I e-mailed Electric Tiki and got what I consider a halfway weak answer as to why they're coloring Betty Boop this way.
Basically, Tiki wants their statue to stand out. There are a million other Betty Boop statues that they're competing against. Right now, there's no question their design/pose is better than at least 75% of the other Betty Boop statues on the market.
I just don't think is a good way to color Betty Boop.
Either go FULL-COLOR with a decent color scheme, or B & W I say. Half-way inbetween does NOT look good. I'm in total agree with Ben on that one.
If this is the final proposed paint job, I'm not so sure I'd buy the Tiki statue after all...
They won't be hurting for sales from me because I want to get BOTH versions of the Fleischer Popeye and Mandy (the pinup gal!), but it's beginning to look like I may look at another Betty Boop statue.
There are a TON of Betty Boop statues for sale on e-Bay now. It's just a matter of sifting through and deciding which design is closest to being on-model, which poses you like best, and ultimately which color/design suits your fancy. There's also the matter of how much money you're willing to spend on the statue, too!
I LIKE the Tiki pose -- it's classic Betty --, but I hate the coloring job as it stands now. It's half-good, but not good enough as it stands now for me to spend my money on IMHO.