Ice Pop: Monster High Skulltimate Secrets Series 4 Abbey Bominable by Mattel

 Back to Monster High! 

While the brand certainly hasn't disappeared in my heart and I've kept it up, it's definitely been displaced this year by my collection of unholy Living Dead Dolls children and their demanding chunks of my budget. I admit LDD has taken near-total priority over the acquisition of any G1 MH dolls for my collection and custom plans with MH have all but disappeared for me--the ambition-restricting discoveries of multiple failures in maintaining some customs hasn't helped. But MH has also been a little slower here because G3 releases are so glacial. We're not getting that many dolls per year, and even fewer character debuts or reduxes for dolls who need more editions. Perhaps MH is playing it safe now that MH isn't quite the cash cow it was in its original peak, but it's a little frustrating seeing so many of the core five of G3 over and over while the boy dolls get ignored, and we're hitting the point where a few characters are looking a little samey from doll to doll. Cleo is gorgeous in G3, but there are a couple of her now that don't really stand apart.

I was interested in the fourth series of Skulltimate Secrets, however, since it promised the second G3 Abbey doll and the debut of a new mystery-box design altogether. We heard it was a ballet concept and that the boxes worked like elevators to lift the doll out...intriguing! 

Read my previous Skulltimate Secrets discussions here, here, here, here, here, and here.

With the reveal of this series, we got a better idea of what we get. This series is still branded as Skulltimate Secrets, but has the new subtitle "Monster Mysteries". I don't know if this is considered a new name for the whole Secrets concept or if it is meant to be the subtitle of this specific series, like Series 2 was "Fearidescent" and Series 3 was "Neon Frights". The doll designs have nothing to do with mysteries--they have a dancer theme. They're ostensibly ballerinas and they include ballet shoes and tutus for sure, but their plastic chestplates and microphone headsets make them look more like pop singers than ballerinas to me.

Maybe the pop-star aspect I'm seeing is something of a retool to cash in on a pop-music theme that aligns better with the new G3 Catty Noir and the Monster Fest music-festival dolls. It's possible these dolls were more ballet-themed at one point in development before Mattel realized ballet isn't very hip. (I certainly was put off by the idea myself; I have no use for ballet fashion dolls.) Ballet dolls were previously featured in a G2 line, but that made more sense because G2 was targeted for younger kids.

I wasn't a huge fan of the clothing for these dolls, because the dance theme is very limiting and hard to use for other purposes, but all of them were interesting bases that do something different with their hair. It's really hard to tell in the stock photos, but Cleo actually has a base color of brown with teal streaks, new for the G3 designs:

Draculaura has pigtails, which have only started being included on the G3 dolls (after the refresh edition):

The thick streaks remind me more of the drawn/animated G1 Drac!

And Clawdeen has (partial) microbraids for the very first time ever--after I'd wondered if the character would ever explore indisputably Black hairstyling textures in her dolls.

And Abbey looked to have very pretty all-blue hair. All of these dolls have asymmetrical pop-star eye makeup that restricts their usage, and I do think these dolls would have had more appeal and use if they didn't, because the bases are otherwise nice departures.

I wanted Abbey because I thought her colors were nice and she was getting her second doll here. Second dolls were often significant in G1 as a proving ground to explore where the character's look could expand, and often introduced tertiary colors to the palette. I wanted to look at Abbey's to see what was up, and of all the Series 4 Secrets dolls to explore this new gimmick design with, she was the one I wanted most.

Series 4 debuts an entirely new doll case design from the lockers Series 1-3 used. This box is shaped like nothing super specific. It reminds me of a doorway or an antique radio, but it still has the angled lower edges of a coffin. 

The cardboard sleeve over the box shows art of the character and some blurbs about the packaging. There is no color-reveal paint tech in this concept--instead, the gimmick shows you searching for images with a lens in the key, opening the doors, and revealing the doll by sliding up the chute she's stored in out of the top of the case. No imagery about the amount of surprises you get here.

The back shows the four characters. 

Here's the case unwrapped where you can see the design more. Two very thin doors on the side with no gimmick about color-coding or an unlocking sequence (probably smart, given that was never mechanically enforced) and the center holds the doll. The plastic tray she's on is visible at the top.

Unlike the previous three series where the doll was the first thing you opened, here, she's the grand finale. 

While Abbey is on the tallest G3 ghoul body, that's not evidently why there's a new box design. Had she been in one of the earlier series, she would be able to fit in the doll compartment of the locker case design. Her height didn't force Mattel to make a new case.

The instruction sheet and key were taped to the box.

Here's Abbey from the top down.

The back of the case is detailed, too, though I'm not sure if there are spots for you to hang it or not. Maybe those two vertical slots in the middle are designed for hooks or nails to wall-mount it, but it's not as obvious as the teardrop holes in the backs of the lockers.

This blue plastic is slightly shimmery and translucent.

I'm going to tell you right now that I felt completely lost on the gimmick here and I'm not convinced it's my fault.

See, the idea here is that the trick is assembling the little slide switch/lever that will raise the doll platform, and there are three pieces. What I think the instructions are telling me is that there are clues to hunt for with the blue lens on the key, isolating any hidden red-printed images when the blue passes over.

I cannot tell you where or how to do this. The drawing on the instructions implies there are hidden red images identifying the locations of the lever pieces on the paper packages inside the side doors. But then, the instructions suggest you have to find the clues before opening the doors, and...where? The illustration shows the pattern on the surprise packages. 

Is...are you supposed to use the key on the instruction sheet??? The graphics indicate this is so, but...honey, you don't need to!

You can't tell me the red print is meaningfully more legible under the lens.

Also, this is essentially net-zero information. Looking at these pictures on the sheet doesn't really inform you of anything except for the fact that the pieces are inside the bags...which you'd naturally expect anyway because this is a complete toy package?

There's no order we're supposed to open the doors or packages in, so I just went for it. And oh boy wouldn't you like to know that there is no red printing to discover on the packages proper.

What an insulting attempt at a gimmick. This simply isn't a play feature. The red/blue print idea is great, and I've had fun with it in L.O.L. O.M.G.'s Movie Magic doll line! But those did it properly, with actual ambiguous print designs that needed to be deciphered with the colors of the 3D glasses switching image layers out. Here, the only evident use of the idea at all is images on the instructions which 

a). look like they're telling you to do the lens mechanic somewhere other rather than right there 

b.) don't have sufficiently ambiguous print to make the lens necessary, and 

c.) don't convey any interesting or useful information in the " " " " "hidden" " " " images. (I hope the extra quotes suffice to depict my disdain.) 

I'd hope that maybe there was a misprint or something and maybe these packages are supposed to have hidden images (it's happened before; remember when Series 2 had its prints mirrored on the bags?) but a misprint is inexcusable if the print is supposed to provide a meaningful experience. Even if the bags did have secret images or other copies or dolls in the series provide that, it's still such a nothing idea. The kids are going to open all the bags regardless, so it's not like anything could be added. Three of four bags have one of the lever's pieces, so where's the surprise? I was disappointed that the Series 1-3 color-reveal gimmick was functionally just theater due to the keys all being the same, but at least that process was clear and fun if you wanted to play along with it. This idea feels directionless and the whole "mystery" gimmick with the color printing was either seriously failed by manufacturing or completely, entirely wasted. If I was confused and disappointed by this, I'd hate to be a kid this is actually intended for. At this point, just throw the whole gimmick away, honestly. Or do what MGA did and have the secret messages all be fun, entertaining images and messages with no pretense of clues and functionality. The MGA gimmick wasn't trying to be part of the unboxing, it was just an amusement...and guess what, it was amusing!

The best surprise gimmicks should be unobstructive and inconsequential while still being fun. Skulltimate Secrets Series 1-3 allow you to skip the whole process, but the process is engaging. Or heck, Living Dead Dolls Angus Litilrott has three mystery faces that all provide something different while leaving his fully-dressed design unchanged. This mystery-image thing here is absolutely unobstructive and inconsequential because there's hardly a mechanic at all, but it's absolutely not fun, and that's a huge problem.

Well, let's look at the actual toy itself. The contents of door 1 were Abbey's headset in a plastic bag and two paper packages. 

The headset is metallic blue and features headphones, and has icy designs and a tiara in the back. The piece also has rings that encircle Abbey's yeti horns, and a hole for the microphone (not packaged here) to be attached on the right earphone.

I like whenever MH headgear is designed for characters with ears or horns on top of their head, because it's cute to see the holes cut out for them, and those also give the piece a way to grip and stay more secure than a hat on a character with no top-head details! I expect Clawdeen in this series has a similar headset setup.

I think for Abbey, the headphones can also play as earmuffs. This isn't the intent, though, since all of the Series 4 dolls have headphones and Abbey's aren't made to look furry.

I lost track of what was in which bag because I then opened the ones in the right door first. The order and packing doesn't matter as much here, though. One of the packets was already torn.

I opened the torn bag first, which contained Abbey's clip-on chestplate, clothes hangers, a short pole (for clothes hanging?), a doll clip, and the heart gem on the front of the slider lever.

I was very intrigued by the clip, because G3 doesn't do doll stands and this was the first G3 doll I've gotten to have a clip. Fan-Sea Lagoona for Entertainment Earth had a stand, and maybe Amped Up Frankie did, too. I didn't know where Abbey' clip mounted yet. It's not designed for a familiar stand pole.

The chestplate matches the tiara headset in color and clips around Abbey's waist and shoulders from the front. I'm reminded of some O.M.G. body armor parts, or maybe Boo York, Boo York Nefera's.

Next, I ended up opening the bag, brush, drink bottle, and ballet shoes. A charm was also included.

The bag is a dancer's duffel, and Abbey's is metallic blue with a hexagonal snowflake design. Her name is displayed on the bag's mold, and it's open at the top. The personalized sculpt with her name is cute and meaningful, but does limit the bag's transfer to other characters.

Her water bottle is monochromatic lavender. It's my least favorite part of this Abbey's palette, and it looks a little simple. At the least, the cap should be its own color.

The ballet shoes are clearly recognizable, but they have a wicked platform and high arch. The white color is pearlescent with an oddly green tone that looks like luminous plastic, but it doesn't glow in the dark.

The brush accessory is pretty large and substantial and is silver with a snow crystal design.

Last is this charm. Its color isn't greenish like the shoes. 

The next package had the silver part of the slider that actually connects to the chute and moves it, and the gloves and microphone.

The gloves match the ballet shoes.

The silver piece is the only functional element of the lever. 

I was curious seeing pictures of these dolls because I didn't know how their fingerless gloves worked. Turns out, they're slit open entirely down the back to be able to wrap around the hands and slide over the thumbs.

Here's the microphone plugged into the headset. The end is shaped like a coffin.

The last package included the extra pieces of Abbey's costume, which are not a complete second outfit but can mix and match. She's designed to be able to have a full stage look and more of a casual rehearsal dance-studio look.

The last piece of the lever is the crest on the back. Here's the lever all assembled.

It plugs into the slot in front and into the chute inside, allowing the doll to be slid out of the box!

I think the effect here is meant to replicate a performer rising onstage from an underground elevator, but the motion and lever reminds me a lot of a toaster. Maybe it's more Pop-Tart than pop star. Also amusing since this doll is such a cold character. There's a mechanical element to this that feels like it'd suit a Frankie doll really well, if only they were in this series. 

They don't have to be to take the box, though.

Maybe this box design will get another run and they'll have that chance officially, though I don't necessarily want this box to return. The colors and sculpts aren't quite right for Fearidescent Frankie, but they suit the box well enough that it might become their new home. It helps that the Fearidescent theme was already icy, though.

The doll chute clicks to hold in two positions--at the bottom, fully retracted, and at the top, fully extended. 

I wish the assembly of the lever was more meaningful, because you only need the one piece to interact with the mechanism...and then, of course, you can pull the chute out without it anyway by grabbing into the open top. Maybe there should have been a second, unique key within the packages, designed to unlock the chute with a mechanism on the back somewhere to ensure the chute couldn't be opened by gravity or immediate pulling. A third unique key could be used to open one of the two doors so the first key would open one door containing the second key, then the second door would have the third key and the slider. Then there'd be a sense of sequence like the older series, only enforced by design, and the idea of collecting parts to interact with the case would be more meaningful than one functional piece and two decorative ones to bring out the doll.

After the doll is lifted, she can slide out of the chute on her tray. 

Abbey was minimally secured, having head tags and elastic bands around her body, but nothing else. There's also a plastic curved bar under her legs in the tray.

The back of the instructions told me all of the other mechanics of this playset. 

That little blue bar is designed to clip in the top of the chute with a swivel peg and folds across the doll's torso to keep her held in so you can store her back in the box without her falling forward and getting stuck. This is a clever idea, but once Abbey's hair is let loose, there's nothing provided to keep her hair tidy when trying to slide her back down. A fabric elastic hair tie would have been a nice extra that could be practical for storage and add display options. 

Abbey held in for reloading.

Reloading also still isn't as smooth and effortless as I'd like, because the doll can get stuck before her feet hit the bottom of the chute and she's fully in, and her hands can get caught on the frame while trying to pull the chute down. You have to fiddle and tuck her in, and the solution would be so easy--have the chute be a tube or a four-walled box you could see through the front of so she'd be completely enclosed and able to load and lower smoothly.

The instructions also showed that the silver bar was indeed to hang clothes--there's a horizontal socket on the left cubby (but not the right) the pole clips into and the hangers go on easily.

The pole didn't snap/click in when I pushed, and I wish it felt more secure than it does.

The instructions told me that white charm goes on the dance bag.

And the doll clip plugs into one of the six heart-shaped holes on the sides of the central panel, using the outside of the box as Abbey's doll stand. I don't know why you need three possible heights, but maybe it's because of the two pairs of shoes changing her height.

It's a little weird, but this is an attractive display option. Having the doll attached to her box on the shelf is pretty convenient!

G3 dolls need them less often, but still, any gesture at a doll stand is nice.

Now, let's look at Abbey.

What made this Abbey so interesting to me was her hair being so blue. In person, though, it's not quite as dark as I'd expected, but that might be more appropriate. Her hair is center-parted, waist-length, and a mix of powder blue with white streaks and greenish tinsel. 

The volume and shape of this hair do a poor job of showing her horns, just like G3 signature. It feels like polypropylene, but I'm cautiously optimistic because I'm beginning to believe poly hair just sucks while new but then ages to be better. My Creepover Twyla's hair felt a lot nicer over time and Fearidescent Frankie's hair was softer to the touch too. It's not good that Mattel are using something that requires time to be more comparable to other fibers, but poly might not be quite as evil as we thought?

While aesthetically, I'd prefer this hair to be darker and more saturated, I can see how that would be too far removed from the yeti concept. And I'd love a G3 Abbey with white-dominant hair like G1 because that was the only color choice that truly made sense for the monster theme.

Abbey's faceup has lighter lips, but retains the chilly purple nose and snowy freckles. All of these Series 4 Secrets dolls have asymmetrical makeup designs over one eye, and Abbey's is a white silhouette with icicles over her right.

Her ears are unpierced because the doll has no earrings.

And a comparison of the two faces. I definitely prefer signature's. Dark lips are always a win for me, and this newer Abbey has the potential to look wistful and shy with the softer lipstick, which I don't love for her.

Sig Abbey looks confident and focused, and despite her being a different character, has some of the vibe I loved in G1 Abbey. Secrets Series 4 can be just as confident, but her eye makeup isn't fit for an everyday doll and her face can feel softer than I like for her.

Abbey's default outfit is a skirt over a leotard. The leotard is black with a purple ribbon tie around the neck (I hate those) and print down the front. The skirt is tiered with shiny printed fabric, black, and tulle, and velcros in back with a leg loop to keep it aligned.

She's wearing long metallic blue boots with a very detailed bedazzled print on the front which I love.

The sides have cool cutout sculpting, and the soles are detailed.

The headset fits well on Abbey and I like the way it compresses her hair volume and isolates her horns so they're visible.

This could work as an earmuff accessory for a casual Abbey outfit if the tiara wasn't there. Or a gamer headset if you keep the mic in.

Here's Abbey with the chest armor and gloves on in the top of the chute, like she's going onstage.

The gloves restrict the wrist articulation and disconnect from the arm a bit if you bend her wrists because they encircle the bit of wrist below the hand piece. I don't know if the color is worth it, either. Opaque brilliant white would look better.

I then took Abbey's hair to be boiled before trying out her other clothing pieces, and this caused the tinsel to get all floaty, so I spent time pulling it all out. Ugh. The other clothes are a pair of sheer sparkly tights, a pair of purple leg warmers, and some purple shorts. I tried just the shorts and leg warmers and ballet shoes for the studio-practice workout look.

Eh. It's as attractive as the real thing...so not very much. 

The shorts are terrycloth and have an Abbey heart symbol (like you'd see on the previous three Secrets series paper packages had she been in them) and a ribbon accent.

The sparkly tights are more for her stage look. 

This is very pretty and blue, but it's so specialized and the plastic clothing restricts her joints.

This is a very limited set of clothes compared to previous series, as the concept of the clothing is limited to stage performance and dance workouts, and you aren't given pieces that can make up two separate outfits with no sharing. And that's fine, but that's not what I expect from Skulltimate Secrets, which was previously the "I Love Fashion" fashion-pack line of G3. This, however, is a specialty theme doll, not an everyday look. This collection could have been a regular themed doll line like Monster Ball or such. Why make this a Secrets concept?

Also, Abbey doesn't even have a jacket, and the plastic elements of the chestplate and gloves feel dangerously cheap and toylike to me, in addition to not playing well with her joints. I really don't want G3 to backslide into G2 territory and this makes me the slightest bit worried. And like, if the budget/focus went toward the unboxing here over the clothing, then I've already well articulated how much of a failure that is. 

To try restyling Abbey, I decided to give her the sleeveless Natasha Zima coat I had, to see how that played.

The headband is still too tiara-like but I wasn't sure I wanted to try cutting off the crown. I decided to fish around more and added the leg warmers plus a loose Natasha top to drape over her head as a G1-style hat/headband. It was the only thing I had at the moment to work.

The top is absolutely not designed for this application because obviously, and it doesn't look good at the back, but it's okay for display.

I think this works for a casual costume, and I like it more than G3 sig's fashion style. It pairs well with Creepro and G3 Heath.

It's not quite an "Old-Skull" recreation, but it's nice.

Now both are restyled.

So that's this Abbey.

I'm stymied by photoshoots with the yeti as usual because her chilly theme is so hard to accommodate, but the doll is pretty and I appreciate the way she broadens the G3 look. This just isn't a casual doll, and I don't think we've seen the best G3 Abbey yet. Venus could easily retire as an all-timer off her one G3 doll to date, but Abbey needs to keep trying for me. Also, I just don't like this Series 4 concept.

The ballet/performer theme is very limiting, and these dolls are not as versatile as the three previous series which all were themed on different kinds of "street clothes" the characters would wear disconnected from a specific activity. Sure, Fearidescent was icy, but not all of those clothes were explictly winter-themed (most weren't). Neon Frights is bold and bright, but those outfits aren't exclusive to one type of outing. The Series 4 clothing is also not as expansive or conducive to meaningful mix-and-match here, with only one possible top design provided by the leotard and the choice between glam or gym clothes being less than exciting. The plastic parts are also interesting but not the most functional, and I don't want to see the dolls slide into plastic over fabric. 

The unboxing concept is also underwhelming. While the doll chute is fun, the fun can't last too long and it's not satisfyingly replayable because packing the doll back in the chute can be fiddly and the hair gets messy doing so. The key "decoder" feature is an absolute flop. The only place I saw on the toy to use it on was the instruction sheet, where the imagery was so obvious without the key as to render it useless, and the information you could see in the "hidden" images was ultimately unhelpful. MGA did the color-lens idea far more thoroughly, entertainingly, and rewardingly in their O.M.G. Movie Magic dolls, and I think the fact that the ambiguous red/blue print surprises were purely for fun the whole way was why it worked. Even if the feature was implemented in the "search for the image to discover where the pieces are!" idea I thought it should be, there'd be no reason to search because the bags will all be opened and looted regardless. Ditch the whole lens concept and make the box more mechanically tricky with secret mechanisms or something. Justify the mystery theme. But that costs money and engineering, doesn't it, and we can't have that. The case does have some nice features with the clothes rod and the doll clip, but the shape itself lacks the iconic appeal of the Series 1-3 coffin lockers and offers even less reason to keep it. The storage feels less useful and the doll can't be put back in as easily, so these cases are even more likely to be trash than the older ones. I don't know why Mattel landed on this. It's really bad. If future series use this design, I have to fully love the doll to buy in, because this style insults the audience with a useless "mystery" gimmick and saddles you with a box you probably won't want. Truly, the arrival of a second Venus in a series like this might be the only way to get me to buy another doll packaged in one of these toasters.

May this be the most negative I ever have to get about a G3 release. I anticipate more excitement for Monster Fest Frankie and Catty Noir, and maybe Welcome Committee Frankie? (Likely next month here). But this just doesn't work.