Expressions is Expressive

I thought that I would post a shot of both faceplates side by side. It's so much fun to have a doll that can actually change expressions. The possibilities are just limitless!

Review of Urban Vita Expressions Doll

I think the short review would be that I am enjoying her very much. Now, I'll try to be a bit more detailed.

I am going to give both positive and negative (yes, there are a few even for a Vita addict) comments, so let's start with the positive.

CHANGEABLE FACE PLATES: this could have gone either way -- wonderful or horrid. I am thrilled to say that they are wonderful. I was concerned that they would be hard to attach or to remove. They are so simple. They simply slide into place and stay there. And they've stayed on even when the poor doll pitched off a table during a photo shoot! So they are quite secure, yet easy to remove. What more could you ask? Well, I'm sure I can find something to ask for ... I always can.

EYE PLATE: Again, why don't the bjd's use this? A little plate screws into the back of the face and holds the eyes in place. The eyes themselves have stems on the back so that they are easily adjusted after being set into the head. To alter eye positions, just loosen the screws and then tighten when finished. You can actually move the eyes without loosening the screws if you don't make the eye plate too tight. Very simple and works wonderfully!

ARTICULATION/BODY: The first Vitas were prone to a lot of separation at the seam lines, and some very rough seaming. I'm happy to say that (at least on my doll) the issues have been addressed and improved. The articulation is, for my money, the best of any vinyl/hard plastic doll on the market. Bar none.

EYES: The little eyes are proportioned very well for Vita's face with the iris of the eye being the 'human' size and not oversized as many BJD eyes are. There is room for improvement, but these are a good start.

BASIC OUTFIT: It all works fine. The little tennis shoes are cute and so far the glitter is holding on quite well. The t-shirt and pull on red plether pants fit well and are constructed fairly well. For my taste, I don't love the outfit, but there will be many, I'm sure, who will.

WIG: In the photo above you see 'Expressions', now known as Hastings, on the left and Trixie (Urban Vita 'Hot, Hot, Hot') on the right. Hastings is wearing a wig from an Alex doll and not the wig she comes with. Her original wig is white and wild. It is nicely made and you can see it in the original photo below. I am anxious to try some other wigs. I am finding a 5/6 to be a tiny bit on the large side, but I've yet to order a 4/5 to try. I did add moleskin to the face plate and to the back of the head to help grip the wigs.

Now, let's talk a bit about what needed to be improved to make me a wildly happy camper.
I got two face plates with my doll. One is 'Rapture', the sleeping face. This one was fine. I did trim the eyelashes to give them a more natural proportion and I shadowed the crease of the lid for a bit more definition in photos. The picture you see below of the doll sleeping on her chair had only had slight lash trimming, and no shadow added.
The second face was indicated to be "Lust" with partially closed eyes. I'm not sure what mine is. The eyes are more opened than I had expected, and ... this was a biggie ... one eye had been opened more than the other. This required re-setting the eye lashes and finally adding color to the lid and re-painting the eye-liner to try and balance out the shape. This was a very big disappointment for me. I do grant that I am picky. But anyone would notice the difference and it bothered me so much that it took a great deal of my initial enjoyment away. I started to wonder if I actually had the 'Joy' face ... honestly, I'm not sure what I've got. The good news is that I can replace face plates, but I still wish this one had been done a bit more carefully. As long as I had committed to changing the eyes, I gave her teeth as well. I plan to order more face plates, and the brown and blue eyes. Expressions came with the green pair. As I work with the other plates, I may change this one again. In fact, I can almost guarantee that I will.
The eyes need a bit of work as well. There is still some white paper showing around the edge of the iris on mine, and while it blends into the white of the eyeball, it still would have been better if it had been trimmed a bit more perfectly. I'm thinking this might be solved by my going in and applying a darker ring around the outside of the iris to cover the white paper edges. That is, after I get another pair of eyes in case I ruin this pair!!

Well, that's it. All in all, the playability of this doll is fantastic. She can change eye color, expressions and wigs. That gives you almost unlimited possibilities for play and photos. A great doll and one that I hope will win many fans!

The Expressions sleeping face --Rapture

These faces are so easy to change. Honestly, why aren't all dolls like this? For those who don't know about this doll, there are two more face plates that can be purchased. And two more eye colors for the faces with opened eye sockets. It makes the doll so versatile! The chair she's sitting on was a birthday gift from my brother and is from the Vita Urban Expressions line. Doll and chair are by Horsman Doll Company.

Urban Vita Expressions Arrives

Here are the first photos of my Expressions Vita. This is the first vinyl fashion doll to have changeable face plates and changeable eyes. To me, this makes he like a BJD that you don't have to coddle! I adore my Bijou Julliet Diamant who is a large Soom BJD (also her initials), but with resin issues she has to be kept out of sun, will break .. and so on. I'll give a whole review, comment on the new doll when I've played with her a bit more.