Summer dolly projects

[dargosmydaddy]

These kinds of "issues" are why I'm not brave enough to open anybody's head!! I can see me messing up the eyemech and having to mail a head to some dolly friend to fix it 

It's really not that bad, though I was very reluctant to try it myself at first, and was only forced into it when my custom myufish doll came to me with one set of eyelashes falling off... I figured trying to re-glue them on from the front would only result in a mess, so I bit the bullet and opened her up. Other than screws giving me trouble at times, re-chipping itself is usually pretty easy... getting the eyelids to stay in place while you're reassembling everything is a little daunting the first time (and a few random other times... some dolls just like to be difficult...), but overall it's pretty straightforward. And Dals are super easy because they don't have the blinking eyelids.

Of course, all that being said, one of my ongoing projects is giving me major eye-related problems, but I'll save that for a future post...

[dargosmydaddy]

Back in the spring, I was honored to win Cornflower Blue's photo scavenger hunt on the Dal House Forum. The prize was a Dal Sailor Chibi Moon. I took a picture of her arrival in May...

Addalee23 by tisue999, on Flickr

I don't really know anything about Sailor Moon, so I figured I'd give her a new look. I'm not find of red eyes, so I rechipped her, and then thought she might look good as a redhead...

Dallis1 by tisue999, on Flickr

Wasn't loving that look on her, either, so it was back to the drawing board. Then a couple weeks ago while ordering a wig for a different doll, I found one I thought would be perfect for her. I also rechipped her again with the second pair of Lullaby eyes. This time I was happier with the results... Meet Dallis!

Dallis3 by tisue999, on Flickr

Not sure how well it shows up in the photos, but the wig has pink, purple, and green streaks in it, and I think she looks really cute in it! It was so much fun to change her look and find a style that worked for her

[Alliecat]

I can see a little bit of pink & purple. I don't like red eyes either, and I think you made her much cuter as a blue-eyed blonde.

[davidd]

I agree with Alliecat, I like the new blue eyes better, and they pair well with the blonde hair.

[dargosmydaddy]

And now for my biggest failure of the summer, paired with a fun success...

I've been wanting a Yeolume for awhile, but didn't figure on finding one for an acceptable price... Then lo and behold last May while trawling ebay, I happened to come along a bunch of new listings from a single seller. They were mainly selling Sailor Moon Pullips with low opening bids and reasonable-ish BIN prices, but they also included a listing for "Pullip doll used 2 loose."



I couldn't believe my eyes-- Yeolume! And the BIN price was ridiculously low (like, I wouldn't have thought twice if it had just been for the Yeolume, never mind the Dal included). I checked out immediately, convinced I wouldn't be fast enough, and even once the transaction was completed, I was sure something would go wrong, the package would be lost, the dolls would reek of smoke or something worse, etc. But no, they arrived just fine. The Yeolume was a little scruffy, but I wanted to customize her anyway so I didn't care, and the Dal Tina was in perfect shape. Yay for a rare ebay bargain!

Now onto the frustration... I want to get the Yeolume a professionally customized face up eventually, but I figured in the meantime I could rewig/ rechip/ rebody her. I got her head open without issue... and then the eyechips wouldn't budge!   At this point I've probably changed about two dozen pairs of eyes (including a couple of the old rubbery kind that have to be cut out), and as mentioned I've had my fair share of trouble with getting the screws out, but never the eye chips themselves! Usually they come out with hardly any pressure at all, and even the few that haven't only take a few hard pokes. But these Yeolume eyes are impossible! I finally soaked the whole eye mech in boiling water and managed to get one of them out, but three months, two more hot water treatments, and plenty of poking and prodding later, it still won't budge. I even disassembled the whole mechanism, hoping it would give me better leverage. But nope. And they are really ugly orange eye chips, plus at this point I've scratched the back of it so badly that it looks like a cataract, so there's no way I'm putting it back in my lovely Yeolume...

eye by tisue999, on Flickr

The only good news is that Dal seems to have the same mechanism. I'm hoping to find a cheap spare Dal mech somewhere (probably not, but a girl can dream...), or use one of my current Dals (or acquire another one) who could pull off an eye patch look and switch mechs. I don't want my Yeolume to have an eye patch. Anyhow, it's been very frustrating...

On the other hand, Dal Tina is one of my favorite new dolls! When I placed the order, I was only thinking about the Yeolume... I'd never given Tina a second look before, and once she arrived I considered selling her. But then I bought her a new wig and chips instead... 

In my last post I mentioned I HATE red eye chips, but this Dal looked like she'd make the perfect little demon girl, so I actually went out and got chips for her that were redder than her original ones.   They were a tad small, so I did the black acrylic paint around the rims again. And I am in love with her wig, which was my first ex.perience with a CanCan wig (the orangey-red wig I tried on Dallis is also a CanCan). All in all I think she came out well-- meet Lucy!

Lucy2 by tisue999, on Flickr

Bonus picture of her with Zadie, my Dal Lyla... Zadie was happy to have another supernatural-esque Dal in the gang.

ZadieLucy1 by tisue999, on Flickr

[Alliecat]

That's a bummer about the eyemech. Never having taken anyone's head apart, I'm not much help. I assume it can't be, like, "sanded" or drilled out with a dremel? That would be really frustrating.
Are you on Omocha Crush or Pullip Sales? Maybe someone would have a spare one...
But, it sounds like you got a great deal and Zadie & Lucy make a good pair. Interesting that you hate red chips but found a doll that you like with them. They do seem to suit her.

[davidd]

Your "supernatural" Dals are certainly spooky!

[TrueFan]

I love Tina - her skin tone is amazing. And Lyla and Tina look so cute together. I *may* have a spare eye mech, I need to check. Also, CornflowerBlue has tips on removing eyechips.

[dargosmydaddy]

That's a bummer about the eyemech. Never having taken anyone's head apart, I'm not much help. I assume it can't be, like, "sanded" or drilled out with a dremel? That would be really frustrating.

Are you on Omocha Crush or Pullip Sales? Maybe someone would have a spare one... 

I've thought about trying to drill it, but don't really trust myself not to a) damage the whole thing, or b) damage myself!

I'm assuming Omocha Crush and Pullip Sales are Facebook groups? I'm not on Facebook.

Also, CornflowerBlue has tips on removing eyechips.

I feel like I've looked all over for tips, but I don't remember seeing any from CB... do you know where these are posted? Offgemini posted about using a bamboo skewer, but I wasn't entirely following... I tried to do what she posted with a tiny, sharp screwdriver, but still no luck.

I *may* have a spare eye mech, I need to check.

Whenever you get the chance... I'm trying not to get my hopes up!

[TrueFan]

CFB's tip is to heat them with a hair dryer. Now that she says that, I remember trying and it worked like a charm.

[dargosmydaddy]

I wonder if that's any more effective than hot water (which I tried repeatedly)? I also kept them in an un-air conditioned upstairs room for awhile during a heat wave, and tried then with no luck... the hot room trick had worked for me before with tight screws.

[TrueFan]

I had tried hot water and the freezer.

[Alliecat]

I'm assuming Omocha Crush and Pullip Sales are Facebook groups? I'm not on Facebook.

They are. And it's nice to know not EVERYONE has fallen into the Facebook gravity well.
I'll ask for you if you want... you could still talk to a seller via e-mail. Let me know.

[dargosmydaddy]

I'll ask for you if you want... you could still talk to a seller via e-mail. Let me know.

That would be awesome, thank you!

TrueFan, that's good to know about the hair dryer... I will see if I can borrow my mom's at some point...

[Alliecat]

OK. Shoot me a PM with your e-mail and how much you want to spend, and I'll see if I can find someone to connect you with