Toy Fair 2017 Links or Barbie, Barbie, Barbie

Toy Fair comes once a year. Where do I start? Mattel and Barbie.

Yes, I am a Barbie-centric doll/action figure enthusiast. This year, that means the Fashionistas! Idle Hands has a YouTube video on the new Fashionistas. Another site showing some new Fashionistas has me ooohhhing and aaahhhing. Check the black doll with that afro! Want List. Or the gal with the light blue hair. Want List again. The two dolls with orange hair? Four I gotta have dolls. If you have a Yahoo or a Flickr account, check the photos here.

What about the Barbie Careers dolls? Nerd News Today names some career options we have seen in 2016 along with a new one. Think, Bob the hum hum.

Moving from career women to a fictional "super" woman, let's check Entertainment Weekly's photos of Mattel playline Wonder Woman action dolls. Yes, she seems to have the same gorgeous face as the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice™ Collector's Edition Wonder Woman. Hooray for those of us who now won't have to pay the collector or the markup prices for her. I think the play line doll needs a longer neck. I will re-body her.

What about Mattel's famous women in play scale ... and yes, I refuse to describe them as "Sheroes" because that term irks me. Pause to set my teeth and face straight. If you've seen the MyFroggyStuff video, you'll know that the Mattel Gabby Douglas doll WILL be available this April. Are you an Ashley Graham fan? Guess who is getting a curvy Barbie in her image? Additional link available here. NerdNews reports that the Ashley Graham doll will be available in April. Natalia Vodianova joins the list of real heroes captured in play scale by Mattel. You can read about the super model, mother, and philanthropist online.

Okay, it is not fair to title a post "Toy Fair 2017" and NOT include links to action figures or other dolls. Wondering what's new in 1:6 scale outside the Barbie Universe? Asmzine (Altered States Magazine) reports on Big Chief Studios and other toy manufacturers. Michael Crawford lists his Top Ten Toy Fair 2017 picks. Toyark shares photos of some Hot Toys figures to come. And there is a special new set coming that I am saving for its own post.


Those are some of the dolls I look forward to seeing. Do any of these excite you or are you looking for some others? 

First New Doll of the Year

... is Fashionistas Ken 6 Color Blocked Cool.

Ken Fashionistas No. 6 Color Blocked Cool, Photo by Jason Cooper

I found him in the Rittenhouse Target. It is like a mini Target. They have a small doll section roughly one-quarter of their regular doll aisles. The doll offerings included Barbie Fashionistas and Career dolls and a few Disney selections from Frozen and Moana. Alas, the online sales did not appear in this store - but I think prices at any stores in Center City get marked up because of the location. Shrug. Still, this store could be good as a "ship-to-store" option.

Had I intended this Ken to be my first doll of the year? No. He happened to be in Target when I was. He seemed hidden behind the other Kens. I didn't see Hip Hop Hoodie or any of the other 2017 dolls I'd considered who might have outranked him. However, he was on my Want List. Here's why

• He has a new male face
• He's cute
• He wears a decent male outfit

New guy [face] in town. Mattel produces fewer male dolls so it's fun to nab the ones that they do make. As much as I like some face sculpts, I like variety, too. Having a new male face is like having a new character.

Cutie status. I like his nose. It looks "Roman." I like the slight jut of his chin. Someone said he reminded her of Mario Lopez from Extra. I could see a slight resemblance, but this Ken does not have as strong an ethnic look. I don't have any other dolls named "Mario" though so that's his name in my doll world.

Decent male outfit. Confession: I do not like pink for my guys. Usually. So when I saw this outfit has a black and gray tee and distressed burgundy "jeans" with tan construction boots, I was hopeful. Seeing that the shirt and the pants were separate cinched the sale. The tee has a nice jersey feel with a velcro closure in the back. While the pants are as skinny as they can be, they are made from a cotton cloth that works for play scale jeans. They also have a velcro closure in the back. The plastic molded boots have a slit in the back to allow them to be easily put on or pulled off. Sigh. The boots look best from the front or the side.

I asked my brother to take the photo here with his cell phone. Jaye, I understand what you mean about camera phones. Some phones' cameras anyway. Fuzzy photos. This was the best photo; the ones from the cell phone I have were fuzzier. I wanted to have at least one photo for this post.

So welcome, Mario, to East Philadelphia. 

Who is your first doll of 2017?