Almighty Hat (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hat_plays_dolls) wrote2018-03-21 10:27 pm
hat_plays_dolls) wrote2018-03-21 10:27 pm
Entry tags:
Doll Review: Monster Family Lagoona & Kelpie Blue 2-pack
Well, I'm sure we all know by now that Toys R Us is going out of business (unless the dude who runs MGA pulls a miracle out of his butt), which means it's time for:
A. Closeout sales!
and
B. Grabbing whatever you've been waiting on before it's gone, closeout sale or no.
Lagoona and Kelpie, here, are a case of Option B. The TRU one town over didn't have much good (I did grab a First Day of School Frankie for $7 but NONE of her photos turned out) and my local TRU isn't on closeout prices yet, so these two girls were a $20 treat-yourself moment. On top of a mess of clear pics so you can get a good look at the set and make your own decisions, I ran through my Lagoona wardrobe to see if I could find anything that fit Kelpie.
Minor bummer about the Monster Family box art-- I'd love to save the stuff from the front, but that's always where the glue is blobbed on.
The back has names printed over the pics.
If Ebbie actually looked that cute I'd have one already.
And the blurb. Like all the Monster Family dolls, Lagoona and Kelpie are made in Indonesia, so it's best to check them out in person if at all possible rather than shopping online. If I have to order dolls I want for the dolls online regularly, I'ma do a LOT of returning, because box hair is fixable but eye wonk is forever.
Actual dolls, no plastic in the way! Again, the package was easy to get open, and both dolls and all the accessories were secured with either garment-tag thingies or clear rubber bands. I do appreciate that the boxes are easy-open, even if I kind of miss being able to save box art if I got it in my head to do so.
Both dolls have five points of articulation (neck, shoulders, and hips), and come wearing two-piece swimwear (tankini for Lagoona, maillot and skirt for Kelpie), sunglasses, and sandals. Lagoona's green beach bag is empty, while Kelpie's orange basket has a sub sandwich and lidded cup with straw.
As always, I'ma start with the girl we already know. All the Lagoonas I checked out had pretty good eyes and no thumbprints in their blush; this one's blobby lipstick wasn't a dealbreaker for me because... well, I'd've bought Kelpie separately, honestly. Anyway, the Reboot has been very kind to Lagoona, although this Lagoona has nylon hair-- about the same quality as Pharrah's, so it's actually reasonably touchable. Brush or comb it, however, and it poofs out like mad.
Lagoona's I Am Not A Deer orange sunglasses are recasts of her Swim Class/Beach Beasties/Creepy Coast shades-- sort of.
They're mostly the same, but have been resculpted with loops, I would guess for tags to be shot through. Why the tag was at the bridge of the shades, I do not know.
The swimsuit doesn't thrill me, partly because the ribbon on mine is sewn crooked (I can fix that but shouldn't have to), but I will say-- if you're gonna do a five-points-of-articulation version of a doll that normally has eleven points of articulation, going contrapasto is a great way to do it.
Lagoona's shoes are a Campus Stroll recast in Blaze Orange, and are difficult to both photograph and look at.
Her bag has been seen at least three times that I know of-- her Flashion Mob fashion pack in blue, School's Out/Campus Stroll/Wave 2 in pink, and in that reboot Frankie cafeteria set in yellow. I don't know why Frankie got it when it's got Lagoona's skullette molded on, and I don't know who was responsible for giving Lagoona an accessory in this color green. It doesn't go with-- okay it SORT OF goes with TWO things, but I had to dig.
Yeah. Nobody's here for Lagoona. I'm not even here for this Lagoona. We're here for Kelpie.
Kelpie stands about eight and a half inches tall, and she's pretty darned close to how she looked in Great Scarrier Reef. Like Lagoona, she has green eyes, shimmery skin, and partially-blonde curls. Unlike Lagoona, she's beautifully purple and her curls are untamed and wild. She also wears glasses-- well, they're done here as sunglasses, but in GSR they were just glasses-glasses.
She has a purple kelp headband...
Teal wedge flip-flops...
And a one-piece bathing suit with the scaly-heart design that was on her tank top in GSR.
Here's a close-up with no glasses-- Kelpie's MF glasses are gray but still fairly clear, so it's not TOO hard to play Spot The Wonk Eye. My Kelpie's lips are a little crooked, but I find lips easy to repaint. Eyes? Not so much.
Kelpie has scales, fins, and spikes on her arms...
Scales and fins on her legs...
Gently webbed fingers...
And clawed toes. Seriously whoever was responsible for this body sculpt put some work into Kelpie. I'd be thrilled to see a more articulated version someday, but not at the expense of all this detail.
Kelpie has large ears to help hold her hair back.
In fact, they're so large that they're inserted into her head separately, and are a harder vinyl than her head. Which I think is a good thing!
Here are Kelpie's curls, dampened down and hit with a wide-toothed comb. Although Kelpie was made in Indonesia, she doesn't have ANY glue in her head-- likely because it would leak out around her ears, literally-- and because her curls are so tight, her hair is saran, not nylon. It's a lovely puffy soft cloud of blue-and-blonde. If all the nylon hair has been frustrating you lately, Kelpie won't break your heart.
And articulation. Her legs splay a little-- not terribly, but a little-- and her arms only swing, with no outward rotation. On the one hand, I'm kind of used to that, because when I was a kid that was a Palms-Toward-Rear or PTR Barbie, because honestly those click knees were untrustworthy. On the other hand...
Kelpie's ears kind of get in the way of her arm rotation.
Kelpie's basket tote appears to be a new mesh in bright, bright coral with tentacle handles, but her drink is a recast of Freaky Field Trip Toralei's souvenir shark mug (and it's adorable so I'm not complaining) and the sandwich is from the Beast Bites Creepateria.
I thought the sandwich could be split in two so Lagoona and Kelpie could share, but it appears to be well-glued. Oh well.
So here's Kelpie and Monster Exchange Lagoona (who I picked for her hair but I later realized she's got different brows and lashes than your typical Classic Lagoona) trying to help demonstrate that the Monster Family dolls are a good stylistic match for Classic Monster High whether you like the rest of the Reboot or not.
Here, let's throw MF Lagoona in there as another point of reference. While Kelpie does have the blush that sets Reboot dolls apart, on her purple skin it's fairly subtle. Her eye shape is more the happy-looking shape of Classic Lagoona than Reboot Lagoona's look of vague wonder.
I dunno, I'm not sure what I think of this shot, but I tried.
Lagoona is wearing her Gloom Beach outfit, which I thought was pretty close to the MF swimsuit in overall design.
So here's how Madread Lagoona looks in the MF swimsuit! It doesn't fit well in the top because one of the straps is too long, but the colors work on her.
It wouldn't work as well, I think, on a Lagoona who didn't have coral-toned lipstick.
Before my conclusions on the two-pack and a Kelpie fashion show, please look at this stupid green bag. It's surrounded by ALL my Lagoona stuff. Look at it. Look at it failing to coordinate. Why this green. It's not even anywhere else in the dang two-pack it came in.
OKAY ANYWAY.
In conclusion, Kelpie is technically a Classic character-- she fangirled all over Kala in Great Scarrier Reef and wants to be a dancer-- and her Monster Family incarnation is pretty true to her appearance in GSR, if you don't count being a beach doll instead of a signature doll. I could wish she were smiling and showing off her braces, but that's two more paint apps and Mattel is still skimping right now.
Lagoona, in this two-pack, is cute but nothing special. As ever, the reboot has been kind to her, but she's basically just there so Kelpie wasn't unescorted in the toy store. Her sunglasses and shoes are cute, if you need a mannequin Lagoona to hold up an outfit she will do that for you, and honestly with her minimal articulation and nylon hair, I would happily hand this Lagoona off to very young kid. She's harder to destroy than your average articulated Lagoona, and that's great when you have a young child around who wants to play dolls with you. (Which I do. Nephew is three and Niece is one and I keep taking Auntie's Nice Dolls away from them.)
Which leaves Kelpie.
I do not think Kelpie is worth the $20 MSRP of this two-pack by herself (I feel like she would've been fine on her own for $12, like Alivia and Howleen), and If I weren't feeling rushed along because TRU is closing and I've never seen Kelpie at Target and I don't shop at Wal-Mart unless I'm desperate, I would've waited for a sale. But Toys R Us is five billion dollars in debt and thaaaaaaat is gonna affect Mattel's manufacturing choices in the future, so I panicked and grabbed a Kelpie at full price.
So... yeah, I guess there's my conclusion-- if you can wait for a sale, good for you, but if your in-person buying options are limited for Monster High, go get Kelpie now. Don't wait for liquidation sales. Go go go. Hell only knows if we'll ever see her again and she IS darling.
Sadly, Kelpie's style isn't well-established and her only outfit so far is a bathing suit. Fortunately, her torso is about the same dimensions as Lagoona's-- a little shorter, yeah, but I had some luck redressing her.
Campus Stroll romper with Dawn of the Dance gold kelp arm wraps! The mesh bodysuit that goes under the romper won't fit past Kelpie's fingers, fins, or spikes and I wasn't gonna wreck it trying. I kind of like it without the underlayer? It feels kind of 80s-kid.
Basic/Flashion Mob fashion pack dress only, with lightly-painted FCA Black Carpet nautilus headband-- the straps are a little loose on the dress, but aside from being kinda dark, it's a cute look on Kelpie.
Student Disembody Council dress with (lightly painted) FCA Black Carpet necklace. Again, a little dark, but I actually really dig the giant statement necklace on tiny little Kelpie. It looks like the sort of thing I would've insisted on wearing when I was ten.
Wheel Love romper with Maul Fashion Pack glasses. I feel like the metallic teal brightens it up just enough that it doesn't look too formal (though, watch Kelpie's curls frizz up as I keep changing her clothes). Also--
While the Maul glasses fit Kelpie better than they EVER fit Lagoona, boy HOWDY do they magnify Kelpie's eyes. Wow.
Getting a little color in here with Picture Day-- I was delighted the capris fit as well as the minidress. Also, this is one of TWO Lagoona outfits I own that actually has some slime green for that stupid beach bag to pick up on.
Kelpie's head is a little small for the Swim Class headband without a slight cheat, sadly.
Okay, Lagoona's SKRM uniform also has a touch of that green-- but I won't be putting it on Kelpie again. There's a hidden snug sleeve under that yellow drape, and it was nerve-wracking getting Kelpie's fingers through it. Since Kelpie's arms are fixed, she needs armscyes she can get her splayed hands through easily.
Or sleeveless looks like Lagoona's Monster Exchange dress, shown here with Maul Fashion Pack glasses, FCA Black Carpet headband and purse, and Disembody Council seahorse necklace. Kelpie's all dressed up in this one!
And a little sportier in Lagoona's Ghouls' Night Out dress and belt, with that same necklace and the Skull Shores headband. The pink shrug jacket has tiny narrow sleeves, so no matter how cute it would've been, Kelpie can't wear it.
I couldn't get Kelpie into Lagoona's Classroom shorts or T-shirt, but her anchor-and-bubble sundress looks really cute on Kelpie. (Yes, I do like that nautilus, why do you ask?)
Lagoona's Scaris outfit looks good on everyone. It was an adventure getting both Kelpie's hands through the non-stretchy overdress's armscyes (one was fine, the other a little snug), but it turned out really cute.
Ghouls' Beast Pet or Pet Beast or-- the sea turtle dress, with Swim Class headband. I kinda dig this one on Kelpie, honestly, although what really feels like Kelpie's Fashion Sense to me is Pile On Three More Things. Tween Excess. She needs leggings or capris and a top and a skirt and shoes and a jacket and a scarf and a hat and a necklace and like six bracelets and maybe some fancy socks.
So I tried Monster Family Lagoona's tankini on Kelpie, and as you can see, it fits! The top's hem and bottom's waistband are a lot closer together, and--
The shoulder straps are baggy (and you can really see how the ribbon kind of... wanders), but it definitely does fit.
I want to say that Skipper or Stacie clothes might also fit her-- but I haven't bought a Skipper or a Stacie since the turn of the millenium so what I have in my toybox doesn't reflect what's on store shelves right now. Still, Kelpie-- and thus, Alivia and Howleen-- have clothing options, which Barker, Pawla, Ebbie, Fangelica, Pharrah, and Lux are all sorely lacking.
And yes. The Wolf three-pack is next on my 'oh god grab it' list.
Like what I do and want to help me feed my cats, but don't need anything I have for sale on eBay? You can always support me on Patreon or throw some change in my tip jar.
A. Closeout sales!
and
B. Grabbing whatever you've been waiting on before it's gone, closeout sale or no.
Lagoona and Kelpie, here, are a case of Option B. The TRU one town over didn't have much good (I did grab a First Day of School Frankie for $7 but NONE of her photos turned out) and my local TRU isn't on closeout prices yet, so these two girls were a $20 treat-yourself moment. On top of a mess of clear pics so you can get a good look at the set and make your own decisions, I ran through my Lagoona wardrobe to see if I could find anything that fit Kelpie.
Minor bummer about the Monster Family box art-- I'd love to save the stuff from the front, but that's always where the glue is blobbed on.
The back has names printed over the pics.
If Ebbie actually looked that cute I'd have one already.
And the blurb. Like all the Monster Family dolls, Lagoona and Kelpie are made in Indonesia, so it's best to check them out in person if at all possible rather than shopping online. If I have to order dolls I want for the dolls online regularly, I'ma do a LOT of returning, because box hair is fixable but eye wonk is forever.
Actual dolls, no plastic in the way! Again, the package was easy to get open, and both dolls and all the accessories were secured with either garment-tag thingies or clear rubber bands. I do appreciate that the boxes are easy-open, even if I kind of miss being able to save box art if I got it in my head to do so.
Both dolls have five points of articulation (neck, shoulders, and hips), and come wearing two-piece swimwear (tankini for Lagoona, maillot and skirt for Kelpie), sunglasses, and sandals. Lagoona's green beach bag is empty, while Kelpie's orange basket has a sub sandwich and lidded cup with straw.
As always, I'ma start with the girl we already know. All the Lagoonas I checked out had pretty good eyes and no thumbprints in their blush; this one's blobby lipstick wasn't a dealbreaker for me because... well, I'd've bought Kelpie separately, honestly. Anyway, the Reboot has been very kind to Lagoona, although this Lagoona has nylon hair-- about the same quality as Pharrah's, so it's actually reasonably touchable. Brush or comb it, however, and it poofs out like mad.
Lagoona's I Am Not A Deer orange sunglasses are recasts of her Swim Class/Beach Beasties/Creepy Coast shades-- sort of.
They're mostly the same, but have been resculpted with loops, I would guess for tags to be shot through. Why the tag was at the bridge of the shades, I do not know.
The swimsuit doesn't thrill me, partly because the ribbon on mine is sewn crooked (I can fix that but shouldn't have to), but I will say-- if you're gonna do a five-points-of-articulation version of a doll that normally has eleven points of articulation, going contrapasto is a great way to do it.
Lagoona's shoes are a Campus Stroll recast in Blaze Orange, and are difficult to both photograph and look at.
Her bag has been seen at least three times that I know of-- her Flashion Mob fashion pack in blue, School's Out/Campus Stroll/Wave 2 in pink, and in that reboot Frankie cafeteria set in yellow. I don't know why Frankie got it when it's got Lagoona's skullette molded on, and I don't know who was responsible for giving Lagoona an accessory in this color green. It doesn't go with-- okay it SORT OF goes with TWO things, but I had to dig.
Yeah. Nobody's here for Lagoona. I'm not even here for this Lagoona. We're here for Kelpie.
Kelpie stands about eight and a half inches tall, and she's pretty darned close to how she looked in Great Scarrier Reef. Like Lagoona, she has green eyes, shimmery skin, and partially-blonde curls. Unlike Lagoona, she's beautifully purple and her curls are untamed and wild. She also wears glasses-- well, they're done here as sunglasses, but in GSR they were just glasses-glasses.
She has a purple kelp headband...
Teal wedge flip-flops...
And a one-piece bathing suit with the scaly-heart design that was on her tank top in GSR.
Here's a close-up with no glasses-- Kelpie's MF glasses are gray but still fairly clear, so it's not TOO hard to play Spot The Wonk Eye. My Kelpie's lips are a little crooked, but I find lips easy to repaint. Eyes? Not so much.
Kelpie has scales, fins, and spikes on her arms...
Scales and fins on her legs...
Gently webbed fingers...
And clawed toes. Seriously whoever was responsible for this body sculpt put some work into Kelpie. I'd be thrilled to see a more articulated version someday, but not at the expense of all this detail.
Kelpie has large ears to help hold her hair back.
In fact, they're so large that they're inserted into her head separately, and are a harder vinyl than her head. Which I think is a good thing!
Here are Kelpie's curls, dampened down and hit with a wide-toothed comb. Although Kelpie was made in Indonesia, she doesn't have ANY glue in her head-- likely because it would leak out around her ears, literally-- and because her curls are so tight, her hair is saran, not nylon. It's a lovely puffy soft cloud of blue-and-blonde. If all the nylon hair has been frustrating you lately, Kelpie won't break your heart.
And articulation. Her legs splay a little-- not terribly, but a little-- and her arms only swing, with no outward rotation. On the one hand, I'm kind of used to that, because when I was a kid that was a Palms-Toward-Rear or PTR Barbie, because honestly those click knees were untrustworthy. On the other hand...
Kelpie's ears kind of get in the way of her arm rotation.
Kelpie's basket tote appears to be a new mesh in bright, bright coral with tentacle handles, but her drink is a recast of Freaky Field Trip Toralei's souvenir shark mug (and it's adorable so I'm not complaining) and the sandwich is from the Beast Bites Creepateria.
I thought the sandwich could be split in two so Lagoona and Kelpie could share, but it appears to be well-glued. Oh well.
So here's Kelpie and Monster Exchange Lagoona (who I picked for her hair but I later realized she's got different brows and lashes than your typical Classic Lagoona) trying to help demonstrate that the Monster Family dolls are a good stylistic match for Classic Monster High whether you like the rest of the Reboot or not.
Here, let's throw MF Lagoona in there as another point of reference. While Kelpie does have the blush that sets Reboot dolls apart, on her purple skin it's fairly subtle. Her eye shape is more the happy-looking shape of Classic Lagoona than Reboot Lagoona's look of vague wonder.
I dunno, I'm not sure what I think of this shot, but I tried.
Lagoona is wearing her Gloom Beach outfit, which I thought was pretty close to the MF swimsuit in overall design.
So here's how Madread Lagoona looks in the MF swimsuit! It doesn't fit well in the top because one of the straps is too long, but the colors work on her.
It wouldn't work as well, I think, on a Lagoona who didn't have coral-toned lipstick.
Before my conclusions on the two-pack and a Kelpie fashion show, please look at this stupid green bag. It's surrounded by ALL my Lagoona stuff. Look at it. Look at it failing to coordinate. Why this green. It's not even anywhere else in the dang two-pack it came in.
OKAY ANYWAY.
In conclusion, Kelpie is technically a Classic character-- she fangirled all over Kala in Great Scarrier Reef and wants to be a dancer-- and her Monster Family incarnation is pretty true to her appearance in GSR, if you don't count being a beach doll instead of a signature doll. I could wish she were smiling and showing off her braces, but that's two more paint apps and Mattel is still skimping right now.
Lagoona, in this two-pack, is cute but nothing special. As ever, the reboot has been kind to her, but she's basically just there so Kelpie wasn't unescorted in the toy store. Her sunglasses and shoes are cute, if you need a mannequin Lagoona to hold up an outfit she will do that for you, and honestly with her minimal articulation and nylon hair, I would happily hand this Lagoona off to very young kid. She's harder to destroy than your average articulated Lagoona, and that's great when you have a young child around who wants to play dolls with you. (Which I do. Nephew is three and Niece is one and I keep taking Auntie's Nice Dolls away from them.)
Which leaves Kelpie.
I do not think Kelpie is worth the $20 MSRP of this two-pack by herself (I feel like she would've been fine on her own for $12, like Alivia and Howleen), and If I weren't feeling rushed along because TRU is closing and I've never seen Kelpie at Target and I don't shop at Wal-Mart unless I'm desperate, I would've waited for a sale. But Toys R Us is five billion dollars in debt and thaaaaaaat is gonna affect Mattel's manufacturing choices in the future, so I panicked and grabbed a Kelpie at full price.
So... yeah, I guess there's my conclusion-- if you can wait for a sale, good for you, but if your in-person buying options are limited for Monster High, go get Kelpie now. Don't wait for liquidation sales. Go go go. Hell only knows if we'll ever see her again and she IS darling.
Sadly, Kelpie's style isn't well-established and her only outfit so far is a bathing suit. Fortunately, her torso is about the same dimensions as Lagoona's-- a little shorter, yeah, but I had some luck redressing her.
Campus Stroll romper with Dawn of the Dance gold kelp arm wraps! The mesh bodysuit that goes under the romper won't fit past Kelpie's fingers, fins, or spikes and I wasn't gonna wreck it trying. I kind of like it without the underlayer? It feels kind of 80s-kid.
Basic/Flashion Mob fashion pack dress only, with lightly-painted FCA Black Carpet nautilus headband-- the straps are a little loose on the dress, but aside from being kinda dark, it's a cute look on Kelpie.
Student Disembody Council dress with (lightly painted) FCA Black Carpet necklace. Again, a little dark, but I actually really dig the giant statement necklace on tiny little Kelpie. It looks like the sort of thing I would've insisted on wearing when I was ten.
Wheel Love romper with Maul Fashion Pack glasses. I feel like the metallic teal brightens it up just enough that it doesn't look too formal (though, watch Kelpie's curls frizz up as I keep changing her clothes). Also--
While the Maul glasses fit Kelpie better than they EVER fit Lagoona, boy HOWDY do they magnify Kelpie's eyes. Wow.
Getting a little color in here with Picture Day-- I was delighted the capris fit as well as the minidress. Also, this is one of TWO Lagoona outfits I own that actually has some slime green for that stupid beach bag to pick up on.
Kelpie's head is a little small for the Swim Class headband without a slight cheat, sadly.
Okay, Lagoona's SKRM uniform also has a touch of that green-- but I won't be putting it on Kelpie again. There's a hidden snug sleeve under that yellow drape, and it was nerve-wracking getting Kelpie's fingers through it. Since Kelpie's arms are fixed, she needs armscyes she can get her splayed hands through easily.
Or sleeveless looks like Lagoona's Monster Exchange dress, shown here with Maul Fashion Pack glasses, FCA Black Carpet headband and purse, and Disembody Council seahorse necklace. Kelpie's all dressed up in this one!
And a little sportier in Lagoona's Ghouls' Night Out dress and belt, with that same necklace and the Skull Shores headband. The pink shrug jacket has tiny narrow sleeves, so no matter how cute it would've been, Kelpie can't wear it.
I couldn't get Kelpie into Lagoona's Classroom shorts or T-shirt, but her anchor-and-bubble sundress looks really cute on Kelpie. (Yes, I do like that nautilus, why do you ask?)
Lagoona's Scaris outfit looks good on everyone. It was an adventure getting both Kelpie's hands through the non-stretchy overdress's armscyes (one was fine, the other a little snug), but it turned out really cute.
Ghouls' Beast Pet or Pet Beast or-- the sea turtle dress, with Swim Class headband. I kinda dig this one on Kelpie, honestly, although what really feels like Kelpie's Fashion Sense to me is Pile On Three More Things. Tween Excess. She needs leggings or capris and a top and a skirt and shoes and a jacket and a scarf and a hat and a necklace and like six bracelets and maybe some fancy socks.
So I tried Monster Family Lagoona's tankini on Kelpie, and as you can see, it fits! The top's hem and bottom's waistband are a lot closer together, and--
The shoulder straps are baggy (and you can really see how the ribbon kind of... wanders), but it definitely does fit.
I want to say that Skipper or Stacie clothes might also fit her-- but I haven't bought a Skipper or a Stacie since the turn of the millenium so what I have in my toybox doesn't reflect what's on store shelves right now. Still, Kelpie-- and thus, Alivia and Howleen-- have clothing options, which Barker, Pawla, Ebbie, Fangelica, Pharrah, and Lux are all sorely lacking.
And yes. The Wolf three-pack is next on my 'oh god grab it' list.
Like what I do and want to help me feed my cats, but don't need anything I have for sale on eBay? You can always support me on Patreon or throw some change in my tip jar.