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Tuesday, 25 March 2014

What a Feeling! Art Class Robecca Steam


Back when the Art Class dolls first came out, I knew I really wanted Abbey and Skelita. I actually had someone grab them for me over in the States, and I was really happy with my choices. But then...I saw Robecca once they hit shelves here in Canada, and I've been cursing the high Canadian price ever since. I must have picked her up a dozen times at Wal-Mart or Toys R Us, but at nearly $30, it just seemed like too steep a price. Then TRU had a sale, but they didn't have any Robecca in stock, and when I was disappointed, I knew that I definitely needed her.

So when Wal-Mart had them onsale for $18 this week, I finally got my hands on her!


I definitely don't regret it, so click through to find out why!



The box is pretty familiar at this point! It's the new mid-size box we've seen with the other Art Class dolls, as well as the Frights, Camera, Action New Stars line. My other Art Class dolls were from the States, so they had more involved boxes, whereas this one is the international box and the text is limited as usual.


So cute! Robecca's steam punk sensibility gets carried into every one of her accessories in this set. From the goggles, to the rivets on her journal, and of course, the fact that her art project involves a tool that my Googling suggests is a riveter. As you can tell from the title of this post (hopefully!), I've decided Robecca is a welder too, because that's just as awesome as Art Class Abbey coming with a chainsaw!



Here's a closer view on some of those accessories. Her project is a cute little robot clock, and all of his arms and legs move and can actually be removed and switched around. He's so cute, and I've named him Timebert because I'm creative....

The riveter (as I'll call it) is made of copper vinyl, and has quite a lot of little details. The best thing about it is how easy it is for Robecca to hold! Love when they can hold their accessories.


Her last accessory is her goggles, because you definitely need to protect your eyes when working with metal! They're solid copper plastic, with one eyepiece considerably larger than the other. There's also a bow off to one side that looks like it's make of batwings or spiderwebs. They're pretty cute on their own, and they look good both on Robecca's face or perched on top of her head.




I just love these sketches in her journal! I want jewelry that looks like that last piece, imagine it as a necklace!


I love the addition of purple to Robecca's usual colour scheme. We first saw it with her Dance Class doll, and I'm glad it's stuck around.


In my opinion, Robecca has one of the loveliest faces in the Monster High universe. I love her shimmery bronze skin, and her large features. Her eyes always seem very big to me, which allows them to have a lot of detail in her gear-shaped irises. She has thick black eyeliner and long lashes, and lovely pink eyeshadow that sweeps up into a winged shape on the outer corners. Her lips are done in a soft orange-y red shade that keeps the focus on her gorgeous eyes.


See? She's just gorgeous.


Her earrings are smalls dangling clocks in the same copper colour as the rest of her accessories.


Robecca's hair is pulled back into a half-up style. There's a large curl of black hair to one side of her face, held back with a small piece of hair from just in front of her ear. It sounds kind of confusing, but it makes sense when you look at it! Her hair is mostly bright cobalt blue, with black across the front and a very small section of purple in front of one ear.


You can see the size of the purple section here! The hair all has a soft wave to it, just giving it a bit of body and movement. It was pretty crispy with product right out of the box, but after a good brushing it's better. I think a wash in some cool water would make it even better and softer too. I just love the blue of Robecca's hair, it's one of my favourite colours of the MH rainbow I think, and the hint of purple really stands out beautifully!


As for her outfit, it's made up of two pieces. There's a purple striped blouse with a high collar and puffy sleeves, and a jumper style dress over top of that. The dress is black with blue straps, and an all-over pattern of pipes and gears in blue and bronze. There's some purple decorative stitching on her hips, and a purple tulle ruffle along the bottom.


Robecca always has really great shoes, and these are no exception! They're mostly a bright blue that matches her hair, with molded straps, rivets and gears. The soles are copper, and are made to look like pipes or tubes. Robecca flies around with the power of steam shooting from the bottoms of her feet, and these boots definitely look like they're made for flying!


Just a quick shot of her outfit on it's own so you can get a better idea of how it all comes together.


And just because I didn't take a very close look at Robecca's body during my Dance Class 5-pack review, I thought we'd take a look! She was one of the first dolls I can remember Monster High making that really had an incredibly detailed body mold, and it's still amazing to look at! She's molded all over with rivets and panels, as if she was cobbled together from scraps of metal.


I particularly like the vaguely heart-shaped piece right in the centre of her chest. That's a a great detail, and I know that Robecca's heart is something very special!


She also has gears in the backs of her calves, and they actually turn! Robecca's body feels a lot lights in my hands than some other MH dolls, almost as if she's made of a thinner plastic, or is maybe more hollow? I can't really say why, but she definitely does feel lighter, and maybe a bit flimsier.


Back in her outfit and ready for art class!



Gotta stay safe!



Putting the finishes touches on her project!


All finished! Let's hope her new clock will help her be on time! And if not, at least he's pretty cute.


Ready to take off!


Her future's so bright she's gotta wear shades!


Wait, I think....


Yep, come just a little closer, I'll fix that right up!



And there she is! The Art Class line actually surprised me a bit with how much I enjoyed it. I don't think I'll be picking up Draculaura, but the dolls I've gotten are all really gorgeous, and they come with really nice accessories. Yes, they cost maybe a bit more than I'm used to, but I do think they're worth it! They have great details and great play value, and what more can you really ask for in a doll?


7 comments:

  1. This is a fantastic version of Robecca! I feel this is the first one that is on par with the signature. I like Abbey from this line as well. You got extremely lucky with the price, too, although when you complain about the 30$, I say you should see the European prices... you'd feel less remorse about splurging on dolls. Congrats on such a great find!

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    1. Oh, I definitely know that we have it luckier than some other countries price-wise! It's just frustrating for me personally to live so close to the states and have the prices be so wildly different!

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  2. Robecca is such a beauty ♥ I wish I could buy all the Art Class dolls, but I'd rather buy new Ever After High characters instead. Hard choices :D
    I'm really happy, I bought basic Holt Hyde from another collector for 25€ including postage! Not NIB, but he's in really good condition and has everything with him. And I've been looking for him for ages... I think he will make my eyes sore, he just looks so crazy :D
    Btw, do you like the Zelfs? I really wasn't into them, until I saw some of them in store. I had to buy two. Now I want to start collecting them, some of them are just too cute :D

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    1. Fair enough! I'm waiting for Cedar Wood to come out, I definitely am going to want to get my hands on her!

      That's a good deal! I have no desire to have Holt, but I always like when other collectors get good deals on something they really want :)

      I do like Zelfs! I have two of the medium size ones (Spellinda and Flamy), and I LOVE the mini secret ones that come in the little pots, I have a ton of those haha. They remind me of old school troll dolls, and I just think they're adorable! At least they're a slightly cheaper thing to collect haha

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  3. Actually if she were welding she'd also need a pair of gloves. Or at least, not hold the thing that melts metal with a hand made of metal. :D Also, I'd strongly recommend a pair of pants. But eh, why let practicality get in the way of a cool outfit? XD

    I'm actually not totally convinved by this Robecca. I saw her in stores yesterday and her eyes just seem to be a little wide and off-put...I can't really put it down to what exactly is the problem, but it gives her a really really blank stare, in box at least. Which is a pity, I love her hair and boots, her face seems to be the only thing stopping me from really wanting her.

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    1. Haha well, yes, but Monster High is not known for the practicality of their outfits!

      Hmm, interesting! I did think that her eyes looked very large, but compared to my basic and DC Robecca's they aren't really. Sometimes very minor screening differences can really make a HUGE difference in the appearance of an individual doll though, so maybe that's what you're seeing? It's so frustrating for me when I really like some aspects of a doll but others I really don't like...if it's an accessory or an outfit, you can probably find someone selling it at least!

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  4. Huh...I might actually like her now. Both of my attempts to have a Robecca (Dead Tired, Dance Class) did not satisfy me, I don't like her Coffin Bean doll and her Gore-geous Accessories isn't her typical look, but I think I can get behind this. Good hair, a nice casual yet period-appropriate look, and I think the worker's masculinity of the overall straps fits the steampunk theme perfectly. I think this might be worth picking up.

    Also, I love that her Gore-geous Accessories dress uses mechanical sketches for this doll's projects for its fabric.

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