Ginger BMR Ken Review

I wasn’t sure whether or not I should, or even could, share photos without angering the powers that be of the second wave of BMR dolls before their official release date.  There were more than a few leaks in various doll groups and on social media - but I opted to wait until I got the dolls myself to give them a thorough review, using my own pictures. 

For those that missed my reviews of the BMR1959 dolls, you can find the Curvy Brunette (AA) here, the Green-Haired Ken here, and the Manbun Ken here.

Today, I’m going to go ahead and review the freckled ginger from the second wave: 

I love that Mattel is continuing with fully articulated dolls, and male dolls with rooted hair, YAY!  I’m saying “thank you” with both my wallet and this love letter…err review.  By now, I’m guessing everyone knows how much I adore ginger dolls, so this guy is right up my alley.    

As with the other Barbie reviews, we’re going to start with the accessories.  In this case, very sporty … sneakers?

They’re sort of a mullet sneaker, I suppose – sneaker in the front, sandal in the back.  I’m not sure if this is intended as a fashion statement, or if this is for ease of sliding the shoes on/off the doll.  I love them from the front, not so much from the back.  Maybe I’m just old and out of touch with what’s in style.

These may end up a future project – lately I’ve actually been making good on my threats of repainting these things, but I’ll save that until a later post.  The details are there, they just need to be highlighted. 

Next up, visor:

Not my thing, though I think the color is well chosen and pops nicely against his hair.  I think I would have preferred a baseball cap, maybe that’s just me.  It’s all about personal taste.

A pleasant surprise I hadn’t realized from the promotional photos: this guy has earrings!

I love that.  They’re small enough to be inconspicuous and colored in such a way they actually look metal – thank you, Mattel.  Nicely done. I like tattoos and piercings on both genders, personally.

The fanny pack has had an upgrade from the one worn by the manbun ken, too:

Kudos for the little pops of color, it absolutely transforms the piece. 

The hoodie is monochrome, a simple black and white with the logo this wave. I think it works much better than being orange and red specifically because of the branding:

I also like that it’s a shorter, crop top, which may mean that it gets more use than the longer counterparts.  I know of at least one doll (announcement to come) who loves athleisure wear, I think they may add this (along with a lot of the other BMR gear) to their wardrobe.

Same with the trackpants:

Because of the slit in the side, I feel like they’re more of a gender neutral piece than specifically aimed at a male doll.  Zero complaints from me on that front.  I think I may actually be coming around to some of these fashions, BMR logos aside.

Once again, Mattel has shown they can create quality pieces for their dolls; these pieces are leaps and bounds ahead of those horrible printed-on details. I’d love to see this seep into the regular play line dolls, too, though I understand it would price hike them a bit.

What of the doll himself? As far as I’m aware, this is the first time this face mold (dubbed “Tate”) has been used on any Ken doll:

His face overall is aesthetically pleasing, he has full lips, detailed brows, a smattering of freckles (I would have loved to see these extend down his body) and a pair of adorable dimples.  I mean, how cute are those?!  Bravo to the dimples.

Like his green, flocked hair counterpart, this Ken is wearing a bit of makeup – just a little sparkly lip gloss, I didn’t even notice it in the promotional photos.  Even in these photos it was a challenge to capture.  Because there’s no other color to his lips, for those that don’t want a sparkle, it should be easy enough to remove with a little nail polish remover (carefully, please google how to do this safely). 

Like the manbun Ken, his hair is full of stiffening product and, honestly, I’m loathe to touch it for fear of losing those curls.  He also has a painted-on orange on either side of his head, similar to what the Barbie Fashionista #124 (green hair) sports.

What about his body in general, though?

Like the other two BMR males, he’s somewhere between a fashionista Ken and the Superman Ken.  He’s also fully articulated, which is going to make posing him much easier than his stiffer counterparts. 

With the last wave there were some folks complaining that the joint on the hip was “loose” on these dolls, I didn’t personally experience it with either of the previous BMR kens, so I had no idea what they were talking about…until now:

This may make some poses challenging, as he’s not going to have the stability to stand on his own very easily.  I’m glad I didn’t have that issue with the doll that became Logan.

Again, overall, I’m very pleased with the route Mattel has gone with the BMR line of dolls.  For those that are anxious for more dolls – there are several more in Wave 2 that I’ll be reviewing in the coming days (yes, I ordered them) and Wave 3 has already been announced.  I know I’m not alone in eager anticipation.  Though my little community seems to be exploding.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoyed this review.  If I missed anything you’d like to see more clearly, just let me know in the comments below.  I’ll have a review of both the tall BMR doll and the brunette BMR doll soon.