This section contains Kens and outfits which are so rare as to be practically unique. A few seem genuine, but most are of dubious authenticity. They are all genuine Mattel, but some may have been altered, either on purpose, or by various ageing processes.
‘TITIAN’ KEN
The most common question I’m asked by other collectors is whether an official flocked hair ‘Titian’ (i.e. red/ginger haired) Ken was ever released. So far in all my research there has been no proof that such a Ken was officially produced. Not one single catalogue features, or makes a mention of, a red-head Ken, and no box has yet been found with ‘Titian’ printed on the box lid end. The few Kens that occasionally appear for sale as ‘Titian’ Kens are either reflocks, or the flocking looks extremely dubious, as if some ageing process has altered it (like the one below).
ODD FACE PAINTING
Kens with unique face-painting are highly suspicious. The Ken below left, sent to me by an Italian collector, has a face just too divergent from the slight and subtle variations known to be 100% genuine. If it were just the side-glancing eyes (with white dots on the wrong side) it would be unusual enough, but he even has oddly slanting eyebrows. Saying that, the execution of the paintwork is far too perfect to be homemade, and it looks genuinely vintage. The jury really is still out on this one!
The ‘brownette’ Ken below right is genuine but extremely unusual, as he the only example I’ve so far discovered with no white dots or flecks painted in his pupils.
The painted hair Ken with the unusual white dots in his eyes, on the other hand, turned out to be a definite fake. It is a Japanese-market Ken (i.e. originally made and sold in Japan), and at first glance the dots could possibly have been genuine. There is a rare unique Japanese-market painted hair Ken (see section 1964 Ken and his buddy Allan) which came with a kind of flocking, so it seemed feasible that this Ken could have also been a genuine variation. However, the current owner wiped over the eyes with a light cleaning agent and the white dots disappeared, leaving him looking like a perfectly normal painted hair Ken.
HYBRID KEN
The painted hair Ken below has the earlier body (original arm mold, wide stance) combined with the later head with bright blue eyes. To judge by every MIB Ken I’ve found and the various contemporary photos, Kens with bright blue eyes were not sold until 1964, by which time they all came with the new arm/hand mold. This Ken could be an odd exception (the Mattel factory in Japan suddenly discovered some old body parts which needed using up), but it is more likely that someone has made a hybrid out of two old Kens. Such ‘Frankenstein’s Monsters’ aren’t that rare, especially in online auctions, and I’ve also seen US-made ‘shorty’ Ken heads on Japan-made bodies (and vice versa). There is even the possibility that Mattel sold (or provided) replacement heads for damaged flocked hair Kens.
KEN SKIN DIVER WITH BADGE
This version of Ken Skin Diver has a sweatshirt with button badge. I’ve been assured the outfit is genuinely NRFB. Of course, it would be possible to open this box, add the badge, and reseal the packaging without leaving any trace, but why anybody should wish to do that is a mystery. If anyone can shed any light on this (for example what the symbol on the badge represents, or whether this could have been a promotional item), please let me know: contact@somethingabouttheboy.com.
PAINTED GUITAR/UKULELE
This painted guitar came with Mattel’s Liddle Kiddles ‘Beat-a-Diddle’ Set #3510, a Sears exclusive from 1966-67. I’ve seen these for sale online both with and without a (red ribbon) strap. I once bought a Ken lot which included this painted guitar, but have no way of knowing if it originally belonged to a Ken set. The only sets that came with a guitar, which I’m aware of, are Ken In Hawaii and Ken’s Party Fun Fashion Pak (without strap) and Ken A Go Go (with black cord strap), but all the NRFP versions I’ve seen so far have had an unpainted guitar. If you have a NRFP set with a painted guitar like this, please let me know: contact@somethingabouttheboy.com. Many thanks to Carla for letting me know about the Liddle Kiddles set!
SPECIAL DATE JACKET/HUNTING SHIRT WITHOUT BREAST POCKET
Ken’s Hunting shirt can occasionally be found without a breast pocket, but the Special Date jacket shown here is practically unique. I’m yet to find a NRFP version of either of these without the pocket, so it’s still unclear whether Mattel really sold some like this (presumably a factory flaw), or whether the pockets were removed a later date.
ROLLER SKATE DATE SWEATER AS A CARDIGAN
This can only be a regular sweater which has been altered later. Presumably it had been torn, and a thrifty mother managed to salvage it by turning it into a cardigan. It is certainly very well sewn.
