Face Mold

A face mold is a fandom term that describes the particular cranial and facial characteristics of a doll.

Variations in eye color, hair color and style, and skin tone result in several different unique dolls in the 18" dolls. However, there have only been seven face molds created and only five have been used for multiples dolls as of 2009. The first mold used is referred to as the Classic Mold, and subsequent molds are generally referred to by the first doll to use the mold.

American Girl does not give a racial designation to any of the face molds and generally, any mold could available with any skin, hair, and eye combination. However, the faces do generally map to the general likenesses of perceived racial groups.

List of Face Molds
There are seven current face molds used by American Girl altogether for the 18" dolls:


 * Classic Mold: Released in 1986; first used for Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly.
 * Addy Mold: Released in 1993; first used for Addy.
 * Asian Mold: Released in 1995; has only been used for JLY 4.
 * Josefina Mold: Released in 1997; first used for Josefina
 * Kaya Mold: Released in 2002; has only been used for Kaya.
 * Jess Mold: Released in 2006; first used for Jess.
 * Sonali Mold: Released in 2009; first used for Sonali.

Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins
The Bitty Baby Dolls appear to have four face molds; the Brown and Blond Bitty Babies share face molds. Because the hair is molded and thus a integral part of the doll's look, a new Bitty Baby cannot be integrated and added to the line as easily.

The Bitty Twins appear to have only a few face molds, based on an open mouth and a closed mouth variation. The faces are slightly different for the "Asian", "Latino", and "African" Bitty Twins. Since the dolls are wigged, variations are easier than with Bitty Babies.