#msdhewitt

[smallwonderdolls]

My oldest doll (Shiina, a Volks MSD Hewitt, 2004) and newest doll head (kindergarten Kun-kun, 2020).

[smallwonderdolls]

Shiina and Soo

Welcome to our newest and youngest (character-wise) member!  He probably needs slightly smaller eyes, and a softer-textured wig, but the colours are pretty much what I want for him~  He is a Soo Smile by Mia, on a 1/8-scale PLA body with a custom neck size.  His poseability rivals my resin dolls (he easily sits cross-legged), and he stands very well despite having an arch to his soles.

I took a risk on this body and I'm quite happy with the result! It is slightly skinnier than and about as tall as the Dollmore Idoll body, which is sometimes paired with a Soo head.  (I didn't want to buy the Idoll as the body isn't sold apart from the head, and I would feel bad having an unwanted head lying around...)

Also, our resident babysitter happened to still be in hanfu, and I was too lazy to re-dress him XD

[smallwonderdolls]

Shiina today.   I fancy he’s softened a little, over the years.

Isn’t it crazy how, after almost a decade and a half, looking at him can still make me smile? :-)  I don’t think I have many other material possessions that have lasted that long, much less which put an involuntary smile on my face.   (There are personal notes and cards which do do that, but those are not so much possessions as embodiments of something intangible and precious - the underlying relationships.)

Credits: Shiina is a Volks MSD Hewitt (2003).  Face-up by Volks, with minor enhancements/ restoration.  His wig is Kemper mohair (dyed), eyes are Kanis-Augen glass, shirt probably Volks.

[smallwonderdolls]

Removing yellowed coating from a doll’s face-up

The “after” pic is above.  ^^  A bald “after” pic, for a better look at the head, is in my previous post.

The “before” pic is under the cut below.  DX

To begin with, I should describe the condition of the head before I cleaned it up.  It is a Volks oldskin normal head from 2003, with its original painted face-up by Volks/ Zoukeimura.  I believe some rubbed blushing was fixed by a friend, Djinn, around 2006, and I subsequently added some shading around the eyes and deepened the lip colour with paint by myself.  All these fixes/ additions involved multiple layers of Mr Super Clear (both the regular version, earlier on, and then UV-Cut) over his original face-up.  The doll was handled frequently until around 2008, and then stored in a dark cupboard until late 2017.  When he was put into storage, he still looked in good condition and nothing like he looked 10 years later. The state of the head on 22nd August 2018 is as shown:

You can see the contrast between his bare resin and the yellowed coating + blushing particularly well at his earlobe, where much of the coating was rubbed off.  The staining around his hairline is from his wig (a Kemper mohair wig which I dyed with human hair dye - same wig as the picture at the top), which I unwisely left on him without a wig cap for a decade. D:

Method:

I went in with the aim of saving his original eyebrows if I could.  The larger areas of discoloured coating and blushing on his forehead, cheeks and ears were removed by scrubbing with cotton pads soaked with Mr. Hobby brand thinner.  I used thinner because I was all out of Mr Tool Cleaner.  I would recommend Mr Tool Cleaner or a similar paint removal product, rather than thinner.  I also forewent gloves, since the work was a little delicate, but my fingers definitely suffered for it. D: (Aside, I have ordered a paste-type paint remover from Taobao and will report back on how well it works.)

For around the eyebrows and other painted parts I wanted to keep: I folded a cotton pad into a point and moistened it with paint remover.  Then I used the pad to dampen the area I was working on, and firmly but carefully dabbed/ wiped at the resin, going as close as I could to the painted area.  Repeat with patience until the finer areas around the painted parts (particularly the eye area below the eyebrows, and the inner corners of the eyes) are totally clean.  You do need to use some pressure, especially if there are many layers to remove.

For removing only discoloured coating from on top of painted areas: I found that making a few quick passes with a moistened cotton pad directly over the painted eyebrows, lower lashes and lips was effective to remove the top few layers of yellowed coating and blushing from those areas.  (This made me decide to keep the lower eyelashes and lip paint as well, since they were looking much fresher already.)  I would immediately rinse the area thereafter to avoid the paint remover soaking down into the lower layers of paint which I wanted to keep.  Never allow your paint removal product to sit on any painted areas you want to keep, even if it doesn’t seem to be dissolving the paint immediately, because it will eat down into them eventually.  Occasionally, this swipe-and-rinse method would leave a little white frosting, but another dab with paint remover would get rid of it.

I worked on cleaning up the head over 2 days, whenever I was free and had daylight (I found that I would miss spots when I worked at night under artificial light).  On the third day, the cleaning job was done.  I used a very fine, 1500 grit sanding sponge on some areas which appeared to have surface scratching (only visible from certain angles), scrubbed lightly all over with magic eraser, then washed the head with dish-washing liquid and let it dry.  The eyelashes had survived the whole cleaning process (!), so I stuffed the eyeholes with cotton wool to protect them before spraying a light coat of Mr Super Clear UV Cut over the head.  I touched up a couple of rubbed areas on one eyebrow and the lower lashes and applied a very minimal amount of pink chalk pastel on his forehead, lower cheeks, nose bridge and chin.  One more light coat of MSC, and he was done! =D   

Looking at him all nice and clean has made me realise afresh why this was the sculpt that sucked me into the BJD world in the first place.  I had never wanted a doll for myself until I laid eyes on a grainy picture of MSD Hewitt on the Volks website in December of 2003~~~  His resin has definitely yellowed and deepened compared to when I first received him, but it doesn’t look bad.  I do also want to try highlighting! his face with white chalk pastel once I manage to get some. Perhaps I can utilise the warm yellow tone of the resin as a kind of natural “shading”...  I will report back on the results in due time.  Thanks for reading!  I hope it helps anyone who has a well-loved, vintage BJD to save. ^_^  

[smallwonderdolls]

First photostory in a loooong while

So I finally got fed up with how dirty Shiina is. XD  In the first years that I had him and Micchi, I use to clean and re-coat them with Mr. Super Clear every half-year or so.  That got to be too much work once I started amassing more dolls, and then of course I dropped out of the hobby completely due to lack of time... 

Anyways, Shiina’s coating is now chipped in many places, and there is a noticeable colour difference between the bare resin and the yellower, dust-smudged coating.  ._.  (sorry, kiddo)  The coating on his face is especially yellow, since it’s several layers deep, and there are chips on his cheek and upper lip.  I can’t stand how ugly it looks any more, so I decided it was time for a grand wipe-down and bath...

“Oh, Shiina?....”

Shiina: “?”

Shiina: “Wait, this is about my chocolates, isn’t it?... DX You can’t have them!  I just opened this box!! D=“

“^_^;; No, it’s not.  (Those chocolates are far too tiny to satisfy me, anyway. XD)   Well, you know, it’s been a long time since you all had any maintenance done, and since you’re both the oldest and the dirtiest of the crew...”

Everyone: “....”

“...I’m afraid you’re gonna have to set a good example for the others and be the first to take the plunge.”

*silence*

Shiina: *bolts*

Micchi: “XDDD ...GET HIM! =DDD”

(*Noel’s athlete’s reflexes for the win ^^*)

Tatsue: *flustered since he doesn’t know if he should be helping Shiina, or if this “maintenance” is actually a good thing...* 

Micchi: "Target apprehended! ^___^” 

“Thanks, Micchi.  Hmm... you do know that, after Shiina, you’re next?”

Credits: Shiina (Volks MSD Hewitt) - Volks W-104N wig, Kanis-Augen eyes, cardigan by Petit Pepito, book by me, can’t remember the rest. Micchi (Volks MSD F-10) - Volks W-55N wig and HG Green-gray eyes, shirt by 5deng, shorts unknown. Noel (modified Volks MSD Enn) - Leekeworld wig, Volks HG Goldenrod eyes, shirt by Mio, jeans by Volks. Tatsue (Volks SDC Ren on MSD body) - Kemper “Nikki” wig, yukata by Volks.

P/S:  Photostories are hard work, but lots of fun! :D

[smallwonderdolls]

Last pics from the end-of-year group photo session.

Noel (modded Volks MSD Enn), Shiina (Volks Hewitt) and Laurie (Volks Yo-SD Anne Sweet Dream), looking weirdly like a family portrait. XD;;

And Shiina spacing out on the couch.  The wavy-haired doll is my new SDM girl, of course, but her face isn’t done yet, so she just lurks at the corner of the photos...

Credits: 

Noel’s hat and mockneck top are by me, wig is Leekeworld and eyes are Volks HG Goldenrod B.  I can’t remember where the overshirt is from.   Shiina’s turtleneck is Mio, his shorts are from a Volks set, his shoes are the ubiquitous Taobao loafers you can find in all sizes (really decent quality, by the way).  His wig is a Kemper Nikki in mohair which I dyed and re-styled, his eyes are Volks HG Smoke Olive B. Laurie’s wig is Josephina di Venetia and her outfit is from a Japanese dealer. New-girl’s outfit is a Volks set, and her wig is Volks W-137N-SB (really nice quality, not too voluminous as some wigs can be).  Her shoes and tights are both Monique (they have lasted for over a decade in the hot and humid Singapore weather, when far more expensive shoes have literally gone to bits).

[smallwonderdolls]

Fell in love again. ^-^

I removed his highly yellowed layers of Mr Super Clear, and managed to save his original eyebrows, lower lashes and lips in the process.  I just touched up some rubbed areas and added very minimal blush on the bridge of his nose, his forehead, chin and lower cheeks to emphasise his youthfulness~  He’s ready to meet the new kid now! ^-^

Credits: Shiina is a 2003 Volks MSD Hewitt.  Eyes are by Kanis-Augen, shirt I believe is Volks.

[smallwonderdolls]

Shiina today.

Credits:  Volks MSD Hewitt (2003). Wig - Volks W104N, cut. Eyes - Kanis Augen beige 16mm.