Bratzillaz started out feeling like they were hastily leaping upon the Monster High bandwagon (well, they were) but until the second wave, they were managing to keep safely away from monsters and sticking with ripping off Harry Potter instead (LOL).
All that changed when some bright spark decided to include a vampire in the new lineup. A freaking.. VAMPIRE.
naturally, everyone immediately started making a fuss, heck, I admit, even I was all "seriously MGA? Seriously?" but over time the idea grew on me.
Oh it's still bloody stupid and makes for a confusing universe (What? Are there other monsters in the Bratzillaz universe? That are also witches? How does that work? Are we to expect a zombie witch? A werewolf witch maybe? Perhaps a sea monster... wait... <_<)
They went there too. *sigh*
Anyway, the vampire.
As I said, over time she grew on me. Why? Because she's freaking PSYCHOTIC.
But we'll get to this doll and her oozing bat shit crazy soon enough. Let's look at her in box, before we unleash the madness on my home.
This box design is a bit.. confusing. So, Vampy herself is blue, white, red and black... lots of colours. Her wand thing is blue yet her box is.. pink? Why isn't it red? Or black?
Eh, whatever.
The vampire mouth tells us she "helps you see in the dark". So... she's a torch? Or is she actually a carrot? Don't those both help you see in the dark?
I wonder how that power works. Does she imbue you with special eyesight or does she just light up like a firefly? God, she should totally have been in the glowing line instead of the mermaid chick! That would have made more sense!
The back of the box gives us a little more. She helps you see in the dark AND eases your fears... I dunno.. that sounds like a veiled threat to me. "shhh, it's ok, soon you won't be scared anymore... " Eeep.
She likes to fly a broom at night. I can't think of anything snarky to say about that.. it's just so.. boring. We already have a broom flying girl, Meyganna! Wth Vampy? Get your own thing.
Partly deboxed (Yes, destruction of box necessary. I hate that.) you can see her details more.
She comes with a stand, brush, stupid wand/broomstick/ball thing and a dress that totally looks like underwear.
MGA need to stop sending their Bratzillaz costume design team to Anne Summers for inspiration.
Her skin is a lovely pale blue, I think it's pretty close to Monster High Abbey's skin actually.. just not glittery (A missed opportunity MGA! I demand a sparkly vampire girl in the future! )
Her hair is white with a streak of bright red and a thicker streak of black. out of the box it's a bit messed up and a little sticky with product of some sort. Brushing it seems to help both these issues. Phew.
Most of her hair is this white/blonde colour and has a slight wave to it. It's not terrible quality, it's a little floofy but all long, wavy doll hair is in my experience. I'm pleased to see it doesn't frizz like I expected it to when I ran a brush through it.
Her eyebrows are sharply angled and severe and she has painted on fangs which look suitably sharp and bitey. Her makeup is a soft muted, shimmery purple colour and her eyes are orangey red with a yellow sunburst in the centre.
They are awesome eyes, very unnatural, kinda creepy. Combined with her angled brows they give her this "i'm gonna eat your face" kinda look to me.
Earrings are pretty boring, they're silver with moulded dangly bits.
She does however have a totally unique hat. It's hexagon shaped for a start, and the brim is a spiderweb. The peak is taller than regular hats and there's a silver painted buckle at the front. I like this hat, it's nice to see such detail.
Her tramp stamp.. I mean... witch mark.. is a set of sexy fanged lips. What? A bat too esoteric?
Cape is AWESOME. It's made of soft satiny fabric and has a high collar. The whole thing is rouched up and it fastens with a strand of "pearls". Only problem is, those pearls and button hole are a pain in the butt to fasten and unfasten. It's really really fiddly. I find myself wishing for some velcro or a simple popper.
While I like the IDEA of this dress, the execution is a bit iffy. First off, the bodice. The pearls at the top aren't that cleanly stitched and on her right side they kinda bulge out a bit oddly.
Under that netting the skirt part is just a simple pencil skirt, but that netting feels like it should be UNDER the skirt not on top. It's like wearing your petticoat over your dress you know? It's bizarre. It makes the doll feel, to me at least, like she's in a state of half dress. She needs an overskirt.
I do love the socks. They're made of white lace with a red ribbon at the top and they're very very pretty. They also feel decently constructed, which for Bratzillaz is impressive.
Her shoes are a pair of red strappy things which aren't hugely interesting. All Zillaz shoes are pretty dull, but they do the job. These particular shoes don't like staying on her feet, so i've elastic banded them on.
The wand thing lights up red.
And is decorated with this... floral heart pattern? I don't even know what that's meant to be.
Her flat face mould (the same as used for all bratzillaz) really isn't hugely attractive in profile. But she always looks ready to pounce.
"what do you mean you're... vegan?"
Y: "Uh... who are you? You're kinda creeping me out."
Y: "Why am I not reassured at all?"
V: "bwhahahahah"
I'm terribly sorry, i'm not sure what happened there.
Look into those eyes... Can't you just feel her staring into your soul? Or is that just me?
In summary:
It took a while for me to warm to the idea of this girl, but i'm kinda glad I got her. She's psycho looking and there's no denying that much like the clown zilla, she has personality. Oooooh such personality. I have no doubt i'll come downstairs to find the rest of the dolls massacred. Perhaps I should keep her somewhere else...For a Bratzilla, her quality is pretty good. Though mine's dancing mechanism doesn't seem to work. I can't say this is any great loss, the flailing like you're having a seizure feature really was dumb.
Heck, quality wise i'd even go so far as to say that in general, she's pretty decently put together for any doll line. Oh there's some dodgy seams here and there, some stitching issues, but on the whole there's nothing glaringly bad here.
The fabric is decent fabric, everything is hemmed and even her hair fibre feels decent.
Is she worth the £20 price point? hell no. The quality is decent, but it's not £20 good. She feels like a regular £15 level doll, and that's about what I paid in the sales for this girl.
She was worth every penny, but I wouldn't say i'd rush to spend much more than that.
The inclusion of a stand is nice, though she has no handbag or pet included. The gimmick is pointless and actually in most cases, gets in the way.
I still hate the rubber lower legs and can't work out WHY they're used. They mean the doll never stands straight, her legs always warp oddly under her. It's annoying.
Vampelina herself, is an interesting doll. She's a bizarre addition to the Bratzillaz universe, a little too "monster high" I feel, but she certainly stands out in the line. Her blue skin is unique, her eyes are full of predatory menace and I do like her little fangs.
She feels, dare I say it, like a proper vampire. I have no doubt this girl will stick her fangs in another student's neck, unlike prissy vegan vampire Draculaura and her blood phobia *eyeroll*
Overall, I give this girl 8 out of 10 Anne Summers catalogues. I don't think she fits the Bratzillaz Universe and she feels a bit knockoffy, but she's a good quality knockoff and she's FUN. She has attitude, she has madness, she's gonna eat my face while I sleep!
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