Monster High

[Detective Lubic]

Yeah......maybe not......Its sounds like a jackhammer when running! No restfull nights sleep in that Light!!

Dan's seamed pretty quiet in his review? They have been sold out for quite awhile. I wonder if these newer shipments have better pumps? I guess we can ask Dan

[vertigoink]

I'm baffled by the whole Monster High craze- is it something like MLP "bronie" craze or ? I saw the Nickelodeon special and I can see it has a really unique style but...I feel like I'm missing something? I also find it funny that a similar idea was sent to them YEARS AGO originally that I was told was never looked at...

[diosoth]

I think the appeal comes from the uniqueness of the idea. It's not "yet another tired old fashion doll that you've seen 50 times before". The characters have some uniqueness to them, and Mattel decided to take cues from Cy Girls/ZC Girls with more articulation and modular bodies. There's also the appeal of the connection to old monsters, and while they may not have the rights to the Universal versions, much of them are technically public domain now(and based on novels) so they don't need those specific rights. Some people are also starting to realize that "target audience" shouldn't prevent them from liking something, and I've all but had my fill of boy's lines being mishandled(Hasbro treats G.I. Joe quite terribly, and seems to hate collectors).

My only complaint is everyone has high heel shoes with very sloped feet, but I can understand why they did it... changing shoes on normal 1:6 figures can be an absolute chore with flat feet, even if they have articulated ankles(and honestly, just forget it if you have one of those old 90s Hasbro bodies).

[Staff Of Ka]

Dan's seamed pretty quiet in his review? They have been sold out for quite awhile. I wonder if these newer shipments have better pumps? I guess we can ask Dan

Thats a good point! maybe they have fixed em! as dan said...they are an awesome display piece!



ka

[wyldman11]

I thought Pixel Dan used a MIC and voice over in spots on his reviews, and figured he just didn't mention the noise because it's a known issue. My girlfriend who got one like a month or two ago says it makes the noise.

[Staff Of Ka]

Yeah, The pump effect was shown in voice over, not live. maybe they are all loud!

[markatisu]

I'm baffled by the whole Monster High craze- is it something like MLP "bronie" craze or ? I saw the Nickelodeon special and I can see it has a really unique style but...I feel like I'm missing something? I also find it funny that a similar idea was sent to them YEARS AGO originally that I was told was never looked at...


http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/20...nd-d4vrrtm.png

Yeah they also almost passed on it this time, that is why Wave 1 was originally limited and had the core set of figures with little to no promotion. It was a "test" and I guess kids just flocked to it

You should really check out the webisodes, they have really aimed at the internet and adult fan with the promotion of this line.

For me its hard to explain, once you buy one and you see the quality involved and the fact that virtually every doll is uniquely tooled and sculpted (outside the base body) its a steal for $20-24.

Its nothing like the bronies craze though, Mattel has treated Monster High like a boys action figure line since Day 1 and that has never really been done for a girls doll line before. I think that in part helped bring a lot of the male fans.

JEM came close but that was still "dolls", these things are dolls in the sense they have fashions but they are designed like action figures.

Then you add in the scalper appeal which also drives the sales from regular fans worried they will miss out and you have a super successful line.

[Pixel Dan]

On the Hydration Station, it is loud. Sorry guys...I totally meant to mention this in the video, and it slipped my mind until you guys brought it up. The scenes where I'm showing it are muted with a recorded voiceover. So the motor in it is still pretty loud.

I definitelys hould have included this in the video, and I'm actually mad at myself that I forgot, becuase it was one of the key things I had meant to mention.

Sorry for the confusion!

[wyldman11]

Yeah, The pump effect was shown in voice over, not live. maybe they are all loud!

The girlfriend watched the video and asked, I said I recalled him using a mic at some point and I know when he is off screen he uses one for voice over. I showed her a view youtube reviews that had the noise, because she wanted me to ask thinking hers was the only one that did it at that point. Dan's review set up is more professional than just a webcam with built in mic that most youtubers use, based on the way his voice comes across and the video quality etc. You can tell a difference in a webcam mic set up, and more of a camera and having a mic on your body setup, basically his voice comes off crisper and cleaner you don't hear as much background noise. You can see the lapel mic in the Armor of Omens video, and I recall him taking it off to put to the toy so we could hear it.

I also mentioned to her that many other bubble making devices I have seen tend to be quite noisy, the reason being it has to get air from somewhere for the bubbles to make. Even bubble guns make a fair bit of noise.

[Pixel Dan]

The girlfriend watched the video and asked, I said I recalled him using a mic at some point and I know when he is off screen he uses one for voice over. I showed her a view youtube reviews that had the noise, because she wanted me to ask thinking hers was the only one that did it at that point. Dan's review set up is more professional than just a webcam with built in mic that most youtubers use, based on the way his voice comes across and the video quality etc. You can tell a difference in a webcam mic set up, and more of a camera and having a mic on your body setup, basically his voice comes off crisper and cleaner you don't hear as much background noise. You can see the lapel mic in the Armor of Omens video, and I recall him taking it off to put to the toy so we could hear it.

I also mentioned to her that many other bubble making devices I have seen tend to be quite noisy, the reason being it has to get air from somewhere for the bubbles to make. Even bubble guns make a fair bit of noise.

I'll take all of that as a compliment. I'm glad it's noticeable that I put in the extra effort like that.

But, I'm really sorry about not bringing up the noise. I really, really should have! That's a fail on my part!

[wyldman11]

I'll take all of that as a compliment. I'm glad it's noticeable that I put in the extra effort like that.

But, I'm really sorry about not bringing up the noise. I really, really should have! That's a fail on my part!

And you should (not that I am anything special), I am by no means a super audiophile, but at church our drummer for the worship team does ask me how things sounded because I do pick up on things here and there. He's still working with the guy who we have behind the mix board. There are others who could give more detail then I do, but he also asks me because I sit up front whereas the others sit in other parts of the auditorium.

But nothing worse then watching a review video you hear something in the background that sounds like shouting, even worse when the video has a spot that is edited out and the person comes back with a black eye. OK I have never seen the black out part but still. It does go along way with people watching that, you aren't so professional that people think you are getting paid off to high rate something but it comes off more then just a he's a guy doing this from his tool shed in the back and you can hear the road construction in the background.

Your reviews are very much appreciated, for the time and effort you put into them and the obvious love you have of sharing this with the rest of us.

And I understand, it's a big point I have many many times had slips like that both with teaching in the church or making a post on a forum. The second though I can go back in and edit, the other is just a oh yeah. You could put a note in the youtube description though, I know many don't read them but a lot of people do.

[vertigoink]

Yeah they also almost passed on it this time, that is why Wave 1 was originally limited and had the core set of figures with little to no promotion. It was a "test" and I guess kids just flocked to it

You should really check out the webisodes, they have really aimed at the internet and adult fan with the promotion of this line.

For me its hard to explain, once you buy one and you see the quality involved and the fact that virtually every doll is uniquely tooled and sculpted (outside the base body) its a steal for $20-24.

Its nothing like the bronies craze though, Mattel has treated Monster High like a boys action figure line since Day 1 and that has never really been done for a girls doll line before. I think that in part helped bring a lot of the male fans.

JEM came close but that was still "dolls", these things are dolls in the sense they have fashions but they are designed like action figures.

Then you add in the scalper appeal which also drives the sales from regular fans worried they will miss out and you have a super successful line.

Hmm good points I "get it" somewhat more now- although now I'm kind of mad as the concept seems entirely ripped from a pitch I sent like the enclosed pic in the thread..

[diosoth]

Hasbro doesn't give a damn about MLP, which is why season 3 will be starting around the time they finally start making toys that are based on the cartoon. It's why we had pink Celestia toys for so long, and most of the toys were either some generic made up characters or just the main 6 packed over and over and over. Even with the TRU 7-pack, it's 3 new characters from the show, 2 generics, and 2 more repacks, and Hasbro has had a long running habit now of flat out ignoring the fans and collectors as a viable part fo the buying market... while Mattel caters, Hasbro mostly ignores and says we make up maybe 2% at best. As for dolls, Hasbro did that as well as they do their garbage clones of Lego. Geez, guys, drop LSD much before you made that godawful relic of the 80s? I swear Dr. Rockso from Metalocalypse is a parody of those characters, he just has to be. And now they're bringing it back unaltered? Yeah, that'll sure be a success. Or risk a long overdue lawsuit from a certain band they infringed upon... maybe it'd have been an acceptable cartoon without the pointless villains thrown in for no reason whatsoever(which when I think about it, the main villain was just a poor knockoff of the Joker, and the entire concept was just wholesale stolen from Batman. Come on, rich person with dead parents and a secret identity, lair in their basement, green haired psycho villain... it's Batman!). But after the nightmare that was Cobra-La, I don't expect much in the way of good decisions from Hasbro.

Honestly, it amazes me Hasbro shows profits, it's that they make money despite their decisions, not because of them.

Mattel knows how to market, cater to and appeal to more than the "parent who buys what their kid wants". They probably took a look at the 1:6 market and saw that rooted hair has been a major part of that for almost 20 years(female heads with plastic hair are actually the minority), and that articulation makes it more than a doll. You can totally ignore the extra outfits if you want and some of the accessories(the tank, big car) are actually more than throwaway bits of plastic. Plus they know how to push a line that's doing well instead of mishandling it(Hasbro basically killed C.O.P.S. by being too incompetent to push it when it did well).

[Mr. Shokoti]

Hasbro doesn't give a damn about MLP, which is why season 3 will be starting around the time they finally start making toys that are based on the cartoon. It's why we had pink Celestia toys for so long, and most of the toys were either some generic made up characters or just the main 6 packed over and over and over. Even with the TRU 7-pack, it's 3 new characters from the show, 2 generics, and 2 more repacks, and Hasbro has had a long running habit now of flat out ignoring the fans and collectors as a viable part fo the buying market... while Mattel caters, Hasbro mostly ignores and says we make up maybe 2% at best. As for dolls, Hasbro did that as well as they do their garbage clones of Lego. Geez, guys, drop LSD much before you made that godawful relic of the 80s? I swear Dr. Rockso from Metalocalypse is a parody of those characters, he just has to be. And now they're bringing it back unaltered? Yeah, that'll sure be a success. Or risk a long overdue lawsuit from a certain band they infringed upon... maybe it'd have been an acceptable cartoon without the pointless villains thrown in for no reason whatsoever(which when I think about it, the main villain was just a poor knockoff of the Joker, and the entire concept was just wholesale stolen from Batman. Come on, rich person with dead parents and a secret identity, lair in their basement, green haired psycho villain... it's Batman!). But after the nightmare that was Cobra-La, I don't expect much in the way of good decisions from Hasbro.

Honestly, it amazes me Hasbro shows profits, it's that they make money despite their decisions, not because of them.

Mattel knows how to market, cater to and appeal to more than the "parent who buys what their kid wants". They probably took a look at the 1:6 market and saw that rooted hair has been a major part of that for almost 20 years(female heads with plastic hair are actually the minority), and that articulation makes it more than a doll. You can totally ignore the extra outfits if you want and some of the accessories(the tank, big car) are actually more than throwaway bits of plastic. Plus they know how to push a line that's doing well instead of mishandling it(Hasbro basically killed C.O.P.S. by being too incompetent to push it when it did well).

I feel that Hasbro(like Marvel Comics) is great at getting their name & franchises out there to the public, but seem to be pretty cavalier about their properties outside of how much money they will make as well caring little care what the fans think. Mattel(like DC Comics) have trouble getting their name & franchises out there outside of 1 or 2 exceptions(Barbie & Hot Wheels/Batman & Superman), but do seem to care about their properties(at times they seem to verge on being control freaks that limits expanding the brands) & the fans. Mattel & DC often miss perfection by a hair due to quality control(whether that's a broken toy or a crummy artist on a book). Imho that is.

[vertigoink]

Hasbro doesn't give a damn about MLP, which is why season 3 will be starting around the time they finally start making toys that are based on the cartoon. It's why we had pink Celestia toys for so long, and most of the toys were either some generic made up characters or just the main 6 packed over and over and over. Even with the TRU 7-pack, it's 3 new characters from the show, 2 generics, and 2 more repacks, and Hasbro has had a long running habit now of flat out ignoring the fans and collectors as a viable part fo the buying market... while Mattel caters, Hasbro mostly ignores and says we make up maybe 2% at best. As for dolls, Hasbro did that as well as they do their garbage clones of Lego. Geez, guys, drop LSD much before you made that godawful relic of the 80s? I swear Dr. Rockso from Metalocalypse is a parody of those characters, he just has to be. And now they're bringing it back unaltered? Yeah, that'll sure be a success. Or risk a long overdue lawsuit from a certain band they infringed upon... maybe it'd have been an acceptable cartoon without the pointless villains thrown in for no reason whatsoever(which when I think about it, the main villain was just a poor knockoff of the Joker, and the entire concept was just wholesale stolen from Batman. Come on, rich person with dead parents and a secret identity, lair in their basement, green haired psycho villain... it's Batman!). But after the nightmare that was Cobra-La, I don't expect much in the way of good decisions from Hasbro.

Honestly, it amazes me Hasbro shows profits, it's that they make money despite their decisions, not because of them.

Mattel knows how to market, cater to and appeal to more than the "parent who buys what their kid wants". They probably took a look at the 1:6 market and saw that rooted hair has been a major part of that for almost 20 years(female heads with plastic hair are actually the minority), and that articulation makes it more than a doll. You can totally ignore the extra outfits if you want and some of the accessories(the tank, big car) are actually more than throwaway bits of plastic. Plus they know how to push a line that's doing well instead of mishandling it(Hasbro basically killed C.O.P.S. by being too incompetent to push it when it did well).

Mattel's practices are obviously suspect ( past knowledge about ripping off the late Tony Guerrero, using concepts they say they never looked at, etc.) so I guess they all have errors.

[Detective Lubic]

Thats a good point! maybe they have fixed em! as dan said...they are an awesome display piece!

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...1/P1120513.jpg

ka

Great Display!!! and it looks like you have plenty of room to add Abbey when she comes out..

[markatisu]

Great Display!!! and it looks like you have plenty of room to add Abbey when she comes out..

I was wondering are we considering Cleo's vanity part of this dead tired set? It could work but its technically not a bed

[Staff Of Ka]

Great Display!!! and it looks like you have plenty of room to add Abbey when she comes out..

Aww thanks that pic was taken last year when I first got all the Dead tired collection (Dunno Why Dracs Bed isnt in it...Meh) and I took that pic sans flash to hopefully see the awesome light up effect of the Hydration Station. Thats in the living room where I display new toys until they are put in the toy Room, now the whole DT Set is sadly smooshed into a Detolf!lol

um....Abby....What about Abby?? What did I miss?

I was wondering are we considering Cleo's vanity part of this dead tired set? It could work but its technically not a bed

I personally consider the Vanity as DT, but Im still hopeful for a Proper Sarcophagus 'Bed' For Cleo, or maybe they will save that for Nefara?



ka

[Bonehead]

Its seriously not a production issue, they are already doing 3x what they were in terms of volume compared to 2010. If scalpers are buying up all the dolls that is just the nature of the market. It is their #1 line, a bunch of people already got fired for mismanaging the production at the beginning of 2011 so I think they are probably on top of how much they sell through and what is needed

The amount of stock on the shelves last year between July and October was absolutely ridiculous, if you go back in this thread you will see some of us musing that maybe Mattel shipped too much. Then Christmas happened and made a lot of us look stupid

Dolls were still hard to find this year so the change in personnel didn't really help IMO.

I also remember last Summer and Fall shelves were overloaded with product. Thev whole DOTD line sold well at first then it tanked for months. Then all of a sudden it was no where at all. I remember seeing 10+ Deuces and 10+ Holts at TRU

Cool Abbey is back, that should be good for a lot of people. I need to keep looking, went to 5 Walmarts today and came back with Rochelle, that was it lol

5 WALMARTS!!!


I can't stand that. Whoever said that "part of the thrill of collecting is the hunt" was an idiot. There is no way I'd ever do that. If I'm out shopping, I look but there is no way I'd make special trips looking for figures/dolls.

I'd rather buy it from the secondary market and pay more than to waste my time and money hunting. This is actually one of things that I enjoy most about MOTUC. No retail.

At the moment Im just hoping a LOT that they continue the DOTD series with Spectra,Toralei,Gil,Clawd,Abby,Nefara,howleen etc! because to my mind thats the 'high End' series!

ka

I agree. Instead of starting a whole new line, I wish they would just finish off the lines that they already started. It would be nice to get dance figures for the other characters. Skull Shores was IMO a good idea cause it kind of was a continuation of the Gloom Beach series. Lagoona, Gil, and Abbey all needed "beach" figures. I just wish we had gotten a Spectra.

[wyldman11]

The thrill part makes sense notice how many people will turn their items over (opened) after collecting them a few months later.

[markatisu]

Dolls were still hard to find this year so the change in personnel didn't really help IMO.

Oh it helped, just not for us as the consumer. They shipped more dolls then ever they just all sold lol

I also remember last Summer and Fall shelves were overloaded with product. Thev whole DOTD line sold well at first then it tanked for months. Then all of a sudden it was no where at all. I remember seeing 10+ Deuces and 10+ Holts at TRU

I was just joking with my wife how we were all asking how TRU expected to move the 30 or so DoTD Cleo's they had in at Christmas and damnit if they did not move them

5 WALMARTS!!!

I can't stand that. Whoever said that "part of the thrill of collecting is the hunt" was an idiot. There is no way I'd ever do that. If I'm out shopping, I look but there is no way I'd make special trips looking for figures/dolls.

If 5 makes you go eek I visit about 12-17 stores a week, its probably the only interesting I have to do on my 83 mile journey to and from work each day in the middle of the Midwest

Hunting does suck though, especially when you come upon a store that has gotten a scalper. I buy lots of product but I try to only buy 1 of each character when I need them. I stopped by one Walmart today and there 2 sisters about 7 in the aisle looking at the dolls and I just left them to decide what doll they wanted. I hate when adults push kids out of the way

Aww thanks that pic was taken last year when I first got all the Dead tired collection (Dunno Why Dracs Bed isnt in it...Meh) and I took that pic sans flash to hopefully see the awesome light up effect of the Hydration Station. Thats in the living room where I display new toys until they are put in the toy Room, now the whole DT Set is sadly smooshed into a Detolf!lol

um....Abby....What about Abby?? What did I miss?

New Dead Tired Abbey, she is wearing the outfit she had in one of the webisodes

I personally consider the Vanity as DT, but Im still hopeful for a Proper Sarcophagus 'Bed' For Cleo, or maybe they will save that for Nefara?

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...1/P1130297.jpg

ka

Darnit Ka you are making we want that Vanity!!!

[Stratos*Major]

Dolls were still hard to find this year so the change in personnel didn't really help IMO.

I also remember last Summer and Fall shelves were overloaded with product. Thev whole DOTD line sold well at first then it tanked for months. Then all of a sudden it was no where at all. I remember seeing 10+ Deuces and 10+ Holts at TRU





5 WALMARTS!!!


I can't stand that. Whoever said that "part of the thrill of collecting is the hunt" was an idiot. There is no way I'd ever do that. If I'm out shopping, I look but there is no way I'd make special trips looking for figures/dolls.

I'd rather buy it from the secondary market and pay more than to waste my time and money hunting. This is actually one of things that I enjoy most about MOTUC. No retail.



I agree. Instead of starting a whole new line, I wish they would just finish off the lines that they already started. It would be nice to get dance figures for the other characters. Skull Shores was IMO a good idea cause it kind of was a continuation of the Gloom Beach series. Lagoona, Gil, and Abbey all needed "beach" figures. I just wish we had gotten a Spectra.

5 Walmarts isn't bad...it just depends on the area you are in. We have 3 in a 30 minute radius. I can go to 3 in 30 minutes or less. He may be able to get to all 5 in 40 minutes so really not too bad.

Mine happen to be on my commute home from work too and they all fall in a direct line so it is really easy....and when I want something...I'll def. make the effort. I usually only have time to do this once a week though so that really decreases my odds at finding one.

It really is the resellers in my area that make it so hard. I am more than sure they "know" someone(s) who lets them know when they get put out. There are perpetually MH Dolls for sale in our areas craigslist for 2xs retail. I swear (and I know it'll happen) I'm gonna see this person with a cart of MH...and not for one second will I hesitate to take my doll from their cart!!

Funny story...my first Walmart Black Friday there where 3 areas they actually had associates giving out the merchandise: #1.) Video Games #2.) Sheets (yes like in your bed) #3.) Monster High Dolls (I ended up with 2!!) I also got the beauty rest memory foam bed topper and a 4 qt. crock pot...I did good for being by myself!!

[markatisu]

Yeah the scalpers who have friends that work in retail just stink, I don't mind if you are a hard working scalper who goes when the store opens and just gets lucky. The ones that bother me are the ones whose friends call them when the case arrives and it never even hits the shelf. This used to really be a Toys R Us only type problem but more and more Walmart is falling prey to it as well

[Staff Of Ka]

Darnit Ka you are making we want that Vanity!!!

Oops sorry!!

I wasnt gonna get it, then I saw it on amazon for $21 and thought why not!

And Again its superb, no picture can do it justice, just like Clawdeens bunks and Frankies Slab....Its so cool in person! the details and sculpt are amazing......Can only Imagine what the School Playset is gonna be like!!!

ka

[Stratos*Major]

Yeah the scalpers who have friends that work in retail just stink, I don't mind if you are a hard working scalper who goes when the store opens and just gets lucky. The ones that bother me are the ones whose friends call them when the case arrives and it never even hits the shelf. This used to really be a Toys R Us only type problem but more and more Walmart is falling prey to it as well

I would only assume (i don't know any walmart employees) that it is against company policy.

I dont have a problem with a friend being like...I'm putting them out today you better come get them.

To be honest I don't like scalpers period. lol

I remember my Aunt worked at a department store when Cabbage Patch Kids came out and she saved 4 for my grandmother who in turn gave one to each of us...

Does anyone know how long each series is sold for? Like 1 year? A few months? At what point do I need to give up on looking for the doll in retail stores and need to go to secondary market?