's A Doll!

This group will keep us informed about the 2007-2008 formation of He's A Doll! Club. Feel free to join and post to this forum with your ideas for activities and communication. If you are interested in being a Member of the club, please let us know by posting to the forum. The Executive Committee will be a formation of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Member-At-Large. We are in the process of electing our Executive Committee and membership information will be available soon!

There will be a membership fee to join the club which will be decided later. Membership to the club and this group will eventually be required to remain in the group, but until then enjoy the group, and we hope you decide to join the club when formation is complete.

Keeping Ken NEW KEN!

Mariposa Prince Doll

In other male doll news from Mattel, it was rumored that a male doll will be introduced into the Fairytopia™ line named Carlos.  Brad found the Mariposa Prince Doll after going to Toys R Us for a few days in a row.  He said he is just labeled Prince and didn't see any mention of the name Carlos being used on his shipping carton or box.  He is described on the back as 'Meet the prince!  He's a butterfly fairy friend from the new Barbie Mariposa DVD!'    This is also another new head mold kind of similar to the prince from 2006.  He also has pointy ears!

 

Wedding Day Doll

When pictures of the Fantasy Groom dolls were  released, they look exactly like the Barbie as The Island Princess Prince Antonio Dolls.  The descriptions also hinted that these dolls were somehow tied into the Barbie Princess line, so maybe these dolls are actually second versions of the Antonio dolls dressed for the wedding?  We now know that the Barbie as The Island Princess Rosella & Antonio Wedding Gift Set was produced, and these new dolls are actually called Wedding Day (Pictured Below).  I finally found Wedding Day Groom Doll and he has a NEW molded hair head mold marked 2007 Mattel on the back of his head. Island Princess Prince Antonio says 2005, 2006 Mattel. The most noticeable difference is the part in his hair.  This doll will not be using the Ken trademark.

PICTURED BELOW:  Actual pictures of the Wedding Day Caucasian doll with a new head mold marked 2007 Mattel.  (Photos courtesy of Brad).  PICTURED BOTTOM:  Promo photos of the Wedding Day dolls.  The Caucasian version shows The Island Princess Prince Antonio head mold.

 

Vogue Collectibles has a photo of the new Speed Racer Gift Set.  Here is a link to the picture:  Speed Racer Gift Set.  This gift set should be available in March 2008 for around $40.  Looks like they are finally using a articulated body with the new Ken head mold!

Guy Time™ Fashions

Ken has a new fashion line called Guy Time™! I found 3 new fashions under this label at TRU this weekend! They use the new logo pop art that is the same image used on the Fashion Fever Ken (Third Edition) (see story below) box.

This is probably the best thing that has happened all year! For now, enjoy the new fashions, the return of fashions with the Ken® trademark and a specific male fashion line!

Anyway, here are some links of all three of the fashions:  Guy Time Fashion #L9797, Guy Time Fashion #L9798 and Guy Time Fashion #L9799.

I think I saw another fashion from pictures on another website, maybe a set (like those big Fashion Fever sets with several pieces), but I'm not sure? I'll look into that...

 

PICTURED ABOVE:  New logo pop art.

  Fashion Fever Ken (Third Edition)  
  Imagine my surprise when I went into Toys R Us and found a brand new Ken doll I wasn't even expecting!

Fashion Fever Ken (Third Edition) was there with a bunch of new articulated female dolls which included Barbie, Teresa, Nikki, Raquelle and Summer.  Finally, some more articulated dolls, but alas, poor Ken isn't articulated.  That really stinks, because we at the point of practically begging for another articulated Ken doll and we get stuck with another doll with the same body and those PTR arms.  Why articulate all the female dolls and not the sole male doll? I am sure however collectors will be happy to see new articulation on the female dolls, and a return to the normal body!

This doll is pretty neat however, and I'll take it as my one Holiday "surprise".  He is of course probably one in a case pack of 12 (or more), so find him if you can.  He is $9.99 and was the only one on the shelf! His sunglasses are a bit askew, as you can see in the picture.

On the back of the box we see Ken doll's "fashion motto" and discover his favorite color is "ocean blue".  The box side also has some awesome pop art of him.  LOVE that! Follow the link above to see the box art.  I LOVE surprises, and this made my shopping day that much better!

 
     

Surf's Up Beach Ken and Steven

pinkponytail.com has pictures of the new Surf's-Up Beach Ken and Steven dolls on the site! (Pictured below).  I haven't found Steven yet, but I have added Ken to the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page.

It's the most glamorous beach party ever and Ken® and Steven dolls are cool in the latest sporty beach fashion, hanging out with friends. Both dolls wears hip shorts and a short sleeve button down shirt. Comes with a cool friendship bracelet.

Surf's-Up™ Ken® 2007
L9548

 

Surf's-Up™ Steven® 2007
L9549

 

And here are some pictures of the European version of Tommy model #L4379.  This new version of Tommy should be available here in the US in the Kelly line.  Thanks to Erik in Germany for sending these!

 

Keeping Ken KEN NEWS COLUMN!

 

 

 

 

Please submit questions to mailto:jef@manbehindthedoll.com and have them answered here.  Due to the volume of mail received, I cannot respond to individual e-mails sent to "Ask Keeping Ken".

 

 

 

 

For previous columns, visit the Ask Keeping Ken Archives

 
 

Q: I found this booklet that has some Ken® fashions in it that I have never seen before.  Can you give me some insight as to where these are from?-Barb

A: This fashion booklet was included in the Ken® dolls made by Industrias Rotoplast under license from Mattel in Venezuela in the late 1980's.  I have three of these versions Olimpico Ken, Jean Ken and Llanero Ken and all of the have the same booklet, which I have pictured on this page: Venezuela Ken Fashion Booklet.

I would think if you could locate any of them it would be an amazing find, since I have never personally seen any of the six pictured.  It took me forever to even acquire the thee dolls!

 

 
Q: Love your site...I just bought a Ken® shirt on Ebay that I can't find in any of the books. Mod era, long sleeve with the Ken® label -- pink,  orange, turquoise and chartreuse floral, almost Peter Max print...any ideas?-Steve

A: I believe the shirt is a variation used in 1972 Casual Cords #1717 outfit.  The fabric originated in 1971 Festival Fashion Barbie® outfit. (Thanks to Joe Blitman for help on this one)

 

Q: Can you tell me who this doll is (pictured left). On another site it said Happy Family neighbor doll, but I have never seen this doll before. Can you tell me if we could buy this doll here in the states or is this a foreign doll?-Fiyas

A: It looks like a redressed "New Neighbors" Dad From the Happy Family "Sounds Like Home Smart House".  This set included a house play set and 4 dolls:  Dad, Mom, Kelly sized Daughter and Krissy sized baby.  It was available in small quantities at Toys R Us domestically.

Even though Mattel officially discontinued the Happy Family line by the time this was released, this Dad doll was also supposed to be available as a Happy Neighbors Dad and Daughter set, but never made it to store shelves when a "New Neighbors" Mom and Baby set was released in Spring 2005. His only appearance is in this Toys R Us  Sounds Like Home Smart House Gift Set priced at $80, so in order to get him, you had to buy the whole gift set.

Photos courtesy of Li'l Friends

 

Keeping Ken COMING SOON!

Looks like Mattel's 2008 reproduction line will be a "Campus" theme called Campus Queen.  I so guessed that a month ago when Campus Sweetheart Barbie doll was announced.  Sandi Holder has posted prototype pictures of two gift sets, one featuring Ken and Barbie and the other featuring Allan and Midge.  Ken is wearing Touchdown #799 with Barbie in Cheerleader.  Allan will be wearing Campus Hero #770 with Midge in Swinging Easy.  Link to the pictures on Sandi's site HERE.

Like this year's dolls which used the vintage "Barbie Dream House" rooms as backdrops for the packaging, 2008 dolls will probably be packaged using backdrops from the vintage "Barbie Goes To College" play set.  Ken and Barbie are shown against the Stadium backdrop and Allan and Midge are shown with the Sweet Shop back drop.  That leaves three other possible back drops, the drive-in theater, the dorm room and the outdoor campus.  Where will the Campus Sweetheart Barbie doll fit in? (My guess is in the Campus back drop).  And what other dolls may be planned for the remaining backdrops?? Look below and make your guess.

My guess is Barbie Doll Nighty Negligee Set #965 for the Dorm Room and I'm leaving my ideas open for yet another Barbie and Ken gift set for the drive-in, although the practical side of me says this will be a series of four. Email me your thoughts and I'll post them here :)

Oh, and my reproduction predictions for 2009 are a revisit of the "Little Theatre" play set.

Barbie Goes To College Play Set

Campus Dorm Drive-In Stadium Sweet Shop

Campus Sweetheart Barbie Doll

?

?

Touchdown Ken and Cheerleader Barbie Gift Set

Campus Hero Allan and Swinging Easy Midge Gift Set

 

Keeping Ken DISNEY DOLLS!

PICTURED ABOVE:  Aladdin doll from the Disney Princess Jasmine Aladdin Enchanted Tales Gift Set with the the new PTS arms.  RIGHT:  Disney Enchanted Princess Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip Gift Set at Target.

  Normally, I don't post news about the Mattel Disney dolls, but you have to hear this news...NEW arm molds are appearing on the male dolls! Matt sent me this picture of the new Aladdin doll from the Disney Princess Jasmine Aladdin Enchanted Tales Gift Set with the the new arms that are PTS (Point To Side) and are much more muscular than the old PTS arms that we haven't seen in ages!

I also saw these arms on the new Disney Enchanted Princess Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip Gift Set at Target.  I will probably get that set since Prince Phillip is my favorite Disney Prince.  He looks really good, her head is three times bigger than his, so she will have to go.

Hopefully we will see these arms make their way to Ken doll soon.  At least they are way better than the PTR (Point To Rear) arms we continue to see used.

Other male dolls include the Disney Movie, "Enchanted" Robert Phillips character doll (the actor in the movie who plays him is Patrick Dempsey of "Grey's Anatomy" fame).

 

 

Keeping Ken NEW DOLLS!

Barbie as The Island Princess PRINCE ANTONIO Doll

 

 

PICTURED ABOVE:  Barbie as The Island Princess Prince Antonio Doll.

PICTURED RIGHT:  Here is what the Prince Antonio Doll might have looked like if he was produced with rooted hair, from the cover of this Random House Books for Young Readers.

 

 

Barbie doll stars in Barbieª as The Island Princess DVD that will be released on September 18, 2007. This time, Barbie¨ is shipwrecked on an island where she is brought up by an adorable red panda, a curious elephant, and a beautiful peacock. But when a handsome prince rescues her and brings her back to civilization, Barbie¨ must choose between true love and her animal friends.  This line was shown at Toy Fair 2007 HERE and also HERE.

The Barbie as The Island Princess Prince Antonio Doll does not use the Ken® trademark name and features molded hair, which hasn't been seen for awhile.  The head mold is marked "©2005 2006 MATTEL, Inc.", which makes it another NEW head mold and most likely means it is a molded hair modification of the 2005 Ken head mold used most recently on Beach Glam Ken

There is also a Barbie as The Island Princess Prince Antonio Doll AA doll which uses a new painted hair head mold!

I like the molded hair molds every once in awhile, and I really like this doll, despite other collectors grumblings.  And for you grumblers, I found this picture below of what the Caucasian version might have looked like with rooted hair (and the addition of a shirt with jewelry added under the tunic top) on the cover of Barbie as the Island Princess: A Storybook coming out as a Movie or Television Tie-In; Juvenile Fiction by Random House Books for Young Readers (pictured below).  The book comes out August 14, 2007 for $3.99.  Which version do you like better?

 

NEW FASHION FEVER KEN & FASHIONS!

 

Also, as reported in my National Barbie Convention 2007 coverage, I received the Fashion Fever Ken (Second Edition) as a gift from BRAD, because I hadn't found him in my area yet.  He's totally hot with that Rooted Light Blonde/Light Copper Red hair color!  He was featured at Toy Fair 2007 pictured HERE!!!

There are also three new Fashion Fever fashions for Ken!

Ken Fashion Fever Fashion #L3385

Ken Fashion Fever Fashion #L3386

Ken Fashion Fever Fashion #L3387

Both of these dolls have been added to the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page...and the fashions have been added to the Keeping Ken Fashion Frenzy! page.

High School Musical 2

Brad has sent me some great pictures of Disney's High School Musical 2 Troy Doll and Disney's High School Musical 2 Chad Doll.  In my search for these dolls, I found also a Disney's High School Musical 2 Ryan Doll. Brad says they appear to be on new bodies dated 1968.  The height is about like a Kevin doll, but the legs bend.  The hip connections appear to be like the current play line Barbie as they only move forward and back and not out to the side.  Not sure why the new dolls were made shorter compared to the first singing ones.  The arms pivot at the shoulder.  Toes are well defined. 

Will sent me this picture of a deboxed Ryan doll without the hat.  I have had several requests for a picture of Ryan without his hat on...so thanks Will for providing one :) I've already chosen my favorite of this series and Ryan wins!

When I can find some time I will make a new page for this line of dolls!

SPECIAL REQUEST:  Disney's High School Musical 2 "Ryan" doll without the hat.  Photo courtesy of Will.

 

Keeping Ken SITE UPDATES!

It was time to do some maintenance to the site! I am moving a lot of things, catching up and archiving.  Here are some tips when trying to find things you may be looking for, and a few things to look forward to:

Keeping Ken 2007 CONVENTION!

National Barbie® Convention 2007 Viewable Covered Events

Arrival/Early Registration

Magia2000 Party

Tip Your Hat to Texas - Reception

Tip Your Hat to Texas - Silent Auction Raffle Room Sales Room
Competition  Fiesta de la Familia – Brunch & Friend of Barbie
BFC Member Party Mattel Presentation

Events Left to Cover

Fashion Show

Lone Star Ball - Dinner & Live Auction

Y'all Come Back Saloon – Dinner & Entertainment

Keeping Ken IN PROGRESS!

  Call me crazy, but I'm taking on the task of updating the Keeping Ken/Ken Parts Department page, mostly for the large amount of "identify my Ken" requests (and believe me, there are LOTS of requests per month).  UPDATE:  You will see that I am almost done including the actual head mold markings, and soon I will begin the task of the body molds.  I have already pre-purchased bifocals.  I may put out requests from you, dear readers, for particular dolls that I don't have deboxed, especially when I start listing the body molds.  This task will be, in my opinion, monumental, but this information has not yet been recorded, and it needs to be recorded, if not for history, but to enhance the Ken doll collecting experience.

Keeping Ken NEW KEN DOLL!

ALL of the new Wizard of Oz Barbie Collector Pink Label dolls are now available.  I found all of the dolls in the series (see story below) including the The Wizard of Oz™ Winkie Guard Ken Doll & Winged Monkey This particular doll was available later in mid-April 2007 exclusively at KB Toys and Toys R Us.  The Winkie Guard is featured on a Ken Sculpt with the new wickedly green skin tone as on the Wicked Witch of the West.  You can follow the links below to see the other WOZ Ken dolls.  The Ken dolls have also been added to the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page.

Winkie Guard Ken is more expensive than the other dolls.  He was $39.99 at Toys R Us.

In case you were wondering, he is bald under that hat and he uses the newer Blaine head mold...and yes, he is green throughout.  This will be the first time this head mold has been used for a "Ken" brand doll.  Although the Blaine head mold is similar to the 2001 Ken Collectibles head mold, it is marked differently on the back of the neck (see table below).

2001 Ken Collectibles 2001 Blaine

TM/© 2001

MATTEL, INC.

TM/© 2001 MATTEL, INC.

 

PICTURED LEFT:  The Wizard of OZ Winkie Guard Ken doll.

 

Keeping Ken TOY FAIR 2007 NEWS!

ASM Magazine at asmzine.com is again proving that they are the web to watch for Toy Fair 2007 information! New male dolls were shown that include a Prince doll shown in the Barbie as The Island Princess collection HERE and also HERE.  Next, a incredibly HOT Fashion Fever Ken doll is pictured HERE!!!  The Disney's High School Musical Troy and Gabriella Gift Set is pictured HERE and again HERE.  Finally, we see a male doll from the future real person Disney Movie, "Enchanted". This character's name is Robert Phillips and the actor in the movie who plays him is Patrick Dempsey of "Grey's Anatomy" fame. The movie is due to be in theaters in November 2007.  See pictures HERE and also HERE.

And here is a Toy Fair scoop (with LOADS of pictures) from BarbieZania of the Barbie Collector 2007 Doll Line!!

Keeping Ken NEW KEN DOLLS!

A generic, groom doll, called simply The Groom Doll that will not use the Ken® trademark name.  Two versions are available in Caucasian and Black (pictured below).  The prototype pictures of the Caucasian doll shows bent arms, but as you can see in the pictures below, he has the PTR arms.  Thanks to Claudia at PinkPonytail.com for the pictures of the prototype dolls, these are available for pre-order on her site.  And again thanks to Brad for his contributions to this news and the FABULOUS photos of the actual doll in the box! The Caucasian doll has now been listed on the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page.

THE GROOM DOLL & RING BEARER

Also, at Target stores, The Groom Doll & Ring Bearer Doll gift set is also appearing.  I am unsure as to whether an AA version will also be available.  The Groom Doll is identical to the single version, and the Ring Bearer wear a fashion that is identical to The Groom.  This set also includes a child-size ring.  Thanks to all of you who alerted me about this set! This set is now listed on the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page.

THE GROOM DOLL

PICTURED ABOVE:  The Groom Doll.

 

 

Keeping Ken

ZAC POSEN!

 

     
   

The HIGHLY anticipated Barbie Collector Platinum Label and  FAO Schwarz SSE Zac Posen Barbie and Ken Giftset has arrived! I took a picture of Ken as Zac to the right.  I will have a special report, more pictures and more info later here, and on the Keeping Ken Identifier Gift Sets page so check back soon!

Until then, you can see another interior picture including Barbie at the Zac Posen Barbie and Ken Giftset page.

 

 
     

 

The new Wizard of Oz Barbie Collector Pink Label dolls are now available.  I found all of the dolls in the series including the Winkie Guard & Winged Monkey (see top story).  Look for the Winkie Guard & Winged Monkey in Mid-April 2007 exclusively at KB Toys and Toys R Us.  The Winkie Guard is featured on a Ken Sculpt with the new wickedly green skin tone as on the Wicked Witch of the West.  You can follow the links below to see the Ken dolls.  The Ken dolls have also been added to the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page.  Also, I've added the Wizard of Oz™ Munchkins Kelly® Dolls and Tommy® Doll Gift Set to the Tommy page.  You may also follow this link to see the female dolls in the series:  Wizard of Oz 2006.

 

Wizard of Oz™ Tin Man Ken Doll

 

Wizard of Oz™ Cowardly Lion Ken Doll

 

Wizard of Oz™ Scarecrow Ken Doll

 

 

Thanks to a little investigative work from Omar, he found this listing on this site for a listing for a new foreign version of Prince Ken doll.  The best translated description says (thanks to Charles):  "Barbie Prince Ken--A prince in royal garb with shining trousers and noble tunic with belt. He wears a crown, high boots, and has a rose for his Barbie Princess Sleeping Beauty."

The Prince Ken most likely goes together with Barbie as Sleeping Beauty.  Charles added this about the Barbie doll: 

It has an open/close eye feature like the 1998 Sleeping Beauty doll. The description says its eyes open and close with a rose-shaped wand, but I don't know if it's referring to the rose Prince Ken comes with or if the Barbie doll comes with one too. I can only find these dolls on German websites so I don't know what she's called in English, but in German she's called "Barbie als Märchenschlaf Dornröschen", which means "Barbie as [something] Sleeping Beauty". "Märchen" means "fairy tale" and "Shlaf" means "sleep". I don't know how that would be translated into English though.

Available starting from 48. KW. Price: UVP 12.99 EUR

Thanks for this news Omar and Charles!

 

PICTURED ABOVE:  Foreign Editions Barbie Prinz Ken (LEFT) and Barbie als Märchenschlaf Dornröschen (RIGHT).

 

BEACH GLAM

Part of the 2007 play line is available now!! The new Beach Glam line will feature Ken and StevenBeach Glam Ken has now been added to the Keeping Ken The Millennium Era 2 2006-Beyond page.  I also located Beach Glam Steven and he has been added to the Steven page!

Thanks to Brad for his contributions to this news and the FABULOUS photos!

Keeping Ken NEW FASHION FEVER KEN & FASHIONS!

Thanks to Brad for his contributions to this news and the FABULOUS photos!

Finally...Ken has been added to the newly designed Fashion Fever doll line.  The new design features boxes instead of the tubes (minus stands) and the use of doll names again.  Two versions of Barbie plus Teresa, Ken, Summer, Nikki, and Raquelle. The boxes not only identify the dolls on the back, but give us a few words that describe their personalities. The Barbie and Teresa dolls are the most numerous, and there are only two units of Ken, Summer, and Nikki in the case pack. Ken is complete wearing a graphic hoodie, frayed leg denim jeans, black with metallic trim messenger bag, and slip on style sneakers.  The box is marked 2006, but this doll is part of the 2007 collection.

Not without controversy, the female dolls are now shorter in stature, making the heads look disproportionate to the new body size.  You can see a picture of the size difference her in this Fashion Fever Board discussion link:  http://www.fashionfeverbarbies.com/.

 

BELOW:  2007 Fashion Fever Ken.  Photos by Brad.

These new 2007 editions are only appearing so far at Toys R Us, giving you a GREAT reason to get your play line dolls there instead of Wal-Mart.

Also, three new Ken Fashion Fever FASHIONS have been spotted! Here are the links from the Keeping Ken Fashion Frenzy! page:  Ken Fashion Fever Fashion #K8490, Ken Fashion Fever Fashion #K8491 and Ken Fashion Fever Fashion #K8492!

 

Zoila sent me this picture of the new Fashion Fever™ male doll she found at Wal-Mart.  He uses the newly introduced NEW LOOK KEN head mold with medium Skin Tone, Ash-Blond Hair, and Blue Eyes, and wears an abstract Eagle-Logo Sweatshirt, Dark-Blue Jeans with Contrast Stitching, & Black Work Boots. The box is marked as Mattel model #K2652. Copyright is 2006.

This doll has been added to the Fashion Fever page.

 

 

Keeping Ken COLLECTOR NEWS!

The Gold Label 45th Anniversary Ken doll is here!!  The classic Vintage reproduction doll...a 45th Anniversary Ken, that is a reproduction of a brunette Flock Hair Ken arrived today!!

I have taken some photos comparing him to my NRFB Vintage brunette Flock Hair Ken doll.  As you can see, Mattel did a nice job on the reproduction doll.  The only improvement could have been on the flocking pattern application on the sides above the sideburns (see the top photo).  My Vintage doll has a slight indentation in the pattern while the reproduction doll's is straight.  The box sizes are also very different The reproduction is much larger), and the graphics on the reproduction box don't "pop" as well as the Vintage box graphics.  The wristband is also a reverse coloration of the original.  More photos here:  45th Anniversary Ken.

The reproduction includes a certificate of authenticity as well as a "Ken" Collector Card, plus the box offers some nice text about Ken doll's history.  Inside the box top is an additional feature showing Ken dolls throughout each era.  This is an OUTSTANDING reproduction doll!! And this doll retails at only $25, so I recommend you get one while you can, as many collectors (like me) are buying in bulk! I will add this doll to the listings page soon.  My hats off to Bill greening at Mattel who has done an amazing job of recreating not only an amazing reproduction of Flock Hair Ken, but for presenting this doll in a completely tasteful way!! If there is just one doll that you must absolutely have this year, this one is it!

Pictured Left:  Vintage Flock Hair Ken doll.  RIGHT:  Reproduction 45th Anniversary Ken doll.  BELOW:  Side-by-side comparison showing the box size difference.

 

More exciting news... also due any day now is a Vintage reproduction gift set with another reproduction Ken and Barbie called Friday Night Dream Date™ Barbie® Doll and Ken® Doll Giftset, also a Gold Label vintage reproduction gift set.  This gift set features a blonde reproduction Flock Hair Ken and Ken doll's 1961 fashion Dream Boat #785...plus a replica "Barbie Sings"" record folder including a CD reproduction of the original 45RPM record! This has now been listed on the Keeping Ken Identifier Gift Sets page.  Quick link for pictures at Friday Night Dream Date Gift Set (Barbie and Ken).

My first Friday Night Dream Date™ Barbie® Doll and Ken® Doll Giftset came SMASHED, courtesy of UPS.  The box was so damaged that Barbie was sideways in the box...but bless her heart she was still hanging on to that tray of milkshakes.  This, I guess, gave me the opportunity to order another one so I could keep the next one I ordered NRFB.  So I deboxed the smashed one for display and to listen to the replica "Barbie Sings"" CD reproduction of the original 45RPM record.  It alone was worth the purchase.  Who doesn't want to hear Ken doll croon (remember hew sings in this too).  Ken dolls fashion reproduction of Dream Boat #785 is well done, but I was a bit disappointed that the crease detail on the pants was missed.  Another HUGE disappointment is that the hat is attached to the doll's head, which in turn makes a small hole in the middle of Ken doll's forehead.  I know from hearing from the discussion on that matter that Mattel probably won't be attaching hats to doll's heads into the future, because in this one instance, it has pretty much damaged the doll, unless you plan on keeping the hat there.  Both of the sets I received have this noticeable hole where the needle holding the plastic attacher entered poor Ken doll's forehead.  But let's forge on from this mistake and take heed to this utterly FABULOUS reproduction, because these innocent flaws don't detract from the overall reproduction!

I will be adding the Friday Night Dream Date™ Barbie® Doll and Ken® Doll Giftset to the Keeping Ken Identifier Gift Sets page in the next update.

PICTURED ABOVE:  45th Anniversary Ken promo photo.  PICTURED RIGHT:  Friday Night Dream Date™ Barbie® Doll and Ken® Doll Giftset promo photo.