I’m fully prepared for this post to get flagged but let’s do this anyway.
1/ How to get a bent leg nu!fashionista body to sit down: You’ve probably seen this before with @dollsahoy‘s Disney dolls and @oak23′s Fashionista mods but here are some closeups just to add to the knowledge. I cut + shave with a craft knife (and gloves) all the way up to the top line of the molded underwear and cut a near 90% angle into the front until the doll can sit with her back straight. A metal nail file will help make the hard plastic not cut into the softer plastic of the leg but you run the risk of filing the soft part of the leg. I don’t know if you can pop off fashionista legs which would make the whole process so much easier. I havn’t wanted to try as I only have two: a curvy and my one and only afra toned body.
She can sit up at 90 degrees but she still has a tendancy to flop to one side if she’s not propped up with her hand or another doll because the whole torso is wonky and her center of gravity is not in the middle.
Notes after the fact: maybe wrap the leg in masking tape to avoid cuts that will then need sanding out and smoothing with acetone?
2/ How to fix floppy Monster High legs that use a peg not elastic?
Temporary method: Wrap durable elastics (the type taken off stock dolls and their packaging) around the leg at the foot then gently roll them up the leg then use a tooth pick or tweezers to get them over into the hip socket.
Permanent method: Teflon tape is one of the more important tools in a doll collectors arsenal, it’s a tape that won’t melt plastic or degrade and that can be pulled into a very fine string to fit around floppy joints, around necks that need re-inforcing and for holding glued things tightly together while they dry (snapped barbie necks for example). It costs about a $1 at any hardware store or off ebay. It’s the playline version of sueding a BJD and the knowledge was passed down from japanese obitsu/volks articulated doll collectors and action figure kitbashers.
Since I had the tape out, I did Curvy Made to Move Barbie’s feet that are notoriously floppy under the weight of her heavy plastic body: tuck in the end of the tape with a blunt needle or tweezer then wrap, pulling tightly as you go, tuck the last bit and ta da! She can stand on her own, even barefoot! The only drawback is that it’s not transparent, as you can see from the photos above, you can see a small white bit where a joint has been wrapped.
