<p>There's no modification of the original body involved in this kind of customization; the person who altered this doll did so by removing the head of the original Barbie doll, and replacing the entire body with an appropriately sized silicone one sold by another company. The level of &quot;articulation&quot; will depend on the type of replacement body purchased, which can range from a full internal skeleton covered by the silicone &quot;skin,&quot; to just armature wire run through a piece of silicone.</p>
<p>Swapping bodies is a very simple and common way to modify this type of doll (colloquially known as &quot;playline&quot; as they're intended for children to play with), to improve articulation, proportions, etc. It's typically done by heating the softer vinyl head with boiling water or a tool like a hairdryer to soften it enough to remove the neck plug and placing it on the new body while still soft.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T19:00:02.833Z
Is the head connection pretty much universal across dolls? I'm wondering if the manufacturers of these dolls make the heads interchangeable with Barbie heads. Might someone end up ruining at least one doll trying to switch heads if they aren't compatible?
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T20:48:12.967Z
@fixer1234 there's some general similarity, but the "appropriately sized" qualifier is important here. A body designed for a much larger head (i.e. Rainbow High) might have some difficulty with the much smaller Barbie head fitting, but I've also seen much larger heads attached to stock Barbie bodies.
Allison C
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T14:06:41.640Z
2022-09-26T14:06:41.640Z
Allison C
<p>In the image below you can see an articulated Barbie doll with her body modified with what looks like silicone or some type of phicen material. Does anyone know how to get this look for the doll body, while retaining its articulation?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/sxTFH.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/sxTFH.jpg" alt="images showing a Barbie doll" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-19T23:08:22.260Z
[This link](https://www.creativhook.com/phicen-dolls-new-technology-dolls/) generally describes their construction.  It's basically an articulated skeleton with a very flexible/stretchy skin, so it behaves similar to human joints and skin. They're designed as a "system" to produce that appearance, feel, and movement; you couldn't just add a silicone skin to any articulated doll.
fixer1234
<material-identification>
Barbie body upgrade to silicone/TPE
Christine
# Barbie body upgrade to silicone/TPE

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-19)

In the image below you can see an articulated Barbie doll with her body modified with what looks like silicone or some type of phicen material. Does anyone know how to get this look for the doll body, while retaining its articulation?

[![images showing a Barbie doll](https://i.sstatic.net/sxTFH.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/sxTFH.jpg)

**Tags:** material-identification

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: [This link](https://www.creativhook.com/phicen-dolls-new-technology-dolls/) generally describes their construction.  It's basically an articulated skeleton with a very flexible/stretchy skin, so it behaves similar to human joints and skin. They're designed as a "system" to produce that appearance, feel, and movement; you couldn't just add a silicone skin to any articulated doll.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-09-26. Score: 2

There's no modification of the original body involved in this kind of customization; the person who altered this doll did so by removing the head of the original Barbie doll, and replacing the entire body with an appropriately sized silicone one sold by another company. The level of "articulation" will depend on the type of replacement body purchased, which can range from a full internal skeleton covered by the silicone "skin," to just armature wire run through a piece of silicone.

Swapping bodies is a very simple and common way to modify this type of doll (colloquially known as "playline" as they're intended for children to play with), to improve articulation, proportions, etc. It's typically done by heating the softer vinyl head with boiling water or a tool like a hairdryer to soften it enough to remove the neck plug and placing it on the new body while still soft.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Is the head connection pretty much universal across dolls? I'm wondering if the manufacturers of these dolls make the heads interchangeable with Barbie heads. Might someone end up ruining at least one doll trying to switch heads if they aren't compatible?  
> **username_2**: @username_1 there's some general similarity, but the "appropriately sized" qualifier is important here. A body designed for a much larger head (i.e. Rainbow High) might have some difficulty with the much smaller Barbie head fitting, but I've also seen much larger heads attached to stock Barbie bodies.  

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