So I just got Rochelle...

[ShortyBoo]

It's Rochelle's right knee that doesn't turn really well. I was trying to turn it and while it was turning (barely) I stopped attempting to move it because it made a creaking sound that sounded to me like I might break if I keep messing with it, so I'm just leaving it alone.

The next doll I'll be looking to get (if I ever find her in the store) is Signature Spectra. Are there any issues specific to her that I need to look out for? Also, what are the chances that I can find Spectra's fashion pack in a store. I haven't seen any fashion packs in any stores recently, but I can't tell if it's just they're sold out, (the MH dolls in general tend to sell out quickly so it's likely) or if they're no longer shipping them to stores. How much are the fashion packs supposed to be anyway? The price on Amazon seems really high, but I don't know what it normally is at say Target or Wal-Mart.

[pukunui]

I looked at maybe twelve Spectras before I chose the one I got. In order to get that translucent gradient look on her arms and legs, they had to paint them; I saw a number of Spectras with scratches on her arms and legs showing the translucent plastic underneath the paint. I don't know about sig Spectra, but a number of people have reported getting DDG Spectras with legs that are two different lengths. Other issues I spotted with the sig Spectras I looked at were mainly just issues to do with the paint on their faces - messed up eyes, lipstick with a gap in the middle. Oh, and some of them had silver paint on their ears around the piercing ... I can only assume it rubbed off the earrings.

There are also two slightly different versions of signature Spectra as well.

[saply]

I found one Spectra shoved behind a whole bunch of Cupids at Walmart and she was, somehow, perfect. The leg scratches are easy enough to fix by adding tiny drops of white paint and blending outwards.

[ShortyBoo]

I'll be checking Target tomorrow to see what they have. Hopefully they have a bigger selection than Wal-Mart did. The only Signature dolls they even had were Rochelle and Robecca. There's always tons of Robecca, but I've never seen Venus in person. Then they had tons of Skull Shores Abbey & Ghoulia and like 2 each of Draculaura & Lagoona. No Frankie at all. They also had a ton of the DDG 3 pack. In fact, they had so many that they had to put a bunch on a back wall with some of the Clearance stuff, though it wasn't on Clearance.

I may end up grabbing SS Lagoona. I thought I wanted the Mad Science one, but SS is easier to get and she's cheaper, which is a bonus for me.

[Zombelina]

I wouldn't recommend being too rough, but the more you twist and move her leg the looser it'll become. The plastic joints just need a chance to smooth themselves out.

I'm with zannid on the quality control thing. The dolls have their problems, but not many that can't at least be somewhat fixed. They also do not retail for a lot I think (1/10th of a bjd!), considering how detailed their outfits and accessories are. I find that little flaws can become endearing after awhile, sort of like how human faces aren't naturally perfectly symmetrical either. It makes them unique!

Still, I'm glad customer service was so sweet and are sending you a replacement. <3

I agree saply (and zannid). To me they seem more real/alive (yes I sound crazy) with their little flaws! (I have a little eye wonk myself! ) And it's like, I know my specific dolls are mine  I actually wouldn't want them to get more expensive for the sake of perfect quality control... because then I'd just buy bjds

I'm happy customer service was good to you, ShortyBoo! They were useless to me the one time I contacted them so I always find it really heartening to hear better stories.

My Spectra has a slightly off eye and a bum knee, not sure if those are common with her or not... Her fashion pack was in the wave before the current one (Lagoona/Clawdeen/Abbey/Operetta) so I don't *think* it's still shipping but you might still find some older stock. I think there are still some around in my local stores, so if you can't find one and want one enough to pay shipping from Canada, just lmk

[Wrenn_Rosencrantz]

Not trying to de-rail, I just wanted to squeak in here since people have been mentioning it.  I got myself a new Dead Tired Ghoulia yesterday, and found out I had two left slippers.  Otherwise, she's fine.  Is it worth contacting them over, or just have her go slipper-less (since only one fits).

[ShortyBoo]

Not trying to de-rail, I just wanted to squeak in here since people have been mentioning it.  I got myself a new Dead Tired Ghoulia yesterday, and found out I had two left slippers.  Otherwise, she's fine.  Is it worth contacting them over, or just have her go slipper-less (since only one fits).

I would. If they send you a replacement like they're doing for me, you could take the slippers from the replacement and trade or sell the second DT Ghoulia or just redress her and keep her.

Zombelina, your avatar is the reason I wanted Rochelle in the first place. I kept seeing it and while I originally just wanted Draculaura & Spectra, I ended up wanting Rochelle as well. She looks so pretty in that pic.

So how much are the fashion packs in Target or Wal-Mart? I just want to be sure I'm not over-paying if I get one from somewhere else, like Amazon.

[Keelee_von_Cupcake]

For retail, the lowest normal price I've seen for a fashion pack is $8 from Walmart. (I've been to Targets that had the current wave of fashion packs on clearance for $5, but this is somewhat uncommon and odd.) It is highly unlikely that you will find Spectra's fashion pack in store, as it has not been shipping for some time, but there's a distant possibility you could run into old stock or a return. Personally, I have come to feel that anything less than $14 is a fair price for a non-current fashion pack, as you'll usually see them secondhand for $20 or less.

[Zombelina]

Zombelina, your avatar is the reason I wanted Rochelle in the first place. I kept seeing it and while I originally just wanted Draculaura & Spectra, I ended up wanting Rochelle as well. She looks so pretty in that pic.

Aww, that's so sweet  Thank you and I'm glad mine convinced you to get one 

Fashion packs are $10-$15 in Canada, so I would also say around $10 is fair for current ones and a little more for older ones 

[ShortyBoo]

Do they ever do re-releases of fashion packs, similar to how they're re-releasing some of the dolls like Signature Draculaura and School's Out Lagoona?

I just got back from Target and they had even less MH than Wal-Mart did. They just had two School's Out Lagoona (both with horribly mis-aligned eyes) and two Venus and a Robecca. Oh, and they had the big Skull Shores set. They were completely sold out of the single SS dolls, though, otherwise I would have picked up Lagoona. Well, maybe when I'm at Wal-Mart next I can pick her up. I'm still hoping to find Spectra eventually, though.

[pukunui]

We have Spectra's fashion pack here in NZ, but it isn't cheap. It costs NZ$20, which converts to about US$16.50. I was thinking about getting it just for the magazine and then maybe selling the rest of the pack as I really don't like Spectra's ball-and-chain motif.

[Zombelina]

Do they ever do re-releases of fashion packs, similar to how they're re-releasing some of the dolls like Signature Draculaura and School's Out Lagoona?

Frankie's came out in the wave with Spectra's, and then again in the newest wave, but I think that's the only re-released FP (or really I guess that was a continued release )

[ShortyBoo]

I mostly just wanted the dress since I don't really care for the shoes or accessories, so I guess I'll have to go without it for now. I can't bring myself to pay $20 for one little dress when I can get a complete doll for that price. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll find one used for cheap at a yard sale or something someday.

[Wrenn_Rosencrantz]

(Side note, Mattel is sending me a whole new doll because of the two left slippers.  Wow they're... awesome!  I'm really impressed.)

[ShortyBoo]

(Side note, Mattel is sending me a whole new doll because of the two left slippers.  Wow they're... awesome!  I'm really impressed.)

Yeah, that's awesome customer service. I guess it's probably easier for them to just send a whole new doll unless they have bins of extra accessories laying around, which seems unlikely.