Monster High "Clawdeen Wolf" Pen

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone welcomed 2014 safely and merrily.  I thought I would start this year of reviews by sharing something small and fun that I found at Toys R Us the other day.  As many of you know, I love miniature things.  One of my dreams is to have a big Victorian dollhouse (like the ones I saw in Arizona...) filled with all kinds of wonderful, detailed tiny accessories.  I also get a huge kick out of small versions of larger dolls, so I'm a softy for things like the American Girl mini dolls, the old Liv Happy Meal toys, Annette Himstedt's club Kleine dolls, and mini Pullip and Blythe dolls.

When I first glimpsed the Monster High pens at Toys R Us, I have to say, I got pretty excited.  I wasn't even aware of these toys, so it was a big surprise to see them hanging there on the shelf.  After doing some reading online, I discovered that these pens have actually been available in Europe since 2012.  Perhaps they've been for sale in the United States, too, but I had never seen anything like them here in Maine.  Initially, I assumed that the dolls were miniature figurines, and I was slightly disappointed to learn that they are ball point pens (I imagine myself getting ink everywhere...).  However, when I saw that they are dressed like the first wave Monster High dolls, my enthusiasm was renewed.  First wave Clawdeen Wolf is my favorite Monster High doll, and I love the idea of having a miniature version of her--pen or not.

First wave Clawdeen Wolf and Clawdeen Wolf the pen.

These pens cost $9.99, but were on sale before Christmas for buy one get one 50% off.  $10 is a lot to spend on a pen, especially taking into consideration the fact that some full-sized basic Monster High dolls costs around $15...but I have a hard time resisting miniature things. 

The pens come in coffin-shaped plastic shells with cardboard frames.  Clawdeen's package is decorated in her signature purple and black:

Clawdeen looks a little messy inside her container, and her appearance isn't helped by the static-prone plastic that attracts a lot of dust and lint:

Is it snowing out there!?

Still, I think that the doll looks better than the cartoon of Clawdeen that is featured on the cardboard:

That is a pointy chin.

The back of the package has a picture of all four available pen dolls:

Toys R Us had all of these in stock on the day I was shopping.  There was only one Clawdeen left, and at least three of each of the others.  The only one of the four dolls that wasn't tempting was Draculaura.  Her facial features seemed sharp and a little pinched to me--nowhere near as sweet as the larger Draculaura's face.

All of the dolls are doing something different with their left hand.  Cleo looks like she's selling cars:

And on your left, you'll see the divinely elegant Scaris Convertible!

And Draculaura is pointing to her own face:

See these teeth?  They're real. 

Frankie was my second favorite of the group, and so I got her with the 50% off sale.  Her left hand is in a very strange position--almost like she's meant to be holding a cell phone...or like she's talking to herself with a sock puppet:

Um, Frankie...we need a sock if I'm gonna be a proper sock puppet...

Her outfit is wonderfully detailed for such a small vinyl figure.

She even has a tiny silver bow on her tie and multiple thin stripes on her shoes:

Her hair looks densely rooted and has Frankie's characteristic black and white stripes:

Aside from some missing paint on her left eyebrow (and the fact that she looks a little grumpy...), Frankie's face paint is fantastic, and even includes a small scar under her right eye:

Look at the detail in the reflective areas of her eyes!

If we go back to Clawdeen's packaging, you can see that there is some tiny writing on the cardboard:

 

One segment advertises the toys as being manufactured by Canal Toys, and then lists a New York address:

Made in NY...could it be?

The toy isn't actually made in the USA, of course.  The back of the doll's head is stamped "Mattel, China."  I think Canal Toys just has a New York office.

There's also a fairly intense (and poorly blocked) warning segment on the back:

"Non-contractual pictures" stands out as being an especially defensive statement, but my favorite line is, "The colors of the contents and the details may change."  That makes it seem like Clawdeen might change suddenly--without warning.  In the middle of the night.  I guess Werewolves can be tricky like that.

Anyway, Clawdeen's coffin-shaped plastic enclosure has several pieces.  

The coffin part separates into two parts and inside there is a molded plastic holder that secures Clawdeen and her circular stand.

The pen tip on the bottom of Clawdeen's shoes inserts into the purple plastic stand so that she can be displayed.  She's a little messy right out of the package:

This little doll has a ton of curly hair. I tried to smooth it down with my fingers so that I could get a better look at her face:

Like Frankie, Clawdeen has great face paint for such a tiny doll.  Her eyes are golden yellow and they are surrounded with pink eyeshadow.  She even has individually drawn eyelashes (top and bottom) and two white reflective dots painted on the surface of her eyes:

The eye makeup is fairly plain, but other than that, when I am looking at Clawdeen up close like this, it's hard to tell that she isn't a full-sized Monster High doll:

Her lips are painted bright pink, and she has two white painted fangs that are reasonably well-placed.

Clawdeen has only one point of articulation--her neck.  I wish her arms could move, but they can't.  

You can see the neck joint here, in addition to the classic Monster High profile, and a very nicely-rooted hairline:

Like her full-sized counterpart, this doll wears her hair in an elegant side part (which is also tightly-rooted) : 

In fact, the rooting pattern is great all over Clawdeen's head, with hair plugs encircling both ears:

And nice rows of hair all along the back of the scalp:

I was actually quite surprised by the quality of Clawdeen's hair.  Not only is the rooting good, but the fibers feel soft and smooth.  The thickness of the hair and the large curls make it a little difficult to tame at first, though.

Clawdeen's clothing is not removable--it's molded onto her body and painted.

She wears a black jacket with a fur collar, a tiger print shirt, and a low-waisted purple mini skirt accented with a gold-studded black belt:

The painting around Clawdeen's neck is not great.  Her coat's fur collar and her purple necklace have several areas of missing or sloppy paint.

Clawdeen's right hand is sculpted against her waist.  The hand has tiny little clawed fingernails:

The left side of Clawdeen's torso has a gouge in the vinyl and some stray flecks of black paint:

It's only a flesh wound.

Clawdeen's left arm is held, palm down, out to one side.  This is the most natural of the four pen dolls' hand positions:

This hand does not have the clawed fingernails that the left hand has.  These fingers are blunted with no nail detail:

Here's the back of Clawdeen's outfit:

The sculpting is detailed, with creases in the black jacket and Clawdeen's right thumb hooked around her waist.  

On her legs, Clawdeen is wearing pink thigh-high stockings and tall black boots with purple straps:

There are some areas of missing paint here, too:

Her (unclawed) toes peek out at the bottoms of the boots:

The plastic stand is hollow and is decorated with a white Skulette:

Here's the pen sticking out of the bottom of Clawdeen's right foot:

It'd be neat if the heels of Clawdeen's shoes were pen tips, but then I suppose the pens would be even harder to use.  

I jabbed myself with that pen tip several times when I was photographing Clawdeen, and I'm surprised I didn't get ink on my shirt when I was styling her hair.  It doesn't seem like such a great idea to put a pen into a toy that might get played with a lot.  Perhaps all of those warnings on the box are appropriate?

Even though the hair became calmer and easier to manage the more I brushed and handled it, I still found it difficult to keep stray strands of hair out of Clawdeen's pretty face:

I tried pulling the hair back into a simple ponytail.  I like how this style highlights the side part, and sweeps some hair across the right side of Clawdeen's face:

I wanted to introduce this little Clawdeen to my full-sized version, just to see how similar the two dolls are.  I was able to track down most of Big Clawdeen's original outfit, but am missing her jewelry.

At first, Big Clawdeen thought that Little Clawdeen was dissing her with that hand...

Oh no you didn't!

But then Big Clawdeen realized that her little companion was simply unable to change her arm position.  Then I think she started to feel kinda sorry for her....

What? You mean your arm is stuck like that?  You poor thing!

Now the two are inseparable:

OMG, you are so cute!

Can I keep her?  Please?

The two dolls' outfits have some differences (like the color of the jacket and the shade of purple in the skirt) but it's clear that the pen doll is a copy of first wave Clawdeen: 

Big Clawdeen has lighter hair, with rust-colored highlights that Little Clawdeen is missing.  Big Clawdeen's makeup is also more richly colored and elaborate.

This little doll is no match for the original Clawdeen, of course, but for a pen miniature, she's nicely detailed and unexpectedly attractive.

Bottom line?  I am absolutely thrilled to have a tiny version of Clawdeen Wolf in my collection, but a lot of this enthusiasm is due to my special weakness for miniature doll duplicates.  Given how close the price of the pen is to the price of a full-sized, articulated Monster High doll, I am not sure that this mini doll is the best value for the money.  If the pens cost $5, I would endorse them without reservation.

Part of what makes me question the price of these dolls is that they have several obvious flaws.  There are quite a few paint defects on Clawdeen's body--most notably on her clothing.  There is also a large gash in the vinyl of her waist.  I also think that the pen inserted into Clawdeen's foot is a liability.  The shape of the doll's legs makes an awkward pen, and the pen tip makes it hard to play with the doll.  A retractable pen tip would have been better--or just a simple figurine.

However, for a six inch pen doll, this miniature Clawdeen has some pleasant surprises in quality.  I am impressed by her thick, soft, well-rooted hair.  While the hair comes out of the box in a mess of disarray, it can be held down with a ponytail and will loose some of it's unwanted body after a bit of handling and brushing.  I am also very impressed by the detailed face paint on these small dolls.  Both Frankie and Clawdeen have well-painted faces that maintain the classic, recognizable style of a Monster High doll.  Clawdeen's voluminous hair and detailed face make her an attractive little doll.

With so many 12" Monster High dolls priced at under $15 right now, it's hard to advocate spending $10 for this pen doll.  However, if you find a good sale (or you're like me and have a strong fondness for miniatures) the pens make fun little treats, and are wonderfully amusing accessories for the larger dolls.