#doll modding

[lets-make-a-doll]

Hi I'm not dead lmao

I just came across a post about the Princess and the Pauper dolls, and was happily reminded that there were black dolls made for Anneliese and Erika. Singing dolls, no less!

For the Hell of it, I checked to see if there was any video of one of the black dolls singing. I found a singing Erika on YT!

So I think, okay, cool! What does the white Erika sound like, just for comparison's sake?

...Aaaaaaand that's the same recording. idk what I was expecting, I know it was a pipe-dream to hope they had a separate recording outside the movie's official soundtrack.

That thought is why I'm putting this all on my doll idea blog. I know how tech-savvy y'all are -- do you think there's a way to hack a Barbie voicebox to add a different recording? There are a lot of black Barbies released for the iconic y2k fairytale movies, but in hindsight it feels a little cheap to just stick them all with Kelly Sheridan's voice.

Black Barbie is such an important doll -- that's why they made her an official character to interact with the white Barbie. She's not Christie, she's not Shani, she's not Nikki, she is a separate woman named Barbie who has her own story and upbringing, and that's a BIG step up from just being a palette-swap of a white girl.

I appreciate the pre-Fashionistas Black Barbie variants, but as a white person I feel like I ultimately can't fully weigh in on the conversation surrounding her -- she wasn't designed to appeal to me. That being said, if I was in the shoes of someone in an under-represented demographic... yeah, I could see it coming off as a little lip-servicey. You could make the dolls, but we've yet to see Black Barbie star in her own fairytale movie -- as in NOT co-starring with the white Barbie.

Maybe Brooklyn will get her own fairytale movie in the future? Never say never, right?

...Right?

I know you have scouts out here, Mattel. The people have feedback for you!

idk, lemme know if I'm making any sense or if I'm just talking out my ass. Also please feel free to give your opinion on the Black Barbie movie-release doll variants, especially if you're not white. I'd love to know if the dolls alone made enough of a difference for making you feel represented, or if they felt more like being thrown a bone.

Thank you for reading this far, if you're still here! Have a great day! 🍀

[remadra]

Cobbling this thing together I need to obtain a brown wig to begin the next step

[slicedcat]

ATTENTION TUMBLR!!!I need help finding something...;-;

A long time ago, I saw a post on Instagram talking about a website where you could get Monster High and Barbie dolls for cheap! They are usually nude and used and come in all sorts of conditions and the site is aimed towards people who modify and create dolls. I don't think it was eBay or anything and I remember it being a very specific website.

Can someone help me find the website? Thank you thank you! :'3

[exittotheartscape]

Here’s a project I’ve worked on-and-off on for a few months: a Kieran Valentine doll!

My goal was to make a theoretical G3-version of Kieran. One where his fake accent is real. This was also sparked by the fact that Kieran dolls are very, very hard to find.

Had a lot of fun designing this vampire cowboy! The heart beads all over his outfit are the hearts he’s stolen: each one he gains becomes a new piece of jewelry. The hardest part was the chaps, which morphed into tall boots. Here are the concept sketches and some more photos:

[littleshysheep-at-da]

I’m normal about them I say lying through my teeth. So another Doll Custom because the Wives. This my Shiro x Ariel Agenda. But this is why I haven’t been drawing a ton recently I was working on these! And waiting for the right weather to spray them.

This is my first Nendoroid custom and only like, under double digits for modding/customs I’ve done with decent knowledge (I’m gonna say putting makeup on and cutting doll hair as a child doesn’t count lol). These were originally “Station Staff” Kamaishi Mana Nendoroid #373 and “Motorman” Matoba Marina Nendoroid #374! I can’t take too much credit for the faces here because I literally used the original faces as a base just drew over and recolored them. I made a choice to give Ariel the more rounded eye and Shiro the more angular ones (which I think is the correct choice) but Ariel’s do look a little big on here. The Hair was mostly just sculpting the bangs and Shiro’s braid. I used spray sealant (I have safety gear don’t worry) and water color pencils for the faces (except Shiro’s eyelashes that had to be acrylic paint to show up) like the doll repainted pros do but Shiro’s eyebrows were to thin to make white. I used miliputt (that is almost certainly spelled wrong but two part clay) and acrylic paint for hair which I then sealed with spray sealant and mod podge (just for gloss and texture cause raw paint feels bad to touch to me). I plan to buy them Nendoroid Doll bodies for some more pose-ability (trying to get the stand around Shiro’s braid is a challenge ngl) and outfit options!

[grunklestanofficial]

Doll mods of Uma Musume using Equestria Girl dolls as the base, is this anything?

[pandorkful-dolls]

Took @trufflesmushroom advice last night and acetone glooped the top of a donor neck to the top of the MAF neck. Just sanded it down and yesssssss

It's SO much better now.

No gaps! Acceptable degrees of movement retained! A tiny bit more refining needed, but I'm thrilled with the result! This is the first time I've used acetone goop and I think I'm addicted. Aside from the smell. The smell is horrendous.

Also if you're wondering about the donor, here she is:

A smidge grayer than MAF/Obitsu White, but in a pinch this shade of Barbie provides close matching acetone goop. I'm just not 100% sure which Barbie she is anymore. :B Either Galadriel or Irish Legends Faery Queen Mab, and in either case maybe not a body you're willing to sacrifice due to their rarity these days. I think the Twilight Barbies are probably your next best option, and they're a bit more common/cheaper.

I felt no remorse harvesting from this body, tho, as the arms were already damaged by a previous owner. And, like, I just don't care about click leg Barbies. :B

[chainsaw-to-the-heart]

Doll modding under the cut

Put a MH Pawla head on a Barbie Extra Mini body, repainted her face and replaced her hair. I think she looks super cute with this hair! I will be making her a new outfit soon.