Monster High - Shriek Wrecked Gil

Shriek Wrecked Gil! Whoooo. This isn't a very long review, there's not a huge amount to say i'm sorry.

Okay so, looks like yet more boy shortpacking is happening here but Gil has started to hit stores. I picked mine up from Bentzen because I can't be having with Argos and their "one number for three different dolls" nonsense.

He's a slim pack doll that retails for about £15. For that you don't get a stand or a brush, so they're a bit overpriced IMO but I was curious about what had been changed for reboot Gil and Deuce hasn't hit the UK yet.

His new artwork looks pretty similar to his old artwork to be fair. Though he's lost his fishtank, how is he breathing? Did he hold his breath for the perfect selfie? That's dedication man.

The box is a boring plastic fronted blister style pack like the Barbie fashionistas and such. I dislike all the plastic but what can you do? It's not too hard to open at least, it took me only a few seconds to get Gil deboxed so that was nice.

The boxes for this line are black with a kind of greenish blue and yellow detailing. The backdrop is a ship and there's a load of gold coins and pearls and stuff scattered about.

I can't help but wonder why there's no actual pirates in the pirate line. Where's Vandella?

The boxes are a bit odd, the doll is packaged at an angle. He looks drunk. Gil, have you been getting into the rum rations?

He comes packaged with this dumb mask on that obscures his eyes so yeah.. have FUN making sure you don't get one with eye wonk there right?

Gil is a "budget" doll, or what i'd call budget. His price doesn't scream "budget" but the price of dolls in general has reached silly levels over here anyway.

He comes with a bag, a simple outfit, a bracelet, a necklace and a mask.

For some reason the mask is stapled to his head.

Which as you may expect, leaves HOLES. FFS Mattel, ffs.

It's like a scuba mask or something without the tubing, with these fins on either side and a stupid painted on pirate patch. His artwork it looks like it's actually a patch he's wearing over the TOP of the mask but i guess that extra fabric and elastic was too expensive and moulding and painting a strap was too hard?
It looks silly.

The mask itself looks silly. It obscures most of his face and is so bulky and cumbersome. His old tank was a lot better.

How can he even see? The lenses are all clouded over.

Poor blind Gil.

Gil's outfit is simple, but his outfits usually are.

He wears a sleeveless tee with green and blue stripes and an anchor motif. A fish hook and shark tooth necklace, a bracelet that looks like chain or rope? I dunno.. and a pair of shorts covered in stars and dead fish lol.

His shoes are scaled (fishscale?) with silver panels on each side and lace holes but no laces. Weird.

Here's all his STUFF.

The bag has painted detail on the front but for some reason the rope part isn't painted. It's a nice little bag but I feel like i've seen it somewhere before...

His bracelet actually I think is supposed to be fishing line? It has a hook on the end that kinda limits the movement in that wrist.

His shorts have no velcro, they're elasticated at the waist which honestly I think it weird. It makes them a little awkward to get on and off and i'm not sure I see any real advantage to doing them this way.  You have to remove the leg fins to get them on and off anyway but the elastic makes it even more essential.

The underside of the shoes has tread and the mask has an adjustable strap but it slides off his head really easily.  Perhaps that's why they stapled it to him. Guys, how about you fix the mask rather than damaging the doll? eugh.

So under that Mask Gil's looking much like his usual self. His eyes are bigger, but that's honestly about it to my eye.
Same funny frilled eyebrows, same thick lined pink eyes, yep.. that's Gil alright.
I love Gil's face sculpt, let's take a moment to appreciate yet again how damn pretty he is.

So what's new?

Well...

Can you tell which is which that easily? lol.

New Gil has slightly bigger eyes than previous releases but the body is identical. The only differences are subtle ones.
And while this is a bit disappointing that he doesn't have a new body sculpt, i kinda understand why as Gil's body sculpt is one of the most complicated ones in the franchise. He has gills, he has a back fin, he has leg fins and arm fins and webbed hands. He has scales on his chest. He's a really detailed doll.

Reboot Gil's skin appears to be more shimmery, sort of opalescent like fish scales which I think is cool. His older dolls have a duller more plastic shine kinda body but reboot definitely shimmers. It's pretty.

Reboot's fins are a darker more blue colour as well. they're also made of softer plastic.

Reboot Gil has a little stamp on his shoulder now and his legs feel stronger but I can see no structural difference in the way his knee joints are constructed.

Reboot's slightly bigger eyes make him look slightly younger and less grumpy, but it's such a minor change. Honestly reboot is very much just "another Gil" so if you love Gil rejoice, but don't expect anything new or particularly revolutionary here.

Reboot's hands are moulded in regular plastic so he no longer has his clear webbing. I don't mind this so much as the clear webbing always resulted in fuzzy badly painted fingers anyway.

Gil has always had removable leg fins so you can get his pants on and off, the reboot is on the left and g1 on the right. Reboot's is slightly more blue and more clearly marked l and r.

Reboot's fins are also a LOT bendier which actually makes them a lot easier to put back in. I like this change, it's an improvement.

Like with all Gil's, his leg pegs have a very specific way they go in. The left and right legs have different shaped pegs so you can't confuse them. I think that's a nice touch honestly, rather than having to squint for the L and R markings.

I still miss the tank.

Thankfully the tank does fit on reboots head though the cut of his shirt and his necklace makes it look like he has no neck when wearing the tank. Bummer.
Still, it looks less goofy than the mask.
that mask is so goofy.

Because it keeps slipping off (it's really front heavy) Gil's just gonna carry it around. He can hold his breath indefinitely I decided haha.

So final thoughts?

I think this budget wave is overpriced, pure and simple. They're £16:99 in Argos and that's absolute extortion for a budget doll.
I remind you, these come with NO stand, no diary and very simple straightforward outfits. They shouldn't be this expensive. In fact, they would have only a year ago have cost you about £12:99 instead. The continued inflation of prices is starting to really bother me and this season it's particularly all over the place.
For £16:99 you could have a Welcome to Monster High doll (Who have party dresses that while simple, at least feel slightly less budgety) or one of these. Or you could pay £14:99 and get a signature reboot doll. NONE come with stands, I don't think any reboot dolls do. But the signature ones have substantially more detailed outfits yet are cheaper? what?
I don't get it.

Anyway.

Gil has no significant changes to his body for the reboot and his faceup is very very similar to every other Gil. Unless you desperately need a Gil, I just don't feel this guy is different ENOUGH to be worth chasing around getting, and I know he'll be a pain to get in stores due to mattel's short packing and case assortment nonsense.
I wouldn't stress over hunting him down unless you're one of those "gotta catch em all" collectors. He's not vastly different to any more readily available Gil dolls.

He has some nice bits. I think his shorts are cute and I love his accessories but they haven't really done ENOUGH I don't feel to make him different. When all the girls look so different and even Deuce has a whole new body, Gil just feels a bit disappointing. A rehash of dolls already out there on shelves.
He's cute, I like him, but I don't think he's worth the price tag and I don't think he's that exciting or new.
He's just another Gil. And much as I love Gil, at this point in my collection I don't need yet another near identical doll.
I do wish Mattel could differentiate the boy dolls a little better, you know, do more with their hair and faceups but i'm not sure what they COULD do. mmm, it's problematic.

I give him 6 barrels of rum out of 10 
Maybe unfair, but I expected MORE of the reboot, more different, more changed, more unique and new.