Cool Kevin is here! - Some kind of review

Kevin, looking cool in his shiny box

Well, Cool Kevin arrived a couple of days ago and I've been planning to write something about him. At first I thought of doing a proper review à la Toybox Philosopher, but since Kevin doesn't seem to be available or well known outside Germany/continental Europe (and those who live there are probably familiar with him already) I'm not sure there's really a need. Still, I took a billion photos so I might as well post them. :) Nude male dolls ahead! (Blurry and badly lit, too!)

AAAAAAAH! THE LIGHT!! IT BURNS!!!

Simba's Steffi Love dolls aren't really my cup of tea. They usually have a pretty cheap feel to them, but I was pleasantly surprised by this guy. The plastic feels a bit light-weight and he has a few ugly mold lines, but he does have articulation! He seems like a pretty good replacement for a Fashionistas Ken - especially now that all the Kens with articulated knees seem to be gone, at least around here (what were Mattel thinking??). There's also the fact that this guy cost about 3/4 as much as Fashionistas Ken, and 1/3 of that was shipping, so given the choice between no-knees Ken and Cool Kevin I'd pick Kevin in a heartbeat.

I should add that I still don't actually have a Fashionista Ken, with or without knees, so if he has some super-articulation powers that doesn't show up in the box art I don't know.

Kevin, ready for his close-up (unlike the photographer)

Molded hair, and mustard yellow to boot. The brown hair version was sold out, unfortunately, but I'm still glad I got this one since I really like his shirt. The head has a cheap feel to it that I can't really place, but I think it's because the plastic is slightly translucent (less pigment? Cheaper?). That sounds like a good thing, considering 3D modelers have been working on achieving that effect for ages, but here it just looks oddly blurry. Actually, I've seen cheaper Kevins in shops that have a nicer head mold, I might get one and switch them.

An almost natural-looking pose

One of my personal critera for good articulation is whether the doll can touch its own face. Kevin can touch ...his forehead, I guess.

Hinged feet! For me, this was his main advantage over Fashionistas Ken. Hinged feet may not seem like a big deal, but it's really useful for more natural posing plus shoes will fit regardless of the angle of the heel. There's the beginning of a crack, which is a bit worrying. I don't think it was there at first, but a toy should be able to withstand some use, I feel.

BFFs!

Compared to the only modern Ken I have on hand (Shaving Fun Ken, 2011), Kevins feet are shorter and wider, which means they can share most but not all shoes. (I think I may have gotten two right shoes, but they're so similar it's hard to tell.)

A few more posing pics:

Kevin proposing to the curtains

Kevin harassing an innocent roll of tape

Of course I had to get one with a floppy leg... He can still stand, though. The articulation of the legs is pretty good, he can do splits both front and sides with a little coaxing. The knees swivel and look very Fashionistas-y indeed. Slightly double-jointed, which looks a bit funny. And then there's this:

Don't feed Kevin after midnight. Just... don't.

Kevin in a Liv waist vs. Liv waist contrapposto-off!

The Liv waist! I've never seen it in a male doll before (although I assume the Liv boys have it) and it doesn't do much for bending. He can do a contrapposto, though!


I'm a bit disappointed in his arms: the upper arms stick out from the body a bit (narrowing them a bit on the inside would make them look less natural, I guess) and the elbow bends less than 90 degrees (or is that more?). He's slightly double-jointed here, too. He' can't quite put his hands at his hips, this is as close as he gets:

The clothes do feel a bit cheap quality too. The "belt" is basically a (uneven) hem of brown fabric. Not very realistic, but OK if you're not picky.

Shirt is white nylon - with brown (uneven) seams. I can't tell whether it's a fashion statement or just "let's get rid of all that leftover brown thread". Slightly big, but looks surprisingly good on.

Snags!

(As an aside, can I just say how much I've grown to loathe velcro? It just catches everywhere and snags the fabric. Gaaah!) 

The shirt is a thin fabric, not the stiff almost shiny type some Ken shirts are made of, but a more normal cotton. The hems are fraying a bit, but it should be fine.

I really like this shirt! It would look better without the velcro, though. I'm going to remove it and perhaps add a snap and a few decorative buttons, or he can just wear it open over his t-shirt.


If his hair had been less mustard-y and his left leg less floppy, I'd have been perfectly happy with this guy. If for some reason I need another articulated male fashion doll, and Mattel still insists on those stiff legs, I'm getting another Cool Kevin.