Hi, I'm Becca, or Bee 🐝
instagram | den of angels | DoA Feedback
Welcome to my hobby blog. I've been in the bjd hobby since 2015, but I collect some other toy lines and figurines as well. I'm currently more active on instagram, so give me a follow there if you're interested!
A few days ago I received an Impldoll Idol 68 Female body. Perfect in every way for my Iplehouse Freezia… save for the neck length….
It was just a hair too long for my taste. I’ve had to modify a few of the crew’s necks because most are hybrids. So let’s begin our adventure for the evening.
The main thing about a modification like this is to go slowly and only remove a bit at a time. You can always take more off, but it’s harder than hell to put back.
I took a grey colored pencil and some tape and made a ring around the neck where I would like to take some height off. Since my cutting wheel is thicker I’m going to have to stay on the one side of the line so I don’t take off too much.
I did make note of the curve in front, but ultimately decided that I didn’t need it. If I had kept it I would have used a diamond file mandrel to gently carve that in.
For this I grab my Dremel Lite with a thin cutoff wheel. On the lowest speed I start going around the neck, making sure everything lines up. Double check that you have a good grip on everything and are purposeful with your movements. A dremel bit can get away easily and create unwanted marks in the resin.
As always when working with resin, wear a mask. I also keep wet towels next to me to control the amount of dust that tried to escape.
I love a good, clean cut.
For our next act, the neck needs to be curved down and smoothed. Again with my Dremel, I employ my nail sanding bands. These are made for sanding nails, but I find them perfect for doll modification as they come in different grits from #80 to #240. The 80 grit is harsh and that’s what you reach for when you want to remove a lot of resin NOW, but today I use #150 to start shaping the neck.
This is where you want to go epically slow and check the fit of your doll’s head often. Rotate the head around and check the range of motion and also look inside to see if the neck is making contact with the inside of the head, this way you can judge whether to skinny up the neck more or give a greater curve to the top.
After you are satisfied with the shape and fit, it’s time to do a finishing sand. I like to use a wet/dry #400 by hand because it leaves a satin smooth finish that typically matches most BJD finishes. Do small circular motions around the neck that way you don’t leave any sanding marks.
Now! Do your final fit check and suede the head if needed for extra grip.
There she is! I probably took about 6mm off in the end, but it was enough to make a difference. I’m so happy to have Enya whole again.
It’s truly amazing to see how far BJD engineering has come. The joints are beautifully made with posability that was just a dream in the early 2000s. I still remember when everyone lost their mind when jointed hands were first introduced and there were close to $200 a pair.
I just bought a doll chateau bella head in green. And I was wondering if you had a photo of yours before you did the faceup! I would love to see what it looks like.
Congrats on your incoming bella!!! i love DC's green resin SO much!
this post and my unboxing post have a few good shots of my bella blank! 😊
Tiny update. I have tried so many times to come back to tumblr to crosspost my doll stuff here via mobile, but.... tumblr just won't have it. 😅 It seems to deeply dislike the filetypes I'm using (especially if I added filters or edited them on Instagram) but I often only have my pretty edited photos left in my photoroll, so i have to go onto my computer to find unedited ones tumblr wont choke on (unless i deleted all of those) and edit them again- and I just. Grrrrr 🥲
(Not to mention the text editor on mobile is absolutely fuckin bonkers idk how I didn't lose this post.)
Anyway I really just can't be bothered to keep up with both for the time being, but I am active on beedaleebjd on Instagram if anyone also hangs out there.
As of Oct 8th, Dream Valley Zhao is here!!!!! 😍😭🐱🐾
I was prepared to wait past Halloween for her to pop into the usps system, but here she is!!! Thank you cloversinging !! 😚🤗🥰💕
This was one of those "love at first sight" moments... I specifically try NOT to shell OCs often because I just have sooo many, but the minute I saw the sculpt I knew I had to have it.... (I also have crushed on like a dozen cat anthro sculpts for years for some reason?? so that didn't help.... 😑)
So this is gonna be my lucky cat shonen heronie, katsumi/quinn... my boo is super hyped to help me costume her cuz they helped me design all her powerup outfits. 🤩 (I'm even MORE hyped at her being yosd size, ugh!!!!)
About the doll- getting her to stand is definitely a challenge at times, but I managed to get some awesome poses with patience and occasionally a bit of support. (I truthfully don't expect (or trust...) many dolls to stand unaided for long even if they *can*) The jointing is awesome on the legs imho, a bit more range than dollzone sho (who I will do a comparison with sometime, he is in bits atm) i love looove the magnetic tail and I LOVE the human hands but I think I'll be keeping the paws on katsu, they're just too cute! (I have another DV girl on order who will satisfy that desire anyway 💦)
This one is gonna be getting dyed, I have quite a few dye projects piling up.. maybe I'll make that a thing this next week... 🤔 though I better get on faceups before it gets too cold... Hmmm! Anyway I'll see about posting my project plans for this one to stories when I get to it!
Another thrifted doll dress to mess with (instead of finishing my own oodles of wips lol ...) I honestly didn't change a lot; I just took it in, relocated the big bow, made a different collar, and added buttons. I still wonder if it's too puffy on her... (it fits taller yosds better but blue is her color!) is the bodice lace too big? or maybe just the sleeves are too big? Am I just over-thinking? 🤔 altering satin is suuuch a pain, so I haven't decided if I'll change anything else or just leave it.
(An aside: One day I'll get her the right pixie wig)
In early August- I, queen of Nervousness, suddenly really wanted to try doll dyeing. Something I've researched billions of times because I have several projects that require it- but setting a day to actually do it was daunting because there was no promise that I wouldn't suddenly chicken out (and then feel bad for weeks.) So, I seized that moment of worry-free clarity! 🤪
Pre-Setup?:
First, I did a "mockup" setup in the kitchen to get a feel for the flow and what supplies I needed at the ready, and then after dinner, armed with my notes and two trusty assistants, I jumped into it. I figured since it was just a hue-shift it would be relatively safe as a first attempt (though a full body doll is still a bit ambitious lol... I think dyeing just a few parts would be even less stressful, like fantasy parts/wings or something.)
Dye subject:
I am dying my Doll in Mind Laia HCE hybrid. She's on a Soulkids New body (from 2021), and both are in normal resin. I believe the head is from 2018 or 2019. For anyone wondering- the default match of these two is excellent! 95+% match with the head being paler, only slightly noticeable in photos. In my opinion, a faceup would be enough to close that gap.
So this doll is shelling a fantasy character of mine; Naelia, an elf mage that has a bubblegum-pink skintone. (Artwork for reference)
Dye Supplies:
- A dedicated "not-for-cooking" stainless steel pot. I got mine at Walmart for 6$ (I have also seen ceramic recommended; avoid non-stick coatings, aluminum, or anything damaged.)
- A long dowel (or in my case, two chopsticks taped together...) to rest across the lip of the pot. This is to hang pieces off of.
- A metal spoon (for measuring dye and some stirring. A longer spoon is welcome but I didn't need it much!)
- The Rit Dyemore colors of choice. I had purple and blue on hand in case the pink hue wasn't right on the peachy resin. I didn't end up needing them at all.
- 1 glass bowl of cool water (I have seen ice water used but I opted for regular cold tap) This is to cool the pieces and pulls off excess dye.
- 1 glass bowl of warmer soapy water. I just used my on-hand palmolive dish soap. This is for- or was for- if I needed to magic eraser excess dye off any of the pieces... I didn't end up using this bowl at all for this project. I was dying a pretty light color though, so I will still set it up every time- better to not use it then not have it in an emergency.
- Cotton balls, magic eraser, & rubbing alcohol- again, on hand to remove access dye, spots, etc.
- Emergency acetone, if I needed to strip a piece completely. I did not have acetone free nail polish remover but I would say based on what I've read, I'd recommend that far more- its safer on pieces and does the job just as well. But in a pinch (or if all else fails) if you rinse your piece REALLY WELL with soapy water very promptly after acetone wiping it should be alright. (I do occasionally use this for removing stubborn faceups and I haven't had any issues, but it pays to be cautious.)
- A clean designated dye towel to lay rinsed parts on (I find this less messy than paper towels, and cushier) I also had some clean washrags handy for drying parts if they needed acetone cleaning so minimize cross-contamination on the towel.
Preparing the doll & dyebath:
First order of business was to unstring her and carefully lay out the left and right sides. (Souldoll kindly marks almost every piece as R or L so I didn't have to worry as much)
I filled my bathroom sink with warm/hot soapy water (palmolive dish detergent again) and laid a washrag in the bottom of my sink to cushion parts from clinking about in the water. I gently washed every piece with a magic eraser, and tried to be as even and thorough as possible to remove any surface dirt, oils, and even out any possible nicks she may have acquired while being my sewing model. Since souldoll does have sanding lines on one side that are pretty noticeable to the touch, I went over them lightly for the hell of it. I accepted that dye may gather here. I laid her out to dry on a towel and went to eat dinner.
After that I strung her left side in white string and her right side in yellow. I tried to pick string that was a lighter color just in case of any color bleeding, and I chose a woven string instead of yarn just in case of any possible melting. (I haven't seen cases of this or anything, its just me.) I ended up threading wire through a few of the pieces (feet, torso) to try out preferences (I don't think I like wire in this case, it kinda dug into her hip joint at one spot.)
At the recommendation of a few tutorials, I initially filled the pot with 3 quarts of warm/hot water. I was measuring the length of the string and pieces in the pot as I went, and ended up adding about 4 more cups of water. This did not have any negative effects that I could see.
I don't know if this matters, but I brought the clear water to an almost boil first- that setting is about a 6 on my stove. Then I added 1 tablespoon of Rit Dyemore Super Pink, and turned up the heat to 7 (medium-high) to keep an active steamy boil. I added one drop of dish soap to the top- it's reportedly to disperse surface tension and break up any dye that may be floating, but this dye is liquid so it shouldn't have as much of a risk of that as powder dye would.
This next part is important- I had help! My two assistants (my roomie @dolliesanddelights/Caiterprince and my partner Naf/@dyemelikeasunset) were present. Cait was helping me document everything, taking videos, and checking the color-match of dyed pieces in photos as we went. My boo had a stopwatch app open and also ended up helping me hold pieces when I was busy. This probably is the biggest recommendation I can offer to anyone dyeing dolls, for the first time or not. Taking photos of the progress while I was in a mad dash between dipping parts would have significantly slowed me down and disrupted my process, and having someone help me time and hold pieces while I ran other pieces along the assembly line was SOOO helpful. So if you're intimidated to do it all yourself, you'd be right and you shouldn't have to! If you have a friend or relative that you trust then I recommend recruiting them. If you do not, then don't be obligated to make yourself take photos, and maybe do a pretend run-through of it yourself so you know what you need and how much time it takes to rinse or photograph a part, etc. It might be over the top, but being prepared helps my anxiety immensely, haha. (Also! Even though I had everything set up, I reminded myself that if it went awful at any point, I could always just stop!)
So that being said, the assembly line went like this: Dip the parts with a timer going, to help figure out how long everything would need. I would bob the parts up and down to check the color change every 10 seconds. After the desired color was reached, I would pull them over to my cool clean water and dunk them, then lay them on the towel and check the color and for any discrepancies. If it was good, I would grab the next pair of pieces and my boo would reset the timer. I opted to do all my parts in pairs of the same type- ie both the left and right shins, feet, elbow peanuts, etc.
So I decided I would test the flat feet first, on wire. I ended up dipping them again later as they were a touch lighter than the rest of the other pieces!)
This photo doesn't even do it justice- it was already lovely!!!! 😍😍 I had only read one report about dyeing Souldoll resin and that it didn't take dye great, so I was extra vigilant. But it looked good, so onward we went- a 30 minute rush!!! I worked my way up from the feet, doing shins, knees, thighs, etc. I ended up dipping all the body pieces for 45 seconds- even the torso pieces!
The DiM head took dye significantly faster- around 25 seconds. Since it was a faceplate, I threaded string through the eyewells- it did not have any ill effects!!! I decided to leave her faceplate a half-shade lighter so when I blush her, she'll have a natural highlight in her cheeks... no idea if this is "correct", I just really didn't want to risk it being too dark.
Another important highlight: Someone had recommend using nylon socks or a fishnet to dip parts, especially small pieces. I grabbed one of these at walmart to give it a go.
I LOVED this thing. if it was bigger, I would've used it for everything. I used it on all the peanuts, hands, heeled feet, and my boo even fit both the forearms in it with no consequence. I was very attentive about any mesh imprinting on the resin, but nothing like that happened- even if the parts didn't move around much, they all dyed evenly. This thing could probably hold everything for tinies, and most pieces for YOSD except maybe the torso/head. I preferred this way more then trying to string them- the little pieces made me nervous because this pot is deep so this was a blessing.
Finally done! (The lighting in my kitchen is affecting the final color a lot, so read on)- The outcome was: her elbow peanuts, flat feet, and face are a touch lighter, but not enough for me to care about. The tops of her hip peanuts have a darker hue from the friction in her hip socket, so that's fine- and absolutely no dye collected on any of her seamlines. Well ok then! 😵
Some things I learned:
- Between wire, string, dowels, fishnet, and free-handing- I liked string, it gave me a lot of control. Wire was ok, but I noticed afterwards that it had dug into the thinner resin around her hip socket, so I probably will use it less- wire works well for small bits so they don't get thrashed around in the boiling water, but IMHO the fishnet was awesome and way faster.
- The water WILL evaporate!! 😂 Even though I filled it even more than needed, I started to notice pieces that were formerly submerged started to peek out when hanging on the dowel. This is when my boo and I started to just hold the strings above the pot- but the steam WILL get to you after a while. (Don't be me. Bad bee.) Hook the string onto a piece of wire, hold it with forceps or tongs- whatever you can find.
- Keeping up a quick pace is important. The water is evaporating, the dye to water ratio will change over time. This might get complicated if a part gets splotchy or has residue- but I think it's better to run through and dye everything in one pass, then go through and clean/strip the parts that didn't turn out and redye those. (Unless you have an assistant! but I can't speak from experience yet. Guess I have to dye more dolls and find out! 👀)
Anyway, without further ado-
(Since tumblr is limiting posts to 10 photos, expect more photosets in the future...)
I can't believe how lucky this first attempt was lmfao. I keep having moments of "but is she TOO pink?" but then immediately marveling in how lovely she is in all lighting conditions. I need to get apoxie for her elf ears and start on her faceup, and I'm still hunting eyes and a wig to modify for her, but she's sitting on my craft desk in all her pink radiance.
I was ALMOST tempted to jump into another dye but didn't want to soil my good fortune so quickly, LOL! That being said, I have several other dye projects planned- one girl that needs to be blue, a dip dye, a deep dark elf purple, and a few dark brown hues, so I will do my best to document those too. I find this kind of resource very precious so I'm happy I can finally contribute. 😭
If anyone has any questions I didn't think to address here, feel free to ask. (I will also be cross-posting this to DoA and instagram when I am able to.) Otherwise, thank you for following along, and I hope this was helpful.
Hi Bee, wanted to say that I’ve followed you and your blogs (including this one) for a long time, and finally took the plunge to buy my first doll today thanks to your guide! I’m sticking closely to your guide and try to take things as slowly as possible, haha. Thank you so much for showing your enthusiasm and knowledge; it’s always a great joy seeing your posts on my timeline! Have a lovely day.
this makes me so happy!!! congratulations!!! 🥺❤️ i hope you enjoy your incoming doll!!! it can get overwhelming very easily but if you pace yourself it is super fun!! especially if you like all the crafts the hobby entails. if you ever have any questions (and don't mind me being absolutely glacial with replying) feel free to ask anytime.
tried my luts madeliene head on some other bodies- dollits (~7cm), soulkid new girl (6.5cm), and loongsoul (6.9cm) they all looked pretty even with the range of neck sizes so that's good!!! of course the body i'm eyeing is upwards of 7.5cm neck (and quoted as 8cm on another site.... and that's nooot gonna work @_@ ;;; aaaaa )
So my Cheshire head looked suspiciously close to luts 'normal' resin, and out of foolish curiosity I tried it on my recent v6 body. (The slight resin difference shows a tiny bit more in photos than irl, but its a solid 95%+, and after a faceup it'll probably be fine)
Soooo she went and stole this body for herself and proceeded to try on all the msd clothes I own. 😩 WELL then! 😒💦 Never had a body snatcher before!!!
Ironically, it worked out because miss Madeline has simultaneously decided she wants to shell a character and therefore requires a different bodytype... tthat i can't seem to find/settle on-- Which is just peachy, because I am seriously suffering having to put all my mori-girl seeing projects on hold. I guess this is what happens when I let that little troublemaker into my collection. 🙄
Affectionate rant aside, I AM actually very happy with the progress. I REALLY love Cheshire on the luts body and it solved that slight restlessness I was having about Madeliene. I got them both wigs too so that'll be forthcoming.
Here's my first half of my layaway I'm chipping at, the turnaround time for Heydoll was supremely fast! I placed the order on 3/22/21, and it shipped 05/12/2021, making for barely a 2 month wait!!!! I was shocked. ;__;
Her name is Coti, heaven knows why- is it short for Scottie? Cottage? Funny story, I was inspired off the animal crossing mouse, "Anacotti"- but I wasn't about to name my doll after pasta or a green mouse, so I shortened it... I just like how it sounds. Idk, I'll see if I adjust it.. 😂
This company doesn't have a lot of reviews, so here is mine. This doll is available on Legendoll but only with a boy body, so I ordered mine through Cloversinging via Heydoll's official Taobao listing here, and for the bodytypes I referred to this listing here, or namely, this photo.
There are two types of body, 'Chunky' (short) and 'Lean' (taller), and girl/boy/genderless "angel" bodies. There's also 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen bodies, and 1 or 2 part torsos. But with the options given on Yue's order page, I chose "3rd Generation "Tall Lean" body (2 Part Torso) in pink skin" in my order to Christina, for anyone's reference. It was very easy!
Onward! Heydoll's box is pretty and reflective! She was very safely padded in her foam cutout, and her teeth piece was wrapped in foam and tucked inside her head. She did not come with any eyes (which is fine!) or other extra bits, just her and her CoA. They body is darling!!!! it poses lovely, the joints are sturdy, and the resin is smooth and nice. The hips area is kicky- the leg pops out of the hip socket sometimes and she wants to snap into a sitting position a lot so I'll likely be sueding that area, but I think it's an easy fix. Her head-magnets are REALLY STRONG (I was very impressed!!!) and her headplate is inside the headcap. I got the taller body (27cm) but she still feels so little beside my Dollzone yosds!!! B'awww!! (I wanted her to be a taller big sister type, but it's fine) 😂 I might do a body lineup of everyone I have for comparison.
Anyway, I popped her head off immediately so I could get her faceup going- she needs doe eyes and teeth, STAT. And a wig, oof! She arrived way too fast!!! (A good problem to have, lol)
Arrival: Soom Little Gem Cheshire Surprised Head! 5/28/2021 🥰🥰🥰
As I mentioned in my last post, I spring cleaned my wishlist recently... and this little devil survived the purge... so naturally they pop up for sale immediately!! 😫💘
The sculpt is even cuter in person and I loved it enough as it was!!!! 😍 (as expected of me I'm a sucker for impish expressions lol) I already have ideas for a character going, but no body picked out yet- and since honeybee has been sooo patiently waiting for her body... hair.. faceup.. everything tbh... this one miiight need to wait a bit, perhaps a 2022 project... I don't know we'll see if my discipline holds out /laughs weakly
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