Is anyone else just plain bored with current playline? I feel like I'm in a rut and I'm not as excited for things as I thought I'd be.
Rainbow/Shadow High is frustrating because the releases suck. They're putting out lame multipacks that nobody needs and their special dolls are bad. One is highly problematic and the other is highly overpriced. The Royal 3 aren't available to order anywhere and only my farthest Walmart had Minnie and Tiara, so I haven't gotten back there to buy them. Tessa is the one I want most and she's nowhere. Hopefully she's joined Minnie and Tiara at that Walmart and they'll be there the next time I go, but I have two big Walmarts close to me, so why don't they have them? Ugh. And I don't understand why only one Costume Ball doll is hard to find. Where is Lola and why was she not ready at the same time as the others? I really want her now that I have the other three.
Monster High is even worse though. There are way too many initial releases and they're mostly the same characters. They need to slow it down or they'll start struggling before they get to what I think is the main thing people want: more old faces added to the new line. The sports pack I'm so over seeing because it's deadly dull. I'm never a fan of sports lines so I'm glad they're getting it out of the way, but so many of the dolls are just weak. Frankie's shaved side not being flocked is a massive cheap out that Mattel should be better than. I'm not pleased that Ghoulia is skipping her more stylish phase and jumping right into the gory clothes. I do like her top and boots but the rest is bad. The skirt looks so cheap. And her face, while cute, is so big-eyed! Ghoulia had a gorgeous face the first time and now she looks...kinda generic. On one hand, I know I'll be excited for them once they actually become available, but on the other, Mattel is not handling their release well at all. There should be pre-orders available at Amazon, Target, Walmart and Macy's. Right now. Not later. I don't think their Reel Drama release went well either. I have zero interest in those so I didn't look into it, but I did see a lot of people who missed out. I'm not into dolls I have to struggle to get. It would have been nice to get some MH so close to my birthday, but I don't trust them to be anywhere nearby or be available online. Mattel, if you're going to overload us with dolls, you have to make them available to purchase. Seeing them all over online when I can't buy them does not get me excited for the line. It makes me want them less.
I wish there was something else quality playline to talk about. OMG has never been my big thing. There's really nothing else, which is sad. I'd love to see Hasbro or Jakks or anyone smaller come up with something to compete with the big guys. Not that smaller companies don't have these release issues (looking at you, Far Out Toys), but they seem to fix them faster.
Hopefully, this phase passes soon, but yeah, right now I'm just bored.
I completely agree. Why even have a playline if you can't find them in-store(I will never give in to ebay scalpers, either, So I guess I'll be SOL)? One prominent youtuber reviewed the new Draculaura(I think), a while back, and he was all "I took one for the team and bought it off ebay, blah blah" BS - He took one for the scalpers, to up the views on his channel, and gave the scalpers more incentive.
ReplyDeleteWhile I generally really like the new designs, I'm irked about some things. Ghoulia in particular -I loved her original face. It was very angular, and just beautiful. Her new face is pretty; that's it, no personality. She looks dull and vapid, and gives me vibes of the standard Barbie face. The old Ghoulia looked smart, like she was always thinking.
Rainbow/Shadow High I stopped caring about. The designs are pretty, but honestly, I despise all the branding on everything. But it is the personality of the dolls that repels me. "Best of the Best and a total bitch", Blech.
It's not all doom and gloom - I love the new Cleo, her authentic touches just wow me. I wish they had done so with Deus, as i adore Greek mythology. But, guy dolls are always "phoned-in" design wise. I'm just glad they gave him pants, and not shorts.
And I hated the original sports-themed dolls. I bought the big compilation pack because it had the golden hind chick in it. It also had Slo-mo, who I missed prior. It did have the ugliest, low-effort Cleo. She would never put RED in her hair! But, in general I don't like sports dolls because they just seem lazy.
And I adore the new Lagoona. I just love everything about her, she is so pretty.
Sorry about the rant!
I bought Cleo off ebay and have no shame about it. I wanted her, I bought her, I've enjoyed her ever since. The earliest seller was a dealer though, so it's a bit better. It was well worth it for me because of the happiness she brings me. I don't pay attention to views much except to be amused how popular Cutetitos still are. I have a steady number of views thanks to my providing cheat codes for blind-packed lines. Those are always my most popular posts, but I do that because I collect the lines and love it when other people provide help, so I make a point of doing it, too. I'd never overpay for something just to put it on here. That's silly.
DeleteI gotta stick up for my red-streaked Cleo because she's one of my short-haired girls. I don't see why she wouldn't put red in her hair. It was part of the Egyptian palette. What wasn't was purple. I was always irritated with the Cleos they forced purple on. They generally do a pretty good job of staying within the proper color palette for her, but when they strayed into purple, I rolled my eyes.
Definitely agree about Ghoulia though. She's so bland compared to the others! It's a shame.
I forgot to rant about the LOLOMG scene. I recently got into the dolls. The flat faces freaked me out, until I realized they looked just like my favorite Aunt. She had really round eyes, a pug nose, and puffy lips, so now I love them. Only the ones with the gentle faces, and only the retro-inspired designs. But MGM shovels them out so fast and so many! Gosh, if I wasn't too poor to afford any dolls, I would be just trying to keep up!
ReplyDeleteSome years just feel uninspired, unintresting, and usually too much of lackluster and the same ol same ol. I used to take these lack of new and find time to collect older items I was interested in.
ReplyDeleteI feel you. I also collect action figures and even started collecting these dollar store toys that seemed super cool for the price cause of the boredom and lack of releases from the brands I collect.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do hate the fact that some potentially fun lines have been discontinued so fast, but that's the name of the game. Unfortunately, I think we just wait and see what happens. I just don't like it. Hahahaha.
Just like the above post said, I usually try to use this time to possibly catch up on some holes and things I've missed out on. But it still doesn't beat new toys.
I've been concentrating on arranging my toy room/library and paying off some of my installment plans before vacation comes in December. Those new American Girls weren't cheap! But worth it.
DeleteI’m with you on being bored for the most part, but if you haven’t checked out the new BFF by Cry Babies, you might give them a try! They’re only $20 and so I picked one up after seeing a review elsewhere, and I was really pleasantly surprised! They are heavy and feel very high quality, their clothes are well made, and their hair feels really good and thick (at least the one I got, Stella, had great hair.) The accessories aren’t quite as detailed as I’d like, but Stella’s sweatshirt is super adorable and high quality, and while the cross-eyes look is weird at first, it grew on me. And the packaging is great, too! I’m reusing the tube part to store small items and the box becomes a little closet. Stella was a really adorable surprise and I’m planning on picking up at least one more, maybe two. :-)
ReplyDeleteI actually think those are really cute, but none of the ones out appeal to me. I'm not a big pastel fan, which is probably obvious. The one I like best is Dotty, because of her brown eyes, but she hasn't won me over yet. I'd love to see them expand the line and do some bright colors or jewel tones. I'm a sucker for neon, so they could easily get my money that way. But it's good to hear they're quality!
DeleteI totally get that! I’m a super girly girl, and despite being an 80s child, neon never much did it for me. But any doll with blue hair and a blue dress is MINE ALL MINE, lol! So Kristal’s coming my way soon. :-) (Did you see Phoebe is triceratops-themed?) :-)
DeleteThe triceratops is definitely cute. I think I'd be more drawn to her if she had brown eyes.
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