Sunday, June 30, 2019

PRE-ORDER: LOL OMG Fashion Dolls

If you're interested in the LOL Surprise OMG fashion doll line, Amazon can help you out, because they've got pre-orders up!

For $26.99, these new dolls take familiar LOL Surprise characters and turn them into articulated fashion dolls with rooted hair and fabric outfits. You know, typical fashion dolls.

The price is definitely hefty, especially with bargain-price competition from Wild Hearts Crew, so we'll see how these do.

LADY DIVA:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PT4S9SR/

NEONLICIOUS:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PMM1W4R/

ROYAL BEE:
https://www.amazon.com/L-L-Surprise-Fashion-Surprises/dp/B07PT4GTRL/

SWAG:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PNKP1HJ/

Thursday, June 27, 2019

REVIEW: Wild Hearts Crew Kenna Roswell

After an annoying experience at my local Walmart, I decided to try one a bit farther away, because it showed 11 Kennas, which made me hope she was on the shelves if one had sold. And she was!

That store also has Cori, but she wasn't out and I didn't want to bug anyone and likely be told she wasn't in the back when I full well know she was.

Kenna was the one I wanted most of the three out anyway. The only one I like better than her is Rallee, who's not out yet.

So $14.97. Yay.





Back of the box.

The box is a bit flimsy-feeling. It's not like the old school, you need scissors and you will possibly stab yourself and definitely get at least one cut from the heavy plastic style box. Not that I'm complaining. It's super easy to open.












Closer shot of the blurb about Kenna.









The side of the box. The other side was boring, so I didn't take a picture.






Hoped this was a diary, but no. It's still cute though.






I like her personality. She seems amusing.






Our blue-haired girls.





I think she'd be fun to watch ridiculous Travel Channel programs with.





And the back.






The little booklet unfolds into this.





Very easy to debox. The only real pain was the stupid tabs poking into her poor head. When will they find a better way?

This is how she looks straight out of the box. A plastic band holds part of her hair back, another holds her camera down, and two more are around her shoes. Like those shoes are gonna fall off. But again, the box is kinda flimsy, so maybe they think they'll fall out.




Plastic bands removed and hat removed, too!

Her hair quality is sadly nothing to write home about. Not as bad as the new DCSG, but not as good as other lines.


She's so gorgeous. Do watch for flaws though. I had ELEVEN dolls to pick from and not one was flawless.

Every single one had the painted teeth misplaced, two had the upper lip stretching up in one blobby spot, one was missing a paint chunk on her lower lip, and several had scratches in the eye whites.

Yay, the flaws are back. Gee, I sure missed them. SIGH.





Profile. Non-mole side.





Profile. Mole side.




The shoes are the only part I really don't care for. I think some faux Converse would have been better.







The front of the very decorated pants.








And the back.




This awesome tank is hiding under the purple mesh top. Now don't get me wrong, I love the purple mesh top, but how in the out of this world do you hide a tank top featuring a cow wearing glasses about to get abducted by a UFO? Come on!

The cut of this is also very flattering for her.






I took this pic before the other and decided Kenna needed to stay in just this shirt. No purple.







So here she is dressed down. No accessories, no earrings, no purple top.






Here's the hat. The hat is quite cute and stays on nicely. I just think she looks cooler without it.




The camera has a little closure so it can be taken off and put back on easily.

I wish it wasn't red.

Maybe silver? Or purple? Lime green?






Trying to get a little more blue to show even with the hat on.

I'm still keeping it off.





Molded on bra and panties. I think I've heard some complaints about this, but I've never minded. The cut of the bra is pretty.

She has pretty standard articulation.

Her hands do not come off.







From the back.









Comparison with Monster High and DC Superhero Girls.





Comparison with various Barbie bodies.

If you want to know any shoe or clothing compatibility things, just let me know in the comments and I'll get you an answer if I can.

MH shoes do not fit. I can say that right now. They had a really high arch on their feet.

And I think you can see their clothes won't fit either. Kenna's thigh is bigger than Abbey's torso.



So there you have it. My first Wild Hearts Crew review! I hope to have Cori soon, because she's in the stores here, just not out yet. I'm watching Brickseek to see when her numbers drop, because that should mean she's out on the shelves.

I'm not incredibly impressed with her, because of the facial flaws and hair quality, but I do love the body, clothing and facial designs. I had a lot of fun photographing her, because she's sassy. But you can definitely tell that this is a $15 doll. No stand, no brush, just a few basic accessories, flimsy box, inferior hair quality. This is what $15 gets you these days. I like that they're trying something different and giving us kind of a budget line. And like I said, I do love the designs. I'm eager to get the others. But I've got to be honest, too.

Kenna herself is probably going to remain my second favorite of the group. (It's going to be impossible to oust Rallee from the top spot.) I see her as a combination of three fabulous Asian characters: Aja from Jem, Claudia Kishi from BSC, and Hay Lin from W.I.T.C.H. Aja's the face and the blue hair and the purple top. She could easily be customized into a modern Aja doll. Claudia's the decorated jeans and hat, the funky shirt and suspenders. And Hay Lin loved aliens, too.

I'm delighted to see a fresh, new, original fashion doll line on the shelves that isn't spawned from an existing property. Not that those are bad, but this is what we've been missing.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

REVIEW: DC Superhero Girls Reboot Batgirl and Katana

Yay, more new arrivals from the DCSG reboot line!

These two were a bit unexpected, because while Bumblebee, Wonder Woman and Supergirl were trickling through shipping and arrival, these two characters both sat without an estimated release date for ages. Zatanna and Green Lantern always said July-August, but these two? Not even a guess.

So I was pleasantly surprised when they turned into July 3rd, then crept closer and closer each day. They arrived today and I'm very happy. Katana was actually the one whose release I was questioning a bit, since she wasn't part of the original line-up. Is she even on the show now? I don't know, because I still haven't caught up. I'm waiting to get all the dolls in hand first. I have a feeling I'm going to really like Zatanna and I don't want to watch the show, love her and then have no doll on hand.






So here are the backs of the boxes.





And we'll start with Batgirl. She's cute. I actually thought she was one of the cutest from the promos and she is. It still annoys me that her shoulder piece is that light purple and the mask isn't. They go together. They should both be the same color and in the cartoon, they're that lighter purple. And her cape? Also not black. It should be yellow. I'm not sure why they chose to force the two black elements in when purple and yellow would have been fine enough. It's weird.




Definitely a cute face! Her hair is just okay. It's perma-crinkled from wearing the mask, but I plan to leave that on, so I'm not going to bother working with her hair.

Mine has a misprinted bat on her suit. Ha. Kind of an important element, but no, let's misprint it.





Her cape is attached to the suit itself. Why did Kara get a plastic cape while Babs gets a proper fabric one? They could have sewn the red cape to Kara's outfit, too. Sigh.




Moving on to Katana.

This is the best design of the line for me, I think. I'll know for sure when I get the final two in hand.

But I love it. She's sleek. I always love black, red, white and silver. The outfit is pretty, the boots are cool.

I love how they did the mask, except I can't take it off. I don't think it will go back on right.





There's the mask from the side. I just don't think it's going to stay on if you cut those plastic tabs.

The bamboo (?) piece is separate from her wristband, which is nice, because I don't like it. It ruins the flow and color scheme of the design for me, so it's nice to be able to remove it and still have the pair of wristbands underneath.








See? Sleek.




And there's her pretty face. I still think Diana is the prettiest, but Katana's up there. I'd get a second one to display without her mask if I could.

Mine also has a new problem for Mattel dolls. Used to be eyes we needed to worry about, but now it's lips. Her lips are slightly off their mark and I've seen the same problem on people's Wild Hearts Crew dolls. So watch out for the lips, guys. Thankfully, it doesn't make her any less awesome to me.


So now we've got more bodies! Each girl does have a different headmold, which should be pretty obvious, but some share body parts. Let's break it down.

Torsos come in three types so far: muscular, petite and wide-hipped. Wonder Woman and Supergirl rightly have the muscular type, while Batgirl and Katana are petite. Bumblebee is the one with wide hips.

Arms are either muscular or petite. Wondy and Supergirl are muscular, the other three are petite.

And legs have four different variations! Bumblebee and Supergirl share the muscular, short legs, while Wondy has the muscular tall legs. Batgirl and Katana are both more thin-legged, but Batgirl's are shorter than Katana's.

So these girls may lack articulation, may not have the best hair or their outfits fully-printed, but hey, they've got cute designs and definitely are diverse. Hurry up, Zatanna and Green Lantern!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

NEWS: Wild Hearts Crew

Okay, so here's what I've found so far for WHC.

Three dolls have been found so far: Jacy, Kenna and Cori.

Price is $14.97.

I'm not sure if they're officially out, but a lot of people seem to be buying them, so...

No sign of Rallee or Charlie, but as of yesterday, we only had Jacy, so that could change any day.

Ugh, of course my stores have nothing out.

However, I do have some SKUs.

JACY:

SKU: 915035977
UPC: 887961788570

There are no Jacys anywhere near me.


CORI:

SKU: 541162060
UPC: 887961788594

However, the bigger store near me has TWELVE of Cori! The smaller has none yet.


KENNA:

SKU: 538992095
UPC: 887961788587

They have her, too!

Now watch, it'll be freakin' eons before they put them out. I'll have to go look tomorrow.

If anyone has SKU/UPC for Charlie and Rallee, please let me know. I know some for the fashion packs were found (check Instagram), but I'm concentrating on the dolls for now.

UGH.

You know what I did not miss about the heyday of MH and EAH?

Scalpers.

They're back.

Gross.

Monday, June 24, 2019

NEWS: Mattel She-Ra line coming to Target!




Mattel posted this glorious image on their Facebook page.

"With her shapeshifting sword in hand, there's nothing the Princess of Power can't handle! A surprise from Etheria is coming to San Diego Comic-Con International. Follow #SheraXMattel for updates!"

Sounds like this is going to be the most exciting thing at SDCC since MH used to show off their goodies there! I can't wait!

In the comments under the photo, they keep mentioning Target, so it looks like they might be getting She-Ra as an exclusive. We'll see!

Sunday, June 23, 2019

UPCOMING REVIEWS!

I should have some exciting reviews this week!

Both my DCSG Batgirl and Katana are slated for delivery after Amazon changed their days several times. They were the ones that previously had no delivery date, then switched to early July, and now are saying the 26th-27th for Katana and 27th for Batgirl.

I was honestly surprised Batgirl wasn't in the first batch, as she's kinda the main character, isn't she? (I need to catch up with the show.)

I'm really excited for Katana though. I think she has the coolest design of the new dolls.

Zatanna and Green Lantern remain at July-August, but hopefully will ship soon, too.

And there's something else super special in the works!

Thursday, June 20, 2019

NEWS: More from SDCC



Some more upcoming SDCC offerings have been revealed.

Nothing is as good as She-Ra. That set wins.

But still, let's take a look.

Hairdorables has created the Comic Book Queen.

"SDCC 2019 Hairdorables Comic Book Queen Deluxe Doll Set – $39.99: Hairdorables are quickly capturing the attention of doll lovers around the world. This Comic Book Queen Set is funky and fun; her bright colors, mixed patterns and love for comic books make her the perfect addition to your doll collection. There is a super limited quantity of these dolls and each one is numbered. Don’t miss out on this super fun set."

I'm not into this one.

First of all, she costs the same as the She-Ra set, which is obviously a far better value for $40. $40 is even a little cheap for the She-Ra set. $40 for this is about $20 too much.

Second, she looks like a box of crayons threw up on her. Sometimes busy works out. Sometimes it does not. There's simply too much going on here.

I'm glad because I can only afford so many exclusives at ebay prices!



And then we've got Hasbro giving us a look at Twilight through the years.

Original 80s Twilight isn't a direct repro like the Basic Fun ones, but an updated look at an old favorite. Then of course, there's Twilight Sparkle.

This set is $20 and will be available at SDCC, but also in limited quantity on Hasbro Pulse afterwards. I hope to get one!

Check out the link below to see the packaging pics. They're cool.

PHOTO CREDITS:

Hairdorables:
https://sdccblog.com/2019/06/ucc-distributing-san-diego-comic-con-2019-exclusives/

MLP:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/hasbros-my-little-pony-comic-con-exclusive-is-a-reminde-1835693660?fbclid=IwAR0fUd0wy3L0CLD8RKV1GQW92KPvoIkPHDDML4zwe1O_huV6T04zYD_7M8U

Monday, June 17, 2019

NEWS: SDCC SHE-RA





Just when you think you're safe from the annoyance of having to overpay for SDCC items, here comes Mattel with the first real dolls for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power!

Ugh. I'm so happy, but scared of secondary pricing, because I have no choice but to go to ebay.

The prices are already painful there for a $40 set. *groan*








https://shop.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ms/she-ra-and-the-princesses-of-power-she-ra-vs-shadow-weaver-ghy66?fbclid=IwAR1nco8bXv7yNFgf64qYQer03W58ZaAOfVsBXG643LjcDGNWG8nsFnZsFwM

Saturday, June 15, 2019

REVIEW: Enchantimals Larissa Lemur




Larissa!

This is going to be a quick one, because it's cutting into my pre-work naptime, but it was asked for, so here ya go.

I was definitely looking forward to this girl a lot and she doesn't disappoint.













Adorable art, as always.



Although I have to admit, I am SO SICK of Mattel putting purple and pink hair on gray and white animals. Black hair would have been fine. Or white. Nope, random purple.

Not that I'm holding it against her, because I love her, but I'm tired of this old boring trend.

You'd think the yellow would be odd, but she manages to work it just fine.













Ringlet has the hole in the back, but in this case that makes for some interesting poses.



I love her makeup! Or facial markings, I guess I should say. 

I didn't get a good shot of her tail because her hair covers it up. You can see it poking out a bit. 

Tamika and Larissa are definitely good dolls to go out on if this is the last of the line we're going to see. I'm still hoping the others come out though. I want the sloth and hippo!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine


NEWS: BTS Dolls

Ah, something I know nothing about!

These pics caught my eye, because I've said for years that I'd love more Asian male dolls. I love Asian dolls in general, possibly stemming from my love for my Barbie and the Rockers Dana doll when I was a kid. Asian female dolls are fairly easy to find, but the boys in a non-anime style? NOPE.

So I'm posting these guys even though I know nothing about this bad. I saw them on one of the music awards shows in passing and thought they were cute and that it was nice to see something different on an American awards show for once.








So this is V.

I dig the two-tone hair and the outfit is cute.







Suga. He's really cute.


















Jin. 

I like the blond hair and the suit.







Jung Kook.








RM.


Dimples!






Jimin. 




And J-Hope with a cute smile.



It's hard to find something to say when you don't know the subject matter!

They're all really cute dolls though and we need more Asian male dolls, so I'm sold. I wouldn't buy all seven, but one or two may make their way into my collection. 

PHOTO CREDITS: Mattel