Hat Plays Dolls

First of all, let me apologize that somehow these pics just aren't as fun/nice as my process pics. I don't know how that happened. Not the right mood for doll photography that day?

But hey!



So I made myself a custom Raythe.

Click on the link in the paragraph above for a detailed report on how I did it, this post is a close look at his outfit, but.

The Reboot robbed us of boy characters generally-- we got, what, Shriek Wrecked Gil, who was basically just Gil but with opaque-molded hands, Dance the Fright Away Deuce, Winning Werewolves Clawd, and Vampire Kitchen Dracula-- who wasn't even fully articulated.

Robbed!

And the reboot actually gave us not just Raythe but Moanica's horde of Zomboys-- I would've paid for a five pack of Moanica and Zomboys, even with budget articulation.

But-- Raythe. The first boy to express an interest in Clawdeen onscreen, lead singer of Howling Thunder and Frightening (featuring Raythe and Deuce and the Rolling Bones and Woolee), hanger of lampshades-- hey, how come I didn't get an electrified outfit?

I've wanted one for years, I still kinda hope Mattel makes one (there's your Skullector Line, Mattel, do us up some missed dolls-- Pharaoh, Raythe, Mom Wolf, Madame Ptolemy, Mermanta Gil, Andy Beast, Gory, Bram, I could go on!), but I am not going to bet on that.

So I made one.

( Twelve more pics behind the cut for a very thematic 13! )

The last of my Monster High Unboxing backlog! At least until I open up my Music Class Ari.

It's the G3 Coffin Bean playset, which was of course absolutely irresistable to me.

Tiny food, my great weakness!

I also love useful doll furniture and shop-related items but tiny food!

The G3 Monster High Coffin Bean playset has an MSRP of $50, but I haven't even seen a planogram for it at my local Target since Christmas. I got it in October, I think, and clever use of the Target app meant I mostly use points on it-- I did not pay $50, I paid $13. (I meant to pay $3 but the cashier did not properly scan my gift cards.)



Anyway, $13 is thematic so I rolled with it (and now I have gift cards burning a hole in my pocket.)

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These pictures date to October 15, 2021, which... is the day I received this, I think.

Usually with mint-in-box Monster High stuff, I hang onto it and unbox it on a day when I need a little boost, but I pre-ordered these-- I set an alarm to make sure I was online and sniping in order to pre-order these in the six-minute window between 'going live' and 'selling out'-- and I was frickin' excited to see them.



And I'm going to post a lot of pictures of the unboxing process, as Skullector dolls are fairly comparable to SDCC dolls in terms of how schmancy the boxes are... and unless you can drop serious money on eBay or were lucky enough to get into that six-minute window...

Yeah these are hard-to-find. I paid $90 plus shipping.

And I'm probably gonna talk about that price a lot.

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So, I do believe I finally own and have reviewed the entire Monster Family sub-line of Monster High-- I've got single-packed Pawla Wolf, Fangelica Van Bat, Sandy de Nile with high chair, the Vampire Kitchen with Dracula and Draculaura, Pharrah de Nile and the de Nile Family game Night set with Cleo, Lux, and Sandy #2, the Blue beach picnic two-pack with Lagoona and Kelpie, Alivia Stein andb Gigawatt, the Wolf bedtime three-pack with Clawdeen, Barker, and Weredith, the Wolf Family bunkbeds with Pawla, Weredith, and Packlyn, Howleen Wolf and allegedly Cushion, the Stein family cookout two-pack with Frankie and Alivia, and as of May 2021 (yes I am super backlogged, why do you ask?), the doll I hesitated on in stores because I could never find one with both her eyes on the same plane of existence...



Little Ebbie Blue!

It took a damn ass hell long time to find her on eBay, too-- I paid about $20 shipped for her, and that was my ceiling because she's such a small doll.

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The same day I picked up G3 Ghoulia, I also picked up G3 Cleo (and a 5-surprise ball, because there was a discount on $50 worth of toys and 4x$24.99 does not = $50).

Do I like her? Yes, with a couple of caveats. Is she going to bump Classic Cleo out of her spot as Definitively My Cleo?

... You know what? Read on and see.



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My Monster High grail doll list has gotten shorter!

I have had '"Monster High" Cleo Fashion' as one of my saved eBay searches for... uh, a couple years now. Back in July, the right combination of 'not highway robbery' and 'listed at a time when I have money' appeared and I JUMPED.

I paid about $77 shipped (from Australia to California) and I'm STILL kinda proud of myself. I would not have gotten her if I hadn't been idly browsing eBay on my phone in bed the instant she was listed. I don't think she was up for an hour.

So!



I finally freaking got her!

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Hm that's two Stein-based reviews in a row and I have one more to do, let's space these out a bit.



Pre-reboot this time-- I got the Student Lounge! I found this one on eBay for about $16 shipped, which I actually think is below the MSRP. I needed this set. Look at it. It's got a vending machine.

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Well, it's been a while! And I've accidentally piled up a few stacks of deboxing photos, so as is usual for me, after silence comes a glut of content.

Anyway, today's doll is Lots of Looks Frankie Stein, a spiritual successor to the classic I <3 Fashion line. Lots of Looks was an alt channel line, which of course meant I never saw them in stores. I snagged mine last month on eBay for just under $20 shipped, which was the highest I was willing to go for her. For Draculaura, I'd have to be willing to pay a little more.



Boxed! Frankie comes with two pairs of shoes, a clutch handbag, a belt, two shirts, a skirt, a dress, and rarity of rarities, a pair of long pants.

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Second of the three dolls I got from Mattel to replace my jacked-up Lunchtime Ghouls, Beach Beasties Draculaura (officially on my packing slip as '2013 Swim Draculaura') is wearing one of the very few Draculaura outfits I wanted, but didn't already have.

And that's how nice Mattel's CSRs were-- I wrote in and explained the problems with the Lunchtime Ghouls set (which, remember, I got at Tuesday Morning for $10), Mattel wrote back and said 'oh no that's not good AND we don't have that set in stock, can I interest you in I Heart Shoes Draculaura and Haunted Twyla?' I replied saying those were such great dolls that I got them retail the first time around and is it rude to ask for different replacement dolls, I keep meticulous lists of what I have vs what I need would you like a list? Mattel said send the list, I sent an abbreviated version of my wishlist, and Mattel sent me three dolls off of it, with a total MSRP of, like, $42? $47? Somewhere in that zone.

They knew I paid $10 for that two-pack. I think maybe they were just really, really nice to the person who wrote them in December saying things like 'is it okay if I' and 'take your time, I'm not in any hurry' and 'thank you for your patience!'

Okay, doll.



The 'gimmick' of this line was bright colors and clear plastic details.

( More pics behind the cut! ... I forget how MANY more, but, more! )

There's one more doll Mattel sent in their mission to overkill my Lunchtime Ghouls issues, but that'll have to wait for tomorrow.

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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.

More details coming soon, but man are the CSRs at Mattel generous and helpful. This is the third time they've gone above and beyond to resolve an issue I've had with Monster High dolls, and I'm just... really impressed with them, generally. Every time I've written in with a problem, I've gotten it resolved beautifully.

My FCA Operetta had one shoe badly molded? Got sent a voucher for her MSRP.

Gloom & Bloom Jinafire has two right hands? Got sent a new pair of hands at no charge.

Kitty Cheshire hand pack I ordered from the parts store (not a perfect match but close enough for Avea to take her gloves off) came with two left hands? New pair of hands and I didn't even have to send the old ones back.

There's something wrong with my City Ghouls Elle Eedee's hip joint? How about passing THREE Gala Ghoulfriends Elles back and forth between me and Mattel until we figure out this is just some kind of engineering issue and hey, I can feel free to keep one of the Gala Elles.

Send in a long note just to say I've had myself a little unboxing party and everything is just so much fun to play with and I'm really impressed with the dolls (and though I did mention one or two minor issues I also mentioned that hey, it was only dolls I wanted for the clothes so they didn't count as issues)? $35 merchandise voucher that I did not remotely expect because I wasn't writing in to complain, just to say how pretty IHF Wydowna is.

Shriek Wrecked Catrine should have a color-blocked part but instead has a mess? Please enjoy this $15 merchandise voucher.

First Day of School Ari's wrist breaks and can't be replaced? $15 check even though the doll is OLD. (I fixed the wrist with a pin.)

School Spirit Lunchtime Ghouls Draculaura has two left hands and Twyla's right knee won't bend? After a bit of back-and-forth about the holes in my collection, the $25 two-pack I got for $10 at a second-run store is being replaced by THREE dolls. Three dolls with a combined MSRP of $47.

Mattel's CSRs are awesome.

... That, or they're just relieved to see polite, relaxed messages from somebody whose issue is not their own personal Armageddon, especially in December.

I was told to start saving my receipts, however, so that's a thing I'll keep in mind for the future.