Friday, January 27, 2012

Nefera de Nile


“So these are the peasants who took all your clothes,” said Nefera to her little sister, Cleo.


The Garoul sisters closed ranks and stared defiantly at the tall stranger but they proved no match for her.  


Nefera nonchalantly walloped Claudia with a backhanded slap. 

Then she knocked Claudine to the ground and straddled her, twining her hands in the glamour girl's, store bought mane.  


Claudine felt a section of expensive Indian hair break loose from its stitching and started begging for mercy in no time.

Tomboy Claudette still insists she could have taken Nefera if her sisters had not insisted on dressing her in a skirt that morning but Nefera unceremoniously dispatched her with a kick to the derriere.


Nefera extracted apologies from the bullies who had terrorized her little sister, 


then staged a public display of affection with their brother, Clawd, just so there would be no illusions about who reigned as the queen of his heart.


***

I initially didn’t care much for Nefera de Nile’s costume.  Although she has molded on, flesh-toned, textured panties like all the Monster High dolls, the Monster High girls’ skirts routinely make me shake my head and marvel “your mother let you out of the house in that?”

I also find the “bandage” prints that Mattel has created for the de Nile sisters’ clothes to be too busy, but the green scarf that drapes across Nefera’s body and over the skirt is an interesting accent although it is stitched to both the top and bottom of her two-piece outfit. 


You will have to pull off her left hand to free her arm from the one sleeve.  Monster High dolls are ostensibly designed so that you can do this without damage, but the prong that attaches the hand to the forearm looks rather fragile to me.  I would prefer not to remove body parts to undress the doll.  Once you remove the top, however, you will find a serpent tattoo on her shoulder 

The accessories were much more satisfying.  Nefera comes with an attractive scarab beetle named Azure who is her pet. 


She wears mismatched gold earrings and her necklace represents the biblical fall of mankind with a serpent and an apple.


Her hair is caught up in a kind of golden cap. 


Nefera also sports a gold cuff bracelet on her left hand and an impressive chip of “ice” on her finger. 


A thick, gold-toned plastic belt encircles her waist.  I think it is overkill on this outfit but it would probably be stunning paired with a flowing tunic in a solid color. 

If you have any cross dressing Kens, Nefara’s feet are big enough that they could borrow her shoes to channel Elizabeth Taylor in her role as queen of the Nile. 


The purse continues the serpent motif and is also cute enough for other dolls to borrow when Nefera isn’t looking. 


Borrowing clothes and accessories from Nefera could be a dangerous proposition, however given that she subdued all three of the Garoul sisters single handedly within minutes of being freed from her box!

Indeed Nefera truly is Cleo’s big sister.  She is taller


with longer, thicker legs


and a fuller bosom. 


She has the same sway backed stance as all the Monster High dolls but she looks lean and well-toned like an action figure instead of frail and spindly.  She has such a beautiful bronze complexion I couldn’t resist shooting her nude. 


I didn’t like her purple eyes or blue hair at first, but she photographed so well in this guise that I think I will have to buy a second Nefera to customize.  And maybe even a third – to be a donor for a normal sized head that needs an articulated body.  This doll truly is a royal treat.

***

Speaking of treats, this week's tutorial illustrates how to make chocolate bundt cake for your dolls from salt dough:


À Bientôt

17 comments:

  1. Love the outfit you have on Nefera. Great story! Your tutorial made me hungry! Chocolate cake is my favorite!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Frannie,

      The outfit is a combination of a Moxie Girlz top and Clawd Wolf's jeans -- another sign that Nefera has ousted Draculara.

      Delete
  2. You've acquired quite a few MH dolls. This was a nice, descriptive review of Nefera de Nile. At first I thought she had been rebodied, but understand she is literally the big sister of Cleo. (Store bought mane -- cracked me up.)

    Enjoyed the chocolate bundt cake tutorial; it looks so yummy!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Debbie,

      I have fallen madly in love with the Monster High dolls. I haven't posted about the Build a Monster Packs yet but that was what completely won me over. I think that Mattel's own designers have gotten bored with the Barbie stuff and their most creative work is going into the Monster High brand -- sort of like the My Scene stuff in its heydey.

      Delete
  3. Loved this post. That story was hilarious! She needs to be on the WWMH Smack Down! Too funny. Great review of the doll.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Vanessa,

      Glad you enjoyed the story. I have accumulated a critical mas of Monster High dolls other than the Garoul sisters so I knew their comeuppance was coming. I just didn't know Nefera was going to be the one to deliver it. She is awesome!

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  4. Love the cute storyline and photos!

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  5. ha ha ha! I love the story and the photos. The monster high gals look really good. I was never into these dolls but I have taken a closer look and I am starting to appreciate them even more. Great post *kicking her in her derriere* too funny!

    Love the tutorial for the bundt cake, made me hungry for cake as well!

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  6. She's gorgeous! I love the story too!

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    1. Hi CJ, Chynadoll, and Vita Plastica,

      I'm pleased that you enjoyed the story and photos. I'm totally hooked on the Monster High crowd now so there will be more stories about them soon.

      Delete
    2. Hi CJ, Chynadoll, and Vita Plastica,

      I'm pleased that you enjoyed the story and photos. I'm totally hooked on the Monster High crowd now so there will be more stories about them soon.

      Delete
  7. I love the story, it was funny. I must admit your MH dolls are pretty, unfortunately I'm having a hard time taking to them. I love their look and their personalities all in all.

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  8. Hi from spain, i see you have many dolls Monster. Very good picture of the foot hitting her in the ass. The bag with the snake-shaped handle is very original. Very good tutorial of chocolate cake. Is makes my mouth water.. keep in touch

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  9. Hi Brini and Marta,

    Nefera's feet are so big it seemed natural that she would plant one of them in somebody's behind. I don't like the Monster High dolls' big heads but the characters and fashions have won me over. thanks for your comments.

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  10. I hate MH. But alas, three of them live at my house. Clawdeen, Clawd and the girl I had to purchase to get Clawd. that's what happens when you live with a five year old. The girl's wrist ball broke off during a dressing - just as you predicted. I hate them bc their clothes are beyond slutty - you mentioned that too!!

    what I love are your food clay tutorials. I am thinking you should partner with My Froggy Stuff bc then you could get some of her readers. She doesn't do anything with clay so far. She's not really a team player though so I don't know if she'd agree. By partner - I am thinking you just agree to let each other post your videos as Reponses to each others. Maybe it could be more than that, but even that would be good.

    I suggest it bc I think the fact that your clay is made of cheap things most people have at home, your tutorials are accessible to young girls of most incomes.

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  11. Hi Kristi,

    When I first saw the Monster High dolls, I thought they looked like Biafran refugees. I was also disturbed that they came with pre-defined personalities. Ruth Handler's philosophy was always that little girls should have the freedom to project whatever fantasies they wanted onto their dolls. So while Mattel was a major sponsor of the Walt Disney TV show from its inception, they never licensed Barbie to appear as a character in any TV shows or films until the 1990s when they began releasing direct to video animated fairy tales starring Barbie.

    The late 80s and early 90s were also an era of TV shows created specifically to market toys -- Transformers, My Little Pony, Care Bears etc. Then shows that constituted half hour commercials targeting underage consumers who lack the ability to distinguish clearly between reality and fantasy were banned. Mattel and other toy manufacturers have now circumvented these safeguards by streaming videos about toy characters on their websites instead of over broadcast networks. The animated shorts featuring the Monster High characters have contributed to the Monster High dolls' tremendous popularity. I don't watch the cartoons but I see the dolls in the store and on other people's blogs so I got hooked.

    I think they speak to a dark side of myself that I don't like to acknowledge. Like you I bought the set with Clawd and Draculara to get Clawd. As soon as I got them out of the box, all their clothes came off and they spent the next few months acting out the Kama Sutra. I can't put that stuff on my blog but I guess I keep buying Monster High dolls because they have become an outlet to express fantasies that I normally suppress.

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  12. Hi again Kristi,

    Thanks for the suggestion on partnering with My Froggy Stuff. I am deeply grateful to her for favoriting my first tutorial on "How to Make a Bistro Set." Thanks to her, that video has over 3,000 views while the others barely have 100 each so far.

    My Froggy Stuff has done one clay tutorial on making hamburgers and french fries from Plah Doh -- it was a response to a Garden of Imagination tutorial on making hamburgers and french fries from polymer clay.

    The My Froggy Stuff channel has found a broad audience base amongst young girls (up to about age 10). I don't have children and have spent my entire career teaching at the college level so I am struggling to learn how to address younger audiences. The craft projects I design also tend to require more manual dexterity than children under 12 could be expected to have so ultimately my audience will come from a different demographic niche.

    I deeply appreciate My Froggy Stuff for lighting the way with her tremendous marketing acumen and it would be fun to work with her one day.

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