REVIEW: Marvel Rising Signature Quake

Okay, last review. I did not buy poor Patriot. I left him there alone on the shelf. Maybe he'll still be there when I have money again.

Again, to recap...

DPCI: 086-14-1663

Same DPCI for both signature case assortments.

Price: $19.99 even if the shelf tag says $20.99.

So time for Quake!

You guys that know me would really think she was my favorite. I mean, dark clothes, pale skin, funky short-ish hair. She looks like my type of doll, but she was only third most wanted.

She's seriously badass though. I mean, best outfit of the three hands down.

Quake is a little bit "What if Mal from the Descendants joined G.I. Joe."

I mean, tell me she doesn't look like a Cobra agent or something. That's a pretty tactical-looking outfit.

It's gorgeous. The top is faux leather with loads of printed details. The pants also have tons of detail. Her boots are stunning. The hand molds are excellent and I like how they lead into the cuffs, even if the cuffs have the same problem as Kamala's. (They're slit so the fabric pokes through.)

Her animated design has a regular belt and a thigh belt. I don't think they're connected, but it was wise of Hasbro to do that so the thigh belt can exist without falling off all the time.

The belt does have a part where it unhooks, so this thing is easy to take off and put on.

All of their outfits are actually easy to take off and put back on. The hands pop off, although America's fit easily through her sleeves when I put her top back on over them.

She really is giving me Baroness vibes. Ha.

It's the very sleek design, I think.

Sleek. Full-coverage. Dangerous.

My photos do not do those boots justice either. They're amazing. I'll have to shoot them again.

Quake has the best hair of the three I have. It lays nicely and I love the colors.

 

Quake's power accessory is this awesome burst. You take off her hand to slide it on, then put the hand back. It looks really cool!

And now we can finally look at the bodies.

According to Hasbro, there are 15 points of articulation.

Neck, shoulders, hips, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees.

That's 13. But the knees have two joints, so I guess they're counting that to make 15.

The knees are pretty cool though.

As you can see, each one of the girls has a different body type.

And a different butt!

Quake does not sit very well. She leans back a lot, whereas America and Kamala sit fine.

Quake has a slight high-heel arch to her foot, while Kamala and America are flat. Those two stand on their own a lot more easily than Quake, although she can do it, too. It's just not very stable.

So I did not do any size comparisons with other dolls or clothing try-ons or anything like that. I'm going to let you guys tell me what you want to know. I mean, I can say right now these girls aren't going to have great shoe options. They're also pretty good-sized, so clothes-sharing is going to be limited, but please ask away! I'd be happy to try stuff on them or take body pics next to Barbies or something. I bet America could fit some of the curvy Barbie clothes.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Marvel Rising Signature America

Quick recap from Kamala's review, in case you missed it.

DPCI: 086-14-1663

This number applies to both signature case assortments though.

Price: $19.99, even if the shelf tag says $20.99.

Okay, so...America!

This was the other character I really wanted along with Kamala.

Honestly, I know very little about any of these characters. I read a lot of X-Men 'verse stuff back in the 90s and that's the extent of my Marvel knowledge, aside from the X-Men cartoons and all the movie stuff. But reading up on them, I knew I wanted Kamala and America most, because they're fantastic representation. And lovely designs!

Shooting America is really when I should have stopped and realized the backgrounds were not working, because she's taller and that makes angling to get the background always behind her head more difficult.

Just bear with me with all these pics.

This girl's face. You just know she's a badass.

America's power accessory is a punching effect that clips around her wrist. America Chavez: she'll make you see stars.

Her hair is pretty decent. It's not super soft and nice like the curly-haired Hairdorables, but it's not awful either. It looks better than it feels. She may be off to the conditioning salon with Kamala later.

Clothing-wise, people might gripe about this girl. She has the perma-stockings people hate. I personally don't care about them. She also has fake layers. Her top is all one piece, not a vest over a hoodie.

For $19.99, this thing really should have been a vest over a hoodie though, especially if they weren't even giving her leggings.

Maybe it's because her body uses more plastic to make than the other girls? Hmm.

From the side. She has the same paint the shoe detail on the outside but not on the inside skimp as Kamala did.

She's still cool though. I'm really just nitpicking because this is a review and that's what I'm supposed to do.

And from the back.

Yeah, her hood really is that long. I guess that's where all the material that should have gone into making her vest and hoodie separate went.

I did not even try to put the hood up. I know it would look ridiculous with all that hair crammed in there.

That is it for America.

Again, body comparison will be in the last review. Which is the next one.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Marvel Rising Signature Ms. Marvel

I rocked some serious birthday luck in Target tonight. I was just there two days ago checking for Marvel Rising dolls again and nothing. Tonight? I found a single case of dolls put out, despite knowing we have a few of them in the back, and it just happened to be the case I wanted most!

The signature dolls are $19.99. There was a shelf tag that said $20.99, but they rang up $19.99.

The DPCI for this case assortment (1 each of Quake, America, Ms. Marvel and Patriot) is 086-14-1663. However, this DPCI actually is the same for BOTH sig assortments, so you don't know if you've got this case or the Ghost Spider/Squirrel Girl case unless you're looking at the dolls.

The back of the box is fairly simple. I wish they'd done a blurb about their powers though.

Opening these was not fun. They're not simple like, say, Mattel's more recent boxes. There's no good way to get them open. You just have to pretend you're America and shred into them.

I thought these girls deserved a return of my old glitter backgrounds, but eh. I think the pics actually may have turned out better had I just done no background like I've been doing for my reviews.

Poor Kamala. I did you no justice.

Kamala was my must have of the day, but my mom ended up getting me two as birthday gifts so all three girls got to come home with me.

Where to begin?

The faces on these are absolutely lovely. They're very expressive and I love the detailing, particularly on the eyebrows.

The hair is...not so great. It's basic nylon, I think. It doesn't feel super cheap, but it doesn't feel that nice either. Kamala's is swirled back on one side from how she was positioned in the box. I might try to give her a conditioning treatment to help that out.

Her profile is adorable. I love that nose!

Sorry this came out blurry. I was super excited about taking these and too impatient to charge my camera battery, so I was fighting against time with each shot.

Let's see, we should probably talk outfit.

Kamala has a long-sleeved top with a nice gold lightning bolt on the front and a gold stripe on each side. The sleeves have red material on the inside that matches her pants.

The long red scarf is attached to the top. It has a gold detail, too, but only on one side.

Kamala's shoes are blue sneakers with a lot of molded detail, but only one painted detail per shoe. There's a gold lightning bolt on the outside of each shoe.

Her blue mask goes on like glasses and stays on well.

My biggest issue with her is the gold cuff. It's wide open and fits poorly over the sleeve. You can see fabric poking out the front by her hand and on the entire open part. They should have followed in Mattel's footsteps and done the cuffs like DCSG did. These girls have removable hands. It would have worked.

Speaking of hands, Kamala's power accessory is a giant right hand. She comes with it on in the box, while the regular right hand is attached to the box liner. It is not visible from the front of the box. It's behind the Marvel Rising logo at the bottom. So when you buy Kamala, make sure that regular hand is in there!

I'll go into detail about the articulation on the last review, because I took photos of the undressed girls together.

I really love Kamala. I think she's worth the $19.99, but you can tell a lot of that money went into the body. Her clothes are nice, but the hair and the cuff accessory could use improvement. Still super cute though! I'm so happy to have her.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Shoppies Sia Shell

I was disappointed to once again find no Marvel Rising dolls at Target. There's no way I'll get one for my birthday now.

But I did get Sia Shells!

$14.99 like Tia Tigerlily.

I think Sia's going to be the popular one of the two, even though I prefer Tia.

Mermaid theme, stereotypically girly colors. She's going to be harder to find than Tia.

Sia's art is super gorgeous! I'm torn between wishing her hair looked like that and liking the way it is. The art shows the colors better than the real hair, but I love the real hair's multiple twists.

Here she is. She's very pretty and continues the trend of better Shoppies designs. I've really loved everything lately, barring the first girls in this locket line. I just did not care  for them! But Tia and Sia are amazing, the beach basics, the basic line before that. I love all those.

Pretty hair twists!

My only complaint about her is that headband! They had it attached to her head with two giant plastic bands, and the end of one was so long it could have been twisted all the way down one of her twisty locks.

I removed it completely, then cut one of the bands I double-knotted one end around one of the headband loops, then kept an inch and a half or so of the band and cut the rest off, then tied the other end. The headband is too loose to stay on without being tied there, so this works and it doesn't look like a sloppy mess.

I mean, really though, if you're going for this style of headband, just do a full loop so it stays on. This isn't rocket science.

Here's mini Sia with her locket, its necklace and her little paper thingy.

I love the design of her locket. so pretty! Almost as good as Tia's.

The inside beats Tia's though. I love the tippy surfboard she can "ride" and the adorable surf shop door. The only tiny gripe I have is that she has to be in just the right spot for the locket to close, thanks to the positioning of the surfboard, so that may make it easier for kids to lose her, if they don't shut the locket right.

Overall, I really love Sia. I think she's a great addition to the line. I have her, Tia, Palmela and Sandi standing together on my coffee table and they just go together perfectly!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Shoppies Tia Tigerlily

I went to Target tonight, hoping to find some of the Marvel Rising dolls and checking for the new Shoppies, too. I was disappointed the Marvels I know my store has aren't out yet, but very pleased to find Tia Tigerlily in the Shoppies section. Sia Shells was not there, but I honestly prefer Tia, so that worked out for me. No sign of the new Happy Places unicorns or dolls, but I'll keep checking for everything.

Tia is part of the Li'l Secrets tie-in doll line. Each is a standard-size Shoppie doll but with new articulation at the elbows. The accessories for the doll are minimal. Basically, she just comes with a stand. Not even a Shopkin. And then you've got the mini version of the doll along with a Li'l Secrets mini locket playset.

Tia is actually my first one of these. I didn't care for the others that are currently out. The regular four characters released in the first wave have kind of a magical girl vibe, but none of them appealed to me.

Tia and Sia seem to go along better with the new beach trio of basic Shoppies. Sia's a teal-haired girl in a mermaid skirt, while Tia is obviously tigerlily-themed, but there's something tropical and beachy about her.

Here's Tia with her closed Li'l Secrets locket.

Tia has four long twists of hair divided into two pigtails. The orange parts of her hair (except her bangs) have iridescent "tinsel" in them, while the yellow parts do not.

She has lovely flower petal designs around her eyes and her whole facial color scheme is orange and yellow.


 

The arm articulation is a nice touch, I guess, but honestly, I think I would rather have had a Shopkin for her. Shoppies have very expressive arm molds and I think the articulation makes that much less pretty. There's something strange-looking about her arms. Maybe it's that I've spent years having them without articulation and it's just the change. Not sure. 

One of my favorite details are the plastic flower ornaments on each of Tia's pigtails. 

She's so perfect. I'm a big fan of orange and flower-themed dolls. Tigerlillies are a favorite flower, too, so she's really high up on my mental list of fave Shoppies.

 

Here are her accessories. The teeny Tia is quite cute and I like the little locket with its garden gate door. 

I hope to find Sia soon to go with her, but even by herself, Tia's made some new friends. She looks great standing next to Palmela and Sandi. 

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

MONTH IN REVIEW: August & September 2018

Remember at the end of my July Month in Review when I said I'd tackle August's soon?

Yeah, I failed that.

Hence Dringle the sloth being very appropriate to start this post out. 

So I decided instead to combine August and September, even though September is a week away from over. If I get anything else this month, I'm betting it will either be actually delivered in October (QVC bears from the shows at the end of this week) or something I do special reviews for, so let's just go ahead and bang out both these months. 

August has a LOT of Charlie Bears. 

Like A LOT. 

I've said that before, but August begins with a trio of them from my stockist that I had on pre-order PLUS all my deliveries from the QVC shows at the end of July/beginning of August.

Dringle the sloth is one of my favorites ever. He and Lowry the African painted dog here on the right are part of the Charlie Bears Bearhouse line, which are incredibly detailed, but not jointed like regular CBs, so they're more affordable. I mean, they're still expensive, but they would have been over a hundred each at their sizes and detail level had they been jointed. 

I adore both of them so much, but Dringle is my special favorite. I love sloths. 

Bundle here on the left came along with them. He was the regular bear from the 2018 line that I was most excited to own and he doesn't disappoint at all. 

I feel like a lot of people overlooked him when it was pre-order time, but he grew in popularity during the wait for him to come out and my stockist's first batch of him sold out. 

Moving on to the QVC bears, this is Bumble Bee. I just call him Bumble. He's a smaller version of a larger older bear named Bumble that was popular. I wasn't 100% on him, but I tried him out anyway and I liked him enough to keep him. My mom really likes him so he lives in her room. 

This dark brown guy on the left here is named Jan. Jan like the male name with a Y sound, not Jan like in Janet. A lot of collectors kept calling him "her" and I just knew they were going with the feminine name, which annoyed me, because he's named after a real person.

Jan is extremely soft and was the first bear to sell out from this batch of shows. I ordered two to choose the best one, though neither was my vision of the perfect Jan. He's grown on me, but I'm looking forward to choosing his brother Hakatan, who I have on pre-order from my stockist, and picking out the perfect face on him. 

Sharon is the last bear from this arrival. All of these arrived on the same day. I got home from work and had a blast hugging all my new bears. 

Sharon is one of a trio of similar designs. I have Ainsley from an earlier QVC show. He's like her only all in black and shades of gray. The third is Stuart, who I'm hoping they bring over here someday.  

Elizabeth is the one bear I was really looking forward to from this set of shows, because she was originally supposed to be on the spring shows. I finally got her though and I love her. I'd been wanting her for almost a year before we finally got her over here!

And finally little Winter is the last from these QVC shows. She's a standing bear and she's only 11" tall, so she's very petite. 

I like her little floofy head and teeny face. 

August was also the continuation of my Hairdorables obsession. 

Of the initial wave, Starstruck Neila here was my favorite, along with Stylin' Sallee. 

I found this WWE Superstars Alicia Fox on clearance for $4 and some change. She's my least favorite of the ones I have, but hey, she's pretty and she was cheap. 

I ordered 3 of the Series 4 LOL Surprise off Amazon and opened 3 of the 5 I wanted most! I was pretty happy. I don't buy LOLs a lot right now, because money's been quite tight and going mostly to bears, Hairdorables and anniversary ponies. 

It's another bear. What a surprise. 

This little dude is Tadam. He was a whim purchase. I fell in love with this particular one's face. 

May as well do Elspeth at the same time. I originally got Elspeth earlier this year, but they discovered a flaw with the fabric that would make it deteriorate over time, so they did a recall. 

At the end of August, my replacement Elspeth arrived back home. 

I think she's cuter than the first one and a lovely color.

I was so happy that the second set of Enchantimals plush made it into existence that I overpaid for every single one of them on ebay. 

I love that dang turtle so much. And the other two are super cute, too. 

I became kind of obsessed with this unicorn from TJ Maxx that I didn't get the first time I saw her. 

Thankfully, she was still there when I went back. 

I don't know what it is about her, but I love her. 

The missing 14 Hairdorables started to appear in early September! They're still not widespread because I can't find people to buy the last few I need from. Sigh!

But Sallee was one of the first trios I completed. Sallee's so fabulous. Everyone one of these dolls is amazing. 

Harmony's one of my other faves. Neila is actually possibly my favorite doll, but only Starstruck and Moonlit. I'm not into Super Neila much. But anyway, Neila, Sallee and Harmony are my big favorites from this line. 

It's another bear. I told you there were a lot. And I'm not even done. 

Mattie was another whim purchase because QVC did 6 Easy Pays one day. I decided to check him out in person and cross my fingers that I got one I liked. And I did. Mattie is random plush, so the patterns are never the same, and some have mostly light faces. I wanted the darker brown on the face, at least a good chunk of it, and that's exactly what I got!

Mattie is slim, petite and super squishable and cuddly. 

This big guy is actually a pillow. I was heading back up to the registers in Target and he was hanging out on an endcap in bedding and just made his way home with me. 

Curse you and your powers, Target. 

No one ever walks out with only the one or two things they went in looking for. 

 

Another bear! Whisp is my birthday gift to myself. She was a Secret Collection bear so not one the US stockists got. I never thought I'd own her unless I imported her, but lo and behold, one of my favorite ebay sellers got her in AND I got her for a killer price. Only $57! And free shipping, too. 

Whisp is the sister to Wisteria, who I've had for quite some time.

Wisteria's in the center in the below picture. 

Chatterbox, the lively brown fellow, also arrived that day.

The problem with him is that his head was extremely floppy. I asked around and no one who got a bear from an earlier batch had a floppy head. Several of the US buyers who ordered him off QVC like I did got one with a floppy head. But not all of them. So I decided to exchange mine and see if I could get a sturdier one. I'll let you all know how that goes, because he only just got returned to QVC today. Everything went slowly thanks to the hurricane. If I get another floppy one, I'm not sure what I'll do. 

Also arriving on that same day was this awesome old Tecna doll from the Italian-made Winx Club line. I love the Giochi Preziosi dolls because they had a such a great range of outfits, a lot of which came directly from the show. 

This Tecna is from the Magic Hair line. I think the hair's supposed to curl easily. It's a slightly thick, sticky but not exactly sticky texture, but I don't mind it. 

One more Hairdorable! I got this Kurly Kat off ebay for a fab price. I love this one. Favorite Kat for sure. 

And finally, more bears. 

MishMash on the left is not new, but HodgePodge and Medley are fresh arrivals from my stockist. I had HodgePodge on pre-order, but added Medley on a whim when I realized I'd have to do layaway, because three of my pre-orders all came in at once. I figured why not just go ahead and make it four. 

Hodge and Medley are incredibly soft all over their bodies, unlike Mish, who's softest on his limbs and ears only. Hodge and Medley are very underrated bears, which is a shame. I've talked them up a few times, so hopefully people check them out! 

Okay, that is it for these two months. If I happen to get anything else in the next week, it will likely get a special review. I'm hoping to find some Marvel Rising stuff, but not counting on it.