This is a 23" My Twinn with the Danielle face mold. I saw her on eBay recently and decided I would get to know her. She had one big thing going for her: the Danielle face. I think this is one of the cutest face sculpts ever made by My Twinn. And I had to admit the poseability factor really impressed me. But it wasn't until she arrived a few days later that I realized how truly special these dolls really are.
 

I think the first thing that stood out to me was this doll's size. Something about that 23" dimension really gave her a commanding presence. She towered over my AGs like a queen, and she had weight and solidness to her I wasn't quite expecting.

Plus I was really impressed with the way she easily balanced, no matter if I posed her one way or another.
 

MY TWINN DOLLS CAN BALANCE BY THEIR HEEL

I admit these dolls' arms tend to hang a bit long at their sides unless their armature is bent in such a way at the shoulders to compensate.
 

But since I've had my Twinn girl, I've gotten pretty good at bending the arms in a way I think they must have meant to be bent originally, making them look much more natural. I do appreciate that the arms have to be a bit long to look normal when bending them upward, since they don't have the shoulder mobility we do. The longer arms just give them more versatility in posing, otherwise their hands would barelly reach the tops of their heads when raising them.
 

Probably the most striking thing about My Twinn is the detail and realism of their faces. Some people have cited the "uncanny valley" as being a problem with these dolls. But for the most part, I really appreciate the unique realism they have.  Some collectors primp and pamper these dolls like little living princesses, and when you see them in "full regalia," they can have quite an impact! That's when the uncanny realism works.
 

I've had a good look at the 18" versions of their face sculpts for comparison. I can see why many were upset when My Twinn decided to abandon their 23" dolls in favor of the common 18-inch American Girl type body. I don't fell they translate as well into the smaller molds and some dolls don't much resemble their 23" versions.

 
18" and 23" "ARIEL" SCULPT: THE SMALLER DOLLS LOSE A LITTLE BIT Of CHARATCER.

While some of the face molds can still certainly be called "cute," in my opinion they really don't come near to the personality, individuality, and beauty of the 23" dolls.

This is, again, just my opinion.

After I got 23" Danielle, I got the 23" bug and wanted to get more of the bigger Twinns, so next came a beautiful TLC caramel blonde with the Ariel face mold. I was surprised how lovely and serene she looked compared to 18" Ariel who looks perpetually mischevious and hyper. :) I Then I saw this beautiful 23" Madison on eBay--much in need of repair but so pretty. My Twinns then became My Tripplets. :) I'm looking forward to restoring them.

 

And now that I have gotten familiar with 23" My Twinn, I really can't say enough good things about them.  I'm currently feeling more "into them" than any of my American Girl dolls.

Actually, they are in a different category than 18" dolls like American Girl, so it really isn't fair to compare them. They are really just their own thing. Even their 18" doppelgangers are different from them. I'm not actually claiming the 23 inchers are better (and I'm sure many AG fans will tell me so too) but they are in no way lesser either, which is what I used to think. They are truly special, belonging to their own realm of "dolliciousness. " It's just that some of us unbelievers needed to see them up close and personal before we noticed. :)

My 23" "Twinns" are still in TLC mode. Forgive the lack of clothes, messy hair and faded scary eyes. They will be knockouts when they're done. ;)