(Just as a note: it seems my "scheduled publish" setting isn't working. This was meant to be posted on 7/31. I'll need to investigate and see what's going on.)
This past week, my family and I went to a lot of summer yard sales and flea markets. My aunt came across some retro toys which she bought for me, and that sparked the ol' idea generator... See, I was a child of the '80s, which had--in my humble opinion--some of the most awesome, fun toys ever. And I held on to most of my toys! They're in storage, although some are more easily accessible than others. I started thinking about this, and realized, "Why don't I do some mini-reviews on my old toys, as a type of retro nostalgia? After all, a lot of them are still manufactured today in new versions. Wouldn't somebody like to see the original versions?"
Hence, my monthly Throwback Thursday posts (not necessarily toys, since this *is* the "hobby haven." It's for all kinds of hobby materials!). I'll try to do at least once a month, maybe up to two if it's a slow acquisition month.
I'll do this as a mini-introduction and go over the toys that we picked up. We found two original My Little Ponies, which I've collected since I was young. I'm not a fan of the newer generations of My Little Ponies, though. Something about their body and eye shape really turns me off. Hence, I stick to collecting generation 1, which was manufactured during the '80s and early to mid '90s. They're easy to tell apart from the newer generations because they have a fairly uniform body style and a unique eye. You can see what I mean in the pictures below.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
What is this madness?
Hey hobbyists! Miss Scarlett is on a roll lately, and is popping in with a quick update!
I thought that I would do periodic "Pick up" posts where I go over hobby items that I buy--things that don't necessarily require reviews. I was out running errands this morning when I stopped in my local 5 Below, which apparently is now Blind Bag Headquarters. Who knew? They also has a small selection of Frozen merch, so I picked up some odds and ends.
The two green egg-shaped objects are Legend of Zelda blind bag...er...eggs. The series is comprised of six figures in total, with Link and Zelda from Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, and Phantom Hourglass. One of my friends is a big Legend of Zelda nut, so I figured I'd pick two up as a late birthday present. (If she posts pictures of which figures she gets, I'll post them here!) You can get them for $3.99
The white container is also a blind bag; it's a type called a Fashem. It's a Hello Kitty blind bag, which I'm stoked for since I love Hello Kitty. I'm going to wait on opening it until I have some more, maybe make a post of it. They're only $2.99, so they're pretty cheap.
The rest of my pickup were Frozen Anna and Elsa bracelets, and an Elsa poster. (Can you tell that I like Frozen?) For any of you Frozen fans (or parents of Frozen fans), 5 Below has *tons* of Frozen party supplies and favors, as well as posters and sticker books.
After I stopped at 5 Below, I swung over to do some shopping at Target. I was hit with a brainwave while in the kitchen supplies, and picked up this kitchen turntable:
"What is Miss Scarlett planning?" you might ask. "What's the point of buying a kitchen turntable if you're not using it for your kitchen?" Well...you'll see! I have a craft project planned for this, but I won't get around to working on it for another few weeks.
That's all for now! Stop by on Thursday for another post!
I thought that I would do periodic "Pick up" posts where I go over hobby items that I buy--things that don't necessarily require reviews. I was out running errands this morning when I stopped in my local 5 Below, which apparently is now Blind Bag Headquarters. Who knew? They also has a small selection of Frozen merch, so I picked up some odds and ends.
The two green egg-shaped objects are Legend of Zelda blind bag...er...eggs. The series is comprised of six figures in total, with Link and Zelda from Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, and Phantom Hourglass. One of my friends is a big Legend of Zelda nut, so I figured I'd pick two up as a late birthday present. (If she posts pictures of which figures she gets, I'll post them here!) You can get them for $3.99
The white container is also a blind bag; it's a type called a Fashem. It's a Hello Kitty blind bag, which I'm stoked for since I love Hello Kitty. I'm going to wait on opening it until I have some more, maybe make a post of it. They're only $2.99, so they're pretty cheap.
The rest of my pickup were Frozen Anna and Elsa bracelets, and an Elsa poster. (Can you tell that I like Frozen?) For any of you Frozen fans (or parents of Frozen fans), 5 Below has *tons* of Frozen party supplies and favors, as well as posters and sticker books.
After I stopped at 5 Below, I swung over to do some shopping at Target. I was hit with a brainwave while in the kitchen supplies, and picked up this kitchen turntable:
"What is Miss Scarlett planning?" you might ask. "What's the point of buying a kitchen turntable if you're not using it for your kitchen?" Well...you'll see! I have a craft project planned for this, but I won't get around to working on it for another few weeks.
That's all for now! Stop by on Thursday for another post!
Saturday, July 26, 2014
SDCC Toy Reveals
I've got a lot of good toys news to share for all EAH and MH enthusiasts!
(First of all, I need to say that it feels a bit weird to be making so many blog posts in such a short time...this makes, what, three this week?)
I may have mentioned before that I am following a page called Ever After High Dolls on Facebook, which I urge all of you to follow as well if you like Mattel toys. The page's admin went to the San Diego Comic Con this weekend and posted every scrap of news she learned, which is great for us fans!
News item the first: confirmation that Ever After High's Hopper Croakington II, Daring Charming, and most importantly, DUCHESS SWAN will be receiving dolls. This was sort of a no-brainer, but it's nice to have confirmation, at least. No word as to estimated street dates yet (and no pictures, either).
News item the second; boy howdy, if you like Monster High, then you'll be pleased by the roughly dozen or so dolls they premiered. A few of existing characters in new lines, but quite a few new ones. we got confirmation of another MH movie, "Haunted," with a new line and playset to go with it. There's a couple new characters introduced in this line, including a monster pirate girl named "Vandala Doubloons" who has a detachable peg leg. ::shrugs:: I wasn't overly impressed with these, since they are all very pastel.
They will also be debuting a new line called 'Monster Exchange' that sees some new exchange students coming to study at Monster High, and some existing students leaving to study abroad. I wasn't crazy about the new student dolls, and was ready to write it off when I saw the Monster exchange versions of Draculaura and Lagoona Blue. Here are the photos, straight from the Facebook page:
As you can see, Draculaura is studying in Japan, and Lagoona is studying in Spain. I am absolutely in love with these dolls. The designs are so cute and attractive, and I have decided that these will be the next Monster High dolls that I purchase. I originally was planning on getting a more basic Draculaura and was on the fence about Lagoona, but I think that these have made up my mind for me. (And that's not to say I can't find a more basic Draculaura later if I want. I really like the "Killer Style" Draculaura and Frankie Stein.) I'm not 100% crazy about Draculaura's makeup here, but I love her kimono-inspired dress and the geisha-inspired hairdo. Same goes for Lagoona; she looks like a flamenco dancer.
If you want to see more pictures of the other dolls, you can check out the Facebook link above. No word on when any of these will street, but I'm thinking probably towards the end of the year? It seems to take at least a few months for dolls to be released once their details and photos are announced. Fingers crossed that these will be easy to find at Target and such.
Oh, and one last thing; I just had an idea for a different type of post besides my reviews and occasional news dumps. I'm not sure if it would be a once-a-month type of thing or maybe biweekly, but I'll try it once a month for now and see how it goes. Check back this coming Thursday and see!
Miss scarlett, signing off!
(First of all, I need to say that it feels a bit weird to be making so many blog posts in such a short time...this makes, what, three this week?)
I may have mentioned before that I am following a page called Ever After High Dolls on Facebook, which I urge all of you to follow as well if you like Mattel toys. The page's admin went to the San Diego Comic Con this weekend and posted every scrap of news she learned, which is great for us fans!
News item the first: confirmation that Ever After High's Hopper Croakington II, Daring Charming, and most importantly, DUCHESS SWAN will be receiving dolls. This was sort of a no-brainer, but it's nice to have confirmation, at least. No word as to estimated street dates yet (and no pictures, either).
News item the second; boy howdy, if you like Monster High, then you'll be pleased by the roughly dozen or so dolls they premiered. A few of existing characters in new lines, but quite a few new ones. we got confirmation of another MH movie, "Haunted," with a new line and playset to go with it. There's a couple new characters introduced in this line, including a monster pirate girl named "Vandala Doubloons" who has a detachable peg leg. ::shrugs:: I wasn't overly impressed with these, since they are all very pastel.
They will also be debuting a new line called 'Monster Exchange' that sees some new exchange students coming to study at Monster High, and some existing students leaving to study abroad. I wasn't crazy about the new student dolls, and was ready to write it off when I saw the Monster exchange versions of Draculaura and Lagoona Blue. Here are the photos, straight from the Facebook page:
If you want to see more pictures of the other dolls, you can check out the Facebook link above. No word on when any of these will street, but I'm thinking probably towards the end of the year? It seems to take at least a few months for dolls to be released once their details and photos are announced. Fingers crossed that these will be easy to find at Target and such.
Oh, and one last thing; I just had an idea for a different type of post besides my reviews and occasional news dumps. I'm not sure if it would be a once-a-month type of thing or maybe biweekly, but I'll try it once a month for now and see how it goes. Check back this coming Thursday and see!
Miss scarlett, signing off!
Friday, July 25, 2014
Blind Box Review: Donutella and Her Sweet Friends
Oh, my. I'm rather excited for this review, since I didn't think I'd ever actually pick these up. Good things come to those who wait!
Today's review is a little bit different, since I'll be dipping my feet a little further into the world of blind boxes. For the uninitiated, "blind boxes" are a type of toy release, almost always for small toys and collectibles. The catch is that you don't know which one you're getting until you open the box. And of course, different toys in the series will be available in different quantities, almost ensuring that you have to buy 30 boxes to be even remotely sure that you're getting the super ultra rare sparkly one. (And then you open them all, and half are the same figure. C'est la vie.)
I've purchased only a few blind boxes before, back during my anime con years. Blind boxes were super popular ways to sell anime and otaku-type merchandise years ago in Japan (and still are, actually!). I was surprised to see it took this long to really catch on in America, but over the past year or two, I see blind box toys every time I turn around.
tokidoki is a character line, similar to Hello Kitty. It has the latter's Japanese "kawaii" look and appeal, but is actually an Italian brand. It's amazingly cute, and has become more popular over the last few years. tokidoki has tons of various types of characters, all with their own unique appeal. Let's look at these:
Today's review is a little bit different, since I'll be dipping my feet a little further into the world of blind boxes. For the uninitiated, "blind boxes" are a type of toy release, almost always for small toys and collectibles. The catch is that you don't know which one you're getting until you open the box. And of course, different toys in the series will be available in different quantities, almost ensuring that you have to buy 30 boxes to be even remotely sure that you're getting the super ultra rare sparkly one. (And then you open them all, and half are the same figure. C'est la vie.)
I've purchased only a few blind boxes before, back during my anime con years. Blind boxes were super popular ways to sell anime and otaku-type merchandise years ago in Japan (and still are, actually!). I was surprised to see it took this long to really catch on in America, but over the past year or two, I see blind box toys every time I turn around.
tokidoki is a character line, similar to Hello Kitty. It has the latter's Japanese "kawaii" look and appeal, but is actually an Italian brand. It's amazingly cute, and has become more popular over the last few years. tokidoki has tons of various types of characters, all with their own unique appeal. Let's look at these:
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Not a review, too.
Just a quick bit of news before I hit the sack. I've "liked" a page on Facebook called Ever After High Dolls, which is a fan-created page dedicated to news about the Ever After High franchise (as well as Monster High, to a lesser extent). They post any type of news they can get their hands on related to the franchise, and they apparently know a few websites that post toy industry-related news. they also frequent the Ever After High website and post with any pertinent updates. So:
1. They showed leaked pictures of accessory prototypes that could only belong to my favorite EAH Royal, Duchess Swan. The pictures are of high-heeled ballet slippers and a feathered and beaded headpiece, both accessories that Duchess wears. No pictures of the doll yet, but this is pretty much confirmation that they're working on the doll right now. When we can expect her is totally up in the air, but as of right now, there are no new doll announcements past August, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that she *could* be released this fall or winter. I'd personally lean towards this winter at the soonest, with an early 2015 release more likely, but we'll see if Mattel decides to exceed my expectations.
2. A new screenshot from the webisode was posted to the page, featuring what can pretty much only be a new character:
The character in question is the white-haired girl holding the chocolate ice cream cone. Her outfit is too detailed/she stands out too much to be a background character, and logically is a new character in the franchise. Speculation is going as to who she is, but she's likely the daughter of the Snow Queen or of Jack Frost, going off of her pale hair and clothes, and the snowflake ornament in her hair. Her dress looks like a tutu, so maybe she could be the daughter of the Nutcracker's Sugar Plum Fairy? All I know is that there is a significant chance that this a character that will be a regular on the show, and might get a doll, and I have to get this doll.
In essence, there are two potential Ever After High dolls coming down the pipeline that I am determined to snatch up as soon as I can. I like the show, but very few of the character designs appeal to me in the sense of "This would make an awesome doll design, and I want to have this doll." This is probably the first time that I want a toy based on a screenshot alone, heh.
Anyway, this sleepy Miss Scarlett needs to head off to bed before she crashes. Signing out!
1. They showed leaked pictures of accessory prototypes that could only belong to my favorite EAH Royal, Duchess Swan. The pictures are of high-heeled ballet slippers and a feathered and beaded headpiece, both accessories that Duchess wears. No pictures of the doll yet, but this is pretty much confirmation that they're working on the doll right now. When we can expect her is totally up in the air, but as of right now, there are no new doll announcements past August, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that she *could* be released this fall or winter. I'd personally lean towards this winter at the soonest, with an early 2015 release more likely, but we'll see if Mattel decides to exceed my expectations.
2. A new screenshot from the webisode was posted to the page, featuring what can pretty much only be a new character:
The character in question is the white-haired girl holding the chocolate ice cream cone. Her outfit is too detailed/she stands out too much to be a background character, and logically is a new character in the franchise. Speculation is going as to who she is, but she's likely the daughter of the Snow Queen or of Jack Frost, going off of her pale hair and clothes, and the snowflake ornament in her hair. Her dress looks like a tutu, so maybe she could be the daughter of the Nutcracker's Sugar Plum Fairy? All I know is that there is a significant chance that this a character that will be a regular on the show, and might get a doll, and I have to get this doll.
In essence, there are two potential Ever After High dolls coming down the pipeline that I am determined to snatch up as soon as I can. I like the show, but very few of the character designs appeal to me in the sense of "This would make an awesome doll design, and I want to have this doll." This is probably the first time that I want a toy based on a screenshot alone, heh.
Anyway, this sleepy Miss Scarlett needs to head off to bed before she crashes. Signing out!
Friday, July 11, 2014
Monster High: "Frights, Camera, Action!" Elissabat Review
Another Friday, another toy review. This time, I'll be taking a look at another doll, "Elissabat," from the Monster High line. (Again with the MH, I know.) This particular doll is based off of the Monster High movie "Frights, Camera, Action!" I'll admit that I've watched some of the web cartoons but haven't gone further than that, and some of my purchases are based off of what dolls I think look prettiest, rather than which character I like best. I haven't seen the FCA movie, so I can't say much about it.
That goes for this pickup, which was my first Monster High purchase ever. The doll is of the character Elissabat, who is apparently a vampire movie star, and could probably teach Bella Swan and the Cullens a thing or two about how to be freaky fabulous (as all the monster kids say). I picked her up at my local Target, which seems to have the best selection of dolls in my area, although that isn't saying much. She was a little cheaper than Frankie, about $21. The FCA doll line was released in during the fall and winter of 2013, to prepare for the spring 2014 release of the TV special, so they were fresh (but not too fresh) in the stores when I got there this March.
I should briefly note that I picked up this doll months ago when I was in my video reviewing phase. I ultimately wasn't happy with the quality of the footage, nor with my narration attempts, and realized that I was far better at providing written reviews. Of course, I decided all of this after I had made a review for the doll and thrown away her box and her diary (oops!). So this is why Miss Elissabat is missing her box, and why I had to provide a stock photo from Google for usage.
With that being said, let's take a look at her.
That goes for this pickup, which was my first Monster High purchase ever. The doll is of the character Elissabat, who is apparently a vampire movie star, and could probably teach Bella Swan and the Cullens a thing or two about how to be freaky fabulous (as all the monster kids say). I picked her up at my local Target, which seems to have the best selection of dolls in my area, although that isn't saying much. She was a little cheaper than Frankie, about $21. The FCA doll line was released in during the fall and winter of 2013, to prepare for the spring 2014 release of the TV special, so they were fresh (but not too fresh) in the stores when I got there this March.
I should briefly note that I picked up this doll months ago when I was in my video reviewing phase. I ultimately wasn't happy with the quality of the footage, nor with my narration attempts, and realized that I was far better at providing written reviews. Of course, I decided all of this after I had made a review for the doll and thrown away her box and her diary (oops!). So this is why Miss Elissabat is missing her box, and why I had to provide a stock photo from Google for usage.
With that being said, let's take a look at her.
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