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hat_plays_dollsI've made a couple trips back to Toys R Us as it sinks, grabbing what I can before it's gone. Alivia here I still paid full price for, but considering my local options for reliable doll shopping are Toys R Us and Target, and my Target has about five MH dolls in stock anymore... well, $13 wasn't too bad.
Alivia here is a very budget doll, and in fact I really think she should have an MSRP of... $10 or $11, instead of $13, especially considering she's only got five points of articulation.
And yeah, I pulled down my little blue photo box, which is only like eleven inches tall, because I didn't want to deal with The Big White Tri-Fold.
Watch me try to do this review with one light source. Ahem. Alivia's face inside the box-- her lips are a little smeary, but her eyes are good, and I always put good eyes first. I can re-paint lips, I can fix box hair-- shoot, I can re-root a whole dang head-- but wonk eye is forever.
And Gigawatt. There's no lore for Gigawatt like there is/was for Whatzit, sadly, but Gigawatt is a rabbit-rodent construct... with some proportion issues.
Box Art Problems: this is a really cute drawing, but Alivia's bangs aren't doing that, Gigawatt is WAY bigger than that, and... I mean I've watched the Howliday Special where Alivia, you know, happens? And that's kind of a weird expression for her.
Same art on the back, with lettering.
Back of the box blurb! As usual, in four languages, which... is probably why there's no lore for Gigawatt, and why we don't get diaries anymore.
Okay let's crack this sucker open.
Alivia and Gigawatt are held in with rubber bands and plastic tabs; Alivia had three tabs fired in the general direction of her head, but they didn't penetrate the vinyl, only got caught in her hair. I consider that a stroke of luck.
Freed from her box, Alivia wears a very simple shift-style minidress in a red-orange with a VERY busy diagonal plaid-- we got straight lines in gray, blue, yellow, and white, EKG metering in white, yellow lightning bolts, blue gears, and gray... squiggles that might be springs or bolts. Busy. She also has a red-orange hair bow and big stompy boots in black. Gigawatt comes with a blue-and-orange pet carrier.
One of the complaints I've seen about Alivia is that her hair is blue-and-black streaks rather than black-and-white, like Frankie's. And... on the one hand, I get that? But on the other hand, pure white saran yellows over time. Which is fine on some dolls-- that platinum-blonde looks great on Batsy, Vandala, and Bonita-- but it plays merry hell with Frankie's bold contrast (and the Werecat Twins' monochromatic look). Alivia's blue hair will sort of permanently dodge that issue.
I have lots to say about Alivia, but let's look at Gigawatt for a minute. Gigawatt is an auburn-colored bunny-thing, and while definitely cuter than Reboot Cushion (my god, poor Reboot Cushion, that doesn't even look like an animal anymore), Gigawatt definitely doesn't compare well to classic MH pets. They went with as few paint apps as possible, so the stitches kind of blend in, as do the bolts-- but I can fix that. What I can't fix is that Gigawatt is hollow and topheavy, so if you intend to display Gigawatt on a shelf, maybe use a dab of quake hold or blue-tack if there's any chance Gigawatt falling over will cause an avalanche.
Because Gigawatt is going to fall over.
From the back! The carrier is definitely Stein-themed. Also, my three-year-old nephew promptly stole Gigawatt and their carrier after this photoshoot; I haven't seen either one in a week and may never get them back.
I was surprised to find the carrier opens! It really doesn't need to, but it's a nice touch.
And here's Alivia's gear-heart-EKG bit again, which compares well to Frankie's stitched heart with bolts as a character insignia.
Alivia has sculpted stitching all over her body, like budget Frankies, but as you can see it really needs paint to pop, both in person and in photos. (It's on my to-do list.) With a fine brush and a steady hand, though, that's a customization that shouldn't be too hard for a determined novice, though-- just use a little paint at a time and trail carefully over the raised lines.
Accessory time! Alivia's hair bow is less of a bow and more of a tie, which does feel in-character for Alivia, who seems to be a ghoul of few words and not a lot of fuss. (Then again, the Howliday Special was her first couple of days alive. She'll probably get more opinionated as she goes on.) Oh, and-- though she was made in Indonesia and is a budget doll, Alivia's hair is saran and glue-free. The roots are singed inside, like Kelpie's. I'm delighted she doesn't have nylon hair. I am not a fan of nylon hair.
I am so excited to paint these boots. Ahem. Okay, one of the things I really like about Alivia is that she takes after Dad the way Frankie takes after Mom. A lot of Frankie's style cues-- white streaks in her hair, bolts and stitches on her neck, even kind of the classic MH splayed hand shape-- follow Universal's Bride of Frankenstein, while Alivia's big stomy boots, bolts on her temples, stitches across her forehead, and lurching arms and hands look a lot more like Frankenstein's Monster as played by Boris Karloff. Shoot, even her blunt-cut bangs kind of echo his weird haircut and forehead.
I can't decide if it's a bummer that Alivia's dress is half-print or not, because it's... it's just that busy.
Alivia doesn't have pierced ears, but she's the first reboot doll I've seen who has guide holes for piercing her ears. I'll be taking my pin vise to her so she can steal some of Frankie's earrings. Also, fair warning, Alivia's ponytail isn't always well-arranged around her bolts straight out of the box.
Alivia has five points of articulation, at the shoulders, hips, and neck. No rotational joints, sadly, and her arms only swing. Again, I'm bummed and not-bummed at the same time: on the one hand, Override's got the right idea about articulation, but on the other hand, I'm not buying an articulated MH doll for the doll until Mattel fixes this nonsense. Alivia may not have a lot of articulation, but the articulation she has looks nice.
Also how adorable is it when she puts her arms up as far as they'll go before they hit her face and her bolt, she looks like she's sleepy, I love it.
I completely do understand people's complaints about Alivia's neat forehead stitches being hidden under her bangs. I LIKE the bangs on her, but they're an odd choice for her first doll.
And if you were hoping Alivia and Kelpie could share shoes... well, Kelpie can wear Alivia's boots.
Alivia's feet are longer and her toes are a little wider than Kelpie's. No idea how she compares to Reboot Howleen, though, whether Kelpie has small feet or Alivia has big Frankenstein feet.
Monster Family, for all your Classic Monster High needs. This is Picture Day Frankie in Scaris Frankie's top, because I liked comparing the similar hair styles. (Also they're sitting together; Alivia actually only comes up to Frankie's shoulder when they're standing.) I can certainly see how people could complain that Alivia's design is too close to Frankie's, although I dig that they've got inverse eyes and cheek scars. Alivia has a slightly bluer skintone than Frankie, and while her nose is a different shape, they sort of share an overall face shape-- just, Alivia still has baby cheeks compared to Frankie's stronger cheekbones.
Frankie got hit the worst by the reboot, face-wise-- I understand the desire to go lighter-and-softer with the makeup, to make the dolls look more like actual teenagers than teenagers-played-by-22-year-olds, but poor Frankie is proof that trying to translate the popular custom-doll chalk-pastel-and-watercolor-pencil look into screen printing is... not easy. Alivia looks WAY more like Classic Frankie's sister than Reboot Frankie's, and I don't think the blunt-cut bangs have that much to do with it.
Okay so before I go off into Fashion Show Time, conclusions!
I like Alivia! I willingly paid full price for good eyes, rather than wait for closing sales and risk wobbly paint. Alivia is made in Indonesia, so if at all possible I'd suggest buying her in person rather than online... but most of the Alivias at my local TRU had only minor cases of eye wonk, and if anybody can rock a minor case of eye wonk, it's a Stein. Her sculpting is great, and what paint apps she's missing are things I can do myself. I know Alivia's blue hair is hit-or-miss (I like it), but at least it's saran and totally glue-free. I like the neon-blood-orange color they used for her dress and accessories, but the print on her dress is a little much for my astigmatism. I love how she riffs off Papa Stein where Frankie riffs off Mom Stein. Her flaws are mostly in her simplicity-- though if the quality control were consistent, I wouldn't mind paying $13 for a doll like this on the regular-- and poor Gigawatt. Gigawatt is a cute concept who suffers a little from trying to look like Littlest Pet Shop or Shopkins, but I can't say all the MH pets have been consistently sculpted. Compare Rockseena to Watzit, or Neptuna to Crossfade, or Hissette to Roux.
Seriously, I have no huge caveats for Alivia. If you like her, get her. She's adorable.
And yes, of course I rummaged through Frankie's clothes to see what'd work on Alivia. Alivia, Kelpie, and Reboot Howleen are all shorter through the torso than their older sisters (or in Howleen's case, her older Classic self), but about the same diameter-- though with slightly thicker waists, so really clingy stuff might cause a problem if it has no stretch. As with Kelpie, Alivia's hands proved the biggest barrier to borrowing from Frankie... but I love them, so I'm willing to deal.
Here we go.
Frankie's Maul-crawl fashion pack works pretty well-- the red isn't an exact match to Alivia's hair tie, but the spirit is there. The suspenders do bag in the back, though, Frankie's a lot taller than Alivia.
The dress from Frankie's deluxe fashion pack actually looks really cute on? I'm not sure if it suits Alivia personally, but the color scheme is nice. It begs for some kind of jacket over it in a really bright red, though.
Okay, I tried hard to get Alivia into Frankie's I Heart Fashion clothes, and... only had partial success. The miniskirt works great, the ankles on the socks won't go past Alivia's wide toes, the armscyes on the yellow-and-argyle dress are too small (but that could vary from garment to garment), and likewise the separate tops. The pants, naturally, are way too long. That shirt there is from the first round of reboot fashion packs that briefly appeared and then vanished in a puff of jacked-up eBay prices.
The waistcoat from IHF Frankie fits Alivia pretty well, though it requires a high-waisted bottom (or just a dress of some kind) to really work for me. The silver skirt is also from Frankie's deluxe fashion pack-- the shirt and jacket sleeves won't cooperate with Alivia's hands-- just with the stitching-ribbon tucked inside.
Okay this one actually somehow FEELS more Alivia to me? Frankie's Home Ick tunic top makes for a passable minidress on Alivia, paired with the argyle capri pants from the Frankie-and-Draculaura fashion pack. (The Killer Style capris would also work, but Frankie was wearing them and I didn't want to strip her yet.) This outfit feels young and also, comfortable-- there's a lot of freedom of movement (or would be if Alivia had more articulation), which is great for someone whose passion is photography. (Alivia's going to inherit Operetta's FCA camera once I go digging for it.)
Frankie's OTHER Home Ick outfit also looks pretty cute on Alivia-- sadly, the stupid belt doesn't fit her at ALL, which is a bummer because Alivia might actually rock that belt more than Frankie. I like the print and the collar, and the black top needs a big splash of red or orange, but this is a pretty solid outfit foundation for Alivia.
And that first Reboot fashion pack. While I like this plaid better than the plaid on Alivia's own dress, I actually don't think I like the hot pink on her? So many characters either roll around in hot pink or use it as an accent that I'd really like Alivia to hold onto her ridiculous tomato/blood orange red for as long as she can.
So, what I gathered from dressing Kelpie in Lagoona's clothes is that Kelpie feels like she should always be wearing as many layers and accessories as possible, capris with a short skirt and a shirt and a jacket or cardigan or vest and a scarf or a statement necklace, things she can dance in, but that would move while she danced. What I've figured out dressing Alivia in Frankie's clothes is that Alivia feels like she needs mobility first-- leggings and yoga pants and tunic tops or rompers, lines that are close enough to the body not to twist around or get in the way or make her lose the shot, which means... she needs more of her own clothes, rather than being able to sponge off Frankie's hand-me-downs forever. Frankie's got great style, but she also tends toward snug or very short skirts that don't lend themselves well to climbing a lamp post for a higher angle or laying flat on the ground for macro shots of flowers and bugs and cool rocks.
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.
Alivia here is a very budget doll, and in fact I really think she should have an MSRP of... $10 or $11, instead of $13, especially considering she's only got five points of articulation.
And yeah, I pulled down my little blue photo box, which is only like eleven inches tall, because I didn't want to deal with The Big White Tri-Fold.
Watch me try to do this review with one light source. Ahem. Alivia's face inside the box-- her lips are a little smeary, but her eyes are good, and I always put good eyes first. I can re-paint lips, I can fix box hair-- shoot, I can re-root a whole dang head-- but wonk eye is forever.
And Gigawatt. There's no lore for Gigawatt like there is/was for Whatzit, sadly, but Gigawatt is a rabbit-rodent construct... with some proportion issues.
Box Art Problems: this is a really cute drawing, but Alivia's bangs aren't doing that, Gigawatt is WAY bigger than that, and... I mean I've watched the Howliday Special where Alivia, you know, happens? And that's kind of a weird expression for her.
Same art on the back, with lettering.
Back of the box blurb! As usual, in four languages, which... is probably why there's no lore for Gigawatt, and why we don't get diaries anymore.
Okay let's crack this sucker open.
Alivia and Gigawatt are held in with rubber bands and plastic tabs; Alivia had three tabs fired in the general direction of her head, but they didn't penetrate the vinyl, only got caught in her hair. I consider that a stroke of luck.
Freed from her box, Alivia wears a very simple shift-style minidress in a red-orange with a VERY busy diagonal plaid-- we got straight lines in gray, blue, yellow, and white, EKG metering in white, yellow lightning bolts, blue gears, and gray... squiggles that might be springs or bolts. Busy. She also has a red-orange hair bow and big stompy boots in black. Gigawatt comes with a blue-and-orange pet carrier.
One of the complaints I've seen about Alivia is that her hair is blue-and-black streaks rather than black-and-white, like Frankie's. And... on the one hand, I get that? But on the other hand, pure white saran yellows over time. Which is fine on some dolls-- that platinum-blonde looks great on Batsy, Vandala, and Bonita-- but it plays merry hell with Frankie's bold contrast (and the Werecat Twins' monochromatic look). Alivia's blue hair will sort of permanently dodge that issue.
I have lots to say about Alivia, but let's look at Gigawatt for a minute. Gigawatt is an auburn-colored bunny-thing, and while definitely cuter than Reboot Cushion (my god, poor Reboot Cushion, that doesn't even look like an animal anymore), Gigawatt definitely doesn't compare well to classic MH pets. They went with as few paint apps as possible, so the stitches kind of blend in, as do the bolts-- but I can fix that. What I can't fix is that Gigawatt is hollow and topheavy, so if you intend to display Gigawatt on a shelf, maybe use a dab of quake hold or blue-tack if there's any chance Gigawatt falling over will cause an avalanche.
Because Gigawatt is going to fall over.
From the back! The carrier is definitely Stein-themed. Also, my three-year-old nephew promptly stole Gigawatt and their carrier after this photoshoot; I haven't seen either one in a week and may never get them back.
I was surprised to find the carrier opens! It really doesn't need to, but it's a nice touch.
And here's Alivia's gear-heart-EKG bit again, which compares well to Frankie's stitched heart with bolts as a character insignia.
Alivia has sculpted stitching all over her body, like budget Frankies, but as you can see it really needs paint to pop, both in person and in photos. (It's on my to-do list.) With a fine brush and a steady hand, though, that's a customization that shouldn't be too hard for a determined novice, though-- just use a little paint at a time and trail carefully over the raised lines.
Accessory time! Alivia's hair bow is less of a bow and more of a tie, which does feel in-character for Alivia, who seems to be a ghoul of few words and not a lot of fuss. (Then again, the Howliday Special was her first couple of days alive. She'll probably get more opinionated as she goes on.) Oh, and-- though she was made in Indonesia and is a budget doll, Alivia's hair is saran and glue-free. The roots are singed inside, like Kelpie's. I'm delighted she doesn't have nylon hair. I am not a fan of nylon hair.
I am so excited to paint these boots. Ahem. Okay, one of the things I really like about Alivia is that she takes after Dad the way Frankie takes after Mom. A lot of Frankie's style cues-- white streaks in her hair, bolts and stitches on her neck, even kind of the classic MH splayed hand shape-- follow Universal's Bride of Frankenstein, while Alivia's big stomy boots, bolts on her temples, stitches across her forehead, and lurching arms and hands look a lot more like Frankenstein's Monster as played by Boris Karloff. Shoot, even her blunt-cut bangs kind of echo his weird haircut and forehead.
I can't decide if it's a bummer that Alivia's dress is half-print or not, because it's... it's just that busy.
Alivia doesn't have pierced ears, but she's the first reboot doll I've seen who has guide holes for piercing her ears. I'll be taking my pin vise to her so she can steal some of Frankie's earrings. Also, fair warning, Alivia's ponytail isn't always well-arranged around her bolts straight out of the box.
Alivia has five points of articulation, at the shoulders, hips, and neck. No rotational joints, sadly, and her arms only swing. Again, I'm bummed and not-bummed at the same time: on the one hand, Override's got the right idea about articulation, but on the other hand, I'm not buying an articulated MH doll for the doll until Mattel fixes this nonsense. Alivia may not have a lot of articulation, but the articulation she has looks nice.
Also how adorable is it when she puts her arms up as far as they'll go before they hit her face and her bolt, she looks like she's sleepy, I love it.
I completely do understand people's complaints about Alivia's neat forehead stitches being hidden under her bangs. I LIKE the bangs on her, but they're an odd choice for her first doll.
And if you were hoping Alivia and Kelpie could share shoes... well, Kelpie can wear Alivia's boots.
Alivia's feet are longer and her toes are a little wider than Kelpie's. No idea how she compares to Reboot Howleen, though, whether Kelpie has small feet or Alivia has big Frankenstein feet.
Monster Family, for all your Classic Monster High needs. This is Picture Day Frankie in Scaris Frankie's top, because I liked comparing the similar hair styles. (Also they're sitting together; Alivia actually only comes up to Frankie's shoulder when they're standing.) I can certainly see how people could complain that Alivia's design is too close to Frankie's, although I dig that they've got inverse eyes and cheek scars. Alivia has a slightly bluer skintone than Frankie, and while her nose is a different shape, they sort of share an overall face shape-- just, Alivia still has baby cheeks compared to Frankie's stronger cheekbones.
Frankie got hit the worst by the reboot, face-wise-- I understand the desire to go lighter-and-softer with the makeup, to make the dolls look more like actual teenagers than teenagers-played-by-22-year-olds, but poor Frankie is proof that trying to translate the popular custom-doll chalk-pastel-and-watercolor-pencil look into screen printing is... not easy. Alivia looks WAY more like Classic Frankie's sister than Reboot Frankie's, and I don't think the blunt-cut bangs have that much to do with it.
Okay so before I go off into Fashion Show Time, conclusions!
I like Alivia! I willingly paid full price for good eyes, rather than wait for closing sales and risk wobbly paint. Alivia is made in Indonesia, so if at all possible I'd suggest buying her in person rather than online... but most of the Alivias at my local TRU had only minor cases of eye wonk, and if anybody can rock a minor case of eye wonk, it's a Stein. Her sculpting is great, and what paint apps she's missing are things I can do myself. I know Alivia's blue hair is hit-or-miss (I like it), but at least it's saran and totally glue-free. I like the neon-blood-orange color they used for her dress and accessories, but the print on her dress is a little much for my astigmatism. I love how she riffs off Papa Stein where Frankie riffs off Mom Stein. Her flaws are mostly in her simplicity-- though if the quality control were consistent, I wouldn't mind paying $13 for a doll like this on the regular-- and poor Gigawatt. Gigawatt is a cute concept who suffers a little from trying to look like Littlest Pet Shop or Shopkins, but I can't say all the MH pets have been consistently sculpted. Compare Rockseena to Watzit, or Neptuna to Crossfade, or Hissette to Roux.
Seriously, I have no huge caveats for Alivia. If you like her, get her. She's adorable.
And yes, of course I rummaged through Frankie's clothes to see what'd work on Alivia. Alivia, Kelpie, and Reboot Howleen are all shorter through the torso than their older sisters (or in Howleen's case, her older Classic self), but about the same diameter-- though with slightly thicker waists, so really clingy stuff might cause a problem if it has no stretch. As with Kelpie, Alivia's hands proved the biggest barrier to borrowing from Frankie... but I love them, so I'm willing to deal.
Here we go.
Frankie's Maul-crawl fashion pack works pretty well-- the red isn't an exact match to Alivia's hair tie, but the spirit is there. The suspenders do bag in the back, though, Frankie's a lot taller than Alivia.
The dress from Frankie's deluxe fashion pack actually looks really cute on? I'm not sure if it suits Alivia personally, but the color scheme is nice. It begs for some kind of jacket over it in a really bright red, though.
Okay, I tried hard to get Alivia into Frankie's I Heart Fashion clothes, and... only had partial success. The miniskirt works great, the ankles on the socks won't go past Alivia's wide toes, the armscyes on the yellow-and-argyle dress are too small (but that could vary from garment to garment), and likewise the separate tops. The pants, naturally, are way too long. That shirt there is from the first round of reboot fashion packs that briefly appeared and then vanished in a puff of jacked-up eBay prices.
The waistcoat from IHF Frankie fits Alivia pretty well, though it requires a high-waisted bottom (or just a dress of some kind) to really work for me. The silver skirt is also from Frankie's deluxe fashion pack-- the shirt and jacket sleeves won't cooperate with Alivia's hands-- just with the stitching-ribbon tucked inside.
Okay this one actually somehow FEELS more Alivia to me? Frankie's Home Ick tunic top makes for a passable minidress on Alivia, paired with the argyle capri pants from the Frankie-and-Draculaura fashion pack. (The Killer Style capris would also work, but Frankie was wearing them and I didn't want to strip her yet.) This outfit feels young and also, comfortable-- there's a lot of freedom of movement (or would be if Alivia had more articulation), which is great for someone whose passion is photography. (Alivia's going to inherit Operetta's FCA camera once I go digging for it.)
Frankie's OTHER Home Ick outfit also looks pretty cute on Alivia-- sadly, the stupid belt doesn't fit her at ALL, which is a bummer because Alivia might actually rock that belt more than Frankie. I like the print and the collar, and the black top needs a big splash of red or orange, but this is a pretty solid outfit foundation for Alivia.
And that first Reboot fashion pack. While I like this plaid better than the plaid on Alivia's own dress, I actually don't think I like the hot pink on her? So many characters either roll around in hot pink or use it as an accent that I'd really like Alivia to hold onto her ridiculous tomato/blood orange red for as long as she can.
So, what I gathered from dressing Kelpie in Lagoona's clothes is that Kelpie feels like she should always be wearing as many layers and accessories as possible, capris with a short skirt and a shirt and a jacket or cardigan or vest and a scarf or a statement necklace, things she can dance in, but that would move while she danced. What I've figured out dressing Alivia in Frankie's clothes is that Alivia feels like she needs mobility first-- leggings and yoga pants and tunic tops or rompers, lines that are close enough to the body not to twist around or get in the way or make her lose the shot, which means... she needs more of her own clothes, rather than being able to sponge off Frankie's hand-me-downs forever. Frankie's got great style, but she also tends toward snug or very short skirts that don't lend themselves well to climbing a lamp post for a higher angle or laying flat on the ground for macro shots of flowers and bugs and cool rocks.
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.
