As I may have mentioned my long awaited Ella & Hunter pack arrived last week. I never posted about it then because I was too buzy pouring boiling water on Ken, but today seems like as good a time as any.
Of all the EAH dolls so far, Ashlynn Ella is actually the one I have the absolute least interest in. I do like her color scheme with lots of pink and teal to go with her dark blond hair, but overall she just looks too much like a generic Barbie for me and that's not what I come to EAH for.
Buying a doll I'm not enthusiastic about felt slightly wrong, but it was the easiest way to get Hunter, whom I DO want. I'll probably hang on to her to use as a body donor (if I find a head that fits the knob-type connector), but for now I haven't even bothered photographing her - just stripped her of her outfit and put her in the Donors' Drawer. I might let her out if I need the kitchen floors swept, though.
The only photo I took was to document this stain on her not-yet-unboxed leg.
You'd think at least the extra shoes would come in handy, but I'm just not a fan of the model - plus they have the dreaded Plastic Odor Of Death. Even more disappointingly, Hunter's boots also have it, and so does his "leather" bracelet. I don't know if I'm extra sensitive or if I just got a bad one, but I actually had to put them away because the smell was giving me a headache. Hunter has pretty nice boots too, so that was a bit of a let-down. :/
Luckily, the rest of him is pretty awesome.
Not this bit, though - it's the flocking glue stains on his face that seem to be a fairly common occurrence with this doll. There's one under his chin too:
I got most (but not all) of it off with hot water and washing-up liquid, but since he's getting a repaint sooner or later I can attack the stains with some acetone then.
The big bag-off! Barbie Style Teresa vs. Hunter
Here's some of the awesomeness: his bag! It's the one on the right - it's supposed to look like a patchwork of skin, but it's made of hard plastic and and the lid makes a rather un-skinlike clacking noise. Soft plastic would have been the obvious choice, but hey - it's a functional bag, so I'm not complaining.
Jacket pattern: awesome, but off-center.
This folkloristic pattern on the back of the jacket was a nice surprise! It looks like an old carved wooden door post or something like that, and I think it's a great detail. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be perfectly centered, but you have to agree it would look better. Oh well. I haven't washed the jacket yet, since the hood and front is fake leather and I'm not sure how it will react to water.
The top: it's NOT this color...
The forest print top is awesome, and was one of the things that made me want this doll. However, none of the photos had prepared me for how bright green it is!
A more toned down shade would actually work better, I think. I'll try washing it together with something black and see if it catches some dye. Tea would probably be too faint to make a difference.
The plastic strip that secured his waist to the box has some pretty alarming staining. From what I can tell it must have been the "tree top", so I should probably wash it anyway to be on the safe side (there's no staining on his torso, though).
His pants are a interesting, moldy-looking mix of grey and beige (more grey than the photo, actually). They really look like they've been buried in an old root cellar for years. (Is it weird that I see that as a good thing? It works with his character design!)
Since they have a similar color scheme and fairy tale theme, I tried putting him in Prince Derek's outfit (from 12 Dancing Princesses):
He's practically drowning in that jacket: even with the stiff fabric of the bodice pushing the collar up to his ears, the sleeves still cover his hands! The pants are too big as well - he might be able to wear them on their own, but why would he want to?
As Derek has the older Ken feet, his boots are slightly too small for Hunter: his heels peek out in the back!
His feet are a bit wider than modern Ken feet too, so not all shoes will fit him, but these Fashionista boots fit perfectly:
Top: Justin Bieber backstage (with print that didn't like being washed)
Shorts and boots: Fashionista Ryan
I'm glad I finally decided to get this set, since I like Hunter's ...well, hunter motif. The earth colors, the "leather" details, the "cool" and unusual hairdo - his design spoke to me more than any of the male EAH dolls I've seen announced so far (even Dexter Charming with his glasses!), and in the end I decided if I'm ever getting one of the EAH guys it should be this one.
Now I just need to figure out how to wash that gunk out of his hair without the flocking coming loose.
