Extreme makeover, Ken edition

On flickr the other day, I saw an awesome AA Ken redo (someone else's ken) and I loved it.  So I set out to reproduce it.  First, I found a cheap "beach steven" because he had molded hair without too much height to it.  He also has the newer, more barbie-like head join, so i didn't have to try to reroot the other type of ken neck--score!  Then I used straight acetone to 'erase' his black hair.  Bald Steven.
I used an extra big "doll" needle to root a line of hair across the front of his hairline. 

There were 14 plugs. If I were to do it again, I wouldn't put plugs quite so close to his ears--they weren't necessary and were harder to glue. 

I braided each plug and fastened it with a tiny rubber band. 

 Then came the hard part.  First off, I learned that hot glue would not work.  I like the instant-grab nature of hot glue, but it dried too bulky and shiny.  So I peeled it off.  Tacky glue would have been good, I think, but I didn't have any, so I went to good old Elmers school glue.  I started with the front center braid and ran a line of glue over the top of his head down to the nape of his neck and laid the braid in it.  It held for all of 2 seconds and popped back up.  There was no way to glue the hair down and have it hold...until I thought of pins. 

So I made lines with the white glue in contours around his head, and pinned the braid in at strategic intervals.  I let it all dry overnight, and it turned out pretty good, except in a few places the glue looked a little flaky, like he had dandruff. 

Fortunately, flocking covers a multitude of sins, AND made the braids look "softer", so the flaking doesn't matter. 

Once the flocking glue is completely dry, I will probably go back and fill in a little bit more where necessary.  But for now, the hair is close enough for government work!  I'm tickled.