New Kyla Doll
Two weeks ago I posted about the release of new outfits from the London line of the Journey Girls. One of the things that was really interesting was that on the back the photo of the Journey Girls had different outfits than there London meet outfits. And Kyla looked as though she had a new face sculpt!
Well…it is true. Kyla has a new face sculpt. I picked up the new doll to see if there were any other differences. I was surprised by some of the changes and glad that others happened. So let's take a look at the new Kyla doll.
Both of my Kyla's are from the London line. New Kyla's box at first looks exactly the same as the one released at the beginning of the year. The back however has the Journey Girls in their new outfits, and shows Kyla with her new face sculpt.
New Kyla's box front is identical to old Kyla's. |
Kyla's box front from the beginning of the year. |
Notice that Chavonne and Callie's outfits have not changed from the December release. |
The back of Kyla's new box has the girls in different outfits as well as having Kyla's new face sculpt. |
Opening the box is identical to all the other Journey Girls. Find the 4 pieces of tape on the top, cut them (or peel it back), pop open the top, and pull out the cardboard backing that Kyla is attached to.
The red ovals show where the tape is on the box. Cut or peel these back to get the box open. |
Kyla attached to her cardboard backing. |
On the back there are three plastic twists, four plastic I-hooks, and a clear rubber band that will need to be taken off. |
There are three plastic twists (2 on Kyla's ankles and one near her head)that you will need to take off by cutting away the tape and then twisting the twists apart. Also near the middle of the box there are four plastic I-hooks that will need to be cut, after removing the tape that is on top of them.
I've circled the I-hooks that you need to cut in order to get Kyla's jacket free. |
Slip the gray piece out from under the clear rubber band to save it or just cut the rubber band. |
The clear rubber band can be taken off or cut to free Kyla from her backing. |
Take Kyla's boots off to get the twists completely off of her. |
The I-hook is hard to see since it is on the inside of Kyla's jacket. Once you cut this, she is ready for play. |
Kyla's new London meet outfit. |
Here you can see the Velcro that holds Kyla's coat closed. |
Kyla is wearing a t-shirt under her trench coat. |
When I took Kyla's pants off, I got my first surprise. She has on white footless tights under her pants. At first I found this strange. One of my concerns when I bought Kyla and saw the bright blue pants was color transfer. About half of my Journey Girls have some color transfer from their meet clothes. Most of the color transfer is small and in areas that the girls will always have clothes on, but not all of it. I think that these tights are Toys R Us's solution to the color transfer problem. Now that is just my speculation, but it is the only reason I can think to put tights under spandex. No matter what the reason for the tights…I'm glad she has them. I am always a little bummed when a doll comes without proper under garments. I do wish they had feet on them…but again if they are mostly for color transfer, then why put feet on them.
Kyla with her surprising tights. |
When I first put New Kyla next to my old Kyla, I thought that new Kyla was shorter. When I actually measured them though, they are the same size. New Kyla may be an eight of an inch shorter, but I kind of think that the discrepancy was because of my measuring skills.
The first thing that I noticed that was different was Kyla's cloth tummy. It is made out of a different material. The new material is slicker…maybe water resistant (I didn't try this theory). It definitely has a different feel though. It doesn't seem to make a difference as far as how the doll stands or looks. The top torso is the same, as well as the arms and hands. The joints click, which is new. Even after some moving around they still clicked in certain positions. Unfortunately there is no better arm movement. Also Kyla is plagued by the same problem that many of the Journey Girls have; one arm moves more fluidly than the other. It's not loose, one is just harder to move than the other.
Here you can see the difference in the fabric between new Kyla (left) and old Kyla (right). |
Kyla's hip joints are different now. Her legs have a little flair to them at the hip (left) than the more straight look of older Kyla (right). |
A closer view of new Kyla's legs. Notice her hips seem to flair and I think her legs look skinnier at the bottoms. |
Old Kyla's legs don't have a flair at the hip, which makes them look stockier at the bottom. I think they are actually the same at the bottom. |
The girls do the splits to sit. New Kyla (left) seems to do a larger split with her new hip joints. |
Kyla's new stamp to make sure you know she is the real deal. |
Anyways, lets look at the faces. New Kyla's head is actually a bit more round. Her hairline is different, not as much forehead and less arch to the hairline. New Kyla's eyes are a little different shape as well as being set wider apart. Her nose is a little thinner and seems to be further from her eyes. Lastly her lips are in a bigger smile and not quite as pursed.
Kyla's new face sculpt. |
Kyla's old face sculpt looks younger in age to me. |
You can really see a change in the face from the profile. |
Both dolls are very cute! |
I hope that Kyla is the only Journey Girl to get a new sculpt. It brings diversity to the group by having a different face. I like the new smile she has and the shape of her eyes. If you get a chance pick up an old Kyla and a new one. Both are awesome.
Results
All ratings are out of 10
Poseability - 7 – The poseability did not change much for the new Kyla sculpt. Her arms still do not go up all the way when they are out to her side. Her head has great rotation. As I mentioned earlier the joints seem to click in place. I'm not sure if that is because she is so new and with time they will smooth out, or if it is a new feature. The clicks seem to be in positions that would make sense for posing. The thing that brought Kyla down more than some of the other Journey Girls was her splaying legs. Her legs are so far out to the side when she sits that she looks like she is doing the splits. There is no way for her to sit normally on a chair or the floor. It looks goofy and very un-lady like.
Quality - 7 – I feel like this newest iteration of Kyla is a little cheaper. And honestly that is just a felling. There is nothing on the doll that looks worse or gives a feeling of cheapness, especially compared to the dolls in past lines. It could be that I have a few other brands of dolls now and comparatively Kyla doesn't feel as solid. That being said…The Journey Girls are the best value out there. For the money you can not find a more adorable doll. As I have mentioned before, the quality of the vinyl seems very good, the joints are solid (but seem to differ from doll to doll), and the quality of the cloth body is better on Kyla this time around.
Adorableness - 9 – I love Kyla's new face!!! I liked Kyla's old sculpt…but it is the same as Kelsey's Meredith's and Jordanna's. It's nice to get a different face. I think this sculpt stays true to the Journey Girls looks and feel for the line. I do think it make Kyla look more mature. Very cute! I was excited to get her when I saw the photo on the outfit box a few weeks ago.
Compatibility - 6 – As with all of the other Journey Girls, Kyla is skinner than an American Girl doll ( which is what most other companies clothes fit). So clothes from Our Generation, My Life, American Girl, Springfield Collection (JoAnn's and Michael's), and the Queens Treasures, are all a little big. Dresses fit great, but are not form fitting. Pants and skirts are loose and will sometimes fall off. I have reviews of many of the different outfits here…so checkout what fits better than others.
Overall Score - 8 - I think that Kyla is a good solid 8. She has some of the same issues that all the Journey Girls have (namely poseability restrictions and joint discrepancies). Toys R Us has made efforts to address the dye transfer issue (I would rather see them wash the fabric so that the dye can't transfer rather than put a barrier between the doll and the clothing) and has done a great job with diversifying the look of the Journey Girl line. I love Kyla's new face. I like this outfit; it fits with the London theme really well. I like much more than I dislike. If you get a chance, buy Kyla!
1 comment:
Have read lots of your blog now, I have finally been able to buy my own Kyla. I got her at Toys R Us on a recent trip to the UK and she is very cute. I did think that I preferred the older version but now I have my new version girl, I'm happy with her. I picked the one with the best eyes, though I have to say that all the girls in the store had quite good eyes, and although I wasn't able to take her out of the box in the store to check her hips, fortunately they too are good, her hips don't appear to be splayed out at all.
Now all I need is time to make her some new outfits as she is currently in her summer outfit that she came in, and although it's still lovely and warm here, she does need to be prepared in case we have a cold snap! ;)
Hugs Sharon in Spain
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