☠ My Monster High Collection - Boxed Dolls ☠

Well I knew it wouldn't be long before Monster High dolls got themselves some clone cousins, especially after how they took off over here now that was weird, I was shown one by a flickr friend then had to wait about 4 months before the UK got them, then blimey... Sold out in a matter of days!

I managed to buy three out of the first four dolls in the series... Frankie Stein, Draculaura and Lagoona, I decided to leave Clawdeen in the shop as although as a rule I adore dark skinned dolls, there was something I found a little tacky about her...

After a few days living with my girls and admiring them, I decided I should go and get Clawdeen to complete the set, luckily I managed to get the last one in the shop, so I happily had the "set" and there I thought it would end, but no... those tricksy people at Mattel just kept on making better and better looking MH dolls, and my local shop kept on only getting a few in then not re-stocking fast enough for demand!

These are the original four, that I bought in 2009,  a Flickr friend got me hunting for these dolls after he posted his Frankiestein for all to see, as you can see in the photo of my headboard below, I bought her, and the others in the range too! 

First Wave - Frankiestein, Draculaura, Lagoona & Clawdeen Wolf

 I kept an eye out after buying these four as they were permanently sold out and I wanted more so I could have some for play as well as display - well they look so cool in their boxes it seems a shame to take them out and throw the packaging away... Instead I discovered Spectra Vondergeist and then Ghoulia Yelps when they came out and well you know... how could I resist?

I'm now at the point where my Monster high collection no longer fits on my headboard!

I also realised the customising potential of the dolls, and with the issue of the Create A Monster doll parts and Add On packs my interest in these dolls as subjects for custom work grew exponentially, now I have several more full dolls bought solely for that purpose.

As the collection has now grown to somewhere around 80 dolls and accessories, I've decided to split the posts in separate collections, for this first post, I'll be showing off my boxed dolls, so here goes ...

Wave 1:

Lagoona Blue

Clawdeen Wolf

Frankie Stein

Draculaura

When Ghoulia Yelps was released I wasn't too impressed, I liked her little pet owl "Sir Hoots a lot" though...

Then Mattel released the Dead Tired range and I really fell in love with her then, it was the blood spattered clothing, fluffy monster slippers and box of "brain puffs" that really got me, so I was firmly on a Ghoulia hunt, checking Argos every chance I got...

On one of these expeditions I saw Jackson Jekyll in the reduced section, he was another I wasn't impressed with on his first release but this was the Skull Shores version whom I always found a bit pants but seeing him in the "flesh" I found him to be most appealing, so of course I added him to my collection.

Jackson Jekyll.

Jackson Jekyll really didn't appeal to me in his "Hipster" guise, to be honest the Gloom Beach version didn't either when I first saw him online, however one day while I was queuing in Argos I saw him on the "Reduced" section (Sneaky Argos keep this right by the till - which you cannot get to without navigating a maze of "Special Offers" and "Reduced Items"!) he looked so much cuter in real life and was reduced to half price so I found myself unable to resist his charms!

Cleo de Nile

I really didn't like the fact that Cleo De Nile was only available in a twin pack with Deuce Gordon  who I thought looked bloody stupid, so I was so happy to discover Mattel had repackaged her for their Gloom Beach range and was now available without Deuce, not only that she was even more beautiful than the original one they sold as part of the twin pack, so of course I just had to have her!

Wave 2:

 I fell so in love with this girl's beautiful face that I just had to have her!    

I also love the fact that her little pet that is included in the box is a ferret, he's very detailed but as he is transparent it's sadly not so apparent unless you really look closely at him.

Spectra Vondergeist    

 I bought a second (boxed) so I could customise her, although when I removed her from the box to start work on her I realised she has some very noticeable differences to the first one I bought when she was first released, so I decided to keep her in her box as well, which of course meant I had to buy a third one to customise! haha thankfully, I managed to get the third one loose for cheaps!

Catrine DeMew  (Listing Photo)

I have a thing about cat dolls so Catrine DeMew was a must have - weird as I really dislike the other M.H cat doll "Catty Noir".

Everything about this doll is gorgeous from her beautiful white skin contrasted by her lilac hair, her cute little ears and her long slender tail with a cute little bow on the end.

The box too is striking, I love the graphics which are almost like a back story in graphic form and her diary in it's bright colours and almost wrapping paper like design.

And of course her face is designed so well, oddly though I get the idea she is a French Kitty, I have no idea why.

I've never read her diary or watched an episode of Monster High and know nothing of any of the doll's backstories except for what I've read in their diaries it's just something about her face design and the scarf around her neck that gives me that impression.

... Anyhoo, moving on ...
           

Ghoulia Yelps

My Flickr friend showed off his new Ghoulia (first wave) when she was released in America and I wasn't so sure about her but then the Dead Tired rangee came out and I just fell in love with Ghoulia with her fluffy monster slippers, adorable little blood splattered PJs and Omg a box of "Brain Puffs"!

               

SOLOMON "Slo Mo" MORTAVITCH

There was no way I could resist this handsome little guy - you know I'm Zombie mad right?

                                                                   
                                                                   Create a Monster:


When the "Create a Monster" sets were released I immediately saw the possibilities from a customizers point of view, so I set out to get my hands on a couple of sets so I could put my ideas into practice - unfortunately though, on my trip to Argos I discovered they were incredibly popular and there was only one left in stock, so I bought it but once I got it home I started having second thoughts and couldn't bring myself to open it.

I also realised that it came with only one torso and would provide me with several problems if I was to use the parts to make two new Monster dolls, and so they have remained in their original packaging.

Vampire & Sea Monster Starter Pack.

I did consider still buying a second so I could customise one set, but then Mattel brought out additional sets or "Add ons" as they called them and I got a little sidetracked by them instead!

Create-A-Monster Add On - "Bee Girl"

                                                                     

                                                                    

Both the "Bee Girl" and "Skeleton Girl" Add On Packs were released at the same time and again both of them set the Customiser in me off with plenty of ideas on how they could both be manipulated into two new Ooak creations but again I felt they were rather limited ads these packs come with no torsos at all!

Which again is a rather irksome thing to have to consider especially when I discovered the only way to get spare torsos would be to buy more "Create a Monster Starter Packs" which would then mean you'd be left with an excess of heads, limbs and outfits that are surplus to requirements.

The other annoying thing about the lack of torsos in these packs is that the one that comes with the Vampire / Sea Monster pack is pink to match the vampire parts which of course would look weird if used to make the Sea Monster which is blue, the Bee which is yellow and black or the Skeleton who is white.

This of course means that any resulting doll (except of course for the Vampire) will either have to have it's torso covered up completely or repainted / dyed to match the head and limbs.

Create-A-Monster Add On - "Skeleton Girl".

As I fell in love with this set and wanted to keep it for display, I recently bought a second for custom work.

The resulting doll is almost finished ( minus costume ) and will be posted in my "Monster High Ooak Customs" post which I'll be posting soon.

I'm pleased that Mattel have now addressed the torso problem with their more recent releases of Create a Monster Starter Packs, and now provide two in each pack they sell.

It is also possible to buy torsos directly from Mattel but this is very expensive as they are only available from their American Website and they don't ship to the U.K! *Sigh*

I can't say I've really been too impressed with the "Freaky Fusion" range, one or two of them are positively ridiculous in my opinion, and I was beginning to think I'm not going to bother with this range at all, and then along came "Dracubecca" - anyone who has been reading my dolly ramblings for any length of time will know I have a bit of a thing for Robecca Steam (although you probably wouldn't know that from looking at the rest of  my Monster High Collection), so  the design of this doll really appealed to me.

I love the more detailed bodies of some of the Monster High dolls, it always seems such a shame to cover them up with their outfits - Robecca Steam falls into this category so of course Dracubecca appealed to me because her body's design uses the same mould.

Add to that the possibilities that come from it being the same pink colour of Draculaura and then there's her outfit and of course those accessories - in some ways she's more "Steampunk" than Robecca herself!

Operetta is another of my favourite Monster High dolls, her face is just so beautiful and she is definitely one of the best dressed with her Rockabilly style.

The combination of her and Frankie Stein is an odd one and compared to Dracubecca she's pretty dull in comparison.

What made her stand out to me is the fact that she comes with a more "Phantom" mask in this guise than any of her others, her face is painted in different colours than it usually is which is set off by the large area of black hair at the front of her head and then of course she's wearing those adorable little "lightening flashes" on her hairband!

If you've read my  Monster Elves Wydowna Spider Weberella Clone doll post from May last year you'll know that while I was writing it I'd just discovered that this doll had just been released and I was coveting her.

 After that discovery and my near miss in purchasing one in January this year I have been kicking myself for not buying her so of course I've been on a quest to get my hands on her. 

Well I finally did, and now she takes pride of place in my collection!

Seller's photo - remind me to take my own!

Frankie Stein - Voltageous is my latest boxed girl, I've always had a bit of a thing about her, I guess it's the SuperHero theme that gets to me. 

I didn't manage to get her when she was released and I've only recently managed to buy a loose one... sod's law really as a week afterwards, there she is boxed and beautiful with no one bidding on her, I tried my luck (was the only one too?) and now she looks great hanging out with the other girls in my collection :)

My Neighthan Rot doll came to me deboxed but still carded which technically means he shouldn't be added to this post and as he's since been removed from the card and partly customised he doesn't really belong in any of the other Monster High doll posts I'm currently in the middle of writing, so I've put him here anyway as I have no idea where else to put him!

He's another Monster High doll that I wasn't impressed with when I first saw him, until I saw him close up and saw the detailing on his Zombie side, I just had to get my hands on one so I could define the muscles in paint and pastels.

Come to think of it he should probably go in the "Customs" post, anyhoo that's about it for now.
Enjoy,

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