Wednesday, June 28, 2017

REVIEW: Enchantimals Fluffy Bunny and Danessa Deer 2-pack

I bought this set on Amazon and it arrived today. It is currently out of stock except with overpriced dealers, but I got it for $19.99 and then for some reason, there was an automatic $4 coupon, so the total came to $17.11.

I think the majority of the Enchantimals are fairly-priced. This is the only smaller set I think a bit high. The other packs with a doll, 2 pets and accessories are only $12.99, so you're paying $7 more for one more doll. Which I suppose is the cost of one single doll, but still something feels off.


Not that I'm really complaining, but let's just say that I'm only going to be buying the 2-packs if I like one of the dolls a LOT. And I like Danessa a LOT. Fluffy is an improvement on Bree, so I like her, too, but Danessa's one of my main faves.

The box art is once again adorable.









Here are Fluffy and Danessa. The whole set was pretty easy to debox, although I rolled my eyes at the hats. They've each got multiple ear holes to use to string plastic bands through, but no, they've got to punch the stupid plastic tabs through the hat itself instead. Typical. 

My Fluffy's eyes are a bit askew, but Danessa is perfect and who knows when these will show in stores, so I decided Fluffy was good enough. 


They look much better without the stupid fur wraps.

Fluffy does have a cute color combo. Like I said, I prefer her to pink Bree quite a lot. Her shoes are repeats of Bree's. 

Danessa is gorgeous. I'm a major sucker for deer dolls, I guess! Her hair is a lovely purple. 

I'm definitely not keeping the hats on, but I wanted to take a photo with them on. Danessa's went on easily, but Fluffy's was a struggle. 









You can see how far apart her ears are in the above photo. Well, I had to push one to get it in the ear hole, since they're closer together on the hat. Then it was hard to get off and it may have loosened the ear. So be careful with your hats! If you like her in the hat, I recommend you put it on and leave it on. If you don't like it, don't even bother putting it on at all.



Ah, the pets! Danessa's deer Sprint is one of my favorites. He's right up there with the turtle. I took off his stupid white fur bit, although you can see it in the boxed photo if you want a look.

I am a little disappointed in Sprint though, because he's very lightweight, hollow plastic. Not as well done as the other pets, although he's so cute it almost doesn't matter, but this is a review, so it's worth mentioning.

The bunny, Mop, is cute, too. Thanks to the reader who posted all the names in a comment!








The one area in which Fluffy beats Danessa is in the purse department. Fluffy's bunny purse is super cute, while Danessa's just got a basket. I suppose you could gather the flowers in it, but still. The garden set is cute, but I tossed it into my storage bag. At some point, I'll put all these accessory bits on ebay or something.

So overall, the set is cute, but I don't think it's worth $20 unless you really like one or both of the dolls. I love Danessa and her deer, so it was worth it for me.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

Saturday, June 24, 2017

REVIEW: DC Superhero Girls Starfire action figure

I don't buy many of the DCSG action figures, because I found the initial batch not that great. I have Harley, who I love as she looks more like her animated counterpart than the doll, and Ivy, who's much less appealing. Then Katana came out and she's fabulous! Mattel is following in Katana's footsteps of excellence with Starfire.

I bought Starfire on Amazon for the rather horrible price of $18.11. These figures retail for $11.99 on there and the older ones are all always marked down. I was shocked to see the $18.11 price from Amazon itself and not from a dealer. I've written them about it, having received the figure and confirmed that she is indeed just the usual 6" action figure. We'll see if I ever get an answer, because the first reply I got was copy and paste bull.


Starfire is a rather static action figure. She's held back posing-wise because of her skirt and hair, but you can still do a lot with her.

She's articulated at her shoulders, elbows and wrists, so her arm poseability is great.

The starbolt can be clipped onto either arm. It looks a bit goofy in my opinion.


Although to be fair, it is not nearly as ugly as the 12" doll's starbolt. And that thing was not only ugly, it mashed her hand! The action figure's just clips on, which is nice.

Starfire's also got articulated knees and you can turn her boots from side to side for different foot poses. Her hips are jointed, but they don't have much movement thanks to the skirt.








I really can't hate on the skirt though, because this is a far better rendition of her outfit than the doll's.

I think the only details missing are the silver soles and buckles on her boots.






Starfire's hair is also more accurate to the cartoon. I love how it fades into the yellow and really looks more like fire than her doll's.

Bonus points for the red-brown eyebrows, which are like the cartoon's, unlike the doll's purple brows. Although the doll got the purple eyeshadow right and the figure has reddish-brown.

I really love this figure! She makes me hope Frost is next in line for a figure (after Hawkgirl, who's starting to appear from seriously overpriced dealers), because then they can make her look like the show in areas where the doll failed.

Amazon still has her in stock, but their prices has elevated even more to $21.76. I can't believe they're charging more for an $11.99 figure than for the 12" action dolls! I really hope they answer me, because if they keep doing this to new toys, I'm gonna have a fit!

THE CREDITS OF THE PHOTOS: Are the mine.

Friday, June 23, 2017

NEWS: Monster High

Amazon has the three Garden Ghoul fairies up for pre-order for $14.99 each!

Cleo:

Toralei:

Twyla:

Also, the Dracula/Draculaura kitchen set:

No exact release dates yet, but I grabbed the three fairies, so I'll keep you guys posted when I get a date on them.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

NEWS: Monster High



So if you're like me, you've been wondering what all these bits found on Taobao and the like have been. We've seen Cleo's head and her bodysuit, Ghoulia's head, her top and most recently, her boots.

Well, here we go! This exclusive 2-pack tells us the long-awaited story of how Cleo and Ghoulia began their friendship!

This is NOT an SDCC exclusive! YESSSSSSSSSS! It will be exclusive to Mattel Shop starting July 19th. Thank you, Mattel. Well-played.

I think Cleo is absolutely perfect. The side glance, the bandage drapery, her jewelry is always spot on. Just gorgeous.

Ghoulia... See, here's the thing. I'm an Egyptologist, which means I earned a piece of paper that tells me I have to say something critical when people mess up Egyptian stuff. Ghoulia's outfit is cute. I love her as an Egyptologist. However, she should not be wearing shorts. Long pants are necessary for tomb crawling and digging, trust me. I mean, she's a zombie, so she's not going to get the cuts and bruises I would if I wore that, but still. Also, no heels. You do not wear heels in Egypt. I have a series of pictures of improperly-dressed tourists from when I worked there. Heels always earned a photo. Unless you want a busted ankle, you do not wear heels. Especially on a dig site! Yeesh. But this is Monster High, the brand that forced Clawdeen to wear heels to play soccer, so what do you expect?

Okay, I've said my professional piece.

I do love this set and I'm so thrilled it's a normal exclusive and not SDCC. Looks like Cheetah may be my only SDCC expenditure this year and that is most welcome.

Monday, June 19, 2017

REVIEW: DC Superhero Girls Mission Gear Poison Ivy

Ivy was up on Amazon on Friday and I bought the last one. Not sure if she's restocked since, as I haven't been checking.

She was $14.99.

She's my first Mission Gear doll. I think the line is neat, but I haven't bought any because I really don't want that many Batgirls and Supergirls.

Ivy though is a different story!


This is only Ivy's second doll, whereas Wondy, Batgirl and Supergirl have I don't even know how many.

So while the molded clothing ones aren't ones I typically collect, I definitely want to support the lesser-used characters. I'm a sucker for Ivy, too, because Harley and Ivy!

I was amused to see this doll come in stock around the same time the webisode featuring this outfit debuted.


I love this color scheme with the really dark green and then brighter green for her gloves, belt and boots. The pink adds a nice bold color and it's a pretty shade of pink, too.

The first of Ivy's four accessories is her hand vine. This is the same mold as Signature Ivy's only the shade of green is different.












Ivy has a snap-on piece that looks like a more tactical vest. It's cute, but I prefer her without it.

I think I'd like it better if it wasn't a third shade of green and this one's rather drab.


Ivy's also got a pair of glasses that I almost overlooked, since they're placed higher up in the package, almost under the DCSG logo.

The lenses are tinted pink and the rest is painted the same bright green as her outfit highlights.

They go on easily and they look pretty cool.

Ivy's final accessory is this angry cactus.

He is awesome.










My Mission Gear Ivy has a slightly different face than my signature doll. The eye placement makes it seem longer, because they're a little bit too highly-placed, but she still looks good enough to me.


 


Mission Gear Ivy has a matte lipstick, as opposed to the Signature's shinier lips. The colors are similar, but different.

I'm happy to add this Ivy to my shelf, where she stands with the basic molded outfit Harley doll. They look like they're ready to go do some supering together!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

REVIEW: Enchantimals Fanci Flamingo, Ohana Owl, Merit Monkey and Taylee Turtle

Now let's take a look at what I call the deluxe sets.

There are three sets that come with an Enchantimal doll, two animal friends and some accessories. I did not buy the bear set, but I do have the other two.

These run $12.99 at Toys R Us. Amazon price is not known yet.








Apologies for my not even bothering to try to make a background for these bigger boxes. As I mentioned in my basic dolls post, I'm exhausted!

Fanci is one I was really excited for. She was actually my second fave after Sage, if I remember correctly.

Gah, her art is so cute.







Fanci is rather bogged down with accessories, I think. I took off that hairy stole thing. This material sheds a lot!

I also took off her party hat, which is held on with not one, but three plastic tabs. Ugh.

Fancy has very elaborate makeup that I think lost a bit in translation from the hand-painted prototype we see in the Amazon pictures to her final incarnation.








She's still neat and definitely elaborate, but the parts above her eyes ended up looking faded.

Watch the faces on these girls, which is something I probably don't even have to say. My store had 2 Fancis and one had a face that was so squished onto the lower half of her head.



I really love Fanci's hair color. I'm not sure she's my second fave overall anymore, but she's definitely my favorite of the three birds (Patter and Ohana being the other two). 

Fanci's theme is a birthday party, so her two flamingo friends have party hats. There's also a table with a cake and 2 presents. 












The flamingos are two of my favorite pets. I'm debating removing the furry bits, but then there would be visible holes in the toys. 












Ohana means family.

I mean, Ohana Owl is the other deluxe, two-pet doll I bought.

She's got a sleepover theme, which I think they did better than Fanci's birthday party theme.










Again with the incredibly cute art!

I like Ohana's character description, too.













So here she is without her hat, which is tacked down to her head, and with her sleep mask in its place. I love the beak on it!









A better shot of her face. She's got pretty designs, but her "beak" is a little crooked, which makes her eyes look off.

The case assortment, by the way, seems to be 2 Fanci, 1 Ohana, 1 bear girl.






This set has so much stuff! Ohana has a cap and mask, the smaller owl has a pink mask and the blue owl has a nightcap. Then there's the huge pet bed, the plate of cookies and the milk.

This one is definitely a super cute set. Even though I like Fanci's doll and pets better, I see more play value in this set.













Adorable owls! No pet in any of these sets has a name that I know.






Moving on, we've got Merit Monkey and her fruit cart.

These vehicle sets cost $14.99, which is very fair, considering you get a vehicle with moving wheels and accessories, a doll and a pet.

Merit is one I was really excited for and she does not disappoint. She might be my second fave after Sage.






If you want just Merit and her monkey, I suggest getting the multipack. It includes them!

Cute art! I like that she's an insecure perfectionist.











The fruit cart is wisely made, because there are little pegs under all the accessories that hold them in place, so you can roll it without them tipping off.

Love the place for her monkey to hang out.


Merit has an adorable hairstyle. I love it! I'm a sucker for widow's peaks. Her ears are cute and I love her tail. Love her outfit colors, too. I just love her.

She comes with a little basket with a movable handle.












Super cute monkey!








The fruit cart has bananas on the top shelf. The lower shelf contains a jug of some beverage, a pineapple and two cups with straws.

I love the bright colors and the monkey ears on the awning.











Finally tonight, we've got Taylee Turtle.

Like Merit's set, this one has a lot of bang for your buck. These sets are not only cute, but they're things I would have gotten hours of fun out of when I was a kid. That's why I like lines like this.





Taylee has my favorite art! Her poor turtle buddy!

Taylee is almost an overlookable (yes, I'm just making up words now) character. She lacks the detail of the other girls and is just a simple turtle girl. Her only real animal feature is the speckles across her forehead.









However, I love her colors, her outfit design, her hair. She's just really appealing for some reason. 

She's also the only doll I have so far that has articulated knees. I believe the panda does, too. 


Not that articulation is a must for me, but she needs it to ride this bike. 

Which I have not taken a photo of. This is what happens when I'm exhausted!

Oh, well. You can see how cute they look in their helmets anyway. 










Oh, this guy. This turtle is my favorite of the pets. He's just SO CUTE.

So all in all, I'm impressed with Enchantimals. They are decidedly enchanting in a nostalgic way. I could see myself playing with these for ages in my youth and I hope kids today will enjoy them, too. 

My highest recommendations are Taylee and Merit's sets and then Ohana's. Character design though I have to give to Sage. 

I am definitely impressed with the price points. It's so nice to be able to buy a good-sized collection of toys for less than the cost of five fashion dolls. I'm looking forward to more from Enchantimals!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: Enchantimals Felicity Fox, Lorna Lamb and Patter Peacock

I'm going to zip through these because I am wearing down quickly. I barely slept, I worked a long, busy shift earlier and it's catching up to me!

The basic Enchantimals are $7.99 on Amazon, but $8.99 in Toys R Us.

I'm not sure what the case assortment is, as I don't know if any sold before I saw them, but I saw 1 Felicity, 1 Sage, 1 Lorna, 1 Bree and 2 Patter.











The art for this line is super adorable. I love it. I wish they'd animate it instead of the stupid stop motion things they've been doing that I can't even bear to watch.

I think Felicity actually has one of the less cute art pieces, which says a lot, because that's still super cute.


Felicity has auburn hair in pigtails. One of her fox ears has a flower on it. She has a fabric tail like Sage.

Unlike the other dolls, Felicity has a very elaborate mask-like design on her face. I'm not sure what this has to do with a fox. If she were colored gray and black, this design would actually work pretty well for a raccoon.

Felicity has my favorite outfit of the ones I have so far. I like the colors, the pattern on her skirt and the design of her top.










Felicity is one of the few with a pet name we know. This is Flick.





Lorna Lamb is adorable! She was one I was only half interested in at first, but she's grown on me a lot.

I love her color scheme, except for her boots, which are a bit off from the rest of her bright, springy outfit.

Her hair is amazing. Look how hers and the lamb's just take over the packaging!









Lorna is the athletic one, which I was not expecting from the lamb character. I figured she'd be something stereotypical like gentle, so I love that's she's actually super competitive.










Lorna's ears are a bit weird. I mean, it's weird enough having characters like Sage and Felicity with two pairs of ears, but I tend to overlook that. Lorna's ears are very long and skinny, designed so they stick out of her super curly hair. The overall effect looks great, but if you think about how long her ears actually are under all that hair, it's strange.








Lorna's lamb pal has a very sweet face. The lamb's name is unknown. It's neither on the website nor on Amazon.












Patter the pretty peacock I think is going to be popular. She has a very elegant design and she's just aesthetically pleasing.










Naturally, she's the fashion one.









The bird girls all have elaborate designs on their faces.

Patter has a little peacock tail in the back.

I love her updo, as it goes with her elegant look very well.

And her shoes! Her shoes are my favorites in the line.










Patter's peacock friend is equally elegant. His name is Flap.

So these three, along with Sage Skunk and Bree Bunny, are the first basic Enchantimals out. I'm not sure if Karina Koala is included, too. I did not see her, but she's definitely in this style box.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.