I reckon it's a fake, but the Jeremy guy in this thread seems to think it isn't.

It seems weird that they would make another greyscale Frankie anyway, they've already done it once, and why choose Frankie again?

wow, what an annoying, irrational, whiny bunch over there. @,@; I'm glad I found out about Monster High here, and I'm glad this place is the only place I'll stay at for my Monster High info. lol

I still think its a custom/fake. If they were going to make a prototype of a Frankie (or any doll for that matter), why bother putting her in grayscale when you can just go through with the whole design and make a full color one to see the full potential of the doll at it's best?

I don't know much about drafting or product development but they already have the mold and body color for Frankie, all they would have to worry about is the swimsuit design and makeup color scheme (eye shadow, lip color) that would go well with the line theme as well as the swimsuit. Am I the only one that feels this way about it??

Fake. Aside from the aforementioned shoes (no, they aren't repaints- all the SS girls have translucent heels, not painted, and they're all open-toed sandal heels), the box is all wrong for the line. SS has a ribcage/fishbone pattern overlaying the horizontal stripes, a set of rings in the top right corner, no palm fronds, and the zipper is just a zipper, with no skullette head.

Also as mentioned, the black and white was probably used to mask the fabric, and the makeup on Frankie.

I saw this fantastic tweet yesterday:
twitter.com/#!/angrysantaelf

Quote::

Just over five weeks until Xmas. And if you think you're panicking, we accidentally gave all the Monster High dolls a taste for human flesh.

luvlyMelody, they do seem like an overly annoying bunch over there

crimsondeity, good observational skills! I hadn't noticed half of those details.

Loa, that is so funny

Not to mention the missing accessories. (map, drink, brush) All in all, still impressed with the way they made it.

lol oh geeze that tweet. O_o; *Imagines being attacked by her MH dolls that brake free from their boxes in the middle of the night*

I wont entirely rule out that she's a half-baked prototype. But the box art in particular, along with the black and white makes me veerrry suspicious. Why they would use a cobbled box (parts of it are similar to signature boxes) instead of using the existing SS box patterns is beyond me.

Just a quick heads up to my fellow Canadian collectors (and Euro peeps too, I think):

If your at all invested in the diaries and such, you're going to have to import your dolls from the US.

I just grabbed Toreli last day, only to discover that her "diary" is a single page repeated in four languages. Nothing even resembling her actual diary.

Mentioning this in another community brought to light that the "survival guides", as well as the club pack cards are similarily scant on the MH lore (faculty profiles? I WANT!).

I'm more than a little dissapointed to see this. That ongoing story is the sole reason I keep buying these things. I'm not sure who Mattel thinks they're kidding with this stunt.

Full bummed over this.

I'm glad to hear there is so much interest in a swap. Definitely after the holidays! I'm super busy myself at the moment.

As for the Skull Shores Frankie Fakie (ooh, it rhymes!) I think she looks adorable with short hair. Absolutely adorable.

Ooh, I LOVE that short hair too! O.o

I really like the idea of a clothes/fashion swap!

tuneful87 wrote:

I'm glad to hear there is so much interest in a swap. Definitely after the holidays! I'm super busy myself at the moment. As for the Skull Shores Frankie Fakie (ooh, it rhymes!) I think she looks adorable with short hair. Absolutely adorable.

I give it...hm....two weeks, I think, before one of yours has a cute bob

Okapi!!!! I'd never chop off any of my existing Frankie's hair! But I was just thinking how cute the Dead Tired Frankie is. She might look cute with a bob...

My Gloom Beach Frankie would no doubt look cute with a bob as well, but I love her too much to cut her hair!

Frankie is TOO cute with that short hair! <3

I'm too much of a wuss to ever cut my girls hair though. I know I'd ruin it! >.<

The person who first posted the pic claims that they own a small toy store called Funky Monkey toys in Oregon. He says this picture is not in black and white, but is a color picture of a greyscale doll that was on the Mattel Retailers website (you have to be a retailer and have a code to access it). I don't know how true this is but this person has supposedly had legit leads before.

I think that guy is blowing smoke.

She does look cute though.