Product Review: Witty Toys Stella Bloomix

In this review, we take a detailed review of Witty Toys' Winx Club Stella Bloomix doll. We look at her overall design, aesthetics, clothes and make some comparisons with the Jakks-Pacific version of a Winx Club Stella doll.

I discovered the Winx dolls back in 2012, when Jakks-Pacific released the Believix series, in a grocery store. They were selling them at $10 back then, and they appeared excellent value for $10. If only I had I known how popular they were going to be in years to come, I would have bought a mountain load! Unfortunately, Jakks-Pacific are not making them now, and I'm very glad European manufacturer Witty Toys (a subsidiary of Rainbow Productions, who produce the Winx Club TV series) are continuing to make them.

We are reviewing WittyToys' rendition of the Winx Stella Bloomix doll.

Stella comes in a box with an acrylic front and cardboard backing. Stella is beautifully displayed with her wings open, her hairbrush shaped like a star beside her and box art from the show below her.

The graphics on the back of the box is laid out nicely, with all the heroines in their Bloomix transformations and their signatures in the centre, and a drawing of Bloom in her Sirenix form on the right hand side.

Let's take a closer look at the doll's overall look.

Here's Stella in all her glory. In the Winx Club show, Stella is the "fairy of the Shining Sun" and her signature colours are usually yellows, oranges and bright colours.

I've put the doll next to a pic of Stella's Bloomix from the show (courtesy of winx.wikia.com/wiki/) for comparison.

It appears Witty used a simpler design and skimped on a few elements, though keeping to the overall look.

Stella's Outfit

Stella's bodice, belt, cape and skirt are all in one piece which can be easily removed and put on like a dress.

The bodice is made from yellow sheer glittery material with orange sleeves, with simple overlocking stitching on the neckline to prevent fraying. The neckline has not been fitted very well, it is gaping open and not sitting on her collarbones like the artwork.

The belt (or corset piece?) is made from fuschia coloured satin, and the skirt made from the same orange glittery material as the sleeves in two layers. The corset piece is a little bit ill-fitting; they could've added some darts or used a more shapely cut for this to fit her waist better.

I'm glad to see that Witty have included a cape in the design, even if it's just made of a simple orange piece of tulle.

The skirt I think though, is a bit oversimplified; I would have preferred to see a tulip shaped skirt with an orange tulle overlay and yellow underlay the same as her bodice piece.

The major downside I see with the design of the skirt is that the edges have been cut, not hemmed - over time and/or with play, the edges will fray and lose the crisply cut shapes.

The tights are made of fuschia lycra with glittered gold lines painted on. The glitter appears secure, but this could wear off over time or frequent play.

Stella also did not come with shoes. I'm a bit divided as to whether she should have shoes or not. The TV art shows heels integrated in with the tights, though this design also works too. Perhaps for completeness she should've at least had some ankle boots that could be slipped over the tights.

Stella's Wings

The wings are spot on with regards to the colouring, form and lines, and the dangling beads are a lovely addition. I believe these are the highlight, and what makes the doll valuable. Let's have a closer look.

The wings are made of acrylic about 1mm thick, with beautiful colour gradients and gold glitter outlines printed on. The wings are connected to pink plastic hinges with an "X" that can be plugged into the back of the doll. The wings can be taken off the hinges by sliding them off. This "X" hinge design allows for compatibility with Jakks-Pacific Winx dolls and their wings (more on that later).

Quick Comparison with Jakks-Pacific Stella Believix doll

My benchmark for Winx Club dolls are the Jakks-Pacific dolls as I think they've set the standard for quality and aesthetics. I wish I had a Stella Bloomix doll to compare her with; as they're very hard to find these days. So a Stella Believix doll will have to do. Here they are side-by-side, with the Believix doll on the left and Bloomix on the right.

The Believix doll stands at 11.5 inches, and is about 1.5 inches taller than the Bloomix doll.

The faces are quite similar, however we see notable differences in the body shape, construction, and articulation.

The Jakks-Pacific Believix doll has a longer torso, with the waist, chest and hips in good proportions; whereas the Witty Bloomix doll has an exaggerated hourglass body shape with a tiny waist. I think the body proportions look better than the Bloomix doll.

The Believix doll has eleven points of articulation, with ball joints at the wrists, elbows, knees and shoulders. The Believix body parts are made of hard plastic. In contrast, the Bloomix doll has seven points of articulation, with ball joints at the knees and shoulders. The arms are poseable, as they have a wire core within what appears to be a soft vinyl.

Let's look at their hair. The Believix doll's hair is slightly wavy, is fine and prone to tangles and split ends. Sometimes I find it taxing to smooth and comb out. The Bloomix doll's hair is a little glossier and is much easier to handle. I think the Bloomix doll's hair is of a much better quality in this case.

Wing Design

Now let's have a look at their wings. The wing design between the two dolls are identical, using the hinged "X" plug system. The acrylic material appears identical and the coloured printing looks of similar quality. The density of the glitter layer on the Believix wings look more packed though the Bloomix wings have actual beads attached instead of printed on the acrylic. So I would say here that both wings are similar in quality.

The best part about these X plugs is that the Jakks-Pacific and Witty dolls can wear each other's wings like so.

Stella here is wearing wings from other dolls in the Jakks-Pacific range (Flora Believix and Bloom Speedix). This interchangeably makes for many creative combinations of outfits, wings and characters which would be great fun for play and heaven for custom doll makers.

My verdict on the Stella Bloomix doll - beautiful face, easy to manage hair and simple but nice outfit. The outfit could have been executed better in terms of the fitting and would've loved it if a tiara was included as that would have elevated the overall look of the doll. The wings are beautiful and true to design, with effective use of glitter, and I'm glad to see that Witty has utilised the X plug system for the wings to make them more robust. This doll is great for those starting out on a Winx collection or for little girls who love the Winx.