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Post by darklament on Jun 15, 2006 20:32:40 GMT -5
Kaya's tepee was released in 2002 and redesigned in December, 2010.Help Kaya put together this tepee that’s just her size. Girls built tepees like this one as practice for when they would be responsible for building their village’s shelter. Two tule mats trim the entrance. Outside, her wood fire really lights up! W: 30”, H: 28”, D: 26”Original Tepee: Ahhh, there's nothing that makes one feel more in touch with the ways of life of the Native Americans then trying to get sticks to stay in A, B, C1, etc. holes in a cardboard base. : The finished procduct is admittedly very awesome to look at. The plastic sticks are very realistic looking, and add to the effect. However, the cardboard base really is....... tacky? So overall I give this a B. I would recommend it to any Kaya owner with the ready wallet. I am thinking of making a new base for mine, perhaps out of thin plywood...... I should have plenty of scraps... ;D
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Post by Samsunflower1232 on Jun 15, 2006 20:53:15 GMT -5
Original Tepee: Lol good one about the holes! It's nice to display but takes up alot of space and the poles are touchy when being put up. Can you imgaine having to set up a person sized teepee? no wonder native women were strong:) those poles must be huge! I can fit alot of Kaya stuff inside just uh not Kaya very well,she tends to look like Godzilla destroying downtown Toyko by poking out the top of the teepee. -Sarah
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Post by QNPoohBear on Jun 16, 2006 19:58:39 GMT -5
Original Tepee:
I love the teepee. I don't have it, but I've seen it. It feels like leather and it's so cool how the top part is blackened to look like it has been blakened by smoke. I'm a bit confused as to why it's leather and not tule (sp?) though. The teepee would make Kaya more playable but I don't have the room.
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Post by Samsunflower1232 on Jun 16, 2006 20:50:49 GMT -5
Original Tepee:
Because you'd need alot of tule reeds to make a teepee and they where usually lashed together in small groups to make mats etc not larger coverings. Make them too big and them become prone to cracking and I think it would be tricky getting them to stay in place.
By using hide(buffalo) it would be easier to secure and transport.
-Sarah
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Post by sailorangel59 on Aug 18, 2006 17:27:46 GMT -5
Original Tepee:
I like the Teepee, it is a great place to store most of Kaya's items. The only problem I've been having with it is putting it up, or trying to keep the sticks in the holes. This has proven to be very difficult for some reason. All and all it is a great product. B+
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Post by Keri on Feb 11, 2007 19:39:23 GMT -5
Because you'd need alot of tule reeds to make a teepee and they where usually lashed together in small groups to make mats etc not larger coverings. Make them too big and them become prone to cracking and I think it would be tricky getting them to stay in place. By using hide(buffalo) it would be easier to secure and transport. -Sarah Just a note that Kaya's tribe used the tule mats for their tipis. That's probably why it's odd that the toy one is made of leather - but I can see how the leather is more practical as a toy. --- KERI
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Post by Kirsten on Oct 21, 2007 16:21:40 GMT -5
Original Tepee:
I bought my daughter the teepee last year for christmas. I was not at all impressed. I would have returned it if I could(came from Santa) My husband had a hard time putting it together and the sticks look cheap. They never stay in their holes.
It is impressive once set up, but not easy to move and too small really for Kaya.
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Post by C.I.Fairfield on Oct 21, 2007 16:46:33 GMT -5
Original Tepee:
After reading the description several times, I have realized that the teepee is not supposed to be full-sized. It's a model. One of Kaya's books talks about how girls used to practice building teepees for their dolls, or as mini-clubhouse kind of things. So it's not meant to be completely full-sized, although I do think it's bit big if it's supposed to be a model! (And yes, it's definitely weird that it's made out of leather rather than the tule mats she would have really used.)
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Post by SarahL on May 20, 2008 23:28:19 GMT -5
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Post by SarahL on May 20, 2008 23:53:57 GMT -5
I went to the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR. They have an exhibit on Indian Nations of the Columbia River Plateau, which the Nez Perce is one of. At the entrance, they had this tule tepee on display, which is closer to what Kaya would have used than the AG product: Original Tepee: Here is a picture of Kaya's tepee with her other items:
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Post by SarahL on May 21, 2008 17:08:43 GMT -5
Original Tepee: Grade: A- The scale is a bit small, and the material isn't actually accurate, but it's still such a cute item that I really enjoy it. I love assembling it! It's pretty sturdy for me. The poles that pop out of their holes the most often when the tepee is moved are the flap supports, and those aren't structurally important. I can drag the tepee all over the carpet. If a couple pegs do pop out of their holes, the tepee doesn't collapse. I can just pop them back in and keep playing. Kaya with her tepee. She is standing on the tepee base. The mat on the left slipped. Oops. The mats can be placed inside the tepee as sitting spots. Back view: The opening is a bit small and a tight fit for Kaya to get through. You pretty much have to shove her through laying down. Here are pictures of her crawling out: Kaya can sit inside the tepee. However, there isn't room for another doll. I guess a good AG excuse for not making Speaking Rain. Kaya's head is touching a pole. I adore how the fire pit looks turned on. I tried to get a picture without the flash so you could get an idea of what it looks like. It's even better in a darker room: The fire pit is made of plastic. It has a button built into one of the rocks for a power switch. The inside of the logs are painted to look like they're burning. A size comparison of Kaya and the fire pit. It's right next to her feet. I took this close-up of the bulbs in the fire pit in hopes that you can see what they look like. They are half the size of Christmas lights that are normally shaped liked this. There are 3 orange ones in a triangular pattern with a yellow one in the middle as well as a yellow one attached to the top of the sticks. The two yellow bulbs flicker giving it a great glowing fire effect. The bummer is the bulbs don't look replacable once they burn out. This close-up allows you to see the texture and wooden pins (they're plastic). The pattern on the hide is pretty obviously printed on. You can see some pixeling. The hide spread over the other poles but not attached (you can see the holes for the pins): This is what the tepee looks like with its structural supports in place. Includes my foot for size comparison (and EofA): Here's Kaya sitting inside for a better look at how she fits: Also, Kaya laying down: Here is the base folded up and ready to put away. Kaya is folded up next to it for a size comparison:
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Post by American Girl Rescue on Sept 29, 2008 19:44:49 GMT -5
Original Tepee: Kaya’s Tepee Item# F7788 $70
Girls built tepees like this one as practice for when they would be responsible to build their village’s shelter. Also included with the set are two tule mats to trim the tepee’s entrance, plus a wood fire that really lights up. dimensions: W: 30”, H: 28”, D: 26”
While I love having this, because it means we have everything for a complete Kaya collection, we really don't use it much. It stays out all the time because it's so very hard to put up and take down. It really could have a better design so that it would stay together better. Not as much play value as other items, but a great display piece. (my cat keeping cozy in the tepee)
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Post by MaryCarly on Oct 28, 2009 9:49:46 GMT -5
Original Tepee
I used to own it, but I sent mine back after I saw it set up at a friend's house. It was both bigger and smaller than I had expected; it took up a lot of room, yet there wasn't much space inside. I recently fell in love with the Kaya scenes at ourdolls.net and now I am kind of wishing I had kept the Tepee as it could be used to make an awesome display, but I still don't think it is very playable.
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arlsdimples
Girl of Many Lands
Order of the Llama
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Post by arlsdimples on Oct 28, 2009 10:27:40 GMT -5
Original Tepee
I use it only as a display piece around Thanksgiving. It does take up a bit of space. It takes up a similar amount of space as Felicity's carriage or the sleigh with the horse. It looks very nice set up. It is not to scale or her to use to live in. I do not have Kaya yet, I've used other dolls with it. They can sit inside, but I'm not sure about standing. I remember reading somewhere that the children would build smaller versions of the Tepee's as a way of practicing making them or putting them up. This is about the scale it would be.
I'll look and see if I have any pictures, I'm not sure if they will help or not.
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Post by PleasantMemories on Oct 28, 2009 17:45:53 GMT -5
Original Tepee
I’m glad to hear that others have had differing experiences, but my kids and I have been very disappointed with Kaya’s teepee. Although the piece looks wonderful in scenes, it seems to better for display than play. Perhaps it’s because my kids aren’t really dollhouse fans (they feel limited by the space restrictions), but we’ve found that the piece has little playability. Like others have mentioned, Kaya can sit and lie down in her tepee, but that’s about it. There’s not much room for actual play. It’s comparable to a very large doll bed.
The most significant problem that we’ve had with the teepees is their durability. Between the kids and me, we have at least six of them (both 1st & 2nd quality) and none of them are significantly sturdier than the rest. As careful as the kids are during play, teepee reconstruction is a frequent occurrence. It gets frustrating for the kids and I don’t particularly enjoy the set-up bit either. We don’t keep ours up all the time, but I’d probably look for ways more permanent ways to keep certain pieces together if we did.
For us, the fire is the highlight of the set. The fires see lots of playtime and are used with everyone from Felicity to the JLY dolls.
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Post by JustMagicMaria on Feb 20, 2013 21:50:36 GMT -5
There are few AG products I dislike, but this is one of them. It is very poorly designed. The sticks don't stay in the holes and it is very easy to knock over. I put it together for this picture (after having to lock my cat in kitty jail to make it possible) but I doubt I'll ever bother to again. My girls never liked it, especially after a few of the poles broke. The fire was always a huge favorite, however.
I've seen the new one at the AG store and it looks much better designed. Hopefully the new poles are also sturdier.
Grade: D
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Post by cheshie04 on Jul 20, 2015 23:48:33 GMT -5
Got this one summer 2004 as a gift from my dad. I really can't understand everyones complaints. Mine has never fallen, and once the sticks are all in place they don't come out. Kaya can fit just fine. I love the fire.
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Post by Wickfield on Nov 3, 2015 10:10:58 GMT -5
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