Werepuppy's A Doll A Day Challenge 2020

[werepuppy]

Mattel was driving me crazy with Catty's releases. I wanted one without gloves, but all the gloveless releases were multipacks with dolls I didn't want. And I really like her siggy, but that one never made it to Czech Republic.

Oh, and sorry for not commenting much over at Dollieh Sanctuary, I don't go there too often, because everyone I want to keep up with on daily basis is here and Kizuna and Chitose don't have very frequent updates, so sometimes, I even forget to check that place.

The weirdest thing is I don't remember seeing Catty on the shelves at all? I picked up this one at a toy trader stall at one of the bigger comic conventions last year. Even some of those multi-packs proved hard to find. I didn't much like the price point on those, anyway. That being said - she obviously must have been in the country, just maybe not my distribution area? 

(Don't worry about the commenting thing - I do understand!)

Yeah, I'm with you on the unruly hair. It doesn't matter how nicely I think I have doll hair smoothed down or brushed, in the photos after the fact there are always dozens of stray hairs, many of which catch and reflect the light better and brighter than any mirror could ever do.

By the time Catty was released I was buying far fewer Monster High figures. Where I was living at the time, she was very common, almost becoming a "shelf sitter" for a while. Now, in retrospect, I really wish I had picked her up, because she's a very cool figure.

Seriously! Monday is actually the worst for this for me which ... is very ironic considering how well put together she likes to think of herself as being. Actually, the reflection thing is the reason a lot of my photos have the same sort of set up - it's just a way of controlling the light in the area. 

The Monster High distribution was very weird. In some places dolls sat for ages, and in others you couldn't find them on a shelf to begin with.

The contrast between her black skin & bright pink hair is glorious.  And I get your frustration with the messy hair that looks fine 2 seconds before the photo was taken.

Oh yeah, that contrast was nice. I kinda wonder what if they went with a softer shade of pink? That would have been interesting.

I think it's a sad thing for all doll owners - the hair will never be as neat as we want it. 

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70. D is for Deuce



Deuce Gorgon is the only child of the infamous Medusa and has inherited his mother's ability to turn whatever he looks at to stone. He's still not so good at controlling this, but did find out that sunglasses helped control it - the darker the shades, the better.

As far as who his father is? Deuce doesn't know. His mother told him she prayed to the Gods for a child to end her loneliness. Honestly? She had been hoping for a girl. They're not sure which of the Gods answered the prayer, though. 

Deuce isn't much fussed.

[neon_jellyfish]

I always loved Deuce as a character, but the dolls never really caught my fancy. Same for all MH and EAH boys.

[davidd]

Ah, Deuce! The only way to get Signature Cleo in the early days was to purchase the Deuce/Cleo 2-pack. Being more eensive than the single, figures, and also, at least where I lived, being much more heavily stocked, there was shelf after shelf of them sitting for months. I finally bought one, then sold the Deuce figure and kept the Cleo. In those early days, it was possible to sell loose MH figures for a pretty good return. Postage rates were more reasonable as well, so it was cost-effective to sell figures or accessories.

After those First Wave 2-packs were released, the MH boys were always extremely short-stocked where I lived. Many of them I never saw in person.

But it was always fun to venture in to stores to check out the Monster High sections of the toy aisles. It was like a treasure hunt. You never knew what you might find.

[Alliecat]

So does he wear his sunglasses at night??
It’s amazing how stray hairs will show up in a photo that you didn’t see when you set the doll up.

[werepuppy]

Hey, all. Thanks for the comments! Sorry I missed yesterday, was just a really busy day. That does mean you get two photos today!

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71. E is for Esmeralda



Queen of the dance, let's be honest

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72. F is for Freddie



Daughter of the Shadow Man, Freddie has her own skills with his kind of talents. It's never a good idea to make a deal with her, she always finds a loophole.

[Lejays17]

Both Esmerelda & Freddie look great.

I bought the Freddie doll for the outfit - the headband doesn’t fit the Pullips, but the rest does.

[neon_jellyfish]

Queen of dance on MtM body! She looks fabulous! MtMs are too ex-pensive here for me to justify hunting one just for body, so my Esmeralda is on her old body, but hey, at least she has the original creaky knees sound effect.

Freddie is awesome and one of the Descendants that make me sad the line didn't make it here.

[davidd]

I don't recall seeing the Freddy figure before. Not in stores, at any rate! She's intriguing!

Esme needs a tambourine to complete the look!

[werepuppy]

Both Esmerelda & Freddie look great.

I bought the Freddie doll for the outfit - the headband doesn’t fit the Pullips, but the rest does.

Oh, Freddie's outfit is brilliant. I really wish Hasbro had continued to do multi-piece outfits, as for some later ones everything is just one layer. I an understand the why of this - it cuts down on bulk and looks better on the doll - but it does make it harder to share the outfits. I'd love to see how it looks on some of the Pullips, if that's possible?

Queen of dance on MtM body! She looks fabulous! MtMs are too ex-pensive here for me to justify hunting one just for body, so my Esmeralda is on her old body, but hey, at least she has the original creaky knees sound effect.

Freddie is awesome and one of the Descendants that make me sad the line didn't make it here.

See, I got really lucky and one of my local supermarkets got some MTM in and were selling them at a discount, so I did pick them up. Well, a couple at least. Now?Well, right now it's actually cheaper to buy one of the BMR1959 line because while they are a few pounds more, they come with a full outfits, shoes, and a stand. It's just... yeah, better option tbh. 

Ah, the creaky knees sound effect! Actually, I have been looking up some older Disney dolls - I'd really love to get hold of a Megara. I did have one when I was younger, but I cannot remember what happened to her. I don't think I'd rebody her if I did. ... It's just the question of does this come before wishlist stuff, or do I just try to focus on the wishlist...

The only place I really saw the Descendants line here was in the Disney Store. No, tell a lie, it did hit one of the supermarkets for a little bit but I only really recall my local one having the massive four pack that I didn't want because it wasn't any new characters I hadn't found cheap on eBay. But all this goes back to my WHY IS DISTRIBUTION ALWAYS SO WEIRD complaint. I know it's rather petty, in the scheme of things, but still. 

I don't recall seeing the Freddy figure before. Not in stores, at any rate! She's intriguing!

Esme needs a tambourine to complete the look!

eBay would probably be your best bet at the moment, or maybe Amazon US would still have some in. (Actually, there's new dolls related to the Z-O-M-B-I-E-S franchise that look exclusive to Amazon and while I'm not really into those movies, there are two of the dolls I like: this one and this one. Cool looking dolls, with good articulation. 

I wonder if I could find a tambourine... 

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73. G is for Gracey



Greyscale filter! Gracey is from the Disney Attractionistas line that was park exclusive. Personally, I think she's the best one of the line, and not just because she's based on my favourite park attraction, the Haunted Mansion. That being said, I would like the tower of terror related one - I think her name is Holly.

In dollcanon? Gracey fits with the Descendants crowd. She's the most current owner of the Haunted Mansion, her family inheriting it after the original owner - a murderous Captain - died himself. Having no natural family of his own for the manor to pass to, it passed to the family of his most recent wife.  The mansion is one of the few places in Auradon that does not conform to the "no magic" laws, as it is rather hard to get 999 ghosts to agree on some silly, fleeting, mortal law. 

Gracey herself is a few years older than the Villain Kids, being in university and in a History course - though she has an option extra that looks at media, with a focus on Gothic media.

[neon_jellyfish]

She's a wonderful doll. I wish there were more like this one. Like MH craze wave 2, this time with more fully articulated lines to jump on the bandwagon.

[davidd]

Ooh, haven't seen this one in a while! She looks grand in greyscale!

[Elfy]

I like The Descendants films. Shame they haven’t made that many of them.

[Lejays17]

Gracey looks great in the greyscale. I remember hearing about the Attractions dolls, but as we don’t have Disney stores here any more, there’s no way of finding them if they aren’t online.

I’ll dig out the outfit for photos tomorrow - the only one I have as the moment is quite dark.

[werepuppy]

She's a wonderful doll. I wish there were more like this one. Like MH craze wave 2, this time with more fully articulated lines to jump on the bandwagon.

Look, even arm, wrist and knee articulation would be huge for these dolls. I don't know why we went from articulation on all the dolls to hardly any. I mean, it does seem to be coming back but... yeah.

Ooh, haven't seen this one in a while! She looks grand in greyscale!

I'm trying to make sure I take at least one photo of each member of my collection this year. For one it helps with my A to Z as many times as I can, and for another it's just making sure I pay attention to more than a few. 

I like The Descendants films. Shame they haven’t made that many of them.

Three films were made. I like the last one as it has Hades and well, it's a cool portrayal to be honest. I also like the second one because Uma who is spitting a lot of truth. 

Gracey looks great in the greyscale.  I remember hearing about the Attractions dolls, but as we don’t have Disney stores here any more, there’s no way of finding them if they aren’t online.

I’ll dig out the outfit for photos tomorrow - the only one I have as the moment is quite dark.

I think eBay is probably the best bet from now on to be honest, and prices vary. 

Thank you! 

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74. H is for Honey Swamp



Definitely in my top 10 of Monster High releases, Honey is just one of those ones I find completely stunning.  In my doll canon she's still an aspiring film-maker, with an emphasis on wanting to documentaries of all lesser known monster species.

[dargosmydaddy]

Ooh, she has such lovely colors!