Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Nanea: A New Face

Let's talk about Nanea's new face mold!


First some of the larger strokes--I love Nanea's silhouette graphic. From this graphic and banner we see the hibiscus flower as one of her repeated motifs, but we see other themes emerging in the little tiki huts in her shirt and the decidedly nautical touches in the styling of her white shorts with the blue pocket stripes (not seen here) and placement of the dark navy blue buttons.


As for the face mold itself the two most striking features (among many) are the larger open and rounded eyes with a slight side notch and the the overall rounded-heart-shaped face.

As pointed out elsewhere, the general impression of the Nanea mold seems related to the WellieWisher face molds. Is American Girl making a strategic move toward dolls with big eyes and heart shaped faces? If so, it is one of the stronger changes in the overall aesthetic of the American Girl "look."


Do note that American Girl may have altered or Photoshopped this image and thus some details may be enhanced or downplayed (such as the white reflective spots in her eyes appearing like two little "hearts")--but there are some details to discuss.

Does Nanea have painted lower lashes and some additional painted upper lashes? 

New eyebrow shape.

Notched eyes (my favorite touch).

Her lips and smile are a new shape as well and her lip color looks new and custom to Nanea's coloring.

No way of knowing just yet if her decal iris eyes (I strongly prefer the decal iris eyes!) are a new hazel color, but in her unique mold and unique coloring, they seem new regardless.

I do see Nanea as doing well as a BeForever poppet. She features a new face mold, she is a doll representing cultural and racial diversity, she offers a different perspective on the WWII experience than the previous 1940s doll (Molly), and Nanea's meet outfit looks playful and fresh. 
 

7 comments:

  1. She is quite lovely and will provide a different perspective on Pearl Harbor. I hope they get the story right. Historians will be livid otherwise.

    I am wondering if she has the firm vinyl we are all accustomed to or if her head and limbs will be softer. Also wondering if she has the perma-panties or not. Looking forward to reviews of her after her official release.
    ~Xyra

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow!
    After receiving little more information after her trademarking last year, I had pretty much given up on the idea of a 1940's Hawaiian beforever. Now that I've seen her I absolutely love her, cannot wait for her release. AG has done a very good job at holding the leaks back, I was very surprised when she showed up in this clip, all the other dolls we knew very well were coming so it was great to see a new character we hadn't seen much of. I love the new face mold, yes it does look a bit like it could of been from another 18" doll brand, but that doesn't mean it isn't beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. She looks cute. The eyelid fold reminds me of http://www.americangirl.com/shop/dolls/truly-me-doll-66-medium-skin-black-brown-hair-brown-eyes-accessories-06bun66 and i believe the "notch" is painted to elongate the eyes, similarly to what Madame Alexander has done with their 18" Asian dolls.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm in love with Nanea. She looks really young tho...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Her I eye color is the same as Rebecca's and Lea's eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I looked a bit closer at her eyes and compare them to Felicity's and realized that they are dark green decal. NEW!

    ReplyDelete