Monster High returns again!

[Mori_LeStrange]

does anyone know if the MH Reef Drama dolls will be a Target exclusive? or will they be sold on the mattel website?

They are not exclusives. I haven't seen them in physical stores yet. But both Entertainment Earth and Big Bad Toy store has listings for the Reel Drama dolls. Pre-orders are sold out right now on both. But it looks like they should be in stock in October.

[Carrehz]

More news!

Stock photos for Reel Drama
Haunt Couture Cleo and Lagoona in case anyone missed 'em

But also GHOULIA!
Youloveit has photos, CTRL + F or scroll down to find Ghoulia. (There's also finally official stock/promo photos of everyone else, as well as confirmation that Clawdeen's pet Crescent IS still a kitty - I was wondering about that. She looks more like a fox now.)

She's.... green? (Is this why Frankie's blue now?) Again I'm getting Enchantimals vibes from a G3 MH redesign; she almost reminds me of Tamika Tree Frog. She's a skater now? I guess?? To be fair, I suppose they were never really consistent with her fashion sense (or whatever you'd call it) in G1. I don't know. She's cute, I guess, but she's just not Ghoulia. I do like her accessories though (glad to see brain puffs and DeadFast making a return) and the new Sir Hootsalot is really sweet.

There's also a new Frankie/Deuce Coffin Bean-themed 2 pack, which is okay. The best part of it IMO is Perseus and his little motorbike Best part of G3 so far!
And also a Ghoul Spirit 6 pack. I'm glad to see another Toralei and Deuce (3 boy dolls right off the bat is nice), but my god, those outfits are ugly What a hot mess. Not only are they ugly, but there's no cohesive theme to them or anything, they don't look like a set. They just look like they tossed a bunch of random dolls together... I would not know this was meant to be a sports/cheerleading themed set if I hadn't seen the box. And WHERE are Deuce's glasses?!?!?

Also take a close look at the stock pics for Sig Clawdeen. They've made a running change to her so there's two versions: The first version has crescent moons and pawprints all over her shirt, while the new release has stripes and full(?) moons. I think her face-up is slightly different too. Weird that we're seeing changes like this already. I'll keep an eye out for comparison photos.

[brightberry]

I think the g3 looks pretty good.  I don’t know if I will actually buy any but, I love how sassy Draculaura looks.


I hope I can get the Reel monsters.  They look so amazing.  I totally missed the pre-sale.  So, hoping they show up in my stores.

[Lady Frostbite]

Ghoulias pic didn't.load??

EDIT: They loaded on a browser at home. I'm just happy she's here if I'm honest, I felt like she did have a style that was almost 50's -ish but not as Rockabilly as Operetta, I'm not sure if I can articulate it properly here. I think the skateboard will be the logical extension of the scooter; something that lets her get about quickly due to her zombie-speed gait without looking out of place in the halls of MH.

I don't feel the new faces at all, and the revamp 'Goona got still makes me sad :c I had a quick look at the animation, it's like a hybrid of 3D and stop-motion and slightly weirded me out

Reel Monsters look SO GOOD!!!!!

EDIT: I really think I'll need to get ALL members of this, I REALLY hope they release all six original ghouls (YES INCLUDING GHOULIA) and I really really REALLY super-hope we get characters like Abbey as well! I would KILL for a Catty Noir in this style!

[alkevin]

Lagoona doll reminds me of Andrea from Reboot.

[Crystal-Sushi]

EDIT: I really think I'll need to get ALL members of this, I REALLY hope they release all six original ghouls (YES INCLUDING GHOULIA) and I really really REALLY super-hope we get characters like Abbey as well! I would KILL for a Catty Noir in this style![/color]

Well Abbey's trademark has just been renewed, along with a few others (most random being Hexiciah, Robecca's dad!) but if this is for G3 or a new Creeproduction we'll have to wait and see~!

[Taffeta]

I'm just catching up on this, and I am not really sure what to make of Lagoona - I like the doll but I don't see Lagoona in it. I'm not sure if I'm going to be going after these at all, and I agree with the stuff Carrehz said about Ghoulia - she has a particular look that this doll doesn't have. But I am glad that she's part of the line. Depending on what they do to her in terms of character/if they do animation with her.

[Carrehz]

I was hoping you'd see the update Taffeta, I know you're a Ghoulia fan Yeah I'm glad to see her, but this new doll is... it's like how I feel about Lagoona Pink, she's cute but she's just so different idk why they didn't just make her a new character.

I hope we get photos of G3 Twyla soon... I'm really anxious to see her. She was one of my favourites.

EDIT: I really think I'll need to get ALL members of this, I REALLY hope they release all six original ghouls (YES INCLUDING GHOULIA) and I really really REALLY super-hope we get characters like Abbey as well! I would KILL for a Catty Noir in this style![/color]

Well Abbey's trademark has just been renewed, along with a few others (most random being Hexiciah, Robecca's dad!) but if this is for G3 or a new Creeproduction we'll have to wait and see~!

Oooh exciting news! :O And wow, Hexiciah, he's a character I didn't expect to see again. That's really interesting.

[Taffeta]

It suggests them digging into Robecca's background a bit

Yeah, I am so bad at checking this forum :'( but I'm glad I saw it. I do feel a little vindicated about Ghoulia returning, but if she starts speaking in standard English then it will probably bother me.

I don't want to comment too much on the others given that I'm sure they're observations people have already made all the way up the thread, but is there a reason why Frankie with Deuce in a 2 pack?

[Carrehz]

Agreed that Ghoulia shouldn't speak English (or any sort of "human" language!).

Re: Frankie/Deuce, I don't think they've answered that one yet - I've been wondering about it, too. :/ I'm not sure if Cleo and Deuce are together in G3 or not. I know the Haunt Couture storyline has them breaking up (I saw scans of Cleo's diary and

Spoiler

from what I remember, it ended on a note hinting that they'd probably get back together sooner or later

) but HC and G3 seem to be in separate continuities, so I'm not really sure what's going on there.

[Lady Frostbite]

I think its against forum rules.to show but I screenshotted someone selling a Reel Lagoona on ebay already at a shocking price. Supposidly in hand but its a stock image. Came up in my recommendations.

Still REALLY hope they show up for everyone in the UK. How uuuhmazing would it be to go into Smyths on Christmas and pick up a brand new MH doll again???

[Esbayne]

I do feel a little vindicated about Ghoulia returning, but if she starts speaking in standard English then it will probably bother me.

I don't want to comment too much on the others given that I'm sure they're observations people have already made all the way up the thread, but is there a reason why Frankie with Deuce in a 2 pack?

Unfortunately it has been confirmed Ghoulia speaks in this gen.
I don't like her redesign, tbh.

Also, Frankie and Deuce are a couple now, or so I've heard.


MY BOYFRIEND FOUND THEM FOR ME! (-all but Toralei. A few weeks ago, I found only TWO Toraleis shoved behind some Care Bears, they were the only MH in the whole toy section. Grabbed one, of course!)
He went to Fred Meyer for a few groceries after work today, and texted me asking what I needed. Recently, since G3 first debuted, when he goes to any store I've been asking him to "go monster hunting" for me if he has time... (We even went on a trip to his best friend's house recently and went to the store, and I dragged his girlfriend to go look for them with me in the doll aisles. Now she's saying she wants "just one..." Yeahhh, good luck with that, all of us here said that once... )

WELL TODAY THEY WERE FINALLY ABOUT! He gave me a call saying "THEY'RE HERE." and described the ones he saw to me and asked me which ones I wanted. (They had them all except Toralei!) ("Um... Dracula, person...? Frankenstein... person? Werewolf person... mummy person... Uhhhh.... pink... Luh-goo-nuh" person...?")
He said he walked up on them AS they were being stocked- He walked into the aisle, took a look around, almost left- but he saw a clerk bringing out a big box of something, and he said he saw the little skull and was like "OHP!" and did a little jog over to them.

I got Frankie, Lagoona, and Draculaura! Not a fan of Cleo or Clawdeen's redesigns so I left them, tbh. They look way more like budget dolls than the others, in my opinion.

If anyone's interested, I can take pics of them all next to their G1 (and G2, for Drac & Lagoona) counterparts!

Also, a cute little homage to G1, on Lagoona's box of "goldfish," there's art of G1 Neptuna!
They also have lots of cute details- Not as much as G1, but they're still there. Frankie, for example, has a charging port on their leg.

Also I have to say, the pets for this gen are GORGEOUS. I didn't think I'd like them, but man are they pretty. Frankie's dog I gave to her G2 little sister, Alivia, because I hate Alivia's pet. X) Have to say, it got me to like Watzit for the first time ever- now I want G1 Watzit to have them side-by-side, and he was always my least fave of the pets.

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pic he sent me in store- he said they will always be on end-caps- from my experience when I found the Toraleis, this seems true

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girls he brought home for me

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one comparison so far

[brightberry]

WOW! They look amazing.  I love hearing about the little details.

[Taffeta]

I feel like if I said everything I thought about the possibility of Ghoulia speaking in this gen, it would probably get me in trouble with Loa.

It undermines the need for kids to see nonverbal people and people with communication challenges in positions of prominence and acceptance. It strips those kids of representation and inclusion in a line that originally promoted celebrating differences, rather than hiding them.

It's a backwards step given that represented differences are becoming more common in toy lines (not just wheelchairs, but other things like prosthetics, vitiligo, different body shapes).

I have a lot more thoughts, but I'm gonna stop there since there's no point in expressing them to people who probably already get it better than Mattel do.

On the dolls...it's interesting to see the comparison.

I'm not really feeling this gen, dollwise, that much yet. I haven't seen them, mind you, but I'm also about to go through my G1 MH dolls and sort out who I want to keep for the long haul and who I don't. I don't really have space in my collection for more of the same characters, and if they've changed the core of who Ghoulia is then she's just another doll.

I had a couple in G2 that I really liked - Lagoona and Rochelle in particular were very pretty in G2. I'm not really on board with pink lagoona, but she is the only one different enough that I might want to look at her.

I dunno. We'll see.

[Esbayne]

BIG post incoming with LOTS of photos!
Feel free to skip to photos, this is just hype about details & my own opinions.

Sooo I ended up loving them so much I asked my boyfriend if he could stop after work and get the last two!
I texted him asking if he could check back for me again today and grab Cleo, because I was kinda regretting not grabbing her... He replied "Okay sure thing, what about the wolf? Or do I have to wait and go grab her tomorrow? hahaha" omg... SO I said screw it, sure, grab her too. (it's my money so no worries lol, going to be my "fun" budget for a while lol!)
Now all I'm missing are Deuce and Ghoulia, and I'm going to be hunting Deuce down even harder now, and by god did I hunt for these HARD! Ghoulia's growing on me rapidly, even if her face does look Barbie-esque, the glasses fix it. My main gripe for her is the skirt, but I have a pair of tights that would replace them perfectly. Still REALLY don't like her media character really just for the fact she talks now.

So I'll say it, I like G3.
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I'll say it.
I LOVE G3.
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And I gotta say, I was NOT a big G2 fan.
But I find thinking of G3 as an alt-universe really helps. It's *not* MH, but it *is* MH, in its own ways.
I still don't like ANY of the media so far. Some of the live-action outfits look cool, but not many. I don't even like the box art, or even the box itself!! But the dolls are stunning once you free them from their plastic prisons.
One cool thing about the box though, is they all come with a little 3D plastic insert of the Monster High logo with the skullette, in the front of the box. I've been ripping them all out and keeping them. The first one I put on my doll shelf, and it honestly looks really cool in my opinion! Idk what I'll do with the rest, but... Something.

They honestly strike me as a more refined, higher quality version of G2. Holding them next to each other, they look like they could possibly be from the same line. G1 vs G3, or even G1 vs G2, not so much. They're both very much more "MH Lite" than G1.

I do think it's cool Frankie's neutral now, because it works so naturally for them being made of both male/female corpse parts- Honestly I think that's a really cool touch, and something I could've even seen being around in G1, had that been more acceptable then. (I mean, they wouldn't even admit to characters being gay back then!)
I LOVE thick Draculaura, and how wildly different all their faces and bodies are now. I mean- they ALWAYS were, but these ones are all different from each other in different ways than G1 one. These ones have expressions, and of course the different body types.
My one major gripe with Frankie that I've seen others mention- their head looks shoved down too far. Also, they don't have neck-bolts anymore. I initially overlooked that until today, and I do really miss it. Their leg is really cool though.

They ALL have chest joints! It makes them so much more poseable.
Their feet are slightly bigger with a little less of an arch, so they can lend themselves to both chunky flats & heels. So they can share most shoes with G1, but some might be a tad tight/loose. Clothes is a bit more different- obviously ones like Drac, forget it, she just can't share clothes with G1. MAYBE a stretchy skirt or shirt. But even the thinner ones have a hard time closing in the back, but stretchy stuff or stuff that doesn't need to close as much, like dresses, you can kinda get away with.

Their body paint. Is. DELICATE. Holy mother of crap is it delicate, I thought people may have been exaggerating a little but NO. Their faces and arms are totally fine, but their legs chip SO easily. My Toraelei has a few scratches on her stripes, and Goona-
OH. MY. RA, GOONA.
If you get her, be so, SO careful with her. It's unreal. Infact, I hate to say it- but unless you're dying for the OG, wait til later when they perfect her paint, because I'm fairly certain they will. (G1 had some bad paint problems in the beginning too, I like to think they're experimenting and this will be ironed out later...) Her lower legs are blue and spray painted to a pink fade, and seriously- her legs rubbed together just a little, and she has a HUGE scratch in the paint now. Like HUGE. I feel like even moisture might take it off, it's bad. Willing to bet when the days come of seeing these gals pop up second-hand, most Goonas will have 100% blue legs.
I adore her, but man I have to be so careful with her. Another doll knocked her over and she got ANOTHER scratch. So. Goona will be living like Bubble Boy from now on, I guess, until I get another one if they perfect her paint later down the line. I prefer the blue anyway, but I like the fade, so I want to preserve it.
Frankie, I honestly haven't had issues with YET, but I say that because I've heard other people still have.

They are very sturdy and don't feel so delicate/their arms and hands don't fall off like AT ALL, and have really big notched pegs holding them all in, but they pop out nicely. They're also not as stiff as G2, but they can still hold a pose really well, for the most part. Ones with long hair have a harder time, cause their hair is honestly THICKK and very heavy. Some of their hair feels better than others, but it's all pretty nice overall- better than G2's was, and closer in quality to G1 I'd say.
ALMOST of my gripes about their redesigns have faded upon seeing them in person.

Their pets are ADORABLE, their accessories are honestly nearly on par with G1- very detailed, all the bags open and things fit inside, Frankie came with a polaroid camera and two little TEENY tiny *plastic* not cheap paper but REAL little plastic photos, and they have itty bitty photos of the dolls photoshopped onto backgrounds, with labels "Boo York!" and "Scaris!" so more G1 homages! I'm loving the tiny very subtle nods. Also all of them come with extra clothes!

Really, REALLY miss the stands though, being that they're more expensive now (inflation, I get it, but plz) and if some of them, GOONA, fall over they'll be damaged. I'm wondering if it has to do with the body types? But that seems easy to overcome. I hope they change their minds on that somehow in the future, because I can't even use my extra G1 stands on them because of the waist/height differences.

SO. That novel out of the way...

PICTURES!!
Now these aren't going to be the best pictures because I had to take so many of so many things. But let me know if there's anything you want more of!
Beware, these are GIANT if you zoom in, but I kinda did it on purpose so you *can* zoom in!

Here's the only one I won't spoiler, cause it's a solo pic. All 5 of my G3 beauties together!
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YES I redressed Toralei and I'm sorry I didn't put her back in her OG clothes but I was feeling lazy about fiddling with all their clothes tonight. Not much is different, but I tied her hair up because it is SOO long and thick and heavy, put her in some jeans (G1 boy jeans! Custom made, but still- Fun fact, G1 boy pants fit G3 girls like a glove! Not much else though.) and some boots from Howleen. (tiiight squeeze but they fit, her heel pokes out a tad but the jeans cover it.)
No one else has been redressed or tweaked... Yet. However I did put some of them in the extra clothes that they came with, like their coats.

On to the more detailed pics!
We'll start off small.
Pets!

Spoiler

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All G3 pets (minus Deuce & Ghoulia of course)
The pets, even in G2, used to feel kind of soft and slightly rubbery, they could bend- In G3 they are HARD hollow plastic, like they make a "tink" noise if you tap against them with something else, if you know what I mean?

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JUST Cleo's pets, G1-G3. Shockingly she's the only one who's had her pet entirely changed with EVERY gen. Honestly? I love every single one of them, so I don't mind, lol. Her pet is 1000% my fave of G3.
The new dog's name is Tut. I... Don't like it. I'm just calling him Anubis.
G3 - G2 - G1

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old Neptuna vs new/Lagoonas pets. X) I like the frogs to feel included, okay?
Probably the most jarring redesign so far, but I think he's gorgeous.

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Old Sweetfang vs new "Sweet Fangs" as they're calling him.

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I... Don't have a normal Crescent. This one's from Freak du Chic Clawdeen.
Okay, I lied, maybe THIS one is the most jarring redesign. He looks more like a wolf than a cat to me now, or some sort of weird hybrid.

I don't have OG Watzit or Count Fabulous, sadly.

Next!
Draculaura through the ages

Spoiler

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G3 - G2 - G1
My G2 is ratty, sorry. She lives in the Box of Shame with all my extra bits and bobs, and ugly dolls.

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Weird pic, I fully know- it's because again, I was feeling lazy about fiddling with their clothes, and the main goal was to show you their hip differences. I'll get a photo of their chest joints eventually, but it's exactly the same as the 24" ghouls.
They have ENTIRELY new hip joints though, nothing like anything we've seen before in MH. I forgot to get pics but can if anyone's really interested.

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Her ears stick out now! Infact, all of their ears do!

vs:
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This is the G2 cause G1's ears are tucked into her tight pigtails, I don't want to ruin them.

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How she fits in with the rest of the vampire family. (those glasses on the far right Elissabat are actually hers!)
ALL of my G1's are kinda dusty right now, sorry lol. I dust the dolls but not the stands as often...

Cleo, G1 vs G3!

Spoiler

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I chose Boo York Cleo for this because she was aesthetically the closest I had.

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Her ears also stick out!

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Cleo vs G1 Cleos & Nefera
Mad Science Cleo was sad she missed the photo shoot but I wasn't willing to redo it, I already put them all back lmao.

Lagoona! All 3 gens duke it out!

Spoiler

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You can see the scratch I was talking about on her leg. 😭 It got a little worse after this photo because I absent mindedly let her legs touch again. Astounding how fragile that paint is. BE SO VERY CAREFUL WITH HER!

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G1 - G2 - G3

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Goona 'n' Pals
(G2 sister, Kelpie, redressed)

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Last minute photos, because I forgot she DOES have a hood like G1! I hadn't really noticed until I unboxed her so it was a cool surprise.

Frankie!

Spoiler

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Her head looks VERY low on her body, compared to even the other ghouls. The shirt doesn't help as it rides up.

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leg

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leg again

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Her power outlet!! My fave part.

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No neck bolts.

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All My Franken, & G2 little sister Alivia. (as a heads up she is entirely redressed other than her shoes.)

Toralei, in some new digs!

Spoiler

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Again wearing G1 boy pants & Howleen's shoes. G1 boy pants fit G3 girls like a glove, it's amazing, really.

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G1 vs G3. G1 is also heavily redressed here, wearing the shirt (under the jersey- this was [?sports theme?] Toralei) & shoes that came with THIS G3 Toralei! You can see how the G3 shoes KINDA fit them, but looks slightly off.
Also, I *painted my G1 Toralei's nose.* She used to not ever have her nose painted, because she was the first werecat & they hadn't decided on that. Later, when they introduced more, they gave them noses, but didn't revert Tor's design- I always hated that so I always painted her nose on every doll of her I got. Keep that in mind!

Last, but not least, but certainly least when it comes to redesigns:
Clawdeen!

Spoiler

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With the vest on that she came with. Helps her look.... Eh... Better? I guess? Still not great. The overalls make her look super young. NO fierceness left in this gal. G1 Clawdeen had the energy of a warrior princess almost, this girl... Does not.

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Warrior of the playground, maybe.
She still has a gorgeous face, though, it really grew on me. I wanted to redress her but didn't have any suitable clothes that would fit.
I also love her loose curls but wish she had some super tight ringlets. I might have to do them myself, but I want them tighter than straw curls & have to figure out what I'd use.

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Wolf Pack
G1 Clawdeen is entirely redressed in custom stuff, heads up.

Extras:

Spoiler

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Chillin' like villians on some G1 furniture

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Literally don't know where they're going to go now, they have overflown onto the floor & have now taken my portable table... Ponies control the other half of the room. I'm screwed.

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The 3D logo thing. It worked well for me hanging the disco ball off of, too! Idk what I'll do with the rest but I feel I could keep them and do something interesting with them.

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Here you can see SOME of their accessories: They came with a lot! These are all my faves, ones that made me smile, and the G1 subtle nods at the bottom. The polaroids both fit into the camera at the same time, in a little slot at the top. Sad they don't spit out of it, but it'd be needlessly complicated for just a tack-on accessory, anyway. Also, all of their clothes in box came attached to these little hangers- I thought it was SO cute! I kept all the ones I could but unfortunately a couple ripped. Also, all of their iCoffins are different now! Cases, maybe?

That's it! Sorry for the LOONG post but hope you liked the photos & let me know if you want more of anything!