Oh SDCC roundup time
Jul. 24th, 2017 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impyLet's talk about toys, shall we?
So. SDCC was a thing that happened, eh? And new shiny things appeared and I am going to need a cheat sheet because fandom is so scattered for me at the moment that I've got nothin'. I miss a more concentrated fandom but I don't really care enough to seek out wherever they've gone to hang out so instead I'll sit here and blather.
MH wasn't at SDCC for the first time in awhile and people were not happy. If it's true Mattel didn't let the MH people know til last minute, that's pretty damn shitty.
On the other hand, that feels weird because I swear, I thought the fandom in general had given up on the idea of there really being a MH presence at SDCC months ago. If fandom has given up, you'd have thought the people in the know would have been in the know. Not really the point here.
The point is that the good thing about them not having an exclusive is that I should, in theory, be getting mine today or tomorrow and I didn't have to pay $85+ for a set I definitely want. I cannot stress how much I like NOT having to worry about getting the exclusive without a blood sacrifice being required. Love it. SO MUCH. Even with having to email them about the shipping issue (I'm waiting til I have them in hand) it's still way better than having to try and hunt the set down and know full well I'm being taken to the goddamn cleaners or take a chance and try to snag one for a decent price after the con but not being guarenteed a damn thing other than stress.
Seriously, so pretty. Would have been extremely bitchy about missing this.
Let's see about the actual reveals though.
First up, Ballerina Cleo:
...eh. She's pretty and honestly, I'll probably pick her up depending on price and effort involved. If I have to run to various stores to hunt her down, meh, but if she's online or I see her in store, I can't imagine I'd say hell no either. Not a fan of the painted legs. Will never be a fan. Was not a fan as a kid and it only got worse as I got older. I was going to say she's kind of an underwhelming reveal but then I looked at the others and realized she's probably the most interesting/different so I take that thought back.
Lagoona/Neptuna:
I mean, it wasn't a difficult guess from the teaser shot but itty bitty Neptuna! ♥ I'm a simple sort, give me cute Lagoona related goodies and I'm fairly content. Also, I love me some old school MH pets. I do wish the damn minis were easier to get though. I've been to most of my usual haunts in the last couple of weeks and none of them have gotten in the second series of minis. None.
Alivia Stein:
I have mixed feelings about Alivia. On the one hand, I like that she's got the reverse of Frankie's eyes. I like that she's cute. I mean, she's adorable. She's a little Frankie, basically, with the bolts elsewhere. That, alas, also works against her. There wasn't an immediate fizz of interest and Frankie is the one character who could get a new sibling and not have a very small part of me pipe up, "reboot madness!" She looks SO much like Frankie that all my interest in her is in having a different sized version of Frankie, basically. But then I thought about it and remembered that at various points, in various forms, Frankie has mentioned wanting a sibling and because I'm a dork, I'm happy for a fictional character that she got what she wanted. Oh, self. The issues you have.
So Alivia will be coming home at some point even if the little sisters have bored me to death so far. (I saw the first three in Walmart the other day. I pondered for a bit and decided nah and wound up buying not a single toy that day. Woe.)
Finally, we have Howleen:
And cue the dramatics. If you break out your MH bingo card, you can check off new reveal bitterness, generic looking outfit, Howleen's hair is pink again, lack of curls for Howleen and all the fuckery that comes with that can o' worms, and articulation wank. I'm missing other things but I'm pretty sure Howleen here hits BINGO on some cards.
On the one hand- FINALLY. I love me some Howleen. On the other, I am one of those people who prefers the articulated dolls and I could live the rest of my life without pink and yellow mingling in hair ever again. Cushion, however, it's super good to see you. I've no idea how Howleen fits into the Reboot universe but I'm happy she exists as that means mebbe I'll get lucky and she'll get a more interesting doll at some point.
Not a fan of the faces on the Ghoul Squad animated series. It's weird and hard to describe but it's not working. I've seen worse in the world of MH animation but their last round of webisode animation was actually pretty good. This is better than New Ghoul at School but that's a pretty low bar, Mattel.
I do wonder how the reboot is doing. We'll come back to this at some other point, I suppose.
EAH is pretty much dead in the water at this point (...oh, Mattel) so we'll head over to DCSG. I think I keep more in touch with the MH side of fandom, so this is basically me just blathering about dolls and less about the weird ripple effect going on. Probably. We'll see.
Wonder Woman:
So... is now where I should point out that I haven't been super keeping up with the DC dolls either? Like I said, partly because broke and partly because I've no real interest in the super basic dolls and I can't flippin' find the ones I am interested in and basically this line is a weird mix of frustration and meh for me in general. Also also, I'm going to admit that I agree with the criticism of the costuming going on. There's a lot of very, very similar looks going on. Like you guys aren't even trying levels of similar.
All that said and out of the way, I actually like this the more I look at it. Probably because at this point I haven't picked up a bunch of WW dolls and partly because it's just cute. But if you've been picking up the dolls as they roll out, I'd imagine this is a big ol' eff-you to creativity. Weird mix. That belt though. It's um... awfully big. I think at this point we know who she is.
Cheetah is following in Katana's footsteps from last year, only there's no keeping us waiting on knowing for sure/seeing that we're getting a basic version. Dude, I am not complaining. Three cheers for not keeping me in suspense! Also, she's cute and I want. Seriously, I'm not that hard to please.
I see you, Starfire, but I also see Jennifer Lawrence in your face. It's weirding me out. o_O She's pretty, so again, I wants.
A non basic Harley! Wants! But I think I'm gonna have to do something different with her hair or maybe she'll look a little different in person but it's not quite working for me. But yay for non-basic Harley!
In non-SDCC doll news, AG seems to have pushed their Create Your Own line back due to either not wanting people to be able to use their 20% off coupons OR not being able to hire people who can update a website without borking everything all to hell. Or both, really. I'd say it doesn't really do much to me only apparently I have birthday money and could have, in theory, used it most unwisely. You snooze, you loose, AG. Also, I really wanted to play with however they'd have the site set up for making your own. I had plans, company, and you borked them. Woe.
Ohgod. Their commercial is... I have no words. You'd think they would have found a way to make their dollmaker thing better than it was, what, five years ago? But no. And this time there's more than $200 riding on how accurate it is each time. Oh, AG. OH.
Oh. I really did have plans but Mums seems to have said no, nope, not doing the plans she set into motion. Bets on whether the boy drops by to give me my gift?
So. SDCC was a thing that happened, eh? And new shiny things appeared and I am going to need a cheat sheet because fandom is so scattered for me at the moment that I've got nothin'. I miss a more concentrated fandom but I don't really care enough to seek out wherever they've gone to hang out so instead I'll sit here and blather.
MH wasn't at SDCC for the first time in awhile and people were not happy. If it's true Mattel didn't let the MH people know til last minute, that's pretty damn shitty.
On the other hand, that feels weird because I swear, I thought the fandom in general had given up on the idea of there really being a MH presence at SDCC months ago. If fandom has given up, you'd have thought the people in the know would have been in the know. Not really the point here.
The point is that the good thing about them not having an exclusive is that I should, in theory, be getting mine today or tomorrow and I didn't have to pay $85+ for a set I definitely want. I cannot stress how much I like NOT having to worry about getting the exclusive without a blood sacrifice being required. Love it. SO MUCH. Even with having to email them about the shipping issue (I'm waiting til I have them in hand) it's still way better than having to try and hunt the set down and know full well I'm being taken to the goddamn cleaners or take a chance and try to snag one for a decent price after the con but not being guarenteed a damn thing other than stress.
Seriously, so pretty. Would have been extremely bitchy about missing this.
Let's see about the actual reveals though.
First up, Ballerina Cleo:
...eh. She's pretty and honestly, I'll probably pick her up depending on price and effort involved. If I have to run to various stores to hunt her down, meh, but if she's online or I see her in store, I can't imagine I'd say hell no either. Not a fan of the painted legs. Will never be a fan. Was not a fan as a kid and it only got worse as I got older. I was going to say she's kind of an underwhelming reveal but then I looked at the others and realized she's probably the most interesting/different so I take that thought back.
Lagoona/Neptuna:
I mean, it wasn't a difficult guess from the teaser shot but itty bitty Neptuna! ♥ I'm a simple sort, give me cute Lagoona related goodies and I'm fairly content. Also, I love me some old school MH pets. I do wish the damn minis were easier to get though. I've been to most of my usual haunts in the last couple of weeks and none of them have gotten in the second series of minis. None.
Alivia Stein:
I have mixed feelings about Alivia. On the one hand, I like that she's got the reverse of Frankie's eyes. I like that she's cute. I mean, she's adorable. She's a little Frankie, basically, with the bolts elsewhere. That, alas, also works against her. There wasn't an immediate fizz of interest and Frankie is the one character who could get a new sibling and not have a very small part of me pipe up, "reboot madness!" She looks SO much like Frankie that all my interest in her is in having a different sized version of Frankie, basically. But then I thought about it and remembered that at various points, in various forms, Frankie has mentioned wanting a sibling and because I'm a dork, I'm happy for a fictional character that she got what she wanted. Oh, self. The issues you have.
So Alivia will be coming home at some point even if the little sisters have bored me to death so far. (I saw the first three in Walmart the other day. I pondered for a bit and decided nah and wound up buying not a single toy that day. Woe.)
Finally, we have Howleen:
And cue the dramatics. If you break out your MH bingo card, you can check off new reveal bitterness, generic looking outfit, Howleen's hair is pink again, lack of curls for Howleen and all the fuckery that comes with that can o' worms, and articulation wank. I'm missing other things but I'm pretty sure Howleen here hits BINGO on some cards.
On the one hand- FINALLY. I love me some Howleen. On the other, I am one of those people who prefers the articulated dolls and I could live the rest of my life without pink and yellow mingling in hair ever again. Cushion, however, it's super good to see you. I've no idea how Howleen fits into the Reboot universe but I'm happy she exists as that means mebbe I'll get lucky and she'll get a more interesting doll at some point.
Not a fan of the faces on the Ghoul Squad animated series. It's weird and hard to describe but it's not working. I've seen worse in the world of MH animation but their last round of webisode animation was actually pretty good. This is better than New Ghoul at School but that's a pretty low bar, Mattel.
I do wonder how the reboot is doing. We'll come back to this at some other point, I suppose.
EAH is pretty much dead in the water at this point (...oh, Mattel) so we'll head over to DCSG. I think I keep more in touch with the MH side of fandom, so this is basically me just blathering about dolls and less about the weird ripple effect going on. Probably. We'll see.
Wonder Woman:
So... is now where I should point out that I haven't been super keeping up with the DC dolls either? Like I said, partly because broke and partly because I've no real interest in the super basic dolls and I can't flippin' find the ones I am interested in and basically this line is a weird mix of frustration and meh for me in general. Also also, I'm going to admit that I agree with the criticism of the costuming going on. There's a lot of very, very similar looks going on. Like you guys aren't even trying levels of similar.
All that said and out of the way, I actually like this the more I look at it. Probably because at this point I haven't picked up a bunch of WW dolls and partly because it's just cute. But if you've been picking up the dolls as they roll out, I'd imagine this is a big ol' eff-you to creativity. Weird mix. That belt though. It's um... awfully big. I think at this point we know who she is.
Cheetah is following in Katana's footsteps from last year, only there's no keeping us waiting on knowing for sure/seeing that we're getting a basic version. Dude, I am not complaining. Three cheers for not keeping me in suspense! Also, she's cute and I want. Seriously, I'm not that hard to please.
I see you, Starfire, but I also see Jennifer Lawrence in your face. It's weirding me out. o_O She's pretty, so again, I wants.
A non basic Harley! Wants! But I think I'm gonna have to do something different with her hair or maybe she'll look a little different in person but it's not quite working for me. But yay for non-basic Harley!
In non-SDCC doll news, AG seems to have pushed their Create Your Own line back due to either not wanting people to be able to use their 20% off coupons OR not being able to hire people who can update a website without borking everything all to hell. Or both, really. I'd say it doesn't really do much to me only apparently I have birthday money and could have, in theory, used it most unwisely. You snooze, you loose, AG. Also, I really wanted to play with however they'd have the site set up for making your own. I had plans, company, and you borked them. Woe.
Ohgod. Their commercial is... I have no words. You'd think they would have found a way to make their dollmaker thing better than it was, what, five years ago? But no. And this time there's more than $200 riding on how accurate it is each time. Oh, AG. OH.
Oh. I really did have plans but Mums seems to have said no, nope, not doing the plans she set into motion. Bets on whether the boy drops by to give me my gift?
(no subject)
Date: 2017-07-24 07:28 pm (UTC)Plus, it saves those who don't get to go a hell of a lot of money. Who doesn't like saving money? Is seeing some dolls in a case and hearing secondhand knowledge about a panel that may or may not have said anything concrete really more important than saving money? It sure isn't to me.
I'm in love with ballet Cleo's head. I hope to find a white sheath dress on etsy or something and she is going to look as Egyptian as I can manage. The gold chest piece would perfectly complement that. I'm not thrilled there's another dance line because yawn, but I see so much potential in her.
I love the idea of tiny pets and this gives me some hope they will continue the minis. Things seem to have super slowed down with those. I thought we'd have all the 3-packs on Amazon by now, the ones with the Electrified characters, but no, nothing. Wave 2 of Series 2 is out-ish. Toot's has it at least, but they seem to be poking along and that doesn't inspire my confidence.
I like Alivia. It's the arms and hands.
The thing I don't get about the Howleen revolt is I've seen numerous people complain about her hair, but I don't remember a giant backlash over every past Howleen that had pink hair. I remember that complaint being mostly me. There's a reason my only Howleen is the original. And I remember a ton of people straightening the original's hair, so I definitely don't remember anyone else having an attachment to those curls, and yet this is suddenly a huge deal. It's so weird.
I just really want people to shut it. Heh.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-07-24 08:22 pm (UTC)I look forward to your modified ballet Cleo. ♥ It does seem like there's more effort put into her than the Dance Class line had. Which isn't to say I didn't like some of them, just... they were pretty plain.
Huh. I'd hoped it was just my area being stupidly slow on the mini front. Or me being really out of the loop. I need more minis! I get my fix and they're tiny enough that I don't feel bad about having a billion.
*grins* It took me a second when I first saw Alivia and then I got it and I might've snickered a bit. She's growing on me more and more.
I've seen people complain about Howleen's hair for the last few releases but I also remember the people who straightened her curly orange hair when she was still ridiculously hard to find so it's a mixed bag. I liked the idea of Howleen changing her hair the same way I'd hoped Clawdeen would and then Mattel hit their hair rut and that all went to hell. *shakes fist in Mattel's direction* Each new Howleen with pink/straight hair would gather more annoyance and I didn't follow it out because anytime I'd come across more than a throwaway, it'd get heated real fast. Because, y'know, tumblr goes from 0 to 'set the world on fire immediately' in no time at all.