I had a new ken doll in the review queue but whenever a new MH doll is leaked I start getting questions about sizing immediately.
Guys, Mattel doesn't send me stuff in advance! I get them when I manage to find them at a non-scalper price online or IRL, which by my local stores is 2-3 months after the actual release.
Abbey is my favorite gal from the not-main cast (main cast fave is Cleo) for pretty much the same reason I love Cleo. Strong personality, independent, equally good by herself or with friends. And she can pick up Heath when he's being too annoying!
Now I *loved* the new Twyla, but I have mixed feelings on Abbey.
Pros:
- Finally on a tall body!
- Molded panties don't come up as ungodly high as the other G3s
- Color palette is truer to the original character. Hair is white instead of white-blonde. No yellow snow implications :P
Cons:
- The prototype had a lovely blushed nose. This one has a solid painted dog nose. Also no blush? Had blush in the prototype...
- Mine is wonky with one eye bigger than the other. Sigh.
- The clothes are... not good. See the V of the pants? That's some BAD pattern design. They did not adjust for the deeper panty of the body sculpt. The general quality/style seems more in line with a budget doll.
- She has horns, but you can't see them because they're barely big enough to poke past her hair. It just causes weird hair bumps with her box style.
- Her hands want to come off her hand pegs so bad. This is an issue with all of the G3s and it needs to be fixed. The wrist pegs are a lot harder to pull out (good) but the issue now is that the plastic of the hands splits at the wrist joint and the hand never goes back on again. See my handless Frankie in the comparison pic.
Abbey does NOT just have a Draculaura body with longer legs. She has a new body shape which is both chubbier and taller than Draculaura, but the height is only in the legs. The torso length is the same.
I'm kind of disappointed, NGL. I like Abbey having a bigger, thicker body, but part of her character is that she is very strong. So where's the muscle definition? She's just kind of...inflated. This is why I included the DC Super Hero girl doll in the comparison pic. This body was a scaled up version of the EAH doll with a little bit of muscle definition added to the sculpt. I would be 100% ok with Abbey's new body dimensions if she also had hints of muscle definition like the DC Super Hero Girl.
I think this is probably because Garrett Sander isn't involved in G3 Monster High. Garrett was the designer of the original Monster High line and made a LOVELY muscular-yet-feminine doll. I know he is behind the amazingly articulated She-Ra doll and was probably involved in the DC Super Hero Girls and the WWE girl dolls. Unfortunately he left Mattel years before the G3 reboot.
Apart from this brief and wonderful period of strong girl dolls, having girl dolls that are muscular is far rarer than non-skinny dolls. As a naturally muscular girl I have very strong feelings about this. I can tell you first hand that a lot of people act like if you can see real biceps on a girl she must be on steroids or a transexual. Girls who go to the gym are often very careful to not gain muscle bulk because of this kind of stigma. It sucks. So yeah, I had some hopes for Abbey as far as body-inclusivity goes. But that's a me problem, as far as expectations not meeting reality. At least she's tall I guess.
As far as sizing goes, I've got some good news and some bad news:
The good news is that with the bigger bust, in the upper body she is a great match for Rainbow High/Shadow High dolls from the waist up. Similar to how the new Cleo is a match for the other Monster High dolls in Petite Slimline size from the waist up. The bad news is she is not a perfect match for Petite Curvy size, being both taller and massively bigger below the waist.
Overall this is more good than bad because 4/5 patterns aren't fitted below the waist. Tops are fine, dresses with gathered skirts (which is most of them) are fine, the only things you want to steer clear of is anything body-con from the waist down: Pants, pencil skirts, and stockings.
Let's have a quick fit to demonstrate:
I left her handless because I can't understate the problem with the hands snapping off the wrist pegs. I feel like there's a counter that is gradually ticking down to zero at which point she will have no hands and the only thing I can do is delay it, not stop it.
Final thoughts:
I'm going to have to customize her just to get her to look like the promotional doll does. Which yeah, I can do, but most doll collectors can't, nevermind parents and kids.
I am glad that some of the Petite Curvy patterns fit, because she really, really needs new clothes.