playing with dolls

i finally got my fakie Blythe this weekend and started working on her immediately...i carved her face a bit, took out all her old eye chips, pulled out her old hair and sewed in new hair wefts, and spray painted her head and body and eyelids.

i'm really pleased with the paint job; it came out beautifully! i used SEM spray paint in bluebird brown, and i'm so impressed. i heard stories of modders having trouble with the paint remaining sticky on the body/legs, but i had no such problem. even though i sprayed it on a little too thick at times, she still came out perfectly even and dry! and i love the color. i was afraid it might look too unnatural, like grey-black, but it's a warm, rich brown, like chocolate.

her hair is what's giving me the biggest problem. i did the lock and loop method for making hair plugs on my first custom, Vi, but i did a few too many so her hair is unmanageably thick, not to mention the process takes forever. so i decided to try using hair wefts as they're "meant" to be used, and sew them directly on the scalp...it did save a lot of time, but maybe i didn't do the rows close enough together, because the hair is very thin and no matter how i comb it, you can always see the tracks of the wefts/scalp through the hair somewhere. sigh. i'm not sure what to do to fix it...i guess i'll have to order some more hair and try filling in the gaps, being careful not to make it too thick, like Vi's.

speaking of Vi, after getting frustrated and having to stop working on nameless new doll's hair, i was inspired to go through with my original idea and cut Vi's hair into an asymmetrical bob with some side bangs, and i flat-ironed the crap out of it so it doesn't have those annoying little plugs poking up like before.

i think it suits her a lot better. for a while i was really unhappy with her, after learning so much more about modding, that i thought about taking her apart and starting from scratch (but that would be almost impossible, since i glued her scalp on), or even selling her, but after giving her this little hair cut, i'm satisfied. i think next i might replace her eyelashes, and i'll be content. she's not bad for a very first mod, i think. ;)

Vi with my toki doki Kaiju plushie Rob got me for xmas

i got a bunch of new clothes recently too, hence Vi's awesome new dress, so i decided to stop neglecting Astrid and dress her up too.

i love this sweater on her! i wish i had one like it in real life, heheh. Astrid is so elegant and perfect the way she is, i don't think i could ever bring myself to mod her.<3

so, now i have all three kinds of dolls - a real, authentic Blythe (Astrid), a Basaak knock-off (Vi), and a Color Change Eye Doll knock-off (new nameless doll). Blythes are of course amazing, the quality is so astounding and impressive, but they're so perfect that it's hard to bring myself to think about modding them, unless it were a bait Blythe or something. especially with how expensive they are. so for modding purposes, i plan on sticking to the knock-offs. most fake Blythe enthusiasts seem to prefer Basaaks, i guess because their mold and bodies are most similar to real Blythes. but after working with both, i think i actually prefer the CCE doll. she may not be as close to the real thing, but i actually find her slightly different body shape cuter. i like that her arms are ball-jointed, and it doesn't bother me that the waist doesn't turn. it seems a lot easier to open her head and take apart her eye mechanism; in fact, the plastic for the CCE dolls seems way more pliable and forgiving than the rigid plastic of the Basaak. i also love how breezey it is getting her eye chips out compared to Basaaks - just pop 'em out with a melted glue stick, instead of having to drill into the chips with a hot screw, then work on trying to get all the eye chip shrapnel out of the socket...ugh, what a nightmare that was!

i also got a bunch of dolls (mostly Maxies), some clothes, some Littlest Pet Shops, and a Fantasy Filly from my parents' house that i need to go through. sigh. almost thirty, and i'd still rather just sit at home by myself and play with toys. and watch Jem.