New year, same ol' inconsistent posting schedule.
Which I know, I know, isn't ideal for farming engagement or whatever the hell the social media term is but let's be real here, this is a tiny blog where I just get to ramble on about my special interest, if I wanted fame and fortune i'd be doing literally anything else.
But I still feel kinda bad that I don't keep up with this as regularly as I should because I DO want to share stuff, I just don't always have the energy to take photos or even, sadly, actually debox the things I purchase which is really bad.
This is another reason i've taken to buying preowned dolls by preference. I mean there's the added bonus of it being cheaper but also, I don't have to fight the executive dysfunction to actually sit down and debox.
Anyway, i'm babbling.
let's get to what we're actually looking at today. The Monster High Eekend Getaway playset.
well.. i say playset. Car, it's a car.
This set released in the USA like.. a year ago? And I had resigned myself to it being yet another mattel line we just weren't going to see here in the UK. But it bummed me out because I really did like the Clawdeen a lot.
well, surprise! Smyths got the set in just before christmas. they seem to be getting a lot of g3 Monster High as exclusives and i'm not sure if all the exclusives should concern me or not. I mean we got exclusives back in g1 too and they were a pain in the arse, but with Smyths at least it means one massive toy retailer is taking the chance.
I ummed and ahhed about getting this set because I didn't want the damn car and Draculaura didn't WOW me since they changed her hair from the original prototype. *sigh* but I figured for £25 per doll it was a pretty decent deal, especially as they each came with an extra little dress and shoes.
Let's get into this.
So first, for those who don't know, I should probably show you the original prototype images.
So for some reason Mattel did a whole stock photoshoot for the dolls and then changed their minds about Drac's hair. Originally she would have had this split dye like her original signature doll and the witchy bangs which I dig.
And then once the dolls hit stores it turned out that actually she didn't look like this at all.
So yeah, they did a whole second photo shoot recreating the original pictures which raises the question, why? What happened? They must have been pretty far through to have all the stock pictures done and ready so what happened here?
Very strange.
the final release looks almost exactly the same as the original in terms of the accessories and all that but curiously, even Clawdeen here has a new image. Her head is tilted downward and I think her eyes might be narrower.
I also don't understand why they changed up the car but whatever. it does look a little more finished with the pink trim going all the way around.
Anyway, Mattel stock image strangeness aside, this set comes with a fair bit of stuff. Each doll has two outfits including shoes, three bags each and some random accessories.
The box is RIDICULOUSLY huge. Like absolutely ludicrous, there's no reason for it to be this big and spaced out Mattel just wanted it to look massive and take up all the space of store shelves. It actually pisses me off how wasteful this massive box IS. Oh sure it looks impressive at first, but you quickly realise how much empty space there is. I suspect the size of this is why Smyths have these sets currently available online only. Their shelves are very tightly packed and something this massive takes up a lot of precious real estate that could be used for other things. You could fit 3 regular MH doll boxes in the same space, and as those sell for £30 each and this set is only £50, well... you can see how profit vs shelf space works.
This is also a big reason why the UK doesn't get a lot of playsets in general. Our stores are substantially smaller than US stores, even our "big" stores are generally pretty pokey by comparison. Smyths for example generally looks like this:
See how rammed those shelves are? And how narrow the aisles are?
Sure those nerf guns take up a similar amount of space to this set, but nerf sells really damn well. Playsets? not so much.
Anyway, the actual box construction is pretty straightforward. Car is in one side, dolls are in their own little compartment on the other.
I think it's interesting that Draculaura got to have her wheelie bag while Clawdeen's is in the "other shit" selection above the car. I have to imagine that this was done because they realised how empty the doll side of the box looked and were all "shit, we gotta fill that space, quick, shove a suitcase in there!"
This compartment is also half the depth of the car because obviously it doesn't need to be as deep. But I can't help but feel there was a more efficient way to display all of these pieces and not end up with a box that came up to tits.
Clawdeen is gorgeous. No notes.
I really like that they've started giving her narrower more almond shaped eyes. Her original g3 dolls were very doe eyed and it made her look a lot younger than the rest of the cast.
This Clawdeen has a neutral lip tone with a shimmer on it which looks a bit like lip gloss. I like the neutral tone, g3 has actually been doing nice neutral tones for Clawdeen for a bit now and I dig it. I'd love to see them try to do something similar for their more fantasy toned dolls, it'd be cool to see Frankie with a soft mint lip tone or something you know?
Her eyeshadow steals the show. heavy purple at the top and neon green under the eye. I love it!
and she has brown hair with some bright purple streaks at the front. I do really like that we're getting more brunette Clawdeens. I am still not totally sure if I love the silvery purple of her original g3 dolls. Brown just feels more... Clawdeen you know?
Draculaura has a sort of mischievous expression going on I think. I love a side glance.
Her lips and eyeshadow are pretty much the same colour, a dark sort of fushia puplish pink. I like the shape of her lips too.
Her hair is pink and black streaked, very close to a lot of her g1 dolls actually. But I do pine for the bangs. I love g3 Drac's pointy bangs.
The box at this point demanded blood.
It's been days and it still hurts. It was the cardboard on the car side of the box. For some reason they glued the box on both sides rather than using tape, so I had to pull the box open to get into it. And in doing this, sliced my thumb on the rather sharp edge of the card.
damnit Mattel!
why do your products keep injuring me!?
I've examined the box to see if i'm just stupid and there was another way into it but there doesn't appear to be. It's glued on both sides and at the bottom with a very thick layer of glue. The only way in is to pull the card apart. Maybe I could have slid the car and the plastic tray of stuff out via the side I opened for the dolls but it seemed easier at the time to open it on the car side and pull them out from there, where I had better access.
unfortunately that was my downfall.
So yeah, now I have a really sore thumb. Boooo hisssss.
So the tray of "things" isn't taped closed. Which surprised me actually. Usually these things get taped to shit to prevent things falling out.
But whatever. Nothing had fallen out so it's all good.
Only the dresses are affixed to the tray with those tiny little plastic tabs they use for clothes. Everything else is just in a compartment that fits it precisely.
the little photographs were a pain in the arse to get out because they're so small and really solidly in there.
everything else came out pretty easily with a quick pull.
A fair few of these pieces are reused molds which is fair enough, this is often the case for lower cost multipacks to save costs.
but I always find it interesting to see things in other colourways.
so from left to right:
the moon handbag is from Monster Ball Clawdeen. This time in bright purple instead of black.
The black bat winged heart bag is from signature Draculaura, this time in solid black instead of pink and black.
Bite in the Park Draculaura used these same sunglasses only in black, but I don't know if that's the only time they were used.
The purple boots were also from the Studio playset, only this time in a darker purple instead of a bright pinkish purple shade. They were also used for Faboolous pets, a line we never got over here.
(I think Clawdeen's necklace here is also from the studio playset, in purple instead of green)
Draculaura's little boots are from Skulltimate Secrets Draculaura (the first one) in a solid dark pink instead of bright pink and black.
the little coffin shaped bag is from Fearadescent Draculaura, this time in a solid dark pink.
the Howl bag is from Clawdeen's studio playset, in a dark purple this time instead of lavender.
The drinks look to be using the same mold as signature Draculaura's cherry drink.
The wraps are Signature Cleo's gyro.
Not in this photo are the camera (reused from Signature Frankie, only in purple instead of pink), Clawdeen's earrings (Monster Ball Clawdeen), and Draculaura's heels and earrings (from Monster Ball Dracualura).
I couldn't identify Clawdeen's boots. They're similar to the budget Monsterista boots but not as high.
But there you go.
Some fun little recolours here.
I have no issue with reused pieces, especially if they pull from quite a diverse assortment of releases and do them in very different colourways.
I think the suitcases might be all new though. I haven't seen them before.
Clawdeen's suitcase is a large round wheeled bag with a quilted mood and cloud pattern molded to it. The wheels are not working wheels, they're just decorative but the handle DOES retract which I appreciate.
Also all of Clawdeen's stuff fits into it, which I also appreciate.
You can't fit much else though, because the cavity for the retracting handle takes up quite a lot of space.
but still, i always like a functional bag.
The big howl bag is decent too, you can fit a few little accessories in there if you squeeze them.
the small handbag however is pretty flimsy. it was flimsy feeling when it came with Monster Ball Clawdeen too. I didn't much care for it with that doll either. It does open but it's too small to fit anything into and the hinge feels weak anyway. Plus it's just a kinda bland looking bag honestly.
I mean compare it to the embossed effect on the suitcase and howl bag, and even the detail on the camera thing and it just feels out of place.
Draculaura's coffin shaped bag is also functional with an extending handle and fake wheels. It doesn't hold all her stuff quite so well though, because her backpack is really bulky and wide. But it will fit all the snacks inside.
I forgot i'd put her backpack ON her when I took the previous photo, so here's a "oh and her other bag too" picture.
even in all black this bag looks good. I really love that stitching detail on it and the bat wings make her look like she has wings from the front, which is adorable.
Okay, let's talk about the car before I go back to the dolls. Why? Because I actually didn't take that many photos because I was bleeding.
The seatbelts are backwards... And what I mean is that the part that clips into the central column, where seatbelts normally clip, do not come out. They are solidly wedged in there, believe me I tried to pull them out but they did not want to budge. It was only after fighting them for a bit that I realised the belt actually slides effortlessly out at the SHOULDER... what?
no seriously, what? Why are they backwards? I don't understand.
I also don't really understand what the hole in the seat is about. I think it has something to do with the first playset this car was made for, but it looks silly. Why does your passenger need a tiny piss hole in her seat Drac? What's going on here?
When the belt is "buckled" or rather, rammed into the hole just next to the headrest, there's a kinda cute little bat wing shaped shoulder cushion. or... I think that's what it's supposed to be anyway.
The seats themselves are sculpted to look seriously plush and have little mouths and horns on the headrest.
The car itself has a face. It looks delighted! And also super goofy.
Interestingly, the set came with a sticker sheet to apply the stickers yourself. I haven't had to do that for years, it surprised me actually. Two for the lights at the front, two for the back and the sat nav console which was a BITCH to align the sticker with.
You can see the sat nav console here, it's the coffin shaped thing.
The boot/trunk of the car opens up into a little seating area which while cute, isn't exactly practical. It means there's no boot space, which is a problem when your dolls came with suitcases.
You can just about carefully balance them in there, but the boot won't close with these in and the piece won't even pull kinda to because the hinge isn't designed to hold like that. So what happens is the hinged lid flops onto the ground and the whole lot comes tumbling out behind the car as soon as it moves.
Now granted, this third release of this bloody car wasn't originally tooled with suitcases in mind, but it's a bit frustrating from a play perspective to have the box quite literally SHOW the luggage in this position and yet find that you can't drive the car without losing all the bags to the road.
a stronger hinge that was designed to "lock" into a half way position would have solved this issue.
as it stands, the best option is to loop some elastic around the tail fins and hold it in place like that.
I also have to say that I do feel like the car itself is a touch small. Now I know doll things often aren't really scaled right, and I cannot say that doll cars have ever been something i've given a single flying fuck about, but I will say that the two dolls feel extremely cramped inside the car and the way they're inserted with their legs straight old fashioned Barbie style makes them quite awkward to get IN the car and OUT again.
I'm a grown ass adult, and I found it awkward to put the dolls in the car and take them out again. Also their seatbelts ride up around their necks which looks super uncomfortable.
are doll cars always just a bit shit?
Here's the car from the side.
it's really tiny looking compared to the dolls, it's almost comical how tiny it is in fact. Makes me think of the Flea in Fallout, but that's mostly because i've been playing a lot of Fallout 76 lately lol.
And even that has more trunk space!
The "Ghoul Mobile" as Mattel insist upon calling it also has a problem where one of the wheels doesn't actually touch the ground. The back axle seems to misaligned so when you push it along the back wheels don't turn. I dunno what the hell happened there, but it means I can't roll the car across the laminate floor and watch it smash into the opposite wall which is clearly the only way you're supposed to play with doll cars right?
I do think this black and pink colourway is a lot less garish and more monster high feeling than the original release however. Both the single car release and the one that formed part of "Fantastic road trip" were purple and green and black and glitter and pink and... just a lot.
It's um... it's a lot right?
though it is a shame we lost the car's fancy winged eyeshadow... Ahem.
The black and pink is more in keeping with Draculaura and looks more like her g1 Roadster.
(now THIS looks like the Flea.)
Anyway, enough about the bloody car. I don't want the car, I never wanted the car, someone take the damn car.
But I mean, one last picture of the dolls sitting on the back seat.... Poor Drac really needs to invest in a longer dress. Yikes girl.
under that I gave her a Skulltimate Secrets top which I felt brought out some of the colours nicely.
and her original shoes.
I also tied back the top part of her hair so you could see her earrings but also because I find a loose center part to feel a little unfinished on most dolls. She needed something to make her hair feel more intentional and not just "whatever". which is how it felt to me out the box.
She has her fun widows peak hairline which I also feel is a shame not to highlight.
Her hair IS saran, and it's lovely and soft. But I do find it looks a little ratty when not styled simply because it's not all one uniform length and the pink streaks make it look a bit messy to me. I think I would have preferred a more solid black with only a couple of streaks at the front. I am not a huge fan of Mattel's "random blend of colours" thing. I find it ends up looking a bit muddied as the colours blend into one another. Thick intentional streaks look better to my eye.
Clawdeen is the real star of the show though. I mean she is gorgeous.
All i did with this one is remove her belt so another doll could steal it.
I like the bright yellow against the purple.
her coat is a pleathery material which i'm concerned will not age well but for now it looks good.
Her pants are stretchy material which i'm not overly keen on but they look nice on the doll.
Her hair is also saran and one detail I did forget to take a photo of is that at the back she has a chunk that's her usual silvery lilac. So her hair is almost completely an inverse of her signature doll, who has silvery lilac and a chunk at the back that's dark brown.
That's quite fun.
I wasn't sure i'd keep Draculaura but she does have a lovely face. I just wish her hair was a little more... I dunno.. something. I wonder if they changed it up because it was cheaper to just do a basic center part. A pity though, because I DO like her with bangs. But on the flip side, no bangs does mean we get to appreciate her widows peak so... swings and roundabouts I suppose.
The other pieces went to other dolls.
This budget Monsteristas Draculaura I got in a bundle (who i've been meaning to reroot) got the original dress, the alternate shoes and then some other pieces from other draculauras to complete the look. I really like how this outfit came out.
Monster Ball Clawdeen got the fancy dress. She was the only Clawdeen I have that felt glam enough to pull it off honestly. It's quite a formal feeling dress so the tinselly hair felt appropriate. She also has streaks of pinkish and purple that match the dress very very closely.
But it felt incomplete without a belt.
I also think she should have heels with it because I don't think the boots work well. But I don't think we've had many g3 Clawdeens with heels. So there's not many options out there. Her original Monster Ball heels might work, but they're on another doll right now.
And finally my rerooted Neon Frights Frankie stole the fluro pink raincoat.
this thing is made of a plastic material that makes it quite stiff but it's also absolutely neon pink and matches Frankie's side shave perfectly.
the style also gives this short preppy Monsteristas dress a real 60s vibe which I rather dig.
So all in all, I got outfit pieces for 5 dolls out of this which I think is pretty damn good going.
And genuinely, I adore this Clawdeen and i'm so glad the UK FINALLY got her. It's been so long. Maybe this means some of the other lines might appear one day, but i'm not about to hold my breath on that.
Also, seriously, i'm donating this damn car.
But yeah. Sorry for not many photos. I was too busy bleeding and cursing Mattel to think about taking pictures before I started messing around with outfits.
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