Meet Ysla Larsen ... An Urban® Vita "Au Courant" Doll

Ysla Larsen, Oslo, Norway 

Hello.  Hallo.  Jeg heter Ysla Larsen.  Ett språk er aldri nok.

  My name is Ysla Larsen and  I live now in Oslo, Norway and do my work for a very specialized branch of the government.  This job isn't classified, so I can talk about it, but it is to some degree 'secret' as it is better if our faces are not widely known.  Our branch of the intelligence community is commonly known as "the Protectors" because that is a very accurate description of what my job entails.  I protect my client against any unpleasantness or agression during their stay here.  If a 'visible target' is on a visit to Norway, someone who might be in danger due to their position in the world, they are assigned a 'protector' while they are here.  In America, I guess you would call us 'bodyguards' or maybe 'secret service'.  So.  That is what I do for my living. I am very proud of my job, and it is an honor to be chosen.  I study many forms of defense to be prepared to protect my client against any agressive attentions. In Norway, there is even a TV show called "The Protectors" and this called much attention and even admiration down on those of us who are doing this job for real.

In my life away from my work, my favorite hobby is to knit.  It gives me a wonderful way to relax.  I am a fan of all the fabric arts and also do quilting and embroidery and applique.  My love is to combine all these skills into decorative pieces of art.  So that is very different from Kung Fu and shooting, isn't it?  Along with my art work, I enjoy sewing for myself and sometimes even try designing my own clothing. 

So this is a bit about me.  I hope to see you again soon.

                                    MissyBelle Goes 

                                 To The Hairdresser

Oh, my lawdy mercy!  You humans may think it takes a lot for you to get your hair done, but what if you were me?  We little faux femmes have saran fiber instead of hair, and it takes a whole different method to change our hairstyles.

Listen here to what I have to go through.  First the beads which you see in the photo below were removed and my hair was cut to shoulder length. So far that was a piece of cake.  Then it was set on a combination of pipe cleaners and very small perm rods.  Still didn't require anything of me but sitting there, and I do that well.

Next came what is known in the fashion doll world as a 'boil perm'.  O.U.C.H. If you are squimish you should stop reading here!  Seriously!  Even the name should warn you ... Boil Perm?   This basically means my head was put into boiling water for a couple of minutes and then dunked into ice water!  Now I ask you, is that kind?   Next, I just relax for a day or two while the hair dries.  A comb-out, and voila!  Here I am with the more 50's style which I think suits my personality to a T.

Meet MissyBelle Bencini!

Hey, y'all!  My name is MissyBelle Bencini and I am from the big city of Hastings Hollar.  What?  You've never heard of it?  Well, bless your heart, y'all just don't know what you have missed.  We'll just remedy that situation right now if you'll forgive me for just bustin' in and takin' over!  


That's me in the photo above.  Do you love my outfit?  I made it myself.  Honest.  I did.  I ran for  the "Miss Hasitngs Hollar Happy Homemaker" title and I used 'sewing' as my talent.  I thought of using 'hair dressing' but I decided that too many of the other girls might pick that as a talent, and I know for a fact that most of 'em can't sew worth a darn ( no pun intended) so I just whipped up and outfit and the next thing you know, I am "Miss Hastings Hollar Happy Homemaker of 2012"!  Iddn't that grand?  Momma and Daddy were so proud of me.  


This is just the beginning for me.  I have now decided that I am gonna become a fashion designer.  I've seen those pictures of 'Fashion week' in New York City, and I think that looks downright excitin'.  A girl could get used to that.  Daddy said that he waddn't sure the big city was ready for me, and Momma said that I ought to marry Johnny Bob and give her some granbabies to spoil.  Aren't they cute?  I have the best Momma and Daddy in the world.   


I'll be back before long and tell y'all about what's going on here.  Y'all come on back, ok?

Farewell to Mrs. Peel

Mrs. Peel, 1994-2011

Mrs. Peel walked into my life in 1994 while I was shooting a commercial in a diner. She strolled onto the set and decided to adopt herself a human. She made her final exit early this morning while stretched out in bed with her human and her partner-in-crime, Steed the Maltese.

Mrs. Peel, much like her namesake from "The Avengers" TV series was a beautiful female who wore a 'catsuit' and got both into and out-of a lot of trouble in her life. And seemed to enjoy ever minute! She was a world-class tree climber, and a closet stalker of chipmunks and birds (a habit NOT approved of by her human). Happily, as the years went by she adopted bird-watching as a hobby, and chipper-chasing became more work than it was worth.

Both smart and independent, she lived an excellent life and will be greatly missed.

Dinner!

Trixie wanted to show off some of the new dishes that Rin brought her from China!

The stew with the WHOLE duck was a bit ... unusual for the U.S.

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!