2015-08-06

EAH Maddie - polka dots, yukatas and more glue

For all my complaining about Mattel, it turns out all it takes for me to come crawling back is a decent sale.

The other day I found out completely by accident that both major toy store chains had been having a complete clearance on their EAH stuff for like two weeks. Mentally kicking myself for not religiously checking the website of every toy store every morning for this kind of things, I rushed to TRU. Of course the shelves were pretty bare by then, and there was no sign of Cerise Hood, BUT they had a few Maddies left.
I always wanted a signature Maddie (polka dot tights! teacup shoes!), but with her blue glove hands she's kind of stuck in her default outfit, and to me a doll doesn't feel like a proper doll unless you can redress it. I had some kind of idea that if I got a signature Maddie. I'd have to get the Getting Fairest Maddie too just for her hands, and at regular price that's just ridiculous. So I'm really glad I stumbled across this sale, because this was probably the only time in the history of the world when I could comfortably afford both of them!

MaddieMaddie
Maddies. The coveted gloveless hands are locked in my safe.
Also, for some reason there were loads of Apple Whites left - is she widely regarded as the least favorite doll? Maybe they just overstocked.  I'm tempted to go back for her just for the extra shoes and outfit, but I think that's just my hoarding tendencies talking.


Now, the glue situation:

Signature Maddie, made in Indonesia: quite glue-y. Some had even seeped out of her head around the plastic tab and soaked the cardboard, which is actually the first time it's happened to me. This makes me kind of sad because I like her crazy candy hair, and she has the best sausage curls of the two.

Maddie's glue seepage
Ew.
GF Maddie, made in China: only slightly glue-y, but not clear. Her head isn't quite as hard, but there's a definite stickiness to the roots. Sigh. I find myself thinking "oh great, it's not that sticky", but... remember when doll hair had ZERO stickiness?

I haven't decided what to do yet, but since I've got two I think I'll sacrifice The Stickiest for a reroot (even though that means getting into close contact with the glue) and see how that turns out. Sticky hair makes me want to put the doll away in a drawer and never touch it again, and that's no fun. For now, signature Maddie and her glue is quarantined in the packaging material (glass coffin?) until I feel like dealing with her, and GF Maddie is running around freely with her relatively glueless hair. She's a bit shorter than the other MH/EAH dolls so I'm still trying out clothes for her. This Re-ment yukata is a bit too big and not really her style, but it has polka dots and that's all that matters.


Speaking of doll yukatas, Daiso has new ones in a cute pink/white/blue heart print, fitting ~21cm dolls (this japanese blog has some good pics). They're dollar store quality and not really worth the markup on ebay, but FoundInJapan (where I got mine) is a bit cheaper if you go with the cheapest shipping option. I'm trying not to buy any more doll things this month, so I'm telling you about it instead.

5 comments:

  1. I'm always surprised (although I suppose that I shouldn't be) that after years of complaints, Mattel hasn't done anything about those glue issues.

    Still, glue or not glue, can't beat a clearance sale, right? :)

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    1. Same here. But if there's no escaping the glue, at least I prefer paying as little as possible for it.

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  2. Wow, glue on the cardboard - that means a lot of glue in the head. And the problem is you can't always tell how much glue or stickiness you are facing before you buy a doll. Great to be able to afford to buy both dolls though.

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  3. Tuesday morning has a ton of these dolls as well :)

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  4. @Carrickters Yeah, I shouldn't complain - I'm really glad I found out about that sale. You're right about not knowing beforehand - I think the best way to avoid glue is check with other collectors what dolls have been found to be relatively glue-less.

    @gochemoche Unfortunately, we don't have Tuesday Morning in my country, but I've heard they're a good place for EAH and MH dolls.

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