davidd’s A DOLL A DAY 2021

[Alliecat]

"The Ameliae Effect"?
Or... because, need to waste time online you do...
Try https://www.name-generator.org.uk , which came up with "Amelia and the Pilots", "Utah Thunder Ears", and "Girls Rabbit Dream". With song suggestions, "This Love is Pop But It's Girls", "Utah State of Mind", and "If I Was Your Pop Heart".
...go on, try it...

[Elfy]

I like Girls Rabbit Dream, for some reason that makes think of a Japanese pop band.

[Lejays17]

I love the Girl Rabbit Band name, it's like a direct translation of a Japanese or Korean band name that doesn't quite work in English, but is perfectly fine in the original language. Kind of like the Pullip "Feels Like So".

Isi Dawndancer was an interesting doll, they were really running out of "monster" inspirations by that time, weren't they? One of my other MH dolls is from the same release group - Kjersti Trollson, and she's the daughter of an Internet Troll...

[Loona]

Sad about the Monster High Arena forum. neon_jellyfish told me recently that the forum was going to close. Do you... did you... know her on that forum?
You really went down with the ship, there, being online when that "404" occurred. I was one of the last active members on the Pinky-Street forum, but I wasn't actually online when it went offline. It was there one day, gone the next, with no warning.

Yes I did - and, as Lejays has already confirmed, her too. It was a wonderful and helpful community back in the day, but I agree with Lejays, it has gone through some changes with time - some of the old lovely bunch I've come to enjoy the daily virtual company of have moved on, and while the new bunch seemed similarly friendly, the discussions about first the reboot, and then (when the line was really gone) about other doll lines, no longer really interested me, so I also disappeared slowly, only logging back in occasionally, and posting once in a blue moon. Luckily here there was a closure announcement back in February, so everyone had a chance to take a final look and say their goodbyes if that's what they wanted. I think it was a nice gesture, reminiscent of the overall nice attitude we had there.  I'm sad to hear the Pinky-Street forum disappeared in a less user-friendly manner.

You seem to be lucky with these photo features, I remember a treasure chest photo of yours was also featured in an article sometime in the past few years. 

I see what you mean about SDCC Fran - but if I were you and had a chance to get her through the $40 clearance (which I read about on Hina Ichigo's site), I'd probably have kept and deboxed one. I own some rare My Little Ponies that I lucked out on and found in the wild cheap, and I wouldn't say I never think of the money they could bring me - but then I always remember that chances of me lucking out on them a second time are probably on par with winning the lottery, and there's no way I'd pay their full current second-hand market price if I realised I wanted them back - not even if I did win the lottery. So if I ever was to sell them, they'd be gone from my life forever, and therefore they stay, because I enjoy them and luckily don't *need* that money right now.
Going back to SDCC Frankie, she was my holy grail doll in Monster High- or, well, no, not really, because I never even dared think for a second that I could own her someday. So at first I also settled for the second best with SS Frankie. And then something happened that is probably one of, if not the most surreal story that I've ever ex-perienced during my collecting years - yes, she too is one of the aforementioned 4 Monster High dolls that are up on display in my room together with Rochelle and greyscale SS Frankie. How she got here warrants a separate post though - that old photo also inclulding her that I recently found and edited will be a good occasion to share the story as well once I get artound to upload and share the  picture

I love the Girl Rabbit Band name, it's like a direct translation of a Japanese or Korean band name that doesn't quite work in English, but is perfectly fine in the original language.  Kind of like the Pullip "Feels Like So".

These were my thoughts exactly. Girl Rabbit Band gives me massive Feels Like So vibes, it seems perfectly suited

Isi is a doll I was interested in but never got in the end. I don't assume I ever will now that her price is where it is - but I also do not mind. To be honest, her actual doll form left me a little disappointed after the rumors and the first small promo picture, which is why I didn't jump to get her back when she was new and more readily available.

Clawdia does look pretty retro (in its earlier meaning - nowadays people, here at least, already started referring to the 1990s and related music acts as retro...), doesn't she? Pairing her with the music scene of the 1960s feels just right. The Sindy record had me giggling all the way through listening to it. The music is so 1960s, the narrator indeed so British (which I actually love), and the mock Liverpool accent he's speaking when impersonating one of the band members reminds me of someone I used to know and was from there. It's a fun piece that I'd surely want in my collection if I had any interest in Sindy.

[davidd]

You seem to be lucky with these photo features, I remember a treasure chest photo of yours was also featured in an article sometime in the past few years. 
. . .
Going back to SDCC Frankie, she was my holy grail doll....
. . .
It's a fun piece that I'd surely want in my collection if I had any interest in Sindy.

Word of warning: do not spend too much time looking at the photos... and especially reading the captions on the photos... from CooperSky on Flickr or you may find yourself falling under Sindy's spell.

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March of the Monsters continues:

14 March – Monster High Skelita Calaveras

[Elfy]

What a perfect setting for Skelita, and I adore her sombrero.

[Lejays17]

This is such a cool shot - Skelita looks just perfect in this outfit.

[davidd]

March of the Monsters continues:

15 March – Monster High "Lab Partners" Ghoulia and Cleo set

[Alliecat]

Aren’t these girls on eBay...? They ought to be cooking up something in your dungeon.
Skeleta looks ready for a hoe-down.

[davidd]

Aren’t these girls on eBay...?  They ought to be cooking up something in your dungeon.

Yes, they are! I'm waiting to see what happens... if anything. I already have one of these sets that I've opened. At the time I purchased this one, it was worth the price just for the laboratory beakers, but the secondary market price has increased to the point where, if it brings that much, cool; and if it doesn't, that's fine, too.

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March of the Monsters continues:

Monster High Vandal Doubloons, Daughter of the Pirate Ghost

Unusual international packaging, not often seen in most U.S. retailers.

[Alliecat]

She comes with a DVD? That's fun.
Wouldn't it be cool if Pullips came with little DVD-animated stories of their feel-like-so.

[davidd]

She comes with a DVD?  That's fun.

No, she doesn't. It's extremely misleading packaging, common in some of the Monster High lines that were based on Direct-to-DVD movies. 

[Lejays17]

Love the Mad Science lab partners set!

The Haunted line was a lot of fun, the muted pinks & teals worked very well to cohere the whole line together.

(Elfy is away at the moment, hence no posts from him this week)

[Loona]

Good luck with your sales! I too have recently posted/sold some boxed dolls I bought out of interest/with plans in mind back then, and now came the time I realised I certainly wasn't that interested in them, as they never made it out of the package. It's good to have some of that money and space back especially because we doll collectors seem to be skilled in filling that temporary space up with other stuff pretty quickly

It's funny I would have never noticed anything unusual about the packaging, had you not pointed it out - but then again, I'm European, so this is the exact package we used to have around here. And I agree that DVD bit is totally misleading - even more so, because in the past there were toys that came with DVDs (I don't think it was ever a thing in Monster High though). But packaging aside, the Haunted line was awesome - just like Lejays, I also love its muted, pastel colour scheme. I do think they missed a great opportunity when they didn't make the dolls glow in the dark (that would have made me buy up the whole line in a heartbeat vs. only owning a few), it would have fitted the ghost theme perfectly. I sometimes wonder if they thought about it, but abandoned the idea, in fear of MGA's possible reaction (MGA's glow-in-the-dark Bratzillaz have already happened by then).

Skelita's sombrero is awesome! Just like hse herself is. I always say I wish we had skeleton dolls back in the 80s and 90s - I wasn't a dolly person as a child, but I was a skeleton and anatomy lover, so I'm sure she would have sparked my interest.

[davidd]

March of the Monsters continues:

17 March – Monster High Roller Maze Ghoulia Yelps

Unfortunately, this example is not mint in box. There is a hole broken in the front of the plastic. Apparently even the packaging becomes brittle with age. This is an example of why packing away "mint in box" items in the hope that they will appreciate in value over time is not always a sure-fire bet. Long-term storage of bulky packages can be problematic.

I did not actually purchase this figure to pack away. In fact, I think somebody gave it to me, maybe. I don't remember for sure. I found it in a storage box.

Today was busy, hence another dull "box" photo.

Thank you to LeJays, Elfy (when he's around), Alliecat, and Loona for continuing to comment on most of my ADAD posts. I appreciate your continuing support, particularly with the forum being as slow as it has become. I suspect I am not the only one who is busy with "real world" issues at present.