2013-03-24

Cool Kevin is here! - Some kind of review


Cool Kevin is here!
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!)





Cool Kevin, dressed
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.

Cool Kevin, profile
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.


Kevin posing - hands + head
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.

A crack :(

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.

feet comparison (Cool Kevin vs Shaving Fun Ken)
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:

Cool Kevin posing
Kevin proposing to the curtains
more posing...
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:

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

Cool Kevin vs Liv - waist!
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:

Cool Kevin - arms akimbo

Cool Kevin - jeans hemline

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.

T-shirt back

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.

T-shirt 2
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.

Shirt, details

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.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review - and the pictures. Your first picture of Kevin made me get out my original Fashionista Ken (which does have bendable knees) and check. Ken can just touch his forehead (to brush back his hair) and maybe sort of cover his eyes but that's about it - and he doesn't have bendable ankles. And mine has a floppy leg too. Kevin's articulation is definitely better than the new Kens though.

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    1. That's interesting! I guess no fashion dolls have the articulation of an action figures or Obitsu (less weird-looking joints, though!). I still hope I can get a hold of an early Fashionista Ken myself for comparison.

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  2. Oh, I hope that this innocent roll of tape that Kevin harrassed has already forgotten about the traumatic encounter with him :)
    I've seen Kevin in a few shops and I was eager to buy him, but I really didn't want Steffi, who was his companion in a box(they were sold togather, in sets). The guy has a really nice face while Steffi looks as if she had no brains at all. She's also not very poseable - she was granted basic articulation. Kevin almost seems like a different breed.

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    1. Not to worry, the tape roll was specifically chosen for its calm temperament and has been trained to handle situations like these. :D

      I've seen the family set with Kevin and Steffi, but I think they're both unarticulated. It's too bad, I actually prefer the facemold on that Kevin to this one.

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