This week I'm really happy to be reviewing Target's Our Generation new boy doll Rafael!

Rafael is pretty special because he's the first ever Our Generation boy doll. He's not, however, the first boy from Battat, the company who makes Our Generation dolls. In the 1990s, Battat had another 18" doll collection called Collector's Lane Kids, which included one boy doll and four girl dolls.
 

Battat's First Boy Doll: Jack
 

 

 

He was zip-tied to his box in the usual manner. I'm not too in love with this method of securing dolls to their packing. It's a pain to get them out!

But once he was free I could get a better assessment of him.

One unusual thing I discovered about Rafael is his "crunchy" hair. He was apparently given a generous amount of styling gel to "shellac" the hair in place. It literally crackles when you touch it! And as you can see, the gel wasn't too successful at holding the hair in place--at least in my doll's case. Hair was sticking out here and there and everywhere. I kept wondering if I could just comb it out, or if I was going to have to actually wash it.

 

Another thing that surprised me was that his clothes were tacked to him with thread in way too many places! I counted seven on his upper body alone.
 

 

Even the "drawstring" ends to his track pants are very tightly tacked to the front of the pants. I don't know if these threads are intended to stay, but I decided to remove mine. Careful if you choose to do the same; they are closely attached and removing them might damage the fabric.

 

His "hoodie" is actually a very light, sleeveless windbreaker with a stretch cotton hood. It has the Our Generation label on both the inside and the outside.

 

Underneath the windbreaker, he has a long-sleeved striped knit shirt that Velcros in the back. It fits fairly snugly; the cuffs especially don't have a lot of give.

 

 

He wears stretchy, gray, track pants with a faux drawstring, The pants have elastic around the waist to hold them up.

 

 

He's fairly stable on his feet, though not perfect. I noticed my Rafael wants to lean a bit to the right when he stands.

Here is a comparison of Rafael's body style, size, and shape to Logan Everett's. Like most Our Generation dolls, Rafael appears "pudgier" around the middle than American Girl dolls, but the two compare well in general size. They both have articulated cloth-and-vinyl body styles.

Rafael and Logan each look really good in the others' clothes, but Logan's tight jeans aren't as tight on Rafael, and Rafael's track pants are a little close-fitting on Logan. The difference is marginal, so it shouldn't cause a problem with other wardrobe items. They are actually a good size match.

I also wanted to compare Rafael to one of the My Life As School Boys. 

For starters, blond School Boy looks pretty good in Rafael's track pants and shirt, and they fit his slim, vinyl body really well in a nice, relaxed way. (Even the undershorts fit School Boy better than they do Rafael!)

I'm less impressed with School Boy's clothes on Rafael. Like I discussed on both of my reviews of the My Life As Boys, these dolls are slimmer than other 18" dolls; their clothing fits really snug on Logan Everett. It was pretty much the same story with Rafael squeezing into School Boy's shorts and preppy shirt vest combo. They were a bit tight all the way around and didn't do him any favors visually. The glasses were also too big for his narrow face. My Life As boys have broad faces and rather large heads.

On the other hand, School Boy looked really good in Rafael's casual wear.

That's enough of that. Next, I wanted to see how "stylable" Rafael's hair was. So I watered down his mullet and gave him a more formal, slicked back do.

I think he rocks it!

I think he also looks pretty good with this "emo" look.

Never mind Zoolander, this guy is a natural!

Look at these cool guys. . .

Rafael with his Battat "big brother" Jack.

With My Life As School Boy (blond)