To start 2023 in a nice way, Integrity Toys replaced Dolly Days (a week of various online doll offerings) with Dolly Fridays: each Friday for the three remaining weeks of January, W Club members will be receiving offerings from the company. The 4th W Club Exclusive of the 2022 membership year was the first doll unveiled on Friday the 13th no less! Designer Vaughn Sawyers was inspired by a metropolitan adventure to come up with a new version of Tajinder "Taj" Chowdhury. The doll was presented in an email, with the Indian character getting whitewashed as a blonde, light-skinned guy (Hungarian was the original script for his skin tone), while in a subsequent email, we were informed that he will be actually made with the Sunkissed tone. More about this after the photos and stats.
Item #21030
Metropolitan Adventurer
Tajinder Chowdhury™ Dressed Fashion Figure
The Monarchs Homme™ Collection
2022 W Club Exclusive Doll
Edition Size: TBD
Expected Ship Date: Late Summer/Fall 2023
Head Sculpt: Callum/Tajinder/Dalpinder 1.0
Body Type: Homme 1.5
Skin Tone: Hungarian
Hair Color: Caramel Blend
Price: $165 + S & H
Sales method: These figures are guaranteed made-to-order for 2022 W Club members only- 1 per membership.
($50.00 NRD deposit due now, $115.00 + S & H due in approximately late Summer/Fall 2023).
The Story:
Follow international movie star Tajinder Chowdhury, as he travels across Europe with the production team of his next blockbuster movie, as they scout for the perfect metropolitan setting for the big climactic scene of the production!
Everything will need to be just right and the team knows that Taj is not only the hottest leading man in front of the camera, but his unique perspective and keen eye are truly an asset behind the camera as well and his input is always welcome!
Included:
12.5-inch articulated fashion figure with fully rooted hair;
Double breasted, navy blue "adventurer" style jacket with four topstitched cargo pockets;
Casual long-sleeved cotton shirt;
Dark blue jeans;
Pale grey winged tip shoes with mismatched buckles (one traditional buckle and one watch-face buckle);
Faux-leather tote bag with contrasting navy blue accents and fully functional zip closure;
Gunmetal aviator sunglasses;
Chunky chain choker with monogrammed signet detail;
Gunmetal ring;
One gunmetal hoop earring and one stud earring;
Gunmetal timepiece;
Pair of regular "Homme" hands;
Alternate pair of "Homme" grip hands;
Fashion figure stand;
Certificate of authenticity.
How can an experienced, professional, long lived company release proper, styled, well produced photos of a doll’s final prototype and unveil it to the public, then release a hushed, head-on-a-pole photo of said doll in a different coloured skin tone? What the heck happened? Was it a knee-jerk reaction to online comments about whitewashing an Indian character? Some would say it is not the first time we see POC characters appearing in a different skin tone, even lighter or downright pale. I would reply yes we have, but it is the norm that this happens after they establish said characters and have them some years around, not in their very second appearance ever.
The fact is that the prototype photos do make Tajinder look more like Callum, the character that first appeared in this sculpt, a Caucasian character. Indian people do have many different skin tones of course. But this whole situation is kind of weird. It does not help that apart from that, the doll is not something extraordinary. If you check older male Integrity Toys dolls, you will see many iterations of this particular style (suit, long hair, sunglasses, man bag, great shoes, watch etc) and in similar colours (but grey shoes? Really? Yuck). So if it is the first time you are getting such a doll, it is a perfectly stylish buy (although those external pockets add a lot of bulk to the silhouette). For the rest of us, it is a pass. Which makes the W Club dolls I am passing this year three!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Prototypes shown, final product may vary. This collectible is meant for adult collectors ages 15 and up only.
All text and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2023 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. THE MONARCHS HOMME and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. All rights reserved. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. Photography by Bill and Shaunessey Peck. Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.