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Obviously I had to have the Dracula doll, but the play set was originally £45. Which I would have paid! Until I clocked that the dolls were the dreaded fixed-arm ones that Mattel is so convinced are the way forward. So I waited for a substantial, less than half price deal. Which was always going to happen quite soon because nobody likes these dolls. Dracula rocked up yesterday & I had him unboxed & posing for the camera straight away. 

It’s not good. He’s jointed at neck, shoulder & hip, basic as it gets, plus a token knee joint. The neck joint is nice, he can tilt his head expressively. But that’s it. The other joints are so limited that all the poor soul can do is stand rigid, feet together, arms by sides. No poseability at all. He can sit, just, but his trousers pop open at the back - Mattel has never understood that you have to have some leeway in the clothes if the doll is to move properly. 

I’ve posted two pictures, one where I’ve tried to shoot round his limitations, the other to show the full horror. The only thing he’s good for is standing on a shelf with the Hallowe’en tchotchkes, which is where mine will end up. Such a handsome doll, it’s a shame. I think he looks like a younger Michael “Something of the Night” Howard.

That is not  the Draculaura from the Vampire Kitchen set, by the way. She’s still languishing in the box. This is the doll that came with the Draculocker, easily the most perfect Draculaura ever in my opinion. 

Apart from the dolls, the kitchen set is fine, but I’m glad I didn’t pay full price. I have heard rumours of people decapitating Dracula (but not putting a stake through his heart) & giving him a new body. If I had the skills, I’d do the same.