15.08.2024
15.08.2024 (2)
16.08.2024
18.08.2024
23.08.2024
30.08.2024
This project journal was originally on DoA and was copied over more-or-less 1-to-1.
Emoji codes have largely been left in, comments and spoilers have been taken out.
15. August 2024
I couldn't hold myself back and got a project doll off Mercari :dohIt's been a year since my Shoyo project so I guess it's just my usual annual "I CAN FIX THEM :chibi" urge hitting again hahaha
It's a Volks Myu who has surely seen things! *round of applause* I shall name her Nonoo :)
I've never held a Volks doll before and all I've heard before is true:
-she is HEFTY (Volks is really generous with resin huh)
-the resin yellows beautifully (this is not banana, this is the creamy part of creme brulee!)
-one. touch. system. is so great (didn't stop me from shooting an s-hook into her leg later on but... it's the thought that matters)
She came with a cute dress and her OG wig. I gave the dress a wash to freshen it up but I'm yet to figure out how to de-frizz the wig.
Headplate says made in 2006 so she's 18! (and I have no college fund for her *_*will she want a driver's licence...? I think she's older than my Shoyo)
That noggin is BIG! The previous owner had given her DIY resin eyes which were super sticky from... I hope the eye putty? Unfortunately there was no saving those as it won't come off and I couldn't even scoop the putty out completely from inside the head. The faceup is definitely someone's best try and it's actually quite cute! But the seller said it hadn't been sealed at all so I'm hoping there are no stains underneath :eusa_pray
Some acetone-free nailpolish and scrubbing with a toothbrush later, she cleaned up quite well! No staining that I could see (aside from the gunky eyeputty in the inside). She's pretty evenly yellowed, although I can tell her humongous forehead is a bit lighter from wearing a wig with a fringe and ripping off the velcro from the headcap shows some rectangular "tanlines". I can work with this!
Just to keep better tabs on which side parts go on which side, I'm giving her a bath in separate cups. I popped in some dental tabs and let them sit a bit (not really to de-yellow because at least the stuff I have never worked for that, but I had them left over and they loosen dirty really well imo so *shrug*)
Thanks to the unbearably hot weather, she dried off fast. I gave the insides of the holes a wipe with a rolled tissue and a qtip and a blast of air with a hairdrier on cold setting to accelerate that so I could string her up fast.
Oh the shade when a single-jointed doll from the early 2000s kneels better than all the new double-jointed bodies I've handled this year :abambi: I strung her with fresh elastic and wired the elbows which hold in place very well now. She also stands like a rock despite having the largest head in the world that could tip her over.
Here she is with a temporary pair of acrylic eyes (I was bad with timing when getting her a glass pair), testing the wig wefts (where I was good with timing making them well ahead of arrival). I think she might be a lil oni and will need a pair of magnetic horns (placeholder here is poster tac lol)? She'll also need clothes because whatever I made in advance is too small :|
I've made so many mockups for her already but that's the latest one I've stuck with. I feel like it's a sculpt where the wrong placement of eyebrows will make her look terrifying/evil so... no pressure getting that right I guess :sweat
I did not snap a pic but I made a hard cap for the wig last night and will follow up by gluing the wefts and cutting the hair today. I'll also need magnets for the horns, which I guess I'll model from the open pack of paper clay on the side of my desk. Once the wig is dry, I can give her a faceup and I guess a better pair of eyes will have arrived by then as well :3 At least the dress she came with is dry by now but I'll still need to make something special for her to wear, too, I think.
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15. August 2024 (vol 2)
And, without further ado, some (more) updates from today!
The wig
Sometimes hardcaps end up fitting funny but I'm glad it fits her perfectly!
The tin of wefts! I always end up running out yarn wefts half way through so I made sure I pre-made enough. (spoiler: I now have enough to make at least 1,5 more wigs).
I tried to avoid my usual mistake and made sure to not glue the wefts too close together so it doesn't end up too poofy. I also started cutting as I was gluing them on just to make it a bit less of a hassle to style later.
Gosh I wish it was as easy to make a center part with sewn wefts as it is with glued ones.
I gave the wig a preliminary shape using scissors...
...and used an eyebrow razor to give it its final look.
The faceup
I was fiddling with it for a while but I think it looks neat enough in the end. Not 1 to 1 with the mockup and I wish I got the white to be more opaque but meh. Here are some process shots (click for bigger):
I should have waited a bit not to risk chipping the barely dry sealant but YOLO (oh my god who uses that term any more?!?! :sweat:sweat:sweat) I NEEDED TO SEE!
Wrong eyes still and I'm debating whether or not I'm too lazy to order white upper lashes but LOOOOOK. I even found something that actually fit her body to wear!
Next up: oni horns! *makes mental note to buy magnets*
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16. August 2024
back to the programming:
Horn time!
My craft store didn't have much variety for magnets, but I found those magnetic jewellery closures that seemed to be a good size:
Since Volks resin is THICK and magnets wouldn't hold through it, I needed something flat under the wig - I took two paper clips and coiled them into the size of the magnets.
I then stuck the coil under the wig with some tape.
Great! They'll be easy to build the horn on top of and I won't have to struggle with matching the size much!
I took some paper clay, divided it into equal amounts, rolled two balls that I then flattened and wrapped around the beads like a pancake, and shaped them further into a horn shape.
Trying out if the shape/size is good - I then went back to tweak them both to match and lifted them into the sun to dry.
They still need to dry overnight, but it's hot today so I could at least try them out quite soon. A little bigger than my plans were at first but I think they are fun like this! I can still sand them smaller tomorrow if needed.
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18. August 2024
The horns! pt 2
I was bothered by the length so I chopped and sanded them much shorter in the end.
I used a large grain sandpaper so I also got some horn texture as a bonus!
Once they were dry, I used some whiteboard magnets to have somewhere clean to hold onto and painted a layer of acrylic paint and added some brush on sealant.
That's much better!
I dropped one of the horns at some point so there is a little dent but... I don't think Nonoo is especially careful with her horns anyway so it's pretty in-character :sweat
I thought the second hand glas eyes would be here by now but I had made a typo in my address so she's gotta persevere with the acrylics for a bit still. Oh well, you live and learn (or not, because I keep mistyping my zip code pretty regularly :doh)
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23. August 2024
doll tax - I got Nonoo a pair of glass eyes and the difference is huge!
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30. August 2024
Super small last update: lashes!
I had already gotten used to her face so now I have to get used to it again :sweat but it's a neat finishing touch nevertheless! Her eyes are so huge that I had to use double the amount of lashes I usually do.
I think she's as complete as is worth keeping a project journal for - it's been really fun fixing her up and it's also nice to finally spend some time playing with her as well. Thanks for following along :)
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