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Thoughts on… Kenners

Written on August 10, 2012 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Musings with tags:

This is part one of my “Thoughts on…” mini series.

First Kenner love

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Kenners? What words come to mind?

1972. Blythe. Vintage. The Original. Chunky, wispy, side part. ‘Brown’ and ‘purple’ eyechips. Yellowing. Frizz. Broken knees. Chewed fingers, toes. Cracks. Loved her legs off.

I used to think that Kenners were somewhat grubby and overpriced. And then I actually held a Kenner in my hands and heard that soft, delicate pip and I was totally over the moon about them. After BlytheCon 2011, it took all of 2 months (or so) for me to end up winning an auction over on eBay and a week after that for her to arrive at my house. I will admit though, Kenners aren’t for everyone. Everyone’s collections are different and that’s a beautiful thing.

For some, cracks are a deal breaker. For others, it’s yellowing. As for me – missing legs are no big deal. Neither is a cracked pelvis or somewhat frizzy hair. Or very frizzy hair, as the case may be.

It’s the magic in their eyes.

I'm cute, quirky...

Some people have small families, others large. Some have only Kenners, some have a mixture of everything. Some have all stock dolls while some have all extreme customs – teeth, wink eyes, permanent scars across the eyes. It’s okay to have something different. I didn’t understand Kenners when I first got into Blythe. Sure, they’re neat and all, but why would I buy a Kenner when I could spend a fifth of what one costs on a new doll?

And then I realized something new. I mean, I could have five whole Takaras (or more) for the price of a Kenner. But there’s something about them. The coy eyes, the frizz of their hair. The way that their bodies come slightly broken or asymmetrical. One arm sticks out more than the other. They’re classic, but different from stock Takara Blythes. Classic.

Hi world, I'm kinda really awesome.

Still, Kenners are not for everyone. Some people want new-looking dolls. Some people can’t stand hair frizz, cracks in the body, wonky eyelashes or clouded chips. Some people want mint and others don’t. And some people, like myself, have a mixture in the family. I have one Kenner with super frizzy hair and another with hair that feels like silk. And that’s okay, because everyone’s dolls are different, everyone has different tastes.

I do have a lovely trio that might convince you that you should have a Kenner… That and they’re always convincing me that I need more of their vintage sisters in my life.

My Three Loves

For those that don’t know, from left to right is Emmalynn, Primrose and Lillian.

Finding an Inexpensive Kenner?

Written on July 6, 2012 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article, Musings with tags:

I’ve been asked on several occasions how might a Blythe collector be able to get their hands on a vintage Kenner at non-eBay buy it now prices, and it’s very difficult for me to give an actual answer to that. Kenners are a bit like a different animal when compared to Takara or ADG Blythes – it’s a lot easier to price a stock doll (or even a customized modern Blythe) than it is a Kenner at times.

Kenners are all different from each other. In box or out of box; original hair or cut hair; blonde, brunette, red or raven; side parts, centre parts, wispy or chunky bangs; are there cracks, and where are they?; holding clicks in the knees; limbs there or missing; blush or no blush; eyelashes present, missing or wonky. There are so many factors that can make or break the cost of a Kenner being ‘affordable’ to you. Affordability also means different things to different people. To some, it’s in the hundreds while others are willing to pay thousands for a super blushy, non-yellowed, NRFB with original plastic on the box.

KENNERS

I am, however, able to provide some minor tips that may help you find your very own Kenner at a hopefully decent price!

  • Do your research! I would definitely recommend ‘watching’ auctions on eBay for Kenners of various types of conditions and see how much the bidding ends at. You’ll want to note down things like hair colour, cracks, any other damage, if any original clothing or accessories come with the doll. The least expensive Kenners will be those with matted/cut/missing hair, cracks, possibly missing or chewed limbs, no original clothing/accessories and possibly missing a pull string, has clouded chips and yellowing. Also watch for listings with poor, small or blurry photos, the Kenners tend to go for less in these auctions.
  • Take advantage of forums like TIB and BK – post ‘looking for’ threads to see what pops up! When I did this, I had several people offer up Kenners that they were looking to sell. Also look at the selling boards regularly to see if anyone is trying to sell a Kenner. The great thing about buying from a collector is that they’re more likely to disclose flaws, take better photos and also know more of the history of the doll (any repairs, if the scalp is original). eBay sellers are less likely to know about potential flaws as they aren’t collectors/enthusiasts.
  • Check out thrift stores and second hand stores! I’m sure we all still remember that blonde Kenner that was rescued from a thrift store a while back for a grand total of $1.99. Yes, thrift store Kenners do exist! All you need to do is actually look for them. This is more helpful, of course, if you live in a country where Kenners were originally sold.
  • If you do happen to live in a country where Kenner originally carried Blythe, I also recommend checking out garage sales, online listings (eg. craigslist) and local flea markets. You never know if you might come up lucky or not! And it would be fantastic if there were more Kenners in the hands of collectors!

Good luck finding your inexpensive Kenner!

How much are you willing to spend on a Kenner?

Primrose; a little restoration story

Written on April 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags: ,

Primrose is a centre-part brunette Kenner Blythe doll. She came to me with seven lines on her back, super frizzy hair, a replaced string (and pull ring). At one point, her cracked pelvis had been reglued, but she came without any legs. She is also one of the ‘Vancouver Seven’ or ‘Group of Seven’ Blythes that you might have heard about when a Vancouver Blythe collector happened upon a secondhand toy shop that had seven Kenners in stock. Poor Primrose, along with two blonde sisters, were shoved aside because they weren’t presentable enough for the display case.

My two 'new' acquisitions

There was some speculation (on my part, mostly) about what kind of hair she really has. After all, centre-parts are very rare. But close examination of the rooting pattern (and the length of the hairs in front) help secure her place in the world as a centre-part.

Really a centre-part

At one time, someone well-meaning had somehow managed to replace her string. They also gave her a layered hair cut and glued her pelvis. Of course, some little girl out there must have loved her legs right off because despite the secure glue job, she came without her original legs. I like to imagine that at one point in the last forty years, a little girl presented the doll with the pulled-out string in tears and some handy fix-it dad managed to replace the string. Her head, despite little parts of the scalp looking like it’s coming up, appears to not have been opened before.

As always, my disclaimer: I am not a “professional” when it comes to restoring dolls, so if you’re not comfortable with fixing your own Kenner, you should really seek out someone who knows what they’re doing. So I am not responsible if you try this out on your own doll and cause any damage.

I was more than a little nervous when I was pulling out the glued-but-cracked pelvis piece from her 1972 torso. After all, I hadn’t opened her head and did not want to break her neck. I leveraged it out through the leg holes though. Oh, I also hacked apart a stock Takara body. I cut across at where the body’s breasts are and leveraged apart the halves of the torso until I was left with the pelvis and legs.

Are you *sure* you know what you're doing?

The problem with Takara bottoms is that the little ‘plug’ that keeps it from falling out of the torso is too big, so it needs to be made smaller. After reading some tips on This is Blythe and Blythe Kingdom, most people seem to file it down or shave it down. I opted for filing. I was nervous enough about ruining it forever and making it too small. After getting it down to almost the same size as the hole in the torso (but just a wee bit larger), I had to start trying to get the legs in.

Tip! Hot water works wonders! If your hands are getting too hot holding the pieces into water,  you can use tongs or oven mitts to make it easier on you. If you’re trying to pop the pelvis in and it’s not going, put it back into the water (or reheat the water) and try again. Don’t try to force it when the pieces have cooled down.

Learning from what I did when I had worked on Emmalynn, I had a cup of hot (steaming, but not boiling) water. I dipped the plug of the pelvis into the water and also dipped the torso into the water as well. And then I held them there until I got bored of holding them (so probably about 2-3 minutes).  I had the pelvis sitting up and then I pressed down on the doll’s shoulders while holding the pelvis straight until it popped in. Do not press down on the doll’s head, you might break the neck.

I still haven’t switched out Primrose’s string for a while string, or swapped out that weird white plastic ring for a Blythe pull ring. But for now, her restorations are “complete” (mostly giving her legs). Besides washing her hair and giving her a bit of a bath, I did nothing to her hair (not even combing through it!). Her frizzy hair makes for a lot of fun.

Primrose - now and then

Too cool for school.

easterrarityviolet

Blythe On A Budget: Kenner Blush

Written on March 14, 2012 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags: , , ,

My first Kenner love, Emmalynn, came with no visible blush. What I really wanted to do was to add some colour back to her chubby plastic cheeks and I thought I’d share how I did that. This is a temporary method, there’s no permanent change to the plastic of the faceplate and it is reversible.

You will need:

  • A doll in need of blush
  • Pink chalk pastels
  • Cotton ball or cotton pad
  • Water

I bought my chalk pastels at my local dollar store. You can also find chalk pastels at art stores or online. I’ll be using the colour in the upper right hand corner.

I first cleaned my doll’s cheeks with some water, I wanted to make sure that the surface was clean before adding chalk pastels. You can also use soap, but I just use plain water on a tissue paper and give it a nice swipe.

I then used the cotton pad and pressed it to the chalk pastel and make sure that I get some colour on it. Then I dab the pastel to where I want her to have blush on her face plate.

I don’t rub the chalk pastel, I just dab. And I repeat until I’m satisfied with how her blush looks. There will be excess chalk dust, I blew this off. And then I have a blushy looking Kenner that’s ready for a photo or two.

To remove the chalk pastels, you can wipe it off with water. It will also come off with rubbing alcohol.

This was the results of my chalk pastel-ing. I was going for a slightly blushy look and I didn’t want it overwhelming, I think I got some nice results. I may try for more blush later, but for now I’m happy with it:

A touch blushy

Mind the crack; 1972 Kenner Blythe fixed!

Written on February 10, 2012 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags: ,

Hello, gorgeous

Hello, hello! It’s been a while since I really blogged about Emmalynn, the lovely 1972 Kenner Blythe that I got back in late 2011. She hasn’t gotten a whole lot of photo time because she spent quite a bit of time in pieces (I’m a bad doll owner, I know). To recap (for those who didn’t read the original posts), here is the laundry list of things that I did in my quest to restore my vintage beauty to her original glory:

  • Removed her scalp and hard cap; loose hair plugs were secured (with thread) and scalp tears were reinforced
  • Multiple baths for her (a spa wouldn’t be complete without getting rid of the musty smell of old plastic)
  • Partline rethatched (!)
  • Multiple hair treatments with fabric softener, hot water and foam rollers
  • Opening of head to clean out some grime and her eyeballs
  • Gluing her pelvic seam crack
  • Reinserting her poor legs back in (finally!)
  • Replacing her scalp onto her head

Click to read more of this entry.

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