Sarah here, just back yesterday from the AG store with pix and notes about the new Twins collection.
As promised in the previous entry, we’re going to review the Computer Desk pieces from the new 1990s Historical collection for the Nicki & Isabel Hoffman dolls. The Columbus AG store had most of the new items displayed in cubes, so we couldn’t touch anything except the dolls posed on the big-ticket item. This is a visual review, based on our having handled most previous American Girl pieces (smile).
HANG ON! We just noticed something that will be a game-changer for some of you. It appears that the CD towers on the two back corners of the desk may be fixed in place. We have a call into the AG Product Team, but they aren’t sure when they can get back to us (soon, hopefully). I’ll update this post as soon as they get back to us. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that the answer is “no, they aren’t”. Why does it matter? Once the plastic breaks on those cheap little CD towers, you’ll still be stuck with them. And you don’t get a dual-purpose table option by just covering it with a tablecloth for buffet or counter use. One of our readers just replied to let us know that they’d seen a youtube video showing that the desktop has two raised platforms in the back corners that hold the CD towers in place. That’s good news for the plastic problem, but it makes using it as a table or counter a little more difficult. Thanks to our reader for taking the time to answer this question. AG hasn’t even gotten back to us yet!
Short of recommending that you find one of the original 1990s PC or AG computers/desks (the used ones aren’t very expensive, and it’s a much nicer-looking set for display), this seems like something that will appeal to a lot of parents looking for a play item for kids. The computer makes a couple of noises, so it should appeal to little kids, in particular. The vibes this set’s giving off to me are kinda like ’90s meets modern and should work just as well with modern displays.
The chair, with its plastic body and metal legs, looks just like an old school chair, and the doll will probably be able to perch on the edge (like they do on the old Mac computer chair) with a non-slip something under it. The yellow color’s a bit wacky for me, but hey . . . someone else will probably love it!
The clickable wired mouse is fine with its AGOT-logo mouse pad, but the papers and stickers don’t add much value to the set. The plastic phone is very cheap-looking, and the little CD towers look the part without adding much weight to the tabletop.
The one-piece computer somewhat resembles the old Vaio computers that were around in the ’90s, and it comes with two replicas each of a CD and a 3-1/2 floppy disk. It stands 5″ tall, makes a couple of noises when you do things on it, and the two pieces do not separate. While AG tells you that there are four interchangeable “screens” (printed mylar slides), they don’t show you what they are, on either their website or at the store. It’ll just have to be a nice surprise for you when you open the box!
The round yin-yang rug is, well, it’s a round piece of yin-yang fabric that doesn’t fit under the desk or between the beds. But it might look cool to someone else and does add to the Includes list on a pricey set.
The desk is made of the same MDF (pressed wood pulp) that AG has used for years now on their beds. The bright white color seems a bit cheesy looking, but that’s sorta becoming an AG standard these days and matches the beds. If you don’t have or can’t get one of the older ones that AG made in the ’90s, or just like all the kitsch that comes with this set, this seems like a good stand-in. Especially if you wait for a good sale . . .
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
We all agreed that the whole desk set-up has a LOT of in-person appeal, but I’m glad we didn’t pick it up yesterday on impulse. At the store, we all felt that the table was way too large to sit next to or between the beds, and the price is a bit much for us, so we decided to wait until it went on sale.
The table is nearly 8″ deep, and the beds are only a smidge over 21″. That means that more than a third of the bed is blocked off, kinda like sleeping in a walled-off cove. The Columbus store never displayed the desk between the beds. Even AG doesn’t display them like that in their online stock photos. In the store’s bedroom cube, the display person had made the cutest little nightstand out of foam core. But we’ll cover that with the review of the Beds in a following entry. In the girls’ story, this computer desk is at their father’s coffee shop, not in their bedroom.
So, if you don’t mind the size of this desk, at a total of $445 for two beds plus this set, you’ve got a really cute bedroom for two of your little girl’s dolls. If you’re going to use it without the beds and have the space, it’ll make a nice little computer-desk display for you. I’m not sure about sitting a second doll at the back, because it does have a short support piece running side-to-side.
Here’s a comparison of size, for those of you who have the old 1990s PC Mac set.
Old Set: 9-7/8W x 7-1/2D x 8-1/2H
New Set: 12-5/8W x 7-3/4D x 9H
One more thought for you before we leave the desk set behind, but please remember that weare adult collectors and this is just our opinion. We stared at this for a long time in the store, and three of us have discussed little else since last night. I really wanted a PC (we have the Mac) for Bunty & Eliot, so I really wanted this to work. But I’m going to tell you why we won’t be buying this set. (Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy it. I’m just giving you three adults’ opinions here.) The overall feel for us was one of Barbie meets American Girl. The plastic is very thin (think Dollar Tree) on everything but the computer and reminds us of some Mattel playsets. Little kids will be used to this quality and will probably be really happy with it, though! The one-piece computer has us stumped. After hours of discussion, we can’t get away from the fact that it has a 3-5 year old Little Tikes feel about it. It’s round and puffy and made of this cheap-looking grey plastic that looks like a small child’s toy. It does make noise, and you get to insert/eject the CDs and discs, so little kids will probably be really happy with it (as long as it works, anyway). The desk is kinda cheap-looking to us, even if it is a heavy MDF board. With that white surface and pieced-together construction, it just looks cheap. And it doesn’t really much look like a desk to us. It’s too large to work in a Scenes & Settings photo shoot, and using it with a non-S&S backdrop, we’d have to shoot from pretty far away to get it in. I don’t want to imply that this set isn’t just what you’re looking for. We just thought we’d share some of our thoughts with you, from an adult’s point of view. The sticker seems a bit steep to us for its play value, and we thought that some of you would like to know why we aren’t buying it.
Something else to think about. AG has gone sticker crazy with this collection, and they’ve included stickers for just about every set (even down to the “Grin Pins” to stick on your clothes). The store had even put stickers on the bed posts. There were stickers all over the place, probably because most of the stuff was white and needed some kind of color? I don’t know, but the stickers don’t stay stuck well at all on most of the items. We arrived at the store one hour after opening time on release day. There were stickers that had curled up at the edges and/or were falling off all over the place. The only thing we could touch was the big-ticket display, and we tried to push the stickers down again. It didn’t work, because the adhesive on the back of them felt and worked like a post-it. You might want to re-think using the stickers.
Stay tuned for more reviews of the new 1990s Historical Dolls Collection from American Girl.