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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Mattel...Get It Together!

Ok, so about a year ago, while browsing through Tuesday Morning right after Christmas, I was lucky to find one single Monster High doll. That was lucky alone, but the extra luck came when I saw it was one of the ones I really wanted and hadn't had a chance to purchase yet. It was a Draculaura doll, The "Day At The Maul" one, to be exact. I looked at her in the dim light and thought she looked perfectly cute, and at $9.99 she was steal. So home she went with me.

Now, when I got her home, I bust opened her box to enjoy my plunder of the doll shelves and was instantly disappointed. Her eye shadow on one eye was scratched, her eye was scratched, her fangs were completely off center, the heart on her face was only half finished, and she just looked so derpy. I tossed her to the side and forgot about her, thinking I'd try to fix her when I could. Today I picked her up and thought "I'm going to wipe her face and try giving her a new one.", but first I had to remove her head. So I went and used a hairdryer on her and got the head off in about 5 minutes. I thought I was ready, but figured her broom stiff bangs would cause an issue with customizing, so I washed her hair with hot water and Lever2000 bar soap. I am not sure if she is keeping her hair yet so I didn't care what the soap would do to it because it tends to be fixable.

So after a good wash to get the glue out of her bangs, I dried her off and looked at her and noticed something odd. The wonky eye I mentioned was her left eye, but it was her right eye that shocked me.  Her right eyebrow is completely gone, her eyeshadow on that eye is only half there, her eyelashes on that eye have been cut in half, and on her wonky eye her eyebrow is just a bit worn and her eyeshadow on that eye is a bit worn. So the perfect looking eye was just wiped clean off. I wondered if it was the soap, since it is meant to get tough stains and grease off of hands, so I went back in and gave it a really rough cleaning in really hot water, nothing happened. So it wasn't the soap, I don't think, I think it was crap work at Mattel. The thing that gets me is that little kids are taking these dolls into their baths and the soap I used was meant for all over cleaning, it doesn't have those granules in it like the original, so it makes me think any soap would have ended in the same outcome. If a little kid had gotten my doll they would have been gutted to see their doll's face half gone. I know quality control will slip, but this is just a bit much. The doll was clearly not painted right in the first place and her face just washed off with soap and water. Oh and her hair is just pulling out and it's not from brushing as I have never brushed her hair at all. So yeah, I wonder if others from this batch ended up so bad.

I mean tell me guys, is it just me or are Monster High dolls quality just like this? Is it a hit or miss on what you will get? I only have three dolls and I plan on selling them eventually, that's for another post, and so I don't really know what to expect on Monster High dolls quality. I'm sad the paint was so messed up on this little one, but it also gives me a reason to do what I had planned to do after seeing her wonky face. I want to try customizing her and giving her new life. Excited to try it after watching some tutorials on face-ups. So yeah. I'll update you guys on how that is going. Need to get my craft area cleaned up before attempting it first and that will take a while since I need to write several Christmas articles and actually start Nanowrimo. I started on day one but haven't really worked on it. *sigh* It's day 7, I still have time. One time I had 40k to go with only three days left, and I won. So I know I can do it. Ok, getting off track here. But do tell me if you have had negative quality when it comes to your Monster High dolls.

And on that note I am off guys. I need to go see how some doll lips I painted and sealed are doing and then start working on some articles. Hope everyone is doing well, playing with their dolls, and aren't too bummed about yesterday's election. Whomever you voted for, just remember, in the end we may be divided by parties but we are united as a nation and we're all shooting for the same goal, one great country and nation. So dems, hug you fellow reps, and let's get back to playing with dolls. :-) Bye for now guys and gals.

Off to touch some lips and hope she doesn't get red on her fingers,
Michelle

Image from Amazon.com and it is linked to it's sale page.

2 comments:

  1. I have one MH and honestly I don't think I'll be getting more than one more just to keep her company. Mine is Cleo de Nile Dead Tired; her gold glitter hair is already half gone just from regular combing (I don't know why they didn't just put that on a hair piece) and her limbs don't feel sturdy at all. I know I wouldn't want to give this doll to a child, it's guaranteed heartache when something breaks off since they come up with so many versions that I'm not sure you can just buy a new one to replace an older broken doll.So you'd crazy glue the broken MH and it would turn into this fragile thing you can only put on display.

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    1. Thanks for commenting Maricha! Yeah I was wondering about their quality. I read on a forum that a lot of people found the leg elastic to break a lot along with the arms. They do seem so fragile. I have three, but I am thinking that is the last I will get. I heard Cleo's hair isn't the best as well. I know you can get some parts from Mattel to replace, but not all of them. So it seems a lot of dolls will sadly become display pieces. Thanks again for your input. I feel less like I was just unlucky and more like I've been welcomed to the club instead. :-)

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