Chynadoll Creations

Chynadoll Creations

Monday, December 10, 2012

Toys R Us and Kenya

I finally got my hands on one of the Kenya dolls! These dolls have managed to escape my grasp for some time now! While shopping with one of my youngest nieces in Toys R Us ( I  took her there to get an idea of what she wanted for Christmas and to scope out the sales :-0) I happened to eye spy Miss Kenya sitting on the shelf. I had seen several pictures of her online, however seeing it in person is quite different. Needless to say, I did not like the one that I saw so she stayed right there on that shelf! I goofed around with my niece for a bit and we left the store. 


Acting silly with my niece Lailah


Eye spied a dolly friend of mine! My my my, ya just never
know who you will run into at Toys R Us LOL

Silly Lailah....

Let me just put this out there! The comments here are my own opinion! I am in no way trying to
discourage anyone from purchasing or collecting this doll.
 If this is your type of doll then go for it!

This is my blog, and MY Opinion! So having said that,

Continue on......


The following week, I  still had that Kenya doll on my mind ! Toys R Us was having yet another sale so I dragged my hubby with me this time. I walked in and headed right to the spot where they had the Kenya gals. 

I spotted the Fireside Chatting Kenya doll. Mmmm, this one had possibilities! She still was not the one I originally wanted, but she was on sale so she would do! Into the cart she went. I also picked up a  Monster High doll and two of the new Fashionista Nikki chicks for body swaps. 


Here is Miss Kenya courtesy of  Google images.

Looking at her facial paint, I was reminded of
why I dislike pink lips on darker dolls.  Her facial paint had to go!

Kenya has been repainted using artistic acrylics
sealers and pastels. She has been redressed and
had her hair finger styled.


I had to make her some new jewelry.
 I tried to remove the earrings she was wearing
to begin her repaint and they broke in my hands :(

I have heard and seen the reviews for this doll
as well as the doll comparisons. I was not overly impressed with this doll.

 She is a very interesting
doll to say the least!

 From a repainting point of view, she was a mess
to repaint. I had to change the technique I normally used, because
her plastic is a bit dull and
  paint did not easily adhere to it.

 You might be asking yourself, "why repaint her at all"?
Because its what I do!

Compared to the S.I.S dolls that I normally work with, ( but am not limited to)

Miss Kenya is  cheaply made. She had the feel of a clone type doll. Parts
of her body was chipped (not broken) and looked like it would crack.
I wanted to remove her head and stick a Chandra S.I.S head on her body
but I was reluctant to do that. Her plastic just felt like it would crack in my hands.
I was not ready to break a doll that I had just got!

Miss Kenya's clothing  was just ok.
The red jumpsuit under that white fleecy stuff  was ok,
however that white fleecy stuff was coming apart out of the box.
I quickly tossed that aside along with her boots. I will give
the clothing to Lailah to play with at a later date (if it survives).


The plus point for this doll is her hair.
She has a head full of the most amazing hair for a doll! There were no
bald spots or missing plugs (as I have often seen in S.I.S dolls)

Although she is articulated, her joints were
very stiff and her head has little movement to it.

While moving her around and changing her clothes,
I felt like she was gonna break in my hands.
She does have one of those big heads. That is not a problem
for me. I love the artsy and my scene heads , so for me that part was ok.
but like I said the head movement was limited and stiff.

I did not like to repaint her at all! I won't purchase another for repainting!

However....that is
not to say that I won't repaint another because saying that would be limiting my creativity!

I managed to get her on sale for like $14.99

Her original price of $20.00 in my opinion is really
not worth it!  I was originally looking for another one because
she had the coolest fro and glasses.
There would have to be a crazy sale on her (cheaper then $15 bucks)
for me to even consider buying her:-)
 

Kenya Repaint
Chynadoll Creations
2012




22 comments:

  1. You did a great job on the repaint! In fact, I like her better. Your little Lailah is adorable. : )

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just reviewed my Movin on kenya doll and I think we have the same complaints about her. I like the repainted version better you did and amazing job!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Just Jay, I was a bit disappointed with her :( especially after all of the hype I had been hearing and reading about.

      Delete
  3. Even though she didn't turn out to be what you wanted, I enjoyed the review! For all the trouble, her repaint is on point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Muff. Yeah it was a bummer but hey, I think I got my money's worth after the repaint LOL

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Hey Mark my friend. Dolly hugs to ya. Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comment :0)

      Delete
  5. Your niece is adorable.

    Even though Kenya is not what you expected quality wise, you did a fabulous job with her repaint!

    dbg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Debbie, Lailah is a trip and a half. She constantly keeps me entertained!

      Yeah I was a bit bummed about how she was made. I was really looking forward to exploring endless possibilities repainting and styling her :(

      Thanks for your kind compliment and sharing of her picture on fb.

      Hugs :-)

      Delete
  6. Hello from Spain: Your niece is very cute. I really like your work. You did a great job on the repaint . Keep in touch

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi,Cecile!
    Nice Time Experiencing!!
    Good win challenges!!
    Quênia is much better now,after your hands touch.Lost the silly look!!
    Congratz!!
    Love the photo of you and your niece!!
    "See you around",Friend!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lailah is cutest in the Yoda hat. Love the Kenya repaint, of course. Hey, when did you snap that pic? LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah she is too much LOL. Thanks girl. What pic? Who snapped that LOL.

      Delete
  9. The Toys'R'Us visit with your neice looks like a lot of fun. Pity about the plastic and articulation of the Kenya doll but her repaint and hair looks amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You doll looks lovely! Only skilled hands could have completed her transformation!

    I totally agree with everything that you said about this doll. I hope that I didn't mislead you with my review. I campared her quality to most clone dolls. She is better than most close. Mattel (at its' best) and Integrity Toys have set the standard for what we expect in Fashion doll quality. I find that most companies go by the wayside because they don't meet that quality. When they do, Mattel puts a target on them.

    It is interesting to know about the difficulty in painting! As far as the clothing, I would repeat something that limbe dolls said, the quality of clothing even in Mattel differs from outfit to outfit. I like the outfit on the one I purchased. I looked at the quality of the others and that helped me make my decision.

    It took Integrity Toys years to get to the point that they are now. I don't know if I can wait that long on another company. I guess we just have Mattel for AA Dolls sold in stores.

    Thanks for your post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ms Leo. Your post was not misleading at all! I made my own decisions and choices with purchasing this doll. I am not a fan of clone dolls at all! I thought that this one would be better made is all. Instead of the $1 store clone, she would be better suited for the $5 bin if that much. I was just ranting about her costing $20 bucks for a cheaply made doll . But to each his/her own! I agree that most companies go by the waste side because of the quality of dolls being produced. I would rather pay $$$ for quality than pay $$$ for stuff that does not measure up! The clone stuff (in my own opinion) fall in line with play line stuff for children. NOt for the adult serious collector or repaint artists.

      I looked at several of the Kenya dolls and to me they all looked the same. You cant tell what you are purchasing (clothing wise) while the doll is in the box. While just looking at the clothing in the box and seeing that everything looked good, upon taking it out and handling it , that was not the case. I was not about to start opening boxes in the store just to feel if all the clothing was cheaply made lol. I would have seriously been arrested!

      Again, this is only MY opinion of this doll. Please... no one call the doll police on me for my comments on this doll! I like the look of the dolls with their varying skin tones etc . That alone does not sell me on them. The price of them and their poor quality was the deciding factor!

      Again, thanks for your lovely comment on my repaint :-)

      Delete
  11. Your repaint is fantastic. I love her new look. Sorry you were disappointed. I looked at the Kenya dolls, but couldn't bring myself to pay $20 for poor quality. I do like the looks of the dolls and the different skin tones. I'm still looking forward to seeing TJ. Your niece seems like a lot of fun. Isn't it wonderful having someone to roam around the toy store with?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vanessa. I agree totally! The disappointment soon passed after I repainted and redressed her LOL.

      My niece is a blast to hang out with and roam the toy stores with. We also go get mani pedi's together LOL She is a trip!

      Delete
  12. Glad to see you having fun with your niece. Nice to have a doll buddy at toystores ;-)

    Thanks for the additional information on Kenya. You did a GREAT job repainting her.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog. Your comments are appreciated .