The first of three He's A Doll! 2010 Club Exclusive Items...A Ken Stik-Withit Note Cube (pictured right) is now on sale!

Letter FROM the Editor:

by Micheal Rose-Newsletter Editor

Pictured Above:  Barbie Fashionistas Ken "Hottie". 

Hey Club Friends…This is a new feature I’ve been thinking about adding to the newsletter.  There are many discussions out there in the world of Ken, and I am always eager to hear everyone’s opinions.  So what I’m going to do each newsletter is to write about a subject I’ve heard discussed about Ken and give “MY” opinion.  I will then open it up to you all…the REAL experts…to either agree or refute.  Then I will take all the feedback and let you know how everyone weighed in in the following newsletter.

 This month’s topic is “What Makes Ken?!?”

 When you go to the store and see a new Mattel doll on the shelf…and his name on the package is Kurt, or Ryan, or Darren, or anything other than Ken….but he is made by Mattel and for all intents and purposes has the same components as previous dolls who were called “Ken” do you still call him a Ken Doll??!?!  Me, I say Heck yeah!  As far as I am concerned there are three types of dolls out there.  Ken’s, Fashions, and Action Figures (A.K.A. Joe’s)…If it’s made by Mattel I call it a Ken…even the named dolls like Mattel’s James Dean, or Darren, or James Bond, or even the Star Trek Ken…to ME, these are all Kens!  I don’t think it’s laziness…it’s just the way I organize the dolls in my mind.  The Fashion Royalty dolls would be the most popular of the Fashion Doll, and the Action Figures include Blue Box, Dragon, Hot Toys, etc.

Pictured Above:  (left) S.I.S. Darren doll and (right) Fashion Fever Kurt doll.

What do YOU think?  Is Darren a Ken doll?  If not…what is he?!?!?  I’m looking forward to everyone’s responses.  Please send them to me, Micheal Rose at GessHu100@aol.com and I will crunch the numbers for the next newsletter!

Thanks for reading!!!

Toy Story Ken

by Omar Syed-Newsletter Committee

“I’m not a girl’s toy! I’m not! Why does everybody keep saying that?”

When news of Toy Story 3 released in December 2009 and January 2010, most fans were thrilled because it meant another dose of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys we’ve known since 1995. Ken collectors were more than pleasantly surprised to note that joining the computer generated cast was Ken- that’s right, our own blue eyed boy Ken Carson! Fans speculated on what would he look like, how would he behave, and most importantly, would Pixar do justice to our “manly role model”

Thankfully, there’s little for Ken collectors to worry about since Ken guru Jef Beck spearheaded Ken’s appearance for the film. Ken’s look, modeled on 1988’s Animal Lovin' Ken, though picked out by Lee Unkrich, was taken directly from Jef’s site, along with Ken’s 27 outfits which span the decades from Ken’s initial conception (Ken in Switzerland #0776) to more modern times (Cool Times Ken) and everything in between and beyond, including the very hard to find 1991 Cool Career Fashion #2952 Rock Star carded outfit. Though a few articles of clothing were modified (Ken’s 1961 In Training shorts were color swapped to be white with red hearts instead of red with white hearts), all were taken from Jef’s site with his own first hand input. In fact, Jef’s name comes under the Special Thanks section at the end of the film.

A perhaps inside joke in the film is that this particular Ken has never met a Barbie before. In fact, he calls himself a Guy’s Toy, and a role model- a manly, role model. If this Ken was owned by a little boy, rather than a little girl, I surmise that the inside joke is that this Ken belonged to Jef (or an unseen character inspired by Jef). Lee talks more about it in an interview- Look on the Sunnyside (insight into Ken with Lee Unkrich)- Video

As for Ken’s being a manly role model, he gives a rousing interview on his own terms- Groovin with Ken- Video

What would a movie be without toy tie-ins? Mattel’s initial attempts at a movie tie-in were dismal, with Ken looking nothing like his onscreen counterpart, and nothing like the original Animal Lovin’ Ken. Die hard fans of both Toy Story and Ken were urged by Unkrich to find the original Animal Lovin’ Ken doll MIB (which resulted in skyrocketing Ebay prices) but a simpler (and probably much cheaper) solution was to find any blue eyed, brown haired Ken with the 1983 headmold and the 1968 bent arm body and simply redress him in one of the many, many outfits showcased in Toy Story 3.  Example 1 and Example 2.

Thankfully, a newer headmold was created for the Made For Each Other giftset, seen in the following two links-

Movie accurate Ken with other TS Collection toys- Mold 1  Movie accurate Ken sculpt- Mold 2 (Pictures courtesy of Sli|||nky from Pixar Planet).

However more than Ken’s appearance is his demeanor, characteristics and personality, well played out by Michael Keaton (Batman, Mr. Mom, Beetlejuice). Some fans were worried that like his appearance in as Dogberry in Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, would Keaton play Ken as Beetlejuice. Thankfully, Ken comes off as a strong, regular guy, much like many of those fans who collect and customize him. Keaton’s voice appears also in a few stints of dating tips from Ken-

Ken’s Dating Tips #48-Video  Ken’s Dating Tips #31-Video  Ken’s Dating Tips #24- Video

Of course, where would Ken be without Barbie. Though some of us might pair him with other dolls, Mattel has always purported that Ken and Barbie were America’s Sweethearts, as seen in the following clips-

Buzz Flies- Video  Meet Ken- Video

Convention 2010 - The Centerpieces

by Dr. Jon Baltrunas, ICRS-Newsletter Committee

Many of those in the club were unable to attend the recent Barbie convention in Cleveland.  While there were many fun events and meeting, chances to shop, etc., what they missed most was the opportunity to see the awesome centerpieces that are created each year by talented members of the Fan Club!  Here is a description of those works of art:  A quick brief description of the two main centerpieces is that they were mascots for the convention theme. The dolls were designed by Edge of 17, repainted by Melissa Windham, wearing outfits designed by Steve Skutka. The third night’s banquet dolls were designed and donated by various doll artists of varying types of talents.

The first dinner’s centerpiece was a Rocker Ken. He came with a metal girded stage with three clip lights. The doll was a Blond Mohawk "Harley Davidson Ken" with a repainted face and rooted eyelashes covered by black sunglasses. He wore a long black "Matrix" type coat with blue arrows pointing off each shoulder. Under the coat he had a sleeveless purple leopard shirt, lime green pants, turquoise belt with diamond shaped rhinestone buckle, and Harley Davidson black boots. His other accessories were a Black kepi cap with a blue arrow pointing forward and a white and black guitar with a black guitar strap.

Pictured Below:  Rocker Ken centerpiece from the 2010 NBDCC.