Monday, November 3, 2014

Out of the Box: Monster High Neighthan Rot

Neighthan Rot
I hope everyone had a great Halloween!  In keeping with the haunting season, how about a new monster?

Neighthan Rot is a (relatively) recent release from Monster High's "Freaky Fusion" series ("2 monsters in 1") and is a zombie unicorn.  A "zombicorn", as it says in the included journal.

In box.
I was surprised the first few times I saw him on the shelves since I rarely see the Monster High boy dolls (or "mansters" as they say on the boxes), and to see one sit on the shelf for more than a month was even more unusual.  I passed on him originally because I wasn't sure I needed more dolls from this line, but he was unique enough that he finally won me over.

As an aside before I get to the doll itself, as someone who doesn't particularly follow the character elements (the webisodes, movies and books), I was actually charmed by the journal with this one (part of which is the character sharing how his zombie father courted his unicorn mother). 

On to the doll!  Neighthan has a unique head-sculpt that includes horse ears, a blue translucent horn and sculpted zombie-style rotting flesh on half his face.  There isn't a huge amount of colour or detail to the face screening (probably since the grey vinyl does the job for a zombie), but the paint centred as it should be and gives the doll a pleasant expression (probably fitting for a unicorn).

His rooted hair is primarily black but with blue, red, and yellow stripes, all of which are quite vibrant.  He also has a tail (rooted at hip level in the back) that's made of the same hair type and colours.

Equally vibrant are his stand, hat, and boots (all a bright yellow) and his outfit.  The outfit continues the zombie theme with its brightly coloured internal organ theme on the shirt and muscles-and-ligaments themed pants.

Interestingly, given how many accessories were included with Jane Boolittle and the Music Festival Clawd and Draculaura, the baseball cap is the only accessory aside from the standard MH comb.  The cap is decently made (a soft vinyl with holes for the horn and ears), but does hide the colourful hair (or should I say mane?) that's my favourite feature on this doll.

Neighthan has what (at first) appears to be the standard MH boy body, but upon removing his outfit it turns out that his torso and every-other limb part were are actually unique and have the same zombie-style sculptural details as the face.

Clawd Wolf's Standard MH body vs. Neighthan Rot's half-zombie one.

Side view.

 Interestingly, I've found him to be easier to pose than any other Monster High doll that I've handled.  Since I don't see any engineering differences between this guy and Clawd, I think it's just random luck but I thought it worth mentioning in case anyone else has had similar experiences - I'd be curious to hear about it, if so!

 For a doll that I was hesitant to add to my collection, I've ended up deciding that he's actually one of the most endearing playline dolls I've owned - the absurdity of a zombie unicorn is just too much to not be charmed by, I think.
Classic Zombie Pose.




14 comments:

  1. Hi, he's great! The MH line is so full of fantasy and originality, I think the designers have a great time inventing new characters :-). His outfit is one of the nicest for me, and his face and body too. An awesome newcomer in your collection!!!

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    1. MH really is a line with a lot of creative ideas, aren't they? Sometimes I wonder if they aren't pumping out too many new characters too quickly, but then I see something like this and think that no, there's plenty of new ideas for them to keep running with! :)

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  2. Replies
    1. Heh, he does get a bit of a blue glow in certain lighting, doesn't he?

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  3. Ha ha ha, I think MH are pushing the boundaries to say he's a zombie unicorn, but to each his own and I must agree with Phyllis regarding the Avatar look...he does somewhat (especially in those angled window shots). :)
    Cheers,
    X

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    1. Heh, the more people point it out, the more I see it!

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  4. He's a great doll, full of details that makes him special. At first I didn't like the fact that his clothes are too colourful, but now I think they're nice. And you're lucky to have purchased it, this doll is really hard to find.

    Haha, although I collect some MH dolls, I neither watch the webisodes or movies, so I'm not that familiar with their stories and so.

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    1. The bright colours have really grown on me too. And it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's been ignoring the multi-media aspect! ;)

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    2. I recommed you not to watch them. The original story and characters are pretty dumb and airheaded. But the dolls are AWESOMEEE by themselves!!!

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  5. I haven't seen this one yet. Very interesting indeed. Very colorful but unique!

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  6. He is very interesting! I think I would like him with different colored hair... or maybe not so many colors, lol.

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    1. Heh, that would certainly change his look! :)

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  7. Neighthan is awesome, the main problem with him is that he got the wrong hairdo (¡manedo?) just look: http://yelinna.livejournal.com/6728.html
    He is the bestest doll ever made, period.

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