REVIEW: Death Note Case File #1 Nendoroid Petits

Photos from Good Smile Company Website

Company: Good Smile Company

Brand: Nendoroid Petits

Model:  Death Note Case File #1

Doll:
Durability: The parts of this doll don't seem prone to breaking, however, they come with interchangable arms and little parts (like wings) that detach... and it's hard as heck to get them back on again once they've come off.

Posability: Their heads and arms are movable, and some come with interchangable arms, but otherwise they aren't very poseable. Two of the Shinigami come with stands that suspend them in the air as if they're flying, which is pretty cool.

Clothes: Cute and very detailed... Ryuk's shoulder tassels detach and are hard as heck to get back on, along with the Shinigami's wings... but otherwise, pretty easy to handle.

 Makeup: Really, REALLY cute makeup, the eyes are painted on and they are done really well. The shading is adorable. I have 6 of them and they all have perfect paint jobs.

Hair: Also plastic, with shading detail on Light's hair. The styles are anime accurate and really cute.

Accessories: They all seem to have little accessories, such as extra arms holding a Deathnote journal, or handcuffs or a little bag or little apples... all of them are adorable, although I kind of hate the alternate arms, they're hard as HECK to put on.


Height: About 2 3/4 inches tall


Extras: These figures all came with clear plastic stands that work quite well and don't take up too much space.



Packaging:
Style: A box showing pictures of the product, but not which one is in it, it's a random pick... which is a little aggrivating when they're $12 a pop, but still worth it, and I had no problems giving away my doubles.
Ease of Opening: Just a cardboard box with glue holding it together, so very easy to open.

Price:
I paid $12.00 per box at a local Anime store... but I've seen them range from $9-$30 for one. It really depends on which one you're going after.


Overall:
I highly recommend these figures. They are just soooo cute. They aren't quick to fall apart, and they aren't made with that annoying sticky plastic... so overall, pretty awesome.
I'm new to the Nendoroids... and have just ordered a pair of non-petit ones... so I'll have reviews on those in the near future.

REVIEW: Coraline 7.5 inch Bendy Doll in Raincoat

 

 

Brand: NECO

Model: Coraline Bendy Doll in Raincoat

Doll:
Durability: The bendy joints are all fairly sturdy. I have posed and reposed this doll and she does not seem to be wearing out at all.

Posability: VERY poseable. She can pretty much pose in any way I've wanted her to. On top of that, her faceplate is removable, so you can reposition her eyes as well.

Clothes: Coraline comes with a rain slicker, which is quite well made, a pair of jeans, also well made and a pair of plastic rain boots (there are no feet inside, they attach with the peg system). The boots are amazing in detail. My only complaint is that she isn't wearing a shirt under the raincoat... which seems a little creepy to me, lol!

 Makeup: Here is my one and only complaint about this doll... and it's a pretty big one. Her facepaint chips. Easily. This doll was shipped to me with the paint on her nose already chipped off and a huge scratch in her eyebrow. When I contacted the supplier to complain, they had the gall to tell me the doll was *supposed* to look like that.
What had happened was, their entire shipment from NECO arrived that way and they just assumed the doll was supposed to look like that (which... considering it's a huge, rubbed off, dark spot on the tip of her nose... seems a little unbelievable to me). The supplier I bought it from was quick to remedy matters... however, I emailed NECO about the quality of the facepaint and NEVER heard back from them... leading me to believe that they don't care if they're selling an inferior product.
Based on their lack of response... I would never recommend anyone buy from them.

Hair: This is one of the coolest parts of the doll. She has a semi-clear blue plastic head of hair that is remarkably reminiscent of the movie. Truly a stroke of brilliance, deciding to go with that type of plastic.

Accessories: No accessories

Packaging:
Style: Simple, straight forward, but not very effective in protecting the doll's delicate faceup.
Coraline comes in a rectangular box with a window front... which unfortunately is so close to the dolls face that in shipping it is inevitably pressed inwards and rubs the paint off the tip of her nose.

Ease of Opening: Very easy

Price:
I paid $12.99 for this doll, and you can find her on Amazon ranging from $11-$22.
Based on the quality of the paint job on the face, I would recommend not spending too much on one.


Overall:
I wouldn't recommend buying this doll if you're bothered by her having a huge black spot on the tip of her nose.
It's sad really, because otherwise, this is a truly amazing product. The doll is ADORABLE, the poseable eyes are really neat, she *really* looks like the movie version... and yet... there's that glaring flaw, right on the tip of her nose.
Not only that, but  I am totally turned off by the fact that NECO did not respond to my email about a flawed product.
To me, that just says they don't care that they're selling inferior product.
I can't promote a company that won't stand by their own product, and make sure the customer is getting a quality piece of work.

REVIEW: Monster High Doll Ghoulia Yelps

Brand: Mattel

Type: Monster High Doll

Model: Ghoulia Yelps

Doll:
Durability: Ghoulia, while a little on the thin side (but hey, she's a zombie... I don't expect her to be anything but!) is actually a fairly sturdy doll. She has delicate arms and fingers, but they aren't prone to breaking, rather the plastic bends, and then springs back into shape.
The hands  and arms can be removed, which, while making the doll easier to dress, could be a dangerous choking hazard to small children. The glasses also detach, and she has a small necklace, small skull pendant on her shirt, headband and earrings that could come off easily as well.

Posability: These dolls are fairly poseable... but I wish their heads had a bit more range. Their arms/hands and legs pose excellently... but while their neck has a lovely huge ball joint, the range of motion is actually rather limited. They also have an unjointed torso, making for limited posing when it comes to bending and flexing their midsection.

Clothes: Well made and amusingly stylish, I love everything about them from fabric choice to color. Her red clothing looks stunning with her blue hair and skin.
She has a simple green headband that works perfectly with her hairstyle.
A piano key belt that is just adorable.
A Red/White/Black striped long sleeve shirt covered with a cherry tanktop with a small Monster High skull attached to it.
Her pants are red with black embellishments and small black spots and made of a corduroy style material. They go just below her knees and are more like capris than actual pants, but that's not obvious because of her very awesome, calf-high, high-heeled converse sneakers.... I wish I had a pair!
Her earrings are pink zipper pulls and sit well on her ears.
Her necklace is small, grey and pink.
She also wears black fishnet arm warmers.

 Makeup: The doll I got, which was the only one available in the store, had perfect makeup! I love her glimmery red lipstick, arched eyebrows and eye makeup. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the white glitter eyeshadow, which doesn't cover the whole area, and is applied in strange little eyebrow shaped archs above the eyes.

Hair: Her two-toned blue hair is lovely, and falls straight, not messed up at all from being in the box. The style is adorable! It's soft, and after having shoved her rather haphazardly in my bag, it sprang right back to her straight stylish do with just a few brush throughs with my fingers.

Accessories: Her cassette tape bag is cute, but doesn't open. Her glasses, while cute, are... for me, just a tad bit too thick for her face. Had the frames been just slightly thinner you would have a better view of her eyes.
Her stand is adorable, red and covered with the Monster High emblem.
Her pet owl is cute, and it clutches her wrist and sits there... however the paint job on mine was a bit shoddy, and he has a large paint crack through his eye.
Her brush is red, and in the style of all the other Monster High brushes, which is to say a little skull with a bow on it. Very cute.

Packaging:
Style: BEAUTIFUL packaging. Everything from the black gloss on black ink to the beautiful illustrations of the dolls on the back. This is REALLY well designed.

Ease of Opening: One of the easiest packages I've ever opened. The doll was held down primarily with rubber bands, not those annoying twist ties and plastic tags. It was really easy to get her out, and she didn't get ruined in the process. My only complaint are the plastic tags they put in the back of their heads... the ones that are actually INSIDE the doll's head. I hate those... and I hate trying to get rid of them.

Price:
I paid about $16 after tax for mine at Target... but I have seen them ranging from $16-$40. You can find them at Toys R' Us for $19.99, or on Amazon for the higher prices, usually staring around $32.
I find the $16 price range affordable, but I'm not sure I'd pay much more than that for them. They are not so amazing as to warrant prices any higher than a Moxie Girl or Barbie.


Overall:
I would highly recommend Ghoulia Yelps to both adults and children (old enough not to be threatened by choking hazard pieces) who find this doll interesting. She's a beautiful doll, and truly unique, and I hope more people buy them and encourage Mattel to go a little more crazy every once in a while.
I believe she will easily withstand the rigors of play. I do have to say though, she's the prettiest zombie I've ever seen. It would be amusing to see a version of her a bit more... zombified.
I understand why they didn't do that though, the point is not to terrify children, lol!

A bit more on what this is all about...

I LOVE toys. I can't help it, I'm a kid at heart. There are enough toys on my desk at work to keep this blog rolling in reviews for years! So, I figured I'd share what I thought about these little guys, the good, the bad and the uglydoll.

If you have questions, or want me to review a toy that you have made, please feel free to contact me at:
littlebearries@yahoo.com

I would love to hear from you.

Day 1: Introduction and Paper Art

Welcome to Apocalyptic Pony... a place to find reviews on toys!

I will be posting helpful reviews on toys from all over the world :)

Do you *really* need one?

Find out here :)

First up is something you can all try at home, Paper Art. The following site is not only full of really cute paper crafts, but the site itself is eye catching! Check it out: