Review: Skultimate Roller Maze 2-Pack

Thanks to Monster High I learned something totally new about myself: I love K-Mart! Before I got into MH I think I had stepped foot into the store about three times over the course of my entire life. But once MH came on the scene I suddenly found myself going to all kinds of new places in a mad dash to find dolls, including K-Mart (and Justice, talk about awkward.) Much to my surprise, far more than any other store in my area, it turned out that K-Mart could almost always be counted on to have MH stocked. So when it was announced that they would be carrying a Skultimate Roller Maze exclusive 2-pack I was actually (shockingly) quite happy! I just knew my old standby wouldn't let me down, and of course they didn't. My local store got the 2-packs in quite early, and every time I've gone back since they've still had plenty on the shelves. K-Mart, I love you! (Target, you can totally go suck it.)

The deal with this set is that you get two dolls packaged together: Ghoulia, also sold solo as a wide release, and Abbey, who you can only get in this set. Since this is an exclusive it goes without saying that stands are not included. Boo, Mattel. But on the bright side, you do get a collector's card for each doll. I don't really do anything with the cards but I love the artist's renderings, plus I just kind of think the cards are neat. I actually wish one was included with every doll.

Skultimate Roller Maze is a budget line and this is reflected in both the rather simple outfits and the lack of any major extras. If you're anything like me that doesn't really matter since clothes can always be changed. There's also the fact that the SRM dolls have turned out to be some of the most colorful, prettiest MH dolls released this year, at least in terms of hair and makeup. Each doll comes with a helmet, pair of knee pads, and roller skates. No purses, no earrings, no necklaces (well, aside from Abbey's little North Pole ice choker). The missing accessories can be justified, though. I mean, how many people go skating carrying their purse? (Maybe Cleo.)

We'll look at Ghoulia first. Her helmet is pink and molded to look like a brain. It has a strap that fastens on one side. Her knee pads are the same color and have skullettes molded into them. Her skates are black with blue and green wheels; dripping pink gore comprises the heels. She also has an odd, yellow bracelet. It's squiggly and I have no idea what it's supposed to be. She wears translucent green glasses that I thought came attached to the helmet but are actually separate. This makes me happy since I don't use the SRM helmets but tend to love Ghoulia's glasses. These are no exception.

Her dress is one piece and goes about halfway down the thighs. The bodice has vertical stripes in green, black, and white. There is pink "blood" splattered all over it. It has a black fabric collar and pink mesh sleeves. This is probably my least favorite of all the SRM dresses. The colors are really garish in my opinion. Plus they make me think of watermelon (in a bad way). To it's credit it is well-made; I just don't like the style.

For makeup she wears green eyeshadow that completely surrounds her eyes. Above the green is a layer of silver. Her lips are pinkish-red. Her hair is the best thing about her. She wears pigtails that curve outward and up, like a brain-eating Pippi Longstocking. Amazingly, Mattel did not use that crispy gel to hold it in place; it just holds on it's own. Like all SRM dolls her hair has neon green streaks spread throughout. It looks great, and this is a very unique hairstyle not just for Ghoulia, but for the entire line. No other doll has this hairstyle.

Next we have Abbey. Her helmet is translucent blue and has molded lines throughout to mimic an igloo. It's really cute! The strap attachment is a large snowflake. Her knee pads are pink and match her skates, which have a molded cuff at the top. The skates are translucent while the heels are molded white "snow". The wheels are green and grey. She also wears that North Pole choker. Her dress is light blue with a pink and white "broken ice" pattern. It has one sleeve that's flanked by neon green trim that stretches diagonally across the bust. Under this hangs black mesh that covers the bodice and ends above the waist. This is definitely one of the better dresses of the line. The materials feel nice and the use of diagonal trim and black mesh make it much more visually interesting (and pleasing) than Ghoulia's dress.

Although Fashion Abbey is my favorite version of the character, this one's probably right after her. Why? Because her face and hair deviate the most from her basic doll. Although her hair is still white with blue, pink, and purple streaks underneath, she also has the standard SRM neon streaks. Although I don't think the green matches that well with the other streaks it's at least different from the other Abbey dolls. Most significantly the length is much shorter than usual. It lands at her shoulders in a severe straight line (similar to DOTD Cleo's hair). Unfortunately I have the same problem with her hair that I have with all the other Abbey dolls -- the tinsled bits just won't to stay down! It's aggravating but I like this hairstyle so it's fine I guess.

This is also the most unique Abbey in terms of makeup. In fitting with the SRM theme she has especially colorful eyeshadow. The tops of her eyes are painted lavender and purple while underneath is a strip of yellow-green. It may just be me but the color of her actual eyes seems brighter than usual, as well. Her lips are a bright yet deep shade of red. This is a really gorgeous Abbey, and the fact that she's so different from the other ones makes her stand out that much more. I would say it's a shame such a unique doll is an exclusive but seriously, K-Mart seems to have plenty of these to go around.

Overall grade: B+ I'm not that big on this theme and don't use the skating gear on my dolls but that's compensated by the fact that the dolls themselves are colorful, fun, and just plain gorgeous. Since this pack can only be bought at K-Mart you don't have to worry about the price being ridiculously inflated a la Toys R Us and Kohl's. Although neither of these dolls are my favorite from the line they're well made and quite pretty. They're worth picking up if you haven't already.