Mattel's greasy hair problem

This doll has very greasy hair.

Once again I've managed to completely forget I have a blog. I remember I was going to post about my latest additions to the monster gang, but I'm feeling a bit uninspired at the moment. I did take a bunch of pics at least (and dumped them all on Flickr). They're a couple of CAM packs that were on sale (it was almost impossible to find a mummy that wasn't completely missmatched. And I don't know why the harpy's wings are heavy, solid slabs of plastic, but at least her shoes are awesome) plus the headless headmistress Bloodgood that I've wanted for a while, not least because of her boots which are plain and black and also fit Nefera. 

The first thing I did was take down her bun and wash the product out (somehow I don't feel like the doll is really mine unless I can do what I want with the hair). I gave her a new loosee bun that looked pretty ok, but then I discovered she had a really bad case of glue seepage. Typical.

The thing is, most of my purchases lately have been afflicted by the dreaded Mattel Glue Head Problem. First there was the thrifted Fashionistas Nikki that I had to give a reroot. Didi I mention the A&T cheerleader Ken I got a couple of months ago? Sticky glue-y hair. (At least his was short.) Then I got a thrift store Rapunzel a couple of weeks ago, and of course as soon as I washed her, her scalp started seeping glue. Oh, and Raven Queen? Sticky. Even Nefera, whose box 'do  I've never touched, is starting to feel a bit sticky... 

I know that washing the hair makes the glue problem worse, but sometimes you have to (like with thrift store dolls). And honestly I have a really hard time accepting that a kids' toy made of vinyl and plastic shouldn't be able to withstand cleaning?! If they were made of rice paper or something I could understand, but this is just ridiculous. 

So I've been debating with myself what to do about this. I not keen on rerooting EVERYTHING, but what options do I have? Someone mentioned using degreaser intended for bike chains (I think?), so I guess that's one option, although I have to wonder how that would affect the vinyl. 

Then there's this trick where you basically fill the head with talcum powder:

http://nocturna-fangor.tumblr.com/post/66085991848/solution-to-the-monster-high-greasy-hair-glue-seepage

 I'm trying it on Rapunzel (and I felt more like an ancient Egyptian enbalmer than ever) but I've been lazy and haven't gotten around to brushing the powder out of her hair yet so I can't say if it's working. The head doesn't seem to be leaking powder, at least. 

...so that was my rant for today. 

Thrift store find: Sindy desk

There's been a lot of warnings about bedbugs here recently, so I'm trying to cut down on my thrift store shopping. Anyway, this Sindy desk I found last week didn't really have anywhere for creepy-crawlies to hide (to be on the safe side I put it in the freezer a few days anyway). 

Disassembling and reassembling was pretty easy and didn't require much force.

Art desk! Slightly yellowed on one side, but in perfect working order otherwise. Did I mention how much I love art supplies for dolls?

Don't ask me why Raquelle signed her painting "Sindy". Forgery, perhaps? 

(Oh and I bought a bunch of Monsters too on sale, but that's a post for another day.)

Steffi Love boots mod

Oh yeah, I actually finished modding those Steffi Love boots. Originally they were fake flats, but I sliced off the soles, hollowed them out to make room for föat feet, then glued them back together. They still only fit articulated Steffi's feet, but at least the proportions don't look as weird. 

All hollowed out and ready for reassembling! I just used whatever glue I happened to have laying around.

The seam split when I rammed her foot down in the boot too carelessly. Oh well, just pour some extra on.

Steffi Love's articulated feet aren't pretty, but they do the trick.

Balancing without problem! 

Thrift store finds: more IKEA furniture

Another post, another IKEA dollhouse set! 

I found this yesterday - a nice surprise since I'd almost given up on that particular thrift store. It's pretty close so I pop in now and then, but recently the findings there have been so scarce I almost thought they stopped selling toys entirely. But apparently I've just been having bad luck and/or timing. 

I've seen this set in photos and liked the bright 70s colors (although I assume it was made more recently). The design is the same as the chairs and table I already had. Of course most of it is slightly too small for my dolls, but I really like the look of this furniture so I got it anyway.

The bed has a knob missing. There are matching holes under each leg so you could probably stack them and make bunk beds.

The bed and chairs will probably be re-donated, but the desk is almost the right size for Lottie, and the shelf can just be a very low shelf (maybe for shoes?). 

Oh, and I found this rather terrifying lady: 

(c) 2006 Mirage Studios and Playmate Toys. Google tells me she might be Silver Sorceress, a name that doesn't ring any bells with me. I think her eyes and breastplate are supposed to light up, but I haven't got the right type of batteries to try it. She's the same height as Lottie (almost 8") and for some reason cannot balance with both feet flat on the ground. Not sure if that's a bug or feature, but she looks cool so whatever. 

-I'm sorry, you can't deduct your travels to and from Alpha Centauri as a business expence unless you saved the receipts.

-WHAT?! OH, CONFOUND YOU PUNY EARTHLINGS AND YOUR TAX REGULATIONS!!

MH Avea & Sirena

Videos! Very short and not terribly informative videos, but at least we get to see Avea and Sirena properly. Avea seems to have knee joints (are they even called knees in horses?) but only in her front legs, and shin guards as the obligatory plastic accessory instead of shoes. I want to see her for myself before I decide, but she's lookig pretty awesome so far (Wydowna is still #1 on my wishlist, though). 

Meanwhile, Sirena is looking less and less appealing to me. Her face sculpt is pretty bland, and there's the lack of articulation. I feel like she doesn't have enough character to stand out - I realize that might seem like weird thing to say about a freaking ghost mermaid doll, but that's the downside of raising the bar like Mattel keeps doing with the MH dolls. 

But if you always wished Lagoona were spookier, you might love Sirena. I do like her tail fin, it's very spooky and sort of mushroom-like. Also we get to see how she stands up! 

Avea Trotter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvf-Em5GfXI

Sirena von Boo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4VJy5PrrGU

(I know the formating looks weird. It's the telephone's fault.)

And now I really want to see an octopus girl, although Disney's lawyers might have something to say about that...

Too many Monsters!

The problem with Monster High is they're too awesome. There's so many fun and inventive dolls, and with every wave it's getting more difficult to choose what to spend my rather limited funds on. OK, I know - not exactly a problem in the big scale of things! Still, at this point I'm almost relieved when I see a new monster I don't like.

Anyway, this may be old or unreliable news, but I saw photos of the centaur and mermaid dolls yesterday. (I was googling a completely different doll and stumbled upon them here: http://shadowbinders.com/monster-high-avea-trotter-pic-is-going-around/ They're originally from the MH facebook group.) I known everyone has been anticipating the centaur, but personally I was more interested in the ghost mermaid. Now for some reason she doesn't speak to me at all, and I breathe a sigh of relief - because that means I can afford the new Wydowna instead! The centaur does look pretty cool (and articulated, I think?) but 6 arms still beats 4 legs, at least in my book.